Love & Service

Obama and O'Biden

2008-08-29T01:42:00.000-07:00

I feel disappointed. I didn't know Joe Biden but when he was chosen by Barack Obama as vice-presidential candidate he sounded like a good pick, with a lot of experience as a senator. Unfortunately, I am just now listening to the speech he gave at the Democratic Convention and he sounds like a very critical and even angry person. I just don't get a sense of maturity or responsibility when a person seems so critical of just about everything to do with the opposition.

I watched Senator Obama's speech. It started off very well I thought, and I think it ended fairly well. But he lost me in the middle. I just lose respect for a person when they start tearing other people apart, as he seemed to be doing to the current US administation. I was with him until that point. Why he had to degrade himself by such tactics is difficult for me to understand. I felt a lot of repressed anger coming from him. What I would like to see would be a calm confidence and a respect for the difficult job done by his predecessors, a job that he himself would have to do if he were elected president. His performance however in my opinion did not demonstrate the level of maturity needed for that position.

It is my hope that Senator McCain will be able to do a better job. I appreciated McCain's ad that was run after Obama's speech congratulating Obama on a job well done. However from what I saw, the job was not good enough.

It must be difficult, in the heat of a presidential race, to be able to maintain one's composure and refrain from needless criticism of others. If a person is able to do that I think he or she can demonstate a higher level of capability, something along the lines of Jesus who was able to forgive and understand his persecutors.

Running for president is certainly a challenging experience for the candidates and an opportunity for their rapid learning and growth. I look forward to a good president with a host of worthy advisors and cabinet members.

National Days of Prayer--Sept 5-7

2008-08-29T00:27:00.000-07:00

President Bush has proclaimed Friday, September 5, through Sunday, September 7, 2008, as National Days of Prayer and Remembrance:

I ask that the people of the United States and their places of worship mark these National Days of Prayer and Remembrance with memorial services, the ringing of bells, and evening candlelight remembrance vigils. I also invite all people across the world to share in these Days of Prayer and Remembrance.

"...thank you for serving our country."

2008-08-29T00:05:00.000-07:00

[Excerpt from President Bush's talk to the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Orlando, Florida on August 20, 2008]

You know, through the years I've received a lot of heartfelt letters from our military families. One of them was from a woman in Texas named Sue Stoner. Sue's husband is a decorated Air Force veteran of Vietnam and the Gulf War. Last year during a trip to Fort Hood, the couple witnessed their six-year-old granddaughter Mikayla do something that every American should do, as well. The little girl bounded over to a wounded stranger in Army fatigues, and said, "I just wanted to say thank you for serving our country." As Mikayla's proud grandmother tells it, the soldier leaned forward on his walker, and said, "Sweetheart, I did it for you."

Criticizing a President

2008-08-28T23:54:00.000-07:00

It is popular to criticize a sitting president. Perhaps it has always been this way. To me it seems a shameful thing to be critical of a president who is involved in wars to protect the country as well as many other countries. It is so easy to criticize and it is useful to point out ways to improve situations and make better decisions. But wholesale criticism seems to me to be childish or immature. It is much more difficult and much more constructive to suggest alternate ways of proceeding--concentrating on those rather than on criticizing, whose main motive would appear to be to somehow make one seem superior. To me such outright criticism always seems suspect and tends to disqualify the rest of the message.

Where to Get a Job

2008-08-26T01:43:00.001-07:00

Does anbody know were to go to get a job? I think that I need one. It's a long walk to the White House to ask the president, and I'm not quite sure what road to take. Could he help me get a job?

There must be a few other people needing jobs too. Who has the jobs anyway? Where do we get them? If you have a job then you can get money to pay your bills. That is a good thing.

Plus, having a job is good for your self-respect. It helps you to feel that you are doing something useful. Not only that, but you probably ARE doing something useful.

That's if it's a reasonably good job of course. Some jobs may actually be counter-productive you know, or harmful. But there must be a lot of good jobs out there. And all I need are one or two of them.

What can I do, you ask. Well, most anything, I reply. I don't know. I did a lot of things in the past. Just give me something to do and I reckon I can do it.

2008-01-03T13:16:00.000-08:00

It's time to start using this blogger again. I have been focusing mainly on my web sites at WaveOfThe Sea and OmSong.

I hope that everyone has a great New Year 2008.

Serious Rain--Almost

2007-07-26T17:31:00.001-07:00

Temp down to 80 degrees. We got enough rain to fill up the pond next to
the stupa. I started building the stupa up a little higher, which I do
when it rains, then decided that I have higher priorities, though
playing in the mud is fun. I routed a couple of run-off areas, but by
then the rain was ending. It tried to turn to hail briefly but now it
is stopped. We will see if it starts again. I did wade in the pond a
little, not quite up to my knees. Now I know how they must feel in
India when the monsoons arrive. A quick drop in temp from over 100 to
80. It feels nice and cool now, alright. Last week it was up to 112. I
think it was higher before I bought a thermometer and started
monitoring. It was maybe close to 120 a couple weeks ago.

