Shamgar's Oxgoad

Best Value is No 2

2009-08-03T22:08:00.000-07:00

A few year's ago I was at a Carl's Jr. and had an entertaining conversation with an employee who attempted to convey the lack of a large drink cup using some rudimentary charades game.

Well yesterday, I was again at a local Carl's Jr. (not that I am saying it has been years since I have been at a Carl's Jr.). I was in the drive thru, having been sent by my lovely bride to get food at a newly renovated Carl's advertising the addition of Green Burrito food. The first thing I noticed was that the menu board had the Green Burrito items listed as "Coming Soon" and a note explaining their arrival would be this Wednesday.

When I began to place my order, I was informed that they had just run out of large cups (sounds familiar to me). This time there was not charades, which was good as I would have been even more confused with them in the drive thru.

After placing my order I pulled up to the window. As I waited for the car in front of me to get done, I noticed that the drive thru employee was spending a long time leading out the window explaining something to the driver ahead of me.

When I arrived at the window, I was greeted with the news that they not only did not have large cups, but they had also run out of American cheese. They had yet to have their delivery of food for the day and were starting to run out a many standard items. At this point, I just wanted to get my food and get out of there, so I selected swiss cheese for our Western Bacon Cheese Burger and Famous Star (the other choice was pepperjack, which I thought would not quite work) and headed home. The swiss was not the worst choice, but it was clearly not the way I woudl have preferred by burger to have come. At least we go a senior's discount to help even the balance.

Great Quote

2009-06-16T22:49:00.001-07:00

"I love Vegetarians. That's all I eat." Ted Nugent

All Star Balloting

2009-06-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

OK just have to get on this soap box. Not to worry, this should be brief. To date Manny Ramirez has received 858,353 votes for the MLB All Star Game. This places him 5th in voting for Outfielders. What further message is this to our kids? Dope up and not only succeed, but get honored for your troubles. Fantastic message, thanks Major League Baseball.

Destructive Use of Language

2009-06-03T16:41:00.000-07:00

I am a firm believer that the way in which one uses the English language has an impact. When a society loses the clear definition of a term, conceptual understanding related to that term is sacrificed. The recent news about Judge Sotomayor's comments with regard to her being more qualified to make judicial judgments based on her race and gender has been described as "reverse racism." Adding the term "reverse" implies that racism is something white people do, but not something done to white people. This is utter foolishness. Racism is racism is racism. Regardless of the races involved the intentional denigration of one race in favor of another is racism. Calling this "reverse racism" is dangerous because it divides these kinds of comments into categories that can be used to establish justification for dismissing so called "reverse racism" as something other than true racism. I was pleased to see that Sotomayor repudiated her statement, but the lasting damage from the media mismanagement in covering this, I fear will be longer lasting.

The Quarter I cannot discard

2009-05-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

Last week, while at lunch, someone put a quarter in my that I have not fully been able to discard so... here is a brief rant to the subject.

I was chatting with a Red Sox fan, yeah, I don't know why either, when the question of the name of the Angels as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim came up. He questioned whether, I as a fan objected to the name change or found it as obserd as he did. Now, I grant that the "of Anaheim" bit is nutty, but the team has merely reverted back to its original name. Besides (hear the quarter drop now) there are plenty of teams with similar name issues that you don't hear much about. Here are the examples that came to my mind (feel free to add any I miss):

New York Giants/Jets - Play in New Jersey
Golden State Warriors - Not ever the actual name of a locality
New England Patriots - What Boston not enough for you or Massachusets for that matter (Why not just let Jerry Jones do what we all know he would love to do and rename the Cowboys the "Cowboys of America")
Any team named after a state - Need I explain?
Any team named after a non-thing - What is a Wild, a Magic, or Heat?

OK I feel better now. Time to move on.

Obama's 100 Days

2009-04-29T23:15:00.000-07:00

Since the media is having so much fun extolling the virtues of President Obama and his first 100 days in office, I thought I might review just the past few days to see just what we are not looking at in order to examine the grand fiction that is his first 100 days.
$328,835 spent on a flight by Air Force One over New York. The President claims his did not know and has ordered and investigation. There seem to be two potential issues. 1) He did know and has lied now that it back fired. 2) He really did not know and thus we have a President who can lose track of Air Force One. Neither is a good option.

Then there is tonight, on the news President Obama referring to his administration not recommending closing the Mexican border due to swine flu as akin to closing the barn door after horses have gotten out. Thus since we alreay have cases in the US there is no point in preventing more. What? How does that make sense? How about this analogy? Well since you have already hit me with your car, why don't you just back up and try again.

All this is ignoring the 180 on many social issues, homeland security, and international relations issues that have marked the first 100 days, and some how NBC runs with the idea that Obama's first 100 days have hurt the GOP. I am not long sure what planet I am on.

What's in this mush?

2009-03-28T20:27:00.001-07:00

Have you ever taken the time to read the ingredients on a jar of baby food? Yesterday while out to dinner, my wife pulled out a jar of what on the front label claimed to be ham, pineapple, and rice. Odd combination in my mind, and apparently in the mind of both my wife and her parents also at dinner with us. So we read the ingredients. Apples, water, ham...wait, what? Apples? Further down the list we found peach puree. What do apples and peach puree have to do with ham, pineapple, and rice? One could only assume that the original combination was just as odd as I thought, and perhaps was a bit nasty tasting. At any rate it was interesting to discover that the largest ingredient was not even listed on the front label.

Useless Media Words

2009-02-21T15:33:00.001-08:00

Listen to political coverage these days and you will hear a pair of trendy words that in fact bear no meaning. "Unity" and "bipartisan" lack any substantive meaning in today's political rhetoric. At least their meaning is not revealing in an honest way. I have come to believe that bipartisan, when referenced by the media, is a call for conservatives to knuckle under and just go along with a liberal/progressive agenda. Similarly, unity is intended to convey the need for America to come together, forsaking all prior ideologies and adopt a liberal agenda. In both cases, I fail to see any true unity or bipartisan considerations. Unity is not adopted by force of will and bipartisan politics do not come at the expense of alternative views.

For more thoughts on Obama's notion of unity read here.

First Recording

2009-02-19T21:18:00.000-08:00

Tonight our son, a lad quite fascinated with remotes, got a hold of our TV remote, rather than his remote that controls nothing, and not only turned on the TV, but also recorded 8 minutes of the NBC Nightly News. Good times!

Stonehenge Cracked

2009-02-17T17:57:00.000-08:00

Wally Wallington (wow) a retired construction worker believes that he has cracked the mystery behind how Stonehenge was constructed. Using only technology from the time period he seems to have devised a method capable of such an engineering feat.

Moral Equivalency or Why PETA Members Cannot Think

2009-02-14T14:29:00.001-08:00

The fallacy of moral equivalency occurs when a person or group fails to understand the existence of distinctions between types of entities. For example, PETA protested at the Westminster Dog Show in KKK attire. Their claim was that the selective breeding of dogs was morally equivalent to the "master race" theories of the Ku Klux Klan. The fallacy comes into play here as the members of PETA fail to understand, once again, the distinctions between humanity and canines. While it is noble to protest the abuse or mistreatment of dogs, if does damage to their cause, when PETA demostrates their inability to think clearly and protests at an event where the dogs in question receive better pampered treatment than most of us receive ourselves. What might have begun as a nobly intended organization, has once again demonstrated moral and intellectual bankrupcy. Just like you cannot cry "Meat is Murder" without redering our food equivalent with our children, you cannot have equal moral distain for the KKK and the Westminster Kennel Club.

Cut from the Super Bowl

2009-02-11T09:37:00.001-08:00

The ad below was apparently set to be aired during the Super Bowl, until NBC decided not to air it due to its "political content." I am not sure why if the makers of the ad had the money to air it during the Super Bowl, they are not seeking donations to help get it aired elsewhere, but the ad itself is rather interesting.

New Skills

2009-02-06T15:48:00.001-08:00

Recently our son has been working on waving. I say working because though he has the motion down rather good, the context for using a wave is sometimes off. Some of the time he seems to wave more at his friend the ceiling fan then his parents. When he does wave at us, like the first night that I came home to see him wave hello to me, it is heart meltingly special.

Now the interesting additional twist to his work on waving, is that while working out the motion with his left hand, he seems to have inadvertently taught himself how to snap. Yes, that's right, he will be nine months in a week and he has already figured out snapping his fingers. Now, really he just snaps while trying to wave, but I'll take it. Waving or snapping it is awful cute!

Driving It Into the Ground

2009-02-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

Today, I was listening to Rocket to Russia by the Ramones. Track 13 is Surfin'Bird. Naturally I was then lead to recall The Family Guy driving the original song into the ground as only they can. So here you go, enjoy.

