Monday

Monday, as usual, followed Sunday this week.

What a beautiful day Sunday turned out to be: cloudless blue skies, low humidity. Perhaps it would be better than the disappointment from Saturday's Gamecock Football Game. But Sunday had to be, after all, it was Katie's tenth birthday. We came home from church with an extra kid in tow, a friend for the day's main activity: horseback riding. Following a quick lunch at the BK Lounge, cake and ice cream, I pointed the car to Suffolk and the Mulholland Ranch. Once we got the horses saddled and warmed up, Miss Connie took us out for a trail ride. Katie was on her favorite horse, Red Dog, and I followed on Cha Chi. At one point in the woods, Katie was holding the reigns in her right hand, left hand free at her side, and she was singing. Joy. Back at our house, I crashed, but Katie cried: she was already missing Red Dog.

Monday.

Back to the usual nine to five. The day before seemed almost surreal: so different from what I was doing now that it seemed like a dream. My boss asked me if I wanted to go have lunch at the Swan Terrace and interview a new candidate that we hope will come work for us. Previous times that I have been there it had been busy, but not today. After a while, I notice a cop walk in, look about and then exits. Interesting. Then, Pat Robertson enters and heads straight to the buffet. My initial impression is that Pat looks much older in person than on TV. My next impression, after eating a shrimp directly from the buffet and putting the empty tail back down, is equally impressive.

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My 10 Things

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

10 years ago tonight, I was watching Father of the Bride II. I only remember that because my daughter was born the next morning, and I could not get the music out of my head/

2. What were you doing one year ago?

Trying to reseed my lawn and begin and honest attempt at learning how to mange the verge.

3. What are five snacks you enjoy?

Ah, easy one. That would be Dry Roasted Peanuts, Popcorn, Goobers, Kettle Chips and Chipwich

4. What are five songs that you know the lyrics to?

Unfortunately, these will mostly be songs by Sting or the Police: Moon over Bourbon Street, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, Walking on the Moon, So Lonely, All This Time.

5. Name five things you would do if you were a millionaire.

Again, somewhat easy, but perhaps rather boring. Finish my Emergency Fund, Make sure retirement is funded, fund the kids college, pay of the mortgage, Live like no one else.

6. Name five bad habits.

Late night snacking, spending too much time on the computer, procrastinating, eating too quickly, drink too much coffee

7. What are five things you like to do?

Watch movies, read books, spend time on the computer (see above), play video games, spend time with the girls (all three of them)

8. What are your five favorite toys?

XBox 360, Tom Tom, Tivo, Harmony Remote, Darth Tater

9. What are five things you would never wear?

Speedo, Leather Pants, Muscle Shirt, Low Rider Jeans, Ghostbuster T-Shirt

10. Name five things you hate to do.

Go to the Mall, Fill out Status Reports, Work on the weekends, Anything involving a ladder, Scrub Pans

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Welcome Old Pal

I like introducing my high school pals, and tonight I am happy to say that Steve has finally thown his hat into the ring. Steve and I met in freshman science class, where we were the bane of some guy named Bobby. I knew that I was going to like Steve when he and I broke out into a scene from Bladerunner while in the old downtown Taps department store. We would go on to lose many quarters together at the Barrel of Fun as well as pass many lunch hours in Rosco's room playing D&D or just watching a movie.

Graduating high school put us on a different path. Steve had some wild idea that he wanted to go into the Air Force and fly F16. So, off he went to the Citadel while I went to USC to be a Physics/Music Ed major. Our paths would cross in between semesters and somehow, we always managed to show up at the annual Todd and Jay birthday bash together. There was a rumor that we were gay lovers, but, it was only a rumor. Besides, I could never go with a guy who wore a Tan Members Only Jacket. Grey is the Only Way.

As it turned out, I did neither Physics nor Music Education because I got some wild idea that I wanted to load bombs on F16s. As it turned out, I ended becoming a mechanic on F15s and I think Steve became a maintenance officer. And then he became a pilot on the C17. At our 10 year High School reunion, I remember him telling stories of flying into Bosnia in the fog.

So, I am glad that Steve has planted his flag into the blogsphere. My only advice is write. Even if it is goofy, even if you find yourself disagreeing. Write about whatever, it is your space. Let your pals know about your family and all that good stuff.

See you over at http://c17daddy.blogspot.com/

Debt is Dumb

I think debt is a dumb idea that has been sold to us as a necessary part of life. I like how the New American Standard puts it: The borrower becomes the lender's slave. I am particularly anti-credit card, as it is one of the easiest method to get an unsecured loan (try it at Kohl's. You can get one while you check out). I closed and cut up my last card this past March, and have not used a credit card since last November. My goal is to one day have a credit scar, er, score of 0.

Seriously.

Wanna know more, check this out:

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Just a few thoughts rumbing around...

Sometimes, reading a familiar verse in a different translation helps bring a fresh perspective. I had that happen with Phillipians this weekend:

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh-- though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (Php 3:3-7)

Perhaps my caffeine levels have been getting dangerously close to normal, or maybe I am just getting contemplative, but somehow, I wonder if I have missed something in my walk? Paul gives this incredible resume, a Jew among Jews, and he counted all of this as a loss. Granted, Paul sets the bar pretty high, but am I spending too much time in areas I am concerned about (weight, money, job etc)?

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Payday Part Deux - A Lesson

So, the kids got their commission dollars (all of five of them) for their hard work this past week. They put away some give, some save and some spend. And what do they want to do? Spend, of course.

Cindy and I are really gritting our teeth, but this is part of it. This lesson is that $2.00 is not a lot of money, especially when you consider tax. Ah, teachable moments. The best thing that happened was that Katie took a quarter that she had left over and bought some M&Ms from a dispenser for her sister.

Neat.

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Pay Day

Since applying the principals of Total Money Makeover and attending Financial Peace University, Cin and I have decided that it is time to start teaching the kids about money. So, we have put them on commission. Ok, you might call it an allowance, but the word implies entitlement. The word Commission reminds them that if they work, they get paid. If they don't work, you don't get paid.

So the kids get five dollars a week for various chores. Today was fun, because it was the first payday. Their eyes lit up as I pulled out the ten one dollar bills and started counting them out (with a little drama and some flair).

There are three things we can do with money that we are trying to teach them: spend, save and give. To that end, they have three envelopes labeled with the names of those three things. We asked them to find a savings goal that would take them a while to save for. Katie has a model horse, and Megs is still thinking.

I hope this helps to begin teaching them things about money that I never knew, including insurance, investing, etc. But, one step at a time.

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American Idol ... Not!

So, today at 5:00, I get a call that says we have overpaid some speakers, and we need to go back into a database that was purchased over a year ago and see what the former company had contracted to pay them.

Great.

I find the back up of this database (which I had never seen), restored it and started digging into 100+ tables looking for something that would appear to me to be the information. Around 7:00, I finish and start to head home. One of my managers wanted to talk to me on the way out, and to be honest, I was only half listening. Sorry. I am not very good after 6:40.

Also, tomorrow is Cindy's Birthday, so I knew that I was taking the girls out to Bed, Bath and Beyond (and, Way Beyond). Luckily, they had scoped it out the day before, so they knew what they wanted to get, and they had their money ready. Thankfully, I had finished my shopping at lunch and all that was left was to sign cards and bake a cake. Did I mention my in-laws are in town.

I get in the car, pop in my headset and call Cindy to let her know that I am on my home. Then, I fire up the MP3 player, and throw on some tuneage. The headset was bothering me, so I took it off, I was struggling with it, but I did get it out and set in the cup holder.

Unknown to me, I had accidentally redialed home.

