The Hypocrisy of it All

Unless you’re in a coma, you know Michael Jackson died. I’m not a Michael Jackson fan, so I don’t have a huge empty hole in my heart right now. I am sympathetic to his family and close friends who are deeply saddened during this time of loss. Michael was someone’s son, he was somebody’s father, and he did have friends – and to those people, you truly have my deepest sympathies.

But to everyone else – what gives?

I didn’t get to watch the spectacle on TV, I actually have to work. But I wanted to see John Mayer’s part as I like his music. So I hunted the video down on the Internet and watched that. I was amazed about some of the comments people left. They were saying things like “John Mayer is so messed up. I hate him.” “His personal life is such a disaster. I can’t stand him.” “He looks funny.” Really?! These are people who like Michael Jackson – all of those statements would be true about Michael. Yet they loved Michael and hate John. If you don’t like his music, fine. It’s just not your style. But to hate him and his music because of his personal life and yet adore Michael in spite of his disastrous personal life, well that’s just hypocritical.

Then I turned on the TV all the news could talk about was the funeral. They kept showing various clips speakers and performers. And again, other than a few exceptions, I kept thinking, how hypocritical these people are. They all claimed to be great friends with Michael. But I don’t remember any of them standing up for Michael when he had relationship problems. I don’t remember any of them coming to his side when he had legal problems with molestation charges. I don’t remember any of them trying to put an end to the Wako Jacko stories. I don’t remember anyone helping Michael when he had financial issues. I don’t remember anyone helping Michael when things got so tough for him he left the country for a while. I do remember quite a few negative comments from the black community when Michael started “turning white.” I don’t recall any of these people doing anything to help, love or support Michael. Yet as soon as he’s gone and there’s an opportunity to show support at his funeral where lots of people will be watching – oh, they’re all his close friends then. Again, with a few notable exceptions, it just stuck me as completely hypocritical and fake.

I don’t really know what happened behind closed doors and if some of these folks really were close to Michael. I do know this. True friends are there when the going is tough. True friends aren’t afraid to stand by your side – even when you made a mistake or done something stupid. That doesn’t mean that you condone or approve of their actions, it just means that you love your friend and your trying to provide some support.

What kind of friend are you? That’s worth pondering about.

Happy Independence Day

If you know anything about America, you know that the 4th of July is our Independence Day. Today we celebrate the many freedoms that our forefathers and generations of soldiers have won for us.

Today I'm grateful for what we have in America. I'm grateful for a God who has blessed our nation. I'm grateful for what those who have gone before have done for me. I hope that I can be half as influential as them and leave something to those who come after me.

What are you grateful for? And how is that going to inspire you to action? That's worth pondering about....

Happy 4th of July!

Happiness and Bliss

Let's just say you are having a great day. It's a wonderful day. Everything is grand. You are happy. Life is good. As you go about your daily business in your car, everything is perfect. The radio is playing all the songs you like. Even the freeway is wide open in front of you.

If during your state of bliss you happen to glance in the rear view mirror and notice there is lots of traffic behind you (but nothing in front of you), YOUR DRIVING TOO SLOW! Please move over so the rest of us can go by you and get something done today.

I'm just saying....

Stereotypes and Bad Choices

My two teenage boys love video games. I think it's nearly a prerequisite to being a teenager these days. I can certainly think of worse things for them to be into, so we try to exercise some self-control, but still enjoy game time. Part of enjoying the games is getting magazines that hype all the new games, review the games, rate the games, advertise the games, talk about the games, and -- well you get the idea.

One of the magazines they liked to read was Electronic Game Monthly (aka EGM). "Was" is the key word here. As magazines sometimes do, it ceased publication. Rumor has it the original founder will start the magazine up later this year. Whatever. For now it's dead and the publisher did what publishers do in this situation - they substituted a different magazine for the remainder of our subscription (just renewed).

I've been known to order a few magazines in my day. So I've experience the disappointment of a rag folding up and getting some second rate substitute. Usually the substitute is some how related to the magazine that has ceased publication. So if you were getting a motorcycle magazine, the substitute will be motorsports related. If you were getting a computer mag, the substitute will be a computer mag or at least electronics of some sort. So when EGM folded, it seemed reasonable to expect that another video game mag would be provided. What we got was Maxim.

If you don't know what Maxim is, well it's about this far |--| from Playboy. The magazine is clearly geared for people older than my two teenage boys. I'm pretty sure we don't need a magazine with naked ladies showing up every month. Oh, and the ladies ARE naked in the magazine, they are just posed so that you can't see certain little pieces. To make a long story short, my lovely wife quickly applied for the refund.

