Aloha..!!

[sbeaulieu]

Good day all.

I'm Shane. Currently, I'm stationed in Hawaii. As part of my daily wanderings, I stumbled on this site and did a bit of reading. What I've seen so far is a great mix of opions/discussions. Being new to the Objectivist mindset, I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions to ask.

My introduction to Ayn Rand came a few years back through a conversation with a favorite author of mine. Some of you might know his work, Sword of Truth series, penned by Terry Goodkind. I was fortunate enough to correspond with him for several years on his books. His main character, Richard, always had a way of getting me to think "Yeah, that makes perfect sense". When we spoke on the phone, I asked him if he had any books that were his favorite. He immediately mentioned Ayn Rand titles. Never having heard her name, I started reading up on her. Years later, I find myself here.

I don't find myself to be religious. I'm sure the majority here can attest to having questioned the "reason" behind believing in that which cannot be seen. My inner struggle with "faith" has always unsettled me until recently, as the societal norm is to believe in something "more" than ourselves. Reading Terry's books indirectly led me to Objectivism through his character's dialogues. They echoed (most of the time) what I believed. It was interesting to see that a lot of this philosophy hits home. So it may seem that I have finally found it.

My footsteps are fresh on the path to reason. I hope to share this path with you all.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Shane,

Welcome aboard and make yourself at home.

Michael

[Chris Grieb]

Shane;

Let me add to Michael's greetings.

Are you in military? If so what branch?

[sbeaulieu]

Michael,

I look forward to browsing the threads and being enlightened. I hope to add in my .02 every now and again.

Chris,

I am proudly serving in the US Air Force. I'm going on 15 years, gunning for 20. My career field is in IT - communications troubleshooting, computer networking management, etc. I absolutely love this career field due to its ever-changing characteristic.

My aspiration after retirement is being a novelist, or in some realm of telling stories (comics, screenplays, or gaming).

~ Shane

[Chris Grieb]

Shane;

Thanks for the quick reply.

I have very high opinion of much of the people in our military. I think in part because of AVF they are much brighter group of people.

I would add that a minority has been attracted to Objectivism and Ayn Rand.

I'm adding you my friends list. Chris

[sbeaulieu]

Shane;

Thanks for the quick reply.

I have very high opinion of much of the people in our military. I think in part because of AVF they are much brighter group of people.

I would add that a minority has been attracted to Objectivism and Ayn Rand.

I'm adding you my friends list. Chris

Thank you, Chris. I have found the military to be a great way of life, a doorway to a breadth of knowledge along many platforms. If there's anything I take away from it, it's the level of access to this knowledge that I've been given. Any other tree may not have had as many branches.

But I owe Terry Goodkind my exposure to Objectivism. Trying to apply "reason" at times is like trying to move mountains in the military, which is why the vast majority of our populace may not follow the tenets of Objectivism.

The more I learn the core aspects of Objectivism, the better suited I'll be to overlay it on everyday situations. Again, I look forward to that journey. This forum is certainly equipped with intellectual powerhouses (IMO, what I've read thus far), and I plan on absorbing all I can.

Thanks for the welcome, and tipping the hat to our services

~ Shane

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Shane,

You might like this online article on the The Atlas Society's site from The New Individualist: The Randian Fantasies of Terry Goodkind by William E. Perry.

Michael

[Brant Gaede]

Michael,

I look forward to browsing the threads and being enlightened. I hope to add in my .02 every now and again.

Chris,

I am proudly serving in the US Air Force. I'm going on 15 years, gunning for 20. My career field is in IT - communications troubleshooting, computer networking management, etc. I absolutely love this career field due to its ever-changing characteristic.

My aspiration after retirement is being a novelist, or in some realm of telling stories (comics, screenplays, or gaming).

Shane,

My uncle Dave was in the Air Force and the Army Air Force. He was a B-17 navigator. He was at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Midway. Guadacanal. He went mano a mano with a Zero in the nose gun and got filled with shapnel from exploding 20mm cannon shells. He spent a year in the hospital. He served with B-29s in Korea. In the 1950s he was a navigator on B-36s stationed in Puerto Rico. Each carried one gigantic nuclear bomb. His target in the USSR meant he would overfly the birthplace of his father in the Ukraine a couple of hundred miles and drop the bomb. I asked him, he's still alive, if the B-36s would have gotten through? He laughed. Of course they would have! They were replaced by the B-52, still in service. In the late 50s in Tucson as a boy I watched B-36 after B-36 fly into Davis Monthan AFB never to leave. They were melted down for scrap.

Appreciate the history of your service!

--Brant

Edited December 12, 2007 by Brant Gaede

[sbeaulieu]

Shane,

You might like this online article on the The Atlas Society's site from The New Individualist: The Randian Fantasies of Terry Goodkind by William E. Perry.

Michael

What a great article!

It's funny that he states the sixth book, Faith of the Fallen is the most controversial among his readers. It was my favorite. Offhand, I think it is due to the two-sided coin that's presented to the readers - Individualism Vs. Socialism. There are many other lessons learned in that novel, but this one stood out clearly for me, and made the most sense (as related to my personal experiences). I might expand on this topic (individualist Vs socialist society...1 against the many, so to speak) in the near future.

Thanks for the link, Michael! I always enjoy articles about Terry. He's a great individual ;)

~ Shane

[sbeaulieu]

Michael,

I look forward to browsing the threads and being enlightened. I hope to add in my .02 every now and again.

Chris,

I am proudly serving in the US Air Force. I'm going on 15 years, gunning for 20. My career field is in IT - communications troubleshooting, computer networking management, etc. I absolutely love this career field due to its ever-changing characteristic.

My aspiration after retirement is being a novelist, or in some realm of telling stories (comics, screenplays, or gaming).