There I am, heading down the highway, singing in that way that you only sing when you know that you are alone. Or so I thought. After what my wife said to be about two minutes later, I realized that my phone was on. Oh, the horror and embarrassment. Cindy had a great laugh, and I was thankful she did not put me on speaker phone.

Or so she claims. Anyways, Happy Birthday Honey.

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TGIF?

The popular cliche, "Thank God it's Friday", seems to sum up the American feeling about work. Work is a bitter pill, an inevitable evil, and necessary only as a tradeoff to do what we really enjoy. Unfortunately, it even seems a badge of honor to hate your job and despise the boss.

Dan Miller
48 Days to the Work You Love

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Cromer's Peanuts

While trolling on websites this morning, trying to sooth the stings of yesterday's thumping of USC by LSU, I came across the Cromer's Peanuts Web site.

Guess what? They are still guaranteed worst in town.

What a slice of nostalgia this morning. I mostly remember the store they had in Dutch Square with the real monkeys in the glass cages. As a kid, that added so much to the Cromer's experience. As an adult, I can only imagine what the store employees had to go through on the upkeep of the animals.

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Horse Wishes

Snopes It, Please

I am taking submissions for a new Urban Legend Email that I would like to take credit for writing. In fact, I would like to get three or four, and then release them in the wild, and see if they ever come home. UL-Email, to me, is an art form. And like all art, is sometimes misunderstood. I see a simple beauty in knowing that your email will be read, and then forwarded to millions of people each day. Why waste time writing a novel only to never have it published, read and never appreciated when a good UL will cause grandparents to fret and worry and pass the message on? Ah, literary immortality: to become the J.R.R. Tolkien of Spam.

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Adult Growth Network: Financial Peace University

This fall, our church is offering "Financial Peace University" as part of the Growth Network. As I have shared before in this blog, Cindy and I have read "The Total Money Makeover" and are finally on the same page when it comes to our finances.

For many years, my idea of being responsible was making sure that the mortgage, electricity, gas, cable, direct tv bills got paid and that there was money for groceries and gas. Beyond that, the money could go where ever it wanted (and it would). Cindy saw the other side of the picture: doctor visits, birthday gifts, hair appointments, extra curricular activities.

When we started our baby steps, we were very fortunate. We had $7,000 tied up in a car, visa and a kohl's charge card. We had about $1,800 in savings. Baby Step one was to have $1,000 in an emergency fund. The hardest part of baby step one was taking $800 out to pay of the Kohl's account and put some onto visa. We finished Baby Step two in march when we received our refund from taxes and was able to pay of the remainder.

What really changed here was our mindset and that we did a zero dollar budget on paper, on purpose, before the start of each month. That means, we put each dollar of my paycheck into a category (including one called blow). The first few months were hard, but we have gotten better at this with each new month. The second biggest difference was moving more towards cash than the visa debit/check card. Not for all categories, but mainly food (grocery/restaurant) and blow.

So I was really excited about starting FPU. I had met the coordinators and the husband was about as weird as I was. In my mind, I was ready for this: I had read the books, listened to the radio shows. You could (and still can) call me a Dave Fan.

And then I started hearing the stories from people I know. And started hearing their situations with money, with getting spouses on board. I realize now that I had it rather easy. For us, Baby Step one was a passing second, for some people, this is going to represent months of savings. I felt really bad for my pre-class attitudes. I envisioned going in and everyone was going to be like me! But there are people who are really hurting, even in the walls of our church. I felt ashamed, and that night was face down praying for forgiveness of my attitude and for the people in the class. I don't want to be like one of Job's friends, but I do want to tell them that there is hope. Just stick with it. Something like that.

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After School Special

Hopefully studying English.

9/11 - Never Forget

It is this generation's Perl Harbor: an attack that made it perfectly clear to everyone that the country we hold dear is also hated dearly by others. This morning, my thoughts are with the family members of flight 93, probably because of a documentary that I watched on sunday. Now, I have faces to associate with names of Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham and Jeremy Glick.

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Iron Man

Well, I know where I will be on May 2, 2008.

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Psalm 27:1

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?


You are the strength, that keeps me walking.
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.
You are the light to my soul.
You are my purpose...you're everything.

Busched!

Today was the last day of our Busch Gardens Season Fun Pass. We were there from 10:00am - 5:30pm. It was our longest visit of the season, and I think we hit each of the major areas.

Since the park was not as crowded, we gave the girls a little more freedom to ride some of the rides by themselves. They handled it well, and they really got a kick out of getting to be on their own. It was kinda nice to be able to sit down for a while.

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Jiminy Crickets

I've probably posted more this week than I have in a month of mondays, and that's no mistake.
So, without further ado, here is a matrimony of the Simpsons (yes, I watch...Homer makes me laugh) and Star Wars.

Enjoy.

Put down your milk glasses.

When it is all said and done.

When it is all said and done, Miss South Carolina will be a You Tube Icon for a long time, right up there with Numa Numa and Star Wars Kid. She will give us many laughs, clearly demonstrating the power of blond.

And, as all of us Airport High School graduates will point out, she graduated from Lexington High.

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Fire!

There is nothing like getting a phone call from your wife telling you the stove is on fire while stuck in traffic.

It wasn't a "drippings" kind of fire, but something that looked more like a sparkler on the fourth of July: white hot, and slowly following the path of the bake element. Cindy emptied the fire extinguisher on it, but to no avail. After hitting every possible stoplight on Greenbrier, I made it home as she decided to call 911 for a little assistance.

As she was talking to the non-911 911 attendants that you get when you sign up for Vonage, it lazily passed through my mind that maybe turning the breaker off might be a good idea. Turns out that not only was it a good idea, it stopped the march of the acetylene light ("a working man works till the industry dies").

I put a call into our appliance guy. Most likely will pay way too much for what I know to be a $30.00 part.

And, it's not every post I get to work a Sting Lyric in!!

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Men as Trees, Walking

Last night, I got a chance to teach the small group lesson. It was a continuation on Mark chapter 8,which includes the healing of the blind man in two stages. During the first stage, the man says he sees men, but the look like walking trees. Jesus touches him again, and the man sees clearly.

I told them the story of Virgil, a man who had his sight restored after being blind for 50 years. He had a cataract removed and a lens replaced. He was able to see, but was confused by what he saw - he couldn't make sense of what he saw.

I suggested that the disciples were like Virgil. They had seen all the miracles, heard the teachings, but still, they had spiritual Agnosia. Aren't we like that too? Is it is because we are looking in a mirror darkly, or maybe God has just not revealed something to us. Jesus extended lots of patience to his twelve; we should have the same patience with ourselves and others.

Men as Trees, Walking would be a great band name.

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Preventive Maintenance

I was all dressed and ready to go this morning, when I felt the dreaded twinge of pain in my neck. It wasn't nearly as bad as it has been when I have had to get muscle relaxers, but I thought I use the heating pad treatment. I did get a chance to watch GMA's "Back to School" feature. The topic was purchasing a laptop for your 5th, 10th and College student. The slant was you need to purchase for your child. When interviewing the different age groups what they use the computer for, you heard: games, music, chatting with friends, movies and an essay. I guess our kids will just have to use the same old computer they used last year (and the year before).

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Godly Watermelon

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food: and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food: and it was so.
Genesis 1:29-30

Today, Cindy returned from the Farmer's Market with our weekly watermelon. Cutting through the rind revealed the sweet red tissue inside. We started to pick at it when this verse came to mind. God created fruits and vegetables to be our food, and just how perfect they are.

Virginia is for Lovers Campaign

When Cindy told me about this, it sounded like an Apprentice challenge gone horribly wrong.

You probably heard of the "Virginia is for Lovers", with the "O" replaced with a heart. It's been around for as long as I can remember. The state's tourism agency decided to update the slogan by adding "Live Passionately" into the slogan. The ad slicks include a women who is using both hands to make a heart.

