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| I am beginning to grasp just how much knowledge there is out there, and how, despite all my best endeavours, I will never come close to even knowing a minuscule amount about everything. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Ecclesiastes 12:12 (ESV) says, "My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh."
I have started a presentation and paper on quantum computing. Once again, I'm exposed to how much I don't know. It's amazing how much information is out there, and what humans in their brilliance and ingenuity have thought up! In two days I have been exposed to a major field I knew nothing about. Quantum computing could revolutionize our society yet again, in much the same way conventional computers did, by allowing operations to be computed in parallel instead of separately. Any computational barrier would fall by the power of using quantum mechanics to execute operations. I'm amazed at the field's complexity; my Advanced Quantum Chemistry course that flirts with the graduate level allows me only a basic understanding on the topic.
What also amazes me is how fast the world changes. Between now and the time I started researching for my presentation last week, a major breakthrough occurred in the field. I'm citing references made yesterday! I suppose it is only to be expected that a topic with so much potential would evolve so rapidly.
Even so, I wonder what having the sustenance lifestyle of my ancestors would be like. They did so much more work with their hands, but struggled to survive. What would a society look like, when death was accepted as being as common as life? Our culture is infatuated with knowledge, and we keep on needing more and more of it to function. What were the days like when a 16-year-old could teach school, and all that was needed to live was a strong sense of tradition and a good back? My ancestors never knew of the wonders of the universe that we have unlocked, but have those wonders really made us happier? The complexity of our lifestyle is staggering, and although we have had huge advances in our standards of living, we have lost some of our innocence when it comes to enjoying a simple outlook on life.
It will be the topic of my next novel.
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| 365 days ago today, I received inspiration for my novel. I don't remember if I was showering or flossing, but I definitely got my idea in the bathroom. I IMed my mom about it, and she suggested that I don't let my idea go down the drain with the shower water.
41,000 words later, my novel is turning out very nicely! That's 85 single-spaced Word Document pages, attempting to verbalize the human condition and all its aspects.
My inspiration came in this fashion: I wanted to make a movie about a Bible story that was very dramatic, and that could include a train. I settled on a modern rendition of the Book of Job, an exceedingly righteous man who loses everything and questions God about it. His mansion would explode due to a natural gas leak, and a rather stunning Diesel locomotive would crush his ten beautiful children, leaving him destitute and hopeless and his ill-advised comforters seek to give him solace.
I did some quick calculations and settled on the novel idea, as a movie of my story line would entail blowing up about $2,000,000.00 worth of objects, and I couldn't afford that. I didn't really outline the book; instead I wrote it all in skeleton form, created a new Word Document, and started over again, adding as ideas came to me. The book changed a lot during the four drafts I've done so far. Characters were fleshed out more and whole new topics were inserted (on my last revision, I added Ecclesiastes). I expanded the scope of the book to satire elements of the faith that I don't agree with and to strengthen those which I do.
The famous chat that started it:
me: Someone should make a modern rendition of Job and put it in a movie 4:54 PM Mom: you're just the man for the job! 4:56 PM what happened to you? me: you got offline Mom: I think I still have a lot to learn about this thing. anyway, what dod you think of my suggestion? 4:57 PM me: It sounds good only, I would need to be able to destroy things, like the main character's house Mom: hmmm that's a problem me: it would follow the Bible story very closely Mom: could you do it all with Lego's as a demo? 4:58 PM me: only, instead of a wind blowing down his house, it would be a gas leak it might be doable 4:59 PM it would be about a rich, very godly business man with a big family Mom: write the script and see if you can shop it around send it to Vision Forum they do a film contest every year me: that is an idea! 5:00 PM Mom: It sounds good to me me: it seems like the story is timeless 5:01 PM Mom: it is , it would be me: cool it may be a Christmas break project
And now, some never-before-released sneak previews to foster anticipation of this upcoming best-seller:
Around 7:00, the grays and blues that covered the western Chicago suburbs were transformed as sunlight illuminated the eastern sky. The frost across the rolling hills glittered like a prism, and the light was diffracted into patterns on the wide windows facing Ronald. At once, the birds began their chorus through the crisp air, and a freight train’s horn could be dimly made out in the distance. Ronald always loved seeing the sunrise, which was part of the reason that he rose with the sun every day to pray.
