Friday is the day that Fry's has its weekly sale and it is always a source of entertainment for all of us geeks at work when the ad comes out. Yesterday was no exception. I walked over to "Paul's" office (see previous blog entries) to take a look at it since he gets the Friday paper. I look through it, see some interesting things and decide that I want to go "kick the tires" at Fry's during lunch. While this is not verbatim, it is close:
Me - "Hey Paul, wanna go to Fry's at lunch?"
Paul - "Sure, I need to pick up a few things. When do you go to lunch?"
Me - "Whenever I want, dude. Seriously, about 11:30 AM. Just let me scarf down my lunch and then we can go."
Paul - "Cool."
2 hours later.
Me - "Dude, you ready to go?"
Paul - "Yeah, let's go."
Me - "OK, just let me lock my office."
Paul - "I never lock my office."
We get in my truck, remove the sunshade, fire up the CD player and head to Fry's (which is about a ten minute drive).
Paul - "What are you listening to?"
Me - "POD's rendition of 'Bullet the Blue Sky' by U2. I am not sure if I like it or not. It is definitely heavier (which is an understatement)."
Paul - "Sounds cool."
Me - "Yeah, not bad for a CHRISTIAN band, eh (laughing...He had in the past says he never thought Christians could play cool music)?
Paul - "Well, it is not bad."
We arrive at Fry's and tell him to lead the way. I was just going to "kick tires" anyway. I did not have any schedule nor was I in a hurry. He heads for the home DVD players and shows me some of the latest models. I have to admit, they are nice. Sony and JVC both have models that will read almost any multimedia and play it back on your PC: Mp3, DVD, AVI's, DIVX, MPG ... they even have slots to read stuff from memory cards. THAT is nice. They are making the stereo system the media center now. I am impressed.
Paul picks out a silver JVC with blue lights (He has this thing for glowing blue lights...go figure) and we start walking towards the appliances.
Paul - "Dude, I need one of those small oven things that you can toast things in."
Me - "A 'Toaster Oven'?"
Paul - "Yea, one of those. They have one on sale for 15 bucks."
We go pick up one and a spindle of blank DVD's. On our way up to pay, I offer to carry the toaster oven, he hands it over, not sure why I would offer. I tell him that I am a nice guy and his friend. I want to carry it. He suddenly realizes he needs to get an rolling office chair for home. So we go back and pick up the one they have on sale for $40-50 (not sure). I hand him the toaster oven and pick up the chair.
Paul - "Dude, you don't have to carry that. We can get someone to help us."
Me - "It is not a big deal. You need anything else or do you want to head back?"
Paul - "What time did we leave?"
Me - "Not sure, but it was between 11:40 and noon."
Paul - "OK, let's go check out."
We walk up front carrying all this stuff and we get in line. He reaches in his back pocket and realizes:
Paul - "Dude, I forgot my wallet."
Me - "Are you serious? Really? Oh, man that is hilarious!"
Paul - "This is embarrassing. Man, we gotta go now."
Me - "OK, let me help you put this stuff back."
Paul - "What??"
Me - "It won't take long, we only have 4 things to put back on the shelves."
Paul - "Dude, that is what the workers here are supposed to do. I know, my friend works here. They look for stuff that is out of place so they have something to do."
Me - "Paul, that ain't right. I am going to put the chair back on the pallet where we got it."
Paul follows me and I can tell that he is not happy, but he says nothing. After I put back the chair, I turned around to head out and notice he has nothing in his hands."
Me - "Where is the DVD player, blank DVD's, and the toaster oven?"
Paul - "I put them down."
Me - "In the proper place?"
Paul - "Well...no. Dude it doesn't matter. The Fry's guys will find it and put it back and even if they don't, I am gonna come back after work and pick it up again. It will most likely still be where I put it."
Me - "(laughing) I will never be able to come in here again. I am going to have to shave my beard and head, wear contacts and dress like a bum before I can come back. You embarrassed me. Do you realize we have been filmed the entire time we have been here? We look like crooks (laughing harder)."
Paul - "No we don't...do we? Damn, we were being filmed. Crap. Uhhh, maybe I won't come back...(laughing)."
We drive back and I am still laughing at him for forgetting his wallet. He left it on his desk, in his UNLOCKED office. That boy is foolish.
Paul - "Dude, I am sorry about forgetting my wallet."
Me - "Paul, that is OK. I am not mad. It was fun until you refused to put back the stuff you ALMOST bought (laughing). I mean, we had the truck to put it in, but you blew it..."
Paul - "I will go back and get it after work."
Me - "Actually, this will be a funny addition to add to my blog."
Paul - "YOU ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO WRITE ABOUT ME IN YOUR BLOG??"
Me - "Dude, you are already in there many times."
Paul - "(laughing)...WHAT?"
Me - "Yep. You do it, I blog it."
Paul - "Dude, you are so going to get fired."
Me - "I only print what is true. If I got fired for blogging, I would sue on principle alone.
I have to admit that I had fun. Paul* will see the light, eventually. He is a good guy. He is a very kind person, very giving. He has a few bad habits (OK, a lot of them). He is like a lump of coal waiting to be pressed into a shiny diamond.
I think he finally realizes that all his extra curricular drug use is getting to him. He has been taking Paxil (I think) and wants to add Wellbutrin to his daily regiment. I personally do not think he needs it, but I am not doctor. I think that if he just changed his environment, he would benefit greatly. Too many of his "friends" use drugs recreationally, and he does it to fit it. He is 30, trying to act 20-ish. I do not say these things out of malice. I care for him in a way a Christian cares about those close to him. While we are worlds apart, I understand him.
On the way to Fry's we chatted about our old boss, Jorge**. Jorge was laid off the same time I got demoted about 3 years ago, do to RIF's (Reduction In Force aka layoffs). We had too many mgrs so they trimmed a lot of fat. I was a supervisor and was busted down to a regular line employee (although my HR title still said supervisor) for my day to day work.
I was supposed to have lunch with him today, but he had to work overtime. I cannot blame him, I am sure he could use the cash. After he was laid off (which was when the unemployment rate in this area was pretty bad), he never was able to find a job that paid his bills. He lost the house he just bought and his car (I believe) and was forced to move in with his parents who live an hour away. He takes the train every day to work where he work on a help desk, a position well beneath his ability, but it is what God wants him to do. Jorge is growing stronger in his faith, just as I am. God had to tear him down to show him who was in charge and it was a painful lesson. One that I am sure I would have trouble dealing with. It seems that Jorge is doing ok with it. I know it has been tough, but he has not shown me that he is bitter.
One last update. I went to the doctor Thursday. It was the first time in 4 years I have gone. I guess I am just scared of being told bad news. Anyway, my wife asked me to go. I kept putting it off, but finally:
Wife - "El Gee***, I want you do do something for me on your birthday."
Me - "What can I do for you?"
Wife - "Go get a physical. Please. It has been 4 years. I want them to look at that thing on your elbow (it turns out that it was a wart that only partially healed, so it look weird), and your hip that is giving you problems (I was thinking that it might be arthritis, but the doc does not think so. He is not sure what it is, but it may be muscular) and blood work."
Me - "Ok, I will go. Make me the appointment and I will go. If I did not love you I would not go, so remember that! (smiling)"
Wife - "Oh THANK YOU, El Gee!"
Friday the doctor's office called and all my blood work came back normal except my cholesterol is a bit high (210-217). Not in the danger zone, but elevated enough that they want me to watch my diet and get more cardio-vascular exercise. I just need to go figure out what I can eat that will help lower my "bad" cholesterol.
The doctor gave me to scripts for a muscle relaxant and an anti-inflammatory to see if that helps my neck and hip. I have still not filled it. I hate taking meds worse than going to the doc.
OK, I have bored you enough. Back to your life :-).
*Paul is not his real name. I do not use real names unless that person gives me permission to do so.
**Jorge is not his real name. See above.
***Do you really think that El Gee is my name?
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Friday, July 29, 2005
Just in Time for the World Cup
100 hookers will be ready to service the attendees of the 2006 World cup held in Berlin.
Sex for sale is legal in some parts of Europe. I know this is offensive to many. The world's oldest profession is just as hooked on capitalism as the US is. The World Cup draws thousands of spectators every year to cities all around the world where the event is held. Now that it is being held in Germany where prostitution is regulated and legal, a MAJOR amount of cash will be infused into the economy of Berlin.
In the US, the only state (that I am aware of) to have legalized prostitution is Nevada. No other state wants to go as far as NV has. American's are normally more conservative about sexuality than most Europeans, so I am sure that is part of the reason we do not have more legalized sex shops.
I often put on my secular hat to see what that crowd thinks about the legalization of prostitution in the US. Most of the men I ask see no big deal in it. Most women are disgusted by it...even from a secular perspective. This only stands to reason since men and women (even in a Christian context) view sex differently. That however is a topic for a different post.
I am sure you could make good arguments for legalizing the prostitution, just as you could for legalizing marijuana. I would listen, but I doubt I would agree. Now the big question is, if prostitution were made legal, how would this affect the male Christian community. It is not secret some Christian males have problem with this sort of thing in the first place. Getting caught today would mean a fine and public shame. If prostitution were made legal, would that open the door for more men to seek the "comfort" or "escape" in the bed of a whore? It might. Christian men will have weaker flesh than Christian women. That is a fact. The only fear they would have would be of their wives/girl friends finding out. What about single Christian men? If they do not have an accountability partner, then they are ripe for the picking. There is nothing more appealing to Satan than seeing one of God's children fall. That is what he lives for.