Gamers are often stereotyped to be late-teens or early twenties and oversexed. The publisher, following the stereotype provided a magazine that was clearly inappropriate in our situation. A better approach would have been a way for us to select between a couple of different choices. If they had done that, they still might have our business. But now they must refund money - which I'm sure they are loath to do.

Unfortunately, we often put people into little boxes when we believe the stereotypes. We think all "poor people" will act or think a certain way. Or all east coast or west coast people will behave a certain way. All rich people are stuck up. All lawyers are scumbags. All ________ (insert racial group) will be ________ (insert various derogatory statements). You get the idea.

Stereotypes are almost universally a bad idea. The real question is what stereotypes do you hang on to? How are you going to get rid of them? That's worth pondering about....

Dangerous

Clarence FL1946

This is a machine that my Grandfather was using in 1946 to clear land in Florida. Can you imagine anyone using something like that today? Exposed blade, no safety gear, etc. That thing is just scary looking.

I'm generally not a big fan of safetycrats who take away our freedoms and activities in the name of being safe, but in this case - maybe it's a good thing.

Revoked

If you buy a sporty car. Lower it. Put some nice rims on it. Tint the windows. Install a sweet exhaust system. And then putt around in it, they should revoke your license.

I'm just saying.....

You Need One

Here's an interesting quote. It's related to my last post.

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”
—Jane Howard


Do you have one? Are you caring for and feeding it properly?

That's worth pondering about.

How do they do it?

I suspect whatever environment you are raised in is 'normal' to you. Sure, there's extreme limits, but generally what you experienced as a child growing up is your definition of normal. I grew up in Christian family with parents that didn't get a divorce and so that seems normal to me. Your mileage may vary.

I understand that not everyone believes in God. But while I can comprehend the concept, I can't fully understand it, because I haven't experienced it. But the part that is really hard for me to understand is the lack of community that non-believers are missing. That's very difficult for me to understand.

A while back a friend was telling me of family he had met. I guess they were a pretty close-knit family with a lot of love in the family and they belonged to good church that was like extended family. It didn't take my friend long to see how special what they had was. He was also quick to realize that was something that he desired to have in his own life.

I know that people who don't belong to a church community aren't friendless. They have a circle of friends too. But it's difficult for me to comprehend life without a great bunch of people that you see nearly every week to help you along the journey. To have have community that supports you mentally, physically and spiritually is truly wonderful thing. It seems like such a disadvantage to not have that. How do they do it?

If your part of church that doesn't have a good community of support, I would seriously urge you to consider changing churches. It REALLY makes all the difference.

A Tap on the Shoulder

Tuesday I rode my bike to work like every other day. It was beautiful riding weather. In fact, it was hard to go to work, the local mountains roads were calling my name. After a long day at work I went to the parking structure looking forward to my ride home. I geared up and got on the bike and it won't start. It cranks just fine, but it won't fire. Stupid bike. I checked all the usual stuff, hoses, sensors, kill switch, etc. Nothing. I even tried to bump start it. Nothing would make it start. I called the tow service we have (which shall remain nameless, but it starts with All and ends with State) and they said they'd have someone out there in an hour and half. What great service. Not! That was too late to do any good, the shops would be closed by then. So I called my lovely wife to come get me and left the bike at work overnight.

Now before we go any farther in the story, you should know that I hate it when a vehicle leaves me stranded. It's a bit like your spouse cheating on you. I don't trust the vehicle any more, I just want it out of my sight. If someone had offered me $20 for it, I probably would have sold it on the spot. So it was all I could do to keep my cool and my Christianity.

On Wednesday I took the truck to work. I was sure the bike would fire right up and I would be even more frustrated at it. But no, it still wouldn't start. That's kinda good, at least it's consistent. I got the tow truck out (after a 2 and 1/2 hour wait when he was supposed to be there within the hour) and loaded up the bike. When the bike got the shop, the mechanic got up on the flatbed truck and the bike started the first crank. Arrrrgh.... stupid bike. So he thinks there's a short or something and he works on it for over an hour and can't find anything wrong with the bike. But it needed tires and oil change, so I told him to go ahead with that and I'll pick the bike up on the Thursday.

