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Posts posted by wild_turkey
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I was slow to start S4 due to rewatching S3, which is easily my least favorite. My biggest gripe was too much screen time given to the idiot Fak brothers. They were good for snippets of comedic relief in S1-2 but not multiple lengthy scenes per episode of childish arguments. Second gripe was what felt like manufactured drama with everyone and the odd tease of Sydney leaving for a restaurant that doesn’t exist yet with a partner she barely knows.
I’m through 6 episodes of S4 and really enjoying it so far. Less time for Faks and more time elevating other characters like Ebraheim and Gary has been much appreciated. The inter-character drama seems more authentic and feels like we are actually building towards something. Also liking the addition of Ever castoffs and Luca. Good stuff.
Ep 7 - Bears is over an hour. I have a good feeling about it. -
I have been struggling with the prayer issue as I have been battling cancer for 3 years. At this point whenever someone says “I’m praying for you”, I just want to yell “it’s been 3 years, what’s the fucking point? It ain’t working”
To me, these are the options:
1. There is no higher power
2. There is a higher power but is unable to effect anything
3. I have been abandoned by said higher power
Any way you slice it, what’s the point of the prayer? Is there a jar with my name on it, with a line and when the prayer count goes over that line, I am cured?
I have basically ceased going to church outside of some things for my kids and since I explained the above to my wife, she kind of stopped asking me to go.
I can’t imagine losing a daughter (I have an 8 YO going to Longhorn this summer) at summer camp and not feeling the same.
I’m sorry to hear about your situation. I don’t have any advice or prayers but I’m sorry you drew that card and hopefully there’s good news ahead for you. -
At 1am, only loud ass sirens were going to do any good. What percentage of people are up checking weather updates at that time?
A shitty motel with 50 rooms has a night clerk throughout the night to monitor for problems.
A camp with over 600 young girls sure as hell better have people awake at all hours, looking out for any potential danger. When that camp is next to a river and the forecast shows a chance of flash flooding, that should be the threat you don’t take your eyes off of.-
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Trump has been uncharacteristically quiet concerning all this. Think back to how vocal he was when 12 people died in the Palisades Fire.
when come to lives lost, this tragedy is much worse.- Oh, Republican Governor you say?
- Oh, Republican congressmen?
- Oh, all white guys in charge?
- oh, red state?
Pope Francis and Zelensky have had more to say about this than Trump.-
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Adding onto my previous post because my thoughts shift somewhat...
I'm assuming any attempt to explain this will go back to the concept of original sin, that Adam and Eve are responsible for the fall of mankind, we all deserve to die and spend eternity in hell for our sins, and anyone who isn't dead (yet) or is part of the small minority that makes it into heaven has been spared by the grace of God. So all the kids that died this weekend deserve it, their families deserve their devestation, and the others live to fight another day. The kid that dies in a school shooting deserves it. The mother that dies of cancer deserves it.
That part really doesn't work for me, and likely one of the primary reasons I turned away from Christianity. If you are willing to believe that God is almighty enough to save people (especially that he can be motivated by prayer), then his unwillingness to save people is cruel. The Bible says something like "wide is the gate that leads to death and narrow is the path that leads to life." Okay cool, so his own user manual for the world he created informs us that most people will die and spend eternity in hell. But he created this, all of it. It's his game that we are forced to play. And every moment that this world continues spinning on its axis, millions more people are born who he will ultimately condemn to hell. Why allow that to continue? It's saddistic.
Perhaps a willingness to accept that is an entry level requirement to being a Christian. I guess my brain isn't wired that way. It defies all logic.
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This post is prompted by Greg Abbott telling the people of Texas that prayer works in a tragedy and that today should be a day of prayer, but it could apply generally to many situations in life. I posted my frustration and anger over this in one of the flood threads, but those threads are very active with multiple random discussions, and this seems like a better place to pose these questions. I know these are not novel ideas or concerns, but I'm honestly curious what the posters in this thread think.
For what it's worth, I was raised in a Christian household, read the Bible cover to cover at one point, attended a bible study throughout my time at UT, and then grew up and started to see a lot of cracks in the beliefs I was given, eventually deciding that none of it really works for me. So that's my starting point in these questions and I mean no disrespect towards anyone's beliefs.
How can a person (elected official or otherwise) say that prayer works in response to the Kerrville floods? There are people with dead children. Did prayer work for those families?
