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| All right, everybody. I can't get this stinkin' small business idea out of my head, so I'm posting it.
In the 1950's Television came into the American mainstream, and everybody started watching I Love Lucy, Soupy Sales, or what have you. To improve signal reception, many, if not most viewers installed massive television towers on their roofs or beside their houses, fitted at the top with aerials. When I was growing up in our tidy little house on Hope Boulevard, I could hear on windy nights our own TV tower shifting and clanging against our house. It was just outside my bedroom window. Often after major storms my brother and I would find long aluminum rods in the yard, discarded from the tower's aerial array.
Today these rusting giants are almost obsolete. Many viewers have switched to cable or satellite systems, which originated in the '70s, and those who haven't can get almost equal reception from set-top antennae.
So I was praying around my neighborhood a couple of weeks ago and started to realize just how many TV towers there still are. I would guess, on average, about every third house has one. Some, like the one two doors down, doesn't even have an array anymore. And I thought to myself, "If I had a truck, a small trailer, a tall ladder, some safety harness, and a screw gun, I could go around removing the towers for a minimal fee, say $20, and then scrap the metal for money." The towers, I think, are mostly steel, and the aerials are aluminum- two metals that tend to sell well at the recycler's.
It would probably be a part-time and seasonal business, and eventually an area's demand would die out, so the operating costs would have to be low. Obviously the truck and trailer would be the biggest expense. Nor do I have any estimates about exactly how many people would be willing to shell out 20 bones to get rid of something they don't even think about.
But there you have it. If I were staying in Plymouth, even for another year, I probably would get into it. But I'm moving to Kansas City in late December, so maybe I'll just look into it there. There's bound to be more availability for scrapping, and alot more towers in such a concentrated area. | | |
| It's been an eventful day. I woke up nervous, knowing I would get a call from John Nielsen of the International House of Prayer's Media Apprenticeship at 9. But I miscalculated the time zones, and he ended up calling at 11. Blasted time zones.
But it was a very informative conversation. I would be able to start in January, and I'd be doing alot of broadcast work.
I'm not sure that's where I'm headed. I don't know that it would be financially responsible for me to take on a $200/month job when I have so much school debt.
The trouble is, I feel so drawn to IHOP, but I don't know if I could find a job in my field were I to just move down to Kansas City and worked. Nor would I want to just get a job doing something else. I want to use my degree to fight for the Kingdom. But we'll see. I still have alot of praying to do. I know God's trying to teach me something through it.
The truth is, I never imagined myself in this place of not knowing.
My parents are currently working out who owes what toward my degree. It's not a fun experience when they're divorced. And money management has never been my forte (something that seriously needs to be remedied.)
But thankfully, the storm blew over and I think everything's been clarified.
And I finished the Harry Potter series today. I've got to say it was beyond description in its quality of story, character development, and Rowling's unique gift of maturation. Each book is more serious than the last. I'm looking forward to see the rest of the movies.
I pray I'll be able to write as well as or better than her someday.
I just thought it was a unique day.
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| Hey Friends,
I'm very recently recovering from a pornography addiction. In fact, I went on a binge last night. I needed to tell you that as part of my turning, my repentance.
So feel free to hold me accountable. Ask me about it. Call me in the middle of the night. Pray for me.
Thanks.
I feel a bit like this post is the nozzle of a gun I'm sticking in my mouth, and "save changes" will be the trigger. But if ever there was a time to kill, it's now.
I'm overdue to embarrass sin before it embarrasses me.
Be blessed.
Life.
Free Rice.
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| Sorry for the slow response.
FlameRaven - Thanks for the response. It's well written. I think, thought, that Pullman would disagree with you. He makes it very clear in the books that The Authority is the same God I worship (Elohim, Yahweh, Jehovah, etc.) The reason that the Church here is the main villain is that the characters interact more with the Church than with God. But there are definitely two sides - God and the Church versus men. Nothing could be more lucid during the climactic battle. Yes, the Church in these books is evil, but it's because they're following an evil Authority.
Also, I know the movie series will be watered down, but the more people who see the movie, the more who will read the books.
Cobalt - You're right about my use of "deceptive." I suppose I was going to use "subtle" but had already used it too much. "Sneaky" might have been a better choice. I'm also surprised that no Jews are complaining, but there is no mention of the Synagogue, after all. Muslims are not complaining because The Authority is never (as I recall) referred to as Allah.
Also, I have no problem with a critique of the Church. We need rebuke. Undoubtedly, the Church has done a great deal of evil in the past, much of which still begs apology. Pullman was surely hurt by the Church. However, my complaint is against Pullman's slander of my God. The Magesterium in these books isn't evil because they want money. They're evil because they follow The Authority. I'll try not to ever take offense at a criticism of the Church. I'll try to look instead for the rebuke and make the necessary corrections so I don't hurt anyone again. But when one begins insulting my best friend, Father, and closest companion, I'll begin to be angry.
Brian - I learned in my Production class this semester that there are two categories of film employees - Above the Line and Below the Line. Above the line are cast, producers, directors, writers, and the like. Below the Line are the electricians, lighting techs, best boys, grips, script supervisors, etc. Most of the latter belong to unions, and have already been paid. They've probably already made a few other movies by now. The Above the Line expenses are contracted, and they've already been paid, too. It's the production company, the wealthy investors, who suffer when the film doesn't gross well. And I don't think New Line Cinema will be laying off their janitors with the failure of a film. They're too big for that. Instead, they'll just decide not to make another film like that, which is what I'm really going for.
The prayer for failure is not a prayer against the film makers. It is a prayer for everybody else.
Understand, friends, that I'm not hating anyone with my arguments. I only want to make it clear that Pullman, even if he doesn't know it, is spreading lies. Such a statement may irk those whose moral foundations are made of postmodern gelatin, but it's true. Yes, true. You don't have to work hard to devise your own truth. It's already there. There's a whole book about it.
Be blessed.
Free Rice.
Life.
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