Seamus and...

Smokers: Only a Matter of Time Before Doctors Find the Gene

2007-02-19T21:13:00.000-06:00

I am not a smoker. Never have been, and quite frankly, I live in a clean indoor state and love it. I don’t have to worry if I will be sitting near the smoking section in a restaurant (and let’s face it, that smoke always wafts right over the barrier wall, doesn’t it?) or whether or not I will contract a smoker’s tumor because the guy a few cubicles down lights up.

However, I have to say that I am also pretty tired of the Crusade (capitals on purpose) to destroy all vestiges of smoking from our fair society. If I see one more Truth® commercial I might just have to buy a pack and smoke it for spite. I really hate those commercials.

Do you think I am championing for smokers? Why would any non-smoker want people to smoke? Let me be clear, I am not saying that. Very legitimate studies have shown that smoking is harmful to your body and the bodies of those around you. It’s a bad habit that should be kicked. So, is, however, overeating, biting your nails and spitting. Some would say these things cannot be compared to smoking because they have no negative effect on those around you, but can we really conclusively say that? Say that to the person who gets spit on.

I’d like to propose that smoking cigarettes (we have to be specific here because cigars and pipes apparently do not fall under the same curse as cigarettes) is something like a disease. It is an addiction that some are just born with a propensity toward. I feel confident that the same doctors who discovered the gene that makes folks pig out on fatty foods and become morbidly obese will find that elusive smoker’s gene and liberate all smokers forever. It’s not your fault that you are a smoker! Just like it’s not your fault if you are fat, suicidal, abusive, obsessive, a sexual deviant...the list could go on, but I think I will have offended enough people at this point.

Here’s the issue: let’s be fair. If it applies to other things, let’s be fair and apply it across the board and not just to the things that have become socially acceptable over the years. I’m not suggesting that we should tell a severely depressed person to “buck up and get over it” (although some may need to hear that very advice), but let’s not bash those who smoke, because we should let them fall under the protective umbrella of the ‘it’s not your fault, you were born this way’ line of thinking. Instead of vilifying smokers as soft-core criminals who are shortening our lives with every puff, let’s be understanding that they have a problem that cannot be helped. They have tried to quit, they have read every warning label, they have tried the gum, the cold turkey, the social-ostracization guilt – nothing works! We should make concessions for them (and I’m not talking about the million-dollar lawsuits brought against tobacco companies).

Some of you will undoubtedly say, ‘lots of people have quit smoking’ (I know this to be true, my own grandmother quit after smoking for 60 years). And this is true! But what about people who have lost weight, overcome depression, kicked their drinking habit...what about that? Those things don’t seem to stop others from saying that if you can’t stop, then you have a fatal defect in your genetic make up.

Enough of this madness and the needless burdens that have been handed to these poor smokers. We need to do what we’ve done for countless others who refuse or lack the ability to stop whatever destructive or harmful behavior they are involved in: pat them woefully on the head, assure them it’s not their fault they do what they do, but rather a defective gene that was passed on to them...“so sorry, too bad, so sad...this is just how you are”...and then give them an expensive prescription.

why the dollar coin won't make it

2007-02-16T20:22:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, the US mint released for sale yet another dollar coin. After Susan B Anthony in 1979 and Sacagawea in 2000 couldn't make the cut, congress decided that (since they had nothing else to do they would pass the $1 Coin Act of 2005. A sort of spin off from the wildly popular state quarters, the presidential dollars with honor the presidents in the order they served with four quarters planned every year until 2016 ending with Reagan (and skipping Carter). It is important to note that during the presidential series and after its closure, Sacagawea coin will continue to be produced and she will function as the face of dollar coin. With 300 million coins ready to be sold at banks across the nation there are still the same old reasons (and a few more) why the program will not stir more interest in the coined dollar.

The Logic
First of all, coins are heavy. As a man who does not frequently carry cash in his wallet, I can recall times when I had seven or eight individual dollar bills in my wallet. Needless to say, that kind of change could get fairly heavy. I hate change as it is. It weighs down my pants and fills up my pockets. Secondly, where can a guy put gold coins? A wallet - a real wallet - has no pouch for coins. America loves its paper money, but the reality is that there are a few other things the mint overlooked when they made these coins.

The Truth
1. Look at his face. He looks so angry.
I'm not sure if its just his brow, his nose or just his generally sharp chin, but Washington looks like he is about to attack the british again. Yes, it just the first in a series, but things don't get much better with the next quarter.

2. Look at the back. It's the only coin with a number
It obvious that americans love their paper, and mostly for sentimental reasons. People don't like change(no pun intended), and no other coin currently in mint has a number on it. Shoot, the dime doesn't even say how many cents it's worth, it just says "one dime." The number is not to be overlooked.

3. It's the only piece of US currency with a $ sign.
One word: Classy

But no congress driven mint program would be complete without a sister program to trip over. That why in the next few months we will have the First Lady program issuing ten dollar golden coins bearing the face of the first lady who served with the featured President. Some of the same problems are apparent.

Here's the bottom line: until phone calls and cokes all cost a buck apiece, America won't embrace the dollar coin.

A living wage

2007-02-10T14:42:00.000-06:00

How much does it cost to live? I mean, how much money do we need to really live? I suppose that really depends on the definition of "live". The answer is how ever much money it takes to feed one's self and sleep. That sounds fine to me, but i suppose some might call me rather frugal. Others would argue that the monetary needs of a life include entertainment, a well maintained reputable home, a meal plan that extends beyond ramen, and a generally above average standard of living.

$33 a day
Recently I came across an interesting article that talked about a woman who is trying to live on a mere $12,000 for the entire year of 2007. You may have heard about it on MSN Money and thought (like many individuals) it’s just another The Pursuit of Happiness rip-off that we won’t remember come March. While this sentiment might carry a little weight, there have also been many responses from around the internet which not only applaud Ms. Donna Friedmens efforts, but testify to its accessibility.

One gentleman’s response to this venture noted that it was possible to live on $10,000 for 3 years. He gives 20 tips and tricks to help endure this asserting that “You’d have to give up everything that wasn’t absolutely essential.” While this might sound like a justified statement, The American consumer has no idea how much we can still have with such a small budget.

But really, $12,000?
12 grand may seem like nothing at all, but - for a single individual - it is around two grand more than the poverty rate within the United Sates. The above mentioned people are not novel, they just have made the choice (mostly) to go to school and not work to While poverty is a loaded word which evoke thoughts of cardboard lean-tos and drive by shootings, there are a number of things one should remember.

