Month: April 2026

April 3, 2026 – Surprised By Joy, Chapters 6-10

April 3, 2026 /

I certainly can appreciate that C.S. Lewis is a famous and respected mind in the field of Christian thought. I also admire his desire to take on the philosophical debate about the existence of God. Talk about using your power for greater purposes. But, I have to say, the more I read this book the more that I am ready to move on. If I was not doing this series, I probably would quit the book. That is not somethings I never say.

I went to grade school in the 1980s. When we had some sort of media day, we looked forward to it with great zeal. Remember screens only came into the classroom a couple times a year. I remember that in fourth grade we were watching a rented VHS video. It was something about a boy and a seal. We got about ten minutes into the movie and the kid cussed a couple of times. I think he said something like ‘shit’. The teacher immediately turned the movie off and media day was over.

It made no difference how disappointed we were, movie time was over. The teacher deemed the whole thing unworthy because of a couple of bad words. I am not going to say that I would have made a different decision if I was the teacher. But, I am here to say that I had heard swear words before. It was the loss of what could have been that was more significant.

There is some bad stuff in this book. I am not necessarily ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater, C.S. Lewis that is. However, I what I am learning is that I am getting to the point that I don’t really care. I find myself drifting off while reading because I am not following all of the technical details. Before I started reading this book, I was expecting that there was going to be some kind of epiphany or Devine moment that we could all benefit from.

I applaud Lewis for being candid. I can understand that any victim of sexual assault would turn away from God. School sounds a lot like what I imagine prison to be like. A rigid hierarchy of status and expectations followed by a lifestyle of debauchery. Things are starting to change and we have to take Lewis at face value but it seems like getting lost in fictional la la land is not something I would prescribe to fix his situation.

Part of my attitude relates to my complete and utter inability to relate to the situation. Early on in the book, there was references to literature that either I read or at least was aware of. As the book goes on, those touch points become more frequent and more obscure. Lewis switches context between fantasy and reality using characters and plot lines that make it very difficult to follow.

On top of fading in and out of reality, there is this school hierarchy affectionately called ‘fagging’. I am aware that there are alternate definitions of the word fag but I can certainly see where today’s most common connotation has it’s origin. It is absolute adherence to to the made (typically older) boy having other’s as subservient, regardless of the ask or outcome. Today we would most likely equate fagging to slavery.

The concept is also distinctly un-American. In a culture where we all believe that the opportunity to pull up our own bootstraps is valued, having servants or slaves or at least not having our own autonomy is not relatable. I realize that this is a simplification of the situation, I also understand that this is an argument to be against the idea that God is Good. For that reason, I can see why Lewis continues in the path that he has been travelling.

Things have to change or at least I am hoping so. That is about the only hope left I have in this book. We can start to see that Lewis platonic relationship with the neighbor Arthur is leading in a more positive direction with an emphasis on more and more esoteric book titles. I say that because I have heard of a lot of them but I have no idea what the plot line is about so more fantasy time.

End Your Programming Routine: I would have to say that in the book to date, it is a wonder that Lewis came back to Christianity at all. Today, we are ultra sensitive to mental health as well as equality. I suspect that in those days, if you weren’t born into privilege then your social position was pretty static. In some ways, accepting that position is far healthier than wishing you were somewhere else and everything being someone else’s fault. We will have to stay tuned to next week for that big event.

April 2, 2026 – I Miss ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

April 2, 2026 /

Thursday’s are those days in the week where the eye and the mind start to turn toward the weekend. If you have plans and are a planner like me then those are often the evenings where you are doing the prep so that you can take action as soon as you are off the clock. For instance, if we are leaving for the beach Friday evening you can bet that the goal is to head out as soon as my workday is done. The only way that can happen is if I am ready to step out the door.

Tacticool Thursdays was a cheap and easy way for me to plan my week. It fit into my interest range and I always thought that it would become a business expense. It was the election of 2022 and the passing of Measure 114 that really prompted me to stop doing Tacticool Thursday. I don’t want to be taking pictures of all my stuff and writing about things that were soon to become contraband. That is just not smart.

That is what is called Operational Security or OpSec in the Tacticool world. It certainly doesn’t fit into my ‘gray man’ philosophy. The truth is that I shouldn’t even be writing about this now. It just peels off a scab that is almost healed. The fact remains that I miss doing the segment. I imagine it is what being ‘in the closet’ would feel like. There is a whole world that I don’t dare bring up for fear of the potential consequences.

Thursdays have become much more of a catch all day. It used to be that I would think of things and then wait until they fit into the right day of the sequence. Now it is more like I am writing about whatever comes to mind. That way of working makes it more difficult to plan and execute. I do still try to keep Thursdays focused on recreation however.

For that reason, I am going to talk about fishing again. It is socially acceptable and currently a re-found passion. You might even say that I have kind of gone of the deep end a little bit. I think back to when I was a kid and I had a fishing pole. I didn’t care what type of reel it had or what kind of line was on it. It didn’t matter if it was a casting pole or a spinning pole and the reel type matched to the pole type. More so, the line was within the acceptable specs for the pole.

I don’t know if you have ever taken a charter fishing trip. I am speaking specifically about the ones that you pay and show up. The last one I took, I was looking at the gear that they used and it was all remarkably simple. They were using an Ugly Stick pole with the reel that came with it. The tackle rigged on the pole was rubber jig that we called ‘hootchies’. All hootchies were the same color. That is it.

