Tuesday, January 31, 2023
ESS exercise
Monday, January 30, 2023
Intuitive problem-finding
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Coffee, recidivus
Friday, January 27, 2023
Sermon 4 - Grief and Dying to Self
Grief series
Sermon 22 - Grief Illiteracy
https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2024/03/sermon-22-grief-illiteracy-and-series.html
Sermon 4 - Grief and Dying to Self
https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2023/01/sermon-4-grief-and-dying-to-self.html
Sermon 7 - faith and works, and intuitive vs instrumental grief
https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2023/02/sermon-7-faith-and-works-and-intuitive.html
Sermon 10 - Why Job
https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2023/03/sermon-10-why.html
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Koodo
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
I'm used to being the smartest person in the room, but my *Roomba* would have been the smartest person in *that* room
Heroes
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Grief Guys materials and resources
Monday, January 23, 2023
Thought-provoking question
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Friends help
Have I made new friends here in Port Alberni? Of course I have.
One friend is a photographer. A really good photographer. A professional photographer. With a whole collection of camera equipment. We have talked about various types of cameras, and the different functions that you can perform with different cameras. I have told him of my need to get a digital camera body, and an adapter to use my existing lenses. He's not interested in helping me find any appropriate camera equipment.
I have met another friend, at another church, who is big into woodworking. He does lots of things, for lots of people. He does all kinds of things for different members of his family. He helps out people who have difficulty with hardware, and particularly woodworking, problems around their homes. I have told him of my project, stalled for many years because I have absolutely no hardware skills, finishing up the rack to store and display Gloria's collection of thimbles, which I augmented during my travels. He's not interested in helping me finish that project.
I have met another friend, had yet another church, who is interested in fixing and repairing things. I have told him the sad story of my of the Roomba breaking the female character figurine, and my desire to glue the broken pieces back together. A desire which is stalled because, of course, I have absolutely no manual dexterity, or skills with repairing much of anything. He is not interested in helping me repair the figurine.
Friends help you move. Real friends help you move *bodies*.
Friday, January 20, 2023
I walked a mile with death ...
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Online safety seminar
(This posting has now also become a catalogue of my various presentations.)
"Now arrogant men, God, are attacking me, a brutal gang hounding me to death: people to whom you mean nothing." Psalm 86:14
"Rescue me, Lord, from evildoers; protect me from the violent, who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day." Psalm 140:1,2
"Keep me out of traps that are set for me, from the bait laid for me by evil men." Psalm 141:9
"The net is always spread in vain if the bird is watching." Proverbs 1:17
"Whoever listens to me may live secure, he will have quiet, fearing no mischance." Proverbs 1:33
I have prepared and will be presenting a workshop on spam, scams, frauds, online security and safety, and possibly other topics. It will be presented at:
So, I am willing to offer it (at the same rate that I'm charging the Sunshine Club and the churches--nothing) to any venues that want it. I can bring a laptop (or a USB stick), but I would need a projector since there are slides to show.
This is a seminar on a very basic level of protection or warnings about "online" (phone, text, and email) frauds, scams, and spam. This would cover topics like:
- the difference between spammers and scammers
- the grandparent scam (in detail)
- robot "press 1 now" calls ("Your Visa/Amazon/Norton is being charged/will be renewed at a cost of ..." or "CRA will throw you in jail if you don't pay")
- advance fee/lottery/419/Nigerian/Spanish Prisoner scams
- discord attacks
- spotting spam
- and, of course, grief scams
(- and then there's oddities like iPhone vs MMS ...)
There will also be extended time for questions about other dangers attendees may have heard about and want more information about.
If there was any interest, I was also thinking of a subsequent three part series:
Online Security level 1, "Things Your Grandkids Wish You Knew"
Online Security level 2, "Things You Can Discuss With Your Grandkids"
Online Security level 3, "Things You Can *Teach* Your Grandkids" :-)
I was thinking that level 1 would be pretty basic, and would be of interest to pretty much any of the members, but that, if people were interested in going beyond that, the level 2 and 3 would provide that opportunity once we had started with level 1. (There could also be variations on this.)