Several European countries have "red light" districts where men can "window shop" for exactly what they are looking for. I personally think it is a bit degrading. Women in the US are concerned about exploitation and women in Europe are fueling that same exploitation by selling their bodies for the almighty dollar (or franc, lire, kronor, pound, etc). To me this set women's rights back 100 years. If I heard a women in Europe say "we cannot get promoted in our company, because it is a male dominated place", I would think, "Hmmm...maybe women are not taken seriously because a few want to make a statement that selling their bodies to get somewhere is OK."
Getting back to the article, it was nice to read that the mayor is not happy with the decision. That is some comfort.
Sex for sale is legal in some parts of Europe. I know this is offensive to many. The world's oldest profession is just as hooked on capitalism as the US is. The World Cup draws thousands of spectators every year to cities all around the world where the event is held. Now that it is being held in Germany where prostitution is regulated and legal, a MAJOR amount of cash will be infused into the economy of Berlin.
In the US, the only state (that I am aware of) to have legalized prostitution is Nevada. No other state wants to go as far as NV has. American's are normally more conservative about sexuality than most Europeans, so I am sure that is part of the reason we do not have more legalized sex shops.
I often put on my secular hat to see what that crowd thinks about the legalization of prostitution in the US. Most of the men I ask see no big deal in it. Most women are disgusted by it...even from a secular perspective. This only stands to reason since men and women (even in a Christian context) view sex differently. That however is a topic for a different post.
I am sure you could make good arguments for legalizing the prostitution, just as you could for legalizing marijuana. I would listen, but I doubt I would agree. Now the big question is, if prostitution were made legal, how would this affect the male Christian community. It is not secret some Christian males have problem with this sort of thing in the first place. Getting caught today would mean a fine and public shame. If prostitution were made legal, would that open the door for more men to seek the "comfort" or "escape" in the bed of a whore? It might. Christian men will have weaker flesh than Christian women. That is a fact. The only fear they would have would be of their wives/girl friends finding out. What about single Christian men? If they do not have an accountability partner, then they are ripe for the picking. There is nothing more appealing to Satan than seeing one of God's children fall. That is what he lives for.
Several European countries have "red light" districts where men can "window shop" for exactly what they are looking for. I personally think it is a bit degrading. Women in the US are concerned about exploitation and women in Europe are fueling that same exploitation by selling their bodies for the almighty dollar (or franc, lire, kronor, pound, etc). To me this set women's rights back 100 years. If I heard a women in Europe say "we cannot get promoted in our company, because it is a male dominated place", I would think, "Hmmm...maybe women are not taken seriously because a few want to make a statement that selling their bodies to get somewhere is OK."
Getting back to the article, it was nice to read that the mayor is not happy with the decision. That is some comfort.
Monday, July 25, 2005
Does ANYONE Listen Anymore?
Part of my job requires me to provide technical support to people who have laptops with a specific piece of encryption software installed. The software is not hard to use, but it does take time unlock it properly. It is a long process to unlock an encrypted hard drive. You have to pay close attention and not make any mistakes, lest you have to start all over from the beginning. I have to do about 5 a day, on average. Monday's are heavier, though. I get 8-18 on Monday, many from people outside the US. Language is sometimes and issue, but I can usually work around that. No my problems are usually with those customers who speak English as a primary language.
I will call up the customer, identify myself, have them verify their ID to me so I can be sure I have the correct person/PC combo and begin the process. I always explain slowly what I have to do and what the customer has to do. They are usually in a big hurry and say, "Yes, yes, let's get on with this...", so we start.
During the interactive process, I will instruct the caller to do a variety of things (press the tab key 4 times or right click on something or enter a NEW passcode, etc) and all the customer has to do is follow my simple instructions to the letter. Inevitably I will have someone who will not listen to ANYTHING I tell them and the 5 minute process takes 20 minutes:
Me - "Ok, press the Control, the Alt, and the Delete key all at the same time to reboot the PC."
Customer - "Do I have to reboot?"
Me - "Yes. If you do not, the decryption will fail and we will have to start over."
Customer - "Is it really necessary to reboot? I do not have all day."
Me - "Yes, it is. The software is very sensitive to mistakes, so it is best we reboot."
Customer - "Ok, but I think this is a waste of time..."
Now had they just rebooted like I instructed them, they would have been ready to start by the time I was finished explaining the reasons.
Or how about this one:
Me - "Ok, now all you have to do is assign yourself a new Password. It can be letters, numbers or a combination of letters and numbers."
Customer - "Can I use numbers?"
Me - "Yes, you can."
Customer - "Can I use letters?"
Me - "Yes, you can use letters or numbers."
Customer - "How many?"
Me - "It has to be at least 6 letters or numbers"
Customer - "Can I use just numbers?"
Me - (weeps)
This is not an uncommon occurrence to those who work in tech support, and am guessing that it is not uncommon in the world of customer service, either.
Part of our security process is designed to keep unauthorized users from "borrowing" someone's laptop and using it without their knowledge. We get plenty of calls from people trying to use a PC without authorization. Many times I will look up the caller info and match it to the ticket info and it will not marry up, so I call the "owner" of the PC to get to the bottom of the issue and then I am told something like, "Mary is on vacation and told me I could use her laptop while she was gone. I think I locked out the PC."
Me - "Ok, did she create you a temporary account so you can use the PC?"
Customer - "No, she told me just to use her ID and PW."
Me - "Hmm, that is a violation of your companies security policy. I will have to call 'Mary" and get her approval to let you in the PC."
Customer - "But she is on vacation in Aruba, you will never get her."
Me - "Then you will not be allowed to use her PC, unless her boss OK's it...shall I call him?"
Customer - "Uhhh, no."
I guess I am just spoiled. When I call tech support / customer service, I always have a pen and paper handy to take notes. Habit, I am sure, but at least I do not ask too many dumb questions. Whoever said there is no such thing as a dumb question, only dumb answers never worked in tech support. I Gair-on-teee (end Justin Wilson Voice)
I will call up the customer, identify myself, have them verify their ID to me so I can be sure I have the correct person/PC combo and begin the process. I always explain slowly what I have to do and what the customer has to do. They are usually in a big hurry and say, "Yes, yes, let's get on with this...", so we start.
During the interactive process, I will instruct the caller to do a variety of things (press the tab key 4 times or right click on something or enter a NEW passcode, etc) and all the customer has to do is follow my simple instructions to the letter. Inevitably I will have someone who will not listen to ANYTHING I tell them and the 5 minute process takes 20 minutes:
Me - "Ok, press the Control, the Alt, and the Delete key all at the same time to reboot the PC."
Customer - "Do I have to reboot?"
Me - "Yes. If you do not, the decryption will fail and we will have to start over."
Customer - "Is it really necessary to reboot? I do not have all day."
Me - "Yes, it is. The software is very sensitive to mistakes, so it is best we reboot."
Customer - "Ok, but I think this is a waste of time..."
Now had they just rebooted like I instructed them, they would have been ready to start by the time I was finished explaining the reasons.
Or how about this one:
Me - "Ok, now all you have to do is assign yourself a new Password. It can be letters, numbers or a combination of letters and numbers."
Customer - "Can I use numbers?"
Me - "Yes, you can."
Customer - "Can I use letters?"
Me - "Yes, you can use letters or numbers."
Customer - "How many?"
Me - "It has to be at least 6 letters or numbers"
Customer - "Can I use just numbers?"
Me - (weeps)
This is not an uncommon occurrence to those who work in tech support, and am guessing that it is not uncommon in the world of customer service, either.
Part of our security process is designed to keep unauthorized users from "borrowing" someone's laptop and using it without their knowledge. We get plenty of calls from people trying to use a PC without authorization. Many times I will look up the caller info and match it to the ticket info and it will not marry up, so I call the "owner" of the PC to get to the bottom of the issue and then I am told something like, "Mary is on vacation and told me I could use her laptop while she was gone. I think I locked out the PC."
Me - "Ok, did she create you a temporary account so you can use the PC?"
Customer - "No, she told me just to use her ID and PW."
Me - "Hmm, that is a violation of your companies security policy. I will have to call 'Mary" and get her approval to let you in the PC."
Customer - "But she is on vacation in Aruba, you will never get her."
Me - "Then you will not be allowed to use her PC, unless her boss OK's it...shall I call him?"
Customer - "Uhhh, no."
I guess I am just spoiled. When I call tech support / customer service, I always have a pen and paper handy to take notes. Habit, I am sure, but at least I do not ask too many dumb questions. Whoever said there is no such thing as a dumb question, only dumb answers never worked in tech support. I Gair-on-teee (end Justin Wilson Voice)
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Get Over It!
Ok, we have had bombings in the UK subways and buses. New York City has decided that it wants to be more proactive and start doing random searches. People are upset, saying "it imposes on their civil liberties". WAKE UP! If the police did not search and something (God forbid) disastrous happen, you would blame the police for not doing more.
