You HAVE To Watch This!!!

click here. I bet you I could do 29!

Back To School Quotes

I've bolded my favorites.

Education is not preparation for life;
education is life itself.
John Dewey

I like a teacher who gives you something to take home
to think about besides homework.
Lily Tomlin


An investment in knowledge
always pays the best interest.
Benjamin Franklin



Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind
with an open one.
Malcolm S. Forbes


You learn something every day if you pay attention.
Ray LeBlond

The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires.
William Arthur Ward

Good teaching is one-fourth preparation
and three-fourths theater.
Gail Godwin

Good teachers are costly,
but bad teachers cost more.
Bob Talbert

Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.
John Cotton Dana

The only reason I always try to meet and know the parents better
is because it helps me to forgive their children.
Louis Johannot

Random Web Site of the Day

Oh, the carnage!!!


Click here.

Top 10 Most Important Events in History - #8

For those who do not know, I am doing a list of what I think are the top 10 most important events in history. Here are 10 and 9 if you have not already seen them. These are the musings of a history student who is working on his MA degree in history, so they are in no way expert opinion, but here comes #8.






#8 - Columbus' Crossing of the Atlantic
We all know the old poem "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue" but we don't often think of the social consequences of "discovering" a previously unknown continent full of indigenous people. This would be similar to us sending a manned flight to Mars, and discovering a planet between Earth and Mars that was full of people. This shocked Europeans to their core. And this caused unending questions, especially to the theologians. Are these indigenous people human? Do they have souls? If they have souls, did Jesus save them like us? Do they know about Jesus? Similar questions that theologians would be asking today if we found another planet full of people. These were important questions, too. Where did these people fit into society? Where European and Native American societies compatible, or mutually exclusive? Could both exist together at the same time? This also affected how Europeans saw their place in the world. The world suddenly doubled in size. Europe was no longer the center of the world.
Many nations in Europe claimed new colonies soon after Columbus. (see the Treaty of Tordesillas) These colonies were different than previous colonies held by Europeans. These new American colonies shared the richness in natural resources of other European colonies, as in Africa and the Atlantic Islands. The difference, however, was in the habitability of the climate. The American colonies were on a different, more pleasant latitude than those in Africa and could provide a more permanent home than the small islands in the Atlantic. These colonies were not only used for their natural resources, but also for a home - first for criminals, then for those who were seeking a better life than what over-populated Europe could provide. These people developed their own life-style and their own political philosophy as they lived thousands of miles from the people governing them. They began to think in new terms of liberty and equality; ideas that were not compatible with monarchical Europe. They spelled the end of monarchy and it all started with Columbus' crossing of the Atlantic.
Some will say that others discovered America before Columbus. Zheng He, a fifteenth century Chinese naval commander, crossed the Pacific (an even more impressive accomplishment than Columbus' crossing of the Atlantic) and landed on the west coast of South America, but the Chinese imperial government quashed his attempts and destroyed the Chinese naval fleet before anything could happen. Also, there is evidence of small canoes from the Caribbean carrying a handful of Native Americans landing in places like the Azores and Ireland. Also, some have argued that there are pre-Columbian native statues depicting Africans and Semites in authority positions over Native Americans. All of these facts are of no consequence. Columbus may or may not have known about the Americas before he left Europe, and others most certainly knew before he did, but the trade/exploitation of the new world did not occur until Columbus. The Chinese, Africans, Semites, or any other people may or may not have discovered America first, but they did not conquer and subdue the Native population or permanently settle the country and shake of the oppressive shackles of tyrannical monarchy which led to a generation of revolutionaries on both sides of the Atlantic.

Here's the whole poem to help you reminisce about elementary school:
In fourteen hundred ninety two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue
He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind, and rain.

He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
He used the stars to find his way.
A compass also helped him know
How to find the way to go.

Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked while others snored.
Then the workers went to sleep;
And others watched the ocean deep.

Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.
October 12 their dream came true.
You never saw a happier crew!

“Indians! Indians!” Columbus cried;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.
But “India” the land was not;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.

The Arawak natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice.
Columbus sailed on to find some gold
To bring back home, as he’d been told.

He made the trip again and again,
Trading for gold to bring to Spain.
The first American? No, not quite.
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.

See if you should try out for Mensa

Take the test here. I got 21 out of 30.

What I've been working on for the past couple weeks...

