Thanksgiving 2019

Thanks be to God from whom all blessings flow.

I am greatful for:

Jane, my partner with whom I share all joy and sorrow.

Robert and Theresa, my parents who have lived me consistently all the days of my life.

Brian, my brother who walked the path ahead of me.

Teachers who opened my eyes and my mind.

Bosses, leaders and mentors who guided me.

Friends and family with whom I have shared life.

My elders on whose shoulders I stand

My children through whose eyes I see the world a new.

The stranger who will come in the name of the Lord. 

...and the guy playing guitar on the beach this morning.

On faking poor and feeling rich

I like many "moderately" wealthy people who have constructed a false narrative for myself.  One in which I categorized myself as poor.  Which I am not.   I tell myself I am poor relative to my peers. At least the ones that have bigger houses than me.  I am poor relative to my peers with newer cars than me. I am poor relative to my peers with higher-paying jobs than me.  Poor relative to my peers who have fancy job titles and more advanced degrees. This is of course, false.  I am not poor.  If challenged for a second, by reality, I would have to admit that I am not worried about where my next few hundred meals are coming from.  Although I don't want the heartache and headache of getting robbed; it would not destroy my station in life, because not only do I have stuff, most of it is insured in some way: home insurance, car insurance, life insurance.

Is it possible to be poor in spirit, if you are not actually poor?  

Is it possible to be totally dependant on God, while carrying multiple kinds on insurance policies? 

No, not if I think of myself as only me.  Not if my identity ends at the parameter of my skin.  At best or perhaps worst I could fake it through public prayer and acting humble while living in fear rather than freedom.  Fear of being found out and fear of losing my amassed possessions and prestige.

So how does the rich man get through the eye of the needle? 

• Larger identity: We rather than I.
• Stewardship: His rather than mine.
• Discipline: Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
• Vassal hood: Use bestowed authority in keeping with the desires of our Lord. 

I am not poor. I am rich. Blessed with life, freedom to choose, and the ability to love. 

I give thanksgiving to God. 

I pray that my possessions are not chains and that I hold them lightly.  

That I enjoy these things as if they are library books and that I return them on time.  

I pray that accomplishments do not corrupt my soul to stand alone in pride. 

Nothing is accomplished alone.  

Thanks be to the Lord.

Free Writing on Pain of Needle

Tattoo pain is real.
Can one get used to it?
Can I learn to breathe through this?
Will I be able to handle two hours of this?
Maybe I should have gotten a smaller one.
I like to talk, but man I am hurting too much to think.
This burns. I am worried about how much this is gonna hurt and for how long after it is done.
I am tense as fuck, probably gonna be sore from tensing my muscles in my leg.
I'm trying to relax and just breath but fuck, this fucking hurts.
Fuck! How many times can I write fuck and does it actually help?

I wonder why this is a right of passage for so many indigenous cultures.
Ok, I tried talking.
I did feel a little better.
Trying to be quiet is not making me tough.
I am not really tough...just stubborn :)
My stream of consciousness is not really helping.
Two hours with this gun is worse than seven hours of boring driving without cell service.

I am super glad they have so many toys and stickers to look at in this shop,
because I am stuck here for a while.
Ok time to start praying.
God, I love you.
Seriously I do.
Life is amazing.
Creation is mindblowing.
I am so grateful to be alive,
to get to be
 and be in time
 and your creation in your world
to be your son.
adopted by the father through brotherhood with Jesus Christ.

I wonder if my son or daughter claimed someone...
Would I bring them into my tent and make them family?
Is that how the kingdom comes...
through fathers that accept new children,
through the advocation of their sons and daughter,
bringing new brothers and sisters into the fold?

New part of my leg this really hurts...

I got used to the pain when it was all in one spot. 
Cliff found a new spot and it is sensitive AF!

Breath.

Thank you, Lord Jesus.
It is right to honor you,
who calls me brother.

OWWWW! Fuck the under knee spot.
Right there, fuck that hurts.

The artists are causally talking about tacos.
Fuck! this hurts.
The techno music in the background is now a sort of soul rock and roll.
I appreciate it.
There is a lot of drum and twinkling piano,
and some wammy bar on the guitar.
Yet it might be a Jane's Addition song,
I don't know or at least the vocalist sounds like Jane's Addiction.