In 2005, 37 million people were living in poverty in the US. That’s 12.6% of the population. That’s a lot of people to be classified by the federal government as impoverished.
Forty-six percent of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio. I guess I didn’t expect that many would own houses.
Seventy-six percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, 30 years ago, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning. Shoot, my private college dorms didn’t even have air conditioning.
Only 6 percent of poor households are overcrowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person. I guess it doesn’t have to be a lean-to.
The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.) Who needs living space anyway?
Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions. Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player. Yeah, but yesterday’s technology is cheap nowadays.
62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception. I don’t have cable…

Additionally for all the mothers out there who think that some people trade food for tv:

"As a group, America's poor are far from being chronically undernourished. The average consumption of protein, vitamins, and minerals is virtually the same for poor and middle-class children and, in most cases, is well above recommended norms. Poor children actually consume more meat than do higher-income children and have average protein intakes 100 percent above recommended levels. Most poor children today are, in fact, supernourished and grow up to be, on average, one inch taller and 10 pounds heavier that the GIs who stormed the beaches of normandy in World War II."

Where have all the Cookies Gone?
As i gathered the w2's and efiles and turbo taxcuts to do my taxes this year i notes the encome for my 'household.' I guess I was surprised to find that our income was right around double the poverty income level. We did save a portion of our income, but overall I find myself thinking (not in an accusatory or angry way) ‘where did it all go? I look around and I notice a few things in the room that we didn’t necessarily need, but not a large number. As I reflect I realize that there are a number of things that seem to stick most of us.

Sailing the High C’s
So here is the list of things which I feel suck a lot of the money out of lives that we could easily get rid of or at least downplay. For all you southern Baptists outhere I have alliterated them all with c’s so you may better recall them next Sunday.

Cars – The car is perhaps the simplest way to watch money go down the tubes. Eventually, it all adds up: gas, oils changes, insurance, loan payments, and repairs can cost a small fortune. The solution is to utilize public transportation. Although it is not always the most convient method of movement, it just makes sense. It’s cheap, allows free time for thinking, easier on the environment, and keeps you from frequenting the store too much. If this doesn’t seem like a viable option, invest in a bicycle or even a scooter.

Connectivity – I often feel I am a victim here as well. It seems that Americans must be connected in everyway possible to as to create no time where one is not aware of and receptive to information pertinent to ‘everyday’ life. I’m talking about cable, phones, cell phones, internet, and the like. The problem is not that we want to have our cake and eat it too; the problem is that we want to bake three cakes and eat them all. As I stated before, I don’t have cable. I gather entertainment via my low-band internet connection and broadcast channels. I don’t seem to b in want. As far as phones go, perhaps we should spend more time talking to people in person. Really, though, you shouldn’t need more than one phone line. I understand all of the safety advantages to having a cell phone, but why wouldn’t a prepaid cell phone do the trick? Or, if the need isn’t so urgent, how about two quarters to call someone who cares?

Cookies – I chose cookies here because it starts with a C, but really I’m talking about food. I read a great piece about eating for a month on $10.17 and both staving off hunger and malnutrition. It was a truly enlightening work. I thought the first tip on the page was very pointed: don’t eat out ever. Furthermore, I think about the amount of food that we purchase here and I start to think about how so much is of it either brand name foods I can get cheaper or junk that I shouldn’t eat anyway.

Conclusion
Overall, I will not be living on $12,000 this year, but I do think about cutting down on my spending more and more. It seems like everyone is in the same situation – if we only had a few more hundred dollars a month, then things would be perfect. But salaries eventually go up and things aren’t perfect. Rather than striving for more and more, I would be interested to see more people who strive for the most simple life they may achieve.

NFL doesn't like your church Superbowl party

2007-02-01T22:40:00.000-06:00

NFL won't let church show game

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The NFL has nixed a church's plans to use a wall projector to show the Colts-Bears Super Bowl game, saying it would violate copyright laws.

NFL officials spotted a promotion of Fall Creek Baptist Church's "Super Bowl Bash" on the church Web site last week and overnighted a letter to the pastor demanding the party be canceled, the church said.

Initially, the league objected to the church's plan to charge a fee to attend and that the church used the license-protected words "Super Bowl" in its promotions.

Pastor John D. Newland said he told the NFL his church would not charge anyone and that it would drop the use of the forbidden words.

But the NFL objected to the church's plans to use a projector to show the game, saying the law limits it to one TV no bigger than 55 inches.

The church will likely abandon its plans to host a Super Bowl party.

"We want to be supportive of our local team," Newland said. "For us to have all our congregation huddled around a TV that is big enough only for 10 or 12 people to watch just makes little sense."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league's long-standing policy is to ban "mass out-of-home viewing" of the Super Bowl. An exception is made for sports bars and other businesses that show televised sports as a part of their everyday operations.

"We have contracts with our (TV) networks to provide free over-the-air television for people at home," Aiello said. "The network economics are based on television ratings and at-home viewing. Out-of-home viewing is not measured by Nielsen."

It is also the reason no mass viewings are planned in large arenas like the RCA Dome or Conseco Fieldhouse.

Newland said his church won't break the law.

"It just frustrates me that most of the places where crowds are going to gather to watch this game are going to be places that are filled with alcohol and other things that are inappropriate for children," Newland said. "We tried to provide an alternative to that and were shut down."

Other Indiana churches said they are deciding whether they should go through with their Super Bowl party plans, given the NFL's stance.

tyler, maybe we should reconsider that party...

USF update

2007-01-30T12:23:00.000-06:00

For all those of you who are still out there reading, I have officially committed to USF for a Master of Music in Choral Conducting begining fall of 2007. Thanks for all your support.

The Church You Know

2006-11-02T09:20:00.000-06:00

the third video in the series of christian spoof videos. A nice rip off of the NBC psa "the more you know"
thechurchyouknow.com

McPassion of Christ

2006-10-31T09:08:00.000-06:00

#2 in the series of Christian spoof videos.

meChurch

2006-10-30T13:14:00.000-06:00

Found this link. Do watch. I particularly liked the section on giving money to the church. enjoy meChurch.

another vocal jazz recording

2006-10-29T14:15:00.000-06:00

here's a recording of the vocal jazz ensemble singing "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square." It's a little square, but the blend is good and overall is pretty nice recording.

Commercial for school

2006-10-27T16:14:00.000-05:00

here's a commercial that i made for the student worship service as a part of my video production class. yes, i did have to learn how to skate board.

panoramic photo

2006-10-26T22:37:00.000-05:00

i thought it was about time i updated the site. Here's a panoramic photo from Duluth, MN that I patched together a couple months back. It's not perfect, but something to look at.

payperpost lives on

2006-08-22T22:36:00.000-05:00

The website that launched a few months ago is still going strong and is making a mark paying people to blog about certain topics. There are a couple of good things that Payperpost has going for them:

1. It is a quick and painless way to gain link backs from the blogosphere.
2. Casual bloggers can make more than casual money.