Cute enough, right?

Sure, unless some spent $400,000 dollars and didn't realize that the hand symbol was also a sign associated with the Gangster Disciples gang, a Chicago based gang known for its large-scale crack cocaine operations.

Ooops.

Of course, at $400,000, couldn't they come up with something better than "Live Passionately?"

Smallville Crack

I swore that after the "Great Buck Rodgers" disaster last year, I would not let myself get hooked into a new tv dvd series. That has come to an end as I have just added Smallville Season 3 to my Netflix Queue.

With so many discs coming in, I accidentally skipped disc 2 of season 2. This will probably explain some the oddities associated with missing some of the story arc (seriously, I thought I must have fallen asleep).

Anyways, if you haven't seen the show, it plays a lot like Beverly Hills 90210 meets X-Files: Everyone is gorgeous, and there are many Mutants. The mutant motif dies off once the series picks up steam and the character arcs start to develop. So, if you are looking for a new series to get hooked on, try Smallville.

The Club.

When I say "The 700 Club," I can almost hear you groan. But, we live very close to the CBN property, along with Regent University. Just last week, I had a very nice lunch at the Swan Terrace at CBN. One of our friends is a producer for the spanish version of "The 700 Club" (arguably better because of less Pat).

Today, another friend from church has asked to use Cindy and Megan as actresses in a piece that he is producing for air. The piece is on an older lady, and Cindy and Megan will be used as part of a flash back.

Division Champ

Katie did very good at her first show. It was new to all of us, so I will describe the division that she competed.

She entered in the Walk and Trot division. In this division, the rider brings their pony along the outer rail of the arena. Once the riders are in position, an announcement is made that they are now being judged. The judges are looking at the riders' posture: back up straight, heels down, shoulders back, hands still and low.

Then the judges ask the riders to bring the pony to a trot. When the rider transitions from the walk to the trot, they might have to change their diagonals. This basically means that they need to rise and fall with the horse. The judges are scoring the rider and making sure their diagonals are correct.

The riders are asked to turn their ponies around and proceed in the opposite direction. At one point, the judges asked the riders to go into the two-point position.

Finally, the riders line up in the center with their backs to the judges so that they can see the rider's number. A first, second and third place is announced, and then, the process repeats two more times. After the third time, an overall champion is announced.

Katie did a fantastic job. She won first place on the the first two cycles, second place on the third and overall champion for the division.

Personally, as her dad, I was so nervous for her. When she went through the gates, I had to remind myself to breath. I have never been a competitive type, and I am really glad to see both of my girls find themselves in a sport.

So, That's What They Do

Equestrian

Katie has been taking riding lessons for years, but has never been in a show. That's kinda hard if you do not have a horse of your own (or are leasing one). But, she was asked to show a horse on Sunday. Scrambling around, we have pieced the uniform together.

Tighty Whitey

My pal George has put up a blog called Tighty Whitey.

I have known George since the first grade. At one point, I thought George I Pair Elementary School was named after him. He was part of a group of guys that formed what, for lack of a better phrase, my gang. Always the comedian, George has a strong musical talent that took him into the professional world of Christian Rock. Of course, I knew him as part of the duo "Nicholson and Green," and I only recently discovered his alter rockin' life. George also was a guy who taught me the importance of not letting your anger get you, as I once punched him. I know that we have laughed about it since, and all has been forgiven, but it is an instance that shaped me into who I am today. It was not a pleasant lesson.

George recently taught me that Democrats can be Christian too, and God doesn't carry political card for any party. In fact, He authorizes those parties to exists. I made what I thought would be a funny comment, and George took me to task on it. Did I really not know this already? Of course I did, but it also reminded me that I need to be careful about what I write.

But the memory of George that I carry with me was an event after my sister died. I had just gone back to school and first period was P.E. I remember being in the weight room and just being overcome again with grief. I did not want to cry in front of the guys, so I left to the hallway. George saw me and came out after me. He may have said something, I really don't remember. What I do remember was that he was there.

So...Give one of the last surviving members of Mrs. Yonce's "Wild and Crazy Guys" a look. He's a great guy.

Life Takes Visa?

First, I must admit that I still like my debit card: I do not know what I would do without "Pay at the Pump." However, I have experienced an empowering feeling when paying with cash. Unlike the new Visa commercials, which would have you believe that paying with cash not only inconveniences those around you but leads to business loss due to cash being a slower transaction, I have found it to be quicker. And, you feel like you hit the lotto by having exact change. Not to mention, you spend less. Studies show that you tend to spend 17% more when you pay with any kind of plastic. McDonalds studies have shown that people tend to buy 40% more with plastic. So, not only are we getting fat, we are getting broke. I do not have to log in all of those receipts into MS Money and it paying with cash helps me stay on budget.

After watching Maxed Out and In Debt We Trust, I really dislike the credit card companies. I no longer have one and I have not used on since November. Hopefully, one day, I will have a nice FICO score of 0.

The Griffon

Katie and I rode this today in the front row. It was completely awesome.

Humbling.

More videos like this available from Great News Network

I did not write at all about this when I initially posted. Perhaps that was a blogging no-no as it is easier to post videos that intrigue me that writing about what it was in the video that sparked my thoughts.

In this case, it was motivation.

I am not sure how effective tract witnessing is, but that is me limiting what the Holy Spirit can do. What catches me in this video is that I am that guy who would be more willing to do something if there was one hundred dollars attached to it. Deep down I wonder why I am not more motivated to do things in love. The verse references made (treasures in heaven) are oft used during Stewardship messages, but this video moved that verse into context.

Anyways, that's all.

Really Gone!

This past couple of months have been extremely busy for Cindy and I; July was but a blur. It seems like it was yesterday that I was going to see Transformers in DLP, but, that was already a month ago.

The big event that happened at work was taking a promotion to Director of Software Development. It pretty much ends my professional coding career, but not my love for coding. There was one week that I got a little depressed about it: did I make the right decision? This position is not well defined, and so I do not feel that I see real, tangible proofs that I am doing what is expected of me. Already, I am having to deal with performance issues, and I find that I have to put aside my own likes or dislikes and tell it like it is.

Cindy and I painted two rooms. I realized, after the paint was dry, that our color scheme sorta matches Starbucks. However, for the record, Cindy picked the colors. I just applied them and hung up the new curtains.

We made our annual trip to Buffalo the second week of July. You know, it's not the beach, but I really look forward to it. I got a chance to chill out at the movies and Borders (btw, my coffee beverage of choice is now, officially, the Americano) drinking some of Seattle's Best. I never did get to see Die Hard, but I did catch Order of the Phoenix on opening day.

The best part, of course, is getting to see my bud Lorne. I would say that over the past 10 years we have spent maybe 24 hours together. But Lorne is a kindred spirit and I connect with him. The best part is just watching where God has brought him. From my perspective, it is like watching clouds rolling on time lapse photography, so I see this movement very clearly. Lorne is a writer, and has a heart for teens. Also, he is a gamer. Not a video gamer, but a gamer. Over the years, we have played everything from Clay wars (build a monster out of Clay and engage in battles) to WWII Table Top War Gaming using the Green and Tan Plastic Army Men. He uses games as a venue to minister to teens at his church. What I think is really cool is that he does not bring an evangelistic message to the gaming table, but gives the kids a role model of a healthy Christian guy. This makes it very open for the kids to bring friends who might not necessarily come to church.

The kids went to South Carolina to spend the week at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I really intended to be there longer, but it turned into a quick turn trip for Cindy and I. Rick, I apologize, but I will have to take that coffee with you at Panera's on another trip. With the week free of kids, Cindy completed the painting just in time for them to come back.

And that was July.

Hmm...

