Out-of-date Billy

Those who grew up around or in the navy-and-white tradition probably remember the "Ten Unchangeables," in both its list and song forms (I assume they changed the order between those two so that the hand motions to the song would work better, but the incontinuity always seemed a bit odd to me).

The list is important to the Institute teachings for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that those things that are on the list you have to come to peace with under the Principle of Design (be content, thank God that you are that way, etc.)

I got to wondering, however, just how unchangeable each of them really is. The following are what I have come up with so far:

1. I am one of a kind - there is a problem here in defining the scope of "one"ness. For instance, if someone clones me, the resultant person is still unique, even if their DNA is not. So in the sense that tautologically, because I am an entity, I am one and unique, this point is valid. Even a mass produced product, say a Pocket PC, were it sentient, would still be able to point to its uniqueness despite being built and programmed identically to every other member of its model. However, as to whether the things about me that are unique are unchangeable, that is trickier. For instance, height? While Sir G, at 5'2", may have his reasons for including this, there are hormonal, dietary, lifestyle, and surgical means of changing height, depending on one's age. So while the concept, I suppose, is useful in acknowledging that I can't change everything about myself, to posit this one-of-a-kind-ness as a concrete, rigid "unchangeable" is not readily done or explained.


2. Mom and Dad - two words: "Family Law." Perhaps unchangeable in the sense that it is the court, not yourself, who enforces their role in your life, but divorce, adoption, and state intervention can radically change who are actually in this role. If the Instute is concerned about actual biological relationship, the point should be disregarded altogether, since adoption is an important remedy for the many problems that may arise between the mere two humans who contributed your genes. Otherwise, while the idea can be helpful in the sense that you aren't responsible for many of the choices that formed some of who you are now, and in the sense that, for a child, those that are in loco parentis are probably there for your own good whether you like it or not, this isn't to say that you shouldn't be aware that change is possible under the right circumstances.


3. Brothers and Sisters - same objection as above. While you may not have a say as a child in who lives in the same house as you, it is hard to argue that blood forms some sort of normative bond which cannot be altered by other normative principles. Is there a reason you have to be on speaking terms with a sibling above and beyond the Pauline command to "if it is possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men"? And if for some reason it is not possible and it does not depend on you, do you really have a higher duty because the person is a sibling? And just how then are you supposed to do the impossible which does not depend on you?


4. Nationality - again, it is the normative aspects that are most troubling here. The United States was largely formed by those that just didn't fit in in the old world and who gave up on their ties to form new ones. If you, for any reason, feel like changing countries, you pretty much can. And if you have information the United States wants, they will probably help you do it ;-)


5. Mental Capacity - I have yet to hear of anyone stretching their mind to its capacity. Training is always possible to increase abilities in this area. Scared during a lunar eclipse because "the moon is being eaten"? Take some astronomy. Can't figure out your taxes? A little math goes a long way. Dictionaries, logic treatises, pills from Carini, and Mozart are all considered ways to improve. Don't give up on yourself. You're smarter than you think. And conversely, injury may take away what you have (see Regarding Henry, so don't think high mental capacity is unchangeable, either.


6. Time in history - ok, here I have to grant this one. Say what we may about time vortexes, relativity, and temporal instability, we don't have a reliable means of controlling this, and are not likely to develop it in the near future (not that the "nearness" of the future would matter if we did...). I'll take this time to just interject that the Puritan concept of "Providence" may be a better way to look all of these (insofar as they are "set" this way) than as an "unchangeable", since Providence not only reminds us of the personal care with which God crafted them, but that they are part of our service to Him. And insofar as they can be overcome, Providence placed them there, not as an "unchangeable" means of locking us into a particular state, but to then give us the grace and strength to overcome that.


7. Gender - I'm not going to use the song's term for this one and I won't waste much space wondering why this has to be separate from being one of a kind or what logical reason there is for it being this far down the list. However, while for the most part gender is definite, and very useful for such questions as constitutional definitions of marriage, it can be (and with some frequently is) changed. For a discussion of one aspect of this, see Washington Post, "New York to Ease Rules So Transgender Residents Can Update Birth Certificates" (link good until 11/21/06 or so). While there are a few religious arguments against transgendering (some less persuasive than others), it can be changed, and when it is, requires legal resolution of the resultant status.


