ironicobservances

He may be back???

2007-12-26T08:10:00.000-05:00

I Need a New Law????

2007-01-13T07:55:00.000-05:00

Now, I may be behind the curve on this one but when I used to listen to "Christian Music" I ran across a band called Caedmon's call. In fact, this band played an instrumental role (no pun intended) in changing and expanding my faith with their deep lyrics and compelling questions. One of the band members, Derek Webb, has struck out on his own and continues to put out music that challenges the way I think about my faith. You can check out his music and listen to a few songs here. One song in particular seems to tie into the purpose and message of this site, enjoy.

A New Law

(vs. 1)
don’t teach me about politics and government
just tell me who to vote for

don’t teach me about truth and beauty
just label my music

don’t teach me how to live like a free man
just give me a new law

(pre-chorus)
i don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy
so just bring it down from the mountain to me

(chorus)
i want a new law
i want a new law
gimme that new law

(vs. 2)
don’t teach me about moderation and liberty
i prefer a shot of grape juice

don’t teach me about loving my enemies

don’t teach me how to listen to the Spirit
just give me a new law

(pre-chorus/chorus)

(bridge)
what’s the use in trading a law you can never keep
for one you can that cannot get you anything
do not be afraid
do not be afraid
do not be afraid

Some of the best acting I've ever seen.

2006-12-20T08:52:00.000-05:00

I hate to be a hater but this guy really pisses me off. I don't think I've ever seen a better scripted "church" service. Enjoy!

How strange that the very word "faith" has come to mean its exact opposite.

2006-12-18T08:17:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite pieces of radio these days is NPR's "This I Believe" series. I'm often bothered, frustrated, challenged, or strengthened by the beliefs I hear. I think today's broadcast is especially appropriate for the folks who visit this site. Richard Rohr, a Catholic priest, offers his belief about belief and it is quite up-lifting. Here's an excerpt:

Whenever I think there's a perfect pattern, further reading and study reveal an exception. Whenever I want to say "only" or "always," someone or something proves me wrong. My scientist friends have come up with things like "principles of uncertainty" and dark holes. They're willing to live inside imagined hypotheses and theories. But many religious folks insist on answers that are always true. We love closure, resolution and clarity, while thinking that we are people of "faith"! How strange that the very word "faith" has come to mean its exact opposite.

How strange indeed. To hear the entire broadcast, click here.

Reflections From About A Year Ago

2006-12-13T14:46:00.000-05:00

December 22, 2005, Delta Flight DL 285-somewhere over Georgia.

Since I’ve started this new job I haven’t really had much time off. I had vacation time but I didn’t really feel comfortable taking any time right at the beginning of my employment. Couple that with all of the work we had to do and it just didn’t seem right. Even the weekends seem to get filled up with stuff other than r&r is you know what I mean. So, it’s been about six months since I started the job and I really haven’t had much time off. I know, here come the laughs and fake sobbing. Poor baby, you’ve had to work for a whole six months it must be tough. In most cases I would be the one offering up the ridicule in this situation except that it’s me and I have a hard time ridiculing myself.

I really miss being a “real” graduate student. For the past five years, I’ve had two or three weeks off for the holidays. Granted, I wasn’t really scott-free, I would go into the office for a couple of hours a day but there was no real pressure. And, to be honest, I would mainly screw off during that time. I somehow justified my lack of work by the work I’d done during the semester.

But now, I have to account for my time again and to be quite frank, I don’t really like it. No shit the crowd echoes. Agreed, I’m being a baby. It’s taking some time to get back in the swing of things as far as a real job is concerned.

What really brings all of this to the forefront of my mind is that I’m traveling today to spend about a week in sunny West Palm Beach, FL. I’ve got to be honest, I am really enjoying it. This is the first time in a couple of years that I’ve traveled for pleasure. I’ve logged a bunch of miles in the last two years but they were all for work. I’ve been back and forth to Dallas about 20 times, DC five times, NY City several times, Boston…I really don’t mind traveling for work. It has given me the opportunity to see a bunch of stuff that I wouldn’t be able to afford on my own. But, being business focused most of the time I miss out on a lot too. I’m usually reading something for a presentation, preparing for a talk, or trying to get work done on the flight and in the airport. I don’t really see everything.

This trip is different. It’s one of the peak holiday travel days this year. The airports are filled with people with backpacks instead of garment bags and brief cases. There is a dad skipping through the terminal at the urging of his 3 year old daughter. There are so many children traveling, most with parents in large groups. Some single mom is trying to harangue her three children under 8 years old. Even minors traveling alone (I think this is an extra charge now. When did we start charging extra for courtesy?). I really love seeing all of these kids. It really makes the airport seem bright and cheery. I’ve come to the conclusion that I really love children.

Traveling at this time of the year has really opened my eyes to some things:
I love my family.
L is a really neat kid and I can’t wait to spend more time with her.
I’m grateful for the good work situation that I have.
These last few years have given me more freedom and autonomy than I realized.
I like and value a flexible work situation and the one I’m in offers more than most jobs.

Alright, I seem to be rambling now. Let me end this by saying thank you to all of those people who have given me the opportunity to pursue school, those who have employed me, and those who have to put up with me everyday. Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Day of the Ninja

2006-12-05T08:16:00.000-05:00

Go slink around somewhere and kill some unsuspecting heathen in the name of Christ and Ninjas everywhere.

Grace creates debt?

2006-11-28T08:45:00.000-05:00

I realize that it has been a while since my last post and for that I am truly sorry. Work and the holidays have snuck up on me and blogging has fallen to the wayside. Regardless, the jouney continues. Following is a nugget that I received from gracedagain.com.

"The effort to repay God in the ordinary way we pay creditors would nullify grace and turn it into a business transaction. If we see acts of obedience as installment payments, we make grace into a mortgage. Let us not say that grace creates debt; let us say that grace pays debts."
John Piper, Future Grace

Can a day be evil?

2006-10-31T11:06:00.000-05:00

As I went for a walk this morning, I pondered all of the activity that would take place today. Kids will trick-or-treat, parents will pass out candy, and to some this day will be full of fear and loathing because it is evil. Some folks over at Family Life sure do.

