News Worthy?

Why would a persons need to visit the toilet become news worthy? Well, if you are President Bush, then ANYTHING you do is news worthy.

In a IM message this morning, "Finn" said, "Now, I don't like much of anything the administration has done, but it's getting kind of ridiculous."

Even liberals agree. Liberal reporting in the news is "ridiculous". :-)

Lessee, Matt Drudge, The New York Post and Yahoo are all reporting this. I am not reporting the article as much as how silly it is to make it news worthy.

Update: The Times and The Times Online both covered this. Updates also show that the picture was altered (a common practice in the journalism world). Photo District News reports:

"The white parts of the picture were overexposed, so a Reuters processor used Photoshop to burn down the note. This is a standard practice for news photos, Hershorn says, and the picture was not manipulated in any other way."

Sad. Heaven help the man if he gets hungry and wants a snack.

Update, Shotgun Style

This is going to be a "shotgun" post covering a range of updates.

If you listen to the voice of God, you will be led to do things that you many not *want* to do, but in your heart you know you need to do. God has spoken to me a few times over the past couple of days and I must obey what he is pressing upon me.

First, I am not going to play volleyball at the old church for a while...a long while most likely. None of the other Christians who used to play are showing up anymore and I really fell alone. While we have had a pretty good turn out, these are secular people, who swear (in a church gymnasium no less), are at times rude, and really have no sense of brotherly love as most Christians would see it. If the old crew comes back, then I most likely will as well. It is not my church that we play in, so I do not feel that I should chaperone the attendees.

Secondly, I am not going back to the "CoG" web board anytime soon. I just do not belong there. I am very out of place in that group and even with the support of the few Christians who post there, it still is not very healthy. I am too passionate with my views to just "ignore" the comments like a few of the CoGer's would want me to. BtW, since "Flute" has read my blog in the past, I am sure she will find this news comforting. I noticed that she also went back to her old avatar, the little dancing magician. It is cute (old 8 bit graphics) and I think it suits her better. She only used the fish to mock me and my beliefs. While I do not agree with the way she acts, that is none of my business and I mean her no ill will. I am not the judge, God is.

On a side note, I received an IM from "Dakota" yesterday. He asked me if I was IMing "OutofBalance" (another "CoG" regular). I told "Dakota" no, that I did not even have OoB's IM nick. I received a PM (private message from the CoG board) from OoB asking me the same question. I wondered why I was being asked this. It seems that my AIM nick was hijacked or spoofed and OoB got an IM from me. I was rather concerned about this so I promptly changed my passwords on many accounts. "Finn" (another CoG'er) said he had a strange occurrence with IM as well on his work PC. I cannot remember the details.

"Finn" and I chat via IM quite a bit. We are VERY different, but I do respect his opinion. He is rather intelligent and a bit of a cynic (aren't we all?). We tend to clash on religion (he is a pagan) and social issues (he is much more liberal than I am) but the nice thing is that we can see each other's views. I take no offense in his opinions, and I hope he takes nothing I say personally. We chatted yesterday about some Mormans who were coming door to door in his neighborhood. His apartment building has a locking gate / door and somehow 2 Mormons made their way into his building. Finn stated that his neighbor (not born in the US and speaks very little English) was frightened of them and missed her doctors appointment because they were roaming the halls. If this is true, that is unacceptable behavior. Of course I am not pleased with the Latter Day Saints for other reasons, but do not go where you are not invited. That is a very good way to make all religious people look bad and also get arrested.

On the home front, my wife and I are almost finished with "Love Talk"by Les and Leslie Parrott. The book has been very good (I have spotted a few errors) although some of it is quite basic. It still amazes me how the basics of communication can escape us.

Our military son has been busy on recruiting missions all week, not getting home until after we are in bed (we go to bed early when we can). That has caused him to slip in his chores a bit. I am sure he will get caught up, though. He is rather resourceful.

I will be taking Friday off, to comp for having to work Labor Day. That will give me a three day weekend this weekend and since I do not have any grass to cut, I will have most of it open to take care of other tasks. Go me!

Work has not been very fulfilling over the past year+. I am still doing a good deal of support for a product that is not very difficult to support, but is very laborious. I also have to support people who speak 4 languages (only one of which I speak) and while the corporate language is my native tongue, the local clients prefer to speak French, Spanish, or Portuguese. Sometime s the language barrier frustrates me so much I want to scream (not at my customers, it is not their fault). I pride myself (which may be why I am frustrated by this) in being able to communicate clearly. With those customers that I cannot understand nor can they understand me, this is very frustrating.

The good news about all of this is that I may not have to do this support in a few months. I was sent an e-mail from a project person in Sweden who says that they have made strides to get this support regionally supported (each local region -- there are six --will support their own, instead of the three regional support teams support the 6 regions) and that made me very happy. Lord, if it is in your will, I am ready!

I have been kicking around the idea of going back to school. I am not sure if it is the right thing to do or not. I am 40, have a few credits (maybe a 1/3) of what I need to get my associates degree and a full schedule. Can I afford the investment in time and money? Can I afford NOT TO? Am I just out of practice of being a student? I have never tested well. Tests intimidate me :) .

There has not been too many things in the news worth blogging about that you will not find in other blogs, so I have not been motivated to write about them.

Just a note on health and nutrition. If you drink energy drinks (like Red Bull, Sobe, Full Throttle, etc) read the label closely. Depending on your body type and health, certain drinks may not provide the level of energy you desire. I have been drinking "Monster" brand energy drinks for a few weeks and think they taste the best as well as give you a great physical boost. I tried Red Jak last night and did not like it at all. It only had about 2/3's the energy blend but it was very tart and not very "drinkable". I have a couple of Monster varieties at the house (Regular, low carb, and Khaos) that I need to try. The low carb should be ok, the Kaos has 70% juice (which is a bonus) and all the energy blend.

BtW, the energy blend Monster uses is made up of Vitamin B6, B12, Guarana, Gensing, Caffeine, L-Carnitine, Taruine, and Inostitol.

Sometimes, I Really Like Texas

And today was one of those times. Actually September is a very good month in Texas. In the heat of summer, you get up to some humidity and the temps are not really very comfortable. In the autumn, you can wake up to low humidity and cooler temperatures, and enjoy coffee, tea, breakfast, etc outside. I do that some times. The days are still somewhat hot (90's) but the mornings are very cool and comfortable. Perfect for coffee on the patio.

