The History Geek

Response to Loftus #1

2010-06-16T13:31:00.000-07:00

John Loftus is a former-pastor turned atheist who now writes and speaks in defense of atheism. He has been writing on his blog, Debunking Christianity, a series he has called “Reality Check: What Must Be the Case if Christianity is True?” These are a series of seemingly unbelievable ideas that, according to Loftus, all Christians must believe. I am going to blog through all of these (so far he’s up to 23 posts) with my responses and then do my own series “Reality Check: What Must Be the Case if Naturalism is True?”

1) There must be a God who is a simple being yet made up of three inexplicable persons existing forever outside of time without a beginning, who therefore never learned anything new, never took a risk, never made a decision, never disagreed within the Godhead, and never had a prior moment to freely choose his own nature.

I don’t think any rational Christian believes that God is simple. God does not have to be simple. Through God’s omnipotence, He can show himself in a simple way so that we, His creation, can understand Him, but that does not make Him simple. When I am talking to my 18-month-old son, I do not speak the same way that I speak to my graduate advisor. I speak simply to my son so he can understand me. That does not mean that while I am speaking to him all my speech and thoughts must be simple.

An infinite being who created the universe and exists beyond the limits of time and space would appear to us, who are finite beings living within a linear timeline, as having the characteristics that Loftus mentions above. The fact that he exists outside of time and never learned anything new does not sound like a challenge to me. This sounds like commonly accepted attributes of an eternal and omniscient God. The laws of causality demand that there must be something that exists eternally (an un-caused first cause) to stop infinite regress (more on this on a future post). I think some atheists (actually most people, atheist or not) have trouble with the concept of a being who already knows everything and does not need to learn anything new. To me, these sound like necessary attributes of a being who is powerful enough to create the universe. The concept of learning something new is a human concept, and an attribute (i.e. omniscience) which can never apply to humans can sometimes be uncomfortable. Once my son is old enough to start asking questions, I will have the answers to nearly all of them (I hope!) and he might think that I know everything. But the difference between God’s knowledge and mine is so much greater than that between my knowledge and my son’s.

The arguments that God “never took a risk, never made a decision, never disagreed within the Godhead, and never had a prior moment to freely choose his own nature” are human attributes that don’t necessarily apply to an infinite being. I think that Loftus is trying to say that because God already knows the future the concepts of risk and choice do not apply to Him. Choice does not involve knowledge of the future, it involves desire. A little while ago I had a choice to make: Michelle and I went to my favorite restaurant (Red’s) and I had to choose between the burger and the chopped salad. I knew that I was going to get the burger, I always get the burger. In fact, before we were seated Michelle told me that she knew I was going to get the burger. Just because both I and Michelle already knew that I would order the burger does not mean that I did not make the choice to order the burger.

The main problem with Loftus’ argument is that he is looking through atheism glasses. He already assumes that God does not exist and then interprets the data. He calls this a control belief. Christians have the same kind of control belief; Christians assume that God does exist and then interpret the data. And this is the way it has to be. God can neither be proved or disproved; we must start with an assumption either way. Atheists/naturalists are no less impartial than Christians/theists. Atheism/naturalism does not build a better case than Christianity/theism, they just view the data through different glasses. In this case, Loftus assumes that there cannot be an infinite deity who created the universe and therefore these attributes of omniscience and eternality are irrational. I start with the assumption that there must be a God and omniscience and eternality must be attributes of this God.

By Request...

2010-04-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent pics of Eli.

Here we are at Disneyland.

We met Nana and Papa there.

His favorite ride seems to be the carousel right now.

We had a lot of fun.

We also went to the Long Beach Aquarium. He loved the jellyfish exhibit.

And he made friends with a diver.

Eli loved the fish petting zoo.

But his favorite part was the Lorikeet Exhibit.

As you can see, Chris likes to lurk in the background

But he came out to show off his glorious manbeardedness

The whole fam came

Why do kids sleep like this? This cant be good for his back.

My Amazing Winning Wife

2010-03-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

Michelle is the luckiest woman alive, and not just because she married me! She wins so much stuff from radio stations. I think its a combination of incredible, odds-defying luck and a huge number of attempts to win stuff. She will be flipping through radio stations in the car and if she hears "Call now to win" she'll have already speed-dialed the radio station before the DJ even finishes the sentence. Today she won Dave Matthews tickets and we're going to see them at Verizon Amphiteatre on August 21. Here is a list of things she has won from radio stations in the past couple of years:
- Front row center tix to see Dave Matthews Band at the Hollywood Bowl
- Another pair of tix to see DMB at the Hollywood Bowl on another night
- Backstage passes to see the Goo Goo Dolls at Verizon which included wine tasting and pics with the band
- A pair of tix to see Nickleback at Verizon
- A set of four tix to Knotts Berry Farm for answering the question "What is the name of the restaurant that serves chicken at Knott's?"
- A pair of tix to see a screening of Hitch with the cast which included the soundtrack and a t-shirt
- A set of four tix to see Princesses on Ice which included a tea party with the princesses
- A set of books and cds from Greg Laurie and Harvest
- And most recently another pair of tix to see DMB at Verizon

Lost Ramblings

2010-02-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

Some things you may have missed so far this season if you are only a casual watcher of Lost and have not yet taken it to the same unhealthy level that I have:

- Jin and Sun are not married in the alternate universe: they are not wearing wedding rings and the airport employee calls Sun ‘Ms. Paik’ which is her maiden name
- Desmond is married in the alternate universe: he’s wearing a wedding ring
- Jack does not have a problem with alcohol in the alternate universe: he only has one bottle of alcohol instead of the two that he had in the season 1 flashbacks, and he spills it and doesn’t drink it.
- The title of last night’s ep “What Kate Does” mirrors a season 1 ep titled “what Kate Did.”
- The infection that Dogen said that Sayid had sounds like the infection from the early seasons that made Desmond wear a hazmat suit to go outside the hatch.
- Ethan was Claire’s doctor in the alternate universe and he tried to steal Claire’s baby in the original storyline. He was introduced in season 1 as Ethan Rom, but we later found out that he was the son of Horace Goodspeed and he introduced himself last night as Ethan Goodspeed. Also, he was born on the island, so I think his appearance last night is going to be important.
- The stuffed killer whale that Kate saw in Claire’s bag in the off-island timeline is the same stuffed killer whale that Kate gave to newborn Aaron in season 2.

Snow

2010-01-19T20:47:00.000-08:00

We took Eli to the snow for the first time last weekend. My family rents this cabin up in Blue Jay every year and this year was Eli's first. I know I am totally biased, but isn't this the cutest kid you've ever seen??? The last picture is in the cabin when Eli tried to kiss Michelle through a window.

Poor Neglected Blog

2010-01-14T20:36:00.001-08:00

I'm back to blogging. I don't think anyone's reading this anymore, though. To anyone who still reads this little blog, here are a bunch of thoughts rolling around my head:

- I just turned 29. I don't want to call it a mid-life crisis, but this was a tough birthday for me. I have a list of things that I want to accomplish by the time I'm 30 and I only have 360 more days to finish it.

- Emotions overwhelm over the crisis in Haiti; so tragic. It makes me proud to be an American that disaster aid is something that we take so seriously, and it makes me glad to be a Christian when I hear of faith based organizations showing God's love to Haiti. Pat Robertson ticks me off and he mis-represents Christianity. He doesn't represent me or anyone else that I know when he says stupid things like this. His theology is dangerous. If one thinks that when tragedies happen, the victims are being punished by a vengeful God, then help will be slow if at all. Ideas have consequences.

- Eli is at an awesome age. He is really active, very curious, and just mobile enough to be able to hurt himself. He gets really excited about certain things and starts running, but he cant quite control it yet, so he trips a lot. He is so cute, though. I think he might be starting to get ready for a sibling though. (this is merely an observation, not an announcement.)

More blogging later. Here's a picture.

Our Christmas Music Video

2009-12-17T09:40:00.001-08:00

We won funniest video last night at the Calvary-Church-high-school-group-"White-Christmas"-Christmas-party.

Feel free to laugh at my running man dance moves.

Good Article

2009-11-06T12:03:00.000-08:00

Everyone should read this article by Jeff Bleich, chairman of the Cal State University Board of Trustees, even if you are not a CSU student.

The Fifth of November

2009-11-05T12:14:00.000-08:00

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd (or by God's mercy*)
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring. (Holla*)
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
And what should we do with him? Burn him!

I love that Eli already loves books!

2009-10-23T13:53:00.001-07:00

Countdown to LCROSS

2009-10-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

This morning NASA will be shooting a probe into the moon at 6000 mph. The probe will shoot a huge plume of debris which will be analyzed to see if the moon has water. This is important as NASA moves towards building a permanent lunar base. For any who are interested, you can watch the impact live via the probes onboard camera here. You have to really want to see it live, because the impact is scheduled for 4:31 PDT.

Nuts!

2009-10-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

I am confused about something and I want to see if anyone in cyberspace agrees with me because so far everyone that I've talked to in real life about this looks at me like I'm crazy.