There is truth to be announced. If you start losing that, you really step outside what Christianity is. The gospel is something to be taught and to be believed. It is not something simply to be experienced.

DON CARSON (Professor, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School)

Rimshot, Please

The latest telephone poll taken by the South Carolina Governor's office, asked whether people who live in South Carolina think illegal immigration is a serious problem:

29% of respondents answered: "Yes, it is a serious problem."

71% of respondents answered: "No es una problema seriosa."

Murphy Proof

I hope one day to be financially murphy proof. By that, I mean that one day I hope to have a "fully funded" emergency fund so that when Murphy stops by to visit, it doesn't throw me for a tailspin.

Well, this isn't the day, but, it could have been worse. Coming home from my daughter's ballet recital, I ran over a nail. I felt confident that the road damage insurance that I purchased would cover me. Unfortunately, it only covers you if less than 25% of the tire is worn. Anything else is prorated. I like my new tire with 25 bucks knocked off.

Next came the Xbox with the busted USB connector. Thankfully, I did have a full product replacement plan and I swapped it out with no inconvenience. But, I did purchase another PRP just to cover this one.

Finally, the pool pump motor had a short, and unfortunately it is past warranty. The part is coming in, but, my pool water has not been filtered in over a week. It is getting that nice shade of green. I saved myself some bucks by pulling the motor out and taking it to the Pool store. Hopefully by the weeks end we will be up and running.

Not swimming, unless you like algae.

R2, Where are you?

Although I have not seen any of the US Post Office mailboxes "wrapped" with the R2D2 decor, it was only a matter of time before one went missing.

I would start talking to the local Jawa community.

Best Advice All Day.

glumbert.com - Stop It!

Of Mice and Squirrels (and Peguins and Helicopters).

Last year, Jay posted a bit about squirrels becoming the new "in animal" at the movies, replacing the mouse. Since that post, I believe that the penguin has surpassed the squirrel in Hollywood. Too bad, I was really rooting for the squirrel, but, to be honest, he got type casted as a caffeine injected rodent. Funny, I will grant you, but ultimately a one trick pony.

Penguins, on the other hand, can march, surf and dance (and, according to Big Idea, drive space ships). Really, the resume is very impressive. But, I have to be honest with you, the penguins are wearing a little bit thin. I was not one of the masses that thought "Happy Feet" was the best film of all time. In fact, I did not like the sexual undertones in a children's movie (at one point, a penguin breaks in with a rendition of "Let's Talk About Sex" replacing Sex with X). It is the same subject of "March of the Penguins," but there you have a documentary and not some anthropomorphic fantasy. My only thought during "March" was, I paid how much for this film!? I will wait for "Surf's Up" to hit Redbox, thank you.

After watching "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" I have noticed another trend: Helicopter Blades. In "Grindhouse," Helicopter blades are used to chew through a mass of zombies, obliterating them into chunks a liquid. Like the entire film, the scene was overplayed and such an obvious model that it could not be taken seriously. However, "28 Weeks Later" used the same tactic to plow through a rushing horde of Infected. This was meant to be taken very seriously, as was the scene in "FF." A helicopter "crashes" Sue and Reed Richard's wedding, blades dicing through guest chairs.

What's the point? There is none. Just one guy sitting 4rC noticing another trend. BTW, I recommend all of the Helicopter films, but, "Grindhouse" and "28 Weeks Later" are questionable in taste (the former more so than the later). But, I really enjoyed "FF" and would recommend it.

Maxed Out

If you get a chance, take a look at the film "Maxed Out." It is an eye opening view into the world of the Credit Industry in America and the potential decline into a two class system (debt and debtors).

The movie has an obvious political slant, but (for once) I was agreeing with him. Also, had my man Dave Ramsey, but I could not be sure if the film maker was painting him correctly. If you did not know him, and his stance on personal responsibility, you might think that he's a little stuck on himself, especially the story of getting his jaguar repo'd. He often uses sarcasm and is sometimes self effacing.

Anyways, right up there with "Super Size Me" and "Kilowatt Hours" as another favorite documentary.

All Good Things...

Scenic View
Originally uploaded by Creative Loafer

As it has been said many times before, all good things must come to an end. This past week has been pure relaxation, and I feel charged. I expect this to end somewhere around 10:22 am. I stepped up on the scale this morning, and proceeded to yell at it, calling it a liar. So, I guess I am also back to Weight Watchers. But, I enjoyed every moment of this vacation. Thankfully, I have a half day on Friday.

Jericho Survives Fallout

Well, Well, Well. Seems like Jericho will be coming back from the ashes after all!! Thanks to the fans (more dedicated than me) who deluged CBS with nuts.

Vacation Recap

Tuesday morning came quickly, and Cindy and I were on the road by eight. We had Tom Tom programmed to take us to the cabin rentals and had about nine hours to enjoy a kid-free ride. It was erie: no fights, no messes, just quiet. If you do not already own a GPS device, these gadgets are worth the entry price.

Our cabin was called "A Garden Blessing," and it was just that. We booked the rental back in March, and got a really good deal. It was the first time that we rented anything that was not a motel. Combine being kid-free with all the amenities of home and that led to more sleep than I have had in a long time. In the spirit of Galinburg, we took a trip down the Parkway.

In case you have never been to Gatlinburg, let me tell you that there is no store front parking. Your best bet is to park at the city garage across from Hard Rock Cafe. They have an hourly rate and a six dollar maximum. There is a private lot next door that charges a flat $5.00 per day. Once you get into the Parkway, you will get charged $8 - $10. How to best describe the Parkway? It's the Myrtle Beach of the mountains: lots of t-shirts shops, candy shops and indoor minature golf.

The highlight of the trip was white water rafting down the Pigeon river. We used the Smokey Mountain Outdoors. After meeting our guide, we went through the safety lesson. Afterwards, I was starting to doubt the sanity of this venture, but, our guide told us that most river guides were full of crap. Seeing that she was a river guide, I was not sure how much stock to put into her statement. We took the "upper tour" and had a lot of fun. One member of our party fell overboard, popped up next to the raft and we got to pull her back in. I was proud that I was able to grab her paddle before it went down stream. If you ever go to the area, I highly recommend this activity. It takes a couple of hours, and there is more flat water than rapids, but it is very fun.

The second highlight was horseback riding. Again, there are several to choose from, but we used the Smokey Mountain Riding Stables. We saddled up on Porter Cole and Christy for an hour long trail ride through the Smokey Mountains. Although this was fun, about fifteen minutes into the ride, I had serious doubts that I could make this. First off, the saddle. I am not sure how it is with the ladies, but fellas, I got to say, it was rough. Next, my horse, Christy, was a lazy horse. The stable hand told me that I can use the reins to "whip her like you want to whip your wife." I told him politely that it was my wife who usually used the whip (just kidding, or course). But, Christy just kept getting behind and every now and then I could get her to trot to catch up. Attending Katie's riding lessons must have helped a little. If you think walking was hard, fellas, trotting takes up the pain a notch. I am sure that there was plenty that I could have done to make this easier, but, I am a dude (a person who does not know how to ride a horse). I have a new found respect for what Katie can do on her horse.

Horseback riding took more out of us than we thought, so we cancelled our hike and instead went minature golfing. You have many choices, but we went to Hillbilly Golf. You take a ride up the side of a mountain, and the course takes you down the mountain. I had a respectable lead on Cindy until she dropped two strokes on a par 3 and sunk the final put to win. It did not help that I completely flubbed one of the holes. Oh well, all is fair in love, war and Hillbilly Golf.

