It's the weekend. Sacred time; time I look forward to because I can spend long uninterrupted hours doing what I love to do, something I'm passionate for... writing.
Only, when I pull out my trusty jump drive and prepare to open the latest novel I've been working on, it halts mid open and gives me the most awful shock of my life. The document can't be opened because there's a problem with the file. I.e., it's corrupted.
Ok -- Anyone who knows me really well knows that writing is my passion. Aside from teaching, it's what brings me joy and happiness. I have hopes and dreams and aspirations of becoming a NY times best selling author. I want my novels to be translated into several different languages and sold around the world. I want to fill up the shelves of bookstores with pieces of my fiction, and that way, even long after I'm dead, I can still give avid readers a place to escape to within the pages of my written work.
But no -- not tonight. Tonight the technology demon has reared it's ugly head and somewhere between April 23rd, the last time I worked on my book, and today, the file got corrupted and no matter what I did to try to recover it; it's gone. 245 pages of the inner workings of my mind, 333 total hours of writing and editing. The thing is, I've been working on this particular book since February 3rd and I'm pretty darn proud of it. I even had the last few chapters mapped out and I was ready to bring the book to a close.
But no -- not tonight. Tonight I got to stare at that little dialog box (I hate that dialog box) as it told me that my book was lost to me forever.
I don't know what to do. When you save things on jump drives, you expect them to be ok. I suppose I'll have to by a new one because this is the second time this has happened to me with this particular USB. The first time was in the summer. I lost a story I was working on, but it was only a short and I'd been on it for a week. In no way is it comparable to losing the running 80,000+ words I lost just now.
I quite frankly don't know what to do. Luckily I had a partial back up; saved from I don't know when. But it's about 10,000+ words short of where I currently was.
I'm at a fork in the road. I can just chuck this up to "It Wasn't Meant to Be" or I can submit myself to trying to recreate part of the novel that I wrote weeks ago.
Shock. Anger. Number. Disbelief. Regret. Those are just a few words to describe how I'm feeling right now.
Shock -- my heart sank when that message popped up on screen
Anger -- are you fucking kidding me? My book is gone!
Numb -- my book is gone...
Disbelief -- I can't believe this is seriously happening again
Regret -- damn it, why didn't I save it in a third location, or email it to myself, or put it in drop box. A whole lot of shoulda, coulda, woulda's....
It's safe to say I won't be writing tonight.
@JustJazzyD
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
GOD vs. Science: A Conversation
I saw this on facebook and thought I'd share. I found it interesting; so did my dad, a preacher.
Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?
Student : Absolutely, sir.
Professor : Is GOD good ?
Student : Sure.
Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?
Student : Yes.
Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?
(Student was silent.)
Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?
Student : Yes.
Professor: Is satan good ?
Student : No.
Professor: Where does satan come from ?
Student : From … GOD …
Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student : Yes.
Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?
Student : Yes.
Professor: So who created evil ?
(Student did not answer.)
Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor: So, who created them ?
(Student had no answer.)
Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?
Student : No, sir.
Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?
Student : No , sir.
Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.
Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student : Yes.
Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.
Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Professor: Yes.
Student : And is there such a thing as cold?
Professor: Yes.
Student : No, sir. There isn’t.
(The lecture theater became very quiet with this turn of events.)
Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.
(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)
Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?
Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?
Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?
Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?
Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)
Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?
(The class was in uproar.)
Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?
(The class broke out into laughter. )
Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?
(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)
Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.
Student : That is it sir … Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.
P.S.
I believe you have enjoyed the conversation. And if so, you’ll probably want your friends / colleagues to enjoy the same, won’t you?
Forward this to increase their knowledge … or FAITH.
By the way, that student was EINSTEIN.
TAKE TIME TO READ. It's
worth reading it. Trust me :)
Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?
Student : Absolutely, sir.
Professor : Is GOD good ?
Student : Sure.
Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?
Student : Yes.
Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?
(Student was silent.)
Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?
Student : Yes.
Professor: Is satan good ?
Student : No.
Professor: Where does satan come from ?
Student : From … GOD …
Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student : Yes.
Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?
Student : Yes.
Professor: So who created evil ?
(Student did not answer.)
Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor: So, who created them ?
(Student had no answer.)
Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?
Student : No, sir.
Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?
Student : No , sir.
Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.
Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student : Yes.
Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.
Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Professor: Yes.
Student : And is there such a thing as cold?
Professor: Yes.
Student : No, sir. There isn’t.
(The lecture theater became very quiet with this turn of events.)
Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.
(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)
Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?
Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?
Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?
Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?
Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)
Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?
(The class was in uproar.)
Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?
(The class broke out into laughter. )
Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?
(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)
Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.
Student : That is it sir … Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.
P.S.
I believe you have enjoyed the conversation. And if so, you’ll probably want your friends / colleagues to enjoy the same, won’t you?
Forward this to increase their knowledge … or FAITH.
By the way, that student was EINSTEIN.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Resurrection Sunday
Most people took to social media this morning to wish people "Happy Easter". My first tweet this morning was a different spin on this Holiday.
It's not Easter. It's Resurrection Sunday.
I followed that tweet with this one.
Jesus died and rose again so that we might live. Take a moment to be thankful that He loves us so much to die for our sins.
On this day, several people go to church and get a watered down version of what happened when Jesus died on the cross for all of us. Then after church they go out and have Easter egg hunts and snack on chocolate bunnies and eggs. That stuff doesn't do it for me. The eggs and the bunnies are all pagan symbols of a fertility god. If you ask me, fertility has nothing to do with My Savior dying for my sins.
Call me a miser if you want to, but I don't look at Easter the same. It isn't about looking for eggs and getting Easter baskets full of candy and toys. It's about remembering. Remembering a time when the human race was so corrupt and full of sins that our Father God was ready to blight us from the world. Instead, his son, Jesus, bore all of our sins on his back and died so that we might have a fresh start.
Today, on Easter, I choose to let that by my focus. And for that, Jesus, my Lord, my Savior, I thank you. Thank you for caring enough about me and my future to die for me.
It's not Easter. It's Resurrection Sunday.
I followed that tweet with this one.
Jesus died and rose again so that we might live. Take a moment to be thankful that He loves us so much to die for our sins.
On this day, several people go to church and get a watered down version of what happened when Jesus died on the cross for all of us. Then after church they go out and have Easter egg hunts and snack on chocolate bunnies and eggs. That stuff doesn't do it for me. The eggs and the bunnies are all pagan symbols of a fertility god. If you ask me, fertility has nothing to do with My Savior dying for my sins.
Call me a miser if you want to, but I don't look at Easter the same. It isn't about looking for eggs and getting Easter baskets full of candy and toys. It's about remembering. Remembering a time when the human race was so corrupt and full of sins that our Father God was ready to blight us from the world. Instead, his son, Jesus, bore all of our sins on his back and died so that we might have a fresh start.
Today, on Easter, I choose to let that by my focus. And for that, Jesus, my Lord, my Savior, I thank you. Thank you for caring enough about me and my future to die for me.
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