I understand that a shelled nut means the shell has been removed, but it sounds so counter-intuitive to me. If you took the shell off wouldn't it be un-shelled or de-shelled??? A shelled nut sounds like a nut with a shell. If I say I "covered" Eli, that doesn't mean that I took a blanket off of him. That means that I put a blanket on him. I think that the description "shelled nut" needs to be changed because I cannot be the only one confused by this. I am going to start a petition to send to the nut industry. Who's with me?!?!

It was hot today!

2009-09-24T07:04:00.000-07:00

Am I in Arizona? Someone needs to remind the weather that summer is over now.

Cooking

2009-09-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

I very recently (in the past month or so) have been really interested in cooking. In the 3 years that Michelle and I have been married, I can count the number of times that I cooked dinner on 1 hand. And each time I cooked, dinner consisted of overdone scrambled eggs and underdone toast. I hated to cook. Cooking was the most stressful thing to me. Everything happened so quickly and I was never prepared. But I recently tried to make a couple things and it turned out ok which gave me a lot of cooking confidence. I made a decent batch of divinity and a decent batch of peanut butter fudge. Then Michelle and I saw Julie and Julia and I started making dinners. So far I've only got me feet wet with casseroles, but they have all turned out pretty well. Cooking is no longer stressful and I really enjoy it now. I'm going to crack open The Joy Of Cooking and try my hand at some of the fancier kinds of cooking. Occasionally I'll share some recipes that worked. Today, I'll share the easiest peanut butter fudge recipe in the world (from Alton Brown):

1 cup peanut butter (I recommend chunky to add texture)
1 cup butter
1 lb powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Microwave peanut butter and butter on high for 2 mins. Stir and microwave for another 2 mins on high and stir again. Add vanilla extract and (sifted) powdered sugar and mix into peanut butter/butter mixture. Pour mixture into lightly greased 8 X 8 inch pan and cover with wax paper and refrigerate until chilled. Slice into pieces and store in air tight container for up to 1 week.
***Warning: this recipe creates an insanely sweet fudge. I used about 3/4 lb of powdered sugar and it was still so sweet that you bypass the sugar high and go straight to sugar coma.

Easy peasy. I added melted chocolate to the top for a Reese's effect and it was pretty good.

Religulous

2009-09-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

Bill Maher has made a less than flattering documentary about religion which he has cleverly titled Religulous. Maher admits in his documentary that his mother was Jewish, his father was Catholic. His family chose his father’s religion and he was raised Catholic, but he was only really Catholic when he wanted something from God. He asked his mother why they went to church while he was growing up and his mother responded with “that’s just what you did back then.” So according to his own confession, Maher is not religious. However, he understands the basic doctrines of Christianity and often quotes the Bible in his documentary, but he is to be taken less seriously than one who has truly investigated the claims of Christianity and chosen not to believe (like Bart Ehrman). While he harpoons all three monotheisms, he focuses most of his documentary on Christianity.
Maher believes that all religion is bad and needs to be eliminated before mankind can progress to our next intellectual stage. He gives some thought provoking reasons for this belief: religious fundamentalism results in war, religion leads to racism and a new type of class warfare in which classes are divided by belief instead of wealth, and religious creeds are crazy. He asks how anyone can believe that a second millennium b.c. religious mystic talked to God through a burning bush that wasn’t really burning, or that God impregnated a first century AD virgin teenager to give birth to His son who is also God, or that the Trinity is monotheistic. Maher, like most other modern critics of Christianity, falls victim to the logical fallacy of reductio ad absurdum in which he reduces the doctrines of Christianity to their simplest form and criticizes them as absurd. The same method can be used to make evolutionists look crazy. “Do you actually believe that the tree in your backyard, or your dog, or your body and your mind all came out of a bunch of rocks?” Of course evolutionary theory is more complex than that! An evolutionist has a right to get offended if I say that they are naïve, crazy, or just plain stupid to believe in something so preposterous. Christianity is the same way. If you reduce Christianity’s beliefs into their simplest form and then criticize Christians as stupid for believing them, then you commit the same offense as I just mentioned. And this is what Bill Maher does in Religulous. Most of Maher’s claims about Christianity can be refuted with a little common sense and independent thought.
Bill Maher is no better than Michael Moore. Both make pseudo-documentaries that support a conclusion which they’ve determined before they started. Both edit their documentaries to portray people on the fringe who make themselves and their organizations (in the case of Religulous, Christianity) look crazy and make the narrator/interviewer look intelligent. Both use hot-button issues in a spectacle of disingenuousness that becomes mere entertainment with no intellectual value. But don’t get me wrong; it is entertaining. Its entertaining like Favre’s retirement announcements and Kanye’s apologies: they’re fun to watch, but you just don’t take them very seriously. I enjoyed Religulous not as a documentarian look at religion, but as a representation of how some non-Christians view Christianity.

Americans and American History

2009-08-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

It seems like every year a study comes out showing how abysmal Americans' knowledge of American history is. Jay Leno frequently show us how little we know in a humurous way with Jay Walking. We even make light of it with shows like Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader. Surveys of college students have been conducted that show how most college graduates know very little of our country's history. (Click here for an example) Here are some results from this study:
"Approximately 14,000 freshmen and seniors at 50 schools nationwide were given a 60-question, multiple-choice exam on basic knowledge of America’s heritage. Both years, the students failed. The average freshman scored 51.7% the first year and 51.4% the next. The average senior scored 53.2%, then 54.2%."

In response to this survey, I would like to take my own survey. Please indulge me and take my short 15 question quiz on American history and politics.

U.S. History Quiz
1.) Which came first, the Revolutionary War or the Civil War?
2.) What decade did the Civil War take place in?
3.) How many presidents have there been?
4.) Name the original thirteen colonies.
5.) Which came first, the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution? (extra credit for naming the years that either were drafted)
6.) Name the branches of government.
7.) What was the Monroe Doctrine?
8.) How many amendments are there to the Constitution? (extra credit if you can describe them all)
9.) How many presidents have been shot? Assassinated?
10.) How long can a president serve? What are the prerequisites to become president?
11.) Who said “Give me liberty or give me death?”
12.) Who/what is America named after?
13.) On what ship did the Pilgrims sail to America?
14.) What significance is there to the date June 6, 1944?
15.) Who is the current commander-in-chief of the armed forces?

Music vs. Lyrics

2009-08-19T09:40:00.001-07:00

Do you listen to the lyrics of a song, or do you listen to the beat/instruments/other aspects? Do you have a song that you love, but the lyrics are bad? One of my favorite songs of all time is Say Goodbye by Dave Matthews Band, but it is about how this guy is cheating with another guy's girlfriend. Its all about making love to a girl for one night and then she has to go back to her man the next day and they have to be just friends. The live versions are even better than the studio, but the lyrics are even worse. But I still love the song and it remains on my top 5 greatest songs of all time.
Can you disassociate the lyrics from a really good song? What songs do you love that have bad lyrics?

Meca-leca-hi-meca-hiney-ho.

2009-08-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

Good news for all you Pee-Wee Herman fans
Here and here.

Happy Anniversary, Honey!!!

2009-08-05T06:21:00.000-07:00

Today is Michelle's and my three year anniversary. Three years ago today we were standing in the gazebo at the Huntington Beach Hilton proclaiming our love for each other through marriage. A lot has happened in the last three years, the best thing is this little guy.

Michelle, if its possible I love you now more than I did then. I look forward to every day with you. I thank God every day for blessing me with you. I love you!

Eli Update

2009-07-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

Eli just had his 9-month well baby check-up. I cannot believe he is 9 months old already! He is 31.5 inches: the doctor said that he is above the 99.9 percentile which I'm pretty sure means that he is the tallest boy in the world. He is 22 lbs, 4 oz which is in the 67% so we have a little string bean. The doc said he's doing really well, which for some reason means a lot more when it comes from a doctor than when you think it for yourself.

Yesterday he climbed the stairs by himself!!! He climbed all the way up! I was behind him to make sure that he didn't fall back (obviously!) but he climbed them by himself, I did not help him at all! He can climb the stairs on his hands and knees better than I can! I could not believe it. And he knew that he shouldn't be doing what he was doing because when I brought him back downstairs he looked at Michelle like "Ha Ha, look what I just got away with!" We're going to have to be careful with him. I have a feeling he's going to get into a lot of trouble.

Things Eli will never know/understand

2009-07-23T08:24:00.000-07:00

From Wired magazine. I added a few of my own, too. Sad to think he will never know about a lot of these things. I can already feel myself turning into an old man who always talks about how it was "back in my day."

1. Blowing the dust out of a NES cartridge in the hopes that it’ll load this time.
2. Han shoots first.
3. Roller skates, as opposed to blades.
4. Looking out the window during a long drive.
5. Having to manually unlock a car door.
6. Writing a check.
7. Not knowing who was calling you on the phone.
8. Remembering someone’s phone number.
9. Sending film away to be processed.
10. Answering machines.
11. Using a road atlas to get from A to B.
12. Doing bank business only when the bank is open.
13. The scream of a modem connecting.
14. Inserting a VHS tape into a VCR to watch a movie or to record something.
15. Phone Booths.
16. “Rolling” down the car window.
17. Broken record.

