What thoughts on religion?? None here!
2005-05-05, 4:46 p.m.

Day 256 Now a full 8 bit system!!

That title ought to make sense to very, very few people. Probably for the better.

Todays date: 05/05/05 Cool, huh? Oohh, what about June 6, 2006? 06/06/06 might not be considered a nice number. Also - my next youngest brother turned 6 on 6/6/66. He's now a Jehovah's Witness in Tennessee. For what ever that's worth.

So much for the randomness.

Still running simulations at work on this craptastic chunk of code. Logically, it is sound. Unfortunately, because of how it is implemented inside the part, it doesn�t run very reliably. I have an expert on tap to come in this afternoon and help me describe my timing concerns to the program that does the chip layout. Ought to help immensely.

So I get to write all this drivel while my programs are either compiling or simulating. Considering it takes about 15 � 20 minutes to compile, that leaves just enough time to plop down a few thoughts, formulate a plan, then drop it when the simulation finishes. Look at the sim results, slap myself in the forehead, edit the code a bit and start the process over again. Except that train of thought I had going earlier? Yeah, on another track entirely.

Consequently, when I tried to put down some coherent thoughts on how religion and I get along, there wasn�t much of anything there. Then it occurred to me, there�s another reason I don�t really have any coherent thoughts on religion: I never really had to before. I�ve attended services, the singing part is kinda cool, the ritualistic aspects of it all could be somewhat comforting. I just don�t buy the whole 'faith' package. Won�t say I�m an atheist, and I'm certainly not a practicing member of any particular church. Guess I can slide rather comfortably into the agnostic slot. That ought to leave me some room for adjustments down the road.

I do attempt to attend different types of services every now & again � both on the big holidays and during a regular service. I feel the most comfortable with the Presbyterian churches. Plus they have female pastors, which is only fair. Locally, we had a gay female pastor of a big Presbyterian church for a while. Some of the more conservative folks raised a stink and pressured her out. Too bad. It wasn�t a problem till she came out of the closet. Seems it was OK as long as people only had suspicions about her sexual orientation. Once she openly declared lesbianism, people started to get a wee bit squeamish. Wimps. (Tangent much??) Anyhow � I still like to taste test services every now & again. Never know, maybe I�ll find something that rings true to me.

I think the majority of the big Christian denominations are much the same, at least from the 50,000 foot view I�m taking. I don�t think Islam holds much for me, and I don�t know that Judaism would work either. All of them are in the �one god� category with Christianity. They differ on who they believe the son of god to be, or what his role was, but ultimately, they are not all that different. Remember, 50,000 foot view. Houses look like ants. People are invisible.

The really different religions to me are Hinduism, Buddhism, (multi god, reincarnation) and some of the western pagan beliefs (Wiccan, Celt for examples � also multi god, or spirit, I think) The wiccan and Celt really intrigue me. One of these years, it would be cool to find a local sect, chapter, diocese, whatever, and see if they allow visitors. Maybe delve a little more into what makes them tick. Not that I�m into witchcraft, and I don�t think that�s what the Wiccans are about either. Although they do seem to be a female centric operation.

So, yeah. Some scattered thoughts on religion. In spite of my obvious lack of any religious affiliation or education, I think I still turned out to be a decent human being. The one guideline I try to stick to is pretty much summed up by the Golden Rule. I think if you can handle that, and learn how to work & play well with others, you have a reasonable shot of becoming a good person. At least I hope so, cuz that�s all I got working for me at the moment.

Different tack now. Slept in Wednesday. Hence, no morning workout. Wif had me talked into meeting her at the gym after work. Sounded good to me. Well, I got in a very nice workout. Set a new best time for the 5K run. Now, if I chop another 8 or 9 minutes off that mark, they might let me participate in some of the local fun runs. Got in a lower body session on the weight machines. Somehow, missed the wif. She got caught up at work & couldn�t escape. Coming up on a busy time of year for her.

We did manage to go out for dinner though. Actually had a very pleasant time. Of course, she hadn�t had a lick to drink since, oh, the night before. After I ordered a diet soda for my drink � she followed suit and stuck with something low cal & non-alcoholic � water. Was nice to be able to actually carry on a conversation and not have her trotting (stumbling) off to the rest room every 15 minutes. Plus � we then eat at the same pace and she�s not complaining about me finishing my meal before she even gets started (time at the table has a lot to do with that � hard to eat when you�re peeing every 15 minutes)

Considering that the wif missed the gym last night, I extended an offer to meet her there again tonight, along with a solution for supper. (Not going out, either. I�m cooking, I think) Getting late and I haven�t heard from her yet. Hmmmmm. Think I�ll go to the gym anyhow. Could always use the cardio work, and I�ve rested the whole upper body for a couple of days. Those muscles need a little work now. Besides, I may run into my instructor. She seems worried that I�m exceeding my goals for attendance. I think she wants me to raise my goals in order to stay challenged. If I can catch her there, I�ll pin her down and re-do our commitment. Gah, sounds almost like getting married.

Wanna make a side bet on the wif�s activities?? It�s now 4:30pm EDT. I bet big bucks (I have $0.56 in change in my pocket right now) that she�s heading to a liquor store right now. By the time I get home tonight (6:30-ish), there will be a fresh bottle of Canadian Leaf Whiskey on the kitchen counter. That same bottle will have 6 � 8 oz of whiskey missing. The wif will have several thousand additional brain cells missing, and she�ll just be a pisser to deal with all night.

Then I�m going to wish I went to the meeting in Clarkson instead of the gym. Dammit. I�m going back to morning workouts. I completely forgot about why I wanted Thursday evenings free. At least I can clear my head on the treadmill while I�m running, maybe burn out a little frustration on the rowing machine. Could always do another few sets on the abdominals too � that�s good for burning off excess energy.

On a lark � calling the wif @ work. No luck � bopped over to voice mail. I told her when I�d be at the gym. Maybe, maybe that�s where she�s headed.

256 days down. Another work out coming up.

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