E-mail from Kansas City MO: After my pastor explained to the congregation what it meant, I knew that Halloween was not something that I wanted to participate in and I do not allow my children to celebrate this evil day.

E-mail from Lubbock TX: Don't even acknowledge that Halloween is celebrated. The harvest fests that are celebrated on that day should not even take place. Yes, they do give the kids something to do, but it is still acknowledging that the day is there.

E-mail from Phillipsburg, KS: For parents who think, "Oh, what's the big deal" - I have a sister who dabbles in Wiccan (white witchcraft) and this is a RELIGIOUS holiday for her. It is not innocent - parents need to wake up and recognize this as an evil holiday, and protect their children rather than allowing our culture and social pressure to draw them in.

Now, I’ve never been one to buy into the occult relationship with Halloween. I loved Halloween as a kid. We would go trick-or-treating when I was young and "bombing" when I was older. Now, bombing is a fun activity whereby people in their teens who live in the Chicago area agree to show up at a specific location and pelt each other with eggs, shaving cream, and other innocuous items. It's very fun.

Tonight, we will have a small get together for my daughter and her friends. The dads will take the kids trick-or-treating, while the moms get to hang out, drink margaritas, and pass out candy.

What are you going to do? Do you treat Halloween like it's evil? Do you let your kids partake? I guess this post really raises the question, can a day be evil? Can you partake in something evil with a pure hear?

There is a reason heresy and hysterical sound similar.

2006-10-26T09:33:00.000-05:00

http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/KF/0512/jesus.mov

If you are easily offended do not watch this clip.

A Dark Picture of Salvation

2006-10-25T19:06:00.000-05:00

I often visit a few, how do you say, fundamentalist web sites. I like to get a balanced view and unfortunately, this is not possible from one site when it comes to faith. So, you have to go to several and somehow combine the good information and dump the rest. So, I go to this site and found a few interesting comments.

The context here is a stark criticism of the emergent church movement (ECM). Now, I am no expert on the ECM nor do I really have an opinion on the whole matter. Nevertheless, I found all of the flack that the ECM was taking to be interesting if nothing else. Following are a few comments about a particular ECM pastor and anyone who follows agrees with him. Unfortunately, the comments paint a dark picture of the type of salvation espoused by this fundamentalist group who is criticizing the ECM.

One person writes:

I've often thought a good challenge to younger Christians (or anyone enchanted by the ECM) today would go something like this:

"If Jesus told you to be SQUARE for him, would you do it? Would you wear average-looking clothes and have an average-looking hairstyle for Him, if He asked you to? Would you submit to your parents and teachers, even if you believed they were wrong, if Jesus asked you to? Would you go to a traditional church and submit to the elders there, and sing 'How Great Thou Art' and 'The Old Rugged Cross' and other 'outdated' songs every week, for Jesus' sake? Would you put up with an antiquated worship style out of love for your brothers and sisters in Christ above the age of 50, if He asked you to? Are you willing to be UNCOOL for Jesus?"

Show me a young man or woman who's willing to do that for the Lord's sake, and I'll show you someone who's got the Holy Spirit.

And, if the test of true faithfulness to the Lord (aka the square peg, uncool Christian perspective) wasn’t enough for you, perhaps eternal damnation for poor taste will be:

"Jokes about flatulence are not cussing" (well that's a handy bit of information)
They are also not funny and not edifying. They also are very close to if not outright blasphemy when said about our Lord and Savior (are you telling me that Jesus didn't fart?). Time for some people to grow up and realize that potty humor went out in Kindergarten (guilty, I love a good fart joke).

So let’s recap, if you are stylish, rebellious, speak your mind when you have an opinion, and are unwilling to submit to a 50s lifestyle then you are unsaved…Oh, don’t forget jokes about Jesus farting.

It seems to me that it’s all about falling in line, doing it the appropriate way, keeping the tradition. Why do we all have to conform in order to be saved? I thought God made us individuals…I thought He knows the number of hairs on my head, not the average number of hairs on the heads of all those who love him. Why do we have to be the same, think the same, believe the same? Why does my faith have to be made from the same mold as everyone else?

Quit Going to Church!

2006-10-13T08:34:00.000-05:00

Now, I cannot remember where I found this but it has the ring of some stupid church person forwarding schlock around the internet:

A Churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years
now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons.
But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked
Some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this .. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

Obviously, this guys wife is a bad cook and he is incapable of making a sandwich. He must be the guy that all of the Hardy's commercials are aimed at. I would contend that it makes no sense to go to church for slightly different reasons including the following:

WARNING: sweeping generalizations ahead...

CAVEAT: I know, I know, your church is sooo different, your pastor would never act like this, and the "real" church that you go to is full of love, kindness, and goodwill just like Jesus. I'm sure it is.)

Most of the crap spewed out during the sermon is so absent of truth that you should either (a) go to church and not listen to/forget what you've heard or (b) just not go.
All of the fake people who try to blow sunshine up your butt when things are bad when all you need is some real compassion, understanding, and friendship.
All of the power-hungry, manipulating bastards who want your money, time, energy, or children.
Isolationistspeople who want to separate themselves from "the world" and ignore the hurting around them when they, ostensibly, have the cure to the hurting.
To show the church leaders that you want something different can buy crap at Wal-Mart, hear lies on TV, be manipulated at work or school, be robbed of my dignity by my "friends", and be ignored because I'm of no consequence just about anywhere. I WANT JESUS AT CHURCH NOT THE CRAP YOU ARE SELLING!

Tell me the reasons you don't go to church.

Tell me the reasons I should go to church. I want to know because right now, I see no reason to go.

Church Motivation

2006-10-04T09:10:00.000-05:00

The following post is a recent comment:

Nicole said...
I think the reasons that people in general go to church are for:
1.) A sense of efficacy
2.) A sense of meaning and purpose
3.) Social support

Those are the three things everyone needs in order to function. It's the buildnig blocks of helping people get better mentally, and most people could broadly fit in one or all of those categories in their reasons for church attendance.

Nicole, I agree with your three points. Your comment may even be a better way to summarize the list than I have. However, I think the terms you use all have a benevolent connotation. Frankly, I don't think that's the case. Don't get me wrong, I would prefer it be that way, but in my experience, that's fantasy land.

