Dreams, Magic(k), & Freemasonry
That subject line sounds especially portentous, but I do no mean to suggest a single post integrating those three items, but rather three segments of a post, condensed for brevity.
So I had a strange dream the other day in which I was playing some kind of online FRPG (a.k.a., DDO/WOW/etc.), and in which I eventually discovered that those massive, online milieus were simply fronts for complex, heuristic algorithms which were aggregating various living people's decision-making and value systems into meta-code which was being used to build (perhaps, "grow" in an organic sense is more accurate) fully self-cognizant and actualized A.I. constructs. Still later, I dreamt that the most functional A.I.s were then externalized into semi-autonomous "nanoplastic" android-like bodies, which were to be loaded onto spaceships intended to carry "us" in digital form to other star-systems. Really, it's a good idea, in that self-aware cybernetic organisms(sic?) are far more suited to long space voyages, not being subject to muscle-atrophy or heart-enlargement that accompanies extended trips in zero-G, and could likewise travel without the baggage of air and water, in addition to being significantly more resistant to radiation, and being able to survive long periods of relatively low-energy states. Fasinating. :)
As to magic(k), my friend Justin recently told me that I have a bit of a reputation as both a weirdo and a mystery in the city. Specifically, he told me some of his friends had observed me walking, and to hear him tell it, were shocked to see me consistently wave my hand at traffic lights, passing cars, flatscreen tv's, and the like and having them seemingly instantly obey me. Ok, yes, I am surrounded by what I perceive as a cloud of favorable probability... a "charmed life" as it were... and yes, lights change for me all the time, cars and people swerve mysteriously around me, and blah-blah-blah. I am not going to be so egotistical to say I am entirely in control of it, or its ultimate source, but the phenomena are distinctly there, and it was interesting to hear that other people had independently observed and remarked upon them.
Regarding Freemasonry... I am a Mason, L.A. Harbor Lodge #332, and 32nd degree via the Scottish Rite. I have fallen into the "Rusty Trowel" category over the years, and this troubles me, because the Masons were always a source of fellowship with men who, despite our varying religious, philosophical, and political beliefs, were of good character and conscientious about their lives. I have thought about getting back into it, and this seems like a good idea, but being gay complicates it somewhat. There are no official restrictions on gay Masons so far as I know, and I've heard of lodges that welcome them, but it is something that has kept me from re-aquainting myself with the group.
Newayz... that's what's on my mind at the moment. :)
So I had a strange dream the other day in which I was playing some kind of online FRPG (a.k.a., DDO/WOW/etc.), and in which I eventually discovered that those massive, online milieus were simply fronts for complex, heuristic algorithms which were aggregating various living people's decision-making and value systems into meta-code which was being used to build (perhaps, "grow" in an organic sense is more accurate) fully self-cognizant and actualized A.I. constructs. Still later, I dreamt that the most functional A.I.s were then externalized into semi-autonomous "nanoplastic" android-like bodies, which were to be loaded onto spaceships intended to carry "us" in digital form to other star-systems. Really, it's a good idea, in that self-aware cybernetic organisms(sic?) are far more suited to long space voyages, not being subject to muscle-atrophy or heart-enlargement that accompanies extended trips in zero-G, and could likewise travel without the baggage of air and water, in addition to being significantly more resistant to radiation, and being able to survive long periods of relatively low-energy states. Fasinating. :)
As to magic(k), my friend Justin recently told me that I have a bit of a reputation as both a weirdo and a mystery in the city. Specifically, he told me some of his friends had observed me walking, and to hear him tell it, were shocked to see me consistently wave my hand at traffic lights, passing cars, flatscreen tv's, and the like and having them seemingly instantly obey me. Ok, yes, I am surrounded by what I perceive as a cloud of favorable probability... a "charmed life" as it were... and yes, lights change for me all the time, cars and people swerve mysteriously around me, and blah-blah-blah. I am not going to be so egotistical to say I am entirely in control of it, or its ultimate source, but the phenomena are distinctly there, and it was interesting to hear that other people had independently observed and remarked upon them.
Regarding Freemasonry... I am a Mason, L.A. Harbor Lodge #332, and 32nd degree via the Scottish Rite. I have fallen into the "Rusty Trowel" category over the years, and this troubles me, because the Masons were always a source of fellowship with men who, despite our varying religious, philosophical, and political beliefs, were of good character and conscientious about their lives. I have thought about getting back into it, and this seems like a good idea, but being gay complicates it somewhat. There are no official restrictions on gay Masons so far as I know, and I've heard of lodges that welcome them, but it is something that has kept me from re-aquainting myself with the group.
Newayz... that's what's on my mind at the moment. :)