Shane,

My uncle Dave was in the Air Force and the Army Air Force. He was a B-17 navigator. He was at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Midway. Guadacanal. He went mano a mano with a Zero in the nose gun and got filled with shapnel from exploding 20mm cannon shells. He spent a year in the hospital. He served with B-29s in Korea. In the 1950s he was a navigator on B-36s stationed in Puerto Rico. Each carried one gigantic nuclear bomb. His target in the USSR meant he would overfly the birthplace of his father in the Ukraine a couple of hundred miles and drop the bomb. I asked him, he's still alive, if the B-36s would have gotten through? He laughed. Of course they would have! They were replaced by the B-52, still in service. In the late 50s in Tucson as a boy I watched B-36 after B-36 fly into Davis Monthan AFB never to leave. They were melted down for scrap.

Appreciate the history of your service!

--Brant

Brant,

What a full life your uncle has lived! I bet his experience as a nose-gunner was thrilling, to say the least. I'm honored by his service as a true warrior of the skies! Wow!

It's always sad to hear when airframes are retired (and dismantled/scrapped!). They were a great legacy of the last century, and a testament of man and his will to survive. The air wars highlight this the best, I think. They certainly don't make them like that anymore. I'm amazed that the B-52 is still in service! What a masterpiece ;)

My father retired from the Air Force in '91. He's seen some hellish things during Vietnam as a F-4 mechanic (my favorite jet...not biased ). He also worked on F-111s, the medium-range bombers that paid a visit to Mohammar Quadaffi.

My job in the Air Force is not quite "in your face" where combat is concerned, however, my piece is critical to all missions - communications. Maybe someday, I'll have combat experience in that field.

~ Shane

[Ross Barlow]

Shane,

Thank you for your military service. It is always good to know that there are solid and thinking individuals standing watch. You are doing honorable work.

You mention your father and the F-4 in Vietnam. Where was he stationed? I have very good memories of the F-4. One time I was on a hillside there in 1969 with numerous NVA trying to fight their way up to and through our position, when all of a sudden – unbeknownst to us and totally surprising us because it came so suddenly from the other side of the hilltop above and behind us – an F-4 (out of Da Nang, I think) came screaming low over our heads and delivered its ordinance directly on the enemy right below us. The Phantom flew over, scaring the shit out of us with the incredible speed and sound. He let loose and was gone just as quickly as he had appeared. I had had no idea jets could turn so sharply. The jet was gone behind the hill and on its way back to base before its ordinance even hit, and the valleys echoed its roar. I will never forget that. The cavalry had definitely arrived.

Be sure and thank your father for keeping those fine machines in tune.

(And thank you, Brant, for your service; be sure and give a thanks to your uncle as well. Thanks also to any other veterans who may read this. Consider it a late Veteran’s Day congratulations.)

.

-Ross Barlow.

[sbeaulieu]

Shane,

Thank you for your military service. It is always good to know that there are solid and thinking individuals standing watch. You are doing honorable work.

You mention your father and the F-4 in Vietnam. Where was he stationed? I have very good memories of the F-4. One time I was on a hillside there in 1969 with numerous NVA trying to fight their way up to and through our position, when all of a sudden – unbeknownst to us and totally surprising us because it came so suddenly from the other side of the hilltop above and behind us – an F-4 (out of Da Nang, I think) came screaming low over our heads and delivered its ordinance directly on the enemy right below us. The Phantom flew over, scaring the shit out of us with the incredible speed and sound. He let loose and was gone just as quickly as he had appeared. I had had no idea jets could turn so sharply. The jet was gone behind the hill and on its way back to base before its ordinance even hit, and the valleys echoed its roar. I will never forget that. The cavalry had definitely arrived.

Be sure and thank your father for keeping those fine machines in tune.

(And thank you, Brant, for your service; be sure and give a thanks to your uncle as well. Thanks also to any other veterans who may read this. Consider it a late Veteran’s Day congratulations.)

.

-Ross Barlow.

Hi, Ross!

Nothing quite like air support, huh? My father was in Vietnam in '72. He was with the 336th (Rocketeers) out of Seymour Johnson AFB, NC. They did 90 day rotations into Da Nang from Thailand.

He doesn't talk too much about it, and I can certainly understand why. You gents went through Hell. I have a great admiration for Veterans. Glad you made it back alive! Thank you for your front-line courage ;)

~ Shane

[Alfonso Jones]

Good day all.

I'm Shane. Currently, I'm stationed in Hawaii. As part of my daily wanderings, I stumbled on this site and did a bit of reading. What I've seen so far is a great mix of opions/discussions. Being new to the Objectivist mindset, I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions to ask.

My introduction to Ayn Rand came a few years back through a conversation with a favorite author of mine. Some of you might know his work, Sword of Truth series, penned by Terry Goodkind. I was fortunate enough to correspond with him for several years on his books. His main character, Richard, always had a way of getting me to think "Yeah, that makes perfect sense". When we spoke on the phone, I asked him if he had any books that were his favorite. He immediately mentioned Ayn Rand titles. Never having heard her name, I started reading up on her. Years later, I find myself here.

I don't find myself to be religious. I'm sure the majority here can attest to having questioned the "reason" behind believing in that which cannot be seen. My inner struggle with "faith" has always unsettled me until recently, as the societal norm is to believe in something "more" than ourselves. Reading Terry's books indirectly led me to Objectivism through his character's dialogues. They echoed (most of the time) what I believed. It was interesting to see that a lot of this philosophy hits home. So it may seem that I have finally found it.

My footsteps are fresh on the path to reason. I hope to share this path with you all.

Welcome aboard, Shane. I think you'll find this a pleasant, benevolent group (in the main).

Alfonso