What happened to Jesus when he left Earth? The Sci-Fi wizard, Philip Jose Farmer, gives us some ideas. For many of you this will be the third testament of the Bible you have been looking for. For the rest of you it will just be an entertaining read.
I don't want to give too much away. The book starts out with four people going on a quest. It kind of sounds like the B movie "The Wizard of Mars" or the "Wizard of Oz." They find what they are looking for and more. Jesus actually lives in Mars, thanks to technology and luck. And Jesus decides to return to Earth which is when the fun begins.
I like how Farber tries to explain the Christ via science fiction. In other words, there may be plausible explanations for the miracles and such. I like the pace of the book and how the author fleshes out his characters bit by bit.
The book is a little dated. It was written in 1980. The author anticipates alot of what actually happens. He doesn't foresee a Unified Germany. Or a fallen Soviet Union. But other than that I find little to dislike.
So this is a very good book. I give it 4 stars out of 5. The ending will blow you away. Unless of course you are standing next to Jesus. Then you won't be blown away for long. But I digress.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Self-Engineering
I have been reading a book on Engineering. It is called Foundations of Engineering by Holtzapple and Reece. It is the second book on engineering that I have read. The first one was maybe 10 years ago. I started studying engineering because I wanted to know about trouble shooting and problem solving. There were no really good books about those things. But there were engineering books.
The authors of this book define an engineer as an individual who uses math, science, and economics to solve technical problems that confront society. An engineer is a problem solver. Now math, science, and economics were the three subjects I disliked the most in school. Yet these are the disciplines that solve problems.
The main tool of engineering is something called the design method. It has ten steps. 1. Identify and define the problem. 2. Assemble a design team. 3. Identify constraints and criteria for success. 4. Search for solutions. 5. Analyze each potential solution. 6. Choose the best solution. 7. Document the solution. 8. Communicate the solution to management. 9. Construct the solution. 10. Verify and evaluate the performance of the solution. Sounds like a recipe for life and it is. These are the steps some of us take to fashion a life worth having.
Then the authors talk about the traits of a successful engineer. There are 16 and these are listed on pages 24 and 25. They sound like the trait of a successful anything- a successful person.
All of us are building lives. So all of us should engage in a process of self-engineering. We have to apply engineering to ourselves. And if we don't, we get a life that someone else has engineered or we get a nothing life. It isn't easy. I read this book and so much of I just have to kind of gloss over. I don't understand some of the concepts and formulas. Like moments of torque and what have you. I could not have passed a course in engineering in a quarter, a semester or a year. But now I don't have to. I have a lifetime to study and apply the principles of engineering. And so do you.
Or as Captain James T. Kirk may have said "Scotty, how soon can you get us to warp factor nine?"
The authors of this book define an engineer as an individual who uses math, science, and economics to solve technical problems that confront society. An engineer is a problem solver. Now math, science, and economics were the three subjects I disliked the most in school. Yet these are the disciplines that solve problems.
The main tool of engineering is something called the design method. It has ten steps. 1. Identify and define the problem. 2. Assemble a design team. 3. Identify constraints and criteria for success. 4. Search for solutions. 5. Analyze each potential solution. 6. Choose the best solution. 7. Document the solution. 8. Communicate the solution to management. 9. Construct the solution. 10. Verify and evaluate the performance of the solution. Sounds like a recipe for life and it is. These are the steps some of us take to fashion a life worth having.
Then the authors talk about the traits of a successful engineer. There are 16 and these are listed on pages 24 and 25. They sound like the trait of a successful anything- a successful person.
All of us are building lives. So all of us should engage in a process of self-engineering. We have to apply engineering to ourselves. And if we don't, we get a life that someone else has engineered or we get a nothing life. It isn't easy. I read this book and so much of I just have to kind of gloss over. I don't understand some of the concepts and formulas. Like moments of torque and what have you. I could not have passed a course in engineering in a quarter, a semester or a year. But now I don't have to. I have a lifetime to study and apply the principles of engineering. And so do you.
Or as Captain James T. Kirk may have said "Scotty, how soon can you get us to warp factor nine?"
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Peace in Every Step
It dawned on me the other day that I don't get into very many arguments anymore. I prefer discussions. I used to love a good argument. But now it seems that I value peace even more. Also most of my values are set so that I don't feel the need to defend them. Or to see that they are defensible. Yes, we can have peace in every step.
I think part of it is maturity. You get to a certain age and you ask yourself "What is the point?" Why waste energy on fighting when the same energy allows you to create something. Certainly, it is an inside stop. I have raised my vibration such that "those" people are not attracted to me. Or maybe they are and I have learned how to de-escalate the situation. Or maybe I cut short our interaction.
So if you think in the language of peace eventually you will have peace in your life. It is language that determines the parameters of our behavior. In Hindu there are many more spiritual words than in English. We could say that there are more possible expressions of spirituality than in English. So if we reform our personal language to include more peace words and less hate words then I think we can definitely have peace in every step.
So we ourselves can load the dice. Load them with peace. In every step.
I think part of it is maturity. You get to a certain age and you ask yourself "What is the point?" Why waste energy on fighting when the same energy allows you to create something. Certainly, it is an inside stop. I have raised my vibration such that "those" people are not attracted to me. Or maybe they are and I have learned how to de-escalate the situation. Or maybe I cut short our interaction.
So if you think in the language of peace eventually you will have peace in your life. It is language that determines the parameters of our behavior. In Hindu there are many more spiritual words than in English. We could say that there are more possible expressions of spirituality than in English. So if we reform our personal language to include more peace words and less hate words then I think we can definitely have peace in every step.
So we ourselves can load the dice. Load them with peace. In every step.
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