Archive for Hythloday

Generation Snowflake

November 13, 2016 General Interest No comments

The reaction shown by our younger citizens is somewhat puzzling.  To be upset and disappointed about their candidate losing in a surprising and unprecedented upset is understandable, but the response has gone far beyond that.  Never has a group ever lived up so completely to their generational moniker – Generation Snowflake. Below is a short video that has an interesting take on how this generation thinks and what has lead to their madness. Notice:  There are a few coarse words used – but hey, come on, he’s Irish.  View at your own discretion.  

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War is Hell, but is it Just?

September 24, 2016 General Interest No comments

Law and order may at times have need of the strong arm of force. Some enemies of justice can be brought to terms only by force. But force should be held always in check by law and order and be exercised only in their defense. Nor is any man law into himself. Pope Pius XII, October the 8th, 1947 Often, the first sign of a shifting stance on a position is marked by holder’s acknowledgement of the position’s possible theoretical validity, accompanied by an explicit or implicit rejection of any practical validity of the position.  This process is neither right or wrong,

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The Whole and the Parts – Teaching the Faith

June 14, 2016 Featured, General Interest, Intellectual Formation No comments

When I refer to the “faith” in this post, I am speaking of fides quae or the faith which we believe (objective) and not fides qua or the faith by which we believe (subjective).  It’s the content of the faith and not our response to it that is the focus. Growing up, my religious education included both the curriculum used by my parish’s Catechesis program, and the Baltimore Catechism required by my mother.  I don’t remember which curriculum the parish used, but I recognize the content and approach in those used by my children’s school.  The Baltimore Catechism I used, and

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The Swiss Guard

May 14, 2016 General Interest No comments

Last week, on May 6, the Swiss Guard swore in a new batch of recruits at St. Damaso Courtyard within the Vatican City.  During the ceremony, the new recruits raise three fingers and swear the following oath: “I swear I will faithfully, loyally and honourably serve the Supreme Pontiff Francis and his legitimate successors, and also dedicate myself to them with all my strength, sacrificing if necessary also my life to defend them. I assume this same commitment with regard to the Sacred College of Cardinals whenever the See is vacant. Furthermore I promise to the Commanding Captain and my other

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The New Evangelization Hype Cycle

March 14, 2016 General Interest, Moral Action No comments

Gartner, Inc. has developed a useful tool in the graphical representation of the maturity and adoption of technology and its applications known as the Hype Cycle.  For example, here is an interesting hype cycle that the company put out in August of 2015 that is a snapshot of notable technologies and products at that time. The hype cycle can also be used to track the history of a specific technology over time. I find hype cycles fascinating.  While they are subjective in nature, they are also helpful in explaining the interaction between ideas and the public. I also think introducing concepts from one

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Technology: A Marriage of Science and Ethics

February 27, 2016 General Interest, Moral Action One comment

Recently, I traveled to Asia.  During my trip, I had the opportunity to visit IBM and discussthe present state of their cognitive platform Watson, along with strategic plans for its future development.  Watson’s ability to analyze and draw insight from large amounts of disparate data, and offer functionality very close to learning, is quite impressive.  During our discussion, its ability to provide answers and solutions to questions that were bias free was touted.  On this, I challenged my host on two counts. The first issue I had was that the statement categorized all bias as being of negative value.  It’s true

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The Lay Response to Failed Leadership

October 23, 2015 General Interest No comments

I struggle with how the laity should respond to failing leadership in the Church.  Opinions seem to swing wildly from one extreme to another – from viscous, blood-spraying-from-eyeballs attacks, to curling up into a ball and feeling the only faithful response is doing nothing at all.  The fact of the matter is that these leaders are human, and humans will fail; it’s inevitable.  So when it does happen, how should we respond?  Martin Luther  St. Athanasius “Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me.” “If the world is against truth, then I am against the world.”     Shattered Christianity unity. Preserved the world against

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Don Rags

September 7, 2015 Intellectual Formation One comment

A few weeks ago, I moved my second daughter into her college dorm.  She decided to attend a school on the west coast, a school she had wanted to attend since middle school.  I too had wanted to attend this same school since middle school, so it was an exciting trip for both of us. As part of the freshman orientation process, parents were required to attend an orientation.  We were given the history of the school, a full tour, rules and expectations of the students, and some insight into what the students would experience, among other things. One practice

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May I Never Forget Either

August 18, 2015 General Interest No comments

This one grabbed my attention today.

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Those Damned Bombs

August 11, 2015 Moral Action, Security 6 comments

It’s far greater thing to share principles than conclusions.  So much of what is believed to be “thinking” today is little more than the embracing of prepackaged conclusions distributed by a group(s) the individual wishes to self-identify with.  The canonical example of this being global climate change.  Few have enough expertise to really comprehend the science behind the topic, and even fewer have spent more then a few minutes to perform anything that would be considered a balanced consideration of the data.  Lest I am misunderstood, the issue is not trusting experts, the issue is emotionally adopting a conclusion based primarily on your political self-identification. The Junto

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