Two Prayers - One God - Maybe?

2009-01-24T12:57:00.000-08:00

Here you will find two prayers offered on the occasion of the inauguration of Barack Obama. Listen carefully to see if the God that these two men pray to is in fact the one and same God that their Christian traditions claim to worship. The first is offered by Gene Robinson, openly gay Episcopal bishop. The second is Rick Warren, mega-church evangelical pastor and author.

A Spot of Political Humor

2009-01-23T16:40:00.000-08:00

Odd Commercial - Thanks Skittles

2009-01-15T15:38:00.000-08:00

Used into oblivion

2008-12-19T09:30:00.000-08:00

Watching TV the other day, I noticed a commercial for P Diddy's line of "Ultra Premium Vodka." That got me to thinking. Are there really, say three levels of vodka quality: Regular (for lack of a better term), Premium, and Ultra Premium. Why not Super Ultra Premium? Or what about Mega Super Ultra Premium? Where I ended up in my thinking was that what I was seeing was evidence that advertising destroys words.

If calling your product "premium" improves sales, hey call it "premium." If everyone calls their product "premium" however the word starts to loose the cache that it once had (i.e. the meaning of the word has been destroyed). Thus you need to find other ways to distriguish your product from the glut of other "premium" products on the market. Enter "ultra premium." It's like Disney calling their latest animated film an "instant classic." The words no longer have meaning.

What I don't think the ad wizards behind this get, is that every time they up the ante, they lower our expectations with regard to their claims. The more you promise, the less we buy it. They find ways to scream louder and louder for our dollars, only to find that we turned them off a half hour ago.

Try just selling me a good product. Don't talk to me about more taste, whatever that is? And don't try to string together enough adjectives that you think I will finally want a bottle of Extreme Mega Super Ultra Premium Vodka.

More Lessons in Not Getting It

2008-12-18T08:15:00.000-08:00

While checking my yahoo e-mail account for the latest random "See my pix" spam, I ran across the following new item: "Obama's choice of evangelical pastor draws ire." It seems that Obama has selected Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the inauguration. "But the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization, said Warren's opposition to gay marriage is a sign of intolerance."

So let me understand this, the Human Rights Campaign is intolerant of Rick Warren's intolerance, right? Now no one in the media is going to make this connection. Intolerance only works in one direct anyway, right? Since those who believe the homosexuality is a sin are already branded as intolerant it is therefore fair game to be intolerant toward them. The only flaw in this logic is that the very groups making a major issue out of the toleration of others are the ones themselves who seem least capable of demonstrating any tolerance of others. And Christians are the ones called hypocrites. Hey pot, what color are ya?

Proof of Freedom in Iraq

2008-12-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

Since the shoe throwing at President Bush, I have been thinking that what this shows is that Iraq has a much greater level of freedom than in the recent past. What do you think would have been the reaction of Saddam had this been done to him?

Random Fact from History

2008-12-11T10:21:00.000-08:00

December 11, 1792 Josef Mohr, German Roman Catholic priest and hymnist who wrote the words to "Silent Night" was born in Salzburg, Austria.

A Black President as Envisioned by Richard Pryor

2008-12-09T18:05:00.000-08:00

Found this and just had to. Enjoy!

Out of Gas

2008-11-25T22:00:00.000-08:00

I have come to expect that about once a week my car will be out of gas. That is predictable, that is expected. What I did not expect was that my running out of gas would coincide with the gas station I stopped at to get gas running out of gas. I pulled into the station, pulled out my credit card, swiped the card, selected the grade of gas, pumped exactly 1.172 gallons, and then watched as the pump just stopped. I pressed the help button only to have the display tell me to go inside to see the cashier (not sure why I needed a button to tell me that). The cashier assumed that it was an issue with the pump or that I really didn't need that much gas, but after assuring him that I indeed was on empty, he charged $20 to my card and sent me out to try again. On the way out I ran into a guy who was also having no luck getting gas. Undaunted I returned to the pump to verify that indeed nothing was to be forth coming, so I returned to the cashier to inquire if indeed they actually had any gas. Nope, they did not. So tell me this, if I driving a car have a light that tells me when I am about to run out of gas, would it not make sense for there to be some light or other way of letting gas station employees know that they have run out of gas. It would only make sense to me that they would. The upside is that 1.172 gallons was the first gas I have been able to get for $1.999 in a long time. The downside is that the remaining 12 gallons we a dime per gallon more costly.

Soothed by Sir Paul

2008-11-25T14:08:00.001-08:00

Last night before my wife got home from work, I was entertaining our son watching a Genesis concert from their recent Turn It On Again Tour. As the concert ended, I sat him up only to get my hand slimmed by his drool. I failed to have a burp cloth within reach so I had to lay him back down to get it. As I did so, he immediately began to cry. Yet this crying did not last. Just as he started the Genesis tour credits ended and a video of Paul McCartney's recent song "Ever Present Past" came on. My son, lying on the ground with his head toward the TV, strained to look up and watch Sir Paul perform. Problem solved, he was soothed by Sir Paul.

Gay "Tolerance"

2008-11-24T10:16:00.000-08:00

I have often talked about how the word tolerance in its current popular usage in empty of meaning. Let me know illustrate my point with an example of tolerance as afforded others by a group who the media instructs me I should be more tolerant of.

Genius Arguments for Drinking Domestic Beer

2008-11-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

Just a few examples of the ad-wizards at work:

Coors - Tastes "Cold"
Bud Light - "Drinkability"
Miller Lite - More Taste

Well then, allow me to retort.

What does "Cold" taste like?
Just what is this "drinkability" supposed to mean?
But would I be getting more of a good taste or bad taste?

This is why I love BevMo. Now that's taste!

Tragic Anniversary

2008-11-18T13:52:00.000-08:00

On this day in 1978 in Jonestown, Guyana, 913 members of Jim Jone's Peoples Temple cult committed suicide by poisoning themselves and their families. We remember those who lost their lives and those who were left behind and in so doing remember to ask questions about those who would attempt to lead us. For a refresher on the details of what happened listen here.

Philosophical ADD

2008-11-16T13:42:00.000-08:00

At its best, the blogosphere is a place where amateur and professional thinkers alike are able to pontificate on the latest issues in their lives. Whether related to friends personal lives, politics, or theology, I routinely navigate a large number of blogs both to learn what is on peoples minds, but also to sharpen my own. As I have given thought to my own blogging and the topics that I put my mind to as I blog, I have become concerned that so much consumption has formed in me a sort of "philosophical ADD".

My mind wanders from topic to topic. I quickly formulate opinions, offering many in comments on my favorite blogs. But have I really thought at any great depth about the topics that I offer my own two cents on.

Pushing beyond my own proclivities, has the blogosphere taught many of us to fail at the task of deep thinking and deep knowing (this includes the friend grazing that we call life on facebook). As much enjoyment as we find skimming from blog to blog or facebook friend to friend, are we really getting to know a friend more deeply or a topic more completely?

Now I do not believe in an either/or approach to this concern. I believe that we can find a balance and believe that I personally need to. If I want to offer my thoughts on a political cause, I should really attempt to understand the issue at more than a surface level. Both sides of the issue should be openly considered. So much of what passes as political debate only amounts to so much hot air flying past one another as no one is convinced or really all that actively engaged in winning hearts and minds.

The same holds true for theological debate. Much of what is set up as a debate on the nature of dcotrinal standards, is in fact merely a political debate under teh guise of theology. My own church body is far too often engaged in such political maneuversin the name of the Gospel. Groups organize around their own interpretation of the Scriptures or Confessions, but quickly coalesce into political parties that vie for control over church governance. Again one finds each "side" talking past the other and wondering why "they just don't get it".

If we read blogs and not books, we fail to learn to comprehend arguments that require more than a paragraph or two to explain. As we get our news in sound bites, we give up our ability to sniff out fact from fiction and come to simply believe that the media merely presents the fact rather than stages them with deliberate intent.

I know that I have crossed over a number of areas, yet that I my point. In live we engage in a number of areas and some how, I believe I must find the time to drink far deeper lest I fail to really discover the truth.

Feeling Better or Performance Art Breastfeeding

2008-11-11T20:07:00.000-08:00

For the past week, our son has been dealing with his first cold. He has had a cough that has continually made his mother and I nearly cry. Tonight, he seems to be doing better. When Andrea arrived home from a day at her mothers with James, he was sound asleep in his car seat. When he awoke, I could tell he was doing much better. His breathing was more at ease and his smiley goofiness was near an all time high.

