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Post by stepnwolf on Mar 3, 2013 1:26:55 GMT 9.5
Not long ago I acquired a new Mac computer on the recommendation of a few friends who already had one. After 40 years of using the Windows OS, I found the experience extremely unsettling. Worse, I had taught computer science for several years and now I felt just stupid.
At first I blamed the new Mac: I couldn't cut and paste, the keyboard was too small, the sound was terrible, the machine hated me. But, remembering a lesson taught in a Craft Lodge, particularly in the 2°, I held on to the idea of Perseverance. In the rite of accepting a Lewis into a lodge the Master stresses the importance of Perseverance, which is explained as “stick-to-it-ative-ness.”
With practice, I can use the keyboard more easily now and the machine has revealed some of its editing secrets – only with perseverance. This could happen only after I declared a truce in the battle with the machine. Then perseverance became fruitful. There are other lessons here as well.
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Post by paul on Mar 3, 2013 7:34:09 GMT 9.5
>I declared a truce in the battle with the machine
I recall a friend who would ask her car to show her how to drive through parts of the city she did not know and to find car parks for her. She thought that the car was quite cooperative - including stalling when she tried to drive into an intersection on a collision course.
Perhaps your computer is just as smart.
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Post by stepnwolf on Mar 3, 2013 9:58:43 GMT 9.5
An excellent idea, Paul. My approach to computers can be rather brazen and perhaps this machine is just trying to protecting itself. No doubt the machine is smarter than I am.
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Post by paul on Mar 4, 2013 11:47:24 GMT 9.5
I used to be slightly associated with a New Age book printer and publisher. They used to have volunteer workers.
One Saturday morning, the large collating machine jammed perhaps a dozen times. Someone noticed that it was happening each time a particular volunteer walked past. So they gave her a job at the other end of the building and the collating machine did not give any more trouble.
In my experience machines are pretty cooperative and if they must break down, they try to do it at convenient time.
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Post by paul on Mar 18, 2013 13:44:54 GMT 9.5
>In my experience machines are pretty cooperative and if they must break down, they try to do it at convenient time.
And my 1989 car just did. I was about to go to a rather optional lodge practice when the car would not start. It turned out to be the fuel pump. It could have given out on the highway or when I really needed to go somewhere.
I could have replaced the pump myself but decided to send it to a local garage - using the free tow provided by the auto association.
The garage pointed out that the fuel filter was the wrong sort - I had replaced the expensive metal one with a cheap plastic version not realising that the fuel system runs at 3 atmospheres. I was lucky the filter did not blow out and fill the engine bay with flaming fuel.
The garage also pointed out that the top tank on the radiator was leaking - I was trying to ignore that. A month ago I drove up a modest mountain in 38 deg centigrade air. The engine could have rapidly lost all coolant and could have been cooked (destroyed).
So all those are being fixed at significant cost but sometimes it is important to let the universe help you.
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Post by paul on Mar 19, 2013 8:24:58 GMT 9.5
It rather depends on what is meant by an angel. In Hebrew the word malakhim is usually translated as angel but actually means messenger.
Lot is commonly thought to meet angels whom he fed and after whom the residents of Sodom lusted.
Genesis 8:1
And two of the messengers come towards Sodom at even, and Lot is sitting at the gate of Sodom, and Lot seeth, and riseth to meet them, and boweth himself — face to the earth, 2and he saith, ‘Lo, I pray you, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, unto the house of your servant, and lodge, and wash your feet — then ye have risen early and gone on your way;’ and they say, ‘Nay, but in the broad place we do lodge.’ 3And he presseth on them greatly, and they turn aside unto him, and come in unto his house; and he maketh for them a banquet, and hath baked unleavened things; and they do eat. 4Before they lie down, the men of the city — men of Sodom — have come round about against the house, from young even unto aged, all the people from the extremity; 5and they call unto Lot and say to him, ‘Where [are] the men who have come in unto thee to-night? bring them out unto us, and we know them.’ 6And Lot goeth out unto them, to the opening, and the door hath shut behind him, 7and saith, ‘Do not, I pray you, my brethren, do evil; 8lo, I pray you, I have two daughters, who have not known any one; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do to them as [is] good in your eyes; only to these men do not anything, for therefore have they come in within the shadow of my roof.
Note that Lot calls them Lords and feels it so necessary to protect them from the lustful residents that he offers his virgin daughters.
That sort of angel is clearly human in appearance and has limited defense capacity.
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Post by paul on Mar 19, 2013 8:33:43 GMT 9.5
Are there other messengers that are not flesh and blood? Examples might be mechanical or semi-mechanical e.g. a biological entity augmented by electronic and mechanical faculties.
There may also be messengers that have only intermittent or even no physical form.
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Post by paul on Mar 20, 2013 7:24:29 GMT 9.5
Silicon can form some structures analogous to some formed with carbon, hence it may be possible to have silicon-based life form.
Are there any eye witness accounts, alien or otherwise that might support that hypothesis? I can't think of any.
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Post by paul on Mar 20, 2013 13:26:57 GMT 9.5
This UFO looks to be pretty low level technology. Even being able to see it at indicates lack of or failure in stealth technology. I would have thought that given the large number of sightings around US military bases that the debate should have moved on. I rather like the dragonfly drones. It looks like very nice technology  www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6bxPR5LOn0 |
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Post by paul on Mar 20, 2013 13:33:47 GMT 9.5
... We would be an other non metal and they would be a Metaloid or semi metal It is certainly possible in theory but there is a huge amount of work in constructing even the carbon-based life forms as indicated by the extent of recycling of designs. For example the hemoglobin and chlorophyll molecules are very similar with the primary difference being the central atom - iron or magnesium. In the absence of any observations of silicon or germanium based life forms I am unsure whether any species has put in the huge effort required to develop such systems. |
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Post by LorrB on Mar 20, 2013 13:42:07 GMT 9.5
How interesting that our 'visitor' rate just shot right up - and all from the same place.  |
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Post by paul on Mar 21, 2013 7:47:34 GMT 9.5
>Wondered how Tesla did what he did? And created / assembled what he
did?
Tesla said he could visualise his inventions and run them mentally to check performance then dismantle mentally and check the wear. He would redesign and repeat. He said that this enabled him to ensure that his devices worked perfectly with best design from the first physical production.
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Post by paul on Mar 21, 2013 9:09:52 GMT 9.5
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Post by LorrB on Mar 22, 2013 7:31:21 GMT 9.5
Shock, horror ... another of our threads hijacked. It is nice to see it isn't me this time  I kind of like the winding paths our threads take, never know what is round the corner. Every day we wander off in new directions to see what we might see ... |
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