Happy Easter Thursday!

Yes it is still the Octave of Easter.  Keep the party going!

Lent Scorecard and Analysis

So with Lent in the rear view and the Octave of Easter in full swing I'm going to divulge the results of my Lenten promises and how well I kept them.  And apologies for what is an obvious filler post as I get back on track.

Overall the results are.....mixed.

Promise 1:  Curbing video game times to 1 hr per day.
Result 1: In my personal history of Lenten promises I have never failed so completely in a promise as this failure.  I think I've logged more time playing during Lent than before I made the promise. It is abundantly clear that video games have control over me and I must do something about this.  Right after finishing Mass Effect 3.

Grade: F-

Promise 2: Banning all video game purchases for the duration of Lent.
Result 2: I kept this one almost entirely.  I did purchase some downloadable content during the time, but it was for a video game that I already own and thought I had already.  And at $8 it was paltry compared to what I usually spend.

Grade: A-

Promise 3: Facebook withdraw
Result 3: This one was kept except for occasional checks of my notification lists.  I use Facebook to link to this blog so occasionally I would see a traffic spike and wanted to find out if I had been linked.  A lame excuse sure, but there it is.  Otherwise no games, no Wall posts (manual, auto posts of this blog are done via NetworkedBlogs).

Grade: B

So overall I think this worked out.  Though next Lent I'm pondering going cold turkey on the video games.  I find that if I don't do it at all I'm better off than try to keep to a set time.  But Lord I have no idea if I have the strength.  We shall see next Lent.

Happy Easter Wednesday to all!

Happy Easter Tuesday to all

Almost forgot this.  Whew!

Worse than the Nazi regime

A little historical tidbit that should give us pause about the HHS mandate.

H/T Mark Shea

Happy Easter Monday!

So a good and restful Easter was had by yours truly with family and stuff.  Will get back to regular posting on Wednesday.  Remember, it is still the Easter Season.  Hallelujah!

Notice

Given that it is Holy Week I have decided that I will take this week to reflect and rest.  So I will not be posting again for the rest of the week.  Have a Blessed Holy Week and a Happy Easter.  We will resume our regular schedule on Easter Monday.

Thanks,
The Management

Real Thinking is Hard

I have a bit of a confession to make.  When I typically read the writing of others on say, Atheists of the Dawkins/Hitchens type, my eyes have a tendency to glaze over.  Not so much the arguments themselves (such as they are) but the insults, ridicule, and integrity attacks often make me skip over those sections, looking for when the argument comes back.

A mind that cannot think without vulgarity is a mind polluted.  A mind that assumes the worst of the other person is a mind that cannot consider another point of view.  And a mind that is unconcerned with the truth in small things is almost guaranteed to be wrong about the larger truths.

I don't know about you, but for me when an argument is laced with invective I often find myself thinking one of four things,

• "This person hasn't really thought out his position"
• "This person really doesn't understand the other side's argument"
• "This person hates the other side so much he doesn't bother to understand the other side"
• "This person is so infatuated with their own opinion that this person hasn't really checked their argument" 

In my own writing most of the time I find I'm too focused on the topic at hand to start launching an invective salvo.  This is not to say that I cannot do such a thing.  I've posted plenty of comments that I've wanted back.  But in my general writing on this blog I find that not so much that I cannot spew venom, it's that I don't have the time.

Real thinking and argumentation requires work.  It is hard.  It requires discipline. It requires focus and an attention to detail.  It requires checking and cross-checking assumptions and the thought processes that lead to the conclusions.  And ultimately it requires humility and a willingness to be wrong.

To me the breakdown in civility is a symptom of our societies' inability to think. We substitute invective for rational thought because we have lost the ability to articulate our position to others.  Our thoughts become our own personal mantra, our own creed, not the shaky personal knowledge that it really is, subject and vulnerable to our own bias and disordered natures.

On a more positive note, real thinking can be done by anyone.  It is much more an issue of discipline and virtue than any special talent.  There are wiser janitors in this world than some statesmen.  And a PhD is not an indication if one is wise.  But as I've written before, wisdom is available to everyone, provided one is willing to put in the effort to court her.

The question is, do we have the courage to "man up" and seek her?