Was it a salt water pole and reel? Probably not. It was the cheapest option to get things going since it was almost as likely to get lost overboard as it was to catch a fish. I include myself in this conversation because I think that sometimes the details actually get in the way of objective.

This reminds me of a time when I used to work as a chemist. I remember a peer of mine getting a technical service call. The basics of the question were ‘What are the recommended ratios of mixing A and B’? The answer was none because those two items are technically incompatible. We as the experts knew the composition of each as well as the reasoning behind that but it was not public knowledge. Since the caller did not know there was no stopping them.

The right answer is that there are reasons, good ones at that for following guidelines. That however doesn’t mean that things can’t be done, it simply means that there could be consequences for doing things that are not recommended. Maybe those consequences turn out to be less than ideal, long term performance. In the case of fishing, maybe you cannot cast as far or impart the desired action on a lure. But what it does not mean is that you cannot catch a fish. Isn’t that the point?

End Your Programming Routine: I didn’t even talk about the picture. This is my new casting rod. There is a lot of semi-cryptic statements on it. The line should be 8-17 lb test, lures should be 1/4 – 3/4 oz weight. Once you open the package and throw it away, how do you know the lure weight? What if you are trolling or jigging does the reel type actually matter? Guidelines are important when it comes to getting expected results for sure, I am just not sure that it matters that much to the fish.

April 1, 2026 – No Foolin’, It’s Good To Have Box Seats

April 1, 2026 /

Last weekend I went to a baseball game with my Dad. It happened to be a college baseball game with a perennial national contender. The weather was nice, the teams were good and I was looking forward to it. As the OSU team stays chronically good, so does the access. The games are on radio and TV and they get first billing on the local sports report.

Growing up, we had a neighbor whose name is Frank. Frank owned a regional construction company. When I say regional, I mean throughout the western United States, not just doing work but established quarries, trucks, facilities, staff, etc. Frank also happened to go to our church. Even though Frank was our neighbor and went to our church, his kids were four or so years ahead of me and so we were kind of out of cycle. It was a situation where we knew of each other but didn’t necessarily interact routinely.

It has been probably been twenty years now but Frank decided that he was old enough to retire. I am not sure exactly what age that was nor am I exactly sure what in to the decision on how to disposition the company. From what I know, the construction company was started by Frank’s father. Given that I know he has kids, I am guessing that they did not have any interest or possibly ability to run a large regional corporation.

Regardless of the motivations and reasons, the construction company was sold. Frank went immediately into politics and performed a couple of terms as a state senator. I haven’t asked personally, but I assume that he realized it was pretty fruitless to try to accomplish anything in that venue and so then he really retired.

I have already stated that we had some connection. The truth is, I didn’t know him well and neither really did my parents. As us kids moved away from the house and the dynamics in the family home changed, my parents started to get closer, particularly my dad. It was more like a friend of a friend situation. Some church members that were close to my parents were also close with Frank and so that relationship developed. More on this in a bit.

When I was considering career change from chemistry to computer software, I had interview. I remember sitting at a large conference table speaking with a middle aged man. Through the door walked one of the tallest people I had ever seen. He introduced himself as Bill. I hired on and continued to marvel at how tall Bill was.

After working there a few months, another new co-worker was talking about Bill and OSU basketball. It all clicked for me Bill was a basketball legend. He played one year with Gary Payton one of the most successful alums of all time, not to mention an NBA great. And, the year Gary played Bill was the team leading scorer. I was working for one of OSU’s best athletes.

While I worked there, I found that Bill was a patron of the OSU sports teams. The basketball program was not great and there were often eight tickets sitting on the table for tonight’s game. Bill and his co-owner got into football. They had a premium tailgating spot right next to the stadium. I would go to a game or two and so I would stop by and say hi on my way into the stadium.

It has been a number of years now that I have worked at that company. Bill sold out and bought a house in Palm Springs as well as a really nice fishing boat. I am sure that we would recognize each other but I really haven’t seen him in years. I of course deep sixed my position and then went on to work at other competitors after a couple year hiatus.

It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I came to know how Frank has left his mark on OSU. My Dad periodically got some basketball tickets from Frank and these were among some of the best seats in the house. The were mid-court, a couple of rows up and behind the bench. So, you could see all of the action. It was actually the parking that signaled to me the significance of the situation. We were parking against the basketball arena, right next to the entrance door.

After a couple of experiences where I attended games under other circumstances, I couldn’t find a parking spot. I was late to the game and when I did, I had to wait over an hour to get out of the parking lot on a school/work night did I come to know how premium the parking was. Walking into the box to watch a baseball game I looked at the plaque to see the donor’s list and sure enough Frank’s name was near the top. I knew that this was someone that has invested heavily into various athletic programs.

End Your Programming Routine: This isn’t a story of jealousy, clearly I have been a benefactor of Frank’s generosity. I have no idea how much that construction company was sold for but it was a pretty penny. It was enough to get season tickets to every major sport for twenty years, premium parking and still more to build a luxury box and still have plenty left over. I know that Frank is a faithful man, I also know that he inherited some fortunate circumstances. I would even go as far as to say more fortunate than a gifted athlete. I enjoyed the game and we won 19-2.