A comment on the Christopher West West Kerfuffle

So, I had been carefully restraining myself from commenting on the current kerfuffle regarding Christopher West after he was profiled on Nightline. The first reason is that I am related to Christopher and even received an acknowledgment in one of his books. The second reason is that in many cases, I would have been guilty of committing the exact error I would criticize someone for.

Did the person criticize Christopher without talking to him? How could I do the same? Did the person criticize his teaching without knowing what he teaches? I'm no theologian to know whether Christopher teaches that or not. It seemed that anything I might say would end up being a supreme instance of the pot calling the kettle black.

Now, a fellow named Dan Kenney has posted his reflections on the commotion. I really think Dan Kenney has hit all the marks on the points I wanted to make, and has done so in a manner much better than I could.

I hope that more people read his posting.

Mission Accomplished?

Well, I can't really say that the craps table is finished. It just reached the point that I had more important things (like a see-saw for the kids) to work on. Obviously, finishing wood is a real art, and I don't have it. I was needing multiple rounds of painting, sanding, cleaning, painting, sanding, cleaning, and I just couldn't get the finish to look anything like I wanted. I finally decided to just attach the pull clasps to get it looking like something more than a pile of boards. Here's that result:
But, really the edges still were very rough. One more round of sanding, cleaning, and painting, and I declared it "good enough." I put it together in the living room; here's the result:

Gee, in that light you can see the finish really isn't very good at all. I played a few rounds immediately: First throw was a craps 3, but then I made two 6s and a 9 in a row, with several placed 8s hitting during the 9 point. Then I sevened out on a 4 point. Not too shabby. I discovered that every time I throw the dice, I'm digging pits into the boards at the end, so it looks like I'm really going to need to buy that pyramid bumper to put on the ends. Oh well, the craps table budget is about tapped this month.

I took off the players' long rail so that the kids could play. My 5-year-old really got it, and was placing odds on his come bets before I knew it! We played about 2 hours. He was up about 400 on an initial stake of 185 after one hour, but then he started putting blacks on the field, and ended up with about 120. I started also with 185, but ended up with 250 by the end. Again, not too shabby!

I went to put the players' long rail back on, and the way I grabbed it the molding fell off again. That makes tonight the 3rd time I've glued that molding back on. Neither the brads nor the liquid nails wants to hold it, so I think I'm going to have to find some wood screws and see if they'll work.

Okay, so it's about time to plan the craps party! I figure I can get 8 players at $20 stakes with a 10-to-1 buy-in. Hmmm, how soon can I plan this?

Getting Closer on the Craps Table

I'm really pleased with how the craps table is turning out. I got all the molding around the outside cut, glued, and nailed. Then I primed the boards. I discovered that MDF absorbs primer like Ganesha drinking milk! After an extra run to Home Depot for more primer, I got everything primed and sanded:


The black glossy enamel paint then started to go on beautifully. I'm really happy with how things are turning out:


There's only one spot on a piece of molding that for some reason, the paint started to crack and bubble immediately on contact:

I'm not sure what's up with that, since I've handled all the boards the same. Evidently there was something on the molding. I'll sand down that location, prime and paint again, and hope that fixes it.

The pull clasps I ordered from Amazon.com never showed up. I went to Amazon.com, and they don't show any record of it having been ordered, and the credit card has no charge. I must have done something wrong during the order. Oh well, I went to Fischer's Hardware in Springfield and found the clasps I wanted, anyway. And that without shipping & handling!

The sides are only half painted at this point. Once they're dry, I'll turn them over and paint the other side. Then I just have to add the clasps, and it should be done! I'm hoping no other hiccups show up, and it'll be done soon.

Progress on the Craps Table

Well, the home-made craps table is starting to take shape. I got a 4x8 piece of MDF cut down by Home Depot to make the 3x6 table top. I'll use the extra for the rails. (I bought another 6'x1' piece of MDF for the dealer's rail.) Here's the pieces at home:
So, I fine-tuned the lengths a little, and then put pegs in the corners. Here's the result:

Just don't touch it! There's nothing except pegs holding it together at this point. After this, I sanded all the edges down.

I started working on attaching the hardware to the corners to hold it together, and I've decided that I just don't have quite the right hardware. It was getting more and more complicated -- adding lattice pieces and additional molding -- I decided to take a different route. I found some different pull clasps on Amazon.com. They should be here in a couple days.

Also, I realized that the brads I have for attaching the molding are too long: they'll go right through. I need new brads. Also, the liquid nails was opened previously, and had seized up. Off to the store soon, then, to buy new brads, new liquid nails, and return the old clasps. Also, I think I won't need the lattice at all, but I've already marked it up, so I can't really return it.

I'm just going for minimalism on the first round. I'll improve it after it gets a couple of nights of play. I guess I'd better go buy some more 11.5g chips!

Great Opinion Piece in the Post

The Washington Post's Outlook section included an opinion piece this week on how America is culturally not like Europe, and why that's a good thing. Here's the thesis:

The stuff of life -- the elemental events surrounding birth, death, raising children, fulfilling one's personal potential, dealing with adversity, intimate relationships -- occurs within just four institutions: family, community, vocation and faith. Seen in this light, the goal of social policy is to ensure that those institutions are robust and vital. The European model doesn't do that. It enfeebles every single one of them.

The most frightening quote is his analysis of American political parties, that puts a halt in my slow slide toward sthe Democratic party:

The European model provides the intellectual framework for the social policies of the Democratic Party, and it faces no credible opposition from Republican politicians.

Okay, so that leaves me still an Independent, but what can I do about it? The article falls short in that it offers few suggestions about what to do about this, but the piece is still well worth reading in that it points to problems I've been aware of, but articulates them in a way much clearer than I have seen or been able to describe by myself.

Was Esperu Right?

Sometimes our hopes are confirmed.

Preliminary thoughts on the 7th Commandment

"Thou shall not steal." (Yes, that's the 7th commandment. YMMV.)

• Things exist.
• People exist.
• Some things belong to people.
• Some things do not belong to anyone.
• When a thing belongs to a person, that person (the owner) has the exclusive right to disposition the thing.
• Among the dispositions an owner may select, the owner may abandon the thing.
• An abandoned thing does not belong to anyone.
• A person may appropriate a thing that is capable of being owned, and which does not belong to anyone.
• When a person appropriates a thing, then the person now owns it.
• Sometimes, justice may dictate that an owner disposition a thing in a particular way.
• If a person dispositions a thing that belongs to another, then that person has violated the rights of the owner to be the exclusive dispositioner of the thing.
• If an owner is incapable or unwilling to disposition a thing according to the dictates of justice, then others may be obligated to disposition the thing, even though this violates the exclusive rights of the owner.
• If a person dispositions a thing that another owns, and the disposition was not dictated by justice, then the person has committed theft.

I hope that by reasoning this way, I can someday come to understand the concept of "usury." We'll see if I ever get there.