On Thursday, the mechanic calls me and says you won't believe what I found. I'm thinking, "Great, he found the problem why it won't start." But that wasn't it. The whole rear end that holds the rear tire in place is called the swing arm. That swing arm basically mounts to the frame of the bike with one bolt, so it can articulate up and down as the suspension moves. What the mechanic found is that the bolt was there, but the nut to hold it in place was missing! If that bolt had fallen out while I was riding the bike, the rear end and rear tire would have completely fallen off. As you can imagine, at freeway speeds in LA, that would not have a happy ending.

I am certain that the reason the bike didn't start at work, but did start at the shop, is because there is nothing wrong the bike. The bike is just fine. However, once in a while we get a tap on the shoulder and God reminds us that he is still around and involved in our lives. I'm grateful that he takes the time to care for us.

So what God stories do you have? That's worth pondering about.....

Skillz

There's good and there's the guys that have real skillz.

Then there is Danny MacAskill - he's in a class by himself. He's defiantly got skillz.



Direct link

How to be Rich

Warning: Sappiness ahead...

Yesterday our church hosted a Cinco de Mayo party (ok, so it was really a Tres de Mayo party). I was expecting a fun time of hanging with some friends and eating some good Mexican food. That's good stuff. It turns out the whole thing was ruse to give me a surprise birthday party (2 weeks early). Needless to say I was surprised. But now looking back I understand why things seemed so weird... Anyway, it was great party. Lots of fun. It was the weirdest Cinco de Mayo party I've ever been to, but still lots of fun.

Events like this always give me cause to do a little reflection. What makes the party so fun? Is it the surprise? No, although it certainly was surprising. Is it the good food? No, but there was lots of good food. Is it the generous gift? No, but that's very nice and thoughtful of everyone. Was it the Mexican dances? No, but we got some good pics for someone else surprise birthday party. LOL. What makes the party so much fun is all the people. All the friends that there laughing and talking, that's the joy of the party. And great friends are what makes us rich.

It's easy to look at our bank accounts during a recession and to not feel very wealthy. But richness of life, joy and happiness do NOT come from a full bank account. We can all name off dozens of rich people that don't appear to be happy. We all know folks that are not rich and seem to be very happy. Certainly there are happy, rich folk and unhappy, poor folks too. What I'm getting at is richness and happiness are two different attributes that do not come in a pair. If you want to be rich, have some good friends. They will add richness to your life in unmeasurable ways. Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks this is true. Consider these quotes:

Where there are friends, there is wealth.
~ Titus Maccius Plautus

Count your age with friends but not with years.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!"
~ The Bible: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.

If you want to be rich, have some good friends. And we all know the old saying, "If you want good friends, you need to be a good friend." Try it. Turn enemies into friends. Develop new friends. It's great! You'll never be sorry that you have great friends!!

I truly am rich.

How Big is a 100 Million?

I mostly stay away from political issues on the blog. So I don't want this to become a discussion on whether or not President Obama is doing the right thing. But I think we need to understand exactly how much $100 Million from our budget really is.



Link here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWt8hTayupE




Isn't it amazing at how small $100 million can look?

So What?

We live in the Information Age. There's an unmeasurable amount of information available to us. Some of us even have 24/7 access to all the information on the internet because our cellphones are internet capable. But it's not just the internet. There's more information, more news, more data, more science, more medicine, more theories, more everything. And all that data is growing. I recently read that the average 13 year old has already been exposed to more information than their grandparents were in their entire lives.

All that information is great, or at least has the potential for greatness. But what does one do with all that info? Learn to ask the question "So what?" Just because a piece of information exists, doesn't mean it's useful to you. I could know the weather report for New Zealand tomorrow - but that's not overly useful for me. I'm sure some people care about that - New Zealanders for one - but it doesn't really affect me. A careful application of the "So what?" can help filter through information that's non-essential.

This can even be true when dealing with a timeless truth. I believe the Bible is the Word of God. But not every text or passage in the Bible is useful in every situation. There are some passages in the Bible that when you read them, you need to ask "So what?" Why is this story here? Is it just a history lesson OR is there some truth to be learned in this story? You've got to run it through the "So what?" filter. And just because someone else finds a story particularly meaningful to them at that moment in their journey, doesn't mean that you will. And here's the important part - THAT'S OK. (Some of us need to read that last sentence a few more times and REALLY digest and understand that.) Maybe that text will matter in a different point in your journey, maybe it will never be a biggie for you. That's ok. Just use the "So what?" filter.

