Think On These Things - Rambling

My Bike Commute Begins Monday

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:08:00 -0700

I doubt if I'll be alone on my bike commutes this summer with gas prices continuing to rise, so here's a video reminder to help kick-off the season. Here's to an accident-free year!

Sump Pump Situation

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:16:00 -0700

I consider this the best (and only) home improvement advice I can ever give, for I am not qualified to hit a hammer onto one of those pointy things. But I do know sump pumps. Why? Because I've tried them all. Why? Because they (yes, I have two sump pits) are housed just below my bedroom (thank you, architect). So the noise level needs to be kept to a minimum in that sacred place, the boudoir. So what do I say in regards to what sump pump to buy? Get a Zoeller. Get a Zoeller M53 .30 hp sump pump. I bought one 5 years ago and it is still working just fine, and I just bought another to replace the Water Ace that had to be retired, which was bought at the same time as the Zoeller, 5 years ago. Unless you have water pouring into your basement at a faster rate than I do, .30 hp is all you need (but you should make sure). A larger motor (1/2, 3/4) may be a significant contributor to the insane noise level these pumps (Wright, Simer, respectively) delivered. Think semi truck, barge horn, respectively. The noise you won't hear coming from the Zoeller pump will be replaced by songs of joy. Oh yeah, and get yourself a water based backup pump as well. On day 2 of no power after that heavy storm, your basement will be dry, giving you ample time to assist your neighbors when their battery powered backups wear down.

The Secret is Out

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:53:00 -0700

Funny story: I'm cleaning up in the garage and I find some deoderant : "Secret" - you know, strong enough for a man, yet made for a woman. I'm not sure how it got in my garage, but there it was, in my hand, needing a home. Coincidentally, I was running low on deoderant in my gym bag, so that is where I stashed it. As my wife watched, she said, "won't your friends make fun of you?" Well of course they would, if the ever saw it, but who's gonna see it? Nobody. At least that is what I assured myself of. The very next day, today, I'm walking out of the gym and meet three of my running buddies outside, with a fourth fella I didn't know. As we were talking, what should fall out of my bag, right on cue, right in the midst of all of us? No, not my toothpaste, my mp3 player, a shoe, or anything else that would have gone unnoticed. Yes, it was my Secret. It hit the ground in slow motion, bounced around for awhile until everyone's attention was fixed on it, and then it rested, face up, powdery blue. SECRET. STRONG ENOUGH FOR A MAN, BUT MADE FOR A WOMAN!!!. I couldn't pick it up fast enough; but it was too late. The cat was out of the bag, so to speak. Actually, I wish it was only a cat. I'd have been able to live that one down. Not this, however. I wasn't planning on sharing my Secret with anyone, obviously. I knew I was doomed. It didn't take two seconds: "SECRET! Isn't that for women?!" "Hey, you suuure smell nice." "Awww, he put it back in his purse." And on and on. The were still shouting at me as I was getting in my car, across the street. Even the guy I didn't know was getting into the act. "Say sweetie, what are you doing after work?" I wasn't sure if he was serious or not, but it didn't really matter. The Secret is out.

15 degree temperature drop - thanks!

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:14:00 -0700

Our second annual camping trip is nearly upon us, and I was really dreading the 95 degree forecasted temps. How in the world can one comfortably camp in that environment - without an air conditioned silver stream? Last year was rough, mainly due to my 3 year old's lack of fear of water and other environmental factors, such as poison ivy, ticks, fishing hooks, all of which resulted in an overbearing and stressed out father who hovered over him in an attempt to act as some sort of protective umbrella. Well this year will be different, and the forecast has just dropped 15 degrees! That will make for some awesome fishing and I've got my buddy's kayak this year, so me, my bro, my dad, my two boys, and my nephew will be having a great time! (And my wife will be having a great time off!) I've got new Johnny Cash CD that will become the theme music for the trip, and I've been looking forward to my brother's smores ever since he made them last time.