I have decided to broaden my area of study and stop reading just history books and work on a better understanding of the Bible and my faith. I started studying this type of content when I was going to CBU, but stopped when I started wanting to learn more about history. I feel like such a broad topic of God and Christianity are things that should be studied for a lifetime with the expectation that a lifetime is only long enough to scratch the surface. I have started with the New Testament and have been reading Craig L. Blomberg's Jesus and the Gospels, Bart Ehrman's A Brief Introduction to the New Testament and Ben Witherington's The Christology of Jesus. I am also listening to a lot of interesting lectures and finding a lot of good stuff online. If your interested, you can listen to some of the lectures that I find most interesting here, here, here, and here. I have also updated the links on the left of my blog with a bunch of interesting links where I've found a lot of good information. My favorite is the Veritas link. You can read what they're all about here. I'm going to share some interesting stuff that I learn as I go just in case someone else might share an interest, but mostly to help myself remember what I learn. I am especially enjoying this new area of study because I am coming in the middle of the conversation, like the quote that I used here, and I find peace in the fact that people have been struggling with the same questions and issues that I am for thousands of years. I feel like I have joined a community of people seeking Truth.
So, here is the first mildly interesting thing that I have learned. Craig Blomberg wrote about the authorship and intended audiences of the gospels. Luke wrote the most purposefully historical gospel, and addressed it to "most excellent Theophilus." Every time I had read that in the past, I always thought that Theophilus was one of Luke's friends, but Theophilus is Greek for "lover of God" or "God's beloved" so some say Luke intended his gospel for all Christians.
O.k., so that wasn't that interesting, but it was something new that I learned. I swear I'll start sharing more interesting things than that!

Ultrasound Pics

I feel like we've been getting a lot of ultrasounds. This time we had to go in because the doc couldn't get a good look at the heart last time. It was great this time because my mom and both of Michelle's parents were able to be there, so we packed the ultrasound room. The nurse snook in some free 3-D pics, which normally you have to pay for because insurance doesnt cover them. I think she did it because the grandparents were there. Anyway, for your viewing pleasure...

Stuff

Today was a day of new stuff for me. I spent a very long time in the bowels of Hell today. It actually wasnt that long, it was about an hour and a half, but I had business to take care of at the DMV today. I have never had a pleasent experience at the DMV and today was no exception. In case there are any people that work for the DMV that read my blog that I don't know about, I dont mean to offend you, but every DMV employee that I have ever had the pleasure of doing business with has seemed to hate their own lives and want to take their displeasure out on me. After waiting for 25 minutes in the line to check in so I can get a number to wait in the real line, I honestly thought I would be there overnight and would have to go straight from there to work the next morning. As 15 minutes turned into 20 minutes and I was still not close to the front of the line, I began thinking of our illustrious governor who, you might remember, recently laid off all but 3 DMV employees who were split over the 127 DMV offices throughout the state. When I got to the front of the line to check in and it finally became my turn, the clerk (in a very gruff voice) said "NEXT, PLEASE!" Before I could even take a step toward her counter, she screamed again "NEXT, PLEASE!!!" The wait in the actual line wasn't that bad, I only had to wait another 40 minutes or so in a very packed DMV. The person who helped me finish my business at the DMV was angry, impatient, accusatory, rude, and when I finished my business, I felt like I had wronged her in some horrible way and owed her penance. It was worth all of it though, because I added a very cool feature to my car today.......










Also, Michelle and I bought a brand new, sealed in original box, stroller and car seat combo from a person on Craig's List who was selling it at half price. Once I has finished putting it together and was fiddling around with it, it hit me like a ton of bricks...I'm going to be a father! I have been thinking about it for 6 months now, I have said the phrase before, I read to the baby, I think of the baby, I love the baby, but it hadn't hit me until the stroller...in 13 weeks we will be adding 33.3% to our family. There will be a new life with his very own thoughts, emotions, needs, wants, who has a future full of potential and who will some day be an adult, and I will be responsible for that person. That is the most amazing blessing but also the most amazing responsibility. My son who isn't even born yet could be the president, or an astronought, or a great history teacher, or a nobel prize winner. And he is coming in 81 days! I can't wait!

Happy Anniversary to my Wonderful Wife!

Today is Michelle's and my 2 year anniversary. I can't believe that two years ago today I was standing at the front of the aisle watching my stunningly beautiful bride walk down the aisle. Two years goes by really fast! I love you, babe! I'm looking forward to the next two years and the rest of our lives together!

Look how cute she is!!

Michelle is really showing now, so now she is officially pregnant. She wasn't official before. She is sooo cute!
Love you, babe!