Monday links
Monday, April 21st, 2014- Alas, one (normally) educated community didn’t get its Eastertime passion play this year. Because some gov-o-crat thought a passion play was a sex show.
- But keeping everything equal, religious folks apparently dished out some maltreatment of their own.
- Today’s good news. Cop tries to shoot harmless dog. Shoots self instead. (As you can imagine several people sent links to this.)
- Anybody seen a Leveraxe? Now, that looks like one cool tool, if it works as advertised. Funny how even a tool nearly as old as civilization can get a major makeover when the moment’s right. Unfortunately the Leveraxe isn’t on Amazon yet. But keep your eyes peeled.
- The dumbization and wimpization of American government schooling goes on unhindered. Don’t even think of taking your Leveraxe — or even a wrench! — to school. (H/T H.)
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April 21st, 2014
Leveraxe does indeed look interesting, but I suspect that the twisting motion would limit use by older folks, especially with arthritis. I have an excellent hatchet, wedge and small sledge hammer… but don’t have the strength to even split kindling from dry wood. The use of the tire around the log to be split is a terrific idea! The flying chunks can be as dangerous as the axe.
April 21st, 2014
Very nice! But sadly the retail price for one is around $250 – $300. For thst much I can buy 10 cords of aged barked and split wood delivered. Brilliant engineering though.
April 21st, 2014
Yeah, that’s definitely pricey, even for high-tech engineering. But oh, KenK, where on earth can you get 10 cords of wood for $300! I might want to live there!
April 21st, 2014
I used to be bewildered about the name “passion play” too. Even now- understanding what it means- it seems bizarre. Let’s just call it a death pageant re-written by Disney to have a happy ending. (ducks flying shoes…)
I would want to try the Leveraxe before I bought one. I am always suspicious of newfangled tools that work so well for people trained to use them for the video sales pitches. (“It slices, it dices…”) Let a clueless guy like me try it and see if it works as advertized. From what I thought I understood, the handle absorbed the twisting action, but I could be wrong. Until then, my double bit axe works just fine.
“Weapon” isn’t an object, it is the intent with which you wield the object. A gun isn’t a weapon if you are plinking, but if a rabid politician runs at you that same gun suddenly becomes a weapon. The object didn’t change or suddenly get a new function; your intent changed.
April 21st, 2014
“have said that the sign is an attack on people of faith”
If that is true, then signs promoting religion would be an “attack” on people who prefer rationality. Obviously, it isn’t true. It just offends “people of faith” and they want to see it as being attacked to push an agenda. Neither side has a corner on that false “attack” market.
April 21st, 2014
@Kent
The way the priest explained this to me when I asked about the term was that in the old English usage, “the passion” = “the experience of”. EG: “The Passion of Ayn Rand”. Just a term that isn’t used much any more.
April 21st, 2014
I believe in freedom of religion…PROVIDING that the religion in question does NOT advocate harm to other religions. Yet those of Islamic belief seem to have no qualms over harming others of different beliefs. Something else….I do think hawking one’s faith to others is wrong. For example, I hate it when some person knocks on my door telling me about his church. This thing of going door to door…egad. That imo is nothing less than pushing one’s belief on others. I certainly am no athiest. However, something to think about….”Religion” and one’s belief are two different things. Every religion ever taught and ever will be taught is man made. What one believes in their heart is what counts.
April 21st, 2014
“attack on people of faith” = “attack on my religion”
“attack on your religion” = “evangelism”
I’d want to see the leveraxe cut down a tree in the first place. When I split dry logs I use a maul. But it’s a clever idea if you can get past axes listed under “Tech.”
Why would a teacher bring wrenches and pliers to school? The precious flowers are all supposed to go to college and learn about real jobs. Tools get your hands dirty. :-P
April 21st, 2014
” I hate it when some person knocks on my door telling me about his church. ”
Indeed… or selling me anything. It’s actually called tresspassing if you have your property posted. Fences and gates, locked gates are even better.
Personally, I don’t get too many door to door folks here. The one time the JW folks came to visit, I guess the sight of the gun on my hip left them speechless. They backed down the deck steps and roared away. Have not been back either…
I swear, I never even touched the grip…
April 21st, 2014
Very heartwarming police story. Total dumbass. Fortunately for the dog, his trainers probably fit the same description.
One of the other unintended consequences of the school policy is to inform the students that these things can be used as weapons, and thereby give the bad actors some ideas. Whitehead’s statement that some people have told him they can’t even look at a picture of a gun shows how powerful the brainwashing has become. It provides further evidence of why the 30 (or so) Virginia Tech students allowed themselves to be slaughtered en masse by a not particularly skilled gunman.
April 21st, 2014
Too many people see the world through their own lives… I hesitate to ask about Mr Wolfe’s sex life…
I recently had two young overweight, nose picking, Atheist Aspies show up at my door wanting to talk about a lecture series being given at the local college. I told them I’d shoot them down like young Mormons, who are not near as annoying as they were, if they ever bothered me again. I also demanded that they peddle their wears in Muslim neighborhoods which were far more in line with their expressed (but mostly Bull$#!+) fears. To their credit they at least had the sense to act confused. No matter the cult, my annoyance grows. I grew up with pretty Christmas lights and Easter celebrations… and my parents were atheists.
As Christianity declines across the US even more annoying forms of silly young believers seem to be taking it’s place. A word to Atheists, who are feeling their oats (at least against Christians, they studiously avoid Muslims). I answer the door for Seventh Day Adventists and other cults because the woman are usually very good looking. Aggressive and overweight nose pickers are not the best way to sell your cult. Admittedly there doesn’t seem to be much to Atheism these days, it’s mostly about global warming, mocking Christians (who are busy turning the other cheek), political correctness and being ugly… and only other Aspies want to be involved in that. It seems they could do better.