Letters of Abgar and Jesus

2009-07-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

In my off-season reading, I came across a pair of letters that were allegedly written to and from Jesus c. 25 AD. I thought they were pretty interesting and I did a little research and here is what I found:

Abgar V of Edessa was a Syrian ruler of the Kingdom of Osroene (also known as the Kingdom of Edessa) between the years AD 13-50. Abgar was suffering from an incurable disease. Word of the deeds of Jesus had reached Abgar and legend states that he was converted to Christianity by Addai (also known as Thaddeus) who was one of the 70 disciples mentioned in Luke 10:1-24. Abgar believed that Jesus was the only one who could heal him and he wrote to Jesus asking for a healing. He offered Jesus asylum in Edessa offering protection from the malice of the Jews of whom he believed hated Jesus. Jesus responded with a letter stating that he could not come to heal Abgar because He needed to complete His mission, but once He had completed His mission (i.e. after His ascension) He would send someone else to heal Abgar. Jesus’ letter was very popular in the region because it promised divine protection of the city of Edessa from its enemies. The letter lost popularity, however, when the city of Edessa was conquered.

There are several surviving manuscripts of the letters: a Syriac text, an Armenian translation, two independent Greek translations, and several inscriptions on stone. Eusebius records the letters in his Ecclesiastical History (written in the early fourth century) and he was convinced that the original letters still existed in his day in the archives of Edessa, although he never saw them himself.

The letters are likely not authentic, however. The correspondence allegedly written by Jesus mirrors passages from later versions of the gospels. For example, the passage in the letter in which Jesus says that He cannot visit Edessa and heal Abgar because He has to finish his mission but promises to send someone after His ascension mirrors John 16 in which Jesus says that He must fulfill His mission, but will send someone later and predicts His own death and resurrection. This passage was not taken from the original gospels, however. It more closely resembles the equivalent passage from the Diatessaron (the Diatessaron was a ‘gospel harmony’ in which all 4 gospels were combined into one uber-gospel.) The Diatessaron was written sometime between AD 150-160 which would place the letters sometime after that.

Here are versions of both letters:

A copy of a letter written by Abgarus the toparch to Jesus, and sent to him by means of Ananias the runner, to Jerusalem.

Abgarus Uchama the toparch to Jesus the good Saviour that hath appeared in the parts (place) of Jerusalem, greeting. I have heard concerning thee and thy cures, that they are done of thee without drugs or herbs: for, as the report goes, thou makest blind men to see again, lame to walk, and cleansest lepers, and castest out unclean spirits and devils, and those that are afflicted with long sickness thou healest, and raisest the dead. And having heard all this of thee, I had determined one of two things, either that thou art God come down from heaven, and so doest these things or art a Son of God that doest these things. Therefore now have I written and entreated thee to trouble thyself to come to me and heal the affliction which I have. or indeed I have heard that the Jews even murmur against thee and wish to do thee hurt. And I have a very little city but (and) comely (reverend), which is sufficient for us both.

The answer, written by Jesus, sent by Ananias the runner to Abgarus the toparch.

Blessed art thou that hast believed in me, not having seen me. For it is written concerning me that they that have seen me shall not believe in me, and that they that have not seen me shall believe and live. But concerning that which thou hast written to me, to come unto thee; it must needs be that I fulfil all things for the which I was sent here, and after fulfilling them should then be taken up unto him that sent me. And when I am taken up, I will send thee one of my disciples, to heal thine affliction and give life to thee and them that are with thee.
*Later texts add a promise that where this letter is, no enemy shall prevail: and so we find the letter copied and used as an amulet. It was regarded naturally as the palladium of Edessa, but was also thought to act as a protection to individuals.

Presidential Speeches

2009-06-29T07:57:00.000-07:00

Politician's speeches are notoriously long-winded without saying anything of substance. President Obama, while more articulate than President Bush, is no exception. The president who was most notorious for long-winded speeches, however, was President Warren G. Harding. William McAdoo called Harding's speeches "an army of pompous phrases moving across the landscape in search of an idea." H.L. Mencken said about president Warren G. Harding's 1921 inaugural address:

"I rise to pay my small tribute to Dr. Harding. Setting aside a college professor or two and a half dozen dipsomaniacal newspaper reporters, he takes the first place in my Valhalla of literati. That is to say, he writes the worst English that I have ever encountered. It reminds me of a string of wet sponges; it reminds me of tattered washing on the line; it reminds me of stale bean soup, of college yells, of dogs barking idiotically through endless nights. It is so bad that a sort of grandeur creeps into it. It drags itself out of the dark abysm of pish, and crawls insanely up to the topmost pinnacle of posh. It is rumble and bumble. It is flap and doodle. It is balder and dash."

This can also be said of other writing. So the next time you hear politicians' speeches and realize that after an hour of speaking, you cant remember a single thing that they said, remember that they are just fulfilling a centuries old American tradition.

Fun With Kids Toys!

2009-06-28T19:15:00.001-07:00

Presidential Family Portraits

2009-06-18T10:48:00.001-07:00

Presidential family portraits have been an on-going tradition. Its interesting to see the change in styles. You can kind of tell when presidents started paying more attention to their image due to the advent of t.v. and multimedia. While not all presidents took family portraits, and some of the pictures below are more candid than a posed family portrait, I still think its interesting to see what family members the presidents brought with them to the White House. Here are the presidential family portraits since the beginning of the twentieth century.

Happy Memorial Day!!!

2009-05-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

We had a really easy and restful day today. Eli gave us a Memorial Day gift which was sleeping until 8:00. Thanks Eli! We took Eli to the park. Here are some pics. He's getting really big and he's starting to do the pre-crawl hands-and-knees-rock thing.

Sarah Barnard

2009-05-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

Sarah Barnard, and her company Sarah Barnard Designs, is not very nice. My cousin, who will remain anonymous but whose initials are M-O-L-L-Y, is going to CSUN and is studying interior design. One of her classes involved a final project in which the students were split into groups and had to visit a hotel and create a hotel interior design plan based on ideas that they got from their hotel visit. Sarah Barnard was a guest auditor of the students' presentations. It was the final for the semester for this class, and Sarah Barnard helped the professor judge the students' projects. Although Sarah Barnard did not issue the grade, she did offer critiques as an "expert" from the field of interior design. Before my cousin and her group could finish their conclusion to their project, Sarah Barnard cut them off and said, "I have to interrupt you, because your presentation is making me sick." Sarah Barnard then went on a tirade completely demeaning these four students and their project. Sarah Barnard told them that their project was a mockery and was a fraud and complete plagiarism of the hotel that they visited. The teacher actually had to speak up and defend the students because my cousin and her group did exactly what the teacher requested. But Sarah Barnard did not care and she ripped into the students. I want to use my blog as a platform to publicly inform all four of my readers about Sarah Barnard and her treatment of these students. Even if you do not like a student's presentation, you do not rip on them and tear them down as if they are not worthy of any kind of respect. Sarah Barnard's actions are a tragedy and need to be told. This is not the proper actions of a professional interior designer, or the actions of any rational human being. Rational human beings do not attack each other like this. Sarah Barnard's actions are the actions of someone who is threatened by students' ideas and who is so insecure with herself that she has to demean others to make herself fell better. This is all I have to say about this.

How My Work Is Like The Office, Part 1

2009-05-05T13:48:00.001-07:00

Party Planning Committee -
There is a party planning committee at my work that plans all parties including birthdays, monthly gatherings, and holidays such as Cinco de Mayo. They meet in secret, closed session and then reveal the details of the party after this small group has made the decision for the rest of us. There is a president of the party planning that bears an uncanny resmblance to Angela. This person likes to plan parties and becomes visibly upset if someone else tries to plan a party. The parties are equally as cheesy and everyone stands around in the conference room with the same low level of excitement as the characters in the show. Today was one of those types of parties that you don't really look forward to but it makes the day go by faster, so you tolerate it.

Michelle and I have been keeping a secret from everyone...

2009-05-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

Eli is actually a twin!!!

Why I love being a dad!

2009-04-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

This is pretty old......

2009-04-22T21:56:00.001-07:00

But its still really cool!

A Beautiful Piece of Americana

2009-04-17T20:11:00.001-07:00

In case you have not had the chance yet of experiencing the awesomeness of the Ballad of Bilbo Baggins, please enjoy this video. I hope your life is more complete for having seen this video.

Junk E-mail

2009-04-17T07:03:00.001-07:00

Does anyone else think its silly that if you unsubscribe from junk email, they will send you an email to confirm that you don't want anymore emails?

Theological Question

2009-04-10T12:58:00.001-07:00

To all you M.Div's and Th.M's, I have a question. For some reason, I can't stop thinking about this for about a month now, and what better time to talk about this than this time of year? I know this question doesn't have much life application, but it is stuck in my head nonetheless. Is Jesus' human nature eternal, or did He acquire His human nature at Bethlehem? If it is eternal, and Jesus' human nature was tempted in Matthew 4, was He ever tempted to sin in the past, maybe even before creation? If it is eternal, was Jesus' human nature what humanity was created in the likeness of?