When it was time for his final feeding and bed James became just plain nutty. Usually the feeding process puts James to sleep. In fact he spends much of the time in a sort of sleeping feeding time. Tonight everything seemed the same, it was just that his eyes remained open. He kept looking at his mom rather than closing his eye and moving toward sleep. While being burped, James woke up and then attached himself to Andrea's chin, seemingly frantic to feed where ever he could attach himself to her.

Returning to the breast for another try at getting him to eat his way to sleep, we discovered that he was more that just determined to remain awake. Through out that last feeding time, his left arm hardly ever stopped moving. It looked as if he thought that he was conducting a symphony. Eventually his did succumb to the call of the night and dropped into sleep. But not before quite a performance was had for all. We are so glad he is feeling better and really enjoyed the laughs that his better health has to offer.

Here Comes Santa Clause

2008-11-11T14:24:00.000-08:00

Alright, I know that this is likely to shock many of you who know me and know how much the early display of Christmas related items drives me nuts, but I ran across this ad and just could not resist sharing it. Enjoy!

Yearning for Graciousness in Politics

2008-11-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

With the election over, I had foolishly hoped to experience some sense of a return to political civility. I had hoped that with George Bush finally on his way out, we would no longer be treated to the lunacy that causes people to compare Bush to Hitler and continue to argue about the 2000 election. Listening to conservative talk shows on Wednesday gave my hope a boost as they graciously offered support and well wishes to President elect Obama.

Since that time, I have had my hopes dashed. Rather than more examples of good winners and gracious losers, the news is filled with poor losers and poor winners. Not only have we had to see people protesting the passage of Prop 8 and threatening to sue to subvert democracy, we have also witnessed young men claiming to be Mormon (though I doubt that they are) disgracefully attack those protesters. We have also had to listen to boos while John McCain offered a gracious congratulations to Obama and this evening I saw a car with writing on the back window saying "McCain got crushed, ha ha ha." Again poor winners and poor losers.

The wonder of the America experiment is that way in which we hand power over peacefully. No other country has a track record like ours for that peaceful exchange. Generally we support our president regardless of if we vote for him or not (no Monty Pythoneske claims to not have a king because we did not vote for him). At least we offer some respect to the office and the current holder of that office. Our litigious society is starting to convince us that the true rule of law is left in the hands of lawyers and the courts rather than in the voice of the people. Yet it is the voice of many of the people that calls for the courts to cease from the rest of us our own voice of vote.

I yearn for graciousness in politics focused on a mutual love for America. Not because America has achieved some kind of perfection, but rather due to the high principles to which we as Americans have always aspired to and communicated throughout the world. One of those principles is a graciousness by which political opponents jointly seek the best for our country despite their different beliefs as to what might be best for our land.

Protesting Democracy

2008-11-05T23:16:00.000-08:00

On a day when I listened to conservative talk show hosts such as Dennis Prager and Michael Medved spoke encouragingly and supportability about historic election of Barack Obama, a candidate who they had railed strongly against just 24 hours before, I returned home to see protests against the results of the vote on Prop 8 (San Fransisco & West Hollywood). I term this a protest against democracy since the protester seem to believe that the majority has no right to vote their own consciences if they do not match their own desires. I do not believe that had Prop 8 failed to pass that I would have been greeted to similar protests by it supporters. Rather I believe instead they would have organized and strategized on how to legally go about restoring a historic and traditional definition of marriage to our state and society. I would have expected and supported the right for opponents of Prop 8 to have similarly organize to put forth a counter proposition to counter act this vote. That is the process. What is not the process is the act of 4 judges declaring a new right to marriage that previously had not existed. What is not the process is stomping around the streets blocking traffic like a spoiled child who did get their way. What is not the process is to have a city attorney representing the people sue to counter act the wishes of the people as expressed in the democratic process. Why bother to vote or claim that we live in a democracy if this tyranny of the minority is allowed to circumvent the democratic process? There are more rights to be concerned with than the media is willing to report about.

Reformation Day

2008-10-31T21:17:00.000-07:00

Osteen Math

2008-10-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

I was just listening to a critique of a sermon by Joel Osteen. While there are a number of doctrinal items to get into, I want to tackle the fundamental inability that this man has to think. He states that God did not create you to be average. By implication that means that God created us all the be above average. Now logically what does that do to the average? That's right it raises the bar for what average is. Then of course if Osteen is right, God must have made us all better than that again. Again the average raises. Can you see how such a simple foolish teaching is undone by the mere application of logic. I really wish that Osteen would just stop embarassing those of us Christians who have actually read the bible and know it is not a order form for personal wealth, health, and other dreams.

Decommissioning

2008-10-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today I had a Seinfeld moment, I retired a pair of jeans that lasted since before I my marriage. In fact, from before I first dated my wife. I retired a great pair of Old Navy jeans that I believe I have had and loved for 10 years. They had a great life and I wore them right out. farewell my "baby blue".

Endorsements

2008-10-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

Endorsements by retired generals and secretaries of state make sense. What I don't understand is why newspapers endorse candidates and propositions. I further don't understand why, if the "news" outlets like newspapers advocate officially for particular candidates and propositions, that we still assume that what they present on political issue is still fairly presented news. Talk radio is upfront in identifying what perspective they are coming from, be that right or left. However, newspapers attempt to position themselves are reporting the news, then on the heels of that assertion put their names behind a particular cause.

I think that they misunderstand their role in our society, or perhaps we have mistaken that place (For a brief history you can look here). Not all papers make such endorsements, but those who do defy my imagination that they believe that we should assume that their reporting will not be swayed by what the editorial board has endorsed. In an election where the media coverage of the candidates comes to us from both a news and an entertainment perspective, the endorsement of newspapers only complicates matter. The news media is hard enough to trust and believe without them talking out of both sides of their mouths endorsing a candidate and not really advocating for him or her.

Why Jon Stewart is Bad for Politics

2008-10-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

More than ever before, this year's presidential race has been covered, and I would suggest covered to death. Whereas you can expect the mainstream media outlets, radio talk shows, and newspapers to cover the race, where things have truly gotten out of hand is when the entertainment media covers the candidates.

Shows like "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", The Colbert Report", and others who focus on concocting a blend of comedy and political satire are all too often the source for some voters for information on politics. Candidates taking these shows seriously enough that they put in appearances on them only complicates the matter. With the slick nature of candidate adds, the use of popular musicians, and celebrity endorsements, it becomes hard to actually sift through the pop culture smoke screen to determine what the candidates actually are all about.

We are voting for an image and we can't even be sure what image is the authentic image of the candidate. The mainstream media offers up "news" in such a fashion that you have a hard time knowing if you are hearing about Madonna's divorce on Today or Extra. Getting political coverage on both blurs our understanding of what news is and renders us unable to really learn about the facts involved in the presidential race.

Gone is the declaration of Walter Cronkite declaration that "That's the way it was" is more than long gone, if it was in fact ever really there. Now we are left to doubt that anyone is really presenting "Just the fact."

British Television Invasion

2008-10-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

The bright folks at ABC have gone where a great many others have in the recent past to get their ideas for their new fall shows. This time rather than raiding televisions past like NBC did to bring us American Gladiators and Night Rider, ABC simply skipped across the pond and just like The Office, we are now presented with Life On Mars. The original series was great. I just started working my way through it again as BBC America ran a marathon of reruns leading up to the American versions launch. My concern what would the American adaptation work. Coupling did not translate well. The British version was witty and sharp, were as the American dull and plodding. The Office translated well to greater success stateside. The premiere was good, not great, and so far I still prefer the original, but it has the chance to be good. The casting of Harvey Keitel as Gene Hunt is a master stroke. Check out Life On Mars, and find out what it would be like to wake up in 1973.

Great T-Shirt

2008-10-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

Peace at the Pump

2008-09-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was on my way back from Talbot, having just meet with the chair of my dissertation committee, when I needed to get some gas. I pulled into a Chevron station and was surprised by what I did not see or hear. I did not have to listen to cheesy muzak over a cheap speaker system and I did not have to watch commercial try to sell me something while I supply the fuel to the next great indoor ski resort. How refreshing to just pump my gas (at what is sadly now a fantastic price of $3.69) and not have my senses bombarded Madison Avenue slickster ploys. Thanks Chevron!

Angels - Champs of the West

2008-09-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

For the 4th time in 5 years the once laughable Angels are champions, clinching with ease a full 17.5 games in front of 2nd place Texas. Congrats boys! Now to get down to the real business of winning in October. More...

Rolling Over

2008-09-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day at home. James rolled over for the first time. I had given him a nudge the time before. He had gotten half way there, so I helped the rest of the way. The next time he did it all himself. Yeah James!!!!