Lessee, we cannot put up cameras to remotely watch and we cannot search people. What would you bleeding heart, commie liberals want the government do? Huh? Secure the borders? We cannot do that, or your watchdog group, the ACLU would say we are infringing on the people's civil rights to enter this country. Our government cannot win. Silly liberals will not allow it.
Ok I am off my soapbox now.
Lessee, we cannot put up cameras to remotely watch and we cannot search people. What would you bleeding heart, commie liberals want the government do? Huh? Secure the borders? We cannot do that, or your watchdog group, the ACLU would say we are infringing on the people's civil rights to enter this country. Our government cannot win. Silly liberals will not allow it.
Ok I am off my soapbox now.
More Bombings
Citizens of London were treated with more bombings or attempts at bombings today. Prime Minister Tony Blair says incidents designed "to scare people and frighten them". DUH! That is the definition of "terrorist". Mr. Blair is making himself sound silly. Which reminds me, Matt Drudge had a link to ifilm.com (I think) of a video that Greenpeace has put together asking Blair not to be GWB's puppet. The video was very graphic and I will not link to it. All I will say is that blair is depicted as a puppet dressed up as a prostitute, who gets picked up by GWB, taken to a hotel and the puppet performs a rather lewd act on President Bush. the final scene is the most disturbing part, where a gas pump is depicted as a phallic device. I think Matt Drudge could have left the link to that video alone. BAD MATT!
I do feel sorry for the citizens of the UK. They are now caught up in the terror struggle as many other countries have. They have been dealing with the IRA bombings for years, but those have backed off some. Now they are dealing with the Islamo-fascists radicals. It is going to get ugly over there. One man even stated that this is the start of a 50 years Islamic war on the west. I hope he is wrong. (Kudos to Michelle Malkin)
I decided earlier this week to fast today. While I officially started at midnight, I have not eaten since 5:30 PM yesterday, so I am going on 18 hours without food, only water. I will continue today until midnight, then I may eat a light meal. I wanted to spend some time today in prayer, but that has not been easy (I have only prayed once so far, but read some from Psalms as well). We have been busy with several things I needed to work on, plus my boss has me following up on a few things as well.
I should be able to get so praying at my lunch time. I just have to remember to drink lots of water. I have consumed 40 ounces of water so far, and I do not feel bad. A little hungry, but not too bad. I hope to be able to fast 1-2 times a month for 24 hours. if I get a stretch where I am not working, I might try 48 hours. I have a need to keep my sugar level higher than most, but I am usually not to bad as long as I rest during the day.
* Please pray for my job situation and for people whom I care about greatly who are not Christians.
I have avoided the message board and the chat room where "Flute" hangs out. I miss it, but I think I need to purge myself of some of that activity.
I do feel sorry for the citizens of the UK. They are now caught up in the terror struggle as many other countries have. They have been dealing with the IRA bombings for years, but those have backed off some. Now they are dealing with the Islamo-fascists radicals. It is going to get ugly over there. One man even stated that this is the start of a 50 years Islamic war on the west. I hope he is wrong. (Kudos to Michelle Malkin)
I decided earlier this week to fast today. While I officially started at midnight, I have not eaten since 5:30 PM yesterday, so I am going on 18 hours without food, only water. I will continue today until midnight, then I may eat a light meal. I wanted to spend some time today in prayer, but that has not been easy (I have only prayed once so far, but read some from Psalms as well). We have been busy with several things I needed to work on, plus my boss has me following up on a few things as well.
I should be able to get so praying at my lunch time. I just have to remember to drink lots of water. I have consumed 40 ounces of water so far, and I do not feel bad. A little hungry, but not too bad. I hope to be able to fast 1-2 times a month for 24 hours. if I get a stretch where I am not working, I might try 48 hours. I have a need to keep my sugar level higher than most, but I am usually not to bad as long as I rest during the day.
* Please pray for my job situation and for people whom I care about greatly who are not Christians.
I have avoided the message board and the chat room where "Flute" hangs out. I miss it, but I think I need to purge myself of some of that activity.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Changes
First the GOOD news. Our son wrote and he is doing fine. He will graduate on time, even though Hurricane Dennis dumped a ton of water on them. They have been doing clean up activities that will keep them from enjoying the last week of BT (which is a free floating week, normally). He is very upbeat, even though he had to report that there have been two deaths at Fort Benning while he has been there. First, an Army Ranger was crushed when a HumVee that was being pushed UP a hill, got free and ran him over. I almost cried for that man and his family.
The second death was heat related. That prompted our son to write a separate letter to me to warn me about working so hard in the Texas sun without water. I will follow his advise. I figure he is smarted than I am at this point on that.
I am excited about going to see him in a few weeks. I miss my boy!
Now for the bad news...
We received notice recently that our CEO was implementing changes at our company. The details have been made public, so I am not doing anything illegal by posting this. The changes affect everyone in the company in one way or another. The changes that WILL affect me are pension plans and the 401k company match.
Retirement is something that we all look forward to. I was hoping that the company I work for would provide 25% of my retirement money, Social Security about 25% and personal savings the other 50%. With the new plan, I stop accruing pension money on December 31st, 2005. The amount that I have accrued is pretty small (I have only been with the company 2 years), it was growing. I have never been able to retire from a company and I was really looking forward to growing old with my current company and collecting a small but important pension with them.
The second thing that will affect me is the company matched 401k plan. I currently have 5% and the company contributes 4%. Under the new plan, I will get 5% match on my 5% contribution, with a match of up to 6%. I will most likely increase my contributions the first of next year.
Here is what is disappointing thing about the retirement change: I have worked for 4 major companies that offered retirement. 3 of them I became vested in, so when I left, I got the money in the form of check that I could either roll over to an IRA or spend. In the two cases in the past where I left the company, I cashed in one (it was$500 or so) and rolled over the other ($11,000) to an IRA. My last company had a CAP plan that I invested money in 401k as well as a retirement plan. I rolled both of them over. They are now valued at less than a years worth of living expenses.
Now I work for a new company (as of two years ago), and I am vested in the company. My "pension" will freeze on December 31st, 2005 and whatever it is valued at, I will get. I am not sure how much that is. I have only 2 years of pension, so I am sure it will be less than $5,000...way less. The last time that I checked, it was an annuity of less than $50 a month. So I am sure it will be a lump sum payout, being taxed out the wazoo. If I could roll it over tax free, my IRA would get a boost :-) .
Now third thing may not affect me, but it could. They have announced WFR's (Work Force Reductions) ... 14,500 people world-wide over the next 1.5 years, starting in October. Half of the reductions are coming from "global" groups that do not affect me, but the other half could. I have been told that 2,000 people have accepted an enhanced voluntary severance package, so that will help some. Early retirement will help some as well. I will keep my options open. If I am a WFR recipient, then we will be ok for 3-6 months or so. We have ways of cutting back at home to allow us more time, plus I will qualify for unemployment (which will pay the mortgage). I have some money saved if I cannot find a job immediately and I can always hit up Christianjobs.com :-) .
The second death was heat related. That prompted our son to write a separate letter to me to warn me about working so hard in the Texas sun without water. I will follow his advise. I figure he is smarted than I am at this point on that.
I am excited about going to see him in a few weeks. I miss my boy!
Now for the bad news...
We received notice recently that our CEO was implementing changes at our company. The details have been made public, so I am not doing anything illegal by posting this. The changes affect everyone in the company in one way or another. The changes that WILL affect me are pension plans and the 401k company match.
Retirement is something that we all look forward to. I was hoping that the company I work for would provide 25% of my retirement money, Social Security about 25% and personal savings the other 50%. With the new plan, I stop accruing pension money on December 31st, 2005. The amount that I have accrued is pretty small (I have only been with the company 2 years), it was growing. I have never been able to retire from a company and I was really looking forward to growing old with my current company and collecting a small but important pension with them.
The second thing that will affect me is the company matched 401k plan. I currently have 5% and the company contributes 4%. Under the new plan, I will get 5% match on my 5% contribution, with a match of up to 6%. I will most likely increase my contributions the first of next year.
Here is what is disappointing thing about the retirement change: I have worked for 4 major companies that offered retirement. 3 of them I became vested in, so when I left, I got the money in the form of check that I could either roll over to an IRA or spend. In the two cases in the past where I left the company, I cashed in one (it was$500 or so) and rolled over the other ($11,000) to an IRA. My last company had a CAP plan that I invested money in 401k as well as a retirement plan. I rolled both of them over. They are now valued at less than a years worth of living expenses.
Now I work for a new company (as of two years ago), and I am vested in the company. My "pension" will freeze on December 31st, 2005 and whatever it is valued at, I will get. I am not sure how much that is. I have only 2 years of pension, so I am sure it will be less than $5,000...way less. The last time that I checked, it was an annuity of less than $50 a month. So I am sure it will be a lump sum payout, being taxed out the wazoo. If I could roll it over tax free, my IRA would get a boost :-) .
Now third thing may not affect me, but it could. They have announced WFR's (Work Force Reductions) ... 14,500 people world-wide over the next 1.5 years, starting in October. Half of the reductions are coming from "global" groups that do not affect me, but the other half could. I have been told that 2,000 people have accepted an enhanced voluntary severance package, so that will help some. Early retirement will help some as well. I will keep my options open. If I am a WFR recipient, then we will be ok for 3-6 months or so. We have ways of cutting back at home to allow us more time, plus I will qualify for unemployment (which will pay the mortgage). I have some money saved if I cannot find a job immediately and I can always hit up Christianjobs.com :-) .
