Voluntary Peace

Posted on December 18, 2010 by ehurst

It’s the time of year, when a frequent catchphrase is “Peace on Earth.” A primary message symbolized in the Nativity narrative is that peace. Not simply a cessation of hostility among humans, but an absolution of God’s wrathful justice against human sin, and a means to healing human hostility.

That sin is not simply a matter of doing this or failing to do that. Those are mere symptoms. Even on the purely human level of things, we understand justice is rooted in a human commitment to equity. It is an equity not in outcomes, but in seeking a natural path, the best possible path, letting people follow their own inclinations so long as such following does not unnecessarily transgress someone else’s opportunities.

So we can explain it, but if we have to enforce it, we haven’t accomplished much. That’s because justice, and the resulting peace on earth, is a matter of voluntary self-enforcement.

Living as I do with a foot in two worlds, it’s not news to me we don’t have much voluntary compliance in this world. It’s bad enough on the individual level, but it really screams at us in the broader scope of human activity. That’s because when humans are conscious of banding together, it is often in the wrong spirit, the spirit of fear. Communal fear is not just the combination of fearful individuals, but an exponential magnification of fear. It becomes the excuse for horrific evil, all the worse because it’s called “good.”

When I wrote my fictional series on training peacemakers, Sanity Subversive, I pushed the idea peace can only come from within the individual. There is the sense it may well be futile, but that it was the only way at all. As much peace as we are going to have in this world will arise from the tiny select minority who find the call of peace too strong to ignore. The problem is, we have too little calling out to the slumbering spirit of peace in those who should have it. That is complicated further by too many of those feeling the call having such a poor understanding of what it means.

Because of that failure of clarity, we have a vast sea of useless, and even harmful, action in demanding peace. It is demanded as if there were some power capable of enforcing peace. That is simply and utterly contrary to what peace means. The only sort of peace possible with enforcement is killing everyone, since peace is not our natural inclination, even if it is a fundamental wish.

Frankly, there is a sense in which Peace on Earth is not possible. That is, impossible if we seek only the sort of peace which can be quantified and enforced. Simply stopping hostile action doesn’t mean peace, and it’s simply not going to last very long. Peace on Earth is an offer made, knowing precious few will actually look beyond the mere words, much less seek to accept the offer.

It won’t matter what your religion is; there is something fundamental about peace which appeals to a desire in all of us. A few of us will actually have a concept of peace which is big enough to warrant some commitment to making peace. We know, in that place inside where doubt cannot abide, peace is only what we make of it. Peace is our own, something no one can take away. When we hold it forth to another, we cannot compel acceptance, nor would we want that. We know it is rooted in the voluntary mutual reaching, touching each other’s existence with the same desire to erase hostility, to find a common ground. We want a negotiated live-and-let-live, not for itself, but as the means to opening things to that higher plane.

Peace.

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A Friend Gets Good Press

Posted on December 17, 2010 by ehurst

Let me celebrate for a moment here. A couple of days ago, Gordon Duff at Veterans Today featured Charles Carlson in one of their articles, and his project, We Hold These Truths. Even better, the article links to a series of Youtube videos which together offer Carlson’s DVD Christian Zionism. It was picked up by several other websites, and I’m thrilled Carlson got such exposure.

I became friends with Carlson a few years ago. We talked by phone a few times when it seemed I might be able to offer him some help with his website and email service. It wasn’t a good match, but I stay in touch and visit his website often. If you’ve read much at all on this blog, you know I don’t much support the idea of demonstrations and protests, but I have no quarrel with Carlson’s efforts to inform people the best way he knows how.

His message overlaps a lot of mine. We agree Zionism is a very evil force in our world today. We both understand all too well where it came from, and why so many Christians support it. At one time, we both were blinded by the popular Dispensational Theology, but God led us out of that slavery. Carlson’s emphasis is different from mine, but it’s the same basic stance. My own teaching deflates Dispensationalism, but I address it more often on my other blog. Duff is a Muslim, and Carlson is friendly with Muslims, and I don’t much care for some of their entanglement there. Not from hostility to Islam, but it carries it’s own excess baggage. I take strong exception to Duff’s view of Islam as a reform movement for Judaism, but I don’t feel the urge to make much of that, except to note it indicates a bias which does affect his writing in lots of ways.