I also enjoy the autumn because that is when the hot air balloonists from Dallas, Frisco, Allen, Plano, Parker, Lucas, Richardson, Fairview, etc launch their colorful creations for all of us (who happen to get up early enough) can see. Wake up any Saturday or Sunday morning in the autumn and look in a southerly direction and chances are you will see at least one.

Also, just be warned I had to turn on some anti-spam protection to keep spammers from posting on my blog. I suggest you turn it on as well.

Sticking Together

I e-mailed a fellow Christian today who is aware of my feelings regarding the anti-Christian bias I have witnessed in the past few weeks. This friends had some comforting words of scripture and told me that while it can be painful, God is the final judge and the offenders will reap what they sow.

Thanx Sunny for lifting my spirits.
BtW, never mess with Sunny. Either he hubby Sig9 will kill you or she will. Both are great shots!

Can a Homosexual Be A Christian?

Before you answer yes or no, I would like you to think about something. I will not attempt to change your mind, but I would like to offer you something to think about.

Homosexuality is a sin, I think that most Christians agree on that. While is is not in the Ten Commandments, we have some scripture that says it is not something God approves of:

Leviticus 18:22 - Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.

Leviticus 20:13 - If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

I Corinthians 6:9 - Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders.

Romans 1:26-27 - Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. (27) In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Both the old testament and new testaments speak against it. Ok, it is a sin. Are they going to Hell? Do not answer that. Read on.

It has been stated that abominable in God's eyes. Greed, sloth, gluttony, murder, adultery, etc are all sins. All equal in God's eyes.

Sins are forgiven if we repent, if we ask for forgiveness. Christians sin all the time. Not always purposely, but we do.wello are wel all going to Hell?

Is homosexuality "just another sin"? Now before people start talking (and that would be the sin of gossip) I am not making any sort of statement about me, my family or anyone I know. I am curious. We have gay ministers and gay parishioners, are they condemned to Hell?

Personally, I am not 100% sure. I know we are called to love every sinner. If we do not love the homosexual sinner, are we ignoring Christ's charge to us? If we condemn them, are we being hypocrites?

I do not have the answers. I have considered both sides of this. I have considered that, as humans, we tend to place sin on a sliding scale. Lying is not as bad as adultery which is not as bad as homosexual behavior or what ever sliding scale you THINK works. It boggles the mind. I do not know what is right, I only know how I feel. I do not believe that homosexual behavior is natural. I realize this is bigoted but I am not going to lie about the way I feel.

Something to Chuckle At...

Last night my wife and I got ready to settle down for the night. Our son was at work and would not be home until after midnight. The dogs had been walked and we sleeping on the floor of our bedroom. It had been good day. All the chores we wanted to do had been completed (including the reloading of an old laptop I have decided to give to my wife to learn on) and we even had time to fellowship with 2 couples from church (dinner and 3 episodes of "Firefly" on DVD, which oddly enough my wife LIKES).

The night was winding down. As I slid in to bed, my wife looks over at me, with a smile on her face and says, "Hey honey, you wanna do a little "love talk"? I said, "OK!!", thinking that the night was about to get just a bit more interesting when she says, "No, not THAT, the book. Let's do a few more pages in the book."

We have been reading "Love Talk" a few pages a night as well as completing the optional workbooks we purchased, in hopes that we could enrich and improve our communication with each other. "Love Talk" has been very helpful in many areas and if you read it you will understand why my wife and I had this little misunderstanding. The nice thing about it was as soon as she realized what I THOUGHT she meant, she had a good laugh (actually we both did). I even told her I would blog about it and she had no problems. She is a trooper. I think I will keep her.

Defending Your Faith

If you would have known me 3-4 years ago, you probably would have be surprised at what you saw. While professing to be a Christian, I wore my faith like a patch...I could removed it at will. This behavior caught up to me and allowed me to FINALLY understand why secular people think Christians are hypocrites. Most of us are. I did not say all of us, I said most of us. We have the word of God in our lives only when we want it, not all the time the way God wants it. I was not letting the people I interacted with OUTSIDE of church know what I had professed. I am not 100% sure why I did that at first. Maybe I felt I would not be accepted. Maybe I was somewhat embarrassed. I do not know. What I do know that God convicted me of this behavior and I have not returned. I now defend my faith instead of ignoring the jabs at it. It has been tough at times since I am a people pleaser a big part of the time.

People in the real/physical and Internet world have distanced themselves from me. I am often ignored/ridiculed in secular chat rooms, often to have specific comments made to taunt me into verbal attacks. My web page (which was very popular for some time) has see a 50% drop in traffic in the past 2 years. Work has been different, mostly because we have a few closet Christians who will talk with me now that I have openly professed my faith. However the online world is very harsh at times.

I visit, on a frequent basis, a web board frequented by computer savvy geeks, gamers, and those who have to deal with "users" of pc's, ISP's, and like tech products. I am a very big participant on that board. I enjoy reading many of the posts there and share many of the thoughts the others have. Some of the people there are quite intelligent, however the larger percentage of them are not Christian. As a matter of fact, many are down right hostile to anything Christian. In some ways, I can see their anger. They see the actions of a few overzealous Christians and assume all Christians are the same way. Many times I get involved defending my faith, but more often that not, it turns into a gang up on the one person who has decided to speak up, namely me. I do get a defensive post in my favor every now and then, and I do appreciate it. There are even a few neutrals who jump in and pull some of the radicals off my back. I guess it says a lot when a neutral party has to calm down the scene.

One subtle sign of bias I have noticed is from my old friend, "Flute". Most of us on the board use an "avatar", or a symbolic representation of ourselves that shows up when we post. I have changed mine many times. I have used my picture, the Firefox logo, little animated geeks, geek characatures, and even the logo of the Wildcards on an old Sci-Fi show on Fox, "Space: Above and Beyond" (which by the way was an awesome sci-fi show). However, with my new attitude of my faith, I have simply chosen to use a simple sign of the fish. It has been there for about 3-4 months now. How "Flute" has shown her anti-Christian bias has been to recently change her little 8 bit animated cartoon icon (of a wizard, I think...I am not sure) to the walking "Darwin Fish" that the evolutionists like to taunt Christians with. I am sure the jab is at me since she just started doing this and it is similar to my fish. What she does not know is that I do not care she does it. We are charged to love our enemies. While that would be a tall order for me, I wish her no ill will and tend to ignore her now.