It's no scam. So far I've been paid around 18 dollars and have about 60 more waiting to be paid. That's a whole lot better than my menial adsense profit. I'm by no means the top blogger on the payroll. Blog advertising, through payperpost, has paid up to $780 to some individuals. What have you got to lose? ...beside credibility with your readers...

Jon Stewart for President

2006-08-16T14:47:00.000-05:00

A new movie is coming out that chronicles a story about Jon Stewart running for president. Man of the Year looks like it should be a fun movie with Robin Williams and Christopher Walken in the cast, but one blogger out there asked the question that was on everyone's mind: Should Jon Stewart really run for office? He then offered up 8 reasons why he should.
In responce to this, I offer up 8 reasons why he shouldn't run.

8. He’s got the Daily Show

Some might automatically jump to the conclusion that this would be the biggest tool in his campaign, but first one must step back and look. There is no possible way to have a serious campaign without having to leave his current position at Comedy Central. It would provide him with a strong base of support to begin a campaging, but beyond that I’m not sure he could utilize the show for polical reasons.

Furthermore, Comedy Central and Viacom might not be so quick to plug him for president with the intent of him actually getting elected. Yes it would make a nice publicity stunt for the network, but if he had to take the time out and run and got elected, the network would be out one show.

7. He hates the media

And they hate him back. Certainly we all remember his brief stint on Crossfire. I wonder if they will invite him back. One must realize that in a presidential campaign not all publicity is good publicity. You might remember in 2004 George Bush was all over CBS news. The media certainly had a frenzy, but it was to report alleged foul play concerning his time in the military.

6. He turns youth away from the government

There is no doubt that Jon Stewart has a whole lot of clout with the gen Y’ers, but what does his influence point toward? It seems Stewart’s opinion is that the government is broken, it has been broken for a while and looks like it will be broken for a while to come. It is this attitude that Stewart projects which causes young people to give up on the government and refrain from voting altogether.

5. He has no platform

Should he just enter the race because he ‘doesn’t like’ any other candidate? He has no niche upon which to build a lasting campaign. Whether you agree with the current political system or not, contrast wins overall.

4. He’s a comedian

He makes his money making the news funny. Is this the kind of person who should be the Commander-in-Chief of the United States of America? He is quoted as saying “I’m very uncomfortable going a couple of minutes without a laugh.”

3. Can’t function well as the interview-ee

This relates to point four as well as the reference to crossfire. It’s a matter of control, he feel uncomfortable when he is not running the show. His serious demeanor often comes off overbearing or over passionate. He just doesn’t seem comfortable being interviewed.

2. He’s more left than middle

Remember it was the religious right who pushed the election in 2004. Moreover, it will be a person like John McCain or even a Lieberman who could draw from both the left right and most of the middle.

1. All of his press conferences would open with that Daily Show trumpet theme

It’s actually a song called “Dog on Fire”. Is this the kind of Rock and or Roll that America wants in office? It is catchy…

Digg Rumor Mill

2006-08-16T13:06:00.000-05:00

From a source who, unfortunately, wishes to remain anonymous, I have heard and unconfirmed rumor that Digg plans to release a new category in the near future. The theme of the category: Podcasts. As the source describes, with the recent popularity and success of the Video category it is likely that there will be the audio equivalent soon. He gave me no date range, but insured me it would be "sooner than [I] think".

Subsequent to the release of the categories, users have seen a dramatic increase in the number of videos and sports stories that make it to the front page. It won’t be long until there are podcasts on the front page.

Kevin Rose is currently speaking at the Building Blocks conference in San Jose and was unavalible for comment.

Ontok Highlighter Review

2006-08-15T16:34:00.000-05:00

We've all been on sites with those highlighted words that lead toward advertisements and the like. Ontok Highlighter presents a similar system with a few twists. It's a highlighting system which upon mouseover shows a popup with search results on that specific topic as well as google, yahoo, amazon, ebay and other ads from your publishing accounts. Therefore when user x clicks on the popup ad you get paid - sometimes. The main catch in the whole ordeal, and the method by which Ontok will make its money, is that 20% of the time the ad presented is from Ontok.

There are a lot of great things about Ontok. First of all it is free and simple. It took me five min to get the code and throw it up on a previous post. Moreover, seems to work alright with blogger. There is no middle man, so you still get paid directly from the advertiser. The bad is simple: it’s still annoying. These popup ads are horrible when you are actually trying to read content. Furthermore, on my psudo-broadband connection the popups appear without any thing in them and take forever to load. The overriding factor in the whole expirence? It’s free.

Ontok really has a great model for business here. Forget content and advertisers, have others work for you to provide your income. I’m not sure what the click-through ratio is for such advertisements, but I’m sure Ontok wont be hurting. Perhaps instead of search results there should be a popup with a Wikipedia reference in addition to an ad.

new web extension

2006-08-14T20:33:00.000-05:00

After the recent demise of the .xxx extension I have a new idea for an extension that would help all those engaged around the world.

.wed

It occured to a friend of mine at a wedding a week ago. Why not an extension to group this massive industry together. It's perfect.
Copyright 2006

really small hard drives

2006-08-13T16:09:00.000-05:00

Reed recently purchased a new car stereo that had an interesting new feature which should have been included on stereos for years: a USB port. There, he is able to plug in a thumb drive or any other portable storage device. But why settle for a gig here, 256 megs there? Why not put your whole music library on a 120 gig drive and throw that in the cup holder?

It could happen. I started looking around and I found these portable drives which are not only really small, but USB powered as well. They have a one-touch backup system so you could make changes to your music library and then load it all on your hard drive in with one button. With a hard drive that's only only 1.3cm thick, could you really go wrong?

Wedding Photos

2006-08-09T15:06:00.000-05:00

Flash Slideshow

Working Lego Guitar

2006-08-08T13:47:00.000-05:00

Some of you saw the 42 string guitar as posted on Colemedia .com, but here is a working guitar made out of legos. If you look closely you can see the real pickups and tuning pegs and the whole gamut. Check it here.