Fuck! New part of leg...ow, fuck another new sensitive area.
Just in case I forget how much this hurt,
Reminder for later
Never get a tat in an actually sensitive spot. (like the top of my foot)
...or I don't know the neck probably really hurts. 
I now feel like I can judge people who do that.
But I am not sure how to judge them.
Are they brave, dumb, masochistic?

Fuck

Two birds outlined.
Eagle and dove.
Now Cliff is working on the owl.
I hope I don't woose out and bail on the shading.
The owl doesn't hurt as much, yet.
Thank you, God, for the reprieve.
I almost understand how some people like this pain.
...but no, not really.
I only like that this pain - is less than the other pain. 

Techno is back.
I like electronic music.
It sort of allows me to zone out into the pain.
Man, how do people do those thick black bands? 
That has really got to f'ing hurt.

I am going to stop writing now. 
I am tempted to look at the time, but I don't really want to know.
I don't really want to know how much longer I am going to be here.

God, Thank you!
Praise your Name.
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

 

What's Good Jobbertunity

The Future of Work and the Resume 3.0

We millennials are in the midst of fundamental changes in the way we work and live.  I don't know if self-driving tractor-trailer trucks will materialize, or if the new hot careers will be bio-engineering and robot repair, but I do know things will change.  The future of work is fluid, and your future resume will be influenced by external input and AI. 

The Baby Boomer generation was told to go to school then get a good job.  If you finished high school you could get a job that earned a living wage.  If you were frugal and prudent, you could save enough to buy a house and a car, perhaps even send your children to college.  Once established in your career you may work for the same company for 20-30 years, then afford a modest retirement.

For Boomers, if you had a resume with contact information, work history and references you had a leg up in a job interview. The resume, and now antiquated cover letter, showed you were prepared, professional and perhaps you had access to a typewriter.

Generation X was told if you don't get a college degree, you will probably not earn enough money to own a house, a car and afford a modest retirement. For Gen Xers, your resume was now expected to be typed on a word processor. Your contact information included an email address.  There was a large section on your academic performance, perhaps even a section showing you as a well-rounded including volunteer experience or additional language skills.  

Gen Xers were the last generation to grow up without the internet and the first to use the internet as part of their job searches.  Back then, the internet was essentially a library or an information dump.  We now refer to the internet of static pages as Web 1.0.  The resume was also a static document. The question of what do you want to be when you grow up still applied.   

The internet has changed.  The way we work has changed. The resume has changed and it is about to change again.   

The internet evolved from static webpages to dynamic and interactive webpages, with complex applications, marketplaces, and social media.  This is known as Web 2.0. 

For Millenials, college debt is a given, but a good-paying job after is not. Not only do we now expect to change jobs and careers at least 7 times, but we expect entire industries and career fields to be disrupted, automated or even disappear within our working career. We could characterize this as work 2.0.

For many of us, the printed resume is now merely a formality. Our real resume is our LinkedIn profile.  It is interactive, with recommendations, skills verified by former coworkers, links to articles and projects.  If your LinkedIn profile passes muster, then you will be Googled to see if you are tops in the world.  Your Facebook and Twitter profiles will be scanned to see if you are the type that posts cute cat pictures or the type that goes off on angry political rants. Resume 2.0 is more than just your information, it is the aggregate of your digital profile(s).  It is interactive, yet, it is still largely curated and controlled by you.  This is about to change.  

Web 3.0 will be some mashup of virtual reality, the internet of things and artificial intelligence. My Amazon Echo will tell my Nest thermostat to cool the room because my Fitbit realized my body temperature was increasing as a result of the overly realistic virtual reality Fortnite game I am immersed in. 

Work 3.0 will definitely not be a linear career path for many people. Not only will we change jobs more often, but we may also supplement career(s) with side gigs, freelancing, independent projects, more education, and entrepreneurship. In 2018, 30% of working Americans did some freelance or gig work. Work 3.0 is not just getting a job, it is keeping a side hustle and creating your own niche.    

     

Resume 3.0 will include aggregate data about you such as your credit score, customer feedback rating from gig economy apps such as Uber, Airbnb, Facebook market place.  If I google someone today, one of the first sites is "mylife," which claims to have criminal background reports and reports on property, licenses, property and driving history.  It gives a 1-5 reputation score also represented a red to green dial scale. Red being "bad and green being "good."  