Useful information is not just head knowledge - it changes how you act. If you truly believe that 2+2=5, you will behave in a different manner than if you believe 2+2=4 (namely, much of your addition will be wrong). But information that passes the "So what?" filter, affects us. It changes us. Hopefully, it makes us better in some small way. When you find a Bible text that passes the "So what?" filter, it will change your beliefs and your behavior. And that's a good thing.

Use that "So what?" filter effectively. It will take some practice, but eventually you will be able to cut through all the noise and data, and have some great wisdom that really matters.

Miscommunication

There's a billboard by the freeway on the way to work that has kind of freaked me out. It's been up for what seems like a long time, maybe two months or so. It's also in place that makes it kind of hard to see. It's on the curve on the freeway and it's kind of behind another sign. So when you are doing LA freeway speeds, the sign is not visible very long. Also, it's dark when I am going to work, and this particular sign is not lit, so I can only read the big print on it, not the smaller print. Basically the sign is hard to see.

On this sign, there's a picture of cop trying to be tough guy. He's got the dark glasses, the hat and the tough guy scowl. The text says "Observe and Report." The sign seemed very Big Brotherish. Or maybe even a bit Orwellian. I didn't know if it was telling me to watch for terrorist bombers or people who change lanes without signaling. It was just creepy. (Maybe it's just the fact that 5:30am is too early to be looking at that particular sign.)

About week or so ago, the movie trailers for a new movie hit the TV screen. The movie is called "Observe and Report." I started laughing when I saw the trailer. Not because the movie looked that funny. It didn't. What made me laugh was the goofy sign that had been freaking me out.

I drove by the sign and looked again. It still doesn't look like all the other movie signs. There's no start date or any of that other stuff. Maybe that's look they were going for.

It was a case of unclear communication - at least for me. I know that sometimes the advertising campaign tries to build an air of mystery by revealing only a small bit of the story. But this doesn't seem to be one of those types of ads. It just doesn't communicate the fact that they are advertising a movie. Seems like a waste, because their ad has not made me want to see the movie.

Is your communication as clear as you can make it? It's a never ending struggle to be clear and concise. Are you doing the hard work so you can get your message across clearly? That's worth pondering about....

PS - I just finished a great book about communication. It's called "Less Clutter. Less Noise." by Kem Meyer. It's really for church communications, but it would apply to any one who works in communication. If you lead a group or team, whether that's at work or a group of volunteers - this book is worth the read.

When Your Help Isn't Perceived as Help

This is my bird Kaylee.









They say you are supposed to give them toys to play with so they don't get bored. They like toys they can rip apart. This seemed like a good one to me. No sharp edges. Should easily come apart.







Apparently, Kaylee doesn't agree with me. She is more than a little freaked out by the toy. I didn't know she was part chicken.









Have you ever tried to do something nice for someone, or help someone out, but they didn't see your offer the same way you did? It's frustrating. Sometimes even when we mean well, it's not taken that way. Are you efforts to help really help? Or are you just frightening the locals? That's worth pondering about...

Debt Free

The world needs more mayors, and people, like this one.



Link here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY79KbCptTo

No Luck

Yesterday I wanted the repairman to show up early - he came late.
Today I wanted the repairman to come late - he showed up much earlier.
I'm just not having good luck with that.
Well, there's always tomorrow when he'll be out for the 4th visit. (He was here on Friday too.)
Grrrrr....

People Are Stupid.

People are so stupid.

Maybe that's a bit harsh - just a bit. We might not be stupid, but we really do some stupid things. I'm not talking about the occasional goof up or mistake. We all do that once in a while - no biggie. What I'm talking about are the major screw ups. The big mistakes. The I-can't-believe-you-did-that things. Here's some examples...
- throwing away many years of marriage for a few moments of pleasure with someone else.
- thinking the rules of the work place don't apply to you. So you don't have to do continuing education, keep your credentials/license current or even listen to your boss.
- ignoring overwhelming advice from all of your friends on a given subject and doing the stupid thing anyway.
- taking questionable short-cuts to reach a goal when we know the only way to achieve that goal is to do it the 'right' way. (is any one else thinking of the crazy weight loss or get rich schemes?)

Why are we so hard-heading sometimes? Why do we always think the bad things will never happen to us? Why do we think we can get away with breaking the rules and we won't get caught?

What stupid behavior do you need to eliminate? That's worth pondering about...

Jumping Jack Fail

This is just too funny. I guess some people have no coordination at all.



Watch the guy in the middle. I'm still laughing.