According to those who interact with her, "Flute" has recently moved from the west coast (Seattle area) to Philadelphia and is living with another board member. What really was surprising is that this board member has posted on the board he is a "biblical scholar" and is a lay minister for his church. He also posts to the web board frequently and does not seem to defend the Christian faith when we are attacked on the boards. What is odd is that he prefers to debate other Christians and defend his knowledge (which I must admit is vast. He seems very knowledgeable) instead of defending God's Word. He has even gone as far to publicly post that, "Jesus hung out with hookers and drunks. My guess is he knew how to have a good time." Such a pity. Like my friend Jim who has a gift for cartooning and does nothing with it, this scholar has great knowledge and chooses to defend it rather than God's Word.

I have often been asked, "Why do you keep going back?"
Did Christ run? Did he deny his destiny? No he did not. While I am not Christ, nor perfect like him, we are called to live a life like his. The world needs light. While I cannot change the world, I will plant seeds and if it takes 50 years and only one person I have shared with comes to the Lord, then it is worth it.

Come at me with your slings and arrow, non-believers. God is my armor. In him I trust.

Christian Diversity

As one wanders down the road of Christian life, you will meet many wonderful and interesting people. These people will impact you in some way, however small. The Christian world is so diverse, the spectrum so wide that every day you have the potential of engaging with someone who alters your image of, "a Christian".

Most of my Christian life, the Christians I have met have been servants, with a very big heart to share their faith with those who may not know our Lord as deeply as they do. The Christians I have been used to have been "heart smart", meaning the Word is on their heart and they are not "scholars". I have met a few scholars, and like most people who have spent great amounts of time studying, they are very eager to share their knowledge, but these people also had a degree of "heart smarts" as well, just not as much as the non-scholars.

I had the opportunity to engage a man yesterday who was at first, not appear very knowledgeable in the Word. As a newer Christian, I was moved to share what little I knew with him. It became very evident (very quickly!) that the man was quite knowledgeable in the Word, much more so than I. But something else became evident after engaging him. I appeared to me that this person has spent a degree of time in study of the Word to fill his mind, but that maybe he did not have the gifts of the spirit. He was rather combative when he learned that I did not have the "book smarts" he had. I was getting the impression all he wanted to do was debate.

I will admit I misinterpreted one or 2 comments he made, which may have set him down this path. He did not appear to defend his faith, only his knowledge of it. That is where we are opposites I guess. I realize I do not have the book smarts he has and defend with my heart. He on the other hand has proven his bible knowledge and defends that. I see a bit of pride in his defense, but who among us is without sin? Me? Surely not.

Doomsday

I have been asked by many Christian friends and family if I think that this is a sign the end is near. Many of my closest Christian friends are beginning to think so. I have tried to look at this from a few angles and the best thing I can say in response to that is, "God will watch over his children."

There are a few different schools of thought on "the end days". One idea is that all the souls listed in the book of life will be raptured before the beginning of the end times. For those who are saved, know the Lord, accepted Christ as their personal Savior, and repent of their sins, then this is reassuring. Those left after the rapture will be left with the horrifying realization that they have not lived a Christian life and did not accept Christ. Those who do not believe will think this is just a weird occurrence of nature and be led like lambs to the slaughter by the Anti-Christ. Their fate is sealed.

Another idea is that there is no rapture, and we (Christians) will all be martyred. This is not as appealing to most. Suffering is not something anyone likes to go through. Christ suffered horribly and most Christians, while willing to die for our faith, do not desire to end their life in such a savage way. If anyone is not familiar with the way Jesus Christ dies, just rent "The Passion of the Christ". That is not the way I want to go, but as a Christian, if I am called to go that way, then I have no choice than to obey.

We have had a lot of disasters, anti-Christian bias, and rampant displays of hedonism over the past 25 years or so. We live in a society that loves to think for the minute, not worrying about tomorrow. It would be easy to see why some who study the books of Daniel and Revelations in the bible are concerned. We have a reason to be concerned, but no reason to panic. No matter which end times scenario plays out, we know the end of the story. Devil ,YOU LOSE.

Al I can say is, if you are concerned about end times and think it may be upon us, then be sensible and start conserving: water, fuel, money, non-perishable food, clothing, etc...just like you would for a camping trip, only longer. Pray with all you heart for discernment, open your homes to other Christians. Fellowship and share your concerns/fears. The last thing we need is a panic. As I said, we know how the story ends. We just do not know how many pages are in the book.

Gaining

I blogged last week that Hugo Chavez wanted to sell cheap gas to the US poor. His plans are picking up steam. People, DO NOT fall for this. This is how civil unrest starts. Tyrants will try ANYTHING to gain the support of the poor and when they gain that support, the undermining of our way of life will begin. BOYCOTT CITGO!

Read here and here. Even the Arab newspaper Al Jazerra has the article. That alone should frighten you (although it mostly cut and pastes from other articles). Al Jazerra is not exactly "fair and balanced".

We need to keep supporting our president, praying for him and his cabinet, and fighting to keep our country strong. Falling for the offer of cheaper gas/oil is not going to help you at all. It will be just a short term fix. You think we have dependencies now? Just allow yourselves to be addicted to Chavez and his cheap oil. What will you do when he wants you to sell your soul for that precious "black gold"?

Painful NC News

Looks like RTP, NC (That is Research Triangle Park, North Carolina for all you non-southerners) may have more of an Asian theme to it if Lenovo gets its way. Read the story. If you think this is bad, Dell has done similar. This tactic is common. This is how bigger companies can get away with paying lower fees...I call it extortion. Thank you Davien for the tip and the Herald-Sun for the story.

This is a CHINESE company, from a COMMUNIST nation. Forces around the world are working to undermine our way of life by using our values against us. China has attempted to buy oil companies (and they still keep trying) to help satisfy their growing need for energy. IBM sold them their PC business, they are now leveraging themselves to have "free rent" in RTP. We really need to stop this economic invasion before we are at a point where turning back is impossible. We need to rethink the way we work.

I wonder how soon it will be before Tom Clancy's book, "The Bear and the Dragon" comes true. Maybe Russia will ally itself with China and that will work for a while, but as China grows, her appetite will grow. Russia may look like a tempting morsel to her.

I Am Getting Better At This ...

When I first heard of Google's new voice/text chat proggie, I said to a colleague, "We better watch out for Google. They are going to be the next Microsoft." He laughed, but oddly enough I am not alone. Read this and you will see what I am talking about.

First, Google made a fantastic search engine. Then they had Picasa (a photo tool), Gmail (a free web based e-mail that has insane amounts of storage), and now Google Talk. Rumor has it they are working on a browser and if the conspiracy theories can be believed, an operating system. Even without the OS, Google is in a good position to control a lot of your internet life. Are you ready for that? I am not so sure. I do not like putting all my trust/stock into one company. I may not be an MS fan (I use the OS, but most of my apps are open source), but I am not going to give Google the keys to my house just yet.