Some of the level 2, and level 3, topics, listed and described below, are also online at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUuvftvRsRv4bMs_scU3TyBZzuvW7kpZi
Just to be clear, I am not looking at doing this as a business, and would not expect to charge for the workshops. This is just part of my volunteer work. (Although I am still an active security maven, so I *do* know what I'm talking about :-)
I *do* have experience in presentations. I have taught information security on six continents. You can check out some of what I've done at
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUuvftvRsRv4bMs_scU3TyBZzuvW7kpZi
In addition, for any of the churches, there are further presentations that I have, prepared and ready to go. Some of the topics are:
- Level 2 - Artificial Intelligence
With the release of the Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and DALL-E, there is a great deal of interest in artificial intelligence. However, there are risks, and there is much confusion, particularly since a lot of people talking about "AI" are actually talking about different things. Artificial intelligence is not a single thing, or even a single field. This presentation looks at the various components of AI, and what they can (and can't) do, but concentrates on genAI/LLMs, and what we *know* about how well they are doing so far.
- Level 2 - Digital privacy
- Level 3 - Business Continuity Planning (2 hr)
- Level 3 - Security Lessons from CoVID-19
Lessons, or reminders, of important information security operations concepts which have been pointed out by the CoVID-19 pandemic crisis. Using the SARS- CoV-2/CoVID-19 pandemic as a giant case study, and structured by the domains of information security, this looks at security aspects of the crisis, pointing out specific security fundamentals where social, medical, or business response to the crisis failed, or needed to make specific use of those concepts. For the most part, these lessons are simply reminders of factors that get neglected during times of non-crisis, and particularly point out the importance of advance planning and resilience in systems and business.
So, first I started explaining CoVID to my colleagues using security concepts they'd understand. Then I did a presentation, but it got too big and became a half a dozen presentations. Then I wrote "Cybersecurity Lessons from CoVID-19" at about the same time that I was putting together a full CISSP seminar (which is also being done, experimentally, online). So then I thought that a "one day" CISSP seminar would be a good thing, and I could use the pandemic as a giant case study to demonstrate the various security concepts and fundamentals. So, this *can* be broken into a variety of short presentations, or it can be a half-day workshop just on the CoVID security lessons, or it can be a full-day, one-day CISSP seminar using CoVID examples
- Information Security Ethics
- Crimeware
For twenty years, malware was a steadily growing threat. It was not seen as a major problem since it was untargetted: the work of amateurs who released their programs as random nuisances. That has now changed. Organized groups use viruses to create spambotnets, and then use those networks not only for spamming but for advanced fee (419) fraud and phishing. Similar networks of RAT controlled machines are used to threaten companies with DDoS extortion. Botherders use sophisticated fast-flux DNS and IP address rotation in order to avoid both detection and shutdown. Groups are now specialized in nature, using credit card numbers obtained from phishing attacks to order goods from online sales and auction sites, laundering their money and increasing their profits--at your expense. Malware has become the largest single class of computer crime: crimeware. And yet most general security literature still explains malware using thirty year-old virus models. This presentation gives analysis of malware trends and the changes in levels and types of risks.
- Level 3 - Incident Response Planning (2 hr)
a two-hour seminar on incident response planning. This session was aimed at planning for any kind of incident, although, at the time, most examples were taken from "cyber" incidents, involving computers, malware or communications. A response planning tool handout is part of the presentation, and hands-on exercises during the seminar.
- Level 2 - Decentralized Finance/NFTs/Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoins and Blockchains and Digital Cash, Oh my!)