I would estimate that at least one third of the people who come to church do so to with malicious motivation.
1) They seek to achieve a sense of self-efficacy by dominating others and exerting themselves in a hostile manner. This is really just a cover for extremely weak self-esteem.
2) They pervert the message of our faith to manufacture a sense of meaning and purpose. Once attached to this new purpose, they now have a position of moral superiority from which they can demean and chastise others.
3) They also come to live under the illusion of a social support system that they unwittingly work to destroy.

I think Nicole is absolutely right! She has listed the primary points of motivation for church attendance; however, in a sign of genuineness and a pure heart, she has left out the counter example of which I am always ready to supply. I think I’ve just revealed a lot about myself.

Faith That is Alive and Growing

2006-10-02T09:10:00.000-05:00

Now, I'm no "fan" of Brennan Manning. In fact, his name really turns me off. I know, that's shallow but I don't know what to do about it. However, I have read one of his books, Abba's Child, and really liked it. Below is an excerpt from another one of his books "The Ragamuffin Gospel" (again, the name makes me want to smash things). It starts off a little shady but gets into the concept of growing faith. The conclusion is that faith is always growing...I think I've been pruned recently but I agree with the growing faith comment.

"Faith means you want God and want to want nothing else. When God's love is taken for granted, we paint Him into a corner and rob Him of the opportunity to love us in a new and surprising way, and faith begins to shrivel and shrink. When I become so spiritually advanced that Abba is old hat, then the Father has been had, Jesus has been tamed, the Spirit has been corralled and the...fire has been extinguished...To be Christian, faith has to be new, that is alive and growing. It cannot be static, finished, settled...when I conclude that I can now cope with the awful love of God I have headed for the shallows to avoid the deeps."

Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

When I'm President--or--Sending All of My Money to the Televangelist Worked

2006-09-29T12:54:00.000-05:00

When I'm president, everyone, and I mean everyone will have a limousine! Now that's prosperity baby.

Alternatively

"So I sends in my $15 to Benny Hinn right, just like he tells me to. And dogonital I wakes up the next morning with a blessin' from the lawrd like you wouldn't believe...You fellers wanna go muddin?"

A Better Way to do Church?

2006-09-25T07:29:00.000-05:00

I found the following post over at Lee Iwan's site. Lee often posts business related information that pertains to being more productive, increasing customer base, dealing with people in a work setting, etc.. I find this interesting because we often invoke the "business model" in the church. We want to measure our productivity by counting the number of new members we have, we try to increase the number of members by becoming "seeker friendly" which is just a rip off of user friendly, and we adopt all manner of crazy marketing strategies to get people in the door. Quite frankly, I'm sick of it. But, if we're going to keep the church in this paradigm, we may consider a few changes.

Lee suggests a new strategy for managing actual businesses and I wonder, if we are going to adopt the business model for the church, why can't we adopt innovative management strategies too? Do you think this method would work in the Church?

Please note: I have not read, nor do I recommend the book referenced below.

Successful managers should be breaking the rules September 14th, 2006
Hell, there are no rules here - we’re trying to accomplish something. Thomas A. Edison
I’ve found the most successful and exciting environments to work, study or play in are those with “no rules”. Environments that are open and flexible and not strictly controlled with things you can’t do. It’s exciting to be in these situations, inspiring, sometimes a bit scary, but always memorable.
Rosa Say has a brilliant read for all managers about how the use (or abuse) of rules often limits our creativity and enthusiasm. What are the Rules? Hopefully, none. “No rules” requires clear objectives and goals.
“No rules” requires planning.
“No rules” requires discipline and commitment.
“No rules” demands responsibility for actions and outcomes.
“No rules” is about inventing process. Creating and forming the process required, or desired, in order to get the job done and reach the objective.
“No rules” is about allowing creativity and innovation into every decision that brings us closer to our objectives.
“No rules” is about questioning the status quo in order to explore new and different solutions and methods.
“No rules” is about accepting and integrating new ideas.
“No rules” is about tolerance and examination of new concepts.
“No rules” is about getting excited and energized by every life or work experience.

If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed at the results. George S. Patton
It is good to obey all the rules when you’re young, so you’ll have the strength to break them when you’re old. Mark Twain
What do you think? Would this work in the Church? Why or why not? Can Christians be trusted to live with "No Rules"? Is a life without rules biblical?

2006-09-18T09:16:00.000-05:00

I receive a weekly e-mail from http://www.gracedagain.com. They usually deliver a nice uplifting and insightfully tidbit to mull over every week. This is one of my favorites:

"Our proper guilt is God's methodology of bringing us to himself. Just as sickness sends us to a physician, guilt sends us to God and keeps us there. In fact, it is that guilt (and here I use the word guilt in it broadest possible understanding of "helplessness", "discomfort", "emptiness", "disunity", "fear", "shame", and "embarrassment") that is the impetus of prayer. It is guilt that builds a fire of love in our hearts. It is guilt that makes us more like Christ. It is guilt that becomes our greatest blessing, because something happens when we come to God for his grace and mercy--something that is so radical and so amazing that it can only be described as death to our old selves. It is the overwhelming desire to please the One who has loved us with such amazing and unconditional love."

Steve Brown, Approaching God

Reasons To Go To Church: Summary

2006-09-14T07:49:00.000-05:00

First, thanks to everyone who commented on the previous reasons to go to church post. I've been struggling with this topic and your insight has been a great help. Second, your comments have expanded my list a good bit and through this I have started to pick out some consistent themes. Here they are:

Community (+)/Social (-): This category of reasons was mentioned by people who relayed a close connection or longing for connection with a group of other believers. To use the term social to describe this might be a little misleading. The folks who mentioned this one seemed to communicate a sense of community, a connectedness with others through Christ. Conversely, we all know people who only show up at church to "hang out" with their friends. It becomes another place to chat, have coffee, and be seen. I think this aspect of church attendance is often seen as a negative by outsiders because the recognize "worship" as something beyond mere human interaction.