8. Order of my Family - got nothing on this one. See "Time in history", however, since this is a subset of that one. As a side note, however, insofar as this point is seen as some sort of mandate for the way one will behave based on birth order, or how "counseling" should take account of the "needs" of a person based on the same, it may be "folk wisdom," but I wouldn't give it much more credence than the necessity of throwing salt over one's shoulder. You may be right some number of times, but it isn't wise, and it doesn't account for grace, and you run a strong risk of hurting the person you are trying to fix help, to make assumptions as to what their motivations and actions are. If it helps you understand what someone might do, fine, but if you are trying to use this as a charlatan's trick to demonstrate your sophistication and ability to solve things, you would do better to just befriend the person and work through it the hard way.


9. Aging - sure it happens, but this is a remarkably fluid concept. Scientific and medical research frequently comes up with things that look a lot like "reversing aging," like bone growth stimulation, skin elasticity treatments, and so on. As to whether aging happens to some extent, yes, it is unchangeable, but as to whether there is anything you can and should do about it, I don't think that is as straightforward. If a spot of foundation and blush can cover it over, or an injection can fix it, why not?


10. Death - I can't come up with anything on this one other than noting that just becuase death will occur doesn't specify when it will occur. You have to make preparations for death, but needn't feel compelled to die at any particular time just because the outlook is bleak.

So there you have the list, some of it more rant and less orderly treatment. Like many teachings from Big G and his gang, it suffers from trying to create a biblical mandate from extrabiblical reasoning. Does the Bible teach contentment, the importance of authority, etc? Yes. But the importance to them is that they are seen through the filter of grace. The thing is not that way because it is important of its own right, but because it is a means of bringing glory to God. For instance, any of the demon-possessed persons in the Gospels were only possessed for the express purpose of bringing glory to God and authentication to Christ's ministry by Jesus' casting them out. The item is not that way because unchangeability is a necessary atribute (more or less), but because changing the thing OR persevering despite dislike will glorify God. (And in support of that last generalization, I am now going to begin trying to figure out how a transgendered person's having made that change is glorifying to God. Look for a discussion on that point soon.)

That would be my class

(from The Washington Post, Nov. 1, 2006, Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts "The Reliable Source", p. C-03

THIS JUST IN . . .

* Alberto Gonzales dropped by GWU Law School yesterday, surprising 40 students in the criminal procedure class. The attorney general talked about military commissions, terrorist surveillance and the Patriot Act and took questions for 40 minutes -- before vanishing as mysteriously as he arrived. Turns out this was all his idea: Gonzales just got a hankering for legal chat with some students, and his staff tracked down a willing prof, former DOJ lawyer Renee Lerner. "I guess he really likes teaching," she said. "The students, of course, were delighted to have him." Is the AG mulling a move to academia? "He is not ruling any options out in terms of future careers," said Justice spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos. Any more stealth visits to law schools planned? "I wouldn't rule it out."

It was quite an enjoyable chat, he had even managed to get materials assigned beforehand. He certainly didn't cut himself any slack - he went straight into the legalities behind the Guantanamo detentions, trials, and interrogation methodologies, took questions on how the policies were formulated. Reminded me a bit of the "Master Class" methodology from back when I was taking piano lessons.

(Note: I may follow this up with a more substantive look at the issues covered)

London

I have been reading (and by reading I mean listening to in the car while commuting) London: A History by A. N. Wilson, a very short but enjoyable account of how the city grew.

One of my favorite comments related to the stagnation of London between the departure of the Romans and the arrival of the Normans. Why? Because the Britons and the Saxons didn't have brick technology, and the orderly, low-lying London area was indefensible and couldn't be properly utilized using sticks, thatch, and mud building materials. Yay Norman Conquest, which finally fixed this technological shortcoming.