*****
With a firm grip on the steering-wheel, Ronald felt like he could connect with the generations of men who led their families across unexplored lands, reigns in hand. He could relate to a ship’s captain, extremely capable of steering his family through any dangerous storm, or a pioneer, steering his covered wagon through a great expanse. He felt absolutely safe, with everyone around him, driving on a warm, sunny day to worship the Lord. In their metal box, his family was one cohesive unit, straddled between four tires and zipping down the road to their unchartered future.
*****
Ronald spoke clearly and directly, in words he didn’t understand from where they came. “Solomon, The author of Ecclesiastes, was the richest man who ever lived. He built palaces and vineyards and tried to make an empire, in hopes of finding some true meaning on this earth. But what did he discover? ‘...[W]hen I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecc 2:11, NIV).’ I see losing my house in the same way. Eventually, I would have had to part with my house anyway, even if it was on my death bed, but God simply took it away early. My family and I understand that the only things that last are in heaven, and that looking forward to seeing Jesus Christ’s face is more important than anything I’ve ever owned. As long as we stick together as a family, we’ll get through this, just fine. You’ll see.” He almost held his breath for the entire statement.
*****
Ronald waved as his ten children rolled in the van down the driveway. He felt an immense sense of pride for them. They had handled the crushing of their world with a lot of grace. He saw Ben through the sunlight that reflected on the windshield, looking so stately and tall. Sarah, who sat in the front passenger’s seat, looked lovely and as youthful as Caroline did when Ronald first married her. All eight of the rest of the children sat cheerfully, and several of them were laughing as they played their little games with each other.
*****
In its shock, the town itself seemed to pause. Wedged against the front coupler, the van rode half sideways as it slowly grounded itself into the rail-bed in a shower of sparks. Block after block, the locomotive roared and its brakes squealed, and the smell of melting metal filled the air.
*****
That night in his sleep, Ronald’s life-vision passed before him. He envisioned lying on his bed on some distant day in a great, bright room. There, with Caroline running her aged hands through his white hair, he found himself about to pass on from the face of the earth. By his right hand stood Benjamin, as old as Ronald was now, and beside Ben stood Sarah, age still not concealing her beauty. All his children surrounded the bed, with their spouses. He recognized them, even though they were all grown up. He also saw himself in his grandchildren and even his great-grandchildren. Together they watched him, as he began to pass on into the oblivion. They prayed, they cried, and they laughed over the many years they had had, and how Ronald had raised up three godly generations. Then, they sang one final hymn together in unison. Ronald saw himself lie back on the bed and breathe his last, to enter into eternal rest in God’s presence, a contented and fulfilled man who had lived to see the fruition of his labor.
*****
Slowly, Ronald turned to her. “No,” he said calmly, with a tear in his eye. “You must not talk so foolishly. Everything is the Lord’s. God has given us great riches and a wonderful family for many years. Now, he has taken them back to himself. Shall praise God for the good but curse him for the bad? Everything was His to begin with.”
*****
“No one can give me answers. My friends and extended family members keep on telling me to trust God, over, and over, time after time. They suffocate themselves on their own breaths, they say it so frequently. Like a broken record, they repeat it and repeat it, until I wish I had a worse migraine and couldn’t hear them anymore. They think they are doing themselves and me a great spiritual service as they tell me that I just need to pray more. They try, yet not a soul on earth can relate to how I feel right now.”
