Musings on Life and Living

I've been rather involved in a couple of blog discussions recently about how Evangelical Christians and Latter-day Saints interact, and in the midst of all this, a discussion about rules for LDS missionaries has developed. In an effort to not sidetrack the original posts on those blogs, but to still let my thoughts flow free, I thought I'd pose a question to you folks out there reading this blog: What is the purpose of having rules? I've been pondering this question for far too long, I'm sure, but I still haven't really come up with a definite, satisfactory answer, but I'd be glad to know your thoughts on the matter. So please, share with the class!

I suppose it is time again for an update on life, rather than a commentary on current affairs... Hm... I'm not even sure when I last made a post like this... Maybe I should check... Wow... looks like it was June or so. Okay, I really need to break my addiction to the ellipsis, but it is such a handy bit of punctuation! Gretch is in her last semester at Parkland! Huzzah! If all goes according to plan, she'll be getting her AAS in Graphic Design in December or thereabouts. Right now she is taking two classes, one required, the other merely so that she can get in as a full-time student (or maybe it is just a 3/4 student, and learn something vaguely related to her profession) The first, Illustration II, appears to be a repeat of Illustration I, except the assignments are different. She has realised that she hates doing illustration for design projects. Fortunately, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I will only have to help her through a few more existential crises befor...

I just read an interesting news article from US News and World Report. If you care to read it, you can find it here . The gist of the article, for those who wish to skip reading it, is that there are a select few factors that affect a high school graduate completing a 4-year college degree, and there are a lot of factors that people have thought were important that may not be. Of all the things in the article, I was most shocked by the claim that males from low-income backgrounds, whose parents are both non-college graduates, are least likely to finish a 4-year degree. I suppose this is shocking because all of my older brothers and myself are college graduates. Our family was not particularly well-off as we were growing up and, due to various circumstances, neither of our parents completed college, although both started. So we are apparently glaring exceptions to the new expectations. The researchers also thumb their noses at community colleges, claiming that they are not useful in pro...