Author: Carl Setzer

I’m convinced that someone in Geico’s marketing department is friends with Rockwell and that whole campaign is a scheme to get the guy royalty bucks. Anyway, perhaps I’m not part of their core demographic, but this eyeball stalker thing is starting to annoy me. I might consider shifting to Allstate, as their ads assume I’m intelligent. Perhaps a rash assumption…

Last week, as many of you are aware, Obama gave a speech to which the Republican Governor of Louisiana gave the official reply. The statement which gives me the most consternation is his condemnation of $14 million (though he gives the amount as $140 million) for volcano monitoring. Now, perhaps if you live in a place without such, you might be inclined to view this as pork (however, if you live in a state that depends heavily on federal hurricane monitoring, you’d think you might be more sympathetic). However, as someone who lives nearby several, I’m not amused, but Krugman’s response sums up my views nicely.

Why is the Republican party so hell-bent on becoming the party of knee-jerk irrational though and stupid commentary? Time and time again Bush has worked hard to ensure any shred of respect I struggled to find was eroded. Then we had Palin, and now this (there are other pieces at play, too, but I don’t want to get too long-winded). Once upon a time I was a Republican, mostly out of a believe in the importance of responsibility and public accountability. Though those values are still solid, the Republican party is not the place to find this. Nor is it the place to find public discourse of rational thought (start with RNC Chair Steele). What’s saddest is that I can no longer support the few remaining rational Republicans out there, as the party’s descent is too intractable.

I received a lovely email from the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) news service, which just got me in a tizzy: LCMS President Responds to ELCA Task Force Recommendation, Statement 09-053-MRC (full text here). I’m just amazed at this fellow’s arrogance.

“Kieschnick also reminded LCMS members of a resolution passed by the church’s 2001 convention that the LCMS “cannot consider (the ELCA) to be an orthodox church body,” but “we of the LCMS recognize that many of our brothers and sisters of the ELCA remain faithful to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we resolve to reach out to them in love and support.”

I know it will shock Mssr. Kieschnick that there are people of thoughtful, prayer-filled, and committed Christians that are in support of the ELCA’s decision and direction (I am one of them). I, for one, am surprised that anyone can study the path of Jesus and subscribe to this anti-gay mindset.

Just because there is a 2,000+ year tradition of homosexuality as sinful is no reason to continue it. Tradition apart from reason and compassion is simply brutal. Kieschnick should carefully review the state of society (both globally and for the society in question) before wistfully wishing for a 2,000 year retreat. I, for one, stand against such on many principles.

I guess that I should be thankful that he and the LCMS are simply calling for them to pray for me/us – as opposed to the Fred Phelps “protest/harass/badger/nuisance mentality. However, perhaps it would be good for such folks to follow the guidance of a certain jewish philosopher from the 1st century CE and “remove the plank from their own eye before trying to remove the spec from mine”

(for the uninitiated, the LCMS = Lutheran Church Missouri Synod – and this isn’t the first time I’ve been tweaked by their stance on an ELCA issue)

Update: on the 11th, I was one of the unfortunate many laid off by my magnanimous (former) employer. Now, for many, this was an emotional calamity. For me, though, with the lovely weather we’ve (for the most part) had, along with having free-time to let my brain wander free, it has been a nice respite. With my last employer (a frantically paced Fortune 500), it was nearly impossible to make the time to reflect and be planful. After a brief foray into slothness (oh, what delights that brings), I’ve awakened my inner Franklin-Covey geek and have launched into some self-analysis and refocusing.

For some time I’ve been wondering what I want from this thing “career”. For so many folks it’s a key defining piece of their existence (sometimes THE defining piece). I’m still hedging. Basically, I’ve never fully committed to the notion of a career, at least as a single discipline. I’m not, say, an accountant, nor programmer, nor anything that linear. The closest I could place myself in this context is “administrative assistant”, which doesn’t mean much in-and-of itself. Simply, it is the title I’ve had most often. The main thing it means, though, is that I’ve not spent that much time in charge of major efforts. Mostly, I’ve been the person executing project work. On one of my recent evaluations, one of my listed strengths was “getting things done”. I have found such quite enjoyable, at times challenging and encompassing a wide variety of work. That’s the sort of thing I’ve always enjoyed. For a while, though, I’ve had this nagging sense that it isn’t enough – perhaps a year or so.