Monday, July 18, 2005
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
This has been around once before, but it looks like it is making a comeback. Read the article. I am not happy with what I am reading.
EBONICS is not a "foreign" language. It is black slang. When I hear it, I am immediately offended. The US has a defacto language and it is English. If that language is not acceptable then I suggest moving to Ebonia (I assume that is the country that Ebonics is spoken in...) and practice your mother tongue, Ebonics.
This whole idea is riddled with problems Why should a group of people who have been living in the US for hundreds of years be allowed to create their own language and have it become an OFFICIALLY taught language in school? EBONICS is not a language in Africa. If the people who want this are confusing laziness with culture, then The Asians and the Latino's can have a separate language (different from the languages in Asia and the Hispanic countries) all to their own and we can teach that as well. For our Asian-American citizens, including Michelle Malkin** :-) , we can make "Engrish" their official language and for our Latin brothers and sisters, "Spanglish" can be their's*.
Wait a minute. Why stop there? Computer Nerds can an Geekonics or Dweebonics . I am sure there are many other languages that could be created if we just put our mind to it.
Back to seriousness. If EBONICS is declared a language, it is going to move segregation back 200 years. It is not a good idea? By the way, who has a degree in EBONICS anyway? I thought you had to be educated in a subject before you could teach it.
I say that we should just kill off all languages except 1. Call it "Common", just like in the D&D games and everyone can speak it. No special skills. Make it very basic so that the people who have trouble learning languages can master it in a short period of time.
Wait a minute. I think I know what they are trying to do...they are using reverse psychology. The educators are thinking that if black American's really want to have their own language, they will have to take classes in it and learn it just like we do any other language, including English. This will be frustrating and prove that it is not a language issue, but a laziness issue.
After considering that, I be 100%% in favor of EBONICS!
* I do not intend to offend anyone culture with my statements. People who know me know that I embrace other cultures and languages.
** Michelle is one of my favorite columnists on the planet. You really need to read her blog.
EBONICS is not a "foreign" language. It is black slang. When I hear it, I am immediately offended. The US has a defacto language and it is English. If that language is not acceptable then I suggest moving to Ebonia (I assume that is the country that Ebonics is spoken in...) and practice your mother tongue, Ebonics.
This whole idea is riddled with problems Why should a group of people who have been living in the US for hundreds of years be allowed to create their own language and have it become an OFFICIALLY taught language in school? EBONICS is not a language in Africa. If the people who want this are confusing laziness with culture, then The Asians and the Latino's can have a separate language (different from the languages in Asia and the Hispanic countries) all to their own and we can teach that as well. For our Asian-American citizens, including Michelle Malkin** :-) , we can make "Engrish" their official language and for our Latin brothers and sisters, "Spanglish" can be their's*.
Wait a minute. Why stop there? Computer Nerds can an Geekonics or Dweebonics . I am sure there are many other languages that could be created if we just put our mind to it.
Back to seriousness. If EBONICS is declared a language, it is going to move segregation back 200 years. It is not a good idea? By the way, who has a degree in EBONICS anyway? I thought you had to be educated in a subject before you could teach it.
I say that we should just kill off all languages except 1. Call it "Common", just like in the D&D games and everyone can speak it. No special skills. Make it very basic so that the people who have trouble learning languages can master it in a short period of time.
Wait a minute. I think I know what they are trying to do...they are using reverse psychology. The educators are thinking that if black American's really want to have their own language, they will have to take classes in it and learn it just like we do any other language, including English. This will be frustrating and prove that it is not a language issue, but a laziness issue.
After considering that, I be 100%% in favor of EBONICS!
* I do not intend to offend anyone culture with my statements. People who know me know that I embrace other cultures and languages.
** Michelle is one of my favorite columnists on the planet. You really need to read her blog.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Abuse of Power
I have about a 25 mile round trip to work and back each day. I COULD get on Central Expressway and increase that to 30 miles round trip and MAYBE go above 30 miles an hour, but I choose to go the back roads, rarely getting about 40 mph. That is ok with me, I enjoy the 30 minutes or so in a relatively stress-free drive, listening to 100.7 Christian talk radio. The drive is normally uneventful, but twice I have had the opportunity to assist during an auto accident (calling 911, making sure the victims are OK, etc). I feel that I am doing my duty as a citizen.
I see a lot of police cars on my drive. I think that is good...some of Texas' finest are patrolling our streets, looking to "protect and serve" the citizens of the Plano/Allen/Richardson area. Several times over the past few weeks I have witnessed what I believe to be an abuse of power. A police officer will come towards and intersection and instead of stopping, they will flash the lights and hit the siren and drive through,without stopping. then they turn off the lights and keep driving. I have witnessed this many times. Why? Were they responding to a call? I doubt it, since they were driving near the speed limit and we all know police officers rarely drive at the posted speed. Are they lazy? It seems to me it would be more trouble to hit the lights and siren and then look around the intersection than it would to just stop and resume when they are legally able. No I think it is the "because I can" mentality. I have been around several police officers and to be honest, I have less respect for them the older I get. It seems to me that they are only hiding out looking for speeders and stop sign runners...two items that they can use to generate revenue. I would like to think that my town is so light on crime the police do not have to worry about solving crimes like we see in Dallas, but to be honest, we cannot get our local PD to respond to legitimate complaints. My son was once attacked by several youths and being the law abiding citizens we are, took him to the PD to file a complaint. My son knew the perp so finding him should be easy. Effectively the police did nothing. They never arrested him. However, they can drive into my neighborhood and spot a car pointing south (when it should have been facing north) and write a ticket for it. I understood the reason (after someone explained it to me, although I still think it is like splitting hairs) for the ticket, but could not understand how a crime of violence took the back seat to a parking violation. Answer? The parking violation MAKES the city money. Chasing down a punk COSTS the city money.
Another example of why I have limited respect for our local law enforcement. When we moved to this town, the house had an alarm system and we were told that we could get 20% off of our home owners insurance if we had it approved by the city PD. So we call the PD and ask to get someone to look at our home. Well the officer walk the house and gives us a VERBAL list of what needs done. We ask him if he can give us a punch list so we can make sure we get it all and he says, "sure" and leaves. He says he will mail it to us. We never get it. So we call and he will not take our calls. We ask another officer and he says, "it is being worked on" and drops it. 4 years later and we still have not gotten our cert from the PD. Not that we need it. The cert was needed by Farm Bureau Insurance (I do not recommend them at all) but is not needed by Allstate Insurance.
There is an "urban legend" that police officers have a "quota" of tickets they need to write every month. Now officially there is not any such beast, but I have know police officers from 3 states and they all say the same thing. If you do not write a certain amount (the amount varies depending on time of year and the officer) of citations, your Captain will give you a hard time until you write more. Oddly enough, the city of Dallas is officially considering the use of quotas for its officers.
Abuse of power. Anyone want to go Dutch on a small island? The more people we get, the smaller the payment will be!
I see a lot of police cars on my drive. I think that is good...some of Texas' finest are patrolling our streets, looking to "protect and serve" the citizens of the Plano/Allen/Richardson area. Several times over the past few weeks I have witnessed what I believe to be an abuse of power. A police officer will come towards and intersection and instead of stopping, they will flash the lights and hit the siren and drive through,without stopping. then they turn off the lights and keep driving. I have witnessed this many times. Why? Were they responding to a call? I doubt it, since they were driving near the speed limit and we all know police officers rarely drive at the posted speed. Are they lazy? It seems to me it would be more trouble to hit the lights and siren and then look around the intersection than it would to just stop and resume when they are legally able. No I think it is the "because I can" mentality. I have been around several police officers and to be honest, I have less respect for them the older I get. It seems to me that they are only hiding out looking for speeders and stop sign runners...two items that they can use to generate revenue. I would like to think that my town is so light on crime the police do not have to worry about solving crimes like we see in Dallas, but to be honest, we cannot get our local PD to respond to legitimate complaints. My son was once attacked by several youths and being the law abiding citizens we are, took him to the PD to file a complaint. My son knew the perp so finding him should be easy. Effectively the police did nothing. They never arrested him. However, they can drive into my neighborhood and spot a car pointing south (when it should have been facing north) and write a ticket for it. I understood the reason (after someone explained it to me, although I still think it is like splitting hairs) for the ticket, but could not understand how a crime of violence took the back seat to a parking violation. Answer? The parking violation MAKES the city money. Chasing down a punk COSTS the city money.
Another example of why I have limited respect for our local law enforcement. When we moved to this town, the house had an alarm system and we were told that we could get 20% off of our home owners insurance if we had it approved by the city PD. So we call the PD and ask to get someone to look at our home. Well the officer walk the house and gives us a VERBAL list of what needs done. We ask him if he can give us a punch list so we can make sure we get it all and he says, "sure" and leaves. He says he will mail it to us. We never get it. So we call and he will not take our calls. We ask another officer and he says, "it is being worked on" and drops it. 4 years later and we still have not gotten our cert from the PD. Not that we need it. The cert was needed by Farm Bureau Insurance (I do not recommend them at all) but is not needed by Allstate Insurance.