If you want to see what Google has to offer you, just head over to www.google.com and poke around. You may be surprised on how much they can do for you. If you let them, that is.

Would It Be Worth It?

Would you directly support a communist minded dictator if he offered you gas for $1.30 a gallon and give you free health care? You might get your chance. This story from CNN is very interesting. I would like to do more research but since I am not in the mood at this point, I will just toss out a few thoughts and let you mull them over.

The ploy that Hugo Chavez is attempting is an old one. He will attempt to gain the support of the poor by selling them what they THINK they need at a very reduced rate or better yet, give it away free. Chavez will attempt to undemine the social thread of US by sowing seeds of discord among its residents. He will "prove" that he is not a bad guy, making Pat Robertson look like an idiot (sorry Chavez, you are too late. Pat has done that without your help), making us even MORE dependant on him, and pretty soon we have civil unrest and quite possibly anarchy in the USA. It COULD happen. Fidel Castro is Hugo's buddy and Castro is just 90 miles south of the US. Sounds like trouble to me.

Also mentioned in the article is the fact that Citgo Petroleum is owned by PDVSA, a Venezuelan company. Nothing against those of Venezuelan blood, but I would rather not support a dictator.

So it sounds like we have a couple of missions here.
1) If offered low cost gas from Venezuela, do not take it.
2) DO NOT shop at Citgo.

I am starting my boycott now.

Why?

I was perusing the headlines today on Drudge, CNN, and a few others when this headline from CNN caught my attention:

Robertson: U.S. should 'take out' Venezuela's Chavez

The "Robertson" CNN is referring to is Pat Robertson, Conservative Christian Broadcaster for "The 700 Club".

This frightens me. Those who know me, know that I am a Moderate Christian that has Conservative tendencies. I am often at odds with what many in the Christian Church believe. I support our military, although I think making war is something that is done far too often.

Mr/Rev Robertson said that Chavez was, "a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us badly." Why did he mention oil? Because that is the key, underlying reason we are despised and feared. We think we need to control the oil, simply because we need /use so much of it.

He goes way beyond what I am comfortable with as a Christian. If you are a non-Christian and read his remarks, please do not think he speaks for all Christian's. I personally find his thoughts disturbing and dangerous. I did not/will not support any political moves this man makes.

Another issue that I found interesting was the draft of the new Iraqi Constitution. The new Iraqi Constitution will be based on the Q'uran. Why is that interesting? President Bush has spent the past 4 years telling us not to judge Muslims harshly. He has repeatedly stated that Islam is a religion on peace. I disagree to an extent. Mohammed is compared to Jesus in regards of the religious importance in the Q'uran. Mohammed was a warrior, waging war on non-Muslims. Jesus was a king who spoke of God's love, not a warrior who came to liberate and overthrow. Now the country we liberated will have its law of the land based on a non-peaceful religion. What will President Bush say now? He cannot oppose the constitution or he looks like an occupier. He cannot support it because it is just one step away from the radical Islamic government we fought to remove. What to do...

Lastly, have you seen these? They have been nicknamed, "Pubic Pants". GROSS. Where are we going and why am I in this bucket?

I Respect Your Opinion, However...

My son is a soldier in the United States Army National Guard. He is also 17 (18 in a couple of months) and still in high school. He busted his hump all summer long to graduate Basic Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, giving up his "senior" summer to learn the art of become a warrior. I have taken some heat (even from some people at our church) for allowing my son to join the armed forces as a minor, but I stand by my decision to allow him to do so. I am proud of his accomplishments.

With all that said, my son took *some* of the money he earned as a soldier this summer to buy a used car from a neighbor. It needs a little work, but it is going to be a good *first* car for him. Our son went to Auto Zone last Saturday (August 20) in the little town where we live in North Central Texas and bought some parts that he needed and was assisted by a young lady named Lea, who was in her mid to late 20's. She asked my son if he was in the military, and he informed her he had just returned from BT. She then said (I am paraphrasing, bear with me), "I do not support the military. My husband was in the military and when he got out he was not the same. I didn't like what did him..."

Let me say one thing. Giving me your UNSOLICITED OPINION when I am a customer is completely out of line. When you are a public facing employee of a company, your comments could be misconstrued as the thoughts and opinions of the company. Now it would be financial SUICIDE for a company to say they were not supporting our troops. And, if Advance Auto decides that is their *official* stance, then they have lost me as a customer for life and I will do my best to spread the word NOT to shop there. However I am sure that the comments made by Lea were not the opinions of Auto Zone.

I fully recognize the right Lea has to her opinion. She could march up and down my street with a picket proclaiming her disdain with our military and I would honor that. She has that right and even though I do not agree, I respect her right to do so.

Now truth be told, I was FURIOUS when my wife and son (the ones who experienced the event) relayed the story to me. However I knew better than to do anything about it at that moment. I support our troops. Any derogatory comment towards them is one towards me. It is because of them you have the right to protest almost anything (Odd thing isn't it? If not for people you despise, you would not have the right to despise them...ironic).

When I went to bed Saturday night and started my evening prayers, I surprised myself by including Lea. I was not planning on doing so. I was very upset at her for making her comments at a place and time when she was a servant (cashier) to us and she was disparaging the US troops. However, God does not want he "sun to go down on our anger" and he pressed upon me the desire to pray for her. I felt much better after that prayer and it has allowed me to reflect and become closer the Christian I want to be.

To those who share Lea's sentiments, I respect your opinions. All I ask is that you respect my space. If you are working in the services sector (waiter, cashier, etc) DO NOT give my your opinion of the military, religion, or politics if I do not ask for it. To do so will endanger your job. There maybe someone who will not go to the Lord in prayer before they unload on you. Also, please remember that we have the freedoms we have because of the sacrifices that our soldiers (and Airmen, Marines, Sailors, etc) make and have made. I am not asking you to become a warmonger. I am not. I think wars (just for the sake of making them) is stupid. I also realize that it humanly possible I could have to bury my only son if he were to be sent to fight in a foreign land to protect ours. That concept is painful. However as a Christian, I have to accept that.

Lea, I am very sorry that your husband has not returned from the military in a condition that is pleasing to you. Go to the Lord and ask for his peace. You will find it, but first you have to ask.