As far as eating out goes, we pretty much went on the cheap. We did eat at a local TGI Fridays on the Parkway the first night we were there. The experience was not good, and I would not recommend going there. We also ate at the Alamo Steak House after Hillbilly Golf. We were put in a back room that felt very tight. We split a surf and turf special, and the steak was exceptional. Cooked over oakwood, it gave the meat a distinctive smokey taste. However, most of the prices start around fifteen dollars. Before rafting, we did have a spot of lunch at a nearby Food City grocery store, and this would be a great location if you were looking for eats to take on to a picnic. Our favorite dining out experience was at the Gondolier Italian Restaurant and Pizza. We stopped here after rafting and had a large "Gondolier Special" Pizza. The feta cheese added something new, but the crust was fantastic: flakey like Unos, but not as doughy. We had enough left over to have a nice lunch the next day.

Coming home we went a different route to get to Williamsburg to ride the Griffon at Bush Gardens. The lines were short and we were in and out of the park in under two hours. After stopping off at Firehouse subs, we came home to a grand reception by our kids waiting for us on the corner. All though I enjoyed our peace and quiet, I was glad to see them again.

Well, I'm Home.

White Water Rafting on the Pigeon
Originally uploaded by Creative Loafer

I will post more tomorrow about my Gatlinburg getaway. I've uploaded some pictures to my flickr badge if you are interested. The last 560 miles of the journey started this morning when I got up at a quarter to seven. I had just completed a restless night sleep, where, near twelve AM, I resorted to watching "I Love Lucy" to try and fall asleep. Luckily, we got on the road at 7:45. The first destination today was Bush Gardens in Williamsburg. Our goal was to ride the new roller coaster, "The Griffon." Finishing that ride (and a couple others) we hopped back in the car and made it back to Chesapeake and a warm reception from the girls.

Loving My Birthday Gift

I have never understood the appeal of an MP3 Player/Ipod. In the past, I have owned a CD player that plays mp3 and a smaller capacity (128mb) player, but, it never took off for me.

The Sansa E280R is an 8GB MP3 Player that uses the Rhapsody Music service in much the same way that IPods use ITunes. One big difference is that if I wanted to use Urge, I could.

However, I have found myself really liking Rhapsody because of Rhapsody channels. I imagined that my first weekend of ownership would involve burning my CD collection to a hard-drive and then loading up the player. With Rhapsody, I did not have to do that. I could go and find an album that I own and add it to my library. By default, Rhapsody saves nothing to your hard drive, but, I found an option that will tell Rhapsody to download the track in WMA format. Once downloaded, I can use my media-player extender and send the music to my Xbox, which is conveniently hooked up to my sound system.

Another feature of Rhapsody that I really like is "Rhapsody Channels." This feature allows you to pick a style of music (Soundtracks, 80's, 70's etc) and it will load your Sansa with songs. The other day at Starbucks, I secured a big comfy chair, listened to a Classic Rock Channel enjoyed my Starbucks, Blue Berry Coffee Cake and my copy of "Prank the Monkey." It was at that moment that I realized, I really love my birthday gift.

15 Year Get-A-Way

I posted last week about our fifteen years of wedded bliss, today we take off for Gatlinburg, Tennessee, for several days of rafting, horseback riding and something called Hillbilly Golf. Cindy's parents got into town yesterday afternoon, so they will be watching the kids. We are also hoping to snag a hotel Friday night somewhere near Williamsburg, Virginia, so that we can go to Bush Gardens Solo on Saturday. They have this new ride called the Griffon that we want to ride.

Microsoft Surface

Coming soon to your living room. Check out the three videos here for an overview of Microsoft's Surface.

Wow, 15 years ago

15 years ago this past Sunday, Cindy and I got married for the first time. Yes, we have been married twice.

I first met Cindy in the winter of 1987 when I changed majors from Physics to Music Education. She was sitting in the back row of Dr. Phillip's history class wearing on of those white pantsuits so popular in the eighties. Since I had not seen her in marching band, I quickly figured out she was either voice or strings. She was a violinist. She also turned about to be a pretty nice person, and soon I had a new friend.

We remained friends until 1990. I remember running into her as she was leaving McMaster, and there was, no lie, just something different about her. Almost like I was seeing her for the first time. We went out that night for, what was to become a tradition, Buffalo Chicken Wings. We dated until August of 1991 when I, with the help of David and Jay, pulled off the best wedding proposal ever.

I was meeting Cindy at Sidney Park for a walk. As we came down one series of steps, Jay was standing at the bottom, dressed in suit and tie. "Table for two? Please follow me." We follow Jay down to the bottom of the waterfall where a small table for two was arranged. Dave came over with two glasses and a bottle of champagne.

These two had been setting this whole thing up in Sidney Park, and had drawn the attraction of many people (including a Cop). Quite the crowd was remaining up at the waterfall level to see what the outcome was going to be. David pops the cork, pours the bubbly, and then brings the covered ring. I go on one knee, and before God and everyone in that park, ask Cindy to marry me. She says yes. Everyone cheered and applauded.

So, last Sunday was fifteen years since we were married the first time. The Air Force has a rule against counting your fiancée as a dependent. Since I was being sent to Okinawa one week after our planned wedding, we decided to go ahead to the Panama City Beach Courthouse and get married by the Justice of the Peace.

Wow, 30 Years Ago

I was a geek before Star Wars, but, George Lucas firmly cemented me into that category with his 1977 adventure film. I was in fourth grade that year and can vividly remember seeing a condensed version at Shajey's Pizza Parlor. It felt like a long time before my sister and I sat down to watch the epic at the original Irwin Fuller Theaters at Dutch Square. I am sure that it did not affect her in the same way. This was the version that did not have the "Episode IV" moniker, Han shot first and I still swear that Biggs came up to Luke before the Battle of Yavin.

Thanks Evelyn

I want to thank Evelyn at Chase for making the cancellation of my Amazon Chase Card so easy. Since starting my baby steps to financial freedom, I have not used the card since November. The only problem that I have since had was being refused a game rental at Blockbuster Video: they would not take my Visa Check Card as insurance that I will return there game. Instead, I traded in a few older games and got the game I was going to rent for free. I have had the card completely paid off since February.

I have completed the first two baby steps and am well into the third. The fully funded emergency fund may take me another year. But, that was always my "credit card" belief...that I needed it for emergencies. Now, I have cold hard cash for emergencies and can depend on that rather than Chase (who does not have my best interest in mind).

When we talk about financial stewardship in church, we are reminded that "it all belongs to God anyways." But we are quickly reminded that "God does not need our money." Followed with "God loves a cheerful giver." Follow the line of thinking and I sometimes feel that I am in the middle of a Mafia movie where the boys are using euphemisms for rubbing somebody out. Stewardship becomes defined as how much we give. Nuts.

Stewardship is being responsible with what you have been given.

We live in a society that encourages us to spend money that we do not have. If you do not have the money for xy or z, you can always find some company willing to loan you the money. Usually in under ninety seconds. Go to Kohls and you can open a line of credit with them (and save 10% on your purchase) right at the cash register (I know, I've done this). If easy credit was not enough, they entice us with Zero Interest and Reward Plans.

I felt burdened with all of the debt that I was carrying. How could I be a cheerful giver? I was looking at 10% of my income going to the church while I was making a decision on which creditor to pay? No, we should be teaching our brothers and sisters how to handle money and start spending only what you have and save for that rainy day.

Dave has a pretty good program. And now, I am a very cheerful giver. And not just on Sunday mornings. The greatest financial feeling that I have ever had was giving an anonymous cashiers check to a sister in need.





The borrower is servant to the lender. Proverbs 22:7

NUTS for Jericho

Seems like I was not the only one who was disappointed by Jericho being nuked by CBS.

Nuts Online

Jericho Nuked

Jericho was a CBS television show that I stumbled on to at the "Watch Now" web site. It chronicled what happens to the small town of Jericho after nuclear weapons are detonated across America.