There is an "urban legend" that police officers have a "quota" of tickets they need to write every month. Now officially there is not any such beast, but I have know police officers from 3 states and they all say the same thing. If you do not write a certain amount (the amount varies depending on time of year and the officer) of citations, your Captain will give you a hard time until you write more. Oddly enough, the city of Dallas is officially considering the use of quotas for its officers.
Abuse of power. Anyone want to go Dutch on a small island? The more people we get, the smaller the payment will be!
Thursday, July 14, 2005
"Brain Pills"?
This article is rather interesting, although I have read parts and/or similar things before. Science is progressing very rapidly in the field of medicines. The number and types of pills is staggering. Their use, like with many things can be a good or bad thing. While some of these are not addictive (most are not), you run into ethical questions as they become more widespread.
We know that God gave man the ability to learn...he wants us to gain knowledge. But he also wants us to come to him as children. Does he want us to "take the easy way" to our obtain our skills by popping a pill or is that a sin? What about events where a person is judged or graded. If they take a skill enhancing drug, is that unethical? Currently, it is. But the limits now are on PHYSICAL enhancement. What happens when we can take pills to increase our cognative output and/or sharpen our wit and go to a chess tourney or a math fair? Is it wrong then?
I think so. With all the advances in medicine come huge responsibility. We most likely will not be able to handle it. Someone is going to cheat. Will be able to stop them? Will we care?
Some of you may be asking, "Why all the concern?" Because it is cheating. We are turning our back more and more on cheaters. People who cheat will also lie and possibly steal. Even Christians. Yes, Christians cheat. We cheat on their taxes, we cheat the music world out of money by pirating mp3's, we cheat Bill Gates by copying Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows and installing them on their home PC's. We cheat on their spouses by allowing themselves to be tempted the offers of someone other than their mate. We as Christians cheat. We are living a lousy example to all the non-Christians we are trying to reach.
Cheating is easy. Taking a pill to enhance our performance is cheating. "OK, El Gee, I guess using your logic, taking Viagra or Cialis for 'men's performance issues' is cheating as well.'
No, it is not, unless you are being selfish about it. If you are only taking those drugs for your benefit, then it is cheating and a sin. If you are taking then for your wife's and your benefit, then you are being a responsible and loving husband. I could go on and get a bit graphic, but that is not really necessary. I think any intelligent adult can figure that out.
Now that I have gone in a completely different direction than intended, I will end this. Heaven knows where I will end up!
We know that God gave man the ability to learn...he wants us to gain knowledge. But he also wants us to come to him as children. Does he want us to "take the easy way" to our obtain our skills by popping a pill or is that a sin? What about events where a person is judged or graded. If they take a skill enhancing drug, is that unethical? Currently, it is. But the limits now are on PHYSICAL enhancement. What happens when we can take pills to increase our cognative output and/or sharpen our wit and go to a chess tourney or a math fair? Is it wrong then?
I think so. With all the advances in medicine come huge responsibility. We most likely will not be able to handle it. Someone is going to cheat. Will be able to stop them? Will we care?
Some of you may be asking, "Why all the concern?" Because it is cheating. We are turning our back more and more on cheaters. People who cheat will also lie and possibly steal. Even Christians. Yes, Christians cheat. We cheat on their taxes, we cheat the music world out of money by pirating mp3's, we cheat Bill Gates by copying Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows and installing them on their home PC's. We cheat on their spouses by allowing themselves to be tempted the offers of someone other than their mate. We as Christians cheat. We are living a lousy example to all the non-Christians we are trying to reach.
Cheating is easy. Taking a pill to enhance our performance is cheating. "OK, El Gee, I guess using your logic, taking Viagra or Cialis for 'men's performance issues' is cheating as well.'
No, it is not, unless you are being selfish about it. If you are only taking those drugs for your benefit, then it is cheating and a sin. If you are taking then for your wife's and your benefit, then you are being a responsible and loving husband. I could go on and get a bit graphic, but that is not really necessary. I think any intelligent adult can figure that out.
Now that I have gone in a completely different direction than intended, I will end this. Heaven knows where I will end up!
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Your Clothes Shouldn't Just "Fall Off"
No, I am not posting pics, as easy as that would be.
It looks like we have another wardrobe malfunction, this time involving Mariah Carey. I do not normally go to that web site, but it was linked from Matt Drudge's web site, "The Drudge Report". Thanks, Matt for letting us know the rich and famous can't keep their clothes on in public. Somehow this does not surprise me much.
Mariah is an entertainer. She moves a lot on stage. You would think that if this was not intentional that she would know to dress with that in mind. If you do not keep your parts in check, they are gonna escape when you start moving around. Makes sense, eh?
Why do women entertainers have to dress that way and act so surprised when these "accidents" happen? Don't they know that these types of things can happen?
Ok that makes 3 that I know of: Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Tara Reid. I am sure there will be more.
People wonder why we are getting rid of cable.
It looks like we have another wardrobe malfunction, this time involving Mariah Carey. I do not normally go to that web site, but it was linked from Matt Drudge's web site, "The Drudge Report". Thanks, Matt for letting us know the rich and famous can't keep their clothes on in public. Somehow this does not surprise me much.
Mariah is an entertainer. She moves a lot on stage. You would think that if this was not intentional that she would know to dress with that in mind. If you do not keep your parts in check, they are gonna escape when you start moving around. Makes sense, eh?
Why do women entertainers have to dress that way and act so surprised when these "accidents" happen? Don't they know that these types of things can happen?
Ok that makes 3 that I know of: Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Tara Reid. I am sure there will be more.
People wonder why we are getting rid of cable.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Sunday
I enjoy Sunday. Getting up a bit later than normal (7 AM sometimes if all goes well), a long leisurely walk with the dogs (although the normal routes through the 'burbs is getting BOR-ING), strong coffee with a touch too much flavored creamer, a light breakfast, updating my main web page (www.mistergeek.com), CHURCH (and lunch afterwards...ok so I like food...sue me), and just taking it easy. It is the Sabbath after all, we should at least try to honor it. My wife and I busted our humps to get all the house/yard work done on Saturday (my new mower and trimmer are just too nice. Not expensive, but powerful) so we could relax on Sunday. We even had time to walk at the local dog park that evening.
I did all the normal Sunday things, but I was blessed to add one new thing to that list (at least for that day): help a Christian brother with a computer problem (OK, I AM a geek). Michael "The Harley Nut" (his words, not mine) was having home network problems and asked me if I would assist. Of course I said yes. He came over and brought his router that was giving him trouble and we fiddled with it but could not get anywhere, so we went back to his place and did a bit more research. after a bit of time researching and troubleshooting, we determined his router (a brand I personally had never heard of) was acting way to flaky to use all the time, so we went to Sam's Club and got a new one (newer technology, faster, better range, etc) and hooked it up. While it took longer than we hoped, we finally got it done (consider it a warning when the box says "install it in 5 minutes and be secure in 10", that it will take much longer. To be honest the new data encryption was harder than I thought to set up, but that is not my area of expertise). Michael and I have some similarities. He spent a great deal of his earlier life in Wisconsin, and I was in WV early on, both in small towns. We both have been married, divorced, and remarried (to wonderful women, I must add!), both LOVE bratwurst and kraut, both are geeks, although my skills are a tiny bit more advanced than his. He is in the Diesel Industry, I am in I/T. We both like Tom Clancy novels and Sci-Fi movies. I think I have a movie buddy!
Michael is a wonderful guy. I really enjoyed spending time with him. To look at the two of us, you would never know we were friends. He is a biker and looks a bit like one (big guy, ponytail, rides a Harley, wears bibbed overalls a fair amount of the time, is a mechanic) where I am medium build, short hair, drives a small pickup truck and a minivan, wears khaki's and Polo shirts 98% of the time and works in I/T. While we have a lot in common, we would have never met had we not attended the same church. Church brings people together.
Because we have been placed together, Michael and I can begin sharing our lives and help each other with our struggles. We can grow even more.
Do not avoid talking to someone because they appear different from you. You might have more in common than you think you do. Open up. Open up to those older than you, to those less fortunate than you, those who are in a different line of work than you. Married people, open up to the singles. You were designed BY GOD to interact with others. Do not waste that my ignoring those who are different. I am so glad that Michael opened up to me. He has done me the favor. He may think that helping him with his router issue was helping him, but just between you and me, I was the one who was blessed that day.
Who knows, maybe Michael will give me ride on his bike.
I did all the normal Sunday things, but I was blessed to add one new thing to that list (at least for that day): help a Christian brother with a computer problem (OK, I AM a geek). Michael "The Harley Nut" (his words, not mine) was having home network problems and asked me if I would assist. Of course I said yes. He came over and brought his router that was giving him trouble and we fiddled with it but could not get anywhere, so we went back to his place and did a bit more research. after a bit of time researching and troubleshooting, we determined his router (a brand I personally had never heard of) was acting way to flaky to use all the time, so we went to Sam's Club and got a new one (newer technology, faster, better range, etc) and hooked it up. While it took longer than we hoped, we finally got it done (consider it a warning when the box says "install it in 5 minutes and be secure in 10", that it will take much longer. To be honest the new data encryption was harder than I thought to set up, but that is not my area of expertise). Michael and I have some similarities. He spent a great deal of his earlier life in Wisconsin, and I was in WV early on, both in small towns. We both have been married, divorced, and remarried (to wonderful women, I must add!), both LOVE bratwurst and kraut, both are geeks, although my skills are a tiny bit more advanced than his. He is in the Diesel Industry, I am in I/T. We both like Tom Clancy novels and Sci-Fi movies. I think I have a movie buddy!