Another interesting line, paraphrased here from memory, dealt with the modern English "queue mentality":

The new London mayor Ken Livingstone [elected in 1996 - Ed.] promised to do something about parking problems in the West End, and instituted a permit program so bureaucratic that it actually solved the problem because so few were able to navigate the permit process. However, it did not raise the fees revenue that was anticipated, and could be said to be a victim of its own success, that is to say, a failure.

Emissions

I am pleased to announce that my vehicle has passed emissions and will be good for two more years. Most of you are familiar with the beast after whom this blog is styled, and most are also familiar with the somewhat stringent guidelines the EPA has enforced on the area where I live, and so are therefore familiar with why I would be exuberant about such news.

Though I have done so before to a limited extent, I thought I would share with you some of the things that help lower emissions. Some of these are from the EPA, who actually have a goodly amount of helpful information on their website, and others from various sources.

1. Make sure your engine is hot when it is inspected. This is probably the single most helpful thing you can do. It will cut some of your numbers in half. A warm engine pushes warmed fuel into the cylinders, and requiring less fuel and promoting more complete combustion. About twenty minutes of road driving is enough for most cars; however (as I understand it, and I could be wrong), mere idling is not as helpful as road driving, since it does not distribute temperature as well.

2. Cooler days are better for getting inspected. This is for two reasons: before the EPA started regulating such things, one of the major sources of emissions was not from the tailpipe, but evaporative emissions from the gas tank, the engine, etc. With the new control systems for such things, those emissions are more likely to show up in your tailpipe as higher CO, NO, hydrocarbons, or something else you are tested for in your area. Additionally, cooler air is denser, meaning that when "thin" hot fuel and "thick" cool air flow together, you get a higher percent of "clean air" coming out of the tailpipe.

3. A clean engine has less resistance and needs less fuel to do the same work. Keeping your fluids clean is helpful. For example, an oil change a few days before the inspection is helpful. Transmissions are closed systems and the newness of the fluid there shouldn't be a factor, but if you haven't done anything for it recently, there may be metal shavings slowing things down (probably not a big factor, but something to think about). Also, there are a lot of deposits that build up inside your engine that can be flushed out with gas additives such as fuel injector cleaner, and my personal favorite, BG Products' pricey but effective 44k Power Enhancer.

4. Ethanol burns more cleanly than gasoline. You can use a mixture of 10% ethanol, 90% gasoline (probably more, but not much more) in a gasoline engine without any adjustments. Some old cars can be tuned to take a whole lot more, but you have to be good with timing chains and mixture screws. Since 1986 (I think), engine blocks have been sealed, so you can't play with the mixture, and you need new computer control chips to use a higher percent ethanol. However, a number of new cars and trucks (particularly larger American vehicles) are now available with computers that adapt to either gas or E85 (85% ethanol). Areas that have stringent emissions restrictions also often stock E10 gasoline. Otherwise, you can get ethanol at these stations and make your own mixture. (Or you can get it from a moonshiner, but that has both quality and legality risks.)

5. As a last resort, you can replace factory products such as the catalytic converter, with more effective custom models. Your auto parts store will be able to provide you with better details than I can, and can tailor it to your problem (e.g., if you are only having trouble with your NO levels, maybe it is your EGR valve, not some other more expensive part).

The above may not be a learned treatise, and I am happy to accept corrections (especially from Motokeb), but that is what I have picked up over the last few years.

Laptops

Today I sat down at school and noticed that the computer next to me was a black-covered MacBook. For a MacBook, I was impressed. It almost looked like a real computer.

It's Alive!

Black Angus has returned from the land of the shades. The doc says putting this bit of metal into him is what it took:





I'd start calling the dear steer a bionic beast if he had anything biological about him... come to think of it, his fuel and lubrication, as well as parts of his upholstry, hoses, and tires are of biological origin, so maybe I'll use the nickname after all.


So now for a moment of shameless commercialism: I was very happy with Champion Transmission in Sterling. They done right, didn't try nuthin' funny, stuck with their estimate even when something came up.