Lately, I’ve become more interested in strategy. I’ve also noticed that I’ve become a bit bored by details (whereas, I used to delight in the mind-numbing morass of extreme detail). Now, though, I think I’m attracted to the title “analyst”. There’s some detail to such work, but it’s not the “we’ll need pencils at the event, and how many cupcakes should I order?” stuff I’ve dealt with for years. Part of me still enjoys that stuff, however. Mainly, though, since it’s second nature and I can generally hit home-runs with little effort. In other words: laziness.

We’ll see what comes my way. Between my severance and unemployment, I don’t need to take the first desperate position that comes along. Which is good since there’s a bit of a dearth out there.

I get a bit rummy when I spend all day in the house. However, there are those days where it’s not to be helped. Between this blasted cold that seems to be the latest team-building exercise at work, a project due on Thursday (Visual Basic class at Edmonds Community College), and a general malaise, I’ve been sitting here watching the sun move across the sky from my couch.

Days like this leave me in a foggy mental state. At some point I always need to get outside, no matter how ucky I feel. I’ve pondered this before, but never figured out the mechanism at hand. This didn’t affect me during my years of submarine service. However, the sub was quite a bit bigger than my humble condo. Perhaps it was the manic busy-ness. Anyway, though I’ve not completed anything I wanted to, I’m about the abandon it all and get outside. Whether a drive, a small walk, or sitting in the backyard in the mud, I’m getting out.

Like many people, I couldn’t imagine living this long. However, this is not so much a fault with my vision, rather a lack of visioning. Rarely have I lifted my gaze towards the future, towards the sun at dawn. As life has progressed, my nose has drifted lower, resting against the proverbial grindstone. One would expect a bloodied pulp proboscis by now.

Visioning, or it’s lack, has been something of a problem for me. It’s hard to plan, to develop goals without a vision. So much of my life has been lived with an immediate focus, short-term mentality. Though I’ve strived to raise my gaze, old habits compel with force. Not powerless, but easily seduced, these impulses drag me down the familiar path.

Perchance to dream, to see a future with clarity. Thus to vision, to provide direction, then goals and that fulfillment of life. Such is what I seek.

I’ve been lame of late. The last piece of literature I read was Bukowski. Lately, I’ve been down with the Wall Street Journal and the Economist. Oddly, what’s really pulled me this way has been the prevalence of economics in the news. And not just these past few months, though the current state of things certainly compels me to know more. Actually, that thing within me pulling my interests is poverty; rather, thinking of ways to eliminate it. I see a need to understand the “system” in a deeper way. With that, I think it’s also good to know the system that I live in, whether I wish to rescue others or just avoid becoming a victim of my ignorance.

Be that as it may, I’m starting to get a bit twitchy. Time to read something broader. Got the latest Parabola Magazine, which should broaden my gaze enough for now.

This does bring me to one of my life’s great challenges. My range of interests are ridiculous. Trying to find some way to focus has been crazy. I’ve been working with Steven Covey’s stuff, along with some other guides, and trying to get my, uh, “stuff” together and build a more careerish career. We’ll see what that brings.

Years ago it seems, I was very active in many usenet groups. As we progressed to web based discussions, I plied my ideas there, too. Now, though, I keep my distance. Heck, I often make it a point to NOT read the threads below an article. First, the basic tenor is simply ugly. Pretty much most popular discussion is dominated by the trolls, or the blithely misinformed (especially those who delight in the ignorance, claiming it as some sort of virtue). Given the condensed nature of my time of late, dedicating any of my most precious resource seems irresponsible. I guess I've lost the love of web 2.0. Perhaps…

Via BlackBerry