Michael is a wonderful guy. I really enjoyed spending time with him. To look at the two of us, you would never know we were friends. He is a biker and looks a bit like one (big guy, ponytail, rides a Harley, wears bibbed overalls a fair amount of the time, is a mechanic) where I am medium build, short hair, drives a small pickup truck and a minivan, wears khaki's and Polo shirts 98% of the time and works in I/T. While we have a lot in common, we would have never met had we not attended the same church. Church brings people together.
Because we have been placed together, Michael and I can begin sharing our lives and help each other with our struggles. We can grow even more.
Do not avoid talking to someone because they appear different from you. You might have more in common than you think you do. Open up. Open up to those older than you, to those less fortunate than you, those who are in a different line of work than you. Married people, open up to the singles. You were designed BY GOD to interact with others. Do not waste that my ignoring those who are different. I am so glad that Michael opened up to me. He has done me the favor. He may think that helping him with his router issue was helping him, but just between you and me, I was the one who was blessed that day.
Who knows, maybe Michael will give me ride on his bike.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Big 'Ol Update
I am going to do one big post rather than several. Sorry if this is tougher on anyone who happens to read this, but it is my blog, 'k? :-)
First, I skipped my normal Tuesday evening volleyball game to go listen to Bishop EC Okoye from Nigeria give a lesson on prayer and fasting. It was very informative and it even got me to try it. Thursday evening, I skipped dinner and had a snack at about 9:30 PM. I went to bed that night knowing in my heart I needed to fast (my wife and I are struggling to figure out how to live on 1.2 incomes. Yes 1.2 . My wife has a part time job a few hours a week that we use as grocery money) to get some divine insight on our finances.
Before I went to bed, I grabbed my bible and headed out to the patio (it was late, 10-ish) to read and pray. After about 20-30 minutes I came in and started working on my Linux server (learning something like Linux is hard when you are old...) until about 1 AM Friday. I got up at 7-ish on Friday (not sure why since I was off that day) , walked the dogs and went out to help my wife trim the neighbors hedges and put down mulch (We only charged her for material, we donated the labor as a gift). We were done by noon or so. I had not had breakfast, coffee, or lunch at this point, only 40 ounces of water. When fasting, it is suggested that you limit your physical activity. I helped with some housework (laundry, vacuuming, changing the bedding, etc) and took 3-4 mini naps all day long. My body really zonks out if I do not eat every 6 hours or so, and this was the longest I had ever gone without food.
Before I took the dogs on their evening walk, my wife had begun preparing a late dinner of Mexican Chicken and Rice, one of my favorites. She did not know I was fasting (you are not supposed to announce to the world you are doing it. You can tell people AFTERWARDS, but is is not much of a sacrifice if you let people know. Anyoooo, after my wife started, she said she was given some divine insight that I was fasting and asked me, so I told her. It had been about 22 hours or so and I only had a couple more to go. I was hungry and weak. I had walked about 4 miles that day, worked out in the neighbor's yard, taken some junk to the dump, and a fair amount of house work. By 9:00 PM, I was ready for bed. I woke up at 11:00 PM a little hungry and since my fast was over, I allowed myself a small bowl of Mexican rice, a diet soda, and some yogurt. It is best to ease into fasting and ease out, which I did. I also prayed about 5 times during my fast as well as hit the bible (mostly Psalms) the same amount.
When I woke up, I was not overly hungry, but I allowed myself coffee and two small muffins. I walked about 2 miles or so and had a long talk with my wife about finances again, We are thinking about dropping cable, except for broadband to save money. We have not had the TV on in about a month or so and we have not missed it.
Next on my update is about my son. We received another letter from him Thursday and he was VERY upbeat and positive. He still misses everyone, but his resolve has grown stronger. He has taken it upon himself to become a bit of an Evangelist, speaking to about 20 of his platoon about Christ. He was able to witness to one young soldier and the soldier gave himself to Christ that following Sunday. I am so proud of him. I send him pictures of people he knows every now and then and I think he appreciates it.
He mentioned wanting to write to his friend Jory, who is also at BT right now. Jory's step-dad and his mother used to attend our church, but they have since moved on. I hope Lane responds to my e-mail requesting Jory's military mailing address.
I have been getting some updates from the newest addition to my spiritual family, "An-Anonymous-Angel". Although she is only 17, she is very wise for her years. Anyhooo, AAA has been kind enough to send me (and others as well) updates from her vacation. She is very involved in the German culture with dance and language and I am guessing other areas as well. I love getting updates and reading her Blog. She is a primary reason I continue to blog today. I was almost ready to close my blogger account when I got an anonymous e-mail from her encouraging me to continue. I was floored. Here I was a 40 year old "re-born again" (this is not a misprint, I gave my life to God 10 years ago, but I never FULLY gave it to him until 2004) who was being encouraged by someone, who I thought from reading her mail, a 20 something child of God. Me, an infant in the spiritual sense, being edified and a minor inspiration to someone, YOUNGER than me in age but much older in the spiritual sense. Wow.
Sorry to drone on about that, but AAA has given me an uplifted spirit and it is hard to contain at times. I hope she excels in quest of music. She has a heart of gold. She is exactly the type of gal I would want my son to marry (and respect).
I wanted to add one thing about the bombings in London. It pains me to know that terrorists are targeting civilians like this. This last attack was a well thought out and coordinated plan. Did you know that each of the 4 bombs used less than 10 lbs of explosives? The three subway bombs went of within 50 seconds of each other.
My heart and prayers go out to citizens of the UK. You have been relatively terror free for several years (the IRA has been a bit quiet, thankfully) and you now are facing the same threat we are. God Bless You and Protect You.
First, I skipped my normal Tuesday evening volleyball game to go listen to Bishop EC Okoye from Nigeria give a lesson on prayer and fasting. It was very informative and it even got me to try it. Thursday evening, I skipped dinner and had a snack at about 9:30 PM. I went to bed that night knowing in my heart I needed to fast (my wife and I are struggling to figure out how to live on 1.2 incomes. Yes 1.2 . My wife has a part time job a few hours a week that we use as grocery money) to get some divine insight on our finances.
Before I went to bed, I grabbed my bible and headed out to the patio (it was late, 10-ish) to read and pray. After about 20-30 minutes I came in and started working on my Linux server (learning something like Linux is hard when you are old...) until about 1 AM Friday. I got up at 7-ish on Friday (not sure why since I was off that day) , walked the dogs and went out to help my wife trim the neighbors hedges and put down mulch (We only charged her for material, we donated the labor as a gift). We were done by noon or so. I had not had breakfast, coffee, or lunch at this point, only 40 ounces of water. When fasting, it is suggested that you limit your physical activity. I helped with some housework (laundry, vacuuming, changing the bedding, etc) and took 3-4 mini naps all day long. My body really zonks out if I do not eat every 6 hours or so, and this was the longest I had ever gone without food.
Before I took the dogs on their evening walk, my wife had begun preparing a late dinner of Mexican Chicken and Rice, one of my favorites. She did not know I was fasting (you are not supposed to announce to the world you are doing it. You can tell people AFTERWARDS, but is is not much of a sacrifice if you let people know. Anyoooo, after my wife started, she said she was given some divine insight that I was fasting and asked me, so I told her. It had been about 22 hours or so and I only had a couple more to go. I was hungry and weak. I had walked about 4 miles that day, worked out in the neighbor's yard, taken some junk to the dump, and a fair amount of house work. By 9:00 PM, I was ready for bed. I woke up at 11:00 PM a little hungry and since my fast was over, I allowed myself a small bowl of Mexican rice, a diet soda, and some yogurt. It is best to ease into fasting and ease out, which I did. I also prayed about 5 times during my fast as well as hit the bible (mostly Psalms) the same amount.
When I woke up, I was not overly hungry, but I allowed myself coffee and two small muffins. I walked about 2 miles or so and had a long talk with my wife about finances again, We are thinking about dropping cable, except for broadband to save money. We have not had the TV on in about a month or so and we have not missed it.
Next on my update is about my son. We received another letter from him Thursday and he was VERY upbeat and positive. He still misses everyone, but his resolve has grown stronger. He has taken it upon himself to become a bit of an Evangelist, speaking to about 20 of his platoon about Christ. He was able to witness to one young soldier and the soldier gave himself to Christ that following Sunday. I am so proud of him. I send him pictures of people he knows every now and then and I think he appreciates it.
He mentioned wanting to write to his friend Jory, who is also at BT right now. Jory's step-dad and his mother used to attend our church, but they have since moved on. I hope Lane responds to my e-mail requesting Jory's military mailing address.