Common Law Marriage

The husband also, by the old law, might give his wife moderate correction.... But, with us, in the politer reign of Charles the Second, this power of correction began to be doubted; and a wife may now have security of the peace agianst her husband; or, in return, a husband against his wife. Yet the lower rank of people, who were always fond of the old common law, still claim and exert their ancient priviledge...

--William Blackstone, Commentary on the Laws of England 445 (1765)

“I believe in compulsory cannibalism. If people were forced to eat what they killed, there would be no more wars.”

--Abbie Hoffman

Congrats to Cavie

And sympathy to Andrea.

Professor Quote

Of the denizens of legal hypotheticals, B is usually a victim, as in "A hits B," while in this class, B does better, for A will normally give to B, as in "A leaves to B". B will be a happy camper.

--Adam Hirsch, Trusts & Estates

The things that aren't said - thoughts on the "public" aspect of public transit

On the subway, there is a certain distance that is kept between passengers, a sort of, "I have to be here in close proximity to you, but you don't have to acknowledge that I am." To some extent, it is a matter of courtesy, since the co-commuter doesn't have much choice in whether they are there, and it isn't fair to take advantage of their helplessness by pressing them into conversation. But still, there are the occasional things that you want to say. For instance, to certain individuals I have seen,

"It's nice to see the Seersucker still in use. It looks great on you."

"I like seeing someone with the boldness to do a crossword in pen."

"You know, even though you have removed the dust jacket, people can still see that you are reading Harry Potter. It's a great book, but you should have the confidence to just read it."

Interestingly, there are things that should probably be said but aren't. For instance, yesterday, the person behind me in a crowded car probably should have said,

"What do you have in that backpack, bricks? Did you know that if you take if off your shoulders and put it on the floor, it will save space and also not hit me in the face when the driver brakes."

And then there are the things that are fun to say, but aren't said much. When I used the urban rail system more for transit and less for pure commuter purposes, I ran into a lot more tourists who didn't know much about the system. One could be kind to them, and it was often worth doing, but sometimes they were oblivious enough that it took a loud

"Walk on the left!"

to get them to gather up their selves and children and bags and other obstructions and let people through.

Another favorite category of mine are the things that are said by body language, specifically, the exercise of force or momentum. For instance, if a group of people are standing in the train's doorway, and have seen you make maneuvers to get to the door, you could say,

"Pardon me, but I need to get off at this stop. Would you please step out for a moment? You can get right back on when I have exited."

Or you could just lower your shoulder and take them with you. The talking way risks miscommunication or the need for further negotiation and convincing of the possibility of your getting off, all of which takes time which you and those behind you may not have before the doors snap shut. The keep-moving way is a sure thing (even for a little guy like myself - just yesterday I ran into a guy who weighed about half again what I do and had about 8 inches on me, and who was walking directly at me, but I hit him a little off center, and he spun out of the way like a shrub off a truck's brush guard). Besides, the looks on their faces is priceless.

Music, in its more modern forms

I have a question over on our other blog. Here's how it is: I know a lot about music in the sense of how to make it, how to create interesting motion within it, how to write it down, etc. However, I lack a certain depth of immersion in pop culture that your combined experience does not. I would find myself in your debt should you share your portion of that immersion. Thank you for your input.

Offworld Beverages

Have you ever noticed how one of the big "advances" of alien civilizations in sci-fi is powerful beverages that "really do it to you"? Romulan ale, Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters, etc.? I mean, we on earth already have readily available liquid concoctions that can make you blind, that can cause you to halucinate, or that can knock you unconscious instantly. Just how much room is there for new avenues of perfection in chemically altered states of mind?

Quote of the day

"Growing up in Serbia, we didn't know whether the Americans or the Russians would win, so in the schools they taught us both English and Russian."

--Nik, our pool's lifeguard

Back to class

In another week, my summer is over, and I hit the books again. (So is my wife, but only for one class.) I have a few interviews lined up for post-graduation work; it's something to think that I will finally be done with the full time student thing and have to move out into the somehow more-"real" world. I will also be working some during the semester, which will be nice. Books and ideas are nice in their own way, but I enjoy more working out actual problems for real people.