Cause and Effect

2009-04-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

It's so interesting to watch Eli learn. It started when we put him in his bouncy saucer seat and he started playing with all the little toys around him. Then we put a stretchy toy on the arm of his car seat and he started pulling that down. Yesterday, Michelle was playing with him and he had a toy that made music every time he pushed a button. So, he pushed the button and Michelle screamed "Yay Eli!!!!!!" He did that a couple more times, and when Michelle stopped saying "Yay, Eli" he looked at her like "You need to say 'Yay Eli' because I just pressed the button that makes music." I think he's really learning about cause and effect, so today I think I am going to talk to him about a slippery slope and how an assumption that one event inevitably leads to specific results when the causal chain is unclear is a logical fallacy. He's 5 months old now, I'm pretty sure he's ready for this talk by now.

Happy April Fools Day!

2009-04-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of April Fools Day, I give you the top five April Fools Day pranks care of this website where you can read the rest of the top 100 best pranks.

#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."

#2: Sidd Finch
1985: Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the "great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa." Mets fans celebrated their teams' amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded with requests for more information. In reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton.

#3: Instant Color TV
1962: In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.

#4: The Taco Liberty Bell
1996: The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known, he said, as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

#5: San Serriffe
1977: The British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic said to consist of several semi-colon-shaped islands located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian's phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Only a few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer's terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades.

Two Things

2009-03-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

First, recently I am finding myself, as a new dad, speaking baby-speak to Eli a lot. I often find myself in the middle of a "hooshie-booshie-hooshie-boo" and think to myself "What on Earth am I doing??? This doesn't make any sense to either of us!" Also, I call him "buddy" all the time. Also, I make this weird throat noise that seems to make him laugh. Its not so bad when its just me and Eli, but recently I have caught myself doing the same things in public. I have made the same weird throat noise when someone says something that I think is funny. And I have been calling everyone "buddy" more often than should be allowed. So, if I come up and "hooshie-booshie" you or call you buddy, I apologize. Blame Eli.

Second, I have to confess something. It has been burdening me for a long time now, and if I do not confess this then I will never be able to move on. I am a blog-stalker. I read people's blogs who I don't know. I read people's blogs who I only know second or third hand. I read people's blogs without them knowing. I like to read people's blogs. Please don't judge me. Whew! I feel better! Now that I have admitted that I have a blog-stalking problem I can now move to the next step which is seeking help. Maybe I can find a good therapist's blog.

Life Updates and Random Thoughts

2009-03-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

- I just finished forty hours of classroom observation. I feel like I still have a lot to learn about how the classroom and how a school works, but I feel like I have a lot better grasp on how to run a classroom when it comes time for me to teach (hopefully next year). Also, I have discovered that high schoolers now dress a lot differently than they did even when I was in high school. Especially the girls! Some of them look like they are going on a job interview with Heff.
- Speaking of high school, my 10 year high school reunion is this year. I cant believe its been 10 years! So far, there is no plan coming from the alumni association. I really hope they so something. It would be fun to see where people are ten years after high school.
- I love being a dad! I get about 2.5 hours alone with Eli after work and they are the best hours! I love hanging out as a family, but there is nothing like hanging out, just the two of us. I feel like I've bonded with Eli a lot more since Michelle has gone back to work. Suddenly he realizes that he has 2 parents instead of a mom and some guy who shows up for half the day.
- I love living in OC and am not likely to move, but I still have such strong ties to Simi. It took me a while to feel like OC was home, just because I live in Simi for so long. What has made it feel like home is connecting with the place that I live. Sometimes it has just been finding a store, like a palce to buy guitar strings or a trustworthy mechanic. But within the last couple months, I have been connecting with the city of Tustin and it really feels like my permantent home now. This observation class that I am taking has required me to get really involved in the city schools, and therefore involved in the city. I have visited the local schools, attended school board meetings, and have connected with local politics. I definitely want to get more involved with local stuff, and this class has made me really feel like Tustin is my home.
- I am starting to send out my resume for a teaching position next school year. I did it last year and didnt find a job, but this year I have a lot more experience and I am a lot more employable than I was last year, but there is still the whole issue with the state's economy. I hope I can find something because I really want to get out of the mortgage sector.
- How amazing is Lost this season??? That's all I have to say about that.
- I was looking through some old pictures of Eli last night and it makes me kind of sad about how fast he is growing. He was so tiny and he is so big now. I know time is going to fly, but I was hoping it would go a little slower than this.
- I am writing a paper this semester that is going to be a chapter of my thesis. I am writing about medieval travel narratives. Its really interesing so far. I am writing about the how some were reliable and others were not and why they weren't and why the unreliable ones were the most popular.

The Madoff Scandal

2009-03-21T21:03:00.001-07:00

In case you were a little confused about Bernie Madoff and the scandal surrounding him, I found this helpful video that explains it all in simple terms. I hope this helps anyone who is still confused about the scandal.

Eli also wants to wish everyone a happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, Eli would like to show you his dance moves. His favorite dance is the sprinkler.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

2009-03-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun facts care of London's Telegraph

1. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, although he was born in Britain, around 385AD. His parents Calpurnius and Conchessa were Roman citizens living in either Scotland or Wales, according to different versions of his story.

2. As a boy of 14 he was captured and taken to Ireland where he spent six years in slavery herding sheep. He returned to Ireland in his 30s as a missionary among the Celtic pagans.

3. Legend has it that he used the native shamrock as a symbol of the holy trinity when preaching and brought the Latin alphabet to Ireland.

4. Miracles attributed to him include the driving of serpents out of Ireland. However, evidence suggests post-glacial Ireland never had any snakes in the first place.

5. Wearing green, eating green food and even drinking green beer, is said to commemorate St Patrick's use of the shamrock - although blue was the original colour of his vestments.

6. St Patrick was said to have proclaimed that everyone should have a drop of the "hard stuff" on his feast day after chastising an innkeeper who served a short measure of whiskey. In the custom known as "drowning the shamrock", the shamrock that has been worn on a lapel or hat is put in the last drink of the evening.

7. Popular Irish toasts on St Patrick's Day, include: may the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends beneath it never fall out.

8. St. Patrick's Day was first celebrated in America in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1737. Around 34 million modern Americans claim Irish ancestry.

9. It is believed that St Patrick died on March 17 in 461AD. It is a national holiday in Ireland, and on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean, which was founded by Irish refugees. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland.

10. Dublin has a parade that attracts hundreds of thousands of people, while in Chicago the river is dyed green for a few hours. The biggest parade is normally held in New York, while the largest celebration in the southern hemisphere is in Sydney, Australia.

Are you racist?

2009-03-15T19:05:00.001-07:00

I had to take this test for a class that I am taking on methods for teaching diverse students in secondary schools. It was created by psychologists at Harvard and is supposed to measure implicit attitudes towards other races. It only takes about 5-10 minutes and you should take the test. Click here to go to the test. Then click on 'Demonstration' then 'Go to the Demonstration Tests' then 'I wish to proceed'. I think that its pretty accurate and revealing about subconscious racial biases.

Happy Pi Day Everyone!

2009-03-14T18:07:00.001-07:00

Please enjoy the following video in celebration of Pi day.

Ashley Madison

2009-03-13T06:36:00.001-07:00

I was listening to the radio this morning, and I heard a commercial for Ashley Madison. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, so I had to look it up. Have you ever heard of this? This is the worst thing that I have heard in a long time. It is a dating service for married people. It caters to people who are married and want to have an affair but don't want to leave their spouse. Their motto is "Life is short. Have an affair." They're big enough to get ad space on KLOS, and according to this article they have some tv commercials. Here is part of the LA Times article:

"One television spot shows a glamorous couple in the throes of passion. A title card reads, "This couple is married ... but not to each other." In another ad, a man retreats to the sofa to escape his obese, snoring wife while a voice-over declares, "Most of us can recover from a one-night stand with the wrong woman, but not when it's every night for the rest of our lives.""

A quick Google search provides headlines like these:
- Ashley Madison provides that romantic rendezvous for attached adults who don't want to leave their spouses, they just want a little sex on the side.
- Bored with life? Have an Affair.
- Married Dating, Affairs, Married Women, Extramarital Affair. Ashley Madison is the online personals & dating destination for casual encounters.

In an interview you can read here, the CEO of Ashley Madison, Noel Biderman, was asked if he would be ok if his wife used the service. He said, "No. If my wife were using my service, or any dating service, or if I even found her on Facebook chatting with former boyfriends and not telling me about it, I would be emotionally hurt beyond belief, and would feel that our relationship had severe problems."

I try not to soapbox on this blog, but I'm outraged by this. I can't believe the creator's casualness about how he is facilitating marital infidelity and his hypocritical reaction to how he would feel if his wife used his service. If you search just a little bit online, you can find tragic stories about people who just discovered that their spouse signed up for this service and they don't know what to do now. This is tragic! What makes this even more tragic is its popularity. The service claims it has 3.2 million members, and LA is its biggest market. Unbelievable!

Manliest Cities in America

2009-03-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

How did San Francisco beat us?????

Congratulations Michelle!

2009-03-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

Michelle wins the Best Mom of the year prize for taking a mouth full of spit-up. Warm, yummy, thick, curdled spit-up....right in the mouth. We were getting ready to run an errand last night and Michelle was playing with Eli and getting him ready to go and she picked him up over her head and he turned his head and (with seemingly intentional aim) spit up right into Michelle's mouth. She has definitely won one of these. So, congratualations babe! Thanks for taking one for the team.