Concordia Choir Tour Pictures

2006-08-07T13:10:00.000-05:00

Flash Slideshow

auto-links

2006-08-06T21:44:00.000-05:00

I saw a post on another blog that employed a system called auto-links. Within the post, you just typed your name and your name and link automatically appeared in a list of links. Thought it was a neat idea. Go ahead, give it a try.

a different video site

2006-08-02T21:59:00.000-05:00

I am increasingly interested in sites that gain attention from content provided solely by outside users. I found a new site that puts a Web 2.0 spin on grassroots campaigning. Take Back The Capitol is a site calling for any videos that, in some way shape or form, answer the question: "Why must we overturn Republican control of Congress?" While I’m not sure this is the question we should be asking, the site is a novel idea.

Note: The domain name KeepCongressTheWayItIs.org is not yet registered.

coke vs. pop vs. soda

2006-08-02T10:32:00.000-05:00

found an interesting map that plots out the mannor in which individuals from varying counties in the nation refer to their soft drink. Heather hates it when i call it "pop"

red is coke, blue is pop, and the mustard color is soda

free football calendar

2006-08-01T17:06:00.000-05:00

found a free football calendar that has every college and pro game listed from augest til the end of the season. pretty neat

check it out: college and NFL football schedule

vocal jazz

2006-08-01T15:03:00.000-05:00

Found this old recording from a couple of years ago of the concordia vocal jazz ensemble. We recorded it with the jazz band, it was pretty fun. Hope you enjoy it

solar powered lights

2006-07-30T16:20:00.000-05:00

those little lights that are all over the place have come a long way in the past years. found a website that has a whole bunch of them - i enjoy the floating alligator head that has eyes that light up at night. check out some solar lights.

An interesting way to use these lights, would be to place them in "for sale" sign posts. That way, when mom and pop are driving down the road they would see the real estate sign illuminated by the solar powered light. good idea, no?

reed, quit playin with your dingy

2006-07-28T16:50:00.000-05:00

reed in his new boat, which he built

spacious

perhaps some paddles

getting far away

happy birthday reed

classic nes games

2006-07-25T22:46:00.000-05:00

found a good collection of free online games. the nes games are classic. don't waste too much time

honeymoon pictures

2006-07-25T16:24:00.000-05:00

here are a few pictures from the honey moon

Heather in front of an old boat

me driving

Heather and I next to some water. camera's on the car, note the shadow

here's heather under a 'tarp' i had to set up

heather next to the grave of my hero - John B. Gorrie

Red River: Post Flood

2006-07-24T18:00:00.000-05:00

Thought I would follow up the post from a while ago with some video of the Red River now, in it's relatively low state. Note - where i am standing was under 20 some feet of water in previous pictures, and in the distance of one of the shots you can see the dike where I stood before.

passport photos

2006-07-06T08:51:00.000-05:00

If you've ever bought passport photos for yourself you know what a drag it is. Interesting new site gives them away for free.
http://www.epassportphoto.com

iCall - Another facit to Free VOIP

2006-07-03T08:28:00.000-05:00

Another company has entered the realm of free VOIP, and they could prove useful. Unlike Skype and AOL Phoneline, iCall currently offers free incoming and outgoing calls to the US and Canada. The system works like this. Outgoing calls are straightforward, you dial and you are connected to the other person. Incoming calls are processed through a system of access numbers throughout the United States. Thereby your friends can call a local access number, enter your 5 digit extension and get directly connected to you – without any ads or rigmarole. This could be very useful if you needed to give a local number to someone in both San Francisco and New York, you could! What’s more is that if you are not online or you don’t answer, the caller is forwarded to free customizable voice mail. I am pretty pleased with the setup and the program overall. Having all the free features in one place is very attractive.

Check out www.icall.com

PayPerPost

2006-07-02T22:50:00.000-05:00

This is a controversial new service that pays bloggers to blog about a certain subject. Honestly it isn't all that revolutionary, journalists have been paid to write about a certain topic for years. Now it's just the average soccer mom can pump a certain dishwasher detergent on her own blog and get paid. Overall, it's a pretty neat idea - the perfect product placement. That being the case, I truly doubt this will change the face of blogging. People have brains, they can still tell the difference between ad copy and real opinions.

Check out www.payperpost.com.

new website idea

2006-06-28T14:19:00.000-05:00

I discovered this new website idea and it seems very promising. It's a proverbial online 411 of sorts. People ask questions, and answers are provided. I pride myself in my surfing skills, why not publicize them? There is so much information on the internet and often individuals have little luck sifting through it all. One individual put it like this..

How about a website where someone can go and ask a question and wait for a human to help them find an answer. The answer could be as simple as a link to a website with more information. Not everyone is adept at searching the world wide web and filtering out that relevant content from the content that dosen't pertain to their question.

It's interesting to say the least - we'll see what develops.

Free Voip Setup

2006-06-27T14:05:00.000-05:00

Yes, there is such a thing as free Voip

If you know me, you understand I am a very frugal man. Some would even go so far as to denounce me as cheap. But that is no matter to me, for it is my budget and the curse of never having any money rather than my disposition which dictates my actions. Now, I am trying to make my internet connection pay for itself, or at least make me think it’s paying for itself. The Goal: Free Voip. That is essentially a free phone line.

The original crux of the operation was Skype. Skype is an internet phone service through which users can call landlines as well as other computers. Recently skype made a new announcement that for the rest of the year (2006) all “Skype Out” calls would be free – that is all PC-to-phone calls. This would have been great in and of itself but around the same time AOL introduced its new service – AIM Phoneline. Therein individualswho use their popular instant messaging program would be granted a local number to receive toll free calls on their computer.

Many people saw these two services as competing for different sectors of the Messaging market. PC World wrote a quality review of the two services, noting the free aspects on differing sides of the equation. But is was Voip-News.com that had the idea of “Mashing up the services for free calling.”

The concept is simple. You use AIM Phoneline to receive phone calls on your free local number, and then use Skype to make all of your outgoing phone calls. Although the result would require you run both services at once, it would equate to a free phone line.

The next step was a cordless phone hooked up to my PC so I don’t have to sit next to the computer to make a call. There are two different approaches to this problem. One is a cordless phone designed to work with a PC via USB cable. The other is an adapter that changes your RJ11 line (a standard phone line) into two 1/8” line for headphone and mic. Many companies out there sell both – the USB cordless phones run from $45 to hundreds and the phone line adapter is made by one company: Chat-Cord and runs about 25 bucks.

But Wait, couldn’t you do this for free? Of course, that’s what the internet is for! With a little help from google I was able to locate instructions for both the Cordless Phone and the RJ11 adapter approach. It is important to note that the former instructions include a plugin for skype that enables the user to dial and send calls while away from the computer by mean of the cordless phone. See the video there.