**Update** I had erroneously reported the WRONG parts store. This has been corrected. My apologies for any confusion.

Dealing With a Loss

Yesterday my son received notice that one of his dearest childhood friends took his own life recently. My son and Levi had had not seen each other for several years, but when they lived close to each other, they were inseparable. The details of the death are few. My mother snail mailed the obituary and the story printed in her small town paper to my son and we received it yesterday. My son was visibly upset, but he is a soldier and will not openly grieve. As I went in his room to put away some laundry, I noticed he had the items his grandmother mailed to him on his desk along with an elementary school yearbook open to Levi's picture. Beside his name, my son scribbled, "RIP, bro." I hurt for him. I can because when I was in my middle 20's, one of my childhood friends took his own life in a similar manner. I grieve to this day over him. He was a core part of our group of friends. He is greatly missed. I will try to comfort my son, but I am sure he will not accept it. He does not handle death very well. Seems odd that a soldier would have trouble dealing in death, since he may be called to be a "death dealer" at some point, but there is a time for everything.

I also wanted to mention that my Christian Sister, AAA, is dealing with some medical issues and is not sure what is causing them. I have been praying for her (and so has my wife) and have hope God will heal her. If for some reason she is not healed, then I pray that God will use this time to better his kingdom. That is why we are here. This body means nothing. It is just a temporary home for our spirit until we are called back to God.

On a lighter note, my son has purchased his first car (he has owned one before, but he bought it from us, so that does not really count). He is now the proud owner of a 1995 Mazda Millenia. While far from a perfect car, it is in good shape over all. It needs a few things (tires, a headlight, paint job, new battery, etc) it runs well.

Silent No Longer

I was not going to post much, if anything about Cindy Sheehan, the woman who has been camping outside of the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas. I feel the MSM (Main Stream Media) and the bloggers are saying enough. However, when I read the post that Matt Drudge had about her outburst at a rally she attended at San Francisco State University earlier this year, I changed my mine. From www.drudgereport.com, here is the link, but since I do not trust links, here is part of her rant courtesy of Mat Drudge (I have edited the language):

"We are not waging a war on terror in this country. WeÂ’re waging a war of terror. The biggest terrorist in the world is George W. Bush!"

"We are waging a nuclear war in Iraq right now. That country is contaminated. It will be contaminated for practically eternity now."

"TheyÂ’re a bunch of f**king hypocrites! And we need to, we just need to rise up..."

"If George Bush believes his rhetoric and his bull**it, that this is a war for freedom and democracy, that he is spreading freedom and democracy, does he think every person he kills makes Iraq more free?"

"The whole world is damaged. Our humanity is damaged. If he thinks that itÂ’s so important for Iraq to have a U.S.-imposed sense of freedom and democracy, then he needs to sign up his two little party-animal girls. They need to go to this war."

"We want our country back and, if we have to impeach everybody from George Bush down to the person who picks up dog sh*t in Washington, we will impeach all those people."

Now first I want to offer my condolences to Cindy on the loss of her son. I cannot image the pain she must be in, HOWEVER, I can safely assume that she is not a Christian spouting out that tirade at SanFran Uni. and she has no right acting in such a manner. She has been making a big stink in the media (which she has the right to. Her son died for that right she is abusing) and people are getting tired of it. She has had her meeting with President Bush over a year ago. She did not spout those obscenities at him then.

Michelle Malkin has a lot more linkage and more linkage.

Cindy, while we grieve with you on your loss, there are better ways. Promising not to pay your 2004 taxes (shouldn't they have already been paid?) until President Bush brings back your son (Bush is not Christ, honey) is not going to cut it.

Most people sympathize with you, but not your methods. You need to take your Paxil.

A (Dirty) Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste

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Yes they are all web searches, but that is not what I am getting at. These are all searches that my blog has been included in. Ain't that a hoot? It boggles the mind to think about what others do web searches for. Don't they have better things to do?

Now I am not going back to search each one of these but if you comprehend the way search engines handle searches, you will understand why my blog was in each one. Because I will write about things that will make you think, sometimes my posts are have "key words" in them that search engines (like Yahoo!) pick up on. I have had 1 visitor from Singapore, one from South Korea, one from Canada, and the rest were from the US. The US and the Singapore visitors were the ones who were searching on the risque subject matter.

I enjoy going through my web logs (both for my blog and my main page, www.mistergeek.com . I get to see what kind of things people search for...and man do they search for some WEIRD things...Here are a few (exact) phrases that have been searched for (just in the past few months) from my main mistergeek.com page :

* calculus jokes
* compare rifle calibers
* christian geek
* sarah lane mini skirt
* pencil necked geek
* international beers geek
* i ve been spoofed
* spooky e-mails
* slutgirl
* groovy granny
* geek on scooter picture
* flaming pop tarts
* christian chicks in mini skirts
* mini skirts
* jokes about the name shielah

This is not an complete list, but just a few of the more interesting ones I have noticed over the past few months. I get tons of hits for "geek of the week", "Christian Geek", plus a ton for people who vanity surf (those who type in their names in their favorite search engines to see what comes up).

OK, so maybe that was boring, but geeks like me think it is funny/interesting.

I hope you have a blessed day :)

A Little Excitement for a Sleepy Town

Sunday I was waiting for my wife to return from running some errands, so I logged on to work to check my work e-mail (I had about 100 for 1 week. Not too bad) when I noticed the weather map was showing a storm heading our way. I need to walk one of our dogs (the other was with my wife), but I did not want to leave her to unload the van by herself, so I waited.

She arrived safely and I explained the problem, so after unloading the van, I set off with our oldest and most finicky dog, Maxx. We got about 1/6 of the way into our walk and in began to rain, but not overly hard, so I kept walking. A short while later one of the neighbors we had not met yet stopped me and asked me if I knew what all the police cars were doing in the neighborhood. I just made a confused looking face and said, "Huh?". They stated that there were at least THREE police cars in the immediate area, and one was a K9 unit. I told them I had no idea but I would try to find out.

I walked a bit further and saw the K9 unit parked, but not moving. I then noticed a man with two small children walking AWAY from the K9 unit looking very nervous. He matched my pace for a few meters, then he noticed a squad car coming towards us and he did a 180 and continued back from where he came, still looking very nervous. The rain had momentarily stopped so I called my wife and told her to lock the doors and shut the garage, and explained the situation. You see, my first thought was a man hunt and with my wife home and at least 1 door unlocked, she would be at risk IF some psycho was on the loose.