Transaction-Give and Receive: This category is rather straightforward. People come to church to give. They give their money, time, sweat, tears, you name it; I guess a good way to describe it would be Service. People want to give something to God. Conversely, People come to church to receive. Likewise, here, the list is long; a touch from God, help with the rent money, a wife, a challenge, healing...the list goes on. God/the church is seen as the great provider, source of living water, money tree, easy mark, etcetera. Giving and receiving combine to create a transactional relationship. This is an area that needs more thought and space.

The question that arises in this category is one of motivation. I'd like to hear other people’s thoughts on the question of motivation in a transactional relationship with the church. I recognize that there are two sides to the coin here, what I would call authentic and opportunistic; but I want to hear your views first.

Worship: This is the one that I guess I don't really get. I suppose, on the positive side, this is actual communion with God. But, I can see this as a part of Community. On the other side is the music, preaching, and ceremonial trappings of church. But, I can see this falling under the transactional reasons.

So, here we are, as in most things of this world (actually the human mind) it boils down to three categories, or is it two. Your job is to comment critically on these ideas. When I say critically, I don’t mean be mean…But, I’d like to hear your opinion…

Almost forgot, I'm a visual thinker. So, a free t-shirt to the first person who can accurately represent the concept of church attendance with a ven diagram.

My Post-Congegational Narrative!

2006-09-06T16:56:00.000-05:00

That's right, I said it. I'm starting my post-congregational narrative. I found this fancy term on the Web. I believe this what country folk call a twenty dollar word (I just made that up). The funny thing is that I found it when I wickipedia'ed (is that a word) SCP. Needless to say, I like the ring of it. I believe I'll drop that one the next time one of the people from my church asks why I haven't been going.

On another note:

Thanks to everyone who has come by and left a comment or two. I appreciate your opinion. I realize the time you take to leave a comment is time you could spend doing something other than help a stranger figure out his way through the universe. Thank you.

I've also noticed that some folks have helped out by putting a link to my site on their blog (can't use the same word twice in a row). Socieityvs at Losing My Religion has a very well thought out opinion about faith and his personal journey through/within/about (I don't know) it. Also, check out YBMT?. I haven't had a chance to poke around there too much yet but it is an interesting community of people who really seem to care about each other. Hey, sounds like a church without all of the fighting and political wrangling, wouldn't that be nice for a change.

Why Do People Go to Church?

2006-09-06T10:29:00.000-05:00

A previous post, I've stopped going to Church for a while, has me thinking. Why do people go to church? What causes a person to get out of bed on a perfectly sleepy Sunday morning? Why do they/we forgo relaxation, the newspaper, catching up on your favorite blogs or whatever it is you could be doing and go to church? Why do I go to church? I think this a rather straightforward question but I want to make sure that I'm not just writing down the Sunday School answers, so, here it goes. The reasons why people go to church:

To worship God (Gawd! To be proper).
To establish a social connection within the local community (believers or otherwise, aka. fellowship).
To make one's self feel better, serve penance, sacrifice, etc..
To accrue benefits (e.g., social status, money, accolade, etc.)
To earn a living.
To see friends.
To network.
To sing.
To demonstrate your goodness.
To appease others.
To relieve fear.
To stimulate fear.
To continue tradition.
To look for a mate.

I seriously doubt this list is complete. I need input. What have I left off? How can these reasons be categorized or lumped together?

Something I Struggle with...

2006-09-05T08:29:00.000-05:00

When you choose to be pleasant and positive in the way you treat others, you have also chosen, in most cases,how you are going to be treated others.

Zig Ziglar

How do I choose to be pleasant and positive?

I've stopped going to Church for a while.

2006-08-30T07:40:00.000-05:00

So, I've stopped going to church for a while. Here is a list of reasons why:

I teach Sunday school occasionally and no one really prepares for the lesson. Graduate school has ruined any perception of class time for me. We always prepare for class, read the prescribed material, generate questions, and want to LEARN. Why doesn't anyone else want to learn?
The pastor at my church was a crook. He stole several thousand dollars from the church. Actually, the estimates range from $8000 to $1,000,000. I'm not really sure what the real value is. Unfortunately, he has some dirt on the church so the "session" has decided not pursue the matter legally. I don't get the Presbyterian manner of church rule.
I disagree with the establishment of a church as a matter of principal. The institutions that we call churches are not biblical. I don't think God ever desired a group of followers who are led by one person (i.e., the modern church).
The people at the church are too busy to let anyone else in their lives or to get involved in anyone else's life.
Some church people can be really creepy.
Some church people are really shallow.
The church is too closely tied to political ideologies. The church has become a whore for the right-wing establishment. That's just wrong.

This is a preliminary list and I hope to expound on each of these matters in greater depth over the next couple of weeks.

2006-08-17T07:22:00.000-05:00

No shit!

What happens when you combine a high speed dog and a high speed bike at a ninety degree angle?

2006-06-29T13:04:00.000-05:00

So, I was tooling down the boulevard on my road bike the other day, minding my own business, taking in the warm summer breezes, and generally enjoying myself when a dog collided with the side of my front wheel. We were both going about 20mph, he ran out of a hidden driveway, the collision was unavoidable...that is, unless the owner had the dog on a leash IAW the law. I came to rest about 30 feet from the point of impact. My helmet was broken, my bike was slightly knocked out of whack and I was scraped and bruised. The X-rays indicated that my right hip was not broken.

The funny thing about the whole incident was that several people stopped to see if I was ok. I really appreciate that. However, an Asian couple who didn't speak great English stopped and asked several times about my condition and I tried to reassure them that I was hurt but fine. At the sight of the large amount of blood streaming down my arm and leg, the woman asked if I would like a band aid all the while holding up two small band aids... There was no way this would stop the bleeding but it was all they could offer. It made me laugh but I greatly appreciate the thought...

All is well now, I'm still a little bruised and scraped but I'm back on the bike and will continue to ride.

2006-06-26T08:40:00.000-05:00

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them!

You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you

You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil

How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

I received this courtesy of Ninja Nun. She has a fun little site.

The description is somewhat accurate but I'd say I'm less serious and neat than it gives me credit for.

Later.

Father's Day

2006-06-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

Father's day was a few weeks ago. It was a great day. Gifts, breakfast, and special father's day activities with the little one. I enjoyed it. However, I never really know how to act when it's "my day". I always feel a little awkward or uncertain of what to do...I guess I don't really like all of the attention. But, it does feel nice to have all of the special treatment.