In conclusion, I am collecting all I need right now. I have already acquired an old cordless phone which I plan on taking apart and soldering in a couple of 1/8” cables so I can hook it into the computer. Free voip is just around the corner. After I get it all set up I’ll write and tell you how things are working out.

Canceling AOL Phone Call

2006-06-26T09:49:00.000-05:00

oh how i love aol

We got hitched

2006-06-23T10:57:00.000-05:00

here we are! thanks for the video billy

my wife

2006-06-23T10:52:00.000-05:00

international tour

2006-05-17T16:43:00.000-05:00

got back from the british isles and wanted to share some performance pictures

this is me on the drum and a couple of chums playing some random music in Oxford - i think we only made a pound through it all

this is the barbershop quartet i'm in singing a few tunes in Chester

alright, i'll get some more pics up soon

American Idol - Choir Style

2006-04-26T21:52:00.000-05:00

Nationwide Search to Find 'Most Exciting Church Choir' Begins This Fall
Wednesday, Apr. 26, 2006 Posted: 7:48:11AM EST

A new competition to find America’s ''most exciting church choir as defined by its music'' will be sweeping the nation this fall, with a half-million dollar educational scholarship awaiting the winning church.

Voices of Joy” will stage live competition in 12 cities across the United States, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., with all churches within a 100 mile radius welcome to submit an entry. Those chosen for the local, regional and finals competitions will be judged on inspiration, performance, and originality, according to the Voices of Joy website.

“Voices of Joy is really an introduction to a missing link – something that is not now in a proper space,” said the Rev. Floyd Flake of Allen African American Methodist Episcopal Church. “People being able to have a voice – I think this is a space that needs to be filled.”

The competition will also be televised nationally as a reality series for the entire 13 week duration.

"I think the concept of a show, reality show or musical show, based on church choirs is fantastic,” said Musical Director Craig Jessup, “music and inspiration wherever it might be.”

Local competitions begin Sept. 9 with entry deadline on Aug. 18. For complete rules and information, visit www.voicesofjoytv.com.

i thought this was pretty great

2006-04-20T13:05:00.000-05:00

Jasper's Pics

2006-04-12T12:54:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures of where heather and i will be working this summer. Yes, it is a theater built in the shape of a barn. No, we will not be performing - but it should be a ton of fun.

a shot of the outside

the inside. it has been constucted using old peices of the town throughout, including old theater seats from the high school auditorium

a random shot of the stage. i have no idea who that is marching - looks like daniel

flood photos

2006-04-10T21:37:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos of the flood. make sure to read the signs in the photo

Blake is visited by the Holy Spirit

Heather out for her morning constitutional

The park was apparently closed

this is a picture of the dike they build down the road from heather. the temporary clay dykes in fargo cost $250,000

Jasper's Jubilee Theater

2006-04-10T15:15:00.000-05:00

So, this is where I'll be working this summer. I'll post some pictures in the next few days. I know it has been a while since my last post, but many are on the way, including photos from a disposable camera that include the pas 7 months or so. Don't worry Jen, I'll put up some pictures of the flood.

Laudibus Concert - Sunday, March 19

2006-03-16T15:47:00.000-06:00

snow

2006-01-08T20:29:00.000-06:00

it snowed in fargo today...

stickin' it to harvard... and liberty university

2005-12-30T23:23:00.000-06:00

Some people mock the debate team, i might have been one of them... but i thought this was some interesting news - or at least nice to use against the ivy leaguers.

Debate Team in Top 20
The Concordia College debate team is ranked 18th in the nation according to the latest rankings published by the National Debate Tournament. The rankings are for the fall 2005 debate season. Concordia is ranked just ahead of Harvard, which is number 19. Others in the top 20 include Emory (1) , Northwestern (7) and Dartmouth (6). The following is a list of the top 20 teams. 1. Emory 2. Wayne State 3. Kansas 4. Missouri State 5. California 6. Dartmouth 7. Northwestern 8. Michigan State Univ. 9. Georgia 10. Baylor 11. Whitman College 12. Mary Washington 13. Miami 14. Wake Forest 15. Texas-Dallas 16. Missouri-Kansas City 17. Louisville 18. Concordia 19. Harvard 20. Liberty University

O Come, all ye radio listeners...

2005-12-21T15:01:00.000-06:00

Thursday, December 22nd, 2005
7:00-8:00 PM
Concordia College Christmas Concert 2005 "O Come All Ye Faithful"
Four hundred students participate in the telling of the Christmas story through sacred music, word and art. The Concordia College Orchestra, the bell choirs and the five vocal choirs of the college, led by The Concordia Choir, perform old favorites, and new music for a thoughtful and joyful Christmas experience.

Check it out on WUSF, 89.7 here.

funny

2005-12-05T20:03:00.000-06:00

thanks heather

interesting article about stupid persons

2005-12-05T15:59:00.000-06:00

School drops song about picking cotton
Monday, November 14, 2005
BERKLEY, Michigan (AP) -- A song about people picking cotton was pulled from a middle school concert in suburban Detroit after a black parent complained that it glorifies slavery.

Superintendent Tresa Zumsteg decided Monday to remove the song "Pick a Bale of Cotton" from the program, said Gwen Ahearn, spokeswoman for the Berkley School District.

Ahearn said that when the song was picked for Wednesday's folk songs concert at Anderson Middle School, there was no intent to offend anyone.

"As it became apparent that that is the case, we pulled the song," she said.

The school is predominantly white.

The song's lyrics include, "Jump down, turn around, pick a bale of cotton. Gotta jump down, turn around, Oh, Lordie, pick a bale a day."

Parent Greg Montgomery said he complained to school officials, and when he was dissatisfied with their response, decided to pull his 11-year-old daughter, China, from singing.

"It's mind-boggling that people don't understand sensitive issues," he told The Detroit News.

China said: "They were bringing back the memories of how African-Americans picked cotton, and it wasn't a good memory. It was disrespectful to African-Americans."

Ahearn said there's nothing derogatory in the song's lyrics, but the district did not want China to miss the concert.

"For her family and the school district, the best thing was to pull the song," she said.

Earlier, Ahearn, while confirming that officials were considering pulling the song, had defended the choice.

"We used to sing that song when I was in school during the '50s," she said. "It's like a Southern type of folk song. I remember it being perky. It was more of a song that people just sang for fun."

"Santa Claus Conquers the Martians"

2005-11-29T23:07:00.000-06:00

it's too bad i already purchased heather a copy because i found this great free download of that favorite 1961 blockbuster - "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians." dont believe me? check it

also found this....