Bitcoin, NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and many things that might be called "decentralized finance" have become enormously popular, recently, but are also wildly speculative. This seminar will give you some background, starting with the principles of, and research into, digital cash, valuation, fungibility, technologies, infrastructures, and the basic principles underlying this field. In addition, we will note the speculative nature of much of this "wealth." What is a cryptocurrency? We'll also look at the shortcuts that cryptocurrencies have taken, and why that is a problem. We build an outline for the requirements for digital cash, why cryptocurrencies have only partly fulfilled those requirements, and why NFTs are even worse. Currently, "investment" in cryptocurrencies is highly speculative, and seems to be roughly equivalent to putting anticipated winnings at a casino into your stock portfolio. And, by the way, BLOCKCHAIN IS NOT THE ANSWER!!!
- Level 3 - Security Implications of Quantum Computing
Quantum computing has been seen, in trade, research, and even science fiction literature, as a way to crack encryption keys with ease. With the advent of the first practical (and now commercial!) quantum computing devices, it is possible to see that such a "universal decryption" application is likely a long ways off. On the other hand, there are some very interesting applications that are much closer, with implications, both positive and negative, for information security. This presentation will provide a brief outline of the realities and limitations of quantum computing, and then look at a wide variety of applications and implications in all domains of security. Even trying to understand the concepts of quantum computing can make your head hurt, but true quantum computing (and some quantum operations that are not true quantum computing, such as analogue quantum co-processors) can have implications for functions and operations that are terrifically helpful (and sometimes very dangerous) for security. Using least path, simulation, and pattern matching as the most likely and helpful models, we can see advances (and attacks) in the areas of security management, security architecture, access control, cryptography (quite aside from quantum cryptography), physical security, BCP/DRP, applications security, security operations, telecommunications, and law and investigation. There are also some quantum considerations that will make traditional computers faster and more power efficient. (If time can be extended for the presentation, we can even model the BB84 protocol for quantum cryptography [which is not really cryptography].)
- Security Awareness Lessons from Dr. Bonnie
Dr. Bonnie Henry, as BC's Chief Medical Health Officer, has demonstrably saved over 5,000 lives in just a few months. With the regular CoVID press briefings, she has also provided a MasterClass in effective communication of complex technical subjects. This reference provides real-world examples of the most significant points in designing and implementing an effective security awareness program. It also conclusively proves, with mathematical certainty, the importance of a security awareness training.
- Security Frameworks
Find out the BS behind BS 7799. We give you the ITILlating facts to help you pull up your SOX and get the jump on the quidelines from "Audit" to "Zachman." As has been famously said, the nice thing about security standards is that there are so many of them. Which security framework is most appropriate for you? What can they help you to achieve? And where do Treadway and Turnbull come into it? Come with questions, get answers, and share experiences about the all-too-often mysterious checklists that govern our professional lives.
- Level 2 - Social Media
Oversharing, curating, "ego searches," the ways social media sites aggregate data from you and all your friends, and also subtly encourage you to share more than you meant to. Remember that their business model is to get you to tell them all about yourself, and then to sell that information to others. Does "deleted" *really* mean deleted? Does "private" mean what you think it means?
- Level 2 - Disinformation and Discord
The "I" in the "CIA" triad stands for "integrity" of information, and, in our "post-truth" world, that has become more important, not less. We are faced not merely with errors and misinformation, but active and increasingly directed efforts to deceive and mislead. We need to be aware of the types of efforts involved in disinformation, as well as the ways we can fool ourselves, and rely too much on novel ideas such as artificial intelligence. In addition, we need to look at social factors that can make us (and our technologies and enterprises) more susceptible to misinformation and disinformation.
- Level 2 - Social Engineering and Social Media
Businesses are attempting to make use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, for corporate (primarily marketing) purposes. It is best to become informed about the concerns and security dangers related to such use. This presentation examines a number of risks (and benefits) using the CIA triad as a structure.