But we can all agree Israel and Zionism is easily the primary problem with our human existence in this world today. We agree God is not glorified by Zionism, nor by Christians supporting it. This problem looms so very large, our differences recede into insignificance. If those men asked my help in any way, I’d gladly contribute what I could. I’m frankly disappointed I was unable to do Charles much good with his ministry at WHTT, but I’m still ready to help. I would have hitchhiked from Oklahoma to Arizona, and slept on the ground outside the building, if it would have put me in a position to help. I’d do the same for Duff and anyone else working to point out the biggest, most obvious lie to the world world. I’m not interested in any particular action against Israel, but I’d love to see the US and other countries stop giving them so much support, particularly at the cost of neglecting their own people. This pernicious beast has hijacked the whole world, and very honestly I tell you: Were it not for Israel and Zionism, the world would be very boringly quiet and peaceful by comparison. It would hardly end all wars and sorrow, but this one particular evil seems to be the seed and fertilizer for most of what is wrong with this world today.

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Selective Control

Posted on December 16, 2010 by ehurst

This is not about computers, but relies on human interaction with computers as the primary example of seeking selective control.

Everyone wants convenience. That is, we want to avoid bothering with mechanisms, however necessary, which enable spending time doing what registers to us as important. Every bureaucracy is founded on the unspoken principle of reducing variations in the humans being processed through the system by refusing to acknowledge those variations. Managers imagine this makes things more efficient; there are X number of categories and acceptable responses listed with check boxes on the forms. Pick one. If none of them fit you, that’s your problem; pick one or be crushed. One man’s convenience is another man’s inhumanity.

Welcome to the hive culture. This was bluntly proposed as the good and right thing to do with the population of America a century ago, and today we live with the results of that philosophy. In Scripture this has been condemned, particularly in symbolic references to Rome. Indeed, the very foundation of Western Civilization is this very dehumanizing assertion of control. All of the East depended entirely upon the endless variation in human character, but the West made it illegal.

I have just spent a week running Windows 7 on my laptop. The hardware never worked better. It was pretty fast and light, and everything was convenient. That is, everything except my needs. I’m not going to say it’s evil by intent, but it was uncomfortable for me. During the whole week I tried to embrace what was possible, explored numerous avenues making sure I hadn’t left out some optional choice. It was usable, but I didn’t have control over the things which mattered most to me. Quirky I am, but I have a work flow, a set of habits and assumptions based on what I need to control. The reason for that control arises from my sense of calling and character. I’m sure there are plenty of self-deceptions, but I am at least trying to understand the fellow in the mirror, and I am not comfortable just taking what the corporate bureaucracy of Redmond and partners want to offer.

The details won’t matter to you. The point is, it wasn’t “home.” I’ve held residency in more than a hundred structures in my life, but few of them were actually home for me. The factors varied, but if I had to compromise on what really mattered most in life to me, it can’t be home. So it is with computer operating systems and the software running on them. It’s not really about the collection of choices, but whether those choices help or hinder my pursuit of that burning sense of mission. I have “Microsoft” stamped on my keyboard, but not on any of my software, so it’s not about whether I see Microsoft as evil incarnate. It’s not a boycott fired by some moral indignation. It’s a rejection of what I see as unnecessary constraints.

Do you really need a Microsoft OS? Hey, I know where you can get a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate for free. You like MS Office? I can get that, too; what version do you like? You name it — I can probably find it. And I really don’t care about copyright and intellectual property rights. It’s a matter of I don’t care for how that stuff works in the first place.

It only matters partially whether the likes of NSA has a back door to every Microsoft product. The problem there is the existence of a back door at all is a threat. It’s a threat to my choices, my control. I’ve already made the commitment to transparency, as one of the pillars of Christian Mysticism. Want to know about me? How much time to do you have? I’ll tell you all you want to know, and plenty you may not want to know. What I don’t want is for some miscreant to be able to change how my computer works without first discussing it with me. It’s not that Linux or BSD don’t have holes, but it’s how likely they are to be exploited, which is just about nil. If attacks start piling up against Linux and start succeeding, I’ll be moving to another OS.