I continued on with my walk, keeping my eyes open. Two more police cars passed me, but did not look my way, so I did not fit the profile of who they were looking for. I circled around the school and noticed a police truck (They have some SWEET Dodge Dakota's they use), so I flagged him down. I told him I was not trying to be nosy, but since I was out walking the dogs, was there something a tax paying citizen could to do assist. I also told him that if I ever saw 2 or more police cars in the same neighborhood around here, especially if a K9 unit was involved, that I knew something was up. He finally told me they were looking for a blonde haired teenage girl who has run away, but they offered no other details. Well, that made me feel much better so I called my wife back to tell her the news. The storm had picked back up and the call was not clear, so I just hung up, after TRYING to tell her that I would be back soon. 2 minutes later, she was pulling up to me in the van telling me to get it. She had towels to dry the dog and me off. She is so sweet.

Well, that was my excitement for Sunday. Add that to a very busy Saturday and a hectic week prior to that and I am ready for work today!

Coming Home

Monday, August 8, 2005, me, my wife, and our 2 dogs started a trek to Fort Benning, GA to watch the graduation ceremony of our son. As a Senior in high school, 17 years old and not quite a man, I have been very emotional at times over the past 11 weeks. I would read his letters and listen to his voice when he was allowed to call and I could tell this has been the toughest thing he has EVER been through. Tougher than the divorce of his bio-mom and I, tougher than the custody battle over him, tougher than getting acclimated to living with me and my new wife (his new stepmom), tougher than relocating to Texas after living in NC for 6 years...tougher than all that put together. I would learn this later on in the week as he and I talked. I was almost in tears at times.

We arrived in Birmingham, AL at about 5:30 PM central time to meet with a couple of my wife's friends (twins) for dinner. JoJo and Nancy are wonderful people. They are dear friends to my wife and for that I am eternally thankful. They are just fantastic.

The hotel was right next to the steakhouse where they wanted to have dinner. Nancy is a steak woman and nothing else would do. With that, she paid for dinner and I was in awe that she would be willing to do that. I am a stranger to her (but not to JoJo), but she showed me kindness that comes from a Christian heart.

After dinner was over with, my wife had the staff at the steakhouse sing me, "Happy Birthday" and bring me out dessert. All the while I was red-faced (I hate attention like that), but I hold no grudge. My wife loves me...it shows in the way she deals with my short temper.

After dinner, we returned to our room to chat for a little while. Nancy and I have a bit in common due to our current/past jobs (telecom) although JoJo and I more alike in the food department.

Nancy and JoJo left at about 9 PM and Debe and I turned in. We were driving to Fort Benning on Tuesday (a three hour drive from Birmingham) and we needed our rest after being on the road for 11 hours or so.

We drove to Columbus, GA the following day and the trip went well. Once we got to the hotel, we realized there was almost no place for the dogs to do "the dog thing". My wife talked to the front desk and they said there was a park about 5 miles down the road. That worked out well most of the time, but it rained every afternoon and the older dog, Maxx, was not being very cooperative. Actually he is the reason why I dislike travel with pets. He takes a bit of the joy out of travel.

We ate dinner out that night and Applebee's (after eating a light lunch of sandwiches and water) and got a surprise call from our son. He was at a concert that was being held on base (I think it was "The Donna's", not a band I would go see...) and he was just making sure we made it in. We chatted for a few minutes and then he had to go. He was calling from a Sprint phone booth. They were giving away free 3 minute calls and our son took advantage of it.

Wednesday was Beret Day at Fort Benning. Beret Day is the day before graduation when the soldiers get their black berets and then they are released to their families for the remainder of the day. The ceremony was delayed about an hour or so due to a transportation problem and after the ceremony, we took some pictures (I will post some a bit later). We toured the National Infantry Museum on the base and after our son signed out, we left to go eat (Ruby Tuesday -- our soldiers choice) and then to our hotel. The food was good and we all got our fill. Our son and I had burgers (they are very good there), my wife had salad. Women. :-)

We got back to the hotel, grabbed the dogs (who did not recognize our son at first) and took them to the park to let them do their thing. With that complete, we headed back and got changed into swimming gear so we could try out the pool. This was the place that he and I got to talk. We laughed and enjoyed the moment, wanting to savor the time we had. After an hour or two in the pool, we went back and cleaned up some and I fired up my work PC so our son could surf the web (something he had not done in a while). My wife napped some and I just watched our son. He looked so much different than he did 11 weeks ago. He looked older, more seasoned. I guess it is the 'warrior look' he has burned into him. He still has an easy smile, quick to laugh, but as his father, I can see he is now a man. He has been transformed.

After some goof off time, we got directions to a funky little pizza place, The Mellow Mushroom, a place we originally discovered in Chapel Hill, NC...home of the 2005 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions, The UNC Tarheels. Sorry...I got a bit carried away!

We ordered a half and half large pie, BBQ chicken and portabello mushrooms/meatballs. It was not cheap, but it is the best pie I have ever had. Our soldier ate his fill and they we noticed we needed to get him back on base.

After a getting gas and making a few wrong turns, we got back to the hotel. We were tired and needed to get some sleep since Thursday would be a long day for both of us. Graduation was at 9 AM, checkout of the hotel was noon, but we had to leave the dogs there so they would not overheat. That meant we had to get things done with our son on base, get back to the hotel and then check out. After checkout we had a 13+ hour drive back home to Texas.

The next morning, we were up at 5 AM, at breakfast at 6 AM and at the ceremony at 9 AM. Graduation went well and the ceremony was short. We took some pictures of our soldier and his 'battle buddy' (a young man that our son was able to witness to) and went to get his duffel bag so we could take it back for him. He had 3 bags total and he planned on only taking back 2.

We said our goodbyes to our soldier and his battle buddy (who really is a wonderful young man...he really helped our son out quite a bit) gave them hugs and handshakes, prayed for them and we went back to the hotel to get the dogs, check out and take them to the park to use the bathroom and tire them out some for the long drive back. After a quick walk, we ate the leftover pizza, some Gatorade, and a granola bar before hitting the road. I started the trek by driving to Birmingham, filling up the gas tank and then letting my wife drive so I could get some rest. She drove for about 3 hours and I took over. I drove until we got to the Texas welcome center and then she took over. She was able to make it about 2.5 hours or so then I had to take over for her. We did a final bathroom break for her and I finished up the trip.

When we got home, I made her go to bed. She is notorious for getting home and unpacking as soon as we get back. I told her to go to bed while I unloaded the van. We could unpack once we had some sleep.