2005-11-22T20:11:00.000-06:00

from gamespot news...
Xbox 360 has rocky start at retail
The next-generation console's debut is marked by long lines, stock shortages, parking-lot scalpers, and the occasional success.
...On Tuesday, GameSpot staffers witnessed even more chaotic scenes at the local Target in Colma, on the peninsula south of San Francisco. There, a lone security guard spent most of the night shooing an increasingly unruly crowd away from the parking lot. The situation nearly spun out of control around 7 a.m., when the guard left his post for five minutes, prompting a mass influx of would-be customers eager to receive vouchers good for a 360.
When he returned, the security guard's attempts to get the 100-plus-person crowd to form a line were rebuffed until the arrival of police and a California National Guardsman around 8 a.m. A trio of veteran GameSpotters witnessed the Guardsman quickly take control of the situation and move to the head of the line--where he promptly turned around and asked for a 360 voucher himself. The Guardsman then promptly fled the scene, voucher in hand, leaving police, Target employees, and a visibly agitated crowd to fend for themselves...
Read full article here.

more bad news from nd

2005-11-22T13:01:00.000-06:00

Minot boy assaulted, robbed of new video game
The Associated Press - Tuesday, November 22, 2005
MINOT, N.D.
A 17-year-old boy who was one of the first in this city to buy one of the much-anticipated new Xbox 360 video games was assaulted and robbed as he left the store, police say.
The boy was attacked by two males around 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, when stores nationwide began selling the new Xbox system. The attackers took the game valued at about $450 and fled on foot.
The boy suffered minor injuries to his face, police said.
People lined up at stores around the country to get one of the games. The new consoles also can play music, display photos and show DVDs.
Most retailers have refused to say how many of the consoles they have in stock, but Microsoft has said that an ambitious plan to launch the console worldwide within a few weeks will mean fewer of the games initially in North America.

the spirit of north dakota

2005-10-27T21:35:00.000-05:00

closed up on all the condo stuff today, so heather is a more than official resident of North Dakota. she recently got her drivers license and new plates for her car and i was able to get a quick shot of the later for you viewing pleasure.

we all know it's better than her previous plates:

i know, it's tasteless, i'm sorry

one thing you don't get in tampa

2005-10-19T23:42:00.000-05:00

fall colors. it got cold too quickly for them to come out very strong, but still - it's pretty neat.

a tour

2005-10-16T23:12:00.000-05:00

here is a short tour of heather place, along with a couple of photos. the music is the best part...

price comparison

2005-10-04T09:02:00.000-05:00

Often when shopping on the internet I give up and move over to ebay to check prices from the auction competitor. No longer will this be the case. There is a new tool in the online shopping frenzy that searches stores as well as number of online auctions. This price comparison tool is available for download on their website: pricepirates.com. It has a number of features, favorite searches, price stats, etc. It also seems to interlace with ebay relatively well.

Finally it looks like someone has harnessed the power of the online store search and the ebay search. I don’t see why this product won’t be successful.

heather's new place

2005-10-03T19:29:00.000-05:00

So we have finally managed to move Heather into her new place in Fargo. After many delays we can begin to decide which room to paint first. Hope to put up some pictures, check back soon.

target coupons plus

2005-09-07T21:05:00.000-05:00

Nothing's better than some free stuff. Coupon chief seems to be a good place to find coupon codes, online coupons, or coupons for a number of decent merchants. Most that i've seen are all online vendor coupons, but they include all sorts of items - from coffee to pictures to vitamins to textbooks. worth a look, check out the target coupons.

Coney Island Babe

2005-09-07T19:49:00.000-05:00

Here is a little video clip (taken by Heather) of a barbershop number i was in on augest 29th. It was a bunch of fun, and i really just wanted an excuse to test out the posting of videos on here. Sorry about the video/audio quality - i'm working with an old cheap camera.

View this clip on Vimeo

internet tv

2005-09-06T15:42:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been a while since my last post and everything is fine, classes are fine...blah, blah. What's important is the struggling i have been going through because there is no cable hookup in my appartment bedroom. Alright, perhaps struggle is and overstatment. But nevertheless, i have been in search of some good streaming tv round the internet and have found a few good prospects. One is called craftytv.com There you can stream tv shows straight up. The bandwidth seems to be a sort of problem and i have been reading a little about a scheme to lure you into a paid membership, but works for a while at least.

Another interesting link i found was wwitv.com. World Wide Internet TV... I think. Essentially a database of all streaming tv stations in the world. I tried to stream some video from Israel and it kinda worked. My next goal is to learn a forign language from just watching tv from spain.

the Lord works in mysteriously cheap ways...

2005-08-22T10:11:00.000-05:00

heathers new place...

and a shot of the park across the street

florida business for sale

2005-08-07T20:58:00.000-05:00

Looking for a new job? why not just buy your own company? Acquireo.com has 350+ businesses for sale in Tampa/St. Pete. It's a pretty easy seach engine for business buyers.

4200+ Florida businesses for sale at Acquireo.com

sexy christians meet?

2005-08-06T20:30:00.000-05:00

I got a spam with this link in it and the whole thing makes me laugh a whole lot. I mean, i am always looking for the lord to lead me to some sexy christians. Pretty funny.

GM vs MICROSOFT

2005-07-29T22:59:00.000-05:00

found this the other day, it's old but funny

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated: "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would just accept this, restart and drive on.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn, would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to re-install the engine.
5. Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought "Car95" or "CarNT". But, then you would have to buy more seats.
6. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only run on five percent of the roads.
7. The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single "general car default" warning light.
8. New seats would force everyone to have the same size butt.
9. The airbag system would say "Are you sure?" before going off.
10. Occasionally for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key, and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
11. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they neither need them nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by 50 percent or more. Moreover, GM would become a target for investigation by the Justice Dept.
12. Every time GM introduced a new model car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
13. You'd press the "start" button to shut off the engine.

christian job placement

2005-07-11T20:56:00.000-05:00

This site, created in 2001, helps to connect churches with church professionals who need a job. Many site like this exist, but none offer the same quality as ChristianPlacements.com. When knee-mail doesn't work, just try regular email.

trip to paris

2005-07-10T22:09:00.000-05:00

me and heather at the louvre

wifi bandit

2005-07-07T15:08:00.000-05:00

July 07, 2005
Florida Man Charged With Stealing Wi-Fi Signal
By The Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Police have arrested a man for using someone else's wireless Internet network in one of the first criminal cases involving this fairly common practice.

Benjamin Smith III, 41, faces a pretrial hearing this month following his April arrest on charges of unauthorized access to a computer network, a third-degree felony.