That other OS will have to offer some of the same tools, though. There are two issues here. One: Can I get and keep sufficient control over interferences which are assumed the norm in this fallen world? I don’t have to understand all the elements, the nuts and bolts of security in computer code. What I need to know is just enough to evaluate how much time and effort will be siphoned off by threat management. In Linux, and more so with BSD, that’s not very demanding on me.

Two: Can I get and keep sufficient control over the various tools so I can get some work done? I have an investment in habits. Could I have continued using the old Enable office suite on DOS and meet the needs of number one above, I would still be doing that. I had hundreds of keystrokes memorized, and what that software produces is still acceptable to me today. But the hardware ecosystem has long ago left Enable behind, so I’m forced to learn new stuff. The new stuff is not better, not faster, not more efficient in terms of what I need to do. It’s possible I can still get hardware which would run DOS, and software for numerous tasks, but I can’t imagine DOS being secure enough to take care of my needs. Not even the newest incarnations of FreeDOS and friends will work for me, though I admit I would be willing to play with it if I could find the right equipment.

It’s not simple nostalgia. It’s the collection of habits which were carefully considered and well tested, not layered on willy-nilly. I’ve gained some new ones, and they’ve all been carefully honed, as well. Those habits don’t migrate to Windows very well. Not just the habits of work, but the habits of which issues I want to confront. I don’t fear digging into Windows security details, nor am I too lazy. I keep track of it every day. But my experience and reading from others who love Windows has taught me it can’t be trusted. Indeed, that’s why I keep track of it in terms of my computer service ministry. As often as possible I encourage clients to switch to Linux, and some have. It sets them free, and I don’t spend as much time fixing their systems as I do helping them adapt. For those who can’t adapt, I do what I can to secure their system for the uses they make of their computers, for the habits they have, whether carefully considered on not.

They need control over the things which matter to them. I’m trying to manage selective control for folks and their computers.

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The Evils of Efficiency

Posted on December 15, 2010 by ehurst

People are the greatest treasure of great men.

A fundamental feature of most ancient civilizations was the supreme value placed on good servants. When one empire conquered another, only the titular rival was killed or imprisoned, along with anyone who resisted the take-over. The court officials and imperial staff were always kept on as the rich resource of those who really understood how to make the most of the domain’s resources. Yes, it meant allowing them to conduct a little intrigue for their personal benefit, but only outright spying against the new regime would be punished.

Business managers who have lived a long time have learned a 10% loss from waste and petty graft is the cost of doing business, and will not harass their employees over it. This plane of existence is irreparably broken, and there is a built-in ratio of friction when handling material goods and services. In the context of this life the numbers may vary, but corruption is not inherently harmful against the opposing force of enslavement. The best we can hope for includes some loss of efficiency, and demanding more is inhumane.

Without apology I clothe discussions of “the best we can hope for in this world” in terms of God’s Laws and the moral nature of Creation. It is not necessary to buy my parable to understand the truth. Balaam told Balak you can’t always get what you want. Balaam did not worship Jehovah (by any other name), but knew what He required, knew how things worked, because he was acquainted with the nature and power of the higher realms. While the Exodus narrative does not tell us, we learn later Balaam did give Balak something he could use against Israel, a way to get them in trouble with their own God. It involved tempting them to transgress the moral order of things.

The ancient world in which those men lived understood the necessity of valuing people, if not human life in general, over inanimate property. Our modern Western obsession with squeezing the last inhuman drop of efficiency from our contrived systems for material profit is the very thing which will destroy us. I taught Economics long enough to know the entire intellectual frame of reference is flawed, in that we naturally assume any economic decision which does not maximize the measurable economic efficiency is somehow wrong. Economic choices driven by non-material considerations are regarded as superstition, something less than the best wisdom of logical reasoning. Yet outside this brief flash of time we call Western Civilization, everyone else knew better than that. Those other civilizations were not primitive or ignorant; we are.

If all you have for your reference point is this plane of existence, you have nothing in the first place. When Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah, he wisely conscripted the best and brightest of Judean nobility for his own court staff. Daniel was not merely a prophet who occasionally got some useful secret whispers from God; he was incredibly wise and discerning. He lived on that higher plane, and his superiors knew it. When the Medo-Persian Empire managed to oust the Babylonian imperial family, they kept Daniel on staff. They knew a good servant when they saw one.

