Regulations hurt the little man

So, I finally set aside time and remembered to go to Prosper.com to set myself up as a micro-lender. I was hoping to make a better rate than my savings account and help some troubled people get out of dire straits. Instead, I find out that Prosper is not licensed in my state. I hope this situation is remedied soon.

Why forced vaccination is evil

I've pretty much stayed out of the Gardasil debate, since it falls in my general bin of, "I'm not going to inject my children with infectious agents unless I am totally convinced of the benefits." I'm certainly not going to do it because some doctors' group, that probably gets kickbacks from the manufacturer, recommends it.

Now, I know that Merck is on my side in pointing out that the vaccine is almost useless. I wish they would talk to their marketing department.

Local TOTB

Mother of Divine Providence Parish in King of Prussia will have speakers from the Theology of the Body Institute at 8pm on Wednesday. Although I have heard Christopher West speak, I'm thrilled to see what type of students come out of this Institute. I'm always looking to improve my marriage. Speaking of which, I better go help with the little one.

Financial Freedom Tour

Ask me how this night could change your life!

October 28, 7:00 pm

Parsippany, NJ
Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales Ryan Montgomery
Presidential Gold Ambassadors Les and Joyce Ferguson
Sheraton Parsippany Hotel
199 Smith Road
Parsippany, NJ 07054
973-515-2000

Proof is in the Powder

I'm thankful that my company cares enough to invest in studies to show the success of our products. I'm hoping this will break the unfair stereotype that nutrition companies are bamboozlers who are out to scam people in an unregulated industry. Our company cares enough to run the Kalogris Foundation; we are not in it for a scam. If I scam you, take your money elsewhere!

Long have I waited

I have been hoping to own the musical work of Nick Alexander for over a year now, patiently awaiting a brave soul to order them for me. My wife obliged for my most recent birthday and I have been basking in the Catholic "Weird Al" glow ever since. Since I received his entire discography, it is hard to pick a favorite but, "Nahum, Zephaniah, Malachi" (parody of 867-5309) is far and away my most listened to. As "Weird Al" includes a token polka, Nick includes a praise song. It is an awesome way to close an awesome album.

Respect Life Month

And what a great way to start Respect Life Month, A Baby's Breath held Johnny's Run today with an excellent turnout. Congratulations to all those who finished!

Also in Pro-Life news, 40 Days for Life is going strong, helping women save their babies' lives.

Real Hope

I wish I had been as mature as these two in college, then I could have a successful Plan B already in place. Instead I have to work to build a Plan B while re-directing energy from Plan A.

Samurais and Cowboys

I have needed a good movie list for a long time. While perusing the usual suspects, I came across a great archive of movies for boys at MommyLife. I'm off to Netflix to update my queue.

Lessons in the Pages

I am usually self-conscious about crying while reading bedtime stories to my girls, but Angel in the Waters is definitely worth it. It is a beautiful telling of birth from the eyes of the child; but it is more than that. It passes on spiritual and eschatalogical truth in a way that is both simple and deep. The art is well above most children's book art and is a pleasure to see. Read this to your kids, they will ask for it, and don't be afraid to cry.

Much to my relief

SherryTex is back! Visit her and cheer her on! She has written a great blog for a long time, I'll forgive her the brief hiatus since I desperately missed her. Her pieces are most excellent humor, distilled from family living, with the occassional serious piece so that a reader can see her soul.

Link me, link me!

Why an Engineer should have Kids

Although the common engineering reason to become a father is happiness in having a woman, in the Earth's gravity well, who actually tolerates being married to an engineer, the most convincing argument for an engineer to have kids is efficiency.

This was confirmed by my recent post-birth conversation with a fellow engineering bud from Penn State. When I asked him what he thought about fatherhood, his first comment was that he couldn't believe how much time he wasted before children.

From an engineer's perspective, child-induced efficiency occurs in: reduction of TV hours (tv/7) unless you want your kid quoting C.S.I., falling asleep faster (z^4) if sleep is to be had at all, reading dozens of books (12b) in a 9-month window to decide how to be a parent, completing laundry in 1/3 the previous time (t/3) despite the fact that the load doubles (2L) with kid clothes, countless hours of free entertainment (1/E-> 0) by watching your newborn try to find his fist, and handyman skill increasing (12h) to keep the house safe.