Police say Smith admitted using the Wi-Fi signal from the home of Richard Dinon, who had noticed Smith sitting in an SUV outside Dinon's house using a laptop computer.

The practice is so new that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement doesn't even keep statistics, according to the St. Petersburg Times, which reported Smith's arrest this week.
Innocuous use of other people's unsecured Wi-Fi networks is common. But experts say that illegal use often goes undetected, such as people sneaking on others' networks to traffic in child pornography, steal credit card information and send death threats.

Security experts say people can prevent such access by turning on encryption or requiring passwords, but few bother or even know how to do so.

Wi-Fi, short for Wireless Fidelity, has enjoyed prolific growth since 2000. Millions of households have set up wireless home networks that allow people to use the Web from their backyards but also reach the house next door or down the street.

Prosecutors declined to comment, and a working phone number could not be located for Smith.

gas prices

2005-06-21T11:14:00.000-05:00

Pretty neat site to find the best gas prices in town.

man, i love choir

2005-06-20T13:02:00.000-05:00

twenty questions

2005-06-03T12:13:00.000-05:00

Think of something. Anything. Alright, go to 20q.net and test out this A.I. It's pretty good, i thought of carpet - it guessed it.

this is great...

2005-05-21T17:23:00.000-05:00

Who do you go to for video game advise?

2005-05-16T16:49:00.000-05:00

It's quite clear that microsoft thinks that the mtv audience would side with Elijah Wood, as he was the host of the Xbox 360 preview on May 12 on MTV. Don't worry, microsoft was able to cover it's bases by having The Killers perform as well.

XBOX 360

2005-05-16T16:41:00.000-05:00

Start saving your pennies, the outlook is pretty good.
Check out an early review here.

Human for Sale

2005-04-22T23:24:00.000-05:00

I am worth $2,114,690.00 on HumanForSale.com. That's right. Interested inquires only.

Palm Sunday

2005-03-20T10:31:00.000-06:00

more Star Wars Musical fun

2005-03-17T11:13:00.000-06:00

I guess this would then be issue 2 of the chronicle of Star Wars Musical Ventures. On my recent perusing of the vast internet, I happened to stumble upon this Star Wars gangster Rap. It was pretty amazing. Vader haters maynot want to thrown their hands in the air, but it was hard for me to resist. Large flash movie, but this music video is worth the wait.

Saving Toby

2005-03-15T18:24:00.000-06:00

SaveToby.com has been across streaking across the internet at a lightning pace. After only a few month of being up, the site states that it has received close to $19,000 (as of this post) for the redemption of one unlucky rabbit. Whether this is true or not, we don't know, but the response has been pretty funny. There is another spin off site, ReallySaveToby.Com, which is supposedly actually fighting for the rights of the animal. Its probably run by the same owner, but nevertheless it makes for a good story. This guy is either the biggest liar ever or a genius. Probably both.

CraftsmenSupply.com

2005-03-13T13:57:00.000-06:00

My father and brother have finally moved the family hardware store onto the world wide web. As things there have gotten rolling, I have been inspired to start my own store. Yes, that's right, Seamus' Stuff is officially open for business. It should prove to be an interesting ventrue to say the least. What I am most excited about is this sweet banner they gave me:

I mean, just look at that. It just screams "Buys things from me!" So, on that note, go buys things from me and support the musings that Seamus has to offer.

This is funny.

2005-03-12T16:05:00.000-06:00

"Phasing out the human race by voluntarily ceasing to breed will allow Earth's biosphere to return to good health. Crowded conditions and resource shortages will improve as we become less dense."

The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (vhemt.org; pronounced vehement) favors a peaceful end of all human procreation to prevent the destruction of numerous species of animals to favor the elimination of one species, homo sapiens. As their FAQ puts it, "Each time another one of us decides to not add another one of us to the burgeoning billions already squatting on this ravaged planet, another ray of hope shines through the gloom." It kinda makes me chuckle, I mean, really folks...

Gizoogle.com

2005-03-10T11:24:00.000-06:00

Just when i thought I had seen it all, here is yet another rip off of the ever popular Google Search Engine with a gansta spin. As I understand it, said search engine is able to translate your website into a form of Jive of which is popular with the kids today. Although the language gets a little rough at times, quite possibly the funniest thing ever. My favorite is the news "gizoolgle-ized." Try it.

Star Wars: The Musical

2005-02-16T14:46:00.000-06:00

While upholding the idea that Star Wars fans cling to anything even vaguely related to the movie, Star Wars: The Musical is able to rip off John Williams while maintaining a complete disregard for aesthetics and musicality. As the official website puts it "Quite possibly the most CRIMINALLY UNDEREXPOSED piece of SW fan media in the world." Perhaps this is for a reason...Check it out here.

In Search of Humane Slaughter

2005-02-15T10:58:00.000-06:00

Russell Simmons has joined the 'battle' against the heretic 'toxin lacing' Kentucky Fired Chicken chain. Opposing the "grossly inhumane" slaughter of chickens, Simmons has threatened a boycott of KFC. Simmons of Def Jam records stated that "when a company targets our community, disrespect us as consumers and sells us a product ridden with negative energy and laced with toxins, that is our business." This comes from the same man who labeled Bush as the "biggest threat in the world." Luckily Simmons is joined in his fight by such character as Pamela Anderson and Al Sharpton.

Aww man, just a grammy?

2005-02-15T00:26:00.000-06:00

Jazz Composer Nabs Grammy After Web-Only Sales
Sun Feb 13, 8:34 PM ET - Reuters
Jazz composer Maria Schneider took home a Grammy on Sunday for her album "Concert in the Garden," without selling a single copy in a record store.

Concordia College Choir Tour

2005-02-12T22:30:00.000-06:00

Southeastern Tour Schedule:

Friday, February 18, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, St. Cloud, MN
Saturday, February 19, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church, Fairfield, IA
Sunday, February 20, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
Christ Church United Methodist, Louisville, KY
Monday, February 21, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Atlanta, GA
Tuesday, February 22, 2005, 7:00 p.m.
First United Methodist Church, Dothan AL
Thursday, February 24, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church, Orlando, FL
Friday, February 25, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church of Fort Myers, Fort Myers, FL
Saturday, February 26, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church, Pompano Beach, FL
Sunday, February 27, 2005, 7:00 p.m.
Times Union Center for the Performing Arts, Jacksonville, FL
Monday, February 28, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church, Myrtle Beach, SC
Tuesday, March 1, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
Rivermont Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Lynchburg, VA
Wednesday, March 2, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
Churchland Baptist Church, Chesapeake, VA
Thursday, March 3, 2005, 8:00 p.m.
National Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC
Friday, March 4, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
The Forum, Harrisburg, Pa.
Saturday, March 5, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN
Sunday, March 6, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota
Memorial Auditorium - Free and open to the public

some of my favorite news...