- Level 2 - A 35 Year History of Malware
- Level 2 - Security Dangers of the "Internet of Things" (IoT)
Although the "Hello Barbie" toy seems to have disappeared from the market, it's very existence provides a framework for examining issues in the Internet of Things (IoT). This presentation is a thought experiment to examine questions of security common to many such devices. The "Hello Barbie" toy is an excellent example for pointing out what we *don't* know about many "Internet of Things" devices and applications. What is done (and stored) locally, and what remotely? When remotely, what privacy regulations prevail? How much bigger can "big data" make aggregation attacks?
Rob requests those attending to bring their nominees for "world's stupidest Internet connected device. Current front runners: net-connected vibrators, net-connected sniper rifle scope, iCon Smart Condom (tracking a man's "thrust velocity," calories expended "per session," skin temperature, as well as tests for chlamydia and syphilis)
- Level 2 - Psychological Factors of the Metaverse
And then there are some more advanced seminars ...
- Level 3 - Digital Fingerprints of Advanced Fee Frauds
- Level 3 - Botnets
- Level 2 - Presenting Technical Forensic Evidence in Court
This presentation will cover a number of areas, including the fact that lawyers don't just have a different job than we do¬they are a different species, different types of legal systems, types of evidence, rules of evidence, the chain of custody, the difference between witnesses of fact and expert witnesses, rules for expert testimony (opinion), and factors involved in presenting technical material to a non-technical audience. We'll touch on liability, negligence, due diligence, and due care. This presentation is based on decades of working with lawyers in preparing for primarily civil lawsuits, but is applicable to investigative management of criminal cases as well. And remember: they don't have to prove you are wrong, they just have to make you look bad.
- "One-Day" CISSP seminar
So, first I started explaining CoVID to my colleagues using security concepts they'd understand. Then I did a presentation, but it got too big and became a half a dozen presentations. Then I wrote "Cybersecurity Lessons from CoVID-19" at about the same time that I was putting together a full CISSP seminar. So then I thought that a "one day" CISSP seminar would be a good thing, and I could use the pandemic as a giant case study to demonstrate the various security concepts and fundamentals. So, this *can* be broken into a variety of short presentations, or it can be a half-day workshop just on the CoVID security lessons, or it can be a full-day, one-day CISSP seminar using CoVID examples
- Level 3 - Differential Privacy
Differential privacy is a relatively recent topic, although it is an amalgam of well- known, and long utilized, concepts. Oddly, outside of academic circles, it was almost unknown until Apple made a big deal of it in an announcement in 2016. Differential privacy is, however, the "quantitative risk analysis" of privacy, which is why it has such important points to make to the field of privacy, and why almost nobody is using it. (Including, mostly, Apple.) It's hard to know where to put differential privacy into the security domains. Law? But it's not that kind of privacy. Cryptography? There are lots of similar concepts. Security management? We have to deal with measures, metrics, budgets, and risk management. My vote tends to be for applications security, because we are primarily dealing with database management and database queries. We have to deal with the old problem of data aggregation attacks, but we also are using aggregation as a form of defence. It's not a perfect or binary system, because data cannot be fully anonymized and yet remain useful. So we have to balance total records, records of a given individual, the number and type of queries allowed, local or global privacy, probability, and noise, to get *enough* privacy: privacy as if an individual wasn't in the database. Differential privacy is the "quantitative risk analysis" of privacy, and therefore may be shunned by many. (Or used improperly.)
- Level 3 - Homomorphic Encryption
How do you encrypt something, and still use it? Recently security operations has become very excited about homomorphic encryption. It seems to be the latest "magic" security technology that will solve all our problems, but I don't think we've really provided a good outline of what it is, and, particularly, what it can't do. This presentation will outline the basic concepts, note some specific forms and applications, and point out the various factors for use or consideration. Homomorphic encryption is not just a weak form of encryption (although you have to be careful, when creating or assessing a homomorphic encryption algorithm, that it isn't *too* weak). It actually isn't that new: we've been using it, in some ways, for decades. One issue in regard to homomorphic encryption is that it isn't universal: you have to choose the function that you want to use in order to determine your encryption algorithm. Various algorithms are being created and explored for the functions of addition, multiplication, comparison, and others, and you can download code for these and play with them yourself. The best current example is probably the Rivest Three Ballot voting system, which opens a whole range of possibilities for voting security that we never had before. Still, you have to be careful with what you think homomorphic encryption will do for you, and what it will actually do.