As I posted earlier this week, survival movies work for me. But, obviously enough for the show to get renewed.

The season finale was this past week. The town of Jericho was defending itself against a nearby invading town. The war was being fought over farmlands and a salt mine. As the two sides square off, the screen goes black, and gun fire erupts. And then silence. The show is over.

This is my problem with shows. The "Cliff-hanger" finales. Then, when they get canceled, there is never a complete story. Even though 24 is getting thread bare (what ever you do, don't move to Bauer's LA), at least they tell a complete story. It's a cliche born out of the who shot Jr time frame and it needs to stop.

You wanna know how to get us drawn back for next season? Write good stories. Write interesting characters that we can get involved with. Do something different, stray from the formula (think Pulp Fiction or Momento). Just can the cliff-hangers and complete your major story threads by the last show. If I like you, I will be back next year.

My Ballerina

A Turn of Phrase: Jump the Shark

Do you remember on Happy Days when Fonzie jumped the shark? It was the defining moment of the show, but after that it had no where else to go but down.

Of course, I have absolutely no recollection of Happy Days ever being bad. But, what would I know. I was a kid. I thought Horshack was funny.

So, what shows have jumped the Shark for you? On my list is Survivor, American Idol and the Apprentice.

Check out a web site devoted to this subject here.

Things not to do with your Gmail Account

Ah...finding new stuff. I came across this in my Gmail Settings. Now I can check Gmail with Outlook. Only, make sure that you select the option to download email from "this point forward." A few more minutes and I (hopefully) will be finished.
[edit]
I forgot to say why you should select the "this point forward" option. I downloaded over 700+ "new" email messages from gmail into my Outlook profile before I killed it.

Reflection of Something

Sometimes, in the hustle and flow of life, as I strive to know God, I wonder how I can use my vertical relationship with him to affect my horizontal relationships with others? I see a bumper sticker nearly every day that says "What difference do you make?" and I ask myself the same question, "what difference am I making?"

There are precious few things that will have eternal consequences in this life. But, I know one of them is how we reach out to one lost person whom God is calling. Reaching out to them and telling them the simple gospel of Christ.

But instead, I smile politely and side step the issue, not wishing to offend.

Just Visiting

Tonight was our first small group since the last one broke up. It was very small. In fact, Cindy and I were the only ones there besides the substitute teacher. We got into an overview of the four old testament covenants (Abraham-ic, Palestinian, Davidic and New Covenant (from Jeremiah, not the last supper). Deep stuff, but, not something you would be applying to your day to day walk.

It's May Already

Where in the world did this year go? I know that I have been very busy at work, but I honestly can not believe that I turn 39 in two weeks. For some reason, 38 was that wake up age for me. I remember my Dad when he was 38 because that was the same year that George Rogers won the Heisman Trophy back in 1980. Rogers wore the number 38 jersey (see...there was a connection).

Regarding my decisions about leading a small group, I decided to not take the group over. I do not think I would ever feel "ready" to lead a group, so that is not my reason. It boiled down to the fact that Cindy and I are the youngest in the group (by 15 years at least). How do I relate life experience with them? They have already been where I am. Instead, we are officially in the "visiting" stage, but we are going to a class that is in our age group.

Big news on the work front (and the cause of me loosing sanity) is that it looks like that my application is going to be localized in several languages world wide. I've never done anything to this scale and, while it does scare me, I am excited about the experience once we get through this.

Favorite quote from last week's Office

"Lord, beer me strength."
- Jim

Thoughts about VT

I am not sure who actually reads this.

My main purpose for starting a blog has been to give several high school friends (you know who you are) a way of keeping tags on me. Along the way, I know of a few others who pop in from time to time.

I make no excuses for what I believe, even though some who read this may wonder how I can. I do. There is a faith in God that runs very deep in the fiber of my being. Those high school friends were there when it began.

This week has been very somber because of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. For Rick, Jay and Todd, consider if something happened at USC. The impact that it would have in the local area gives you some idea of how this has impacted even Hampton Roads. We know families who were directly affected.

And in all of this, the question comes: why? And deep inside, I can only reply that I do not know. I only know that we live in a fallen world: one that has been given over to itself. We live in a world that does not seek God. No, not one.

But I have patience.

Like the harvester, God is patient for the rains to fall, for the harvest to be full. And when it is, I know that Christ Jesus will come back, and the second act will begin. But until then, we live and we die.

This song, by Third Day, has been coming popping up for me all this week. The refrain is:

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus

It has helped me with this week.

Fruit of the Vine

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. John 15:1-2

You remember the first day you saw the buds come out. Almost over night, branches that were bare suddenly had fat little tips on their ends. Then, one warm day, those buds burst open to reveal the most delicate little flower - their scent filled the air with new life. Over a period of time, those buds turned into miniature fruit: small, hard, sour. But with rains, warmth and time, they grew into fullness and harvested in due season.

And there you are, again, with bare branches tipped with tiny buds.

And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.
2 Chronicles 15:2 - 4

God never changes, but often we change God into what becomes convenient for us. We seek for a god that does not exists. When I became a Christian, God did not change because I am under the blood of the new covenant. He is still God. He is still Holy. And that aspect of Holiness has me awed. In church, we sing that "God is a friend of Mine." I understand the scriptural reference for the song, but if I think God and I are going to sit by the pool and joke around because we are "buddies", then I got this relationship backwards. He is still Yahweh.

I do not feel that I have sought God as I should. I might even say my "relationship" with him is more akin to that of a distant relative. I could visit Him from time to time, but I am much better at making excuses and finding something else to do. Consequently, I sometimes wonder where God went? Is it like the nice poem, "Footprints" that says God never forsook me, but carried me? Or is it like the prophet Azariah said "but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you." One sentiment is nice and warm. Written by man. The other cold and harsh. Spoken by the spirit of God speaking through a man.

I am at a crossroad where my small group leader is leaving. He has said that he feels that I am the one to take the class over. This scares me. Part of me says I would rather someone else do it. But should I be saying "Not my will but thine?"

Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Get Your K-Cups Here

Google Maps: New York to London

That's right: Swim Across the Atlantic:

Children of Hurin

In high school, my inner geek was best summed up by Star Wars, Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons and J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien held me in a way that continually had me reading his trilogy through out high school. I remember after reading the Silmarillion picking up "Lost Tales" and being ultimately let down. I loved Tolkien, but I was not ready to read what was essentially his notes on various stories. Nor, have I ever felt compelled to purchase any of the other books that his son Christopher has published in the past two decades detailing the history of the writing of Lord of the Rings.

But, this week, there is a new book. It is more akin to the Silmarillion in that Christopher takes on the editing role, on John gets the full authorship title. The book is "Children of Hurin" and is being billed as the first complete Tolkien story since the Silmarillion.

Weighing In, Too

I read Rick's post regarding Imus, and I agree that it has gotten more play than it deserves. Really, a good post. And not at all made up (like his April Fool's joke). But, as I was thinking of what to add to the mix, I kept thinking of this:

Matthew 12:33-34 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

My Jet!!!

Just googling tonight, and I came across the aircraft that I crewed in my Air Force Stint 78-0469.

Design Methodologies

LJ talked about humilty and arrogance in our profession. After an email that I had responded to in haste last week, I was afraid that I might have been the subject of arrogance, but I was assured that I was not. What sparked the blog entry was overhearing another developer reviewing code and database work on the other side of the cube wall. The phrase "The developer who did this should be shot" and "I wouldn't have done it this way" floated over for all to hear.

Once upon a time, I know that I have said these phrases before. Hopefully, not out loud though. But something along with experience comes maturity and realizing that you never know the conditions under which another developer is working when they are writing their code. To be sure, there are times when you come across something that indicates a knowledge issue on the part of the developer. But, in my job, I have found that I have to make decisions based on external factors.

