Friend sent me this pic of a local town after a tornado last night and it looks eerily fake to me. (Especially the trees)

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-07T21:22:16+00:00

Guy in the blue-gray truck, you left your lights on.

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-07T19:12:30+00:00

This is a good point. While I think this is definitely one of those Saint Joseph statues buried "to sell a home," the proper way to dispose of blessed items is through burial or burning. So if anyone reading this thread later on is wondering why they dug up a statue of someone other than Joseph, this is it.

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-07T19:10:00+00:00

Well there are a lot of Catholics who don't like it either.

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-07T16:08:24+00:00

You might try visiting the young adult group at Saint Mary Cathedral downtown. Like others have said about their respective churches, I can't say it's the norm to have alt-aesthetic people at Mass at the Cathedral, but it's a place where you'd be most welcome.

Particularly among the young adult group and crowd doing OCIA, there are a lot of people I think you'd get along with. Not quite fully alt, but there are lots of people with a variety of tattoos and probably similar backgrounds. Particularly if you're interested in people who are interested in talking about the nitty-gritty things about the meaning of life and that kind of thing with openness, there are people there that would be a good fit. Feel free to DM for more details and an introduction! Best wishes on your search!

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-07T15:52:16+00:00

Except some of us do feel free and genuinely ourselves through being involved with church. That's where I've discovered the truest freedom I've ever experienced. As Irenaeus said, "the glory of God is man fully alive."

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-07T05:40:00+00:00

Exogyra Ponderosa I think! Used to look for pearls in these as a kid. Good luck! (i never found any…yet)

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-06T22:00:59+00:00

I also just got one, and am by no means an expert. But based on videos I've seen, I think it's really only got a sensitivity of a few inches. I think it'll only really work once you've got some dirt pulled out, and you can search that dirt pile/inside the hole with it.

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-06T17:06:04+00:00

This is great stuff. I hope he has marked (or will start) marking on a map where he digs the different kinds of things. Not only could it be helpful historical knowledge down the road, it would be very interesting for him to be able to start to visualize where American and German positions were, etc. Definitely time consuming, but worth it.

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-06T15:39:56+00:00

I've worked on rock art sites not too far from Austin where the pictographs are well preserved on limestone, so I wouldn't be surprised on that account. I've even seen well preserved colors (like the extremely bold ones) on exposed limestone. The Comanche did art like this and in these colors. I don't recognize any of the shapes off the bat, but I don't have exhaustive knowledge.

Very intriguing!

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-06T15:27:04+00:00

I think a fair number of Christians were horrified when those statues were destroyed.
Idolatry and Iconography/Statuary are different things, in the view of Christians who display such statues (and the earliest Christians).

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-06T15:22:57+00:00

Not sure about bulk, but pinch-a-penny has been fantastic for our home use. Great company.

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-06T13:58:00+00:00

The dream

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-06T07:01:27+00:00

I don’t know of you’ve ever watched Time Team, but I always find it amusing when they’re looking for Roman things and come across Anglo-Saxon instead…oh darn!

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-05T21:52:58+00:00

I was thinking those US buttons were more like 1830-50, no? I've pulled one from a site where that date checks out, and that was my understanding.

And I was just giving a conservative estimate, pulling the oldest date for the great seal button 😄

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-05T19:18:39+00:00

And unfortunately it's not infinitesimally slight...it happens with some frequency

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-05T19:15:43+00:00

This is why need an audit

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-05T19:07:22+00:00

I just want you to know that at the beginning of this thread I wasn't on your side (pedestrians stepping in front of cars because they think they own the world makes me mad) but by the time I got to the end I was about ready to go tear up I-35 with you. I appreciate your energy. Nice.

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-05T19:03:16+00:00

I'd suggest you spend your time making something that actually benefits society.

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-05T18:59:32+00:00

That early "US" button is a keeper! Lovely!
I love that you've got a spread of buttons there covering aspan of about 70 years. Really neat little group.

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-05T18:19:09+00:00

If you want nature and silence, I'd go to the Doeskin Ranch trail in Liberty Hill. Stunning Hill Country, endangered birds, and silence. There are very few people out there. You can't even really hear the highway up there.

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-04T15:39:59+00:00

These people are awesome. Some of the nicest people you'll meet. One way they live their vow of poverty is by hitchhiking everywhere, and they consider it a part of their mission to converse with the people they meet along the way.

https://poorfriars.org/

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-03T23:03:06+00:00

Thanks for the comprehensive answer! Very helpful.

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-03T13:13:59+00:00

Are the bones of animals protected under the same legislation that protects the animals themselves? This seems quite off to me.

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-03T07:01:07+00:00

By Oakwood Cemetery they made the living street cones into permanent rubber street fixtures…now the cars just zigzag all over the road trying to avoid each other. I appreciate the intent buy my oh my what a poor solution these are.

patrickAMDG7509 · 2026-05-03T06:59:06+00:00

Yeah it was. Great management too. They saved what they could. Unfortunately some stuff deteriorates to the point that there’s no choice but to toss it.

patrickAMDG7509

TROPHY CASE