Life Time Supply

2008-09-04T20:35:00.000-07:00

Monday my wife showed me an small article in OC Family magazine in which a gentleman named Kevin Bunch who entered a contest to win a year's supply of pancakes from IHOP. What was most interesting was that IHOP's definition of a year's supply is a short stack, once a week, for 20 years. So, does this mean that IHOP does not expect us to surive 20 years of weekly pancakes?

Convention Protesters

2008-08-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

While watching the news just moments ago a thought occurred to me. There were protesters out already at the DNC I thought I would test a theory. I googled the following two phrases "DNC protests" and "RNC protests." I was curious to see the political leanings of those who take the time to protest at a political convention. Well, I was right, in both cases the prosters where from the political left. So the left is protesting that DNC and the RNC for not being left enough. Here I am thinking that both are already too far to the left. So why am I not out protesting from my own perspective, and why do I believe others like myself are not as well, employment. We have jobs and families to attend to. I could be wrong on this, a clear generalization, but it just seems to make sense to me.

Bring back NBA Basketball

2008-08-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

Alright, that title sounds strange even to me as it type it. The style of play that is claimed to be defense but often is nothing more than overgrown playground junk ball offense that passes as the NBA (notable exception in what Boston did to the Lakers in the Finals, that was fantastic D), is actually something that I find myself longing for after watching the international version of the sport offered in Beijing. Watching all the flopping and acting that was going on had me at times thinking that I was watching a court filled with Vlade Divac clones. Seriously, if I had to watch one more head fly back when a defender came near, I would seriously just give up my struggle to stick with the games to see the US back on top.

This does not even take into account the grossly inconsistent officiating that left me as well as the players wondering from one quarter to another just what would be called and what would not. It seemed as though on one drive a quick dribble spin move by the US point guard to protect the ball would garner an offensive foul and the Argentinian player flopped to the ground, only for minutes later for Kobe to be nearly mauled by two players with not a whistle forthcoming.

So, I say, bring back the NBA. At least we don't have to listen to the whistling.

The First 3 Months of James

2008-08-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

Gene Upshaw - RIP

2008-08-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

Having only learned Sunday that he had cancer, Raiders great, Gene Upshaw died at the age of 63 on Wednesday, August 20.
More...

Redneck Chopper

2008-08-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

Leave it to American ingenuity to come up with a way to combine lawn mowing with motorcycling. Thank you John Deere.

What makes a sport a sport?

2008-08-19T17:21:00.000-07:00

With all the time that I and many others have been spending watching the Olympics this past week, it seems only natural to give some thought to that nature of sport and a question that keeps coming to mind: What makes a sport a sport? In 2012 in London, the Olympics will be without Baseball and Softball, yet I am sure that they will retain rhythmic gymnastics, badminton, and handball. Now before I just launch into a rank on the sports that I think are not sports, something I will save for another day, I would instead like to get terms straight.

There are in my mind three terms that must be distinguished: Sport, Game, and Activity. A sport is a game and an activity. A game is an activity, but not always a sport. An activity maybe but is not always either a sport or a game. A sport is distinguished from a game by its organization, rules, and athletic nature. A game is distinguished from an activity by its organization and rules. To get a feel for how I see this distinction you can examine the relationship implied by the graph to the left.

There is also a certain natural seriousness that comes with a sport that is lacking in a game or activity that helps on keep each term more clearly in mind.

Based in this conception of these terms I would suggest that Handball is a game, not a sport, that Equestrian is an activity, and that Table Tennis might be argued to be a sport but putting tables in game rooms really should answers the question better. If I am wrong, all I can say is bring on the Olympic Dodgeball or for that matter Frisbee Golf!!!

The Intolerance of Christians

2008-08-08T09:17:00.001-07:00

I selected that title more as a matter of irony for what I am about to share rather than claim again Christians for their intolerance of others. Historically Christianity may have had its issues in the tolerance department, yet as a religion its tenets are among the most open and respectful of other faiths. We typically respect the individuals right to disagree. We do however have the intellectual honesty not to simply claim that all beliefs are right and that therefore those who disagree or who do not have faith in Christ run the risk of being outside the will of God, if in fact the truth claims of Christians turn out to be correct. Yet the claim is still made that by merely asserting that there is a right and a wrong view religiously (or spiritually to use more popular language) that we are in fact already intolerant bigots.

With that in mind let me put before you two news pieces. One that has people worried about reprisal and one that no one seems too concerned with. First you have the theory that the meaning behind the phrase "the disciple whom Jesus loved" is in fact a homosexual relationship (far too much can be found here: http://www.jesusinlove.org/). Then you have the publication of a book on the child bride of Mohammed is pulled by Random House for fear that violence may result. Now a linked article on jesusinlove.org claims that depictions of a gay Jesus are destroyed when displayed. Yet no reputable news source is sighted for such an incident.

My point in this is simply that if find it ironic that we are called upon to lift up Islam as a religion of peace while Christians are routinely shunned as hateful, while the only violence that I see directed through a religious lens these days comes from an Islamic source. I really wish that more people in our nation had the capacity to reason through questions like this rather than simply condemning or accepting without understanding the broader implications of what they are doing.

Neighbors

2008-08-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

In the evenings, the wife and I take out son for a walk. He rides and sometimes sleeps his way to and from the grocery store, where we have recently been walking and getting Ben and Jerry's (yup, our exercise comes complete with the reason we need to exercise).

The other day I was walking and looking around and as tends to happen to me a sign grabbed by attention and provided unintended humor. Across the railroad tracks is Pacific Transformer and well, you know where I went from there.

One More Commercial Miscalculation

2008-08-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

Just thought of another form of advertising that causes me to avoid a product rather than run out and get some are those commercials that I have to suffer through while at the pump at the gas station. Really, do I need to see that additional ad revenues are being added to the already burgeoning profits while I pay in excess of $4 a gallon.

The Unintended Consequences of Bad Commercials

2008-07-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

As Madison Ave advertisers attempt to find ways to sell you and I that latest and greatest useless gizmo, they occasionally strike upon an idea that yields the reverse effect. So here are a list of the advertising techniques that I find the most repellent:

The volume of the commercial is well above that of the program or even other commercials.
The man, husband, or father in the commercial is the foolish patsy bungling his way through life.
Anything sold by Billy Mays.
Medications that I have to ask my doctor about.
Anti-smoking ads that lack the ability to understand basic logic.
German auto makers telling me about how they have dealt with years of high gas prices and that their solution is a car I also cannot afford.
Brendan Fraser movies.

Crunk is dead! All drink Crunk!

2008-07-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

You know how a trend gets so trendy that silly product connections start to crop up causing purists to consider even the original to be rendered a mockery. Well, just like the "Extreme" got run into the ground, "Crunk" is well on its way to that abysmal grave site. "Crunk" is now an energy drink. All I want to know is if it comes with a pimp cup.

PETA

2008-07-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

For years my buddy Rich and I have joked about the creation of our own PETA T-shirts. Only instead of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals our PETA would be People for the Eating of Tasty Animals. Well, so far we have been all talk. Perhaps someday we might actually get a design at least. In the meantime enjoy this T-shirt I found at www.thoseshirts.com.

It's only a model

2008-07-03T11:40:00.001-07:00

Support Discrimination Against the Foolish

2008-06-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

Listening to the radio today, I heard about a hairdresser in Britain who was denied a job because when she interviewed she refused to remove her head covering. The claim is that the request and not hiring her because of it is an attack against Islam. Actually is the discrimination against foolishness. Who wants to have their hair done by someone who will not let their own hair be seen. It is sort of like having a morbidly obese fitness trainer. I just want to see if what you will do to me is consistently and well lived out in your life. The result of the lawsuit was an award of $4,000 pounds in part for "injury to her feelings." Really in Britain I can sue you if you hurt my feelings. Wow! Thus I support discrimination. Specifically against the foolish.

Obama's Confusing Message on Abortion

2008-06-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day, Barack Obama spoke at at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago, IL. In his address he stated that "responsibility doesn't just end at conception." This was addressed to fathers, who as he points out, all too often in the black community do not stick around to raise the children that they create. Now, this otherwise great challenge stuck out in my mind, not because of the social health that it can engender, but the contradictory message that it offers when compared with prior statements that he has made with regard to the conceptions of a child. Some time back Senator Obama commented that he did not want his daughters punished with a baby if they make a "mistake." So, let me understand this, men, if we make a baby our responsibility continues, but women if you want out of your own responsibility just abort that thing before it really is a child. This is the equal freedoms that Barack has talked about at rallies before audiences such as Planned Parenthood. I am not sure that this is all that coherent of a policy or consistent of thinking on his part. But you be the judge and listen to him tell you.

Finding his voice

2008-05-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

Last night James found his voice and boy did he use it. I could get into much greater detail on this but first I am just too exhausted to do so and for those of you who are parents, you really don't need much of an explanation.