If you are someone that believes that prayer can produce actual results in this life, how do you explain a family that is praying about a missing young daughter who was attending a Christian camp of all things, and not having their prayers answered with their daughter returned safely to them?
Did God only hear the prayers of certain families? Did he not love the other families? Was it simply in his plan that those families would suffer losses, prayers be damned?
Assume that 2 families have very similar religious beliefs and both believe in the power of prayer. Family A gets their child home safe. They would likely say that God answered their prayers. Family B loses their child. What would family B say? The Lord works in mysterious ways?
This obviously goes far beyond the tragedy in Texas this weekend. It could be applied to any horrible situation in life. If your child is killed in a school shooting, did you not pray enough? If your spouse dies of cancer, were you not praying enough?
It seems like a magic 8 ball to me with completely random outcomes. Or possibly a fortune cookie where you can read into it however you want.
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Could someone also remind me how many billions of dollars Texas taxpayers are on the hook for to bail out energy companies in the wake of the 2021 winter storm? Perhaps a little bit of that money would've been useful for disaster prevention, which I hear is prohibitively expensive. Although obviously, a lower bailout would affect the energy industry's profits.
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42 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:The great thing about Texas is that those same taxpayers will pay $6.6MM for a settlement to 4 whistleblowers against Ken Paxton who is dirty, corrupt, cheated on his wife, and still got re-elected to one of the highest government offices in the state. But yeah, emergency alert systems that could save the lives of young girls, that's a bit ridiculous to ask taxpayers to cover that cost.
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As someone who was raised in a Christian household and is no longer of that persuasion, I really struggle with the prayer stuff in these situations. I’m not saying this to be contentious or an asshole (even though Greg Abbott can get fucked), but really just from a religious or philosophical frustration that’s on a long list of reasons that turned me away from church.
How do you say prayers work when children are dead and other children are missing? Did those families not pray enough? Did God not love those children and their families?
My heart aches for the families involved in this and everyone in their extended orbit. Very somber in our household and I’ve hugged my own child so much and been so attached to her and thankful for our family’s safety. I just don’t understand how such a horrific event can be followed up with “prayer works” when families are without their children.
From my time in the church, I assume this goes back to the idea that all have sinned and deserve death, and it’s only by the grace of God that some people get to live and go on to heaven. So the dead people got what they deserved or something like that. I don’t know but that doesn’t work for me when God apparently made this world and everyone in it and rigged this game in a way that most people ultimately lose. If a human did that we would call them a sociopath.
Sorry I’m rambling and I apologize if this is the wrong time or place or inappropriate in the immediate aftermath. Having an elected leader say “prayer works” is a little bit triggering on a topic I always struggle with.-
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Horrific is the best word to describe this. I feel awful for those involved.
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Going up end of July early August for a week. Thinking Crested Butte, Beaver Creek, RMNP (Estes Park/Grand Lake) or a combination of two of these. Family of 4, son 19, about to go back for fall camp (football) and daughter, 18, about to go to UT.
We will do light/moderate hiking, son and I will fish. Otherwise, we want a great place to hang when not doing those things. Read through the thread and it has been helpful and much appreciated.
Flying or driving? -
Go aliens.-
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Central Market is selling Rahr 6 packs for $13.99. That’s a ridiculous price for a mediocre beer.
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That sucks. My one visit to Terry Blacks was very good. I had brisket, beef rib, and sausage. This was a few months back.
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+1, but recommend not literally renting a car from the city center as that is quite a harrowing experience.
Yes, this is absolutely true. My dumbass rented a car from a place in the basement of the Louvre, thinking it would be easy to find because I know where the Louvre is, plus it was close to our hotel. Won’t ever make that mistake again. Driving in the city center is crazy and I’ve driven all over Europe.
Take a train or Uber to a rental car place on the outskirts of Paris on the day you are leaving the city.-
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So we're thinking of an October France trip and I'm favoring 5 days in Paris and 3 days somewhere else in France that's smaller but close enough to get back in time to fly out.
My wife thinks 5 days in Paris is too much (bear in mind she's been twice without me, first time for me). I can't imagine 5 days is nearly enough time in one of the worlds greatest cities.
Anyone want to make recommendations on anything in particular?