The little one suggested that we go bike riding. We went for a "real" MTB ride at a local place. It was her first time "off road". She did a great job. She is such a good rider. She handled several tough short hill climbs, went over some sizable roots, and even handled some off camber stuff. I was really proud of her.

I'm not sure why but she gets really frustrated some times and she cries. It makes me think I'm being too hard on her. And, it reminds me of times when I would play baseball with my dad and get frustrated because I wasn't very good at hitting or throwing...I cried too. I used to blame it on him but now I'm in his shoes and I'm not sure who's to blame. When we do activities together and she cries I feel like a failure.

This brings me to a larger point or a question really. I wonder why I don't remember the good things that happen with the kid and not just the bad things about my interactions with her? I tend to focus on the negative instances or my shortfalls as a parent. This is really just a larger indication of my tendency to focus on the negative in all areas of my life...I really would like to be more positive.

I believe I will resolve to be more positive in my perspective on my interactions with the kid and with my wife...I'm not really clear on how to do this but I'll look into it.

On a somewhat related note, here is a list of general parenting lessons I've learned:

If you don't like something your child is doing, just wait, it's going to change.
Be gentle with your children's feelings.
Play rough with your children.
Hug them now while you have the chance.

This list is short but I think the items are valuable. A belated but Happy Father's day to you.

Back at it...sort of.

2006-06-20T15:29:00.000-05:00

As is evident by the date of this post, I have not been blogging. I've been reading blogs but not blogging. I tried to start one up for my Sunday school class and that failed miserably. I'm not sure why but that really turned me off to blogging. BUT, I'm back. I hope to start posting more and to get some traffic this way.

Notice the photo above. I took this one a month or so ago when we were on vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC. I enjoyed spending time at the beach with the rat. She really had a lot of fun. No one was sun burned...that's a first for us. We usually get at least one good burn at the beach.

This one is from a hiking trip up to Mt Leconte. I had a great time up there. It is such a beautiful place.

Enough for now. I've got a good father's day post coming up...

Powerful

2006-03-15T12:20:00.000-05:00

"He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their…service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break through to fellowship does not occur, because though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among them. So we remain alone with our sin, living lies and hypocrisy. The fact is we are sinners. But it is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great desperate sinner; now come as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you…He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. God has come to save the sinner."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

still around

2006-03-15T11:23:00.000-05:00

Whew, more than a month and a half since the last post. I'm still around. More to come later.

Old Friend

2006-02-03T07:57:00.000-05:00

I received a disturbing e-mail this week. I sent out a mass e-mail to most of my business contacts because our domain name changed. While scrolling through the list I ran across a few old friends that I haven't communicated with in quite a while. So, I added them to the list just to see if they'd respond. Well, it looked like no one was going to bite until late last Friday. I was out of the office all weekend so I didn't check e-mail until early Monday morning. There was a message from my wife's, college roommate's husband. He told us that our friend had died in an automobile accident a few months earlier.

I sat and read this e-mail in front of my wife and daughter during breakfast. I didn't know how to respond. I was having difficulty maintaining composure and began to cry. I told my wife and her reaction was void of affect. Here I was crying in front of my wife because a good friend of ours had died and she had no emotional reaction. I couldn't spend much time thinking about that because my mind was filled with feelings of grief for her family which includes her husband and young daughter, I think she's 4 or 5.

K's reaction made me question if I was over reacting to the whole situation. I was really bothered the whole day and even now almost a week later, I'm still bothered by the news. I'll miss Jen. She was a delightful person. Always upbeat, smiling, cheerful and positive. In fact, she was postive when she shouldn't have been. I remember her effort to get into medical school. She didn't have the scores to get in but she persisted far beyond what I would have.

After K and Jen left UCF we didn't keep in close contact. Jen was in our wedding. We went to her wedding. I think we saw her once or twice other than that. But the time we spent together in Orlando was so close and personal. She was part of my family. It was like our version of friends but it was a realistic version with difficulty, work, and love.

It's odd that we've been in contact with several other people from that time frame within the last several months. Most have families now, children, jobs, significant others. I think K and I are the only ones from the group who were married and who have stayed close to eachother.

I'll miss Jen more now, knowing that she's gone, than I would have not being in contact with her for several years. I feel intense grief and loss for her family. I want to hug her daughter and tell her how wonderful her mother was. I wish I could fill the void that her husband will experience in the coming years. I don't know why this is having such a strong effect on me.

Goodbye Jen.

What's the difference between peace and peace?

2006-01-23T11:14:00.000-05:00

"Were the sky always without a cloud and the ocean without a ripple the believer would not know so well the God with Whom he has to do; for alas, we know how prone the heart is to mistake the peace of circumstances for the peace of God. When everything is going smoothly and pleasantlyÂproperty safe, our business prosperous, our children carrying on agreeably, our residence comfortable, our health excellentÂeverything in short, just to our mind (liking), how apt we are to mistake the peace which reposes upon circumstances for that peace which flows from the realized presence of Christ. The Lord knows this; and therefore He comes in , one way or another, and stirs up the nest, that is, if we are found nestling in circumstances, instead of in Himself."
CH Mackintosh, Notes on Genesis, 1897

This topic has been on my mind for the past few days. Over the past months I have been extremely agitated, unhappy, and depressed. This has been especially prominent in my relationship with my wife and to some extent with my daughter. However, the last week or so has beecompletelyly the opposite. I have had a certain peace in my mind and life that is independent of the circumstances (except when driving) and thpresencese of this peace has lead to questions. I've been praying for months that I'd be able to get away from this agitated state of mind but it seems it has finally arrived, or has it? I'm not sure if this is just a reaction to fewer stressors in my life or if there has been a really "change". More on this later...

real estate craziness

2006-01-05T08:28:00.000-05:00

I guess you can allude from my last post that the vaca was no vaca in the traditional sense. Here's the skinny. We went to WPB, FL to help the outlaws fix up their house so that they can sell it. I thought this would mean a few hours of painting a day; fix a broken screen here and there. You know simple stuff. However, the place was a little unkempt having been either unoccupied or filled with former friends who've now become vandals for the greater part of the last 6 years. 80% of the screen around the pool needed to be replaced. Two spots on the roof damaged from the last couple of hurricanes required repair. The whole place was just dirty and needed to be cleaned, disinfected and painted. I learned all of this a couple of weeks before arriving and thought that it could be done in two weeks by 4 or 5 people without too much pain and suffering...I was wrong.