We had a very nice Babaji service last night. It is great how the room can be permeated with His presence--sometimes we forget.

Rain

2007-07-26T17:30:00.001-07:00

Wahoo!

It's raining here! The monsoons have
arrived. Well actually, it maybe will last just a few minutes but it
seems to be about the most rain we've had in two years. The ground is
completely wet, and the temp has suddenly dropped down to about 90
degrees.

Everything from nothing?

2007-07-23T13:42:00.001-07:00

The big bang went kablooeey! From out of nothing came everything! Yeah, right. Conservation of energy is like my Aunt Martha’s preserves—they only last until the mold takes over, or till the cows come home, whichever happens first. But then Martha used wax to seal her jars. Some of yesterday’s great science figures are preserved or replicated in wax, even today. Have their theories become moldy too?

Did Descartes put the cart before the horse? If I think, wherefore am I? Did I think before my first thought? How thoughtful of me! It all boils down to thought, then? How do you know I am not just thinking you? How does Descartes know I have not thought him? Or outthought him. Is thought inner or outer? Where does it begin?

Can you get a something out of a nothing? If I close my eyes will it all just go away? It seems to, until I reopen them. It is different trying to navigate with blindfolds on. If I stuff cotton in my ears, what does that do to my world? Sans eyes, sans ears, sans touch! Where would I be then? Touch is the big one then, in a way. Without feeling, man is cold indeed. And also, where would I be without my television news? Lost perchance. The sense instruments and their accessories seem to form our world into what it seems to be.

I'm Back

2006-06-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

What is a blog, is a blog, is a blog?

I have another computer and am hoping to get back into writing and publishing some more. I will try to publish some more photos, especially of the meditaion cave and adobe chapel.

My Computer Has Been Down

2005-11-20T05:59:00.000-08:00

My computer has been down, or in various stages of being repaired, for almost two weeks. I can currently access the Internet but am not able to publish to my Web Site at www.waveofthesea.com.
Today was a big day because I got my printer working again. I don't yet know how to solve the problem of making changes to the web site. Maybe I will have to reformat my hard drive.
This problem has essentially brought my writing and editing projects to a halt. A quick fix would be nice but so far it has been a long and arduous process to figure out how to get my system working again.

Love & Service: August 2005

2005-11-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

All my posts after August can be found on my website.

2005-08-19T08:04:00.001-07:00

Inside the studio. The door is very primitive. The other doors I have are two narrow.

2005-08-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

The studio and the trailer.

2005-08-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

The trailer from the SE. The wheel has been removed and the trailer has been put on blocks for leveling.

2005-08-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

The backyard looking to the NE.

2005-08-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

The backyard with the buildings that were here when I came a year ago, plus a lot of lumber lying around. The layout of boards in the foreground was the beginning of a slip form for a concrete building.

2005-08-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

The windmill graveyard. The large windmill in the front, called a jumbo windmill, still works, even though the plastic on the sails has long since blown off. It orients itself to the wind direction and the sails turn on a horizontal axis.

2005-08-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

The top part of the form for the tunnel structure.

2005-08-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

The compost box, in case you were interested.

2005-08-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

The ruins of the tunnel structure, blown over in a windstorm. I dragged it all off to one side.

2005-08-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

The adobe chapel in the foreground with the trailer and studio in the background. Work on the adobe chapel was begun (and abandoned) last fall. It was really fun work but was just taking forever. Also there was some uncertainty about the workability of the design. Sometimes I tell people that it has been there for hundreds of years. It is hard to tell with dirt, how old a structure is. It has survived remarkably well through many rain storms. The most damage was actually done to it by a snowfall last November. The snow remained on it for a while, and kind of softened it up, allowing the edges to slough off.

2005-08-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

The house, camper, & studio from the SW.

2005-08-19T07:47:00.001-07:00

The house from the south.

2005-08-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

The house and other buildings from the SE.

2005-08-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

Studio from the SW. I have plywood and boards leaning against walls everywhere. The door and window on the studio are from the Ox Yoke Retreat shed that we tore down a few months ago, after erecting a new metal shed there.

2005-08-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

Camper, studio, and trailer from the back porch of the house.

2005-08-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

The studio from the NE. The window is in. You open the window by lifting it up from the bottom on the inside and hooking it on a chain. I banged my head on it the other day and the window slammed shut, breaking the glass. This occurred while I was talking on the phone, trying to do some caulking with one hand. I taped it back together (the glass, not my head) after picking up the pieces from the ground outside. In the foreground are some panels from the marine base. I took a number of these apart to get the OSB to sheath the studio walls. OSB means oriented strand board, made from wood chips. Some of the walls also have plywood and the roof is plywood. Most of the lumber is from the Marine Base. Some of the 2"x4"s are from the Ox-Yoke Retreat. The cabinet to the left of the window is from the Marine Base.

2005-08-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

The inside of the trailer. I have done some gutting of the inside. I will need to find doors and window somewhere.

