In Mortalitas Operor Nos Secui

I found out today that a friend of mine had died this weekend. He was responsible for giving me my first set of racing tires for my former race car - sure, they were used tires, but they were exactly what I needed at the time. He and I were never close enough to call each other on the phone and get together, but we had lunch a few times and we always chatted about the work he was doing on his cars. He was an engineer who was always working to use that skill to make his car faster. I've always been fascinated by using engineering in racing, and this guy was someone I KNEW who was making it happen. I've always been fascinated by the guy. The last time I talked with him was in November - we chatted about how his race in a national championship had come to an end 2 laps from the finish when something broke on his car and he went spinning off track. We were already looking forward to next year's event.

And now he's dead. Cancer. I didn't even know he HAD cancer. He was apparently very private about it and only a few people knew. That he LIVED his life so fully in the face of what he must have known was diminishing returns is quite humbling. I can hardly get the gumption to mow the lawn, let alone work on my own classic cars - and I'm not dying. Where does one find that kind of motivation? Does one have to look death eye-to-eye in order to gain it? Makes one wonder...

And I apologize to any Latin readers out there for my butchering the language with my title...but its the closest I could come to what I was trying to say...and in English, it just doesn't have any pizazz! Best of luck translating it, to anyone who tries...

Dominus Ominous

I've been horribly heretic lately. I came across a few sites discussing religion and its history. I really love the study of religion - not as an act of faith, but as a quest for knowledge. After all, much of the world's problems can be blamed on religion in one way or another - it is interesting to me to examine some of the background to where this stuff comes from.

However, I've discovered something that has interested me more than the simple knowledge about religion. Mind you, I'm all about religious tolerance. While I'm not personally a big believer, I'm not going to try to rain on anyone else's parade when it comes to their beliefs. Notwithstanding all the horror religion has foisted on our planet, it also does a fair amount of good as well. And that's where I've found an interesting point - that the more I know about the history of religion, and the more I draw away from having any type of faith, the less I feel it is my position or right to tell the faithful on what their religion is really based.

I'd be hard-pressed to claim any kind of "spiritual" label for myself...I'm very close to the idea of Humanism. However, the Humanists tend to maintain the antithesis of tolerance for religions - and maintain some pretty horrible invective against it. I don't really see a need for that. I like a lot of the Confucian thought - but there are other parts that just don't jell for me. I hold a number of Taoist beliefs - but can't suffer all of them.

So I've begun to develop ideas based on theories and research that I'll likely never talk about with anyone else. Trying to rain on the parade of the faithful is much like using a water pistol to put out a building fire. And y'know, if that works for them, I'm happy to allow them their faith.

Though, it does bug me when the president says he talks to god and nobody blinks. Do people really believe that? Or are they finally so fed up with the guy they're just rolling their eyes and waiting for the end of this term?