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March 27, 2007 - Passionate

Yesterday, I didn't write about what I had originally wanted to due to the fact that I was a little sidetracked. This past Sunday, the message that Tom spoke on asked the question, Is God Fair? He had asked me if I could make a slide show/video with pictures from The Passion of the Christ. I worked on it for a while, scanning pictures and putting verses in, but I didn't really feel anything. I watched my final product a few times through before we "aired" it on Sunday, and I thought it was good, but I didn't look at it for what it was. I understand the pictures are of actors in a movie, but I never really looked at it as if it was Christ like I did when I first saw the movie...until Sunday. There was something about Tom's message and the fact that life isn't fair and how we never complain when it's in our favor. I was a little emotional when the video was played. The lights were out and the images were displayed on giant screens. The music was moving as it pumped the room. Christ got what we deserved. We deserve death, we are sinners. Jesus never deserved what he received. He was sinless and was bloodied, bruised and pierced for our sin. How fair is that? Do we have anything to complain about when we don't get what we deserve? We can believe that God is fair for what He went through. Here is the video I made. I also put it in my videos section for you to view. Tell me your thoughts in the comments at the bottom of the page.

As I was talking about yesterday, I have come to love Soundtrack. Here is another minute-long piece of music that is a little different than yesterday's experiment. (Yes, I understand that the word odyssey is not spelled oddysey, like the file name implied. I was merely being creative in the fact that the song itself was a little odd.) Today I have a new one, a little more on the calming side. I call it Attempt. As always, let me know what you think, even if it's telling me that I have utterly failed. I think I'll have a CD out soon. It will be called: Not A Clue (What I'm Doing).

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March 26, 2007 - A Little Soundtracked

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March 22, 2007 - Towing Ponies

When planning to build an apartment complex, one must assume that the apartment dwellers have friends or maybe there's more than one person in a single living space that might have a parkable vehicle of some sort. My apartment complex was constructed by loners. If it's past 1800 hours, you're pretty much out of luck to find an uncovered parking spot within the confines of the all-protecting gates. I believe these gates are used primarily to hold up the walls which they are attached, since I haven't seen them closed in about three months.

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March 19, 2007 - Fun for All

As one of the Wii's biggest fans, I can't believe I haven't said anything about it on the site. First, I must say that I was looking forward to it when it was first announced. The closer it came to arrival, the more anxious I was getting. I can't believe my wife still talked to me during that time. It's been out for a while now, and I must say I have been very satisfied with all of the games except one. That's a pretty good percentage, since I have quite a few. That being said, I've had a lot of fun with it, which isn't saying much, because I knew it would be great way before it was released.

For others, playing is believing. On St. Patrick's Day, a few of my friends from college came over and we got completely wasted on the Pepper, some Dew, and the best pizza under one roof. The Wii really shows off when you're playing a multiplayer game. Two of the most hilarious games to date are definitely Rayman: Raving Rabbids, and WarioWare: Smooth Moves. They are some of the most frantic games I've ever played and there's hardly an absence of laughter. Most of the time you don't know who to laugh at more, the characters on-screen or the people playing. If you haven't played either of these games and you enjoy life, you owe it to yourself to try these. No video game experience needed.

Oh yes, Jonathan Edwards is probably the most intense player I have ever seen.

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March 17, 2007 - Inherant Value

For the last two weeks, Adam has been speaking on the question Why is God Worth It? He had asked a few leaders if they would like to share why God is "worth it" to them. I was trying to think of what I could say without taking an hour and a half and I narrowed it down. God is worth it to me, because I know that everything in my life, whether good or bad, has been orchestrated by Him. I don't understand why certain things have happened in my life. I don't know why my dad left us when I was ten. I don't know why these things occur, but I can be confident that Romans 8:28 is true. I don't believe in chance and I don't believe in karma. I believe in a living God who has a plan. He is totally worth it.

What about you? Why is God worth it to you? Is He? Or do you think you're better off without Him? Leave me your honest comments regarding this. If you would like me to post the comment, put "yes" in the title box.

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March 14, 2007 - Lost in Transla...

Okay, I totally just scrapped what I was writing on. I was going to add some annoyances to my bank tips list. After thinking it over several times, I realized that it might make sense to bank tellers, anyone else would think of it as mean or demeaning to those who don't command the English language. I understand it's hard to learn the nuances of any language, let alone such an idiosyncratic one. After trying to put myself in the their shoes, I feel a little more compassion for their struggle. I do have to mention one thing that's actually pretty funny, but all too predictable. After cashing a check or after making a withdrawal, I tend to ask, "How would you like your cash today." For those who aren't well versed in English, the most common response is, "Issokay." My head says, I'm sorry, that's the incorrect answer. The correct answer could be any of the following: hundreds, fifties, twenties, or any other denomination.Would you like to try again? It would have made no difference if I would have asked, "Is that okay if I take your cash and put it in my pockets?" The response would be the same. This situation isn't limited to those who speak Spanish. Apparently, this is the default answer given when going over the Bank chapter in English phrasebooks.

