How Mystical Thinking interferes with Troubleshooting IT Issues

I work in the IT field. I won't go into too much detail about what I do because I want to preserve my anonymity as much as I can.

I've noticed that in Jesusland, many people have mystical thinking about computers. I did, too, before I became comfortable with troubleshooting computer problems.

People make comments that their computers have minds of their own. They only work when they want to. Problems only happen when tech support isn't around, but vanish when we finally show up to assess the problem.

E-mail just "disappears". Gremlins eat important files.

Computers just get tired and give out.

The computer just doesn't like that Ethernet cable you're using.

I know that most of these types of comments are just mild personifications that we give to all objects around us. Overall this is harmless and reduces the stress that comes from the frustration of a cantankerous, uncooperative PC.

But when the troubleshooters themselves actually buy into this sort of thinking, problems do not get resolved. They are just chalked up as mysteries as unnecessary work around's are often devised while the real problem fails to be properly addressed and corrected.

I've seen people wonder if a NIC card had it's own mind. Or wonder why a docking station for a laptop works with a store bought Ethernet cable, but not a hand made Ethernet cable.

Rather than admitting the hand made cable is bad, they rationalize that something mystical is happening with the docking station or NIC.

I've also seen people wonder if interference from a cell phone could keep a dial up modem from working.

I'm not talking about customers. I mean technicians that are helping customers.

And that's the problem we run into when we let mysticism guide us through troubleshooting technology. You explore a false premise and ignore the clues that lead you to the facts.

Nothing is wrong with pretending your PC has a personality. I felt sort of nostalgic recently when I had to decommission a few servers that got me through thick and thin. I sorta missed 'em for a few days. It was like saying bye-bye to a neighborhood friend that was moving away for good.

But, I know that I couldn't gently pat the server on the side of the chassis and magically make it work correctly again after it malfunctioned. I can't hold a CD or DVD in one hand while laying my other hand on the server to form some sort of mind meld that mystically uploads the software.

That just doesn't work in IT.

I wish I could lay hands on a server and manage it.

Remotely.

From home.

In bed while asleep.

Now, that would be the shiznits!

Man, if that sort of thing could really happen, I might reconsider the existence of God!

Or maybe the Force.

Planetarium

My local Jesusland planetarium sucks.

People who don't wanna be told that Earth is four billion years old will not support a planetarium that tells you so.

As a result, our local planetarium is shoddy, run down, and antiquated.

Many areas in Jesusland are poor. When money is scarce, my local government thinks four times over before spending money on science or education.

That's why I live in one of the poorest, least educated provinces of Jesusland.

I have some family here. I enjoy my job quite a bit. But this atmosphere bothers me sometimes. I may need to migrate from here one of these days.

If I do ever move, maybe I'll base my relocation upon the quality of the city planetarium.

Enough Is Enough

Well . . .

Lately, I've grown tired of writing about a god that I don't believe exists.

Why spend so much time talking about something or someone that I don't believe is really there?

I find that I really don't concern myself with god so much any more. Rather, my concern is more so with the actions of Fundamentalists that think I'm a fool for not worshiping him. Or the foolish actions of Fundamentalists that make news headlines.

But this sort of talk is preaching to the choir.

I'll still post things here, but probably not nearly as much as I used to-- which really wasn't all the frequent anyhow.

I'm just tired of writing about this topic. So unless something juicy comes up (which I'm sure it will from time to time), I won't post here much any more.

However . . .

While I've grown tired of writing about religion and non-religion, I have not grown tired of writing or blogging in general.

I've started a new blog spot called Uruk's Black Box.

There, I'll talk about all the other things that are on my mind when I'm trying to forget that I live in Jesusland.

Feel free to stop by if you wish. But audience or not, I gotta have an outlet and my new blog spot is (mostly) where that outlet will be.

Close to Home

Constance McMillen is a teenager from Jesusland, USA. She gained the help of the American Civil Liberties Union to file a law suit that would allow her to bring her girlfriend to the school prom as her date.

As a parent, I can sympathize with the discomfort one may have about gay and lesbian couples together openly at your child's prom.

While I support the rights of homosexuals, I must admit feeling a little uneasy when I contemplate my children going to a prom where homosexuals may show public displays of affection.

But on the date that I'm posting this my kids are now five and eight years old.

I believe I feel a slight uneasiness mainly because I'm still thinking of them in these terms when I imagine them at their senior prom. I don't want them to be overly exposed to the public display of affection by heterosexuals and homosexuals alike.

But I figure that by the time my kids are teenagers, they will be thoroughly exposed to homosexuality and will have their own opinions about it.

I mean-- my son has already seen two men kiss on television (we didn't see it coming). But you know what? He didn't seem to become suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to kiss other men all of a sudden.

So, I figure they will probably have discovered their own sexuality the time they've reached the prom. After all, puberty usually hits before the prom happens. They will know something about sex whether I like it or not-- even if they do abstain from sex and remain "straight".

I have to realize that they may even go through an exploratory phase (somebody shoot me) and try things that I might not feel comfortable with as their parent. But they will be turning into adults. These things cannot be totally avoided.

In light of that, I suppose I shouldn't get my boxers in a wad about homosexuals dancing together when my children finally attend their high school prom. This is a time when they are about to graduate and (hopefully) start their own lives soon afterwards.

All that, however, is really just a side note.

What I really want to say is that I tip my hat to Constance McMillen. She has done something brave in my opinion. She stood up for her sexual orientation in a politically hostile environment. Constance exposed herself to potential discrimination and the threat of assault for the sake of exercising freedom.

She's not in the closet about her lesbianism like I'm in the closet about my atheism.

I greatly respect that about her. To me, she should be commended.