I arrived at the beginning of the second week of the process; since with my new job, I only have one week of vaca accrued. Papa bear who was working on screen all week had accomplished about 30% of the re-screening (the entire job that a screen crew could have accomplished in about 4 hours). The house was clean on the inside and mostly painted. However, there was still a great deal of work left to be done.

Now, I'm as lazy as the next guy but I generally don't shy away from work. I was intending on going down there to get some work D U N, done. I really wanted to help these folks out, they deserve help. They deserve my help. So, I went to help...But, they did not really want help selling their house. I was surprised by the level of emotion that they encountered during this process.

No one wanted to organize or direct he work, no one wanted to really dig in and throw out the garbage, no one wanted to talk to each other about how this gargantuan task was going to be accomplished. As a result, little was done. Being the astute social observer that I am, I picked up on this phenomenon quickly and as I recognized the impending deadline I knew that I should take action. Ultimately this meant that I was putting a bullseye on my chest. I became the object of all score from all corners of the family including my "dearly loving wife".

But, I said, "Hey, I can take the heat. They need me on that wall. They want me on that wall....You can't handle the truth!" Heat taken! The result, occasional gratitude, some uncomfortable feelings, but the job was done within a reasonable time frame. I must say, when we left I thought the house looked great. Check out this pic.

So, if you are asking yourself, why did they sell the house in the first place? Well, when they left this house in FL 6 years ago, the considered selling it with the asking price of $120,000. This time the realtor suggested an asking price of $340,000, Cha-Ching. Not a bad profit for a five year investment. If you really want to see how crazy the real estate market is inFLl check out this little pic I snapped while there. Yes, that is a sign for a home valued at 1.3 million dollars and yes, it is in the median in front of a Target store. I just don't get it.

Well, I can see the logic of selling the house. I can see not being completely able to let go of it too. I'm just glad it's over.

Look for more Florida photos soon. Well, they are really just me playing with my new camera whenever I could get the chance.

Just got back from vacation

2006-01-04T13:36:00.000-05:00

Hey, just got back from "vacation". Needless to say, I didn't post while gone. I'm glad to be back home. We were in sunny Florida as the photo indicates. However, it wan't all sun and fun. Infact, it was all sun and no fun! More will follow later this week.

Don't Mess With Chuck Norris!

2005-12-21T09:49:00.000-05:00

When Chuck Norris has sex with a man it is not because he is gay, but because he has run out of women.

Chuck Norris doesn’t read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

Chuck Norris uses ribbed condoms inside out, so he gets the pleasure.

Since 1940, the year Chuck Norris was born, roundhouse kick related deaths have increase 13,000 percent.

There are no disabled people. Only people who have met Chuck Norris.

There is no chin behind Chuck Norris’ beard. There is only another fist.

It was once believed that Chuck Norris actually lost a fight to a pirate, but that is a lie, created by Chuck Norris himself to lure more pirates to him.

Those aren’t credits that roll after Walker Texas Ranger; it is actually a list of people that Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked in the face that day.

Chuck Norris’ tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.

Chuck Norris does not have AIDS but he gives it to people anyway.

Chuck Norris recently had the idea to sell his urine as a canned beverage. We know this beverage as Red Bull.

Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.

The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.

When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

Everyone uses Google to find out facts about anything and everything. Google uses Chuck Norris.

If you ask Chuck Norris what time it is, he always says, "Two seconds till." After you ask, "Two seconds to what?" he roundhouse kicks you in the face.

The way the wind blows depends on which direction Chuck Norris is kicking ass

Self Portrait with my new camera...

2005-12-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

'Intelligent Design' Barred from Dover, Pa. Schools

2005-12-20T13:41:00.000-05:00

Honestly, it's about time this has happened. Listen here.

Education
'Intelligent Design' Barred from Dover, Pa. Schools

NPR.org, December 20, 2005 · HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - "Intelligent design" cannot be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district, a federal judge said Tuesday, ruling in one of the biggest courtroom clashes on evolution since the 1925 Scopes trial.
Dover Area School Board members violated the Constitution when they ordered that its biology curriculum must include the notion that life on Earth was produced by an unidentified intelligent cause, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III said. Several members repeatedly lied to cover their motives even while professing religious beliefs, he said.
The school board policy, adopted in October 2004, was believed to have been the first of its kind in the nation.
"The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy," Jones wrote.
The board's attorneys had said members were seeking to improve science education by exposing students to alternatives to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. Intelligent-design proponents argue that it cannot fully explain the existence of complex life forms.
The plaintiffs challenging the policy argued that intelligent design amounts to a secular repackaging of creationism, which the courts have already ruled cannot be taught in public schools.
The Dover policy required students to hear a statement about intelligent design before ninth-grade biology lessons on evolution.
The statement said Charles Darwin's theory is "not a fact," has inexplicable "gaps," and refers students to an intelligent-design textbook, "Of Pandas and People," for more information.
Jones said advocates of intelligent design "have bona fide and deeply held beliefs which drive their scholarly endeavors" and that he didn't believe the concept shouldn't be studied and discussed.
But, he wrote, "our conclusion today is that it is unconstitutional to teach ID as an alternative to evolution in a public school science classroom."
The controversy also divided the community and galvanized voters to oust eight incumbent school board members who supported the policy in the Nov. 8 school board election.

word

2005-12-19T10:19:00.000-05:00

"So the Gospel is a good, joyful message about Christ our Savior. Whoever preaches correctly preaches the Gospel and nothing but joy. How can our hearts have a greater joy than knowing that Christ is given to us to be our own? So the nature of the Gospel is not just teaching the story and life of Christ but also personalizing it and offering it to all who believe. What would it help me if Christ were born a thousand times and this was sung to me every day with wonderful music, if I did not understand that His death was for me and that I should make it my own? No matter how badly it is preached, my heart hears the Gospel with joy. It penetrates all the way through and sounds wonderful." Martin Luther, By Faith alone.