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March 13, 2007 - A Headline Case

The only redeeming quality of watching Jay Leno anymore is Monday nights. This is when he does a segment called Headlines. This segmant covers anything from the daily newspaper to magazine ads. Yesterday, while not watching Jay Leno, I saw something that caught my attention. It wasn't the complete ad as a whole, but the first line. The placement of words on a line is key in any headline. Having a headline on two lines could throw the reader, me, off. If you only read the first line, you get a completely different picture. Well to make a short story long, I saw this posted up by the mailboxes at our apartments. I'll conclude the "headline" with the second line, which, when seen with (or without) the first line, makes sense. "Crib for Sale." That makes sense. "Slightly Used Baby," however, does not. I don't know that I would want one in that condition.

I'm not quite sure who has visited this site, but if you haven't yet, please leave me a comment, just so I know someone is listening. Oh yes, I also added a video to the section.

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March 10, 2007 - Traffically Schooled

If you ever thought that a day off from work was good, think about what you might do that day. My day off work was, informative. I haven't had a scheduled Saturday off in I don't know how long, and I decide to sacrifice that rare occasion to fill it with Traffic School. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, since this was the first accident or violation I've ever had. I've heard horror stories of traffic school and I've heard good stories. Thankfully, my experience was fairly good. Our teacher was an ex-cop who had a sense of humor.

Although the class was mostly a review, I did learn a few things. Here they are.

1. You should always look 12-15 seconds ahead. Apparently, everyone's supposed to be a psychic.

2. Candace Cameron, Jerry Seinfeld, and William Shatner are all authorities on traffic safety. In an informational video from 1991, these and other celebrities told me how to drive. As I recall, Seinfeld never owned a car or drove, DJ Tanner's car was stolen, and Captain Kirk drove a late model starship.

3. Driving very fast is very antismart. Self-explanatory even with a made up word, but this holds true, even when you're hungry.

4. You can't outrun a photo. If you thought you could outrun a red light or speed camera, you're wrong. You would have to go approximately the speed of sound to get away with it. Also, if you have a photo-prismatic license plate cover, it's illegal and they can still trace you're car with half the info anyway.

That's about it. I've been thinking of new bank tips and I will be posting them in the very not-so-distant future.

(Feel free to leave comments on the bottom of this page.)

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March 8, 2007 - Infants and Ethics

It's just my assumption, but I would guess that most of the people reading my rants are Pro-Life. If you're not, I'm sorry, but I like the human race. Defective? Of course. Perfect we are not, but shouldn't we all be given the chance to live? Shouldn't life and death be held in God's hands? I wasn't planning on going too much more into the ethics right away, I have to. Yesterday, while perusing the news headlines on my Wii, I crossed something that just seemed so absurd and it outraged me. A woman is suing the doctor that performed her (failed) abortion for child-rearing costs. Due to the failed procedure, the child was born on December 7, 2004 when the mother, Jennifer Raper, went to the hospital complaining of pelvic pain.

What have we become? How can anyone be this irrational. How is this little girl going to feel about herself in a few years. First, the mother didn't want her in the first place and tried to kill her, and now, after giving birth, she is suing the doctor who failed to abort her. I know this is a heavy subject, but I just had to talk about it. I don't know how anyone thinks this is logical. If you leave me a comment about this, I will post them under this post.

March 6, 2007 - Nuclear Giants and Ethical Infancy

Well, I've been listening to that cosmic mystery of a frequency again and I my ears perked up. I was listening to Family Life Today (I know, I know. I'm turning into Dr. Dobson) and I heard some solid parenting tips. After being around our newborn niece, I keep thinking about how I'm going to be a father when Jess and I start to have an army, excuse me, family. I want to be the best father any child has ever had, but how am I going to do it? I want to be firm, but forgiving. Strong, yet open. How does this happen? Well, one thing I have to be, is a man of my word. I have to do what I say. My walk has to match up with my talk. This is integrity. I strive to keep mine.