It is not hard to image fortune 500 companies developing AI that review all potential employee job seekers for a comprehensive reputation and rating and fit for the open position.  This AI will compile a profile of prospects with data coming from social media, credit reporting, and various gig economy platforms, and other aggregated data and rankings. This AI will learn over time if employees it recommends do well on their performance reviews and are retained or promoted.  The AI will use this data to make better hiring recommendations in the future. Perhaps it will even flag potential employees for promotion or termination.  Perhaps the AI will also be the recruiter, scanning the internet for the right person to hire.  Maybe based on budgets and hiring targets the AI will automatically seek and make offers to potential employees it finds.  

This article is not a pitch for the show Black Mirror.  Even though privacy is dead and the robots are coming to take our jobs, this article will have a positive ending, not just a silver lining but a message of hope.  

If you are smart, hard-working, honest, and affable, the internet will know this.  The Big Data trolling AIs will aggregate this and mark you green/good.  If you are constantly learning and improving yourself, and creatively trying new things, the internet will have a record and the artificial intelligence will mark you as green/good.  Even if you mess up, you may not be able to hide your mistakes, but you can reform and showcase your redemption.  Besides if your digital profile looks too perfect no one will believe you are a real person.  

If your chosen career field is disrupted, your job automated and robots replace you, but your soft skills are on point and you have a totally unrelated side hustle to fall back on then, so what.  You are now taking a sabbatical,  retraining or starting your own business. Get on with your vision quest, build your own brand.  Because you are not your job.  You have other interests and skills.  You have value beyond your business card. 

  

      

          

SHERMAN For President

When I was a kid everyone thought they could run for president as long as they were over 35 years old and a citizen of the United States.  As I got older I came to believe that to be elected President of the United States, one must be an excellent leader, have knowledge of politics, law, foreign affairs, military strategy, economics, public health, and so much more.  Even the task of staffing the White House is a little daunting.  But then Trump was elected and my childhood fantasies were again possible.  Trump proved you don't need to be knowledgeable, experienced or even care about all your citizens. All you need to do is synthesize your platform into concise marketing slogans and repeat over and over and over and over.  Here is my Platform!  Shout it out loud!         

1 Choose Life!

- Mothers First: Federal amendment forbidding the government from outlawing abortion.
- Adopt our Children: Federal Grant program giving 6 months of maternity or paternity paid leave to any US citizen that adopts a baby or child that is a US citizen up to $30,000 and a tax credit for family therapy for up to $10,000 while the adopted child is a minor. 
- No Noose: Outlaw the death penalty as a form of sentencing in the United States.

2 Tea Party, Simple Tax!

Taxes are too complicated, here is my solution: 

- Federal income tax: The federal government may collect income taxes, and only income tax, no other form of taxes will be collected by the federal government. (this includes individuals & corporate tax) 
- State Sales Tax: State governments may collect sales tax and only sales tax. 
- Local Property Tax: Country and municipal governments may collect property tax and only property tax.
- Fee & fines, voter-approved. Licenses and fees or fines which are like taxes, but situational rather than across the board will be allowed, at the federal, state and local level, however, the creation, adjustment or disillusion of licenses, fees, and fines must be done by ballot referendum and can no longer be changed by legislative  vote.  

3 Be Gay and Marry!

- LGBTQ rights: Include LGBTQ in civil right amendments and add them to the protected classes. 
- Marriage rites: legalize and protect LGBTQ marriage at a federal level, 
- Marry for love, not money: End the filing jointly income tax deduction for married couples. 

4 Auto Budget!

- No federal shutdowns: amendment stating: if a federal budget is not approved on time, that the budget from the previous year will automatically go into effect, with a 5% reduction evenly across the board in every category, without exception.  This auto budget will continue until a new annual budget is approved.  If a budget in never approved during one fiscal year, then this next year the auto-budget will again go into effect with a 5% reduction across the board.  

5 Healthcare for all!

National single-payer federal health insurance for all citizens.  coverage will be the same for all citizens. Private health insurance will still be a viable market for medicines and procedures not covered by the federal plan.  