Wooo Hoooo! Getting depressed:(

2005-12-15T09:18:00.000-05:00

I was jacked up yesterday...I just received my new Nikon D50 (couldn't foot the bill for the quicker D70). This camera is bad ass. I love it.

The whole purchasing of the camera was a total debacle. K purchased it over the phone via some low life NY cut throat shitty electronics store. It was the classic bait and switch, $465 dollars for the camera, yes ma'm. Oh, but you have to get the upgraded battery, quick charger, 1gig memory card...$1056 dollars later, I have a new camera. Don't get me wrong, It is a kick ass camera but the price is a little higher than I thought reasonable. After a couple of hours on the phone and back and forth with the e-mail, I decided to just take it in the bootay. After that resolution, I have really enjoyed it.

I put in the fat memory card that the camera indicated 600 photos left....yes, more than 200 roles of film. Suck that Kodak.

Anyway, it’s a rainy dreary day. I can't wait till next Thursday; I'm going to Florida for the holidays. The rain really brings me down.

Later.

methodist commercial

2005-12-12T14:56:00.000-05:00

I ran across a new commercial by the United Methodist Church yesterday. I found it to be very hopeful and open. I think the gist of the message was "We are on a journey that leads us toward God". Here is a link for another video from their site.

Happy Anniversary

2005-11-30T10:29:00.000-05:00

Today is my 14th wedding anniversary. I've been married to a wonderful and difficult woman for a very long time. When I say wonderful and difficult, I mean it. She has overcome so many obstacles in her life that I'm amazed at her resilience. She is a wonderful stay at home mom who is very involved in church activities. She loves me and I'm not the easiest person to love, just ask her...or anyone who knows me for that matter. But, did I mention that she's difficult? You see she is what we in the biz call aggressive, passive aggressive to be exact. That's a problem when it comes to emotional intimacy. Combine that with her innate ability to communicate poorly and you run into a few arguments here and there. But, the problems over the years have been outweighed by the benefits. So, I think we'll stick with this. As a matter of fact, our stubbornness has probably been the greatest strength to our long marriage. We simply refuse to break our commitment no matter how pissy the other person may get. Now, I'm not sure what effect this has on our relationship (I'm sure it's not good) but it has led to a long marriage.

I really hope we can get past this silly bickering stage in our relationship. I'm not sure how to do it but I'm willing to try.

fetal pain laws

2005-11-29T12:06:00.000-05:00

I found the following article on MSNBC's page. I can't believe this sentimental, nonscientific crap that our country is letting slide by these days...

Abortion politics twist facts in fetal pain laws
Proposed bills that address fetus suffering go beyond medical evidence

COMMENTARY
By Arthur Caplan, Ph.D.
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 1:10 p.m. ET Nov. 28, 2005

As it so often does in America, the drive to restrict abortion produces bad legislation. The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act is no exception.
This fall the Wisconsin state Senate passed the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act. The bill has passed the key committee in the Wisconsin House and it seems likely to pass there before the end of the year as well.
Wisconsin is not alone. The states of Arkansas and Minnesota have passed versions of this law. And Congress is taking a hard look at the same legislation as well. The House of Representatives recently completed a committee hearing on the law.
The proposed law requires doctors to read a script to women who are considering having abortions telling them that Congress has determined that an unborn child feels pain by 20 weeks of age. The express purpose of the bill is to diminish the suffering that a fetus must endure as part of a post-20-week abortion. But, the real purpose of the bill is to discourage woman from choosing an abortion by stressing that a 20-week-old fetus feels pain.
The script that doctors are supposed to read tells every woman that Congress has determined that “…at least 20 weeks after fertilization, every unborn child has the physical structures necessary to experience pain.” The woman would also have to be told that there is substantial evidence that the abortion methods most commonly used 20 weeks after fertilization cause substantial pain to an unborn child.
Beyond medical scienceThose in the House who favor the bill, and there are many, want to be sure that women considering an abortion have the option of choosing to have anesthesia or other pain-reducing drugs administered directly to the “pain-capable unborn child.” The purpose of administering such drug or drugs would be to reduce or eliminate the capacity of the unborn child to experience pain during the abortion procedure.
The law warns that, “in some cases, there may be some additional risk to you associated with administering such a drug.”
Why is this such bad legislation? There are a lot of reasons. None of them are getting much attention because of abortion politics.
The bill insists on calling a fetus an unborn child, something medicine would never do. The bill goes far beyond what medical science believes to be true about when a fetus feels pain. The bill treats every fetus as the same in terms of capabilities if they reach 20 weeks of age or more, which they are not. And, most troubling, it reduces the process of informed consent to the reading of a fixed script created and mandated by politicians not doctors.
If, as this bill purports, Congress is concerned about what medicine believes to be true about the capacity to feel pain felt by a human fetus then why does it consistently refer to a fetus as an unborn child — a phrase never used in any medical textbook or medical school lecture?
The answer is simple — abortion politics.
Do doctors agree that fetuses have the ability to feel pain at 20 weeks in utero? Some doctors do. But, some do not. A quick search of the medical literature reveals no consensus at all among physicians and scientists about when a fetus can feel pain. Estimates range from 16 weeks to 28 weeks. How is it then that Congress can legislate a 20-week line in the sand as the date when a fetus can feel pain despite a lack of consensus on the part of actual doctors and scientists?
The answer is simple — abortion politics.
Oversimplified disclosureThe proposed law says that doctors can administer anesthesia or pain relieving drugs to the "pain-capable unborn child." It also says this sort of treatment may result in “some additional risk to you” meaning the mother.
How does Congress or a state legislator know whether doctors can truly relieve pain by in utero anesthesia? And how can an obviously inadequate disclosure of risk to a mother considering an abortion — "some additional risk to you" — pass legislative muster.
The answer is simple — abortion politics.
And how is it possible that Congress or a state legislature could decide that a one-size-fits-all script constitutes an acceptable way to achieve informed consent when they would never accept such oversimplified, rhetoric-laden boilerplate as adequate from their own doctors?
The answer is simple — abortion politics.
Abortion politics continues to rip at the social fabric of America. That is a fact. When abortion politics are permitted to twist, obscure and ignore the facts about fetal development, fetal pain and the nature of informed consent in medicine that is a fact that those who are pro-life and pro-choice should not tolerate.
© 2005 MSNBC Interactive

Free Ipod Nano

2005-11-22T16:12:00.000-05:00

Now this is good stuff. You need to get on the ball. Only 33 more evalgelizing days left.