And down to the smallest petty nomad sheik of that region of the world, they always valued people over tangible assets. When Abraham defeated the Mesopotamian alliance and rescued the plunder and people of Sodom and Gomorrah, the rulers were content to simply have their people returned. The property could be replaced by people who knew the area and how to profit from the resources. Abraham could have neatly rescued only his relatives, or simply bartered for them. No one in that land would blame him. But Abraham lived on a higher plane, and even the wicked residents of the Dead Sea Pentapolis were people who deserved a chance to turn away from their evil until moral considerations from the higher plane said otherwise — God alone gets to choose such things. It was not as if the Sodomites were ignorant of the moral laws of this plane, because they knew people were more important than property.

The business of the 8th and 10th Commandments was not about property rights, but a matter of respect for other people and their prerogatives. In case you were wondering, the ancient Hebrews would snicker at the notion of intellectual property. God’s Laws reject the concept. The temporary advantage of the Philistines over Israel, keeping the secrets of iron-working at the beginning of the Iron Age, was regarded as unjust oppression. Even the business of owning real estate was in the context of “mine to use for some purposes,” not an absolute control with denial of passage and such. Those “NO TRESPASSING” signs are an offense to God. Such total ownership would be offensive, because it’s unfair to other humans, as God defines fairness.

Efficiency as commonly understood in our modern times is an offense to God, a rejection of His values. In other terms, it an offense against the moral order of this universe.

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On the Necessity of Fables and Myths

Posted on December 14, 2010 by ehurst

During my years working in public education, I was constantly faced with a segment of education professionals who insisted on promoting a sterile, pure “fact-based” education environment. It was not popular, yet for its harsh ideology, it’s presence remains strong. It remains simply because most of those who don’t share it don’t have a good response when defending cultural traditions. That, in turn, is because most of what they defend is indefensible.

It won’t matter what flavor it comes in, this intellectually sterile movement is the underlying assumption behind much evil we all recognize: fascism, communism, religious fundamentalism, and any other form of harsh control atmosphere which seeks to take away freedom.

The point here is we don’t understand very well the necessity of myth and fable in human development. Because of this, we have a very bad intellectual landscape in the West where we have allowed the most pernicious influences to construct our mythology, making it patently harmful. This merely feeds the fire, giving the controllers an excuse for trying to destroy the flavor of culture.

For example, here in the US, our fables regarding Santa Clause are entirely the result of materialistic marketing. The current imagery does draw on more noble mythology from European history, but it has become entirely the domain of junk sales pitching. It’s so bad, even the Christmas Story of Jesus is perverted as a sales pitch. Every holiday in the US is just another opportunity to make people feel obliged to spend money on junk which clogs the landfill the week after.

Fables and myths are the stepping stones to understanding reality. Surely we all recognize children learn by first grasping the widest generalities, and gradually refining until they reach a modicum of awareness of the finer points about the world around them. In the process, we make broad generalizations which are never quite accurate, but which form the foundation for gaining accuracy. It’s not that kids can’t handle truth; they’ll ask for it all too soon. It’s that we all need an imaginative flavoring to stimulate the interest and curiosity of the human mind.

The brain is designed to respond more strongly to narrative than any other identifiable form of input. Story-telling is the single greatest form of education over all other methods and frameworks put together. We know this instinctively, even when we have no idea how to make it work.

In the broader sense, then, mythology becomes “truth” because it is opens the pathway to reality. The ultimate truth of things cannot at all be put into clinical terms. It defies human language because it cannot be received in the intellect; it must be handled on another level. We use symbols and parables for the mind to become comfortable with what that higher faculty will suggest is necessary in our choices on this plane of existence. Parables are not lies, though in the sterile imagination of materialists, it would seem they are. Parables are necessary wrappers for truth.

The burden upon us is to build mythology and fables which properly open the door to truth. To this day I regret surrendering to the religious fundamentalists in robbing my children of some of the better fables of childhood. On the other hand, by no means do I regret trying to steer them away from what was merely popular, provided by Hollywood and Wall Street, much less the filthy trash from our lying government.

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Full-time Computer Ministry

Posted on December 13, 2010 by ehurst

I’ve decided now is the time to dive in all the way. For the past few years I’ve piddled and played at computer servicing as a hobby. The collection of articles I have here on computer topics should indicate how much time I put into it, but always with an eye to serving the (so far) small handful of folks who asked for my help. Now I’m devoting my time to making this more than a hobby.