11 days and a few more names

2008-05-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

I missed a couple of our son's nicknames in the list I posted yesterday. So here a a few more of the cute nicknames he has so far:

Bubba
Bub
Bubs

Note the theme with this set. All his mother, this time. More to come as they continue to surface.

Ethnic Skin

2008-05-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the commercials for the Al Roker NBC special on America's Ethnic Skin? Being as etymologically inquisitive as I am, I wanted to see how they intended to make use of the word "Ethnic" with respect the this so called "Ethnic Skin." Two quotes on articles related to the show shed some light on the direct they might be taking.

"By the year 2050, one-half of the American people will have ethnic skin."

"Melanin-rich skin has unique attributes and special concerns that are best addressed under the medical advice of a dermatologist who is well-experienced in treating ethnic skin,"

Once again white people, you have no ethnicity!

10 days old

2008-05-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

Life with a 10 day old son is just about the most exciting adventure one could hope for. There are of course the diapers and midnight feedings which one would naturally expected (though how hard it is to get myself awake in the morning is something I had to experience to truly understand). What I did not anticipate was the volume of nicknames that seem to flow quite naturally from both mom and dad. Here is a sampling of the names the wife and I have been using to comfort and engage our boy.

Jamesy
Bug-A-Boo
Bugs
Snuggle Bug
Snugs
Sugar Baby
Shugs
Monkey
Squirt

More to come I am sure.

Captain Jackson

2008-05-22T19:26:00.001-07:00

For those of you who saw the American Idol Finale last night, this photo might look somewhat familiar. Sadly I was unable to locate a good photo of Randy in his Bob Keeshan look-a-like jacket.

Better to Live and Root Out West

2008-05-21T16:28:00.000-07:00

Why is better to live in and root for the West? Just take a look at these scores and I think the answer will be quite clear.

1. Tue, May 6 – Bos 76, Cle 72

1. Sun, May 4 – LAL 109, Uta 98

2. Thu, May 8 – Bos 89, Cle 73

2. Wed, May 7 – LAL 120, Uta 110

3. Sat, May 10 – Cle 108, Bos 84

3. Fri, May 9 – Uta 104, LAL 99

4. Mon, May 12 – Cle 88, Bos 77

4. Sun, May 11 – Uta 123, LAL 115 (OT)

5. Wed, May 14 – Bos 96, Cle 89

5. Wed, May 14 – LAL 111, Uta 104

6. Fri, May 16 – Cle 74, Bos 69

6. Fri, May 16 – LAL 108, Uta 105

7. Sun, May 18 – Bos 97, Cle 92

Now I know that there are those who argue that the East just plays better defense, but no amount of quality defense can excuse a play off game with a winner having 74 points.

Tolerance Worldwide

2008-05-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

I was catching up on Modern Reformation magazine a couple weeks ago when I ran across the following quote from a Hinud leader in India on the topic of anti-Christian violence in India.

“Swami Lakshmananda Sarawati, Hindu leader of Orissa, was unapologetic about leading the anti-conversion efforts. Speaking of human rights groups’ regular warnings about anti-Christian violence in India, he said, ‘Christians in India must understand, and understand fast, that they cannot be protected by the US State Department writing its annual vituperative anti-Hindu reports on religious freedom and human rights. Christians can be protected only by the good will of the majority of Hindu in whose midst they have to live. Christians have to earn the good will of the Hindus instead of demanding special protection and special rights.” (March/April 2008, p. 6).

So as much as there are concerns with how intolerant Christians can be for desiring to convert people to Christ, at least we no longer beat them or kill them when they slam the door in our face. What gets me is that it is considered special rights to not have your head bashed in for not offering the proper veneration of Krishna. In our postmodern America Christianity is the only religion without special rights. It is considered an outrageous intolerance to even mention that someone's religion might be wrong. However just like letting Yankee and Red Sox fans know that the world does not revolve around their silly rivalry, it is even more accurate and dare I say indisputable to claim truth when one sees it in Christ. Our culture asks that I tolerate by neighbors and their religious choices, but what I would like to remind them is that in order for me to tolerate something or someone, I must first disagree with them. I cannot tolerate what I think is correct or true. So I support tolerance, I just pray that our neighbors around the world would practice a bit of what is preached by them to us.

The Beauty of God's Creation

2008-05-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

Even in destruction God is able to paint the sky with beauty as can be seen in this photo of a Chilean volcano eruption. Here is part of the story taken from National Geographic:

"After 9,000 years of silence, Chile's Chaitén volcano (pictured on May 3) is erupting with lava, ash—and lightning (full story).

Since the volcano awoke on May 2, it has continued erupting intermittently, blanketing the area in ash and forcing more than 4,000 people to flee.

The mingling of lightning and ash seen above may be a "dirty thunderstorm."

The little-understood storms may be sparked when rock fragments, ash, and ice particles in the plume collide to produce static charges—just as ice particles collide to create charge in regular thunderstorms. (More: "Volcanic Lightning Sparked by 'Dirty Thunderstorms,' Study Finds" [February, 2, 2007].) "

Out with the Pink and In with the Blue

2008-05-19T10:17:00.000-07:00

James was quite the surprising little fellow. Not only was he nearly born in the car on the way to the hospital, but the fact that James was James and not Kate (our name of choice had he actually been the girl we thought him to be) has also thrown us into a bit of a fluster of activity. The sea of pink dresses have been sorted through, in the hope that we will be able to return some of them. Meanwhile a new wave of blue clothing has been washing ashore since we first called our friends to let them know all about James' surprising plumbing. It started in the hospital, with bags after bags being brought by aunts, and grandmas, and friends, and co-workers. Since then the clothes have not stopped coming (well really they have, I mean they are not literally currently pouring in our windows, but there remain more offers for more gift and loaner clothes).

And then there have been the visitors. On Wednesday night, with James just a day old, he played host to a dozen friends and family members at one time. That was quite the full hospital room. Let's hear it for the family friendly orientation of Hoag that allowed us the joy of all that love, care, and support.

All three of us have been home since Thursday and have been working on getting some sort of routine down. Since tomorrow is his 1 week birthday, any sort of regular activity is good.

Work on the house is nearing completion, with really only the flooring to go, which is being held up by a later delivery of Pergo from Home Depot.

Gas News

2008-05-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

With the ever increasing cost of gas, I, along with millions of others I am sure, are glued to news reports trying to understand just what it is that causes gas prices to fluctuate (read "go up"). You hear things about shortages, worker strikes in Central America, damaged pipelines, and calls to reduce consumption. As I have listened I have begun to wonder if there really is a straight story on why prices are the way they are. There was a time when I thought I understood and could rely upon the basic principle of supply and demand to regulate prices. However increasingly I hear news reports where production is up, consumption is down, and the prices continue to go up. Additionally I hear complaints that while consumers pay record prices at the pumps, "big oil" is reaping record profits. OK so if you accept that, then what do you do with news reports that there are refineries who have reduced their capacity due to their being unable to maintain the level of profit desired.

So to recap: We have oil prices that go up when consumption is up and when it is down and we have both record profits and reduced profit in on the part of the oil companies. Boy that cleared things up. Happy driving!

The Home Stretch

2008-05-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

The past month plus has been far too busy, thus it has been a while since my last post. So to bring you up to speed, we are in the final week heading to Andrea's due date. Next Thursday is the day, though we are currently thinking that our little girl will be arriving a bit late rather than early or even on time (whatever that means when it comes to babies). Her room is finished and ready for her, but it remains the only room in the house in such a state. Yesterday work started up again on the kitchen and living room. Cabinets are going in and flooring is getting done. There are a couple of snags, which by now we just expect, and so that final work should not be done until the week after the baby's due date. We will be moving back home tomorrow. Leaving behind the Residence Inn, which lost its charm about a month ago. The house should be ready enough to put the frig back in tomorrow (or so we hope) which will make things sort of livable for the time being. This has been a challenging adventure. I think that when all is said and done things will end up better than when this all started, but the process to get there much like the physical upheaval of a woman's body during pregnancy and childbirth is not the simplest of things to get through. Doing both at the same time would not be something that I would suggest anyone volunteer for. We look forward to showing off our little girl and introducing her to all our friends in the coming weeks.