Free Ipod Nano

I love this.

2005-11-21T09:57:00.000-05:00

"We are the people who struggle with God—that is, who take God seriously enough to struggle with Him, to endure struggle for His sake. To accept this truth, and to know it better than we know our own names, is to find ourselves the recipient of God’s richest blessing. Classically there are two ways of soliciting the favor of God. One way is by trying really hard to be very good and hoping that God will take notice. The other way is to beg God for His blessing and to refuse to let Him off the hook until He comes through. This latter way, as inelegant and impious as it sounds, is the Biblical way. Mike Mason, The Gospel According to Job.

Thanksgiving

2005-11-21T09:41:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited about Thanksgiving. I can't wait to start the cooking. We're going to spend the day with some friends but I'm going to cook pies, stuffing, and some other stuff.

Too excited.....

hurt.

2005-11-18T08:54:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I found out that a person who I considered a friend actually doesn't like me. Honestly, I was not aware of the way this person actually felt about me. I really thought we were friends. This is troublesome for two reasons: first, I feel like an idiot because I think I should know this...I feel socially unaware. Second, I can't beleive that this person could put on such an act for such a long time that was so convincing.

My first inclination is always to blame myself when something goes wrong (I’m plagued with guilt). So, when this occurred, I thought that I must be a boob not to recognize that someone doesn't really like me. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not some personal approval whore who goes around trying to get everyone to like me. Conversely, I like positive attention; I like to be liked. But, how did this slip by me?

I also feel like an idiot because I've confided in this person several times. I've told this person some very difficult to share and personal things. All the while, this person was sitting there smiling, taking it in, and, ostensibly, empathizing with me. I feel like such an idiot for spilling my guts to someone who could care less.

On the other hand, I also feel like I've been misled. I truly was under the impression that this person was my friend. This person was always kind, inviting, and open. I feel like I've been betrayed and it was by no fault of my own. How does a person behave in manner that completely makes others think something other than what their true feeling are? I understand acting. I understand pretending. Hell, I even understand lying. However, this person misled me for 3 years! How in the world does someone do that?

I've probably been giving this more of my attention than is necessary over the last 24 hours. I guess I'm just hurt and embarrassed.

This is how I felt yesterday

2005-11-14T08:05:00.000-05:00

Do you ever feel like your just out of it? Like your life isn't really going anywhere? Like a failure? That's how I felt yesterday evening. I chalk it up to high frequency seasonal affective disorder, i.e., I get depressed on Sunday nights. I'm not sure what causes it but it's been going on for years. I can remember being in 5th or 6th grad and laying in bed on Sunday nights unable to sleep because I was thinking about the upcoming week, this caused anxiety and depressions for me.

Anyway, sorry to be a bummer on Monday morning...See if this cheers you up.

time wasting

2005-11-13T10:40:00.000-05:00

Serious time wasting stuff. I'm not sure there is an optimal solution to these games but they are addictive. The cube is fun, I've only played it about 15 times. But this one is just crazy; it has taken about two hours of my life. Enjoy!

Happy Veteran's Day!

2005-11-11T08:24:00.000-05:00

It's Veteran's day and I'm a veteran. I spent 6 years in the Navy doing some really cool stuff. I operated nuclear power plant and all of the systems associated with the plant. The really cool stuff, however, was not the technical aspects of my job. I learned a great deal about people in harsh situations.

You see, we'd spend months under water away from our families and friends. Needless to say, this tends to make one emotional and particularly irritable. Our favorite past time was simply pissing each other off. This might entail ridiculing one's physical appearance, rimming his coffee cup (details later), or planting the seeds of doubt in his head about his significant relationships. Given fertile soil, the seeds would sprout into all out neurosis. Ok, that would be sort of a backfire in the whole engine of hatertainment because it would mean that this newly crazy fucker would be pulled from duty and one of us would have to cover for him.

One time, while ridiculing each other, the conversation slipped into a deep theological discussion. As these often do, it became heated, ending with my Chief (the guy who was in charge of me) yelling at me and telling me to never talk about my faith again. I will remind you that there are no civil liberties for those defending them.

That's really the irony of the military; you are giving up your rights for the rights of others. I know that's very idealistic and naive given our current political state. But ultimately, it get's boiled down to this; you give something you have so that other's will have something they desire. Now that desire may be oil, power, or a legacy if you're resentful and peevish concerning our current state. However, in other situations this exchange is freedom for freedom and life for life. I find this honorable.

I don't miss being in the Navy. I think it was a good experience. I truly learned a great deal about myself. In fact, there was something simple about that life that was very attractive. However, it's now someone else's turn. Happy Veteran's Day.

Can you believe this crap?

2005-11-10T07:26:00.000-05:00

So, I can barely stand most "church" stuff. Granted, I'm highly involved in the same crap but that's my problem to deal with. Anyway, this guy Steve Brown has a great radio show that I feel I can trust, no drivel.
On his site, which is great by the way, are discussion forums that tend to be a fighting ground between rabid right wing freaks and people who are equally rabid and potentially left wing. The bottom line is that the left wingers tend to be open to conversation and crap like that.
I'm cruzing the site and ran into this discussion. I can't believe this shit. Check it out yourself and tell me what you think.

Unfortunately, we aren't the only ones with these stupid ideas. Listen to this French offical as he states that imigrants are lazy and only want to sell drug....Boob

lost my old blog

2005-11-09T08:35:00.000-05:00

I've lost my old blog due to inactivity, insert sad face. So, I've really revamped the whole idea. I hope this blog will be a deep delve into my mind. That's scary! So, expect a lot of relationship schtuff, Church folk schtuff, and bike schtuff. My goal is to post at least weekly, perhaps daily. We'll see.

Scott