ShamWow Song

2009-03-08T09:54:00.001-07:00

Happy Square Root Day

2009-03-03T09:34:00.001-08:00

What are you doing to celebrate square root day? I haven't decided what Michelle and I are going to do yet. We're probably just going to keep it low-key this year.

Funniest headline of the day

2009-02-25T14:39:00.000-08:00

Click here

Lost "316" = Best Episode so far

2009-02-19T14:56:00.000-08:00

(Warning: this is a rambling-stream-of-consciousness post, little cohesion will be found here)

- Here is my grand theory about what Lost will look like once we have the last episode. A lot of this theory is based off of last night's episode so stop reading this until you have watched episode '316'. I think that the original Oceanic flight 815 centered around Christian Shephard. I think that he needed to get back to the island, just like John did. And just like John was a proxy for Christian, Christian was a proxy for someone else (Jacob?). Most people on the plane had a connection to Christian, the rest were collateral damage. Obviously there were his kids, Jack and Claire, and there was Ana-Lucia, Sawyer and Kate, but then there were the others who, just like the Oceanic 6, had to get back to the island. These were the people who were taken by the others in season 1 like the stewerdess and the children. They were on Jacob's list and Jacob was replaced by Christian, who will be replaced by John.
- The time-traveling Losties (Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, Daniel, Jin) were caught in the 1970s Dharma heyday when John fixed the donkey wheel and had 3 years (the time from when John fixed the wheel to when Jack and others made it back to the island) to incoporate themselves into the Dharma Initiative. (sidenote: I bet Jin will speak fluent English now)
- John fixing the donkey wheel made them stop jumping through time and now they will continue growing old and passing through time normally until 2004 when Oceanic 815 crashed on the island. I bet the show is going to end when the plane crashes and they see themselves after the plane-crash and it will end with the same scene that started the series and last night's episode, i.e. Jack's dilating pupil in the forest.
- I think Daniel built the island-finding Lamppost station.
- I think that the errand/favor for a friend that Ben had to run before joining the O6 on the plane was to go kill Penny. The look on his face when he saw Desmond showed that he realized Penny was not far, and the fact that the next scene shows him all bloodied and on a payphone that happened to be on a dock makes me think that he tried to keep his promise to Widmore to kill his daughter. However, the fact that he came on the Ajira Airlines plane in an arm-sling makes me think the blood all over him was his and that Desmond saved Penny and kicked Ben's butt.
- best line of the whole season so far was Lapidus "We're not going to Guam, are we?"
- The O6 made the plane as similar to Oceanic 815 as the could: dead John took the place of dead Christian, Jack was Jack, Hurley had a comic book like Walt and a guitar like Charlie, Sayid was in the custody of (presumably) a US Marshall like Kate, Ben showed up late and made a bustle just like Hurley, Frank took the place of the-pilot-whose-name-escapes-me, and (I think) that gestating Aaron was replaced by a knocked-up Kate who waylayed (pun not intended) Jack the night before. If we are to take this correlation to further, then is the marshall going to die a horribly painful and long death? If Kate is pregnant, then will she give birth on the island? Will John wake up and haunt the island like Christian did? Will poor Frank suffer death-by-smoke-monster like the other pilot?
- I think that Sawyer's outrigger crew from a couple episodes ago were being shot at by the two people who we saw with the O6 on the Ajira flight.
- new questions sparked by last night's episode:
Who are the two mysterious people in business class with the O6?
How many other off-island Dharma stations/pockets of energy are there? Is there one in Australia by Isaac of Uluru? Wherever Penny's Portuguese friends were? In Tanzania where Ben and the polar bear (and maybe Locke) ended up after turning the donkey wheel?
Did Penny's Portuguese-speaking compatriots have the same island-finding technology as the lamppost station?
Who are the true powers that are using all of our lostie friends as the pawns that Desmond described? Ben and Widmore? Mrs. Hawking and Isaac of Uluru? Jacob and Widmore?
Who convinced Hurley to get on the flight? Maybe Libby?
What did Sayid do to get captured by the Marshall?
Why is Ben on the flight? I thought he told John that whoever turned the donkey wheel was not allowed back on the island?

Lastly, I am so stoked about next week's episode entitled "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham." The writers have said that this week's and next week's can be are 2 parts of one episode and can be viewed in either order. But, if you saw the preview last night, John goes and talks to Widmore and Ben is there when John hands himself (maybe convinced him to hang himself?)

What did you think about last '316'?

Mmmmmm.....sleep!

2009-02-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

Baby Stuff

2009-02-13T11:20:00.001-08:00

Being a new parent, I am often finding new products marketed to new parents. Sometimes there are very practical things that you wouldnt normally think that you would need. For example, Michelle and I bought a pee guard device that is basically a mini sports cup made out of a sponge that you put over your baby boy's genitalia while you are changing him so you arent marked with a pee stream, which, by the way, I recently discovered can sometimes go as far as 7-8 feet. Some products, however, are not as useful as they are described. Never in a million years can I see myself purchasing this product.

I dont even know what to say about this...

2009-02-08T20:42:00.001-08:00

Economic Stimulus Package

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

From fedfilter.com

Sometime this year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A format:

Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers..

Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers.

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. No, they are borrowing it from China. Your children are expected to repay the Chinese.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn’t that stimulating the economy of China?
A. Shut up.”

My Thoughts on Last Night's Episode of Lost:

2009-01-29T08:15:00.000-08:00

Again, for all the TIVO-ers, watch the episode before you read this:

Widmore -
Widmore blew my mind last night. He's an other?!?!?!? How long has he been on the island? Was he born there, or did he arive recently? He implied that nobody knew the island better than him, so he must have been there for a while. Since he funded the Dharma research, that means that Dharma wasn't a foreign entity that found the mysterious island - they were purposely sent there by someone who knew the secrets of the island and was an (ex?)-other.

Charlotte -
I think that Charlotte was born on the island. This explains her reaction when she first parachuted onto the island and Miles' comment to her about being 'back' on the island. I also think that her mother is the woman with the rifle who took her group hostage. I think that her mother is going to die as a result of Faraday's actions which is going to erase Charlotte. I've stopped reading spoilers, so I don't know if this is going to happen, its just what I think.

Locke -
We get some closure to the story arc where Alpert visits John as a newborn and as a child. He visits John as a newborn, becasue John told him to. And the reason Alpert stormed off after he showed John all those things to choose from when he was a kid was because he chose the knife instead of the compass, which future John had given to present Alpert several years in the past.

Jughead -
The episode name is Jughead, another name for an H-bomb. I think that the others, taking Faraday's advice about burying the bomb, buried it under the swan hatch. The people in the swan hatch had to discharge the electromagnetic energy from the radioactive H-bomb every 108 minutes by pressing the button. I dont know if there is any science behind this, but it makes for good t.v.

Alpert -
Alpert told Faraday that there was a chain of command and that he was reporting to someone. I don't think he meant Jacob, because first he reported to Ben, then he reported to Locke. I wonder who he's reporting to in 1954. Also, Juliet said that Alpert has always been on the island. I wonder how old he really is. Faraday said that they could jump back 5000 years. That goes with my theory that Sawyer loses a toe due to him stepping on that stick last episode and the castaways go back thousands of years and an ancient civilization living on the island build a giant statue to worship him.

Epic Couch Buying Extravaganza!

2009-01-29T07:56:00.000-08:00

Michelle and I have been in the market for a new couch for our place. The one that we have is kind of small. We bought it when we first got married and it was great in our little 1-bedroom that we started in, but now that we're in a slightly bigger place, we find that when we have people over there is never enough seating. So we were looking for a sectional. Because our place isn't very big, we needed very specific things for it to work. Every couch that we had looked at was facing the wrong way. The long side was where we needed the short side to be. But then we found it. The most perfect couch for us. It's the perfect side. If it was 1 inch longer it would not have fit. We found it on craigs list from a lady who bought it at Macys. Click here to check it out. Notice the $5500+ price tag. We got that couch, with the ottoman, for $450. It is the most amazing deal that I have ever been a part of and I needed to share it with the world. Thank you for listening.

This Semester

2009-01-28T11:32:00.000-08:00

I am going to try to post more. My blog-father hasn't been posting much recently which takes the wind out of my sails, but I'm going to post even if he doesn't.

This semester I am taking 3 credential pre-req classes and 1 graduate class. It is going to be a lot different than last semester. I love the graduate class already, even though we have only had one meeting so far, because it is adults who want to learn the subject matter, not people who are just trying to get a degree, and so it changes the dynamic of the way the subject is taught. Plus, it is the time period that I am specializing in: Early modern (1350-1500). The entire grade of the class is based on a 30-page paper which can be used as one of the chapters of my thesis paper.
The credentialing classes involve observation and teaching philosiphies, so I am pretty excited for that to start. I am applying for my C-19 credential in the fall, so hopefully (if there are any teaching jobs left) I can start teaching next school year.

Lastly, here are some cute pics of Eli

My Thoughts on Last Night's Episode of Lost:

2009-01-22T07:31:00.000-08:00

If you are into Lost and did not see last night's episode, then dont read this post until you watch it.