I got up at 6:30 AM to walk the dogs (yes...5 and 1/2 hours sleep) and made a pot of coffee...the first coffee I had made in 5 days. It really hit the spot. I washed the travel dishes (Tupperware, etc), unpacked my stuff, the non-perishable food box, and the cooler. I collected all the trash and recyclables, entered in the bills and travel receipts, and made some boxed muffin mix for us to eat. I was getting a head start. I know this will be a long day. I also want the place to be in order when our soldier comes home this afternoon/evening. It will be good to have him back.

40

Happy Birthday to me, I turned 40 today. :-)

I met with my AP (accountability partner) yesterday for coffee after work and it was a very good meeting. We discussed many things and really got an understanding on the struggles each of us faces every day. We traded stories, strategies, and concerns. The hour that we had to chat just was not long enough. Ok, maybe it was, but it went by fast. Ben* is a very good listener.

I added a traffic counter to my blog because I was curious on how many people are reading this. I am not getting my hopes up, since I do not advertise it, but it is always nice to know.

My project work is going well. I have many meetings today to do some fact gathering and if we get most of the data we will be ready to make a business case to the executive mgmt team next week. That should be interesting, since I am out of the office next week. We are going to watch our son graduate Basic Training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Money is tight, so we will have to watch our spending (making sandwiches instead of eating out, lower priced motels, etc). We blew our budget for travel about mid way through the year.

Last night I had a dream. It was not a "nightmare" but it was not a pleasant dream. Due to personal reasons, I will not share it with my readers, but I will say that it was the type of dream that bothered me as a Christian. In my dream I was doing things that I would not do in real life.

The good thing about this situation is that I know why we have the dreams we do. Our subconscious takes random memories and stitches them together in the form of a story. These events may not be related in any way, shape, or form, but they come out in story format none the less. Sometimes Christians get very upset when they have "un-Christianlike" dreams, but they shouldn't. The Devil is planting that seed of fear in you and if you allow it to germinate, you will be hurt and may even doubt your faith. Don't go that route. Immediately pray to God to remove that fear. If you have accepted him, he understands you (inside and out) and loves you. You cannot control your dreams, but do not have to let them control you.

*Not his real name.

Coffee Talk

I am scheduled to meet my accountability partner (Ben*) at Starbuck's today after work. Yesterday was his day off (and his birthday) so we did not chat, although I did send him a short e-mail. I am not sure that we have much to "confess", but it is always good to see him. He is a very funny guy with a sarcastic wit. He is not rude, he uses sarcasm very well. He turned 49 yesterday and does not act like someone heading into his 50's soon.

Personally, I am having pretty good day. I got 7 hrs sleep last night and woke up with very little pain in my back/neck/hip. My morning walk with the dogs went well (although Maxx has regained his 'tude now that he is off HIS meds) and my coffee was almost perfect (it is hard to get it perfect when you are half asleep when you are brewing it). The only hitch this morning was with my wife, who "could not get back to sleep" and got up at 5 AM AND STARTED CLEANING THE MASTER BATHROOM. The more she cleaned, the more her positive attitude went down the drain. She was obviously heading south quickly, so I grabbed her hands and prayed for her. After I finished, I gave her a hug and left for work once I was all ready.

Once I was at work, things were rather slow. My ticket queue (there have been only 4 so far today) has been very easy, taking just a couple of minutes each to solve. I had a 8 AM meeting that went very well (and ran over 15 minutes, but that is ok) that resulted in an action item for me to type up all my notes and give them to my boss to proof.

I ate lunch at my desk, stopping long enough to talk to Paul** and see how his health has been lately. Paul has been prescribed Paxil and Wellbutrin and is not overly happy with the way it makes him feel. I am finding a bit of perverse humor in this simply because I do not think he needs the meds. What he really needs is love and a change of environment, but that is another post.

While it is now just before 3 PM Central, I only have about 1 hour or so left (I am going to cut out early to go meet Ben). Work has been slow, but a welcome change. My boss most likely will not give me any more to do since he is mired down in his weekly report and is not likely to step out of his office until it is done.

Hmmm...I just got an e-mail from my Ben asking if we are still on for coffee, so I e-mailed him back confirming the meeting. I should be able to get there at 4:30 ish or so. Now I just need to confirm which Starbucks! We have two, one on one side of the expressway and one on the other.

*Ben is not his real name.
**Paul is not his real name.

It is Amazing What You Can Do When You Are Pain Free

Tuesday night is Volleyball night at the old church we used to attend. When we changed churches, I never considered giving up VB since the new church does not have the facilities for it and also because I love the game.

Last night I arrived as usual and we had enough to play 4 on 4, which is my favorite way to play (6 seems like to many people to me). I helped set up the net, then I stretched and warmed up with a few sets and digs. I felt pretty good, rested, I had a good energy level (lots of B12, Taurine, and ginseng) and was pretty flexible (for me that is...I am not an overly athletic guy). Shortly after we started playing, one of the better players suggested we try a different strategy/formation (using 1 person in front,1 middle and 2 back) to see if would improve our play some. I had trouble with the idea (the front person would have the second hit (the setter) since I am not great at setting, but I came around quick enough.

At one point in the game I was playing back and the setter had set one up and yell my name, indicating that I was the one to spike it over. I ran up, got my timing and delivered a fantastic spike. When we regrouped, my team was very kind and said that I spiked that better than I have ever done before. I must say that I felt pretty good playing. Then after about an hour of play, I noticed that my hip was not hurting like it normally does after a bit of play. The meds the doc gave me were helping a good bit.

We went on to play about 6-7 games and I think we only lost 2, the second game and the fifth. At one point we became sloppy and let the opposing team score 7-8 in a row.

Without the pain in my hip and neck, I was able to cover more ground, dig at more hits, and spike much cleaner than I normally can. I hope I heal completely. The feeling of playing well (in a friendly environment, with good sportsmanship) was tremendously satisfying.

What a Pain in the Neck!

Seriously! I have had a stiff/sore neck for about 3-4 weeks now. I asked my doc about it and he thinks it may be stress related (hmmm I work in IT, have a son in Basic Training, 2 dogs with allergies, bills that are getting out of hand...STRESS? NAH!).

My doc prescribed 2 meds to see if he can determine the problem. One of the meds is a muscle relaxer to take before I go to bed to help me get a good night's sleep. The other is a non-steroid anti-inflammatory/pain med. I took the night time med last night before I went to bed and I slept OK. Not earth shattering sleep, but decent. I was told by the pharmacist that I would dream and remember them, but I didn't. With my life as wacky as it is, I would rather not remember any :)

I took the other med this morning after I had eaten a good breakfast (it said to take it with meals) and my neck is not as sore or stiff, but I can still feel discomfort.