I once blogged about the "Marco Polo Design Methodolgy." The game of Marco Polo is played in a swimming pool, where the person who is "it" closes their eyes and cries out "Marco." The other kids respond with "Polo." "It" moves in the direction of the sound and repeats the process until he catches another kid. The other kids, however, are free to change their positions at will. I feel that sometimes, as the developer, I am "It" calling out "Marco" and the requirements are the other kids. Sometimes they stay where they are, but many times they just move around to another part of the pool.

Another methodology is the "Larry The Cable Guy Methodoloy." Larry the Cable Guy is a comedian who uses the catch phrase "Get her done." And sometimes, we just have to get our jobs done based on what we know at the time. We have to move forward even when we know things could change. This can result in choices that are functional but maybe less than optimal.

Writing software is hard. The syntax is not difficult, but the art of moving from concept to execution and managing all of the external factors in between is hard. But the client does not care about that. They only care about the end product. Did they get what they thought they were getting and did they get it when they wanted it?

A Few Easter Bunny Videos

The Easter Bunny Hates You!

And of course, this classic...

Reading Fiction Again

I have to thank my co-worker (and fellow Starbucks Runner) LJ for getting me back into the realm of fiction. It was with George R. R. Martin's "Song of Fire and Ice" series. I say series, but honestly, it is more like a Fantasy Soap Opera. The story is spread across (currently) four books, approximately 1000 pages each. I believe two or three more books are planned. HBO has recently optioned to bring the series to the small screen.

The story uses a Point of View device to tell the story. Each chapter is labeled with a character's name and the story is then continued from their POV. This creates various story threads and you find yourself looking forward to certain characters. As the books change, so do the POV characters. The last book took two "bad-guy" characters and made them POV, giving new perspective to motivations.

As a Fantasy story, Martin breaks from the traditional Tolkien mold. The milieu is largely Medieval, and for the most part, is lacking in the various boogies that populate such stories. Oh, there are Undead creatures and Dragons, but they rarely make appearances. There is no "Quest" in the story, and there are no set good guys or bad guys (thanks to the POV mechanism).

As a Soap Opera, the story often gets a bit seedy. Also, Martin will sometimes keep you with a character, only to have that character get killed. After this has happened several times, completely throwing you for a loop, I found myself trying not to invest to much feelings for any particular character.

I liked the last book the least. Mainly because he took on many new POVs and left other (MAIN POVs) out completely. He ended the novel with the explanation that their story will continue, but he had so much story to tell that he would rather tell complete story lines, rather than have a bunch of hanging threads.

Somehow, I Completely Missed It.

Honestly, I completely missed the NCAA basketball playoffs, the final four, the whole schbang. I was here, I did hear about Duke leaving in the first round, but after that...nothing. No Office pools, no daily updates.

I discovered that I also, apparently, missed the month of March. I went to change my calendar and it was still displaying February.

April Fools Day

When it comes to playing gags on people, I typically stink. However, the best one that was ever successfully pulled off occurred about eight years ago. I called up Jay in Seattle (the best gags always cross state lines) and filled him in. He phoned my house, posing as some one from the Virginia Beach Sewer Works, and this was a courtesy call. Due to some maintenance work, the pipes were going to pressurized and there was the potential for water to come shooting out of the toilet. What they were recommending was wrapping the toilets with saran wrap.

It was a theme and variation on the classic saran wrap the toilet bowl gag. Typically, the victim is someone going to the bathroom, not observing that there is a barrier between the commode seat and the bowl itself. This time, the trick was to get someone to wrap the toilet.

It worked better than it deserved. My in-laws were visiting and they assisted in making sure that both toilets in the house were secure. All the while commenting on the thoughtfulness of the Virginian Beach Sewer Works. The plan almost went nova, because they were getting ready to try and contact our neighbors just to make sure that they got the message. Thankfully, Jay called back to let them in on the joke.

They say that "hell hath no fury like a woman spurned." I am still waiting for the other shoe to fall.

Revenge of the Hair Clog

It is not that I hadn't noticed the water in the shower draining slower than it should, I simply decided to ignore it. But once the soapy standing water started interfering with the "toweling off" process, I knew it was time to put on the handyman hat.

Armed with a Phillips head screw driver, plumber's helper and an unbent clothes hanger, I removed the drain gate. The noxious smell was overwhelming, but I steadied myself and peered into the hole. Because my view was obscured by the remaining soap suds, I recklessly plunged my fingers into the drain to clear the residue. What I brought back was the largest clump of hair I had ever seen. Fighting a retching sensation, I fished the remaining follicles with the coat hanger, depositing my catch into the bucket. The water was still standing, indicating more blockage, but I could not clear the obstruction with the improvised snake. I went to work using my trusty plumber's helper. What the helper brought up from the pipes shall not be described, but suffice it to say, I wept for five minutes, while my wife retrieved the big gun: Liquid Draino.

Typically, I do not read instructions: uncap the product and pour it in, pray that the chemist know more than I (most likely they do). But not tonight. I had to be assured of some victory. Two cups, fifteen minutes, then flush with warm water. Repeat if necessary. Oh yes, it was necessary.

The hair was removed, and water drainage was restored, and I slept the deep sleep that only plumbers know.

The Ritter Correlation

I want to dedicate the post to a friend of mine, serving over in Germany with the Air Force. I thought about it today as I was chatting with Rickwell.

The Ritter Correlation goes like this: How good, or bad a movie is going to be is directly related to the number of trailers that are put before it. A really bad movie will have many trailers, while a good film will have few.

Luckily, TMNT only had three trailers.

Saturday with the Girls

You know, sometimes my thoughts about Saturdays tend to be slightly selfish. After all, it is my day off after a long week of work. Sometimes, during the winter when it is to cold to work outside, it does turn into my day off. But, today was a bit warm when I woke up. I had already finished the bills the night before, and I was itching to fire up the lawnmower. The Scotts' Turf Builder that I put down earlier in the month apparently is doing its job. The grass has greened up nicely, and has been growing. Chickweed has also been growing, so, after a quick "pre-10:00" trip to Lowe's for some weed and feed, I fired up the lawn mower for the first time since...October? Something about yard work kicks in. Once you start, you just keep on going - trimming, edging and cleaning up all the debris.

Cindy was preparing for a gig today, and Kate and Megs wanted to go see TMNT. Ok, I wanted to go see it also. Both girls are really great going to the movies. They know not to ask too many questions during the show and know how to navigate to the bathroom when nature calls. They are good movie buddies. The film was pretty decent. I must admit that I saw the Turtle movies back in the day. But this one was much better. Completely computer animated, what made it realistic was the camera movements. It felt real. But, then again with movies today, what is real. There was a fantastic battle scene between two of the brothers in the rain.

Coming home, we rented Eragon. I knew that the film had pretty much gotten panned at the movies, but, I was looking forward to it. I put a Red Baron's Pizza in the oven, and we cranked up the Xbox 360 to play the 1989 TMNT Arcade game. Fortunately, I did not over cook the pizza too much. But slightly burnt pizza was nothing compared to exploding Grape Fanta. The pizza, not wanting to be upstaged, decided to fly off of Megs' plate to decorate the floor. It was a comedy of errors, and I could not get mad about it. So, we settled into Eragon. Again, it proves that if your expectations for a film is really low, it has no where to go but up. We really liked it, and cheered the first time the Dragon blows fire.

So, we are now settling in. It looks like Cindy might be getting called to play for the Mannheim Steam Roller concert. Which really means is that she is getting back into the gigs again. That in and of itself is not so bad. The girls are older now, and not as much work, but, we will need to make sure that we don't loose all of our Saturdays.