2005-08-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

Tada! This is the triler from the north end. You can see the trailer hitch at the bottom. The asking price was $200 but I got it for $50, since I towed it myself with my mini-van. Supposedly it is around 1938 vintage. The large opening is where it was attached to a shed or something. It will require considerable repairs.

2005-08-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the house seen pas the water tank, trailer, creosote bush, studio, and form for the tunnel.

2005-08-19T07:23:00.000-07:00

This is the studio from the NW. The sun has just risen.

Link to Web Site

2005-08-15T23:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to my main web site, Wave Of The Sea

Photos of House & Property

2005-08-15T23:15:00.000-07:00

Below are some photos of the house and property as it was last fall, 2004. I will take more photos of how it looks now, with the yard all full of lumber and new projects. I gave up on gardening. We have our water hauled in here and I was reluctant to use much of it on the garden. Also we had snow last year and some things froze. The main problem was the critters. They ate everything in site. We did eat lettuce, radishes, and turnips. I will wait until I get a better water supply.

2005-08-15T23:09:00.000-07:00

View of veggie gardens, 2004.

2005-08-15T23:08:00.000-07:00

View of house from NW--2004.

2005-08-15T23:07:00.001-07:00

West side of house showing carport.

2005-08-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

Back yard 2004 showing veggie garden to the left and new veggie garden center. Both have since dried up and been eaten by critters.

2005-08-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

Back yard 2004. Camper, studio, and trailer are now to the right of the rock pile.

2005-08-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

Front view of house--2004

Bathroom Experiments

2005-08-10T22:45:00.000-07:00

I tried making a tunnel-shaped building using a form that I plastered concrete on top of. Before I was done plastering I decided instead to make a regular wall-form that I would pour concrete into. There was a big storm and what I had done on the tunnel project blew down. So today I started making forms for a poured concrete building. I will take some photos soon to catch up on everything that has been going on.

A Trailer

2005-07-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

I bought a trailer for $50. It is about 20 feet long and 7 1/2 feet wide. Apparently it was built in the 1930's. It is gutted--no doors or windows--and is in pretty bad shape. But it can be fixed up and used for accomodation or storage. I towed it here with my mini-van. Meanwhile I am getting ready to put the asphalt rolled roofing on the studio/shed. The pump for the house water system went out for two days but I got it repaired now and we have running water again. We had a couple of storms with lots of rain dropped in a short time, thunder and lighting, the yard like a river. The power was out for several hours one night. Back to kerosene lamp for a bit.

Shed in Back Yard

2005-07-08T05:18:00.000-07:00

A 10' by 12' shed in the back yard. Foundation made from adobe and a thin layer of concrete. Walls and roof made from 2 x 4's mostly scrounged from the local marine base. Still in progress.

2005-01-12T01:14:00.000-08:00

Stormy Weather & a Pond

2005-01-12T01:08:00.000-08:00

It has been unusually stormy in California the last few days. But here inthe desert it has not been too bad. We have had a lot of rain, for the desert. I decided to capture some of the water so I built a small pond. It only took me 20 minutes or so. That is a nice fast project. The next morning it filled up with rain water, so now I want to make a bigger pond. It would be neat to have a pond big enough to keep some water in all year long.

2005-01-12T00:52:00.000-08:00

This is me--January, 1995

Walking/Universe/Giant computer hook-up

2005-01-10T03:50:00.000-08:00

This is my second time writing a blog. I started it I think yesterday. I hope it will be good for developing and sharing ideas. I just somehow lost what I typed earlier so I am re-creating it.

Walking
We left the light on in the back yard earlier and I went for a walk along the highway, maybe an eighth of a mile to the east, then about the same to the west. Our house went from being anonymous and invisible to visible and apparent. I could see things in the backyard such as the windmill and the sawhorse on the worktable. Then I walked across the field to the north. At first I was casting giant shadows in front of me. They gradually subsided. I looked back at our house. Our light was still the brightest thing around, brighter than any of the neighbors, brighter than any of the lights from the town or the distant marine base.

Universe
I thought about how when we look out into the sky we see only things that are illuminated. Our house was invisible until a light was turned on. Think of all the things in the universe that may be there but which we do not see because they have no illumination. And beyond the visible light, who is to say that there is not more? And what countless other universes may not exist in some other dimension beyond our ken. We are aware of this one and presume it is all there is.

Giant Computer Hook-Up
Scientists are always coming up with theories and then trying to test them to see if they hold water. Well what about this one? Maybe we (or I) are sort of like brains wired up in some laboratory, and are receiving all this data about the supposed universe from some advanced computer. How do we know the real nature of our existence? The computer data has been consistent with itself so far but there are always anomalies and unknowns. Is there a way to cognize the nature of this computer hook-up? The anomalies of life and death would seem to be provocation enough to explore this mystery.

First Notes

2005-01-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

I just started this blog (Web Log) on Google. I want to see if it will work well for posting and sharing my thoughts and ideas.