2005-02-12T12:45:00.000-06:00

Bank That Bans Customers Inside Robbed
Fri Feb 11, 8:08 PM ET - AP

DISTRICT HEIGHTS, Md. - A bank that has been robbed so many times it bans customers from coming inside was held up again anyway on Friday.
Anyone using the Bank of America branch on Silver Hill Rd. has been forced to go to the drive-up or the ATM for the last few months, after managers got fed up with the repeated heists. But when one of the tellers went out for a break, a robber saw a window of opportunity.
"There were two tellers inside of this bank. One of the tellers left to run over to the drug store and as she was walking back, a suspect wearing dark clothing produced a gun and forced her inside the bank," Cpl. Diane Richardson of the Prince George's County police. The suspect tried to lock both tellers in the vault, but could not.
No one was hurt, and there was no word on how much money the suspect made off with.
Police said just last week, a teller was about to leave when she saw a man outside with a gun. She was able to lock herself in and get help.

Student Runs Over Driver's Ed Teacher
Fri Feb 11,10:29 PM ET - AP

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. - A driver's education instructor was run over by one of her students and pinned beneath the car for 15 minutes, officials said.
Two cars driven by students collided on the DeKalb County Schools driver's education lot, then one of the students backed into Patricia Erwin, running her over.
She was hospitalized Friday in stable condition and underwent surgery for multiple broken bones.
Erwin, 64, who has taught driving for 20 years, was working with the students on a drill that included pulling forward and backing up at slow speeds, said Kal Kelliher, the district's driver's education coordinator.

Postcard for the Fuehrer or Current Occupant
Fri Feb 11, 8:29 AM ET - Reuters

BERLIN (Reuters) - German postal services are still delivering post for Adolf Hitler, even though the Nazi dictator has been dead almost 60 years.
German media reported that a postcard addressed to "Fuehrer Adolf Hitler, Reichstag, German Parliament, Berlin, Germany," was sent from an undisclosed location in England.
A spokeswoman for the Bundestag lower house of parliament confirmed on Thursday that the dictator's card had arrived at its intended destination. She declined to give any further details.

Squeezing the Box

2005-02-09T13:56:00.000-06:00

Forces in Middle East discover oppressive accordians, approach with caution.

2005-02-08T15:24:00.000-06:00

rasterbation
n. The gratuituous use of comuputer generated images and effects in movies and graphic art which would have been better without them.

Check it out.

Study on John 8

2005-02-07T20:33:00.000-06:00

John Chapter 8

2 At dawn He went to the temple complex again, and all the people were coming to Him. He sat down and began to teach them.
3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. 4 "Teacher," they said to Him, "this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. 5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?" 6 They asked this to trap Him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse Him.
Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with His finger. 7 When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, "The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her."
8 Then He stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. 9 When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only He was left, with the woman in the center. 10 When Jesus stood up, He said to her, " Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
11 "No one, Lord," she answered.
"Neither do I condemn you," said Jesus. "Go, and from now on do not sin any more."

After reading John 8:2-11 one question pierces my thoughts. What was Jesus drawing in the sand? We have all done it at some time or another. Perhaps we were small children playing in the dirt, or organizing football play of the utmost importance. But here we see something different, not a child aimlessly perusing the dirt collection, but rather a grown man stooping down to write in the earth. Why does John include this? Surely, if we have no knowledge of what Jesus wrote, there must be a reason for including the action, which is repeated twice. Perhaps it was merely to show his attitude toward the Pharisees’ actions – but then why wouldn’t John have purely stated that Jesus ignored them? No, there must have been a reason for this. Perhaps John himself was unaware of why he included such detail, God himself might be the only in knowledge of such things.

Looking at the overall message that Jesus is sending, one is ensnared in mercy. Jesus finds no problem with the law, nor denies the woman’s guilt; nor does he ignore the intent of the Pharisees. But rather Jesus’ intent was to reveal the persecutors their fault without condemnation, while showing mercy to the woman by not condemning her as well. Mathew 7:1-3 does come to mind when thinking of this passage. In his sermon on the mount Jesus states, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

But certainly Jesus could have condemned the sinner – he was without sin. Yet, he doesn’t. In Mathew 5:17 Jesus say that he “did not come to destroy but to fulfill it.” This perspective on law is echoed again in Luke 16:17. No, Jesus wasn’t trying to undermine the law or replace it, but as he said fulfill it. Then why didn’t he condemn her? In my opinion this is because he shows her the love which he surmised the law and prophets. John 3:17 put it as such: “For God did not send his son to condemn the world but to save it.” The grace Jesus shows to the Pharisees and the mercy that is evident towards the woman are innately connected to his writing in the sand.

So what? We still are left with the question about Jesus’ writing in the sand? What is it all about? It is impossible for us to know exactly what Jesus did write, but it is interesting to note another occasion in which God wrote with his finger. Exodus 31:18 states “When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.” Whoa, lookout. The finger of God wrote the law – that’s what the Pharisees were talking about! Maybe Jesus was exemplifying the fact that he is the Word incarnate. He is the new covenant beyond the Law of Moses. This curious connection leads to the next question, why did Jesus always stand before he replied to questions? I believe that John paints wonderful imagery with the notion of the earth.

We see Jesus taking four specific steps.

First, he stoops down to the dust.
Second, he gets up and speaks to the Pharisees.
Third, he gets down in the dust again.
Fourth, he gets up and forgives the woman her sins.

Looking at this progression with the understanding of the Old Testament connection between dust and death, we can see a much broader picture. First Jesus is not around and then is born when he rises up the first time. His comments to the Pharisees can be seen as his earthly ministry before is killed in his third action, and is then is resurrected to free us from sin. The message here is not unlike that which Paul refers to as ‘walking in newness of life.’ When you look at the incident through that lens, the beauty and love of God is magnified.

Response to Jeremiah 17:13:
"O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of Living waters."
Was Jesus writing the names of the Pharisees in reference to Jeremiah? They probably would have been well enough versed in scripture to make the pistons start shooting in their head. In short, I don’t know. The actions Jesus took and the words he said were apparently enough to convict the men and divert their actions. Overall I don’t think Jesus purpose was to condemn these persons who were guilty and then turn right around and forgive the woman who was also guilty. Rather, Jesus piles them all together in the ‘Guilty but not condemned pile’ and calls it a day, if you will. He loves them all.

prophetic k9

2005-01-23T17:48:00.000-06:00