April 21st, 2014
I’ve seen videos showing how to split firewood, using a regular axe, employing a technique which twists the head on the follow-through. Probably takes a lot of practice to get it just right, but works the same way as that Leveraxe, though I’m uncertain that the transfer of energy is the same. I’m dubious, as well, that it works well in anything other than logs with nice even grain. I did some web searching on it, and there are claims that it still works well with knots, etc.
I’ve also seen a similar method employed for holding the wood together, using, IIRC, the rubber tensioner from a tire chain, and some sort of strapping, or maybe a chain — don’t recall the gory details.
April 21st, 2014
I agree with EN; Christianity is in serious decline. Interestingly, Carl Jung predicted this. He felt that the mystical element was being lost. Of Christianity, he found Catholicism the most interesting. It hadn’t occurred to me that Atheists would avoid Muslims, but it’s certainly much healthier for them than the alternative. It just seems to me that when a society becomes overly “tolerant” it’s about to fall apart. I realize this line of thought conflicts with that of freedomistas’, but it seems to me to be true. And Reagan’s admonition that if we forget we’re a nation under God, we’re a nation gone under has validity, I believe. Without Lenin’s opiate of the masses, the so-called “moral compass” no longer seems to function on a societal level, though it certainly can on an individual level.
April 21st, 2014
Here’s the manufacturer’s site for the Leveraxe, complete with a detailed description of it’s function and a slo-mo video. http://www.vipukirves.fi/english/description.htm
April 21st, 2014
I’ll let one of my intellectual betters tell you what the FFRF folks are actually up to.
Let me gently suggest that the angry ‘fanatic’ ought to re-read his Bible, starting with James 1:19-20, Proverbs 15:1, and Proverbs 15:33. A bit more fanaticism of that sort would be most helpful.
To Christians: If you want to take on silly signs, best to start with 1 Corinthians 13. Move on to 1 John 2:6 and Matthew 5:14-16, and pause for a long time on Matthew 5:48. Do you measure up to that? I sure don’t. But if someone wants to talk to you, remember 1 Peter 3:15-17.
To (militant) atheists: Would it really be so hard to do your thing with a touch of class? If you feel a need to discuss religion, why not articulate something interesting for a change? Or make an actual attempt at argument instead of putting up silly signs?
But really, how many people (starting with myself) are wrong about so many things so much of the time? What of it?
To everyone: How would we react if the “Freedom from Mathematics Foundation (FFMF)” put up an equally silly sign declaring that 2+2=5? In the end, the authors of signs have no authority at all over truth — only over their own belief and the beliefs of those foolish enough to take them seriously.
April 22nd, 2014
Shel, it would seem to me that wealth has made Christianity not what it was. My father always believed that Christianity was a religion for the hard working. Just his little pet theory but it would seem the decline is linked to the rising up of a less than hard working population. Not sure it won’t come back though. Our wealth is just about gone. When that happens our choices will be reduced mightily, in all endeavors.
April 22nd, 2014
That axe looks real cool but as MammaLiberty wrote the twisting at impact would be a bitch on arms and wrists. Then there is the cost of $266.69 US plus S&H. My Stihl chain saw with 16 inch bar retails for $199 Canadian* and it’s versatility is greater. The only advantage the axe has is that it is not gas powered and for when there is no gas around I have an axe with a maul.
* http://stihlpromos.ca/e-flyer/en/springflyer2014.php
April 22nd, 2014
ENthePeasant, I would submit to you the idea that it is not “wealth” which has harmed us. It is theft… wealth without aggression, theft or oppression is most certainly of benefit to every human being. It is only possible when they are free to create and retain the fruits of their labors.
“Wealth” is, obviously, relative, subjective. The family starving in the gutter of Calcutta would consider anyone with a crust of bread wealthy. One man’s “hard work” is another man’s pleasure.
The natural inclination to better one’s condition, to satisfy one’s own self interest, is the creator of real wealth, I think. The envy and willingness to aggress – those who desire to take that wealth from its creator by force or fraud is the root of all evil… not the “wealth” itself. And the church (any sort) is not exempt from that.
You probably meant that… just my 2 cents worth. :)
April 22nd, 2014
My cousin’s youngest son almost got suspended over a pot-metal Marvin the Martian zipper pull. Aludium Q-36 explosive space modulator not included. Go figure. Someone’s spring was wound waaay too tight that day. I’m glad that I got out of school when I did.
April 22nd, 2014
Mama Lib, your point is well taken and I don’t really disagree with what you’re saying. My point was that wealth can be stolen and our system (CREDIT) has allowed most to still have the finer things in life.
April 22nd, 2014
Why is that guy splitting big logs into kindling? About 4 larger pieces would be good enough. Maybe the stoves they use have tiny fireboxes? I use a maul – or when I feel shameless enough, I ask to borrow my neighbor’s hydraulic splitter. Splitting wood with an axe is madness.
By the way, I discovered why maul heads get loose. In winter they are usually left outside and the wood swells from the water and humidity; in the process this crushes the grain inside the head. Then in the summer the wood dries out and the head is then loose. Take your mauls inside the house in the winter; don’t leave them out in the rain. That’s my theory of maul heads, anyway. :-)
I love stories like that one about the tools in school. The minions can’t help but make themselves absurd and illegitimate, in the eyes of ordinary people.