He (the doc) told me that I needed to take the night time stuff for 2-3 nights and the other pills for 5 days or so to see if it helped.

I will report on my progress later.

**Update**

Day two and I am feeling pretty good. Only a small amount of pain/strain in my neck and almost none in my hip.

Of Men and Their Weaknesses

A few months ago I felt God leading me to find an "accountability" partner. An AP is a person to whom I could go to and privately explain my struggles and fears, as well as to pray with and for, someone who would not judge, but who would rebuke me (in a Christian manner) when I fall short. Last Thursday, I approached a man in our church, who I will call Ben*. While visiting with Ben and his family, I took him aside privately and asked him to consider my request. The look on his face took the wind out of my sails. I told him that, "'No' was an acceptable answer. Do not agree to this task lightly. My private thoughts and yours will be on the line." I asked him to pray about it and get back to me when he felt his answer had been given to him. That was on Thursday. Friday afternoon, on his way home, he called me and stated that he was happy to accept. He was concerned at first, that he was not strong enough to fulfill the job, but he said that it was the right thing to do. He was guided by the Holy Spirit as well as a sermon he had recently heard to do this.

I began to open up, bit by bit on Friday to him. He listened. We agreed to exchange books (Every Man's Battle for Wild at Heart) once we were both finished reading our books. It was a good conversation and he told me that he would keep up with me via e-mail and phone. I was pleased.

Monday rolls around and I get a call from Ben. He is in good mood and begins to tell me of his struggles. I listen. I empathize. I give him my thoughts and opinions. He listens. He agrees on some of them. I find he and I have a similar weakness in the computer/internet area with music. I have told him my goals and what I have accomplished so far. He seems impressed (not that I was pushing for that) that I have made this progress without external (not discounting God in this) help.

I told him of my struggles. He was very understanding. Men will understand each other's weaknesses, especially Christian men. Women, as wonderful and caring as they are, are not programmed/wired in a way that would allow them to understand. This is not my opinion, this is a fact. For the women reading my blog, please take no offense. Only women can truly understand the struggles women face. Men are not programmed/wired the same way. We have to REALLY get past our basic programming just to begin to grasp at women's issues/struggles/weaknesses.

Men, if you think you understand the way a woman is wired/programmed by God, you are truly blessed. It takes a long time just to understand the basics. Also men, I am going to give away a secret we have to women, so they can better understand us. Go ahead and get mad if you want to and argue that "I am not that way. If you think that way then you must be a pervert", but God wired men a certain way. If he didn't the population of the earth would dwindle to nothing. So with that tasty nugget to savor, here is the main course.

Women, here it is: men are sexual creatures. We have been wired by God that way on purpose, just as he wired you (well, most of you that is) to be more emotional based. We are the "yin and yang", "peas and carrots", "PB and J", etc. We (men and women) just go together. We compliment each other. We (initally) are drawn to your beauty and you (initally) are drawn to our ability to provide and protect.

Every man is tempted (you must understand that temptation is not sin. Jesus was tempted, he did not sin) by flesh. Flesh is weak. Spirit is so much stronger. We are BOMBARDED with sexual imagery all day long: at work (the clothing of our female colleagues), music (sexually charge lyrics), the internet (pop-ups and banner ads with scantily clad women), billboards (Have you really looked at them?), movies (Duhh), TV (Sex in the City, Friends, etc) the gym (the clothing that is worn there is just not acceptable at all), and even at your son's high school football game (the pep squad/color guard/etc have the most provocative outfits I have ever seen. They just scream, 'LOOK AT MY BUTT!'). Now, remember that while you think about the fact (yes, it is a fact) that men are wired to be more VISUALLY oriented than women are. See? Now do you see why we struggle? God wants us to notice beauty, but SIN has perverted God's desire for us to notice your beauty into a temptation to look at others the same way we look at our wives.

Now, so I do not sound like some sort of (please pardon this expression from my youth) "whore dog", I do a very good job of being a man of integrity. I practice what is called "eye bounce" when I notice something/someone that I should not be looking at. With that, when you see something that is "off limits", you "bounce" your eyes to something else. While this may be difficult if you are driving in a neighborhood and some female is running along side the road (or in the road as it happens so much here), you move that to the edge of your field of vision until you pass them and then you keep going. DO NOT LOOK in the rearview mirror. After a while it becomes second nature. Doing this enough helps a man "rediscover" how enticing his wife is to him.

When it comes to the internet, I simply use Firefox or Mozilla as my web browser and turn on pop-up blockers and configure the ad-block extension to block the ads. It not only keeps me focused, but my pages load quicker. Not a bad trade off.

With e-mail, I get a lot of spam. A large chunk of it is adult based (get a date tonight, make your p*nis larger, etc) and is usually followed by a graphic. I simply tell my mail client (Mozilla, Thunderbird, Outlook Express, etc) to make all mail text based instead of web page based and I never have to see the ads.

I think that covers most of what I need to do. I have almost stopped watching TV (we are down to basic cable now, for the broadband access), only go to fantasy/sci-fi movies every couple of months, and sit away from the pep squad when I attend sporting events.

My wife tosses the lingerie catalogs away after she has glanced through them, or we just do not have them delivered. We "commercial skip" when possible since a lot of late night TV has some trashy commercials.

My wife is fully aware that men (including me) struggle. She is proud of me for being honest with her. So, if she understands, why do need an accountability partner? Well, if I stumble, I will be too embarrassed (initially) to tell my wife. But if I have a AP, I can confess, be rebuked, pray, then tell my wife. Admitting things that you have done wrong is difficult. A good wife makes it easier. I cannot imagine being a single Christian man. I would literally go crazy.

Now one last thing on the subject, then I am going to lunch. If any woman who is reading this is disgusted, then you should be disgusted with yourself. If you wore a tight skirt JUST ONE TIME to work, you contributed to this. If you left you lingerie catalogue out and asked your husband or boyfriend to pick out something for you ON HIS OWN, if you watch "Friends", "Sex in the City, Desperate Housewives" (or any other trashy show) or allow him to watch Spike TV for hours, you have enabled him. Don't blame him completely. It is your job to lovingly keep him honest. He has the biggest part, but you women have to do your part as well.

Just think about it.



*Ben is not his real name.

Hey, Let's Go to Fry's...

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?

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.

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)

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.

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.

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 :-) .

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.