Hypothetical examples: The federal plan may only cover one teeth cleaning a year, an individual may want more than that.  The federal plan might cover glasses, but not contacts or Lasik.  The federal plan may cover 2 months of physical therapy for a hip replacement, and the patient may want more outpatient therapy.  This would be paid out of pocket or by supplementary private insurance.

The single-payer system would replace all other federal and state healthcare befits including, Medicaid, veterans medical benefits, and medical welfare benefits.  

Politicians will have the exact same coverage and all other citizens.

6 Basic Income for all!

10% of all federal income tax will be redistributed evenly to all citizens on a monthly basis to their federal ID/debit card.  

This will replace welfare, social security, and all other forms of government aid or income distribution including WIC, HUD, and food stamps.  Individual states will still have the right to establish social services legislation, but the federal government will no longer offer social welfare funding beyond healthcare and basic income.  This includes no federal grants to support state-level social services.

This will end federal income tax deductions for dependents because each dependent will be receiving a monthly basic income check.  If you have declared dependents then you will have access to their basic income funds. Because the basic income is taxable, all citizens will file federal taxes regardless of age or income status.  

If we want a higher basic income then we will need to work together to increase our GDP.

7 Let's get wild! 

Currently, 14% of United States land is protected, at the federal, state or local levels. 12% of the United States marine areas are protected.  A constitutional amendment should be put into place setting a minimum environmentally protected area of the United States at 50% by the year 2070, then in perpetuity.  The minimum yearly progress will be set at a 1% increase in environmentally protected areas until the 50% baseline is reached.    
   

8 We all service together!

All 18-20 citizens will be automatically enrolled in the national service corps.  Service will include 6 months so training and 18 months of service.  All participants (corps members) will be given room and board or a basic living stipend to cover room and board.  Service positions will include all branches of the Military, National guard, Americorps, and Peace Corps.  

All national service corps members will receive a voucher for 1 year of tuition at an accredited institute of higher education for every year of service completed.  If an individual would like to service beyond 2 years and a position is available, they will receive additional vouchers for 1 year of tuition at an accredited institute of higher education for every year of service completed and a saving credit equal to 50% of their annual stipend that will stay in an account until the end of their service.  

All accredited institutions of higher education (public and private) will be required to accept the national service tuition credit if the individual meets their admissions requirements.  The service credit will be the only federal aid for higher education, ending all federal grant and loan programs for higher education.  In theory, after nine years of service, an individual will have enough education credits to pursue a medical or doctorate degree loan free.     

9 Federal Funded Public Education

- All PreK-12 grade public education will be federally funded. on a per-student basis.

- Online education will be available for rural and home-schooled students or as a supplement for students attending brick and mortar schools. 

- There will be no voucher programs for private or parochial schools  

- Teacher salaries will be set at a federal level with adjustments for cost of living by location.

- A federal teacher corps will be established under Americorps to make sure all K-12 schools are adequately staffed with well-trained teachers.

10 Five Stars!

 The Federal Congress is too large and unwieldy to be effective.  When the country was founded there were 13 states, 26 members of the Senate, and 59 members of the house. Now there are 50 states, 100 senators and 435 members of the house. I propose that we merge states to have 5 states, each state having 4 senators for a total of 20 senators and the House of Representatives is capped at 100 seats.  House seats will be distributed and district lines are drawn after each census (by an algorithm, to avoid gerrymandering).   

The new states will be the 4 time zones for the contiguous United States:  Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern.  The fifth state will be called Ocean and made up of all non-contiguous states and territories, plus Washington D.C. This will include Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands,  American Samoa, Midway Atoll, Palmyra, and all the unpopulated islands as well.  

11 NAFTA 2.0!

Model NAFTA after the intentions of the European Union and European Economic Area. Enable free movement of labor, goods, services, and capital within a single North American Market including at founding Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Including the freedom to choose a residence in any country within this area.

Unified Measurement:  Adopt the metric system in the US to match Canada and Mexico.  Adopt the US dollar as the single currency of NAFTA 2.0. 

Collaborative border security: 

To properly regulate the unified North American economic block, members must collaborate on border security and immigration.  