We once did 5 nights in Paris followed by 3 nights in the Loire Valley. We stayed in Amboise, which we found to be a nice town with good access to nearby chateaus. If you find that kind of thing interesting, I would specifically recommend visiting Chateau Chambord and Chateau Chenonceau. The surrounding countryside is really beautiful as well.
I would highly recommend renting a car in Paris so you have the freedom to explore on your own. I think it’s about a 1.5 hour drive from Paris.-
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I don't know if Mechanize is just an ambitious startup looking to make splashy headlines and get VC investments, or if there is actually some credibility to their goal of automating all jobs. Even if they fail, the idea of this happening has always been there and someone will always be trying to accomplish this unless society has the proper guardrails in place. Currently, the leadership of our country and China puts that in doubt.
Brisket loves a doom and gloom scenario but I think he's absolutely right to be concerned about this. We can't simply ignore it or write it off as science fiction, then cry about it in 10, 20, 50 years when it actually happens. If a company in the U.S. (or anywhere) has a stated goal of replacing all human jobs, that is obviously quite problematic for the future of the human race. Even if they are only 75% successful in the end, that's an incredibly different world to live in and probably not for the better.
I think with all disruptive technologies, there should be a type of hurricane forecast model that shows the most likely path as well as the extremes on either side. The best case scenario for AI is that it solves some complex problems like developing cures for cancer without too much collateral damage along the way. The worst case scenario for AI is quite terrible, and if we leave it up to the companies developing it to set their own rules, there will eventually be bad actors that will capitalize on the worst of what the technology is capable of. You could argue that there are currently more bad actors than good actors. There are more people motivated by greed, power, and personal glory than there are people motivated to cure cancer and solve the world's problems.
I fear that even in the best case scenario, we will have a future in which the human experience is significantly dulled as a result of pervasive AI. We will lose a lot of our critical thinking capabilities and our creativity. It will be far easier to ask AI to do things for us than to actually attempt to solve our own problems. It will be far easier to ask AI to write a story or compose music or paint a picture than it will be for a human to do it independently. There are already people in this thread saying they use AI to create recipes from their pantry. I'm not judging, but that could become the norm for future generations and people will have a significantly reduced ability to do a lot of the things that makes us human. People will get used to seeing AI generated content on social media that surpasses what they actually experience in real life, which could make the real world less exciting and spectacular.
The internet revolution is probably the best comparison, but there are a ton of negatives for society that people weren't dealing with 30 years ago. Social media is about 90% detrimental to society. Jobs have not been entirely eliminated by the internet, but many sectors were eliminated or significantly reduced. New jobs have been created, so that's a positive. The human experience, IMO, is generally worse by the fact that we are constantly staring at screens instead of doing things with other people.
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Enjoyed the book and excited for the movie.
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Headed to PC in 2 weeks for a quick fly fishing trip. I’ve been there for skiing but it’s been a few years and never been in the summer. I think we’ll probably eat at High West one night because it seems like the thing to do.
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Y’all convinced me. Going at noon.
I have a casual interest in F1 meaning I turn it on in the background 2-3 times a year. This is a movie for movie fans in general, not just F1 or racing fans.
The visuals and sound are incredible. We don’t have IMAX nearby but we saw it in a Dolby Cinema with a large screen and great sound and it felt like we were right in the middle of the action. The score by HZ was perfect and the soundtrack was very good. -
I’ve always enjoyed Rush so we watched it again tonight as a chaser to F1. It’s cool seeing the differences between modern F1 and the 1970s version.
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Will I like it if I don’t care about car racing?
Yes, most likely.-
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Do We Have a Christ Followers Thread?
in Daily Texan
Posted
Thanks, Twice. I always appreciate your posts on everything.
Regarding the bolded part, and I’ve seen a couple of similar explanations, would you say prayer could be treated more as meditation or a coping mechanism? A way of personally processing life’s hardships?
If a person firmly believes their version of God exists, then someone is listening, even if the response to prayer is unclear. If a person doesn’t believe in God, then people who pray are basically talking to themselves, but at least it helps them feel better or less alone in the world. I’m probably in the latter camp at this point but I can kinda understand the former camp even if I disagree.
Is that fair or completely off base?
Although, my perception is that a significant percentage of Christians believe that prayer can effect actual results, which is ludicrous to me for reasons mentioned in my first post. So I still don’t and possibly never will understand that group, and that’s where I get borderline angry when people are told that prayer will help a tragedy.