- I think Ms. Hawking (aka the old lady who told Desmond that destiny cannot be changed) is Daniel Faraday's mom

- I think that the whispers that the castaways have been hearing since season 1 are themselves from a point when they travel back in time, but the island wont let them see themselves because it would cause a temporal paradox

- I think that Hurley throwing a hot pocket at Ben and it splatting on the wall was one of the funniest things ever in Lost

- I think that Michelle Rodriguez is pretty cool for coming back to do a 90 second scene about avoiding cops

- I think that John Locke is one of the people to whom the rules of time travel dont apply (like Desmond) and so I think the Oceanic 6 are going to find a way to bring him back from the dead

- I think that this episode was a shout-out to the non-bandwagon-fans who have been with the show since the beginning. Did you notice Carlton Cuse's voice introducing an episode of Niki's show Expose?

- I think that Ben knew of the time-traveling castaways since he was a kid. We saw that time-travelling Daniel Faraday infiltrated the Dharma Initiative in its mid-1970s heyday when he was down in the tunnel where the negatively charged exotic matter was melting down drill bits

- I think that all of the castaways who are travelling through time are going to need a constant

- I think that Neil Frogurt's ignominious fiery-arrow death was hilarious. he was annoying anyway

- I wonder what the true purpose of the Arrow Station is? Pierre Chang was filming the orientation video for it when he was interrupted by news of the Orchid Station

- I wonder why Pierre Chang changes his name in every orientation video? In the Swan orientation video he introduced himself as Marvin Candle. In the Pearl orientation video he introduced himself as Mark Wickmund. In the Orchid orientation video he introduced himself as Edgar Halliwax

- I think that Miles Straum is Pierre Chang's son who we see in the very first scene of this episode

Mini Me

2009-01-14T13:11:00.000-08:00

Michelle keeps calling Eli a spitting image of me. She thinks that he looks exactly like me. So the other night, she (sneakishly) took a very undignified picture of me while I was asleep so that she could show me what she has been talking about. She says that Eli and I make the same face when we're sleeping. I don't see it. What do you think?

Ode to 2008.

2009-01-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

How do I love thee, 2008? Let me count the ways.
Here are some of the highlights:

Work - I marked my 2 year anniversary with my company. My company then quickly proceeded to put itself on the market and almost went through a merger with its biggest competitor, but then declared bankruptcy after the merger fell through. They are currently looking for another buyer and management said that whether the company is bought out and we're all working for a new company or the company completely goes under and everyone is laid off, we will not be working for this company by the end of the first quarter of 2009.

School - I finally graduated. After a long (long) time I graduated with a bachelor's degree in history. I am now working towards my credential and graduate degree. They are two different programs so it should take me 5 years to finish both. I am very excited to work with my mentor prof. and I am already starting to put together ideas for a thesis topic.

Church - Michelle and I went through the classes and became official members of our church. Michelle continued to work in the nursery and I worked for the second year in the high school group.

Family - From my family, my brother graduated from mechanics school, one of my cousins got married, and two new members of Michelle's side were announced - Michelle's brother and sister-in-law are having twin boys. Now Eli will have some cousins his own age and gender to play with.

Home - This is the biggest change of all. We had our first child, Elias Paul McMurtry, in case there is anyone left in the world who hasn't heard. He was born 8 lbs, 5 ozs, 20 inches and (although I may have a bias) is the cutest kid in the world. He has turned my world upside down (in incredibly good, but also sometimes unexpected, ways). I have a whole new perspective on life and the hills that I am willing to die on have changed dramatically. I was able to take 8 weeks off of work and take that time to bond with him. It was amazing, but today was my first day back to work and it was not fun. I was getting used to the schedule that we set up for Eli and now I have shaken it up a little bit. This morning was the first morning that I woke up and got ready for work with a baby in the house. It was really weird and I was very aware the slightest sound that I made. I am really excited for the future with my beautiful, and newly expanded, family. Bring it on 2009!!

Happy 2009!!!!

2009-01-04T20:34:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. For our Christmas, we went to visit my dad and his wife on the 23rd. We had a nice Christmas dinner and nice gift exchange. Then, we headed up to Simi on Christmas Eve for my side of the family. We had a wonderful time celebrating Eli's first Christmas and Eli got more stuff than I could have imagined. He has enough newborn toys to make any other kid jealous. Then we spent Christmas day with Michelle's side. Again, more amazing toys for Eli and a bunch of nice clothes. Then we left nice and early (6:00 am) on the 26th for San Francisco to visit Michelle's extended family who live up north. It was a really fun trip. On Saturday, we visited a nineteenth century gun encampment right next to Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39 and Chinatown. Then on Sunday, we spent the morning with Michelle's family. Then, this past week, Eli has been working on a cold. It started as a cold, but we took him into the doctor and was diagnosed with bronchiolitis. So we have had him on an albuterol nebulizer since Thursday. He is getting much better, but still has to deal with a little cough and congestion. But now, he is developing a rash on his face and back. We are taking him into the doctor tomorrow to check it out. It's been one thing after another with him and I am just really sad that he has to go through all this so early in life. Hopefully it will just make his immune system stronger for when he gets sick later in life. Here are some pics of the past couple weeks.

Merry Christmas Eve!!!

2008-12-24T21:53:00.001-08:00

Tonight, Michelle, Eli and I spent Christmas Eve with my family and my aunt and uncle's family. We exchanged gifts and had a wonderful meal and a wonderful time together. We are spending tomorrow night with Michelle's family and then heading up to San Francisco to visit Michelle's grandparents and aunts and uncles up there. Anyway, one thing that I asked for and was really hoping to get was a rubik's cube. I got it so far scrambled up that I doubt I will ever be able to solve it. But one day, I hope to be better than this person, who happens to be 21 years younger than me.

Time Warp - Lighter in Blender

2008-12-19T22:46:00.001-08:00

This is what happens when you put a lighter in a blender. So, kids, the moral of the story is never ever put a lighter in....oh never mind. It's pretty cool!

More cute pics of Eli

2008-12-18T22:54:00.000-08:00

Dave Matthews Band Rocks!

2008-12-17T09:43:00.001-08:00

I was transferring some old pics from our old computer to our new one and I found these pictures. This was from 2.5 years ago, so its old news, but its still pretty cool. Michelle won these tickets on the radio for a limo ride to see Dave Matthews at the Hollywood Bowl...front row center. That was the best concert I have ever been to.

Kung Fu Fighting

2008-12-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

I love the high school small group that I lead at church. All the guys are cool and we always have a lot of fun together. But I especially love this time of year because it is High School Christmas Party music video time. This year, my group wanted to do a music video to Kung Fu Fighting. So here it is:

What do you think?

2008-12-05T20:36:00.000-08:00

I heard that the following 5 beliefs have been shared by all societies throughout history.

1. If something promotes human survival, it is a reason to do it.
2. If something is in the interest of a family member, it is a reason to do it
3. We have a greater obligation to help our own children than we do to help complete strangers.
4. Altruism is praiseworthy and deserves admiration.
5. Anyone who has deliberately harmed should be punished or shunned.

Do you agree with these 5 statements? Why or why not? How do these 5 beliefs jive with the Biblical message? Are they compatible with a Christian worldview?

Thoughts From A New Father...

2008-12-03T22:51:00.000-08:00

You know that you have reached fatherhood when your wife points out that you have your son's poop on your finger and you think to yourself "I'll wash that off after I finish my sandwich."

Also, here are some cute pics of Eli and one pic of how much fun I've been having with my new IMac.

Interesting Fact of the Day

2008-11-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

The world-wide average for the age for a mother to stop breastfeeding her child is 6years old. If the average age for breastfeeding in America is 1, what does that mean for the rest of the world? There was a clip on The Soup where a girl in her tweens was still breastfeeding. She said her mom's breastmilk "tasts like mango." Is it too late to continue breastfeeding when your child comes home from first grade and asks for a little snack?

Thoughts From A New Father

2008-11-10T09:30:00.001-08:00

Babies are chick magnets! Its spoofed on nearly nearly every sitcom: the single guy babysits his friend's baby and takes the baby to a park to try to pick up girls. But its so true! Michelle and I had a sitcom experience with Eli on Friday. We were at the hospital getting some bloodwork done on Eli, and we decided to eat lunch at the cafeteria at the hospital. We made the long walk from the lab to the cafeteria downstairs. On the way (literally) every female of every age stopped as we walked by and said (all with the exact same voice inflection) "Awwwwwwww......baby!" Teenage girls, women with their own kids, doctors, nurses, patients, we even got an elderly woman (I am not making this up) being pushed down the hallway on a stretcher with an oxygen mask who sat up and said "Awwwwwww....baby!" So if there are any single guys out there who are looking for a date, you should babysit my son. You'll be sure to find a date in no time!

P.S. - I'm still working on the pics because I still cant upload any, but I don't know the first thing about computers. So when I say I am trying to fix the problem, I should clarify that I am doing the same thing over and over and it is still not working. I am accepting suggestions at this time.

And now introducing....

2008-11-04T16:48:00.000-08:00

Elias Paul McMurtry!!