I have been getting some updates from the newest addition to my spiritual family, "An-Anonymous-Angel". Although she is only 17, she is very wise for her years. Anyhooo, AAA has been kind enough to send me (and others as well) updates from her vacation. She is very involved in the German culture with dance and language and I am guessing other areas as well. I love getting updates and reading her Blog. She is a primary reason I continue to blog today. I was almost ready to close my blogger account when I got an anonymous e-mail from her encouraging me to continue. I was floored. Here I was a 40 year old "re-born again" (this is not a misprint, I gave my life to God 10 years ago, but I never FULLY gave it to him until 2004) who was being encouraged by someone, who I thought from reading her mail, a 20 something child of God. Me, an infant in the spiritual sense, being edified and a minor inspiration to someone, YOUNGER than me in age but much older in the spiritual sense. Wow.
Sorry to drone on about that, but AAA has given me an uplifted spirit and it is hard to contain at times. I hope she excels in quest of music. She has a heart of gold. She is exactly the type of gal I would want my son to marry (and respect).
I wanted to add one thing about the bombings in London. It pains me to know that terrorists are targeting civilians like this. This last attack was a well thought out and coordinated plan. Did you know that each of the 4 bombs used less than 10 lbs of explosives? The three subway bombs went of within 50 seconds of each other.
My heart and prayers go out to citizens of the UK. You have been relatively terror free for several years (the IRA has been a bit quiet, thankfully) and you now are facing the same threat we are. God Bless You and Protect You.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Sometimes, You Just Cannot Win
I am a regular on a web board that caters to geeks and the I/T crowd. We post about a range of subjects, sometimes the posts are not very friendly and some heated discussions can occur. The moderators usually step in and keep order. They do a rather good job.
Lately I noticed that one of the regular posters, "Flute" appears to be having a bad week. All of her posts have a negative tinge to them. I wonder why? She has been a bit down before, especially when she was trying to quit smoking. We all tried to keep he spirits high and we thought we had succeeded. She is not a Christian and uplifting words from those who are were lost on her.
Anyhoooo...I logged on to chat and "Flute" was there, so I asked her why she was so down. She began telling us that people avoid discussing things anymore, they are quick to give in and agree. Now I should have realized I was being baited at this point, but I am a bit slow, so I missed it.
I responded by saying some of us are tired of getting flamed, so we just do not fight over things. She then gave an example regarding a post made by one of the married women on the board who received a visit from a stranger on July 4th. The stranger eventually came back 3 times during the course of the day. "Sunny" was alone, he hubby was not at home. Now personally this worried me...I was concerned for "Sunny's" safety and so were many of the gang who posted a response.
"Flute" said that we were all just being too paranoid. She said that the posters should not be scaring "Sunny" that way. Most of the people in the room agreed with me, although some did not and that is ok. Anyhooo, "Flute" just kept on picking and picking. In the world of newsgroups, this type of person is called a "troll", not as in a beast, but as one who "trolls" (looks) for ways to cause trouble.
"Flute" kept this up for some time and I lost my cool and told her she was acting like a troll. That started a HUGE argument, with people who are her friends saying I called her a troll, and those who agreed with me saying she was ACTING like a troll. Big difference between acting and being.
The rest of the chat session was filled with one guy who has befriended her making snide remarks at me. I ignored them, not wanting to repeat the error.
The next day, "Flute" had responded with her own snide remark to one of my posts on the web board, causing a moderator to tell her to cool her jets. This only angered her more.
The next day when I was chatting with some of my friends in the same chatroom, I made an innoculous comment that "God has and interesting sense of humor". "Flute" and all her cohorts began bashing and making fun of the Bible, Christianity, and finally, religion in general. I thought that I (with the help of a couple of my online friends) could help smooth things out but the whole discussion turned very negative. "Flute" was being very rude, telling us we needed to go to debate school and that is when it hit me that all she wanted was to verbal fight. She even had someone who I like a lot as a person (at least online) verbally attaching my faith. She knocked prayer, saying that God never listens to her prayers...I wonder why! If I am not pleasing God, I feel my prayers are not being answered as well. Why would God go on answering prayers of non-believers if they will not accept who was giving the blessing?
After a while the scene calmed down and we were back to "normal".
I learned a few things today that I thought I already knew...but I guess I did not.
* Online chat rooms offer the weak a great deal of strength and that strength multiplies when joined by others.
* Be careful what you say and to whom. Some people love to take things out of context.
* You never know who your online friends are ... the can turn on you if you are not careful.
* Do not think you can mix a secular group with Christians and have everything fair. (Most of) The Christians in the room did not come to my aid, nor stand up for their faith. Even one guy who I have been praying for for while when his engagement fell apart. That hurt.
I think I am going to vacate the chat and maybe the message board I have been going to in favor of a more Christian themed one. I find myself wanting to move away from secular things more and more. The non-Christian crowd is beginning to wear on me. I thought at first God wanted me there to be a light, but darn, those folks just do not care about their soul. The are all about the here and now. I really hope that my prayers will bring some of them to Christ, especially "Flute".
Lately I noticed that one of the regular posters, "Flute" appears to be having a bad week. All of her posts have a negative tinge to them. I wonder why? She has been a bit down before, especially when she was trying to quit smoking. We all tried to keep he spirits high and we thought we had succeeded. She is not a Christian and uplifting words from those who are were lost on her.
Anyhoooo...I logged on to chat and "Flute" was there, so I asked her why she was so down. She began telling us that people avoid discussing things anymore, they are quick to give in and agree. Now I should have realized I was being baited at this point, but I am a bit slow, so I missed it.
I responded by saying some of us are tired of getting flamed, so we just do not fight over things. She then gave an example regarding a post made by one of the married women on the board who received a visit from a stranger on July 4th. The stranger eventually came back 3 times during the course of the day. "Sunny" was alone, he hubby was not at home. Now personally this worried me...I was concerned for "Sunny's" safety and so were many of the gang who posted a response.
"Flute" said that we were all just being too paranoid. She said that the posters should not be scaring "Sunny" that way. Most of the people in the room agreed with me, although some did not and that is ok. Anyhooo, "Flute" just kept on picking and picking. In the world of newsgroups, this type of person is called a "troll", not as in a beast, but as one who "trolls" (looks) for ways to cause trouble.
"Flute" kept this up for some time and I lost my cool and told her she was acting like a troll. That started a HUGE argument, with people who are her friends saying I called her a troll, and those who agreed with me saying she was ACTING like a troll. Big difference between acting and being.
The rest of the chat session was filled with one guy who has befriended her making snide remarks at me. I ignored them, not wanting to repeat the error.
The next day, "Flute" had responded with her own snide remark to one of my posts on the web board, causing a moderator to tell her to cool her jets. This only angered her more.
The next day when I was chatting with some of my friends in the same chatroom, I made an innoculous comment that "God has and interesting sense of humor". "Flute" and all her cohorts began bashing and making fun of the Bible, Christianity, and finally, religion in general. I thought that I (with the help of a couple of my online friends) could help smooth things out but the whole discussion turned very negative. "Flute" was being very rude, telling us we needed to go to debate school and that is when it hit me that all she wanted was to verbal fight. She even had someone who I like a lot as a person (at least online) verbally attaching my faith. She knocked prayer, saying that God never listens to her prayers...I wonder why! If I am not pleasing God, I feel my prayers are not being answered as well. Why would God go on answering prayers of non-believers if they will not accept who was giving the blessing?
After a while the scene calmed down and we were back to "normal".
I learned a few things today that I thought I already knew...but I guess I did not.
* Online chat rooms offer the weak a great deal of strength and that strength multiplies when joined by others.
* Be careful what you say and to whom. Some people love to take things out of context.
* You never know who your online friends are ... the can turn on you if you are not careful.
* Do not think you can mix a secular group with Christians and have everything fair. (Most of) The Christians in the room did not come to my aid, nor stand up for their faith. Even one guy who I have been praying for for while when his engagement fell apart. That hurt.
I think I am going to vacate the chat and maybe the message board I have been going to in favor of a more Christian themed one. I find myself wanting to move away from secular things more and more. The non-Christian crowd is beginning to wear on me. I thought at first God wanted me there to be a light, but darn, those folks just do not care about their soul. The are all about the here and now. I really hope that my prayers will bring some of them to Christ, especially "Flute".
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Not Just in the United States
Killers walk free outside the US, even in Canada. Canada has a very fair legal system, similar to the US. People can offer/accept plea bargains for lesser sentences. The story linked is sad. A woman who turned states evidence to help convict her husband is just as guilty as he is. He is serving life in prison and she is released in 12 years. There are some serious conditions to her release and she is going to appeal them, but she is out of a horrible place and into the "free" world. While they did not say where she was going to live, they gave her new name, the name she changed to escape the public eye.
I will not go into detail of this case too much. The article does that enough. The fact that girls (one victim was this woman's sister) were raped (by both the husband and the wife) and murdered is horrible to imagine. We expect big sisters to protect us, not harm us. Why would a woman, who is programmed by God to be nurturing, fall under the Enemy's grip and do such horrible things? Was she really under he husband's control? Where was God in all of this? Right where this woman left him, out on the doorstep, knocking, but she did not hear him. If she did hear him, she was not going to let him in.