Regarding integrity, where have our ethics gone? Something Dennis, one of the hosts, said this morning really made me think. He was mentioning something he wrote to a family in need. He continues, "I went on to write, 'General Omar Bradley reinforces the need for character when he says, 'We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. The world has achieved brilliance without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.' And I conclude my section by saying this – 'Today, more than ever, children need parents who are ethical giants – homegrown heroes with character.'"

I want to be an ethical giant. I've seen too many unethical people in my lifetime. I've almost lost hope of this mythical creature. I've lost faith in too many people that I've looked up to. I do respect a lot of people at church, because they are open and honest about their shortcomings. I don't, however know what happened to ethics in the workplace. They say one thing, and do something completely the opposite of that. I'm not saying that I'm not at fault. I'm just as much to blame as those around me. It's difficult though when your higher-ups tell you to do something that's not right. I've been too much of an ethical infant to do what I know I should have. May I do as I say.

March 4, 2007 - Copycatechism

I found Brad's post regarding his particular place of work quite helpful, because I think I do what he hates sometimes. I decided to copy his idea and post some annoyances from my place of work to share them as helpful reminders. This way, when you need to do some banking, the teller won't want to slap you across the counter. Remember, I work at a bank and help at least a hundred people a day. These are some tips that will help me not hate you.

1. Completely fill out your deposit ticket. If you forget your deposits from home, that's okay. There are blank deposit slips that you can fill out at the bank. Fill these out before you come up to the window. If you forget to, I forgive you, but, when I tell you to fill out your name and address for me, your name alone does not give me any indication of where you might reside. Indicating your house number and your street help, but your city, state, and zip are part of your address. You don't live in Walnut Grove.

2. Stand in the correct line. Because you may know the merchant teller, doesn't mean they'll help you while seven other people are in the line they're supposed to be.

3. Don't spend money you don't have. Most banks are for profit. They have the right to charge you fees for spending money that you don't have. Yes, $35 is a lot, but you're essentially borrowing money from the bank.

4. Yes we can. If you don't have an account with our bank, we have every right to charge you $5 to cash a check. It's not illegal. I'm pretty sure we've looked into that. And no, I did not come up with that.

5. It's up for a reason. Don't go under the closed merchant line because you thought it was left up in error.

6. It's bullet-resistantYes, it's bullet proof. Otherwise, they spent a lot of money on a two-inch thick window. No, it's not funny when you make your hand like a gun and say, "give me all your money."

6. And finally, we don't give out samples. It wasn't a funny question the first time, and it's not getting any more humorous.

When I started this blog, I was hoping to put up a post daily. I'm finding this difficult. I never knew how busy my weekends could be, especially when Suns games and dinner with friends fill them up. I had an awesome time at the Suns game. The Suns blew the Pacers out of the water and I tooksomepictures from my seat. It's hard to take pictures without a flash, but I didn't want to be bothersome to the people sitting in front of us.

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March 2, 2007 - In Abstencia

There will be no blog today since my wife surprised me with 4th row tickets to the Suns game. Awesome.

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Thursday, March 1, 2007 - Honey Bunches of Idiots

You don't have to be a die hard Nintendo fan (like I am) to love the Wii. It's known for it's ability to make even the toughest of men to get up off the couch and get into a virtual game of tennis or boxing. Arms flail and people laugh, what more could you want? The News. The Wii consists of different "channels" and one of them is a news channel. Not being an avid late night news viewer or a newspaper viewer, this is where I seem to get a lot of my news. All the articles are from the Associated Press so you know it's not some NintenJoe going out and doing news stories. Most of the time, news is never really anything new. Today was different. Two articles jumped off the television screen.

God gives out eternal life freely. All we have to do is ask for it. God also provides our needs if we ask Him. Usually when I pray, I ask that God would help me provide for me and my wife. Apparently I'm supposed to ask him for specific things, like a check. It appears that Kevin Russell knows how to ask God for things as he was trying to cash a very generous $50,000 check. (He must have received a tithe refund.) The check was written from "King Savior, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Servant." He was found with other checks written from God and was arrested for the fraudulent behavior. I wonder if the check was like on one of those big prize checks, because if it was, that would be even better. Oh yeah, God banks with Bank One.

The second article involves a very special dog. It involves a very special dog, and a few very incompetent humans. Supposedly this dog (of the police variety) and his chief both graduated from the same online university. This baffles me. Not because I don't think that a dog could graduate college, but that he could do it online. I don't doubt the intelligence of dogs, some might have a higher GPA than me, but I highly doubt any canines could utilize a keyboard and mouse, let alone browse the interweb. Preposterous! The named police chief in the article was accused of falsifying his documents and thus, a lawyer's client is trying to get his previous drug charge removed. It isn't known yet if the dog will have to appear in court.

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