But the best part is love growing in your home (3L). Nothing makes life better than that.

Radiant Home

Enough is enough. It is a beautiful, cool night after a brief but necessary rainfall and I have to keep all my doors and windows shut for a radon test. I despise this crazy money-making scheme. Paying to pump air out of my house because miners got lung cancer. At least I can still choose not to have my future home tested.

What's missing?

A Christian, homeschooling, parody songwriter who is for limited government; what's not to like about Tim Hawkins?

Painting the Nursing Picture

The Art of Breastfeeding was a good read on the whole picture of breastfeeding. The science was very well covered, including both the nutritional content of mother's milk and the physiology of the mother's and child's bodies. Even though I have plenty of experience with breastfeeding, I learned quite a bit about the underlying biology. I do wish the book had more further covered lactational amenorrhea , since that is of particular interest to me. A good read, I'm glad that I bought it.

Defining Me

Jen over at Conversion Diary is full of great ideas for us bloggers to get known, so welcome to all who travelled here from her "defining blog post" post. Let me know what you think of my vaguely organized pile of me.

Response to Friend Two

Friend Two from Facebook, "Actually, now that we're steaming ahead on this discussion, let me pose the matter in another light as I'm curious for your view from this angle: For a moment, divorce the parenting issue from the gay marriage issue. Not all couples (straight or gay) want to be parents. For many couples, marriage is a commitment to each other that basically acknowledges that "now it's harder to walk away, so we will work together to make this work," you know, the whole richer-or-poorer bit. This is a commitment to each partner, and is not directly related to God's view or consent. I'm talking marriage as a social matter, not a religious one. Consider also the fact that making/keeping gay marriage illegal or illegitimate doesn't make "gayness" go away. It just doesn't.

So, for gay couples that would be gay whether they can be married or not, and who don't want kids, answer this: What's the harm? Why not let them commit to each other the same way straight couples do?"

My response is that I have never brought God into any of my arguments so far, so I will gladly leave Him to defend Himself. The marriage commitment as you describe does not exist. Due to no-fault divorce, marriage means almost nothing in legal terms. It is currently easier to legally break a marriage contract than it is to break a bicycle warranty. The social approval of childless marriages only dates back to about the 1920s and the advent of feminism and mass produced contraception. The social and legal benefits of marriage were designed to create a family, not to allow two people to be DINKs.

I never claimed that "gayness" would go away. We still have thieves, even though there are laws against stealing. We still have drunkenness, even though there are an assortment of preventative laws. Laws enforce social norms and teach what is acceptable and not for a civilized society. The anti-social behavior is wrong, regardless of whether the law prohibits it.

Marriage is about love and sex. Sex is about procreation and love, even Freud agrees. The two can not be separated any more than nutrition and pleasure can be separated from eating. If they are separated, the act is perverted, much as bulimia perverts eating.

"What's the harm?" is not a sufficient argument to overthrow hundreds of years of social custom and the only stable arrangement to raise the next generation. The harm is that a counterfeit is passed as the real thing. Two men can not express love the way a man and a woman can. It is a lie that men and women are interchangeable. The love of a man and a woman is fruitful; the love of two men or two women is sterile (I also maintain that contracepted sex is a lie, even in marriage).

I counter with a question. What's the harm in allowing a brother and sister to marry if they are not going to have kids?

My Health Business

I really thought that real estate investing was going to be the path for me, but I am so thankful that I chose a nutrition business. With results like these, we are doing our part to improve health care.

Unconstitutional

I suppose that I have diverted far afield of the Natural Family Life, but there won't be much of a natural family left if this unconstitutional power grab happens.

What I'm up to

Ok, three unrelated items to record for posterity:

I just watched Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog on Hulu. I think I adored it.

John C. Wright wrote a thorough explanation of non-religious arguments against homosexuality. I haven't read it all but I plan to.

With great sadness, I witness the end of Chocolate for Your Brain. May SherryTex move on towards more inspiration and sell a book sometime soon.