Ruminiations from Retirement

Which came first?   Mankind seems incredibly versatile and resilient.  Humans reside in the artic tundra, as well as the equatorial rain forests and deserts.  He can even live in outer space, and on the moon for a time!  From my temperate perspective it seems amazing that people survive in those extremes.  How versatile and adaptable is man! Then I think of Mars, of other locations in the universe where man can not exist without carrying his environment with him.  These locations are infinite in number, while Earth is only one (maybe?) place.  The human habitable zone is actually pretty limited by universal standards. So, what was God’s thought process?  What was his creative priority?  (I know I am reducing God to human form, anthropomorphizing, so I can get my head around who he is.  Doesn’t he (she?, it?) do the same for us in the Bible all the time?  We need that relatability to ...

Years ago, as a teen, I worked in a hobby shop where we sold a wide variety of things to support people’s hobby and craft interests.     While working there, I learned a bit about stamp and coin collecting, tried my hand at ceramics, and fell in love with model rocketry, which consumed a good portion of my meager income! Although never using one, I had interest in the Dremel tools and accessories we sold.  These were priced well beyond my means, and really were overkill for anything I would use them for in model rocketry. Nevertheless, over the years, I have had a few projects for which I thought a Dremel would have been useful, but never felt the expense was justifiable.   Until now! It started with a ceramic casserole dish that was chipped in a way that I couldn’t easily smooth out with sandpaper.  I also had a door that wouldn’t close well during humid times of the year.  I had worked on the door in a crude way with a drill and grinde...