Michelle delivered Eli through c-section on Saturday November 1 at 9:46 PM. Eli was nice enough to come on a weekend and also patient enough to wait until after Halloween to come out. We just got home and Michelle is doing very well. She is recovering so fast! She is so amazing!!! Eli is doing well. We chose the name Elias (a form of Elijah) because we loved the meaning - Yahweh is my God. Eli came out 8 lbs 5 ozs and was 20 inches long.
All of a sudden since I got home from the hospital, I cannot upload pictures to my blog, or through email or anything else...very frustrating. I promise to upload a ton of pics as soon as I can figure out how to upload them.

Happy 491st Birthday Protestant Reformation!

2008-10-31T09:17:00.000-07:00

Again this year, I will be celebrating the Protestant Reformation's birthday while everyone else is trick or treating or Light the Nighting. I want to take this oppurtunity to thank Martin Luther for all that he has done for Christianity.
Here are a couple of my favorites of his 95 theses:

#33 - Men must be on their guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to Him.

#43 - Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons.

I will leave you with one final quote from Martin Luther:
"Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the Popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen. ”

Scary Nature, Part 3

2008-10-30T12:16:00.001-07:00

You can see my other posts on things in nature that are scary here and here. And now, just in time for Halloween, is the third installment of Scary Nature...Blood-Craving Vampire Moths!!!

P.S. The more I find stuff like this, the more I think Scary Nature should be a regular recuring installment here. What do you think?

By Request.....

2008-10-29T13:51:00.001-07:00

This one's for you, GAJ. Here are some nursery pics. Michelle wanted my to say that this is the current state, not the finished product of the nursery. Michelle is going to jazz the walls up a little with our star theme and his as-yet-to-be-determined name creatively put on the wall.

Also, baby update:
We had an ultrasound yesterday and the tech said that Logan/Liam/Shane/Elias? is 9 pounds. According to my sources the average weight for a 38 week old baby is 6.8 lbs, so he's gonna be a big one. But we were already expecting that. He is measuring at 40 weeks, so we are going to try to convince our doctor (our appointment is tomorrow morning) to induce before he gets too big. I like the idea of him coming on my schedule. If I dont post for a while after this, it means he's here. I'm so excited!!!!

Update on Scary Nature

2008-10-24T08:40:00.001-07:00

In case you missed my last post on animals who unepectedly eat other animals, I mentioned a snake that ate an alligator and a spider that ate a snake. I have just been informed that spiders now eat birds. Check out the full story here.

How To Get a Free Dr. Pepper...

2008-10-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

Step 1. On November 23, 2008, go to www.drpepper.com and register your name.

Step 2. Print coupon.

Step 3. Go to convenience store that sells Dr. Pepper.

Step 4. Present 20 oz bottle of Dr. Pepper with coupon.

Step 5. Drink Dr. Pepper.

for more click here.

Another Awesome Baby Shower!!!

2008-10-21T06:39:00.000-07:00

My work friends are awesome! If you need proof, click here. They threw me a surprise baby shower. I usually can tell when something is going down, but this time I was totally shocked. Evidently my work is pretty good at keeping secrets. One of my team leaders, Alex, asked me to help him move something from another building into our building. I didn't think anything of it, because I noticed him out of the corner of my eye and it looked like he went to go ask someone else first but they weren't at their desk. So we were walking over to the other building, and we go into the suite doors of where we used to work for Miller and Clark and right inside this suite, there is a glass-walled conference room and the first person I notice is Melanie, back from Miller and Clark days, and then I notice Julie, my other team leader, and I thought to myself "Well, that's weird. I didn't know that they had meetings together." And then I saw Michelle, and for a split second I thought "What is she doing in a meeting with Julie and Melanie??" That's how surprised I actually was! Then I noticed the big "Its a boy" banner and cake and stuff, and I realized that Michelle wasn't here for a business meeting. They made this cool looking three-tiered-wedding-cake thing out of diapers and bouquets out of baby socks. And they got us a very large Babies R Us gift card. It was a very nice way to end my work day because by the time I got back to my desk, there was only about 15 minutes before I clocked out. Parties are always a good way to end the work day!

Thanks work friends! That was an awesome surprise party!

What's With Nebraska???

2008-10-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers has filed a lawsuit against God. He claims that God is a terrorist and has caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants." The judge seemed to see the comedy in this and dismissed the case for failure to properly serve the accused due to no listed home address.

You can read the full story here.

Stem Cell Research

2008-10-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

I just read about this this morning and thought I would share. There have been several breakthroughs in stem cell research over this past summer. I am no scientist, so I might communicate this information inadequately, but here is how I understand it: Last year some scientists were able to change normal skin cells into an embryonic state with an injection (not very invasive method). These cells performed the same function as embryonic stem cells. With merely an injection, adult skin cells were able to replace the need for embryonic stem cells. Another team of scientists from Harvard and Columbia were able to duplicate the results from last year and used these adult skin cells to treat a patient with Lou Gehrig's disease. A separate team from Harvard was able to do the same thing with cells from Type I diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, Down's syndrome, and 2 forms of muscular dystrophy. All this has been done within President Bush's ban on embryonic stem cell research. There is still a lot of research to be done and these experimental results do not mean that we have perfected the use of adult stem cells, but it is a huge step in eliminating any need for embryonic stem cells.

Even after these results have been published and made available to the public, Obama still said that he will immediately overturn President Bush's ban on embryonic stem cell research. I'm not saying that you should vote for McCain because of this, but it is something to consider.

Words that the FCC doesn't like...

2008-10-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

...look 'em up...

fecund, penal, taint, titmouse, cockamamie, cockatoo, cocksure, coccyx, ballcock, cockeye, prick, prickly, kumquat, titter, cunning linguist, insertion, gobble, guzzle, swallow, manhole, rimshot, ramrod, come, fallacious, lugubrious, rectify, Uranus, angina, paradiddle, spotted dick, dictum, frock, cunctation, engorge, turgid, stiff, bush, uvula, crapulence, masticate, Dick Butkus, gherkin and, of course, the always bewildering lickety-split

(stolen from the extremely funny Chuck Lorre)

Halloween is gonna suck this year.....

2008-10-02T13:59:00.001-07:00

Romans

2008-10-01T14:40:00.001-07:00

We are doing a study of Romans in our small group at church and I'm really excited about it. Romans is one of the most theologically packed books of the Bible and many people think that it is the most important book in the Bible, including some people at Calvary. Michelle's high school theology teacher made her class memorize Romans 8 as an assignment. Martin Luther said that Romans is a "beacon by which the rest of Scripture is illuminated" and John Calvin said that Romans was a gateway to the rest of Scripture. I am taking this semester very easy because it is the baby semester, so I am using my urge to research something to study Romans. I broke out all of my commentaries and went to the library to pick up a couple more. This is the calm before the storm, so I am getting a lot of good reading in. That will all change though on November 10.

Baby Stuff

2008-09-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

We went on a hospital tour Sunday afternoon for the birthing wing at Hoag. I was thoroughly impressed! The first thing that I noticed was Hoag does not smell like a hospital. Most hospitals have the same hospital smell, but Hoag didn't smell like anything. The labor and delivery rooms were huge! And the recovery rooms were really nice, too! I didn't get a picture when we were there, but the room looked something like this:

Also, we were informed that the hospital offers a final meal right before the new parents leave. Again, I couldn't get a picture, but I imagine it will look something like this:

Also, last night we had our last child-preparedness class. It was nothing like the first two. It was nice and pleasent and there were no surprises. We just went over pushing techniques and breathing techniques and it was done. So now that we have gone through the training, we are now legally allowed to have this baby.

To All the Coffee Drinkers Out There Who Brew Their Own Cup....

2008-09-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

....always always ALWAYS remember to check the filter!!!

For All of You Naysayers!!!

2008-09-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

...that means you Michelle McMurtry and Rebecca Wakeling! Click here

Also, click here

Secularization of Knowledge

2008-09-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Until the modern age knowledge was largely produced, controlled, and distributed by priests, monks, and clerics. These people read, thought, and wrote for themselves and for the people. They absorbed and produced knowledge. Most people deferred to the priests, monks, and clerics when it came to knowledge. They accepted the teaching of the priests, monks, and clerics with little opposition. There was little independent thought by ordinary people. Whatever the priest, monk, or cleric said was accepted as true and there was no need to think that it was un-true because they spoke on behalf of God. The priests, monks, and clerics could say whatever they wanted and it would be accepted as God’s truth.

Today the part of the priest, monk, and cleric is played by the university professor and the expert. University professors and experts read, think, and write for themselves and for the people. University professors and experts absorb and produce knowledge. Most people today defer to the university professor and the expert when it comes to knowledge. The teachings of university professors and experts are accepted with little opposition. There is little independent thought by ordinary people. What university professors and experts say is accepted as true and there is no need to think that is in un-true because the professor and expert speak on behalf of Science. University professors and experts can say whatever they want and it will be accepted as Scientific truth.

I am saying this as I am struggling with a class where my world view is diametrically opposed to the professor’s world view. I am being told that what I believe is wrong and that I believe it only because I have been indoctrinated. If I do not believe the same thing that the professor believes then I am wrong because I am opposing ‘Science’. The professor is always right and any opposition has to be corrected to fall in line with the professor. This is the most serious confrontation I have ever had with a professor before, but the most fair. The professor is giving me full credit on my assignments while constantly telling me that my opinions are wrong. Hopefully the rest of the semester will be as fair as the beginning.