Not on security, but also available:
Public Art in Port Alberni (time variable)
The "arts walks" on a slide show presentation basis. See also https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2023/08/public-art-in-port-alberni-introduction.html
How to comfort or deal with those with depression (1hr)
This is for those who are not necessarily depressed themselves, but are dealing with those who are, or who are trying to comfort those who are depressed. You cannot cliche or proof-text people out of depression, and you cannot simply tell them to feel happy. You cannot simply tell them that they can be happy if they choose to. (Believe me, *nobody* would choose to be depressed.) This presentation will give you some reality of what depression is, and what it isn't, things to say (and particularly things not to say), and some approaches that might help.
Composting (1 hr)
So, you just throw all your grass clippings, weeds, stems and leaves, and household food peelings into a pile, and it will magically turn into soil! Well, no, not quite. Yes, eventually, this will happen, but there are things you can do to speed up the process, and definitely things you can do to slow down the process. Compost it's not just a pile of dead stuff: it is a living organism. Or, rather, many living organisms and a bit of an ecology. This presentation looks at some of the right ways, and some of the wrong ways, to do composting, and use all the benefits and nutrients for your garden that compost provides.
Gardening on the cheap (1 hr)
It is spring! All the stores will have gardening displays, selling you all the latest and most wonderful things to make your garden grow! Well, you can *buy* all those wonderful things, in order to make your garden grow. But there are an awful lot of things that you can get for free, or really cheap, often doing just as good, although not quite as pretty, a job. This presentation looks particularly at germinating items from seeds, and cheapest ways to benefit from that process, rather than having to buy more expensive pre-potted starter plants rather than the more cost-effective seeds.
Pot/Small Space gardening (1 hr)
It's wonderful to have a huge house, and a huge lot, and lots of space to build the gardens that you've always dreamed of! However, an awful lot of us have to make do with either a much smaller piece of land (mostly taken up by the house that sits on it), or a rental situation, where we're not allowed to tear up the grass for a plot, and have to make do with pots on the patio, or in the windows. (Pretty much everyone can have a window box.) Here are some things that you can grow, and the extra care that you have to take, when you're growing things in pots, rather than just in the ground.
AI - Level 2, 2 hr
With the rise of the Large Language Model artificial intelligence products, such as ChatGPT, there has been a resurgence of interest in artificial intelligence. Many products and services are now being branded as AI. However, AI is not a single entity or approach, and while different approaches have been successful in a variety of fields, some of the latest overpromise and underdeliver. This presentation presents the major categories of artificial intelligence, and particularly examines the shortcomings of the newest systems.
Griefbots - Level 2, 2 hr
Griefbots, also sometimes known as restoration systems, promise to use artificial intelligence to "recreate" lost loved ones. Sometimes these systems may promise more than they deliver. Even at their best, such systems may present psychological dangers to those who use them. I have lots of email from Gloria that I could "feed" to Replika: should I create a "Replika" of Gloria? Would it be good, or bad, for me to do so? Would it be realistic? *Too* real? Create an "uncanny valley"?
"Men's" Grief: Intuitive and Instrumental Grieving
After Gloria died, I started researching grief. (I'm a systems analyst: if I am going to grieve, I am going to study the heck out of it.) Terry Martin and Kenneth Doka had researched what they initially thought was a gender difference in grieving. What they found were two different styles of grieving: not a dichotomy, but with definite gender "preferences."