Christianity Spoof

2008-04-06T08:03:00.000-07:00

It's funny what you find when trying to spend a gift card at Barnes and Noble. I had been searching for a particular pair of books, when a week or so ago I was finally able to find one of those books (And Baby Makes Three). Not able to locate the other book and having a bit more cash on the card I did what I do. I want to browsed the Christianity and Philosophy sections. It was there I found a great little book by Tom Breen (a.k.a. the Internet Theologian). I honestly had not heard of Tom nor his book, but it looked somewhat interesting so I got it. Well let me tell you it is far more hysterical than I could have imagined. Tom's approach to understanding Christianity in our modern/post-modern/pop culture reminds me of one Dave Barry or the History of Baseball that my buddy Rich wrote as his senior writing project back at the CCI, only without the llamas. It helps if you have are conversant with church history and pop culture as Tom's humor is reference oriented. There are moments where some might want to google or wiki some of his references, but it is well worth the read. I have not laughed out loud while reading book in some time, granted I am taking a Statistics class at this point, which might contribute to the lack of humor in my literary diet, but none the less, Tom's take off on pop cultures view of Christianity is quite funny and at times really finds its mark skewering both pop culture and the Church where we need it most.

Obscure Baseball Team Names

2008-04-04T08:58:00.001-07:00

Yup, as bit more on baseball this morning. Fantasy baseball impacts the way we watch the sport in a number of ways. You start to follow players rather than teams. You find yourself rooting for a pitcher from one team and a batter from another. Perhaps a less known impact is how the search for just the right team name can alter your knowledge of baseball. For a number of years now I have been naming my teams after existing or formerly existing franchises. I have used the Yuma Scorpions, Las Vegas 51s, Syracuse Chiefs, among others. So I thought I would post a list of some of the odder names I have come across in my searches for just the right name for my teams. Those on the list in bold are ones that I have used.

1. Asheville Tourists
2. Atlanta Black Crackers
3. Edmonton Cracker Cats
4. Fresno Raisin Eaters
5. Great Lakes Loons
6. Greenville Drive
7. Hickory Crawdads
8. Indianapolis Clowns
9. Lehigh Valley IronPigs
10. Montgomery Biscuits
11. Nashville Sounds
12. Savannah Sand Gnats

Baseball Time Again

2008-04-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

Thought I would find a few baseball videos to get us all in the mood for baseball season. I have been listening to Angels games the past few nights and my wife will be at the home opener tonight, but I thought I would offer these videos up to help get the rest of us ready to go. Enjoy!

Will It Blend?

Baseball Tennis

Jedi Baseball

Men & Women

2008-04-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

Dennis Prager launched a new dedicated hour of programing yesterday. He has been running a weekly Happiness Hour and Ultimate Issues Hour. Yesterday he added the Male/Female Hour. Callers questions and Dennis's comments focus around understanding the difference between men and women that has so often been downplayed in the media and social sciences. To get an idea of where Mr. Prager will be going with this new hour take a listen to his first crack at it.

Male/Female Hour #1

Foolishness Averted

2008-04-02T22:22:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles City Council managed to avoid complete foolishness by rejecting a proposal for a ban on violence as a way to commemorate the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The proposed 40 hour ban on murder and violence was quickly identified as silliness. Why would a murderer respect a call for 40 hours of peace (which was the goal) if the general laws against murder fail to work as a deterrent? The concept created by Los Angeles author and political commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson sought to gradually bring an end to violence. "If this works, then the next logical thing is: If a city like Los Angeles can go 40 hours without one homicide, then why not 40 days?" said Hutchinson. By some fortune the members of the City Council were not fooled into thinking that just asking would work where the law and law enforcement has failed. For the complete story check out LA Times.

McCain on Letterman

2008-04-02T10:24:00.001-07:00

I found a clip of McCain on Letterman from the Late Show last night. Letterman starts with a series of "You look like.." jokes only to have McCain come out and return fire with his own series of similar jokes. But watch closely the funniest thing is not the jokes, but the brief bit where McCain puts his hands in his pockets and does the little rock back on your heels moment that Letterman does almost as a nervous tick through out his monologues.

Drive Thru Church

2008-03-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

You never know just what you will find when you do a search on youtube. I put "church" in this afternoon and found a pair of videos that take a shot at our American "quick and easy" thoughts about church. They come from two very different churches and hit the same major theme from two different angles. Enjoy!

What's in a name?

2008-03-17T13:11:00.001-07:00

This afternoon while eating lunch, I was reading through Exploring the History & Philosophy of Christian Education and enjoying a Reuben as Arby's. In a chapter on Christian Education in Colonial America a table lists a series of inventors and their inventions, some trivial and some of lasting importance. The first gentleman on the list grabbed my attention. Not because of who he was or what he invented, but with the British Prog-Rock band that named themselves after him. Jethro Tull invented the seed-planting drill in 1701. This Jethro Tull's invention improved agriculture by increasing the number of seeds that germinated when sown. The story of the band's name involves the suggestion of their agent, who was a history major. The band hit upon their first success under that name and thus stuck with it.

New Deadly Sins

2008-03-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

It's been in the news that the Catholic Church has released a list of a new set of Seven Deadly Sins. 1500 years after the first list, we finally get the much anticipated Seven Deadly Sins II Collection.

The original deadly sins:
1. Pride
2. Envy
3. Gluttony
4. Lust
5. Anger
6. Greed
7. Sloth

The new deadly sins:
1. ``Bioethical' violations such as birth control
2. ``Morally dubious'' experiments such as stem cell research
3. Drug abuse
4. Polluting the environment
5. Contributing to widening divide between rich and poor
6. Excessive wealth
7. Creating poverty

Generally I would launch into a commentary here, but a few factors prevent that.

1. No time for that today.
2. No real information as to what exactly each of these is getting at, thus I am not entirely sure what to react to since there is much ambiguity left with the statements as listed.
3. I was satisfied with God's original Ten Commandments.

I did try to find information on the Vatican web-site, but they did not have an up-dates section and a search did not find much. I did however find a section entitled "Vatican Secret Archives." Now that's a well kept secret.

If anyone has sources for a more detailed explanation of the new deadly sins, please post them.

Today in History

2008-03-13T11:06:00.001-07:00

Being the nerd that I am I get a daily e-mail about historical events that have taken place related to church history. At the top of today's list is the following:

1452 Johannes Gutenberg (ca. 1398-1468) began printing the Bible with his movable type printing process.

Thanks to his efforts, every home in America can now have a dusty copy of the Bible on their shelves. In honor of Gutenberg's work and those of the Reformers and others who have done so much to ensure that we have access to God's word, why don't we dust off that old book and give it a good read today. For that matter, why stop at today? For a Bible reading plan take a look at http://www.bibleplan.org/.

Lunch for the fast food employee

2008-03-12T14:06:00.001-07:00

It is not often that I think about what a lunch break looks like for someone working at McDonald's. This afternoon, I had lunch at my local Farmer Boys, when I noticed that the staff was receiving a pizza delivery. Can't say that I have ever seen that before. I mean I have seen KFC employees in Carl's Jr. and things of the like, but to order food from another company to be delivered to your own is not something I would have thought of. What I am worried about is what that says about the food I was eating. Not sure it reflects on it at all, but I still can't help but wonder a little.

Bus Driver's Prayer

2008-03-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

While looking round on the net, trying to kill time, after having finished a draft of a paper for comp exams and not being able to get back in the house off the patio due to the removal of the lower section of our walls (see previous post), I found something called The Bus Driver's Prayer. In typical British fashion the humor is very local and very dry. But you might find it an interesting parody of the Lord's Prayer.

Our Farnham,^[1] who art in Hendon

Harrow be Thy name.

Thy Kingston come; thy Wimbledon,

In Erith as it is in Hendon.

Give us this day our daily Brent ^[2]

And forgive us our Westminster^[3]

As we forgive those who Westminster against us.^[4]

And lead us not into Thames Ditton^[5]

But deliver us from Yeovil.^[6]

For Thine is the Kingston, the Purley and the Crawley,^[7]

For Esher and Esher.^[8]

Crouch End.

Our very own Poseidon Adventure

2008-03-08T20:13:00.001-08:00

Last night, upon returning home from work, I had planned a relatively simple evening. I was considering what to have for dinner and thinking I would get a chance to take a spin on our exercise bike. Instead what I found was a living room under water. The hose coming from the toilet in the down stairs bathroom had failed and detached from the wall. This launched water all over the bathroom and then across the living room. Under the walls into the laundry room, then into the kitchen. The water then made its way under that walls of both of our neighbors and also began to spill out of both our doors and slider. What I came home to was a house, where the city had already shut off the water, thus allow the water to receed, through upon pulling up I could still see where the water had run out the door and down the alley toward the street. The neighbors were quickly around to tell me about the work done to shut off the water, and full of questions about what happened, even before I was able to get much of a handle on the situation. Having verified that the water was indeed off, I went to the garage to get our push broom, with a squeegee attachment. After a few minutes of pulling water out, I call Andrea to ask her for help. When she answered the phone I said "Hey, honey, can I ask you for a favor?" Sounds like a safe kind of thing to ask, little did she know that I would then ask her to call a plumber and explained the situation. She called the insurance company first, then contacted her mother for ideas on a plumber to call. When she arrived home, I had most of the water out. By the time the guys from Service Master came to finish the drying job, just about all that standing water was gone. All that was left was under the flooring. So up came the floor and off came two doors and all the floor boards. So, now we have the noise of the gentle hum of 9 blowers and 3 dehumidifiers to lull us to sleep at night. What a fun adventure. It will be interesting to see what the place looks like after things are dried out, the insurance adjuster comes, and we find out just what we will have to use to put the place back together.