*****
“He’s right, Bob” James replied. “What else can you think of? It’s either that or your God-doesn’t-care theory.” Turning to Ronald, he said, “There is no need for us to continue this conversation. You’ve made up your mind. You’re stuck-up, self-righteous, arrogant, and hypocritical beyond belief. There is no hope for you.”
*****
“And they die at the height of their depravity, never having seen any reason to change. They perish in joy and laughter, without regretting what they did. They say they are the captains of their souls, and like fireworks they go on into eternity.”
*****
“So then why did it happen? God is all-powerful, and can do anything He pleases to accomplish His goodness. You have all lost sight of the bigger picture – eternity. I understand why it’s so much easier to live in the present, but the truth is, we have no way of measuring Mr. Braumski’s troubles without being able to view it from the perspective in heaven. We live in the plane of physical reality – but it’s just one facet of all that reality really is.”
*****
A bolt of lightning struck the house, shaking it as the sound of thunder gushed through every crack. For the briefest instant, the outside world was as bright as day. In the penetrating and illuminating whiteness of the flash, Ronald, Robert, Earl, James, and Ruth all saw it. A great, foaming, boiling cauldron of wind and dust was right outside their window, bearing down upon them, its enormous silhouette illuminated against the briefly lit sky.
“Hit the floor!” Earl screamed frantically. An overwhelming sense of energy and power flooded into Ronald’s body. As the men scurried around him to find any protection from the deadly force a few paces away, Ronald rose to his feet and faced the tornado. As the building began to shake and a window behind him exploded, he yelled...
*****
I don't know exactly when I'll be done. It keeps getting better with time, so I may never be finished!
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| In the past week, I've started an insidious (albeit true) rumor that, in anticipation of the rapidly approaching Thanksgiving holiday, I've been stocking up on peanut butter, jelly, and bread to have my own feast, and that I'll be spending Thanksgiving dinner alone lamenting the demise of Train Simulator 2, which should have been released next Friday, but was tragically canceled.
So far, I've gotten two girls and a faculty member to offer to take me back to their families over the break!
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| How to you keep yourself occupied, amused, and fulfilled, when:
You can't turn to academics, because 6 of your 8 classes are As
You can't turn to trains, because all the Dash-8s are out of service
You can't turn to bicycling, because you are out of tire repair kits
You can't turn toward going home, since it's still nearly a month
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| I've got to hand it to the guy I live with: he managed to stop, trap, entertain, and hand over to the police two delinquents that the campus security force has been trying to nab for a long time, single-handedly!
Last night, I came back to my on-campus apartment right before midnight, having spend ten hours making a computer program work. It was totally dark, but the weather was lovely. I heard voices from the front of my apartment, and kind of made out my apartment mate and two of my neighbors by the dim light. I also saw two others in the darkness as well, and they were all talking and laughing.
As I brushed my teeth, I thought I heard a commotion, but I didn't learn the story until today. This is what happened:
My apartment-mate is a night owl, and he's often up very late. He is also very hospitable, and puts everyone at ease. He was talking to his friends on the porch late last night, when he saw two men walk out of the shadows around the building.
Immediately, he was suspicious. There have been a lot of burglaries recently on campus, and security had put out a watch for two men. Because of how late it was and how they dressed, he had a strong impression that they were up to no good, and although he always wears a friendly facade, he is a very logical thinker.
He invited them over. He and his friends chatted with them. The two strangers lied to all the questions, claiming they were college students, despite not knowing what dorm they lived in. My apartment mate's friends had no idea what was going on, but he had a plan.
He excused himself and went to his room, leaving the door ajar to look innocuous. Then, he phoned the campus police department, which in turn phoned the LVPD. He briefed the situation and gave instructions on where to park. For the next ten minutes, he served the strangers popcorn and lemonade.
Finally, three police vehicles pulled up. Trapped on the porch, the men had no where to run. They both had outstanding warrants and were hauled. away. Due to his social skills and hospitality, my apartment-mate was able to what countless man-hours from two police departments had failed to accomplish!
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