Most of my effort will be in education and training. That is, while I can do some fixing on both hardware and software, my primary talent is helping other people make peace with their computers. I’ve set up a simple webpage to serve as the gateway for this effort. I posted an ad on Craigslist, and I’m looking into other ways to publicize my service to churches and non-profits in my area. This hinges on the character of my life: learning what I can, then teaching what I know to anyone willing to learn.

I’m not sure how it will affect what I post here, if at all. I suppose I’ll be offering more computer related stuff, but only if I don’t get some other bee in my bonnet. Thanks for taking the time to read this and supporting my effort.

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Brief Migration Guide to Ubuntu (Updated)

Posted on December 13, 2010 by ehurst

As promised, here is a brief sketch of what I recommend to Windows refugees who want to migrate to Linux.

Update: A better version of this guide can be found here.

The following assumes you are fairly competent already with computers, and not afraid to try something new. Your computer now runs Windows, and you want to migrate to Linux. For my clients, the primary reason has always been the high vulnerability of Windows to viruses within the context of how they user their system, along with any others who may share it with them. It’s not as if Linux can’t get viruses, but given the habits of most home users, it simply never does. These instructions also assume you aren’t using a really old system. Slower than 1.5Ghz for the CPU is not enough for the latest Ubuntu. You might consider contacting me about migrating to something a little older, but still supported. It will be more work, but you’ll enjoy it more.

Backup your important files, etc. Copy them to a CD or a memory stick.

Get a copy of Ubuntu Lucid 10.04 (LTS) Linux 32-bit. Go here; make sure you choose the 10.04 release. The following instructions may work for the latest release, but you are on your own. I recommend the LTS because it will be maintained at least until mid-2015. Also, in case you didn’t know it, your consumer-grade 64-bit system actually is run by a processor built on a 32-bit chassis with a few extensions added so it can handle 64-bit calls. If you have more than 3GB RAM, it won’t make any difference; Linux will still be able to use it in 32-bit mode, unlike Windows.

Drop the CD in and run. Test and see if it works with your hardware. Once the desktop appears, take a look at where everything is. Ignore notices about special hardware drivers for now. The menus are in the top bar at the left. Your “systray” items are on the top right. When you open any application or configuration window, it will be listed at the bottom. To the far bottom right you’ll see two squares. For now, you have two desktops. That means you don’t have to crowd all your open windows onto one desktop as with Windows. You have virtual desktops. Click one and then the other. Get used to the idea of them.

If you are satisfied it works okay, click the installation icon on the desktop. At some point it will ask you if you want to keep Windows. If you need to keep Windows, choose the option for shrinking the Windows partition and creating a new Linux partition. Otherwise, use the whole drive for Ubuntu. Answer the other questions.

Come up with a good password. You’ll need to use it a lot when making administrative changes to the system. I typically construct my passwords from favorite songs or sayings, then taking the first letter from each word, including the punctuation. Here’s an example:

Song title: “God is in Control” = Giictrl! or Gi1ctrl' or G1nctrl.

Some letters I’ll swap with numbers or symbols which are similar in some way. You’ll need at least 7 characters, and 9 is better, so if your favorite phrase is short, choose a whole word or abbreviation to add characters. The whole point is to remember it.

At some point you’ll be asked to reboot and remove the CD. Make sure the CD is removed from the tray. Reboot.

Once it reboots and desktop comes up, then add any special drivers (typically for ATI Radeon or nVidia). Make adjustments to the color scheme: System > Preferences > Appearance. Everything should be self-explanatory, except the fonts.

One of the biggest issues continues to be fonts and Linux. It can do much better than Windows on most hardware, including better than ClearType. But it’s not automatic. The fonts normally supplied by default are okay, but they aren’t as good as the ones with Windows, for the most part. You’ll be adding those later, but right now, the issue is getting them to display at their sharpest.

Every peculiar combination of hardware will offer its own challenges. The biggest problem comes from cheap video chipset (such as VIA Unichrome or SiS) and cheap LCDs. It takes up too much space to cover each possibility, but there are some general tricks you can use to make this work.