Jolt - Yes it's still around

2008-03-07T16:14:00.000-08:00

I think it was about a decade ago that I found a six pack of 16 Jolt bottles at a liquor store in Mission Viejo. Since that time I had been under the impression that you could not get Jolt anymore. No more of that odd cola taste and enough caffeine to make your heart stop. Well a couple days ago while following links from Manuka's Place, I discovered that not only is Jolt still on the market but that you can now get additional flavors of the stuff.

They have changed the look, now being sold in the trendy energy drink bullet can, and added flavors like Cherry Bomb, Blue Raspberry, and Wild Grape. You can even get Jolt wearables, just to make sure you are at the pinnacle of cool.

The additional fun part about the source by which I found the Jolt web-site was through a site for the World Adult Kickball Association. Nice! The combination of the two just has to be spectacular. Caffeine heads flailing legs in a desperate hope to relive grade school glory, I'm in. Oh, wait, I forgot I don't run. Can I sign up to be all time kicker? Do they have that? I know playground football had all time quarterbacks, so why not.

Oh, yes, let me not forget, Jolt also has gum. Cool now you can double up!

The War Solution

2008-03-05T09:25:00.000-08:00

I am sure that you have all seen those great pithy bumper stickers that say "War Never Solves Anything." Well today on my way to the office I saw and even better one. In large print on the bottom it said "War Never Solves Anything." Above that in smaller lettering it read, "Except for ending slavery, fascism, nazism, and communism." Finally a bumper sticker with content.

Reflector Vest Guys

2008-03-03T13:24:00.000-08:00

I want to get one of those nifty little reflector vests that the Cal-Trans and other city workers get to wear. I want one in order that I might test out a theory that I have been developing today after having nearly hit a guy in one and having previously seen another guys in one just about get hit. In both occasions the genius individuals in those nifty little reflector vests walked into on coming traffic with out so much as a care for their own safety or the safety of others who might swerve out of their own sense of concern for them. The first reflector vest guy, walked out from behind the parked construction vehicles that he and others were working from on Orangethorpe. He was crossed from the construction blocked lane into on-coming traffic, and back behind another truck parked on the side of the road. The entire group of us funneling through that single lane slowed as the person in front tried to not clip this city worker. I four cars back did the same to avoid the car in front of me.

The second occurrence took place as I turned left off of Beach Blvd. onto La Mirada Blvd. on my way to school. There were a pair of guys in the left turn lane loading cones onto the front of their truck. As I turned onto La Mirada Blvd. They finished and one went to enter his car on the passenger's side the other on the driver's side. I did not see if he even looked toward where I was coming. He seemed to just step out around the front of his truck, out in front of me and then start to reach for the door handle as I swerved slightly between his vested-self and the cars in the turn lane to my right.

So, now the question is, why do I want a reflector vest of my very own. Well, what I want to discover is if the brazen actions of these two guys come from sort of a super power given to them by the vest or whether people just naturally avoid them so much that they begin to believe that they can just walk anywhere and no one will get close to them. The vests seem to act like some sort of bumper repellent and I just want to understand how.

Refashioning the Trinity

2008-02-27T16:57:00.000-08:00

What follows is not really news, but since I only managed to find out about this myself today, I thought I would pass it along, just in case I am not the only one to have missed this. You would think that such a central and fundamentally bedrock doctrine like the Trinity would not be up for debate. Well if that was what you thought, and I certainly did, the Presbyterian Church, USA set out to prove you & I wrong at their last General Assembly back in June of 2006. A paper was presented by The Theological Issues and Institutions Committee of the 217th General Assembly and approved that "affirms Father, Son and Holy Spirit as the church's anchor language for the Trinity, but lifts up other biblical images of the Trinity for study and use in worship."

The Trinity has been a doctrine in solid standing in the church for many centuries. Church fathers defended its inclusion along with other doctrines of the church such as the divinity of Christ arguing that God reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the pages of the Bible. Early heresies such as modalism claimed that God merely appears in three forms but is not indeed three persons in one God. The early church father vigorously defended the Trinity as a doctrine of truth, based exclusively on the identification of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the pages of the Bible.

So, what then are these "biblical images" that the PCUSA saw fit to include in their understanding of the Trinity.

Mother, Child, and Womb.
Lover, Beloved, Love
Creator, Savior, Sanctifier
Rock, Redeemer, Friend
King of Glory, Prince of Peace, Spirit of Love

Is your head hurting yet? What are the issues with using these descriptors. Let's take them one at a time.

Mother - God reveals Himself as Father, not Mother. Seeking to be inclusive should not try to correct God's self identification or expand upon it.
Child - Sure Christ was at one time a child, but He did not remain as such, though for all eternity He remains the Son.
Womb - This is a place and not a person.
Lover - Are we then the Father's lovers? Kind of an incestuous implication.
Beloved - Jesus was the Father's beloved, but my own name means Beloved.
Love - True God is love, but why is the Holy Spirit given this as a name?
Creator - The Apostles' Creed does call the Father "creator of heaven and earth," yet the early church fathers still saw fit to use Father as a name or title and creator as merely a descriptor.
Savior - One ought not deny that Jesus is Savior. I just also believe that one also ought not shy away from using the name Jesus Christ. That is the name that is the stumbling block, not the concept of a savior in general.
Sanctifier - Yes, this is part of what the Holy Spirit does, but again it is limited in its scope in helping one understand the Holy Spirit.
Rock - With apologies to Dwayne Johnson that is an object not a name.
Redeemer - Again I would not deny that Jesus is our Redeemer, but as with Savior why does this change help?
Friend - Once again why is the Holy Spirit the one singled out at a friend to the exclusion of the others (remember that the core of the Athanasian Creed teaches not only the unity of the Trinity but also the ways in which each member is distinct from the others)
King of Glory - Was the Son not also called King?
Prince of Peace - Same as with Savior and Redeemer, this is a title that is biblical but limited in scope for use in worship as such.
Spirit of Love - I am not sure what to do with this. A bit new-agey to me.

As you can see the last version (and the 3rd) of the Trinity that the PCUSA approved for worship is the least troubling, and I would say the most "biblical." Still I cannot find a good reason to make this kind of an inclusion. If as the approved paper they believe that "Our need and desire to worship confront us with the inadequacy of our language for God" then I simply would ask why include less adequate language than the original language that God used and commanded us to baptize in. That of course what a point that came up in discussion with my associate pastor, who talked about the discussions of whether to accept a baptism in the name of the Mother, Child, and Womb as valid in seminary last year. Those had to be fun discussions.

A little reminiscence

2008-02-25T11:42:00.000-08:00

When you get old friends together for an afternoon the number of random things that come up in conversation can be rather diverse. One item that randomly came up when KDOC was mentioned at the Ducks game yesterday was Wally George. So enjoy a Wally George classic thanks to the kind folks at youtube.

NHL Virgin No More

2008-02-24T20:43:00.000-08:00

Until this evening all my live hockey viewing was restricted to minor league games like the Austin Ice Bats and Long Beach Ice Dogs. So tonight when I attended my first NHL game I was not only glad to finally not have to watch a team names partially after the surface they skated upon, but also for the grand welcome I received to NHL hockey. Rich had a pair a great seats to a game at the Honda Center between the Ducks and Blackhawks. Like a few years ago when I attended a game at legendary Wrigley Field for a Cubs game, my inaugural NHL game could not have been better. The Ducks jumped out to a first period 3-1 lead. En route to this lead the new rough, classic hockey character to the post-Disney Ducks was shown in a first period fight. The second period was much less eventful, but the third period returned to the early form of the first with gusto. A series of penalties allowed the Blackhawks to crawl their way back into the game brining the score to 4-3. Within seconds of that third Blackhawk goal, Teemu Selanne responded with his third of the night. First game first hat trick. One more goal was on its way not a minute later brining the game to its final score of 6-3. In addition to the fast paced offensive display that last period was also marked with a return to the rough and tough swaggard of the first period and included a fight started by the Blackhawks goalie. Seriously there was not much one could have hoped for out of a first NHL game than this.