Karate Kids

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 10:22:00 -0700

Last night was our childrens' third Goju Ryu Karate practice, and I must say that I could not be more impressed with their instructor, Sansei Kim Barrington, a third degree black belt who is absolutely wonderful with children. His students - ages 5-7, really love him. He gets at least 2 hugs per child per class (on top of at least 5-10 kicks and punches) over the course of 45 minutes. The class itself is a combination of discipline, training, and fun. I have two shy children who are undoubtedly on the road to improving honorable traits such as respect, honor, discipline, and confidence. I can see it building in them already. The fun they have does not overshadow the discipline they receive when they get out of line. Sansei Kim lets them get away with nothing even remotely disrespectful. The rebuking and encouraging pattern given by Sansei has erased any concerns I had about turning my kids into uncontrollable Mutant Ninja Turtles. Each class ends with the children in a circle holding hands in prayer. The classes we attend are located at the Springfield First Church of the Nazarene, on Saturdays, Mondays, and Thursdays, and are the most reasonably priced around. For more information let me know. The only pitfall is that my kids have come to the realization that despite my insistence to the contrary, I'm not the toughest man alive :-)

Darwin taught male superiority...

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 18:25:00 -0700

... so I guess he wasn't all that bad after all. Yep, Darwin taught that women were both biologically and intellectually inferior to men, and because of their smaller brains, they were "eternally primitive," childlike, and more materialistic. Many leading Darwinists classified them into two distinct species. Now that's one part of his theory you don't hear popularized. I wonder why?

Empty

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 08:23:00 -0700

I was speaking with another father at church yesterday regarding two recent Christmas concerts our children participated in - one for grade school and one put on by the church. The more I grow as a Christian, the starker the contrast between God-honoring activities, such as a child's play about the Nativity, and any secular event honoring a vapid, imaginary character. The only saving grace of the school's "Holiday" concert was the fact that my child was a part of it. Everything else was completely bland and devoid of all meaning. Even the token old-school Silent Night was replaced by songs demanding good presents from Santa. Leaving Christ out of Christmas leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Christian Warriors... Fighting in the UFC?

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 22:10:00 -0700

I am a fan of the modern mma, including Pride, IFL and UFC. Many people have, at the very least, questions about Christians liking a violent sport. What about Christians participating in such a sport? There are two mixed martial artists whose career paths I follow closest: Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin. Both have web sites, and both have Bible verses prominently displayed on their site. Matt Hughes has a forum with very active participants engaging in theological debates. Sometimes questions are asked that center around whether such fighting is Biblical. The answers are easy - no one is trying to kill another, and even if that were the case, the matches are very closely refereed. As one poster noted, "It is not violence for violence sake." This individual goes on to say:

The UFC is a professional event where professional athletes go to compete in a controlled environment. It's not a bunch of street thugs ambushing unsuspecting people on the street. So, I don't see how it is any different from football or boxing in that sense.

Then he goes on to make this point: God was involved in a wrestling match, whereby he ended up permanently injuring Jacob's hip! The argument continues: since God can do nothing unholy, and God very much participated in a wrestling match, wrestling can be considered the only holy sporting event!

Get out the (Muslim) vote

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 11:30:00 -0700

Muslims Using 2006 Vote to Gear Up for 2008 [Excerpts] Saadia Chaudhury . . . . is excited to vote. "I don't even know" who the candidates are in her Maryland district, she says with a slightly embarrassed laugh. "I just know I'm voting for Democrats." Muslim American voters, angered by policies they say abuse their civil rights at home and kill and injure Muslims abroad, are expected to turn out in unusually high numbers this year, throwing their support [to] overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates. While it is unclear if Muslim voters have the numbers to tip any tight elections, many believe they have achieved new levels of political organization and electoral enthusiasm -- and hope to send a signal of their strength in 2008, when the White House is again in play. (Religious News Service Newsletter, 11/2/06)

Hmmmmm

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:16:00 -0700

Where do you get your news?