Like Constance, I also live in Jesusland; I know this is not easy for her. Homosexuals and atheists are hardly viewed any differently by the fundamentalist citizens of Jesusland. The mentioning of homosexuals and atheists both draw funny faces from fundamentalists.

Eewww! They're both just so nasty and unholy!

To the fundamentalists, homosexuals and atheists are both headed straight for hell.

And we will bust (no, not burst--bust!) the bottom out.

Although . . . I thought the lake of fire was a bottomless pit. Who knows? Maybe atheists and homosexuals are the reason why hell has no bottom.

*shrug*

And while I say that Constance lives in Jesusland like I do-- I don't live in Fulton, Mississippi.

But, I bet I live closer to Fulton that you.

Except for you Mac. You probably have me beat by about 30 miles or so. But that makes sense. You live in Jesusland, too.

If 6 Were 9

Like good ol' Jimi Hendrix said in his song If 6 were 9:

I'm the one that's gotta die when it's time for me to die. So, let me live my life the way I want to.

Those sentiments remind me of some grocery store music that I recently heard. The song went like this:

I've got a right to be wrong. I've been held down too long.

I've got to break free. So I can finally breathe.

I've got a right to be wrong. Got to sing my own song.

I might be singing out of key. But it sure feels good to me.

Got a right to be wrong. So just leave me alone.



You're entitled to your opinion, but it's really my decision.

I can't turn back I'm on a mission. If you care, don't you dare blur my vision.

Let me be all that I can be. Don't smother me with negativity.

Whatever's out there waiting for me, I'm going to faced it willingly.



I've got a right to be wrong. My mistakes will make me strong.

I'm stepping out into the great unknown. I'm feeling wings though I've never flown.

I've got a mind of my own. Flesh and blood to the bone.

See, I'm not made of stone. I've got a right to be wrong.

So just leave me alone.

To me, that song said a lot to be grocery store music.

While at the self-check out, another song came on-- Let the Music Play, by Shannon. An 80's song. If you're not a child of the 80's then . . . well, just ask yourself-- would you sing along with an 80's song out loud in a public place?

I wanted to. And the self-checkout attendant did at the top of her lungs.

And she shook it, too.

Somehow, that was all quite liberating. I realized I wasn't the only one who wanted to cut loose.


After that moment, I finally realized a very strong desire for the citizens of Jesusland to let us atheists be and treat us like the normal people we are. That same right should be extended to anyone else who expresses individuality within Jesusland.

Give me the same rights that you claim for yourself.

In other words, just leave us alone.

Geaux Saints!

The province of Jesusland in which I live does not have it's own professional NFL football team. As a result, most of the population in my province cheers for the New Orleans Saints.

Geaux Saints!

Saints gear, such as jerseys, hats, and  shirts have become quite scarce. Bakeries have even started refusing new orders because they've been inundated with special requests for Super Bowl cookies and cakes which don the Saints name and logo.

Between advertisements, electronic billboards flash the count down to Super Bowl Sunday.

Geaux Saints!

When I arrived at work this morning, I was greeted with a smile and a humongous "Geaux Saints" button.

But . . . I'm for the Colts.

Just kidding. Actually, I'm ambivalent. I'm interested in the big game and I plan to watch it. However, the only outcome I care for is an exciting, overtime nail biter. I'd hate for either team to obliterate the other. That's football at it's absolute worst.

Regardless, I wasn't all that interested in wearing my company-issue Saints button. 

Another fellow stood nearby and said that he didn't like the Saints and refused his button. The person issuing the buttons exclaimed, "I can't believe you're not a Saints fan! We need to convert you; I'm going to convert everyone to be a Saints fan. This is just like us Christians against those non-believers. You need to at least support the Saints if you haven't chosen a side!"

Was this person joking?

Yes. 

And no.

I took a button, but I never put it on. Not after that comment.

And that's precisely the crux of the matter. The citizens of Jesusland think you need to be on their side. They are right. If you don't agree, you are wrong, dysfunctional, and perhaps the weakest link in Jesusland society.  When God decides to punish Jesusland and purge the sin, the fault falls on those pesky non-believers-- be they atheists, homosexuals, or political liberals.

And apparently in Jesusland, worshiping Jesus is not enough! You need to be a Saints fan, too.

Praise Jesus!

Geaux Saints!

Just for that . . . I think I'll start cheering for the Colts.

An Anonymous Atheist in Jesusland

Atheists can catch a hard time in Jesusland. As a result, many of us who live there keep quiet. I know atheists in my area who fear losing their jobs if they are open about their non-belief. Some atheists in Jesusland don't worry about losing their jobs. But when the "cat's out of the bag", they find that their co-workers often distance themselves even though no one threatens to fire them.

I'm tired of staying in the closet.

A few atheists that I've met have made promises to become open activists for atheism when they retire.

When they retire.

Hell, my spouse could lose her job if her employer knew I was an atheist!

I'll have to avoid becoming an active, open atheist until she and I both retire!

But what exactly does activism for atheism mean? Atheist activism simply means that we help the citizens of Jesusland realize that atheists are among them-- and no, we don't have horns on our heads and long tails coming out of our butts. We don't carry pitch forks and we don't worship satan. We won't eat their babies and we deserve to be treated like citizens just like any other citizen of Jesusland.

No. The citizens of Jesusland do not have a right to make us assimilate.

Why? Because, it's not supposed to be Jesusland in the first place. Last time I looked at a map, I lived in the United States of America.

The good citizens of Jesusland wouldn't want to be pressured into Islam, Judaism, or even an opposing denomination within their own Christian faith. So, why should we atheists feel pressured to believe in god?

I didn't think discrimination was Christlike.