The National Geographic of the South

2008-02-23T21:16:00.001-08:00

Tonight I find myself watching CMT. Yes, you read right, Country Music Television. Much as I tend to mock people who watch train wreck TV, I find that I just can't look away from "My Big Redneck Wedding." Never in my life have I seen so many camouflaged bridesmaid's dresses. Actually let me correct that, I never before dreamed that there ever would be such a thing.

Imagine if you will a wedding where every guest is decked out in hunting attire. Imagine part of the entertainment consisting of chasing down a greased hog by the bride, which of course could not take place until after mud bugging. Imagine a reception in a garage. Imagine centerpieces made out of Budweiser cans. Imaging dinner at the reception being hunted for at the bachelor party. And finally imaging more illegitimate children than teeth. Sadly I don't have to image, I have seen.

To get a taste of the fun check out this news report on a couple who took part in this television classic.

Emerging Adulthood

2008-01-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I enjoy about working with a new church staff is the amount of conceptual interaction that takes place between the two pastors and myself. Sometimes the amount of articles that get passed around can get overwhelming, especially since they seem to have saved a years worth for me when I arrived.

This weekend, I was reading through the current issue of Books & Culture, a great magazine that reviews a variety of books from a Christian perspective. The article the grabbed my attention the most was on the concept of "Emerging Adulthood." Just like the concept of a distinct period between childhood and adulthood emerged in the transition from the 19th to the 20th Century, what we now call adolescence, there seems to be a similar development taking place with folks in their twenties, even into the early thirties for some. A number of transition markers that used to welcome people more clearly into adulthood proper have been moving back later into life. Longer time in college, increasing numbers of people continuing in grad school, later first marriages, and later first children, have all contributed to this stage, called by some, "Emerging Adulthood."

I copied the article, knowing that both pastors would enjoy the read. The three of us had lunch today, where I found out that this is a topic that the two of them had been talking about in somewhat different terms. My senior pastor also had an article to share that covered similar ground. We are working on a Family Life Cycle focus of ministry for the church and are hoping to incorporate the research on this age group into our work.

To that end, I post this here seeking not merely to share office discussions, but to entreat input from other who find themselves in, know people in, or have recently emerged from this "Emerging Adulthood." If you skim through the complete article and have a thought on how a church can approach ministry with a mind and heart for "Emerging Adults" I would love to know what you think.

Shy Baby

2008-01-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, Andrea and I were again in for an ultrasound, this time to get the low down on whether we are going to have a boy or girl. Despite having been told that no one cares about that bit of information the last time we were in the office, we returned with our hopes to know and our cares to know for ourselves intact. From the start our little one was all action. The ultrasound tech even asked Andrea what she had for breakfast that might have gotten our kid so wound up. Nothing but toast, we might be in for it with this little bundle of energy. So, after giving the tech a fit moving all over that place while she tried to get still shots of the heart, spin, and other body parts, attention was turned to identifying just what kind of kid we have bouncing round in there. Naturally, that is the time when shyness took over. No more movement and no clear shot could be found to determine if we had been looking at a boy or girl. So anyone hoping to get a jump on your gift shopping will have to wait to learn whether you need to buy blue or pink.

First Pictures

2007-12-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

Last week we got our first pictures of the newest Rueter. We will not find out if we are having a boy or a girl until the 27th, but until that time enjoy a great shot of our little bundle mouth wide open yawning.

Not your average Christmas Carol

2007-12-12T17:17:00.000-08:00

I was just down the street from the church having a bit to eat at Jack in the Box. As I was enjoying (not greatly but I was hungry and cannot go home until the two youth groups are over tonight) by burger, I started to notice that the music being played was just awful. Now, I expect to hear the occasional cheesy hip-hop Christmas redux, but really they just came one right after another, to the point that I really could not get my burger and fries eaten fast enough.

Naturally this reminded me of a music video I found earlier this week while looking for odd items for use in Confirmation (don't ask). So, here is an old school heavy metal redux by Twisted Sister for your enjoyment.

Drug Commercials

2007-12-05T18:04:00.001-08:00

This morning I was with my wife at the doctor and then at Quest Diagnostics for a couple of basic tests. While sitting in the waiting room, I was watching a bit of TV. Now by TV I don't mean Sport Center or The View, instead they have this channel of health information with the Indian version of John Smith (Sanjay Gupta just seems to be such a generic Indian name). As I was watching yet another commercial I was struck with the thought that I just don't recall watching commercials for medications as a kid. I commented to Andrea that I thought that the numbers of aging boomers must be why I get the pleasure of the latest Mirapex commercial.

Speaking of Mirapex, seriously do you listen to the lists of side effects for these medications? Do yourself a favor and take the time to really think through some of these. Routinely you will find nausea and dry mouth. Often you will hear about the potential for bleeding. Mirapex, a medication to relieve restless leg syndrome, lists that one possible side effect is an increase in the urge to gamble. What!!!! I get my leg to hold still, but I have to play blackjack in order to accomplish this? Here is a direct quote from their web-site that patients have experiences "reported problems with gambling, compulsive eating, and increased sex drive." So does the restlessness just get transfered to something or someone else other than your leg? I am just asking. Oh the fun of modern medicine.

The Return of Buddy Christ

2007-12-04T18:18:00.000-08:00

For those of you who were fans of the Kevin Smith movie Dogma, you will love the new life of figures form Fishermen. My senior pastor must be starting to get my sense of humor because he wanted to make sure that I opening an advertisement for the Fishermen line of Jesus figures in front of him, just to see my reaction. I explained that my wife would be worried that I would want to buy some of these interesting takes on the "I am" statements of Christ.

So here they are "I am Freedom ", "I am Victory", "I am Peace", & "I am Spirit"

Simpsons The Donut

2007-12-03T20:31:00.000-08:00

Remember last summer when the Simpons Movie came out? I sure do, I took the gang from my old youth group to see it while at the National Youth Gathering in Orlando (I put it in the budget). Well you might also remember that there was a promo for the movie with a tie in at 7-Eleven. Well both are back. I was relieved to find out that with the release of the Simpsons Movie on DVD was forth coming, as I found the donuts on sale at a 7-Eleven in Rancho Cucamonga today. For a moment I thought they were truly pulling a Homer special (a really old forbidden for health reasons donut). Thank you, come again!

More Rueters

2007-11-16T09:01:00.000-08:00

I know that many of you have already heard, but Andrea and I are expecting our first child in May, the 15th to be exact. We could not be more excited and are glad for the excitement for us that many of our friends and families have shown as they learned of our news. Andrea is doing well, though she is really looking forward to the whole morning sickness thing to be over. According to the book I read last night our child is the size of a fist. That gives me some perspective but really it is still hard to get my head around even with the neat pictures in the book. People keep saying that I will make a good father. I know Andrea will be a good mother, but I am less sure about myself. Don't get me wrong, this kid will be well loved and cared for, but I just know I tend to be a softy and might really have to work on the whole authority of the dad kind of thing. I guess it is really time to grow up. Can't wait to meet the new little Rueter! Can't wait for you all to meet him/her!

Staying Connected

2007-11-12T15:01:00.001-08:00

I thought I doing well a couple of months ago when I had a flurry of posts. Well so much for that. In the past few months things have gotten just a bit crazy. We finished up our time at Faith Lutheran at the conclusion of the National Youth Gathering in Orlando at the beginning of August and after a week off, I began my new ministry at Shepherd of the Hills. Things have progressed well so far, but I have been overly busy.

I am in my next to last semester of doctoral courses. Getting the time to get ready for comp exams has not been simple.

The wife and I took a weekend off at the end of October to visit a great family, the Plechas's now of Colorado Springs. It really was not until I was out there that I caught on to what we all lost when they moved. We had such a great time visiting the Plechas family that I now really remember them every day as I drive by their old home off the 15 heading out to Rancho Cucamonga. We went to Focus on the Family, watched the World Series, and stayed up way to late on Saturday watching R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet. Jon & and Shannon thanks for a great weekend and for being two fantastic friends! We will be out again to see you.

Off to Houston

2007-07-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I head out to the great state of Texas, to serve as an advisory delegate for the LCMS Synodical Convention. I plan to bring plenty of reading material as I expect to find large periods of time where I will no longer be able to listen to the proceedings of the Convention. So why go you ask? Well, I am just sick enough to be curious to see how my church body goes about its business at its highest level. I am fascinated enough and besides I get a free trip out of it. I'll let you know if anything truly interesting takes place.

Rancho Cucamonga

2007-07-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I announced to my congregation that I would indeed be accepting the call to Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Rancho Cucamonga. As I thanked them I thank you for your prayers for my wife and I as we considered this change for our lives and ministry. I will be beginning in the I.E. in mid-August.