September 5, 2023 AM Bug Report

Jim Collins, the author of multiple books, including "Good to Great," talks about a "bug report" that he kept for several years. The bug report is an objective-as-possible look at his life and inner workings. Essentially a journal, but with a focus on research.

This is the origin point of my bug report. It may also serve as a debug manual at some point in the future. Let's begin here.

AI-assisted writing is lovely to spot typos and grammatical errors, but it can be annoyingly pointed in its desire to homogenize language. For example, "at some point in the future" is 'wordy' and should be reduced. It doesn't care for most metaphors or common expressions of the day. Admittedly, old troupes ought to be used with rarity, however, stripping all writing of its personality creates uniform robotic forms that have been written by anyone or anything.

That said, I believe in the killing of heroes. All the padded language and cutesy turns of phrases should be struck except for very specific purposes. Writing ought to be powerful, pointed, and punching.

Many years ago, after I left the fundamentalist sect I had attached myself to for eleven years, I wrote a letter so powerful it was publicly burned. It's a dream to write something so provocative, once more.

I had frustrations upon frustrations at injustices and breaches of ethics and time to write. In a matter of weeks, I wrote an 80,000-word treatise on religion, sects, and ethics, followed by an 8,000-word letter to my former pastor's wife.

It proves that with the proper mindset, one can accomplish almost anything within a condensed timeframe.

What's funny, is, when I came to my last service, months after turning in my keys and walking away, the music still had that old familiar feeling. I did not worship, I did not stand. However, the tunes were pleasant, even passionate and stirring. The preaching was something altogether different, though. The most vile and biting tongues I've known.

I didn't speak with the old man, at least to my recollection. I don't remember shaking his hand, nor had I any desire to. The others there were pleasant enough, however. His daughter and I spoke a moment after service. I complimented the preliminary music. The pastor's wife was kind and accepted my letter with a smile.

To be a fly on the wall when the old man burned that letter in front of his congregation. It's not that my words were returning his vile. I expunged all of that in the former 80,000. I simply laid out the world as I saw it at that point in time and pointed out a handful of his hypocrisies, which he rallied against with such force that it had caused us to shake in years prior.

It pleased me to know that man felt enough fear and power in a letter that he was compelled to burn it publicly.

Naturally, I printed 18 copies and mailed them to my former church family so anyone willing could read the words themselves.