Self Destructive Measurement

March 31, 2010 under Uncategorized

Call it quantum, if you like.

Back when I measured my week’s worth of time, I kept a little notebook in my pocket. Coil notebooks are handy – if you have a short little pencil stub it fits nicely within the coil .

Having pencil and paper everywhere is a good thing.

I doubt I filled more than a doublesided sheet per day. It wasn’t a lot of writing. But it was a fair amount of typing up. About an hour of my day was hijacked by measurement overhead.

This is self destructive, intrusive, measurement; measuring my day in some way altered it. The measurements were corrupted by the act of measuring.

So my time measurements were flawed; this highlights a bigger problem.

Time is a relatively poor approximation of what I really wanted to measure that week.

A far better indicator would have been thought. I would love to have a breakdown of my thought-space for a week. My physical activity is some indicator of where my life is spent, but where my mind wanders is a far more truthful reflection of where I am at a given moment.

The problem, is that if measuring physical activity is marginally self-destructive, attempting to measure thought is far, far worse.

Even measuring my physical activities encroached severely on my thinking; I can’t imagine what trying to track my thinking would do.

Chances are, I can’t do it. Chances are, that’s a good thing, because it smacks a trifle obsessive to me.

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Is time friendly?

March 29, 2010 under Uncategorized

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. — Ephesians 5:15-16 (NIV)

May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant unto you pardon and remission of all your sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit. — Order of Compline

I’ve always had a neutral view of time; I’ve never thought it either malicious or compassionate.  I remember reading that passage in Ephesians and being taken aback. I was shocked; I had never heard someone call the days evil.

Time is of course, measured only by events – by those things which we put inside it. A unit of time is the motion of a planet; inside a watch, it is an oscillation of a quartz crystal.

A good day is a day that we stock with good activities; an evil day must then be one stocked with evil things.

A while back, I obsessively logged my time for a week straight, tracking my activities at 15 minute intervals. I wanted some sense of where my time was spent; I wanted some sense of where my life was being spent. Was it good or evil?

In Compline (nightly prayers), the prayer is for more time; and the particular nature of this time is that it is filled with amendment of life.

If Ephesians is warning us that the world is filling its days such that they are evil, Compline is reminding us that it is *our* role to fill them with something of a different nature entirely.

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Proverbs 4:23

March 29, 2010 under theology

NRSV: Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Good News Bible: Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.

NIV: Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

KJV: Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

New Living: Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.

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Nothing is immune to change

March 24, 2010 under tongueincheek

I even dug some out of my couch the other day!

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Making decisions

March 24, 2010 under personalinthepubliceye

Blogging has been sparse lately.

During the week that I logged my time, I blogged every day. It wasn’t any more difficult of a week that this week, but I managed to find time to fill out the log and post it.

Really, it came down to a decision. I remember feeling tired and wanting to go to bed and all that; I remember saying, “No, I have to do this.” And I did it.

It really struck me – I have time to blog every night. The time is there if I choose to take it. I’m not too busy; I’m not too tired. I’m choosing not to.

That’s not necessarily a good or a bad thing; it’s just a thing. But it’s a scary thought, because the excuses I was holding up as valid and reasonable are crutches; they’re false excuses. What else am I excusing myself from with false excuses?

Hmm.

Good Night and God Bless.

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Legistics

March 18, 2010 under tongueincheek

My chances of being invited to parties have just tanked.

I’ve discovered Legistics.

When you think about the fight for clarity and the disambiguation of language, the legal folks are truly champions of the cause.

I’m off to fight the good fight of avoiding the usage of “comprise” (use “composed of” or “consists of”) and “notwithstanding” (use the commonly used ‘despite’) in my everyday communications.

Despite the high and lofty impression left by a text composed of high-falutin’ words.

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Church Abuse in Ireland – Scandal and Coverup

March 17, 2010 under theology

Depressing news here.

I can’t help but wonder if Jesus’ teaching on divorce applies here. He cites hardness of heart as the basis for a concession.

When human limitation reduces what would otherwise be a good and right situation to one that is abusive and untenable, it’s time for a step back.

Maybe a vow of celibacy is a good and right thing. But if you can’t keep it you shouldn’t make it. And maybe you need to take a reasonable look at things and understand when it’s time to step away. If the fruit coming from a situation is desperately wrong, the solution is rarely as simple as, ‘try harder’.

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What is a machine?

March 14, 2010 under Uncategorized

I don’t know, I don’t particularly care.

But I have friends who are happy to argue for hours about it. The instigator was a poor innocent kettle that waltzed the discussion through mechanics, thermodynamics, wedges and tympanic membranes.

I admit to my own role in the drama.

I’m posting this for the innocents. Don’t argue over pointless things. I want my two hours back.

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I’m not dead

March 8, 2010 under curios, thehumancondition

I just lack the motivation and the time to post.

So here’s a link -

a fascinating article for those who like to think about the quirks and foibles of humanity.

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Character

March 3, 2010 under Uncategorized

Fabio Capello is a man who knows what he’s talking about.

Current manager of England’s national football team, he’s won titles with Real Madrid, Juventus, Roma and Milan – and the Champions League to boot.

When England wanted the man to fix their woes… they called Fabio Capello.

So far, he’s delivered the goods, and he’s done it by making them all sit down at the dinner table together.

His take on the England squad?

They have too much money.

Apparently it does young men no good to have too much money.

There’s a modern “hands off my life” mentality that says, “As long as I satisfy my obligations to you, you have no right to comment on my character. (Perhaps it’s not a modern mentality, maybe it’s always been around). From this perspective, it makes no sense for a football coach to be commenting on a player’s wealth.

But character doesn’t work like that. Character underlies everything we do.

It’s impossible for a football coach to not be concerned with character and the money that is ruining his players’ lives.

That is, if he wants a winning team.

Cheers, Fabio!