First, take full advantage of the desktop controls. In your Appearance widget, click the “Fonts” tab. I highly recommend you look at the samples and click the one which suits you best. Don’t feel like you have to take my advice; test them yourself and make changes as often as needed until it’s right for you. With most modern computers and LCDs, the choices are obvious. Go ahead and click that button marked “Details…” Even if you don’t have an LCD, most people prefer the Smoothing set to “Subpixel”, and Hinting at “Full”, and the default “RGB” color setting.

For most things, this will work for you. More advanced configuration requires skills you may not have yet. However, if you are determined to figure it out, see this page. While it covers an older version of Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala), aside from the bug mentioned, it’s all the same instructions for 10.04 (Lucid Lynx).

Now we need to add some essential packages. Go to package management in the menu: System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager. Use the quick search on the term “restricted”. It should offer, among other packages listed, “ubuntu-restricted-extras” — select this one by right-clicking on the tiny square to the left of the name. The context menu will allow you to pick “Mark for installation.” Click the “Apply” button in the top menu bar. Close Synaptic for now.

See this page and follow the instructions for adding Medibuntu to the list of package repositories from which Synaptic can draw. It’s a little complicated, but the hardest part is opening a terminal window, then doing the cut-n-pasted of that long command. Once you’ve done that, close the terminal window and open Synaptic again. Make sure to hit the “Reload” button to ensure it knows about the new package collection.

Now select some new packages using the search bar:

libdvdcss2
w32codecs
mplayer
gnome-mplayer
gecko-mediaplayer
cdda2wav
cdrdao
ttf-mscorefonts-installer

After you have marked them all for installation, hit the “Apply” button. You’ll be shown a list of extra goodies thrown in by default, but it really isn’t necessary to know all the details. Just tell it to proceed.

This will allow you to play most all media formats, particularly using Mplayer. Find it under Applications > Sound and Video > Mplayer. To make sure this becomes your default media player, go to System > Preferences > Preferred Applications. In the Multimedia tab hit the drop down box and choose Gnome-Mplayer. This links into Mplayer with a slightly different interface, but plays the same. This will play DVDs, movies, and music files.

For music CDs, you’ll prefer Rhythmbox to play them. To make copies of any CD, you should select Brasero. If you drop any CD in the tray, after a moment of checking, the system should pop open a window offering Rhythmbox or Brasero by default. Similar results should be for video DVDs with Gnome-Mplayer.

Most of the time, everything else will be pretty obvious. You can add more screensavers and a whole range of other goodies through the Synaptic package manager. It’s probably a good idea to ask someone with more experience what some of those obscure names and scant explanations represent in layman’s terms.

Play around with it and revisit the settings any time you aren’t happy with it. Change the desktop background, the desktop fonts, and get to know the system. If you have a few questions, first try running a web search, or you can ask me. If you have a lot of questions, it might be wise to join the Ubuntu discussion forums and post your questions there. It’s a really busy place, so it may take a day or two for some issues to be addressed. Welcome to Linux.

This will be posted on my permanent website, and is likely to be edited some as I correct minor details, add more ideas, etc.

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Truth, Compassion and Distrust in America

Posted on December 12, 2010 by ehurst

So the three pillars of Christian Mysticism make me a bad American, it appears.

I am committed to Truth, and I recognize no claim upon me by any human agency. This can get long and complicated, but the point is I don’t belong to this plane of existence. Since it does not own me, nothing here can own me. I cooperate as long is it does not conflict with the Truth.

I certainly have compassion for the people in this country. My commitment to them still rests upon my commitment to a higher power. I care enough to warn them they are wrong on most things, and I care enough to sacrifice a great deal on behalf of their welfare, individually and as a whole.

But there is no sane reason to trust my fellow Americans. All it takes is a moment’s consideration of Hollywood, TV, mainstream music, and you’ll understand Americans are deeply morally compromised. They have chosen horrific evil and entertainment over what is good and right, even for this plane of existence. Their judgment is rotten to the core, despite a simulacrum of decency on the outside.

I’ve read enough blather about what I owe my fellow Americans. I’ve paid, thank you. Parts of my body no longer work properly because of my military service, for one thing, so they got their use of me already. Besides, were it not for the patience and forbearance of God Almighty, not a single good thing in America would be here. Jesus died on the Cross for me, and all of America combined can’t match that. My Savior claims me 100%, and does not share with anyone on this earth.