This brings to mind what should be done with violent offenders. There are many who believe that we should just lock them up and leave them there. Others feel that the convicted person deserves to die for their crimes. I have mixed emotions about what needs to be done. It would be so nice to make the person "vanish" (not kill them, just "wish" them away". I know this is not possible, but I can dream. We do not want the prisons near our homes, in fear that a prison break will put us in harms way. This makes me recall all the sci-fi movies that have whole planets as prisons. Some isolated frozen block of stone, far from civilians, where inmates have to live with no chance of leaving alive. Is it wrong to think this? What about those wrongly convicted? I will admit, it has a few downfalls. I would hate to be convicted falsely and sent to a place that would mean much suffering. I know that in regards to the death penalty, I want the courts to be as sure as they can that the person is guilty before they sentence that person to death.
Can this woman be forgiven? Yes, will it be easy for us to do it? Not likely. We will still see her for a sadistic killer and rapist. Oh do not misunderstand me, she needs to pay for her crimes in the court of mankind, but God will judge her soul.
I will not go into detail of this case too much. The article does that enough. The fact that girls (one victim was this woman's sister) were raped (by both the husband and the wife) and murdered is horrible to imagine. We expect big sisters to protect us, not harm us. Why would a woman, who is programmed by God to be nurturing, fall under the Enemy's grip and do such horrible things? Was she really under he husband's control? Where was God in all of this? Right where this woman left him, out on the doorstep, knocking, but she did not hear him. If she did hear him, she was not going to let him in.
This brings to mind what should be done with violent offenders. There are many who believe that we should just lock them up and leave them there. Others feel that the convicted person deserves to die for their crimes. I have mixed emotions about what needs to be done. It would be so nice to make the person "vanish" (not kill them, just "wish" them away". I know this is not possible, but I can dream. We do not want the prisons near our homes, in fear that a prison break will put us in harms way. This makes me recall all the sci-fi movies that have whole planets as prisons. Some isolated frozen block of stone, far from civilians, where inmates have to live with no chance of leaving alive. Is it wrong to think this? What about those wrongly convicted? I will admit, it has a few downfalls. I would hate to be convicted falsely and sent to a place that would mean much suffering. I know that in regards to the death penalty, I want the courts to be as sure as they can that the person is guilty before they sentence that person to death.
Can this woman be forgiven? Yes, will it be easy for us to do it? Not likely. We will still see her for a sadistic killer and rapist. Oh do not misunderstand me, she needs to pay for her crimes in the court of mankind, but God will judge her soul.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Letter from our Army Boy
We received a letter from our son who is away at Basic Training at Fort Benning, GA. He is doing much better, becoming accustomed to the rigors of the military. He has repelled down the 60 foot Eagle Tower, received his M-16 variant, his Kevlar, and survived the gas chamber. The chamber was the hardest thing for him so far. He said he made it ok, but it was difficult.
Contrary to what he told us earlier, he is having a graduation in August. We have to drive to GA, which is about 13-15 hours away, since we have dogs. We cannot board them (financial reasons and personal reasons), so flying is out of the question (and it would cost more to fly anyway). It will be the second long trip we have taken in the past 3 months.
His class is having the Beret Ceremony on one day and Graduation the next. I know I will burn a couple of hundred pictures on our digital camera. It is not a high quality (a 1.3 megapixel model from 4 years ago), but it takes good outside pics. I cannot express how proud we are of him. he has done something (actually several things!) that I have never done:
1) He has almost completed BT.
2) Witnessed to a fellow Texas soldier and have him accept Christ as his savior.
3) Held on to his faith when things were going against him.
I am proud of my son. God Bless Him.
Contrary to what he told us earlier, he is having a graduation in August. We have to drive to GA, which is about 13-15 hours away, since we have dogs. We cannot board them (financial reasons and personal reasons), so flying is out of the question (and it would cost more to fly anyway). It will be the second long trip we have taken in the past 3 months.
His class is having the Beret Ceremony on one day and Graduation the next. I know I will burn a couple of hundred pictures on our digital camera. It is not a high quality (a 1.3 megapixel model from 4 years ago), but it takes good outside pics. I cannot express how proud we are of him. he has done something (actually several things!) that I have never done:
1) He has almost completed BT.
2) Witnessed to a fellow Texas soldier and have him accept Christ as his savior.
3) Held on to his faith when things were going against him.
I am proud of my son. God Bless Him.
Morning Coffee Thoughts
I have been having my morning kaffe on the back patio the past couple of mornings. It has been tolerable outside at 5:30 AM. I usually spend 30 minutes with my coffee in front of Fox News, but since my wife has the living room dismantled for her painting project (which is a long process, but worth it...she does a great job), I have been trying to vary where I have my coffee. Sometimes in the kitchen, sometimes in the office in front of the PC (I could watch the news there, I have a TV Tuner card), and now outside on the patio. The patio is nice because it allows me to meditate on my life, scripture, current events, family, etc.
living in the 'burbs is not ideal for having your morning coffee outside. The homes are just a few meters apart, traffic noises detract from the stillness, as does the yapping of small dogs (big dogs bark, little dogs yap), and there is no real privacy. However, I have found the past 2 mornings at 5:30 are tolerable. No dogs are out at that hour, traffic is minimal, and our 8 foot tall cedar fence provides some degree of solitude.
It was this morning that I began thinking about that fence, the same basic style that 2 of my neighbors have. As a matter of fact, all three fences were erected by the same company. They are very similar in style, height, materials, and workmanship. We paid a bit more of these fences, but they came with a good warranty (3 years) that is valid only if the company sign they placed remains on the fence the entire three years. At first I was a bit put off, seeing as this is free advertisement for the contractor, but I did not let it get to me. On of my neighbors though, did let it bother him and he removed the sign. I asked him about his decision and he told me that he did not like it. When I told him that the warranty stipulates the sign MUST remain in place for the warranty to remain valid, he just said, "Any good lawyer will tear that contract apart". I agreed that any lawyer worth his/her salt could do just that, but was it worth the cost? I told him, "Whatever warranty work needs to be done will certainly cost less than the price of a lawyer. If you take the sign down, need work and have no warranty and you have to hire a lawyer to get the work done, how have you saved any money?"
He did not say anything to me. On my way home last night, as I was pulling into my driveway, I noticed he put the sign back up. I guess he sees my point.
But I digress. Solitude. That is what I crave. Not unlike Jesus, I like to be alone sometimes. Do not get me wrong, spending time with family and friends is great, but I need a certain measure of alone time to get me in the proper frame of mind. My morning coffee is one such time. There are a few times during the week my wife will either get up before or the same time I do. Waking up with her is not as easy as waking alone. My wife is very chipper when she gets up, I am not. I take 30-60 minutes to become "human" where she wakes up fresh as a daisy.
When I lived in WV and in NC, I used to take long walks in the woods every week. It allowed me time to reflect and meditate on things and really allowed me to get a better perspective on my life. In Tejas (the Dallas area), it is rather barren. No heavily wooded areas that I can wander for hours in. I have been known to walk for hours when the weather was hot in NC and WV, but the trees allowed me to remain mostly comfortable. In Tejas, if you do not walk under cover of trees (which there are few), you will roast.
I am not sure what I will do about this dilemma.
I hope you enjoy YOUR coffee.
living in the 'burbs is not ideal for having your morning coffee outside. The homes are just a few meters apart, traffic noises detract from the stillness, as does the yapping of small dogs (big dogs bark, little dogs yap), and there is no real privacy. However, I have found the past 2 mornings at 5:30 are tolerable. No dogs are out at that hour, traffic is minimal, and our 8 foot tall cedar fence provides some degree of solitude.
It was this morning that I began thinking about that fence, the same basic style that 2 of my neighbors have. As a matter of fact, all three fences were erected by the same company. They are very similar in style, height, materials, and workmanship. We paid a bit more of these fences, but they came with a good warranty (3 years) that is valid only if the company sign they placed remains on the fence the entire three years. At first I was a bit put off, seeing as this is free advertisement for the contractor, but I did not let it get to me. On of my neighbors though, did let it bother him and he removed the sign. I asked him about his decision and he told me that he did not like it. When I told him that the warranty stipulates the sign MUST remain in place for the warranty to remain valid, he just said, "Any good lawyer will tear that contract apart". I agreed that any lawyer worth his/her salt could do just that, but was it worth the cost? I told him, "Whatever warranty work needs to be done will certainly cost less than the price of a lawyer. If you take the sign down, need work and have no warranty and you have to hire a lawyer to get the work done, how have you saved any money?"
He did not say anything to me. On my way home last night, as I was pulling into my driveway, I noticed he put the sign back up. I guess he sees my point.
But I digress. Solitude. That is what I crave. Not unlike Jesus, I like to be alone sometimes. Do not get me wrong, spending time with family and friends is great, but I need a certain measure of alone time to get me in the proper frame of mind. My morning coffee is one such time. There are a few times during the week my wife will either get up before or the same time I do. Waking up with her is not as easy as waking alone. My wife is very chipper when she gets up, I am not. I take 30-60 minutes to become "human" where she wakes up fresh as a daisy.
When I lived in WV and in NC, I used to take long walks in the woods every week. It allowed me time to reflect and meditate on things and really allowed me to get a better perspective on my life. In Tejas (the Dallas area), it is rather barren. No heavily wooded areas that I can wander for hours in. I have been known to walk for hours when the weather was hot in NC and WV, but the trees allowed me to remain mostly comfortable. In Tejas, if you do not walk under cover of trees (which there are few), you will roast.
I am not sure what I will do about this dilemma.
I hope you enjoy YOUR coffee.
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