Check it!

2008-09-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

Look what I made with my own two hands! I chopped, planed, sanded, and stained the wood and then assembled it in the form of a changing table with two drawers. Actually, I took it out of a box and followed the simple instructions that were written in (I think) retarded monkey. The next phase of the nursery is complete.

Man Cub Is Almost Here!!!

2008-09-23T15:59:00.000-07:00

Today Michelle's really awesome work put on a really awesome surprise party/baby shower for Michelle and I. They had been planning this for a couple weeks. They called me and said that they were planning this party and inviting everyone from the office and some of the regional managers to surprise Michelle with a baby shower. I was expecting a few people with a small cake and some punch and I thought we would walk away with a couple cute onesies. I severely underestimated Michelle's work friends. There were about 30 people there and there was a huge spread pot luck style and there were more gifts than I would have imagined. We walked away with a car-load of new clothes, blankets, washclothes & towels, toys, and tons of other baby stuff. Michelle has made quite an impression on her co-workers and there was a strong outpouring of love and friendship for Michelle and our little growing family.

The fact that baby (who I will from now on refer to as man-cub) is coming in a very short time is sinking in. I feel like it was Sept. 1 and I blinked and all of a sudden its the 23. Where did those 22 days go?? I feel like I'm going to blink again and I am going to be holding him. I am 95% excited, more excited and expectant than I have ever been with the exception of my wedding day, and 5% nervous that I am going to not be a good father. There have been many people in my life who have shown me how to be a bad father and many people who have shown me how to be a good father. I hope and pray that I am able to be as good of a father as those good examples in my life. I can't wait for my son to get here!

Child-Birth Preparedness Class, Part Deux

2008-09-23T11:04:00.001-07:00

Last night Michelle and I went to the second session of our child-birth preparedness class. I thought last week was bad! This week they showed everything that will happen while the mom births the child. They showed crowning, they showed the doctor pulling the baby out of the mother, they had a still picture of a baby in mid-birth with head and one shoulder outside of the mother. Now, I have seen this sort of thing before on the show Baby Story, but they were always kind enough to blur out the 'active' part of the image. There was no blurring in this video. And they didn't turn down the sound of the video, so you got to hear the mother's agony while the baby was half-way out.
I am an adult about this and I know that child-birth is a beautiful and magical miracle from God. I also know that I will feel a lot different when I am watching my wife give birth to my son. But for crying out loud, people! Give me a little warning when you are going to show something like that!

Atlas Shrugged

2008-09-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

I'm about 150 pages into Atlas Shrugged. I like Ayn Rand a lot. I knew nothing about her until I picked up, on a whim, Anthem a couple weeks ago. Her writing style is one of the best I have ever read. Her characters are compelling and real, her dialogue is amazing, and her stories are epic in scope. After reading Anthem and being impressed, I picked up Atlas Shrugged and this is so much better. It is a commitment though - 1075 pages in very small font. I know nothing about the story - not even what its about, dont want to know anything. I am enjoying not having any idea whats going to happen. This is so much different than Lost. I always checked the spoilers for Lost and it has taken every amount of my willpower not to look online and find something about the book. So far it is one of the most entrancing stories I have ever read, and nothing has even really happened yet. I really like Ayn Rand as a writer.

Interesting Fact of the Day

2008-09-18T14:21:00.003-07:00

Since 2005, the U.S. nickel has featured the word 'Liberty' in Thomas Jefferson's handwriting

Yarr, it be talk like a pirate day!!!

2008-09-18T14:21:00.001-07:00

Ahoy, me hearties! Today be the day where ye scurvy dogs and landlubbers must talk like a pirate or ye be keelhauled and sent to Davy Jones' Locker. So swing the lead and batten down the hatches for it be talk like a pirate day, savvy?

Today I will be refered to as Cap'n Jim Blackbeard

Funny Palindromes

2008-09-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share.

1. Golf? No sir, prefer prison flog.
2. Go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog.
3. Flee to me, remote elf.
4. Draw pupil's lip upward.
5. Dammit, I'm Mad.
6. Campus motto: Bottoms up, Mac.
7. Too bad, I hid a boot.
8. Ten animals I slam in a net.
9. Straw? No, too stupid a fad, I put soot on warts.
10. Splat, I hit Alps.
11. Some men interpret nine memos.
12. Rise to vote, sir.
13. Do geese see God?
14. Lisa Bonet ate no basil
15. Live not on evil.

My Day Yesterday

2008-09-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of the most interesting days I have had in a long time. I was on my way home from work around 3:00, just like every other day, and I round the corner on to my street and I notice that there are cars being stopped and turned around at a police blockade a few hundred feet down my street. When it is my turn to ask the police officer what's going on she tells me that they are investigating a "vicious crime scene." As she is telling me this I am looking down the street and notice several news vans, a couple fire engines, and tons of cop cars that appear to be on the street right in front of my house. So I ask if she can give me any more information as it looks like all the activity is happening right in front of my house. She said that all she can say is that they are investigating a vicious crime scene and that they are looking for bloody footprints. She then seems to have a spark of memory and she said "oh yeah, you can park and walk over there, we just dont want any cars over there." So, I went to the library and got myself a library card and checked out a couple books. When I got back, they were still investigating and it looked like a street fair with all the people who were walking around the street. At this point, I am freaking out because I am kind of an alarmist anyway, but I have a wife who is 8 months pregnant now and I want to make sure that she lives in a safe neighborhood. There is no payout at the end of this story because I don't know what happened. I heard someone (who was not a cop) say that a woman was stabbed to death in her apartment. This is the only official thing that I have been able to find about it so far.

The other interesting part of my day yesterday was Michelle and I went to our first birthing class last night. It was both extremely informative and extremely horrifying. There was a lot of talk of the mechanics of birth, and an especially large amount of talk about mucous plugs and effacing and other stuff like that. I still kind of don't believe that a human being, even if it is a baby, can get through a 10cm hole. And the instructor was so cavalier about the whole thing!!! She just casually went through the material like it was no big deal. This is a big deal people!!!!! I'm starting to hyperventilate...I need to start thinking about something else for a while...

**************UPDATE*****************
I just found this.

Global Warming News Item of the Day

2008-09-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

click here

I don't know about you, but I am suddenly very worried about the consequences of global warming!

Something to think about

2008-09-12T14:08:00.001-07:00

I just came across this quote from NT Wright in one of his lecture for the Veritas Forum.

"This is just an amazing book, this Bible. We Christians don’t actually take it nearly seriously enough. But how do we take it seriously?...Scripture is not designed to be authoritative in the sense of having a textbook on the shelf so that you can go and look up the right answer to your questions. There are lots of right answers to lots of questions, but that’s not how the authority of Scripture works. According to the Bible itself, God is the one with authority. At the end of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus doesn’t say “All authority in Heaven and Earth is given to the books you chaps are going to go and write.” Jesus says “All authority in Heaven and Earth is given to me.” So if you take the authority of Scripture seriously, that must actually be a scrunched-down, shorthand way of saying the authority that God has given to Jesus is somehow mediated through scripture

I need to read my Bible more!

Interesting News Item of the Day

2008-09-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

I you want to hear a nerdy, but interesting news story, click here. My good friend Matt said it best. There's really nothing else to say about it.
If you want a minute-by-minute update on whether the LHC has destroyed the world yet, click here.

In case you missed it....

2008-09-10T18:51:00.000-07:00

...you really should check out this new show called Fringe. If you are as big of a Lost fan as me and need a fix to get you through the long break, or if you are just looking for a really cool new show, JJ Abrams has created this new show called Fringe. It is kind of like X-Files but done from the same guy as Lost. There's good news and there's bad news though. The good news first: the pilot came out strong and knocked it out of the park. The bad news: it was picked up by Fox, which is usually the death sentence for nerdy shows like this. Its worth checking out while it lasts.

Anthem

2008-09-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

I just finished Anthem by Ayn Rand and I would recommend it to anyone who has 2 hours and wants to read a really good short story. The story is a dystopian view of the future in which something cataclysmic happened and all technology has been wiped out (the candle had to be reinvented). The story is told from the first person in the form of journal entries. In this future everyone lives in a world-wide collective and works with their brothers and for their brothers. Everyone has a specified duty and everything, from where people sleep to their names to how fast technology is developed, is controlled by the state. The main character is named Equality 7-2521 and everyone else has similar names. This is Rand’s ode to the self in which she deifies the self over the collective. Her views of communism come out strong in this story (she was born and raised in Russia before moving to America at the age of 21)

I won’t tell anything else about the story because I knew absolutely nothing about it going in and I thought it was an amazing story. It’s a short story (only 105 pages in the copy that I got) and it should only take about 1 ½ to 2 hours to read.

Nursery Stuff

2008-09-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

Last night we stayed up pretty late getting the nursery prepped so we can paint it tomorrow morning. Michelle's dad is coming down to help me get it done. Hopefully between the two of us, we can get it knocked out in a couple hours. We decided to do a light baby blue for the walls and frame it with chocolate brown drapes and bedding. I'm starting to think that plain blue walls are going to be too boring, so I was thinking that this would be really cool!