Intuitive grieving; talking, about your emotions, based in the past; is the style that almost all bereavement counselling is based upon. It is so universally perceived as "grief" that most grief literature states, outright, that failure to express emotion demonstrates a failure to do "grief work." However, Martin and Doka also identified instrumental grieving; cognitively based, thinking and learning, planning for the future, and engaging in activities and projects.
Martin and Doka's research noted that there is not a dichotomy in styles: almost everyone grieves in both styles ("blended"), but with a tendency to one end or the other of the intuitive/instrumental continuum. Most women tend to the intuitive end; most men tend to the instrumental end. Since almost all grief counselling is based on the intuitive model, men tend to be underserved in regard to grief.
With the support of the Alberni Valley Hospice Society, I have been experimentally developing group grief group peer support incorporating the instrumental (as well as intuitive) concepts. This presentation reports on the overall ideas, an attempt to structure a program and materials, and the initial results of some experimental groups.
Resources:
https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2023/02/review-of-men-dont-cry-women-do-by.html
https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2022/07/review-of-grieving-brain-by-mary.html
https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2022/03/grief-guys.html
https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2023/01/grief-guys-materials-and-resources.html
https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2022/12/grief-bibliography.html
Instrumental grieving
Stamps Cafe, Best Western Plus Barclay Hotel
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Go back?
Do I want to go back? Do I want Gloria back, like so many of the online grievers are talking about?
No.
Gloria always had physical and medical problems, and she was often in a lot of pain, and she often said that she wanted her resurrection body *right now!*, and now she has it, and she is with God. No way do I want her back in the fallen world and in pain just because I miss her.
And I have learned so many things, even though the learning process has been excruciatingly painful. And I am doing new things I never would have done.
So, even though my life really sucks right now, no, I don't want to go back.
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
Review of JIBC online training
Monday, January 16, 2023
South southport wifi hotspots
Saturday, January 14, 2023
Sermon 3 - Blackberries
On one of my walks, I was pondering over expressions of love, and our expectations of what those look like. I realized that, for me, people show love to me by feeding me. (This is not a particularly edifying thing to learn about about oneself, but fortunately this sermon is not about me, but about God's provision for all of us.) This is not to say that I feel that McDonald's or Boston Pizza particularly love me, or are demonstrating love for me. No, what I feel as a gift of love is when somebody feeds me without me paying for it, without me doing anything in return, without any expectations of what I will do as repayment for this meal.
Also, while I have been out walking, I have been noting, cataloging, and inventorying the blackberry bushes along the various routes that I take. And shortly after I realized what I realized about people feeding me, I realized that this was a demonstration of God feeding me. God is demonstrating his love for me. I didn't plant the blackberry bushes. I didn't water them. (This is a particularly strong indication that God is doing the work, especially since I have been watering Deltassist's gardens all summer. Regularly. Religiously, you might say.) Nobody is taking care of the blackberry bushes. Indeed, when anybody does concern themselves with most of the blackberry bushes, it is to send out a crew to cut them back.
So, regularly thereafter, on my walks, which were taking place earlier and earlier in the morning to get out of the heat of the day, I was having breakfast with God. God's treat. God was providing the blackberries, so that I could have breakfast.
Blackberries are a pretty nice fruit. If you know what you're doing, and only pick the ripe ones, they're really sweet and quite delicious. And God is not only providing for me. The blackberries have some berries that come fully ripe into large, juicy, sweet berries. And some that stay small. And even dry on the vine early in the summer. So God's provision is not just for me, but for the birds, as well. These dried berries will provide nourishment for a variety of small birds well into the winter. Late in the winter, it may be almost all the nourishment that those birds can obtain in order to survive the winter.
This prolific provision, for people, bears, and birds, is probably an additional lesson that we learn from blackberries. The first lesson is, of course the provision itself: God loves us. God is providing for us. God provides for us in a variety of ways, and provides not only for us but for many others as well. God, of course, provides for, as he created, all living things. It's just that blackberries give us a very specific illustration of this.
