Sometimes with guys, everything is a competition. I remember competing with my Dad to see who could stuff the most muffin into his mouth. In the parking lot after going out to eat, we’d race to the car, we’d race to the house, we’d do pushups, play racquetball, and generally try to beat each other at whatever activity presented itself. So it was that we found ourselves taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (FPU) class, and another competition was born.
Category: Bryan’s Blog
Personal thoughts from Bryan.
The Terror of Tribalism
Some people swear that Linux is the best computer operating system, others will only using Microsoft or Apple products. Some people grew up in the Northeast, and Tom Brady can do no wrong. Some people support their nation’s wars because that’s where they were born. Some people’s religion tells them that god hates homosexuals …
Humans join together in groups. It’s a throwback to our early days, when it was important to band together for protection and to compete for scarce resources. It’s called tribalism and it can be very dangerous. Tribalism tends to shut down our ability to reason, and elicits emotional responses based on nothing more than the tribe affiliation. We have to strive against this base instinct and recognize the Truth that Jesus taught. We are all part of the tribe of humanity.
The Family Picture
I assume most families have this tradition. Once every few years everyone gets together over the summer or over the holidays, and someone decides it would be a good time to get a picture. That held true for my mom’s family, who would usually congregate down in Jacksonville FL at Mema’s (my mom’s mom) house. Mom has two sisters, and of course, the three of them and Mema, had some particular ideas about how the family picture would go down. Continue reading The Family Picture
O Club
When Dad was in the Navy it was a man’s world. It was before the Tailhook scandal. It was widely understood that the military was filled with boys and that boys would be boys. Dad was different. Other than laughing at fart jokes, he had left boyhood behind. He was a gentleman in the old-fashioned sense. He treated women with respect. He believed in avoiding sin and avoiding temptation, and he lived those convictions in his life, whether at home or on the job. Sometimes that was easier said than done. Continue reading O Club
A Trip Down Memory Lane aka Route 165
Sometimes I pick up Ava from school after work. It’s a bit of a drive, and I usually leave around 4pm, so I have to deal with traffic. I like to use Google maps to help me route around traffic and on this particular afternoon it was taking me in a new direction. I’m glad it did. Continue reading A Trip Down Memory Lane aka Route 165
Wage Labor
We are homeschooling our youngest, Davin, and he is watching the Crash Course educational videos on Youtube. I’ve watched some of them with him. We watched an economics lesson a few days ago and they talked about how industrialization and capitalism led to an economy based on wage labor. This is how most of us work today. We exchange our services for a wage. Socialists decry the hierarchical structure and argue that wage laborers are little better than slaves. Capitalists argue that it is a voluntary exchange and is a normal part of a market economy. There is a 3rd argument from the libertarian, anarchist perspective that I find interesting.
Continue reading Wage Labor
Let’s Go Fly a Kite
January 10th. 68 degrees, sunny, and windy. I’m watching a sub-zero NFL playoff game and I hear the wind rushing through the trees outside. I think about the kite I recently noticed in the back of the garage and inspiration hits, “Hey, let’s go outside!” I shout. It creates a moment of confusion as everyone looks up from their electronic devices.
There’s a pause and then Ava asks, “What do you want to do outside?”
My response is simple, but filled with childlike exuberance, “Play!”
It takes some badgering but we finally get the kids outside. We take out the old kite, and with some strategically placed duct tape, get it aloft. The tail is tattered. The cross piece is too short and obviously belongs to something else, but it still flies happily against the wind, diving and swooping with a mind of its own. As we let out more and more string, the slack in the line causes the kite to flutter and fall. That reminds me of the children’s story about the curious kite who decides that he would be better off without the string holding him down. Continue reading Let’s Go Fly a Kite
Star Wars The Force Awakens
The new Star Wars movie has a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and a solid 81 on Metacritic. I’d give it a 7 or so. It’s a fun movie. It does all the things that Star Wars does, and it does them right. The score, the battle between good and evil, the comedic relief, the sci-fi adventure, the mystery. It is all well done and professional in a way that George Lucas doesn’t seem to know how to do anymore. That being said, JJ Abrams didn’t take any risks. This is essentially a remake of A New Hope. Every character in the original Star Wars has a corresponding character in The Force Awakens, and most of the scenes have corresponding scenes.
It is a really good movie. It does exactly what it needs to do. JJ Abrams put Star Wars back on track. Daisy Ridley was great. The stage is set for a true rebirth of the franchise. I truly appreciate The Force Awakens and I’m going to go see it again in IMAX, but I don’t put it on my top 10 movie list. To be truly great a movie has to do something brand new, and SWTFA doesn’t do that. Still, I’m thrilled with the direction of the story and as long as Episode 8 isn’t a remake of The Empire Strikes Back, I’m happy.
Save Us, Oh Queen Bee
It’s those moments, when your adrenaline really gets pumping, that stay with you forever. In college my brothers and I formed a band, Pops Body Shop. We had a blast, and Mom and Dad were both very supportive. They went to every concert. Dad helped unload and load the gear. They’d help with expenses. Dad would also help drive the van when we were on the road. It was their full sized Ford, and we’d tow a trailer behind us with our gear in it. One weekend we had a concert in West Virginia. It was a longer drive than most concerts, so Mom didn’t go. We finished late on Saturday night and then headed straight for home.
Matilda
She was a day old when we got her and we had her for 3 and a half years. She was the cutest and fluffiest little chick. She was a Black Australorp, and because of her Australian heritage Jaron named her Matilda. She escaped from the coop while we were out of town for a day and was killed by a predator on Saturday, September 19th, 2015. We think it was a hawk.