Meanwhile, this nation is doomed.

If that’s not enough, the government of this nation was usurped long ago. All this nice talk about “of the people, by the people, for the people” was a bright shining lie when it was first spoken. The government of this nation has never been of the people in any significant sense; it has always been an elite group who saw themselves a class apart. You can debate for yourself when that reality took hold, but it was long ago. Our government is not us. So of a surety, I hold zero allegiance to this government, but that goes the same for all governments on this planet. Not a one of them knows nor cares what God requires of governments.

So I’ll play along with whomever claims to be in charge until they conflict with my One Master and Lord. I’m an American because God put me here for His own reasons. Yes, God favors America, just as He does all peoples in all lands, but I know from His Word this land has been particularly vicious in rejecting His favor. Our current national behavior in the rest of the world is all the proof I need for that.

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Intuitive Intelligence

Posted on December 11, 2010 by ehurst

A critical element in mysticism is cultivating intuition. Both are commonly dismissed as a lack of intelligence, but this is manifestly itself a lack of intelligence. There is a wealth of study, even in Western human sciences, showing intuition is a valid process for arriving at decisions and increasing knowledge.

In general, intuition is the habit of absorbing patterns. It does not use linear sensory intelligence to process information, but operates in the subconscious. It is vastly more efficient. Frankly, the greatest warriors and athletes depend on patterned learning to react correctly when conscious thought is too slow.

Nor is it necessary to separate the two. Having them jumbled together in your stream of consciousness need not confuse things. A great many things we learn must be learned intuitively, because that is how children operate. Language and music are most efficiently understood by absorption. Only after a minimal level has been reached this way can skills be added on top.

When it comes to matters which affect our lives but rest entirely in the spiritual sphere, intuition becomes imperative. Mysticism is impossible without it, and thus, hearing from God. You cannot grasp the imperatives of your convictions unless you can process them subconsciously and intuit what best fits them in a given context.

Every human carries some intuitive capacity. However, our Western culture dismisses it as unreliable. This is a primary reason why Western Civilization is doomed, because it is wholly unable to grapple with the fundamental moral nature of the universe.

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Serving Linux to the Refugees

Posted on December 9, 2010 by ehurst

It’s all about freedom. What does it take to improve your service to the Kingdom? What can I do to remove unnecessary limitations?

I am by no means a Linux evangelist. Some people are better off running Windows, and I try to keep my skills current for that. Some people need something else, and I try to explore the alternatives just enough to keep track of what works, what can be made to work, and what is probably not worth the trouble. Still, I only know what I know, and I’m really not interested in just every little project out there. The ones which matter most are the ones which don’t become a distraction by consuming too much time and effort. Folks who need another hobby don’t need my help.

Most of you already know the easiest Linux to use is Ubuntu. There are plenty which are as easy to install, but none so far offer the same long-term support as the LTS releases of Ubuntu, which is part of the definition of “easy” in their minds. Without LTS, it’s just a hobby unless you intend to become a serious technician. I’ve poked around Red Hat 6.0 the last couple of weeks, preparing for the release of CentOS 6, which is derived from it. I found CentOS 5 just manageable enough to write a migration guide for Windows refugees. I’m pretty sure I can’t do that for 6.

The primary issue is the difficult install. Most ordinary home or small office users don’t have time to learn the various incantations to get RHEL/CentOS 6 to boot on some machines. Lots of folks are complaining about it. If it’s that difficult, it’s too difficult. That’s not a slam on the RedHat way of doing things; it didn’t stop me installing it. But that is too much to ask for someone who has no need for my background in Linux and other OSes. Such people happen to be all of my clients, and I’m pretty sure it will be true of all my future clients. Nor do the folks who produce this stuff feel insulted, since Red Hat and CentOS remain committed to the enterprise technicians, not ordinary users.

So while RHEL 6.0 is one of the best Linux distros I’ve ever tested, I can’t recommend it to my clients without a lot of training. It’s too easy to get something almost as good with Ubuntu without that training. Sometime in the near future I’ll be writing a migration guide for those clients whom I cannot for some reason do a hands-on installation of Ubuntu.

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