12 Decriminalize Marijuana

Why not? this is a rhetorical question. :) 

My campaign promise: 

I may not really be running for President of the United States, but I will be the kind of guy you can sit down and have a beer with. I have heard this about Trump (who doesn't drink), W. Bush, Bush Senior, and even Bill Clinton.  When discussing the merits or lack thereof, for various presidents on many occasions someone has said, "Well he just seems like a guy, you could sit down and have a beer with."  If that is what you are looking for in a president, then I am your guy.  I will sit down and have a beer with anyone who wants to discuss my presidential platform, as long as you are buying.      

Best BBQ in BCS local guide Matt Sherman

The results of the blind taste test are in (watch the video) but there are three local joints that were closed or sold out so there still no definitive answer.  I guess y'all will have to go check 'em out for yourselves.  Check out all the local and maybe win a prize: https://www.experiencebcs.com/bbq/

Life in the Desert

This is a song I wrote, not long after returning from Big Bend State Ranch. (edited 1.15.21)

Invitation:

Ummmm m. Ummmmm m.

1

Look'n forward, to being now.
Yeah, You ain't young, you been around. 

Cast aside what you don't need
'heard that voice say follow me!

Walk until you can go no more.
Fall on your knees at the desert's door.

Refrain:

Ohhh oh, ohhhoho.

It is time, to seek and find.
in this desert state of mind.

sun on the rocks, dry creek bed
tough is parched, belly unfed

Yes breath, 

Yes see 

Yes breath, 

Yes be

2

Hear my words,  know my voice
Fear or love,  make a choice.

I'll live in you, you live in me.
My way will set your soul at ease.

Sometimes the road, it may be tough.
We'll have the truth, it'll be enough.

3

life in the desert, soul in the wood.
sound of silence, home of good.

What was hidden,  is revealed to me
I once was blind, but now I see

Life in the desert, soul in the wood
You spoke to me and I understood.

5

Return from the wild, tongue on fire.
to tell the truth, I aspire

The same path looks, different now
Forgiveness, blessing, I know-how.

This ain't a race, you can win 
I see God underneath your skin

outro:

Ohhh oh, ohhhoho.

It is time, to seek and find.

Ohhh oh, ohhhoho.
in this desert state of mind.

2019 (didn't really send a Christmas letter, so here is a new years letter...out before the lunar new year)

Hell or high water this is the year we launch a company.  App design is complete and development under way.  Jobbertunity is scheduled to launch in September.  Jane is gearing up to do a stellar job marketing the 30th anniversary of  Habit for Humanity in Bryan/College Station, as communications manager.  She has also taken on a board position for another nonprofit, Tiny Hope Village.  We hope to raise enough money to buy land and break ground on building a tiny house community to be a permanent home for those experiencing chronic homelessness in Brazos County.

Robbie was just recognized with a yellow belt in Kempo Karate and he is learning to read children's books in Spanish.  I am proud of him.  Anna will be finishing up preschool at The Family Montessori  and headed to kindergarten this year. Our little girl is baby is growing up and becoming a  little girl.  She is stubborn and sweet, articulate and strong.  She will make a good President one day. ANNA SHERMAN for POTUS 2052 

I am a little late in preparing for my fast this year, but God is forgiving and patient.  I will be headed to Big Bend State Park on the Rio Grande for some meditation and time with the Lord in March.  I pray that God will equip me with the right attitude to be humble and persistent this year.  The Lord said, remember who your boss is and I will open doors for you.  Lord I am counting on you because I cannot do it on my own.

To all my friends and family have a blessed 2019.  May this year bring grace, healing, joy, forgiveness and blessing.       

Book List

Books that changed my mind or perhaps my heart in order of publication date:

Tao Te Ching - Laozi - 6th Century BC

Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - 66-110 AD

The Art of Thinking - Ernest Dimnit - 1928

Man's search for Meaning - Victor Frankl - 1946

Lord of the Flies - William Golding - 1954

Battle for the Mind - William Sargant - 1957

Wretched of the Earth - Frantz Fannon - 1961

Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger - 1961

Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth - R Buckminster Fuller - 1968

The Soft Revolution - Neal Postman - 1971

Sophie's World - Jostien Gaarder - 1991

Built to Last - Jim Collins & Jerry I. Porras - 1994

Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson - 1995

2312 - Kim Stanley Robinson - 2012

A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki - 2013