Which brings me to the next theological lesson that blackberries teach us. It's rather strange that these blackberries grow in such abundance, and perfusion, and produce such delectable fruit, and provide so well for those of us who live in this area. Because these blackberries are not native to this area. What you know of as blackberries, and what pretty much everyone who lives in British Columbia thinks of in terms of blackberries, are not a native species. They are, in fact, an invasive species. God never planted them here. God created them elsewhere. They are known, for reasons which completely escapes me, as Himalayan BlackBerry. They don't come from the Himalayas; they come from Iran. It's quite possible that Abraham ate blackberries from this species. (Well, I guess at that point he was known as Abram.) Somebody imported them, and cultivated them in Oregon. And then the birds took over. And now you see blackberry all the way from Alaska to California. Himalayan BlackBerry. An invasive species.
So, what is the second lesson? God takes even our mistakes, and interference with his plan, and can make something good out of it.
There are native species of BlackBerry. I know of at least four different native species. I am getting really interested in native species of British Columbia, and I'm trying to collect samples of them. I collected two native species from a church in Delta, before I moved to Port Alberni.
So, lesson one: God loves us and provides for us. Lesson 2: God provides lavishly for everyone. Lesson 3: God makes provision for us, sometimes in very merciful ways, even when we disobey him.
Okay, that's three points. And we've already got the illustration. The illustration is blackberries. So, according to the rules, I've completed the requirements for a sermon. But wait! There's more! (God isn't the only one who can be lavish in his provision.)
God uses blackberries to teach us patience. (If we have the patience to learn the lesson.) As I said, I am collecting samples of native blackberry plants. I've collected samples this year. I've stuck them in pots, and watered them, and, so far, they haven't died. But I don't expect to get any fruit next year.
The first year that blackberries send out vines, they just send out long shoots. These long shoots cover a lot of ground. Sometimes the ends of the shoots touch down on the ground, in which case they tend to root into the ground, and develop a new plant. But what they don't develop is any flowers. Or any fruit. The first year the blackberry just sends out vines. The second year, those vines develop side shoots, and those shoots will develop flowers, and, eventually, blackberries.
So we have to wait. We have to be patient. God doesn't do things on our time, or our demand. God does things in his time. And his time is eternity. We need to learn that what we consider urgent is not. In the grand, universal, logical cosmological scheme of things, what we consider urgent is simply a passing phase.
Sermons: https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2023/09/sermons.html
Friday, January 13, 2023
Small towns
I am remembering one of the things that bugs me about small towns. Just because someone is marginally smarter than most of the population of [Your Home Town!], and has marginally more information than is absolutely required in their day-to-day existence, they feel that I should agree with them in their conspiracy theory of the day.
Argh.
And then there are those who, because some of my projects are starting to bear fruit, (and ignoring the fact that a number of the projects that I have started have sunk without a trace, as is usual: I am, in a sense an activity or idea "entrepreneur," and you have to start a number of projects and ideas, hoping to have one succeed) some people are getting annoyed that I, as the new kid in town, am succeeding, where they, who have been in town longer, are not succeeding. Well, have you actually tried to do anything? I am remembering that an awful lot of people in small towns are somewhat lazy. Particularly intellectually lazy. I hope I do not become so. But I strongly suspect that it is a possibility.
And, recently, one of the residents of the town pointed out to me that it was a small town, and felt the need to pass along the importance of never saying anything bad about anybody, since whatever you say will eventually get back to the person you said it about. Sorry, I'm used to being a big city boy, and having the fact that I am completely unimportant mean that I can say whatever I think. I am not looking forward to having to watch my tongue for the rest of my life. I suppose I can say whatever I feel like here, since it's unlikely that anybody in [Your Home Town!] is going to consider it important to check out my blog, and for all of you who are reading this, all two of you, it's unlikely to get back to anybody in [Your Home Town!].