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 10:36:00 -0700

From JewishWorldReview

The story was everywhere and was everywhere the same. On June 9, Israel had fired a rocket onto a Gaza beach killing seven picnicking Palestinian civilians. The New York Times carried a huge, front-page picture of a 12-year-old girl weeping as she searched for her father's body in the sand (the photo was excerpted from video that has been broadcast around the world). CBS News reported, "The ruling Hamas group fired a barrage of homemade rockets at Israel on Saturday, hours after calling off a truce with Israel in anger over an artillery attack that killed seven civilians in Gaza." The New York Times characterized it this way: "Hamas fired at least 15 Qassam rockets from Gaza into Israel on Saturday, ending a tattered 16-month truce with Israel, a day after eight Palestinians were killed on a Gaza beach, apparently by an errant Israeli shell." CNN went even further, explaining that "Hamas' rocket attacks were prompted by a string of Israeli attacks, including an artillery shell blast that killed at least seven Palestinians picnicking on a northern Gaza beach on Friday." Just another brutal attack on civilians by the Israel Defense Forces? So we are invited to conclude. But the IDF, after initially apologizing and offering assistance to the families of those killed, has now investigated and concluded that the explosion was not caused by an Israeli shell. Full stop. The Israelis say the explosion on the beach may have been caused by a land mine placed there by Palestinians to thwart any Israeli assault, or possibly by unexploded ordnance from an earlier skirmish. According to the Israelis, shrapnel taken from the bodies of victims did not match Israeli shells but looked more like bomb fragments. Another glaring missing ingredient to the media coverage is what happened before Israel fired on Gaza (Israel acknowledges aiming at terrorists in a different area of Gaza that day). In the 10 months since Israel withdrew from Gaza, some 1,000 missiles have been fired at Israel from Gaza. More than 800 have hit the country. Just in the month of May, more than 30 Qassam rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. On May 21, a Qassam slammed into a classroom in Sderot 9 it was empty as the children were at synagogue. On May 16, a Katyusha landed in a farm. On May 31, four Qassams struck Sderot (Hamas has vowed to make that town of 20,000 into a graveyard). One hit an apartment building wounding two. On April 17, a suicide bomber killed 11 and wounded more than 70 when he exploded his bombs in a Tel Aviv cafe.

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/charen061606.php3

A web developer and a senator walk into a plane...

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 23:30:00 -0700

On a beautiful Friday morning, I was waiting for the State plane to take me to Chicago for a meeting. I was there way too early, and for the longest time sat by myself reading my ICR Devotionals. Then I heard a man outside the door, praying. It was the sweetest prayer, and it touched my heart. As this man prayed, apparently with someone on the cell phone, I was blessed. I was thinking to myself, "I need to pray with my wife more. My prayer life in general has to grow." His prayer was simply that we do not know what the day brings, but Christ is in charge, and we are comforted in knowing that. I was prepared to tell him how much I appreciated his prayer when he walked in. But it was not meant to be. Strangely, we kept talking at the same time. I heard him speak, and he did not hear me. So I responed to his question regarding my occupation, and told him I was a web developer for the State. He then told me he was a senator. Well, that's pretty cool. I wanted to tell him that he had my vote, for his unabashed obedience to the Lord. I asked him what district he represented. Indeed, part of his district is my home town - Blue Island. We talked briefly for awhile after that, but it seemed he was busy, and I did not want to bother him. Only later did I find out who I was talking to, and the opportunity I missed. The man was Reverend and Senator Meeks, the man who is considering a run for governor as an Independent because his views on the Gay Marriage amendment as well as abortion are not being represented by the two candidates. It would really have been awesome to talk with him, and I wondered why something that so easily could have happened did not. How many people are in positions of power that Biblical Christians can confidently vote for? Not many. We will all one day stand before a Righteous Judge, and be accountable for all our actions, including who we vote for and what we support.