Things found in my basement: a continuing series

These are my brother's oral rubber bands. Named Fred, apparently.


This is the opposite side of the package. I understand the first caution. But the second? Heaven forbid Americans buy rubber bands without their orthodontists approving! (I also find it odd that it's worded as a warning, as if this were something to be afraid of. Beware of U.S. Federal law! Unauthorized rubber-band buyers will be prosecuted!) Honestly, what is the purpose behind this restriction?

I'm proud of ASU

I logged into my bank account today, and I was very pleasantly surprised to see Direct Deposit ARIZ STATE UNIV 1000.00 as the first item there. I had all but despaired of getting my AcaDeca scholarship from them; I sent an email that seemed to go nowhere a couple of weeks ago. But they gave it to me yesterday, and I didn't even have to call and shout at them! I thought they were just passing the buck, as I got two notices that it had been forwarded to the correct person. But they did it! Hurrah for ASU!

Religion at ASU

Two of my professors (English and Human Event) are ex-Mormon. One of them is now a vague theist; the other probably a secular humanist. My physics professor is at the very least a former Catholic. My econ professor is most likely irreligious or Russian Orthodox. My choir teachers are generic Protestants. And I'm pretty sure my Institute teacher is Mormon.

The most prominent faction in my Human Event class is apatheist (a blend of apathetic and theist—they just don't care), with disaffected Catholic close behind. I am one of two LDS persons in that class. We have one Muslim, who is very emphatic about what Islam is and is not. There are also a few apathetic Christians—one was surprised to find anything controversial in the Bible. (You know, stuff like marriage, divorce, and women.)

In my English class, we have again the apatheists, but also an evangelical atheist. (He's annoying.) Then we have a few traditional Protestants, and me. Ironically, our poststructuralist philosopher also apparently attends church services.

Who knows about any of my other classes? We have no inter-student interaction. Don't be ridiculous.

Feeling at home...on a website

When I first came across By Common Consent, I considered it strange, fascinating, and vaguely heretical. After all, one guy there was talking about his expectation that women would be given the priesthood. It was just so unknown.

Then I started reading it regularly. At first, it was to get the thrill of reading something heterodox. But then something happened. By Common Consent started to feel normal. I felt at home there. I felt like I knew the contributors. It was no longer a strange foreign world. It was home.

Now I wonder how I could ever have thought it was weird. Even the writers with somewhat unorthodox views don't typically loudly proclaim them unless asked.

Anyways, there you go. I now live at By Common Consent. Unless I'm visiting Times and Seasons for a while. Or maybe I'm over to see if Feminist Mormon Housewives has decided to post something interesting yet (or ditch their ugly color scheme). Or I might be at Millennial Star to see how the ultra-conservative Mormon base is doing (even though they really aren't that conservative, that's the way I feel about it).

Atlas Shrugged and 3 Nephi

So basically the comparison is:

In Atlas Shrugged the productive members of society go on strike in order to bring the "looters" down.

In 3 Nephi the productive members of society band together in one area in order to starve the Gadianton robbers.

There you are, Leah.

Prepositions

So whenever someone says something like "Which store are you going to?" I want to correct it to "To which store are you going?"

But whenever they say "To which store are you going?" I want to correct them, saying the conventional wording is correct.

I'm so consistent.