Because, I am a bit selfish when it comes to Saturdays. And I want all of my girls with me.

Lazy Sunday

First of all, if any candidate comes forward and runs on the change Daylight Savings Time change over to a Saturday Morning instead of a Sunday Morning, has my vote. Period.

DST probably explains my total lack of energy today. Typically on "Time Change Sunday," we Bryan's are in bed an hour early, but not this time. Last week, I had lost my wife to Sweeney Todd. Not that she went in for a shave or anything, but, she played violin in the Princess Anne High School's Production. I had asked for tickets to come and hear her play, but, I was very surprised with the production: it was really good. The male and female leads were both strong and I enjoyed the show. I am always amazed when I hear my wife play. Sometimes I just forget how good she is (makes my trombone playing look pale by comparison).

So, we are just chilling out today.

I did get news this week on the MRI: there was nothing found that would explain the hearing loss. But, they did find an old style Soda Can pull of ring. Explains the radio signals that I pick up from time to time. But, I kid. The only other "typical" cause involves fluid in the middle ear, but, that presents with vertigo, which I have not really had. I do not want to throw medication at something that I don't have the symptoms for. So, it looks like, in the meanwhile, that I will wait and see if this gets any better on its own and I will have another hearing test in a few months.

More venting

My wife categorized my last post as a "vent", and suggested that I not send it to my pastor, so, I'll just get over it (for now). Today at work was pure frustration. I am supposed to be code complete on a section of work by Friday, and I can already tell that, if the problems that I will have this week match the problems for today, it doesn't bode well.

It's funny how I can define a bad day at work.

Let's see, at the movie theater, a bad day at work was working the midnights with "Rocky Horror." At Blockbuster Video, I seem to recall many bad days, but the worst revolved around a string of BBV Robberies happening at closing. My worst day in the Air Force was a ground mishap involving a helicopter shatter a blade on a light pole throwing debris into the hardened shelter where I was working. But, programming. Hmmm. I whine because I have to not only produce new code and enhance our product, but, I also have to support our peeps in New Jersey. I constantly find myself being jerked between differing levels of concentration. The cube farm where I work is fairly noisy. And, our application seems to bog the IDE down, thus making trivial tasks somewhat aggravating. I did carve out what I was working on into another project so that I can just work on the parts of the application that I care about. Perhaps this is the way to go.

Venting done.

Tithing Defined

Tithing is a perennial topic at my church. The tithe is always defined as 10% of your gross income. I remember using this definition before on this blog, but, last summer, I started searching scriptures on what the Tithe was, and what I found did not match the definition.

This morning, we were given an "Anonymous Giving Survey" in church, that officially defined Tithes and Offerings as:

• Tithes - 10% of gross income. Tithing is the act of giving 10% of your gross income to the work of the Lord (your local church). [Seriously, can we get 10% of your gross income in one more time?]
  
• Offering - Giving additional amount over and above the tithe to support the work of the Lord.

Using these definitions, you were then asked to fill out one of four surveys:

• Group A: Regularly giving both tithes and offerings
• Group B: Regularly giving tithes
• Group C: Regularly giving something (less that 10%)
• Group D: Not regularly giving (less than twice a month)

If you were part of the good group (A or B), your first question on the survey asks you "How long have you been tithing?" If you were in the bad group (C or D) your first question was "Do you understand the biblical teaching of tithing?"

The problem lies with the definition.

Most sermons on tithing are fairly predictable. Let me summarize the points that will most likely be hit upon:

• 10% of the top, before taxes (ok, we get it)
  
• God loves a cheerful giver
• Bring your tithes and offerings into the store house and God will bless your socks off
• It's all God's anyways, we are only his stewards
• God doesn't need your money (my personal favorite)

What I would really love to hear is a good sermon that really digs into what the tithe was used for once Israel came "into the land". How the tithe was the first 10% of a harvest, or every tenth animal that passed under the rod. How the tithe went to God, but God gave the tithe to the Levittes , who had no inheritance from God. How there was a second tithe taken that was to be consumed in Jerusalem, and if you had to travel a long distance, you could purchase your food once you and your family arrived. And that there was a third tithe taken for the poor every third year.

Here is something to chew on: did the poor have to tithe? What if you were a carpenter or mason and did not have fields or cattle, were you expected to tithe?

For once, I would like to hear a sermon that encouraged the members to be good stewards of the money that God has given them, provide classes to teach people how to budget their money and how to become cheerful givers. It is hard to be happy about giving when you are in debt. Our churches need to start teaching Proverbs 22:7 - the borrower is servant to the lender. Teach your flock how to be good stewards, rather than just telling them to be good stewards. Give them the tools to be successful.

For years, I was in a category that felt uncomfortable with the messages on stewardship. I thought that if I just went ahead and gave 10% gross, I would be doing a good work, according to James. And to be honest, that was my motivation. There was no love in doing it, and definitely nothing cheerful. I even found myself a little bit scared (guilty) if I failed to give 10% gross. I was looking at a fairly sizable amount of debt, that I could not get knocked out.

I decided that I had to get my own financial life straightened out. I put to work the Baby Steps described in Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover." I put our family on a budget, and I budgeted giving to my church right in there with the rest. Why? Because I plan to give. I confess that it is 10% of my net, not my gross. Am I tithing? No I am not, however I believe that I would not be tithing if I was giving 10% of the gross income because this is an incorrect definition of the tithe.

Redbox

Around the Hampton Roads Area, I have seen a ubiquitous DVD rental kiosk simply called "Redbox." It allows you to browse a list of the movies that it contains. Once selecting, you use your Visa Check Card to rent the film for $1.00. The DVD is then ejected from the machine in a plastic casing, and is not due back to ANY Redbox until 7:00 pm the next day. Each DVD has a bar code around the spindle which is used, I assume, to identify the disk.

Redbox has a website as well: www.redbox.com. The title browsing leaves much to be desired, but, it can tell you which Redbox location your title is available. Once renting online, the movie will be "held" in the machine for a certain period of time. Once you arrive at the machine, you swipe your Visa Check Card through the reader and your movie is ejected.

Redbox will not replace Netflix anytime soon, but, last night, I wanted to show Cindy "Little Miss Sunshine." My choices were renting at Blockbuster ($4.00) or using Pay Per View ($3.99...so, effectively $4.00). The PPV was an all day rental pass and the next starting time was at 10:00 pm (too late for us old folk). I refuse to step into BBV after they refused to rent an Xbox 360 Game Rental to me without a Major Credit Card, and would not accept my Visa Check Card (hence why I keep emphasizing that product).

The overall process was quick, however, I during pickup, I got stuck behind a couple who were browsing the kiosk trying to pick out a movie.

Prayer

We bow our hearts
We bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes
From evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols

So give us clean hands
and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Oh give us clean hands
and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Oh God let this be
a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob

Em Are Eye

Yesterday, I went for an MRI to give the Doctor's a better view of what's going on with my ear. It was of the "open" variety as opposed to the Tube that people go into each week on House. The Technicians were concerned that I would be claustrophobic, but in the end, it felt like I was under the car trying to change the Oil Filter. But instead of Oil, I was underneath there with a Jack Hammer. How come no one was concerned about me and Jack Hammers? Really, though, it sounded like some strange 20th century Electronica music that I was subjected to in College on my way to a music education degree (how's that working out for ya?).

They gave me the film/slides (whatever they are) to take back to my doctor, and, since I was near the house, I dropped them off there before going back to work. Curious, I pulled out a slide, and held it up to a window to let the light shine through the back. It is an amazing thing to be able to see your inner workings: your spine, neck, jaws, nasal cavity, eyes and brain. It's even more amazing when your nine your old tells your wife, "see, he does have a brain!"