The aftermath

Well the family holidays are over. Here is my list of loot:

- A screwdriver that changes bits, thank you Thea and John.
- A couple of really neat shirts including this awesome microfiber one that is black and thick and warm. Mmmm... Also some nice new decorations for my studio. Thank you Mom and Doug.
- Some neat season spices with humorous names from the Baucom gift exchange. Thanks whoever brought the "good shit".
- Some very nice cards. Thank you Thea & John, the Fredrick Family, Mitch, Dad and H&R Block (these guys need to get a life).
- Some really awesome sawhorses and a set of power tools (jig-saw, sawzall, skill saw and drill). Thank you Dad, really awesome! In addition to the couch I am going to build starting next week, I will also be building a dresser. Yay!
- A pair of tongs. Thank you Ben, that was very thoughtful.
- A really neat black pitcher. Thank you Mike and Jackie, it really is perfect.
- A WWCND (What Would Chuck Norris Do) shirt and some fish candies called "Master Bait". ha ha! Thank you Jordan and Anna.

So this was a pretty good Christmas. I know at first I may have sounded a little hesitant to get in on the family roller-coaster, but in the end it just felt right.

Some updates on thoughts. The atheism post I made a while back must have shown a light amount of animosity toward religion in general. Kevin makes the point that it is not religion in general that has caused humanity such grief, but extremists of those religions. I have always felt that being extreme about anything is often the cause of the problems we face. It is certainly possible that my atheistic views are extreme and therefore am my own enemy. I have taken time to reflect on this. I wholeheartedly believe that most religions in their inception had their hearts in the right place. Some people, however, enjoy having power over other people. Having vague and easily misinterpreted dictum coming from sources widely believed to be infallible is a pretty easy way of achieving that goal. Moderate theists are (usually) able to differentiate between what their religion had in mind, what it meant to offer as allegory and what has been re-interpreted for nefarious reasons. This is a good thing and after my reflection I think it is unfair to lump moderate theists with "religion" as an opposing force. Fundamentalists take whatever they interpret from their dictum as fact. This is not a good thing in my mind because it often breeds mistakes, very big mistakes that cost lives and happiness, breed oppression and fear. Even extreme atheism could cause bad things, like ... fear of all things religious. Therefore, I will shift the focus of my indignation to those who practice things in extremes rather than those who practice, and I will endeavor to become more moderate myself.

Note: moderate does not mean I am agnostic, I still do not believe any deities exist and will not change my mind about that without empirical evidence.

I am still in a toss-up about the Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays debate. I think in light of this recent reflection however, I am probably shifting to the former or just avoiding the labeling of such all together.

At any rate, I had a wonderful Christmas and Thanksgiving and I feel great!

-Aaron