Softball Distractions

I was driving by a high school the other day and there were some young ladies out on the ball field practicing for softball. It looked like maybe they were doing batting practice, as the pitching machine was set up. As I sat at the light waiting for it to change, I noticed that the young ladies at bat were quite a bit more focused than the young ladies in the outfield. This closely matches my own experience with softball.

See there's only two kinds of batters in softball, those who can't get the ball out of the infield and those who can hit home runs. No one ever (or very rarely) hits the ball into the field. So if you are in the outfield you've got plenty of time look for 4 leaf clovers, count the number stitches in your glove and many other numerous mind-numbing activities. So while the young ladies at bat were concentrating very hard on hitting the ball (with limited success). The young ladies in the field were concentrating on something else. Namely, cheerleading. They kept doing some little dance step in-unison that ended with leg kick. That would probably be a better detraction than the old "batter, batter, batter... sswwiiiiinng" chant that we used to do in softball. Can you image all the fielders on the team breaking into a little cheerleader dance step right as the ball was pitched? That could mess up the batter's concentration. Not to mention make the game a whole lot more interesting for the fans. After all, you can only spend so long looking for 4 leaf clovers.

I suspect that there are a couple of young ladies out there that are good at softball and cheerleading. But I'm guessing they are the exception rather than the rule. Most that are doing both are probably not the best at softball or cheerleading. I'm reminded of the old saying - "No one can serve two masters." If you want to be good at softball, spend your time on the ball field batting and fielding. If you want to be good at cheerleading, spend your time working on your cheers and dance steps. It's not rocket science to figure that out. But how many times do we actually try to do too much? How many times are we spread too thin? How many of us have our kids in karate, ballet, music, soccer, etc.? Is it too much? Do you need to cut back and spend more quality time on fewer things? Most of us probably do.

So what are you going to give up? That's worth pondering about....

Simple Pleasures

My family recently got together with some long time friends for a fun evening. We didn't do anything spectacular. In fact, that's probably what made it so fun. We went out for some good Mexican food and then went back to their house. We had no particular plan in mind.

We ended up watching the Daytona Supercross race (dirt bike race). My friend is bigger fan than we are. But with his assistance of who to watch and who were the fast guys - we were able to enjoy the race. It actually was a pretty good race. Lots of drama, accidents and front runners trying to get back into the race. Very fun.

Then we ended up watching some of America's Funniest Home Videos. I haven't watched that show too much in recent years, or maybe that's recent decades. But for whatever reason, the program that night really struck a cord with us. A couple of the clips were closely related to various experiences in our own lives. We would pause the program to tell our stories (I love the DVR!). We were laughing so hard tears were streaming down our cheeks.

When was the last time you took a break and really just had a good time with something simple? When was the last time you stopped to smell the roses? You don't have to to spend a lot of money. You don't have do anything spectacular - just stop and enjoy a moment or two with some good friends.

That's worth pondering about...

Snow Day

Yea, we don't get too many snow days in So Cal. But last week I went with my wife's elementary school to the local mountains to play in the snow and go tubing. We had a great time and some fabulous weather.




As you can imagine the kids had great fun tubing down the hill. There was a flat spot at the bottom of the hill to slow down and then a fence at the end. There was snow piled up at the fence so errant tubers wouldn't plow into the fence too hard. Of course some kids thought it was fun to go flying down in to the snow bank and bounce around. Ah, the joys of being young and indestructible.

On the fence every couple of feet was a sign that made me chuckle.
I'm sure that sign is there for insurance reasons. But really, do we need to be told not to run head first into a fence? Did someone plow into the fence, pre-signs, and sue. I can hear the lawsuit, "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to run head first into a fence. No one told me that." Doh!

It seems like we've raised a generation of people with absolutely no common sense at all. I guess that bothers me. It seems like we should be doing a better job than that. If you've got kids, do what you can to make sure they develop some amount of common sense. It will benefit the entire world.

Am I the only one???

Am I the only one who thinks the new U2 song is awful? Yet it seems like many people are saying how great it is. I don't get it.

It kind of reminds me of the old story about the Emperor's clothes. He's as naked as he can be and no one says anything because he's the Emperor. U2's new song is as horrid as it can be, but no one says anything because they are U2.

Well, I won't be silent. It's horrid. There I said it. Bono, are you listening? Who's with me? Or am I the only one?

As requested, here's a link to the song on YouTube. I just couldn't bring myself to embed it.

There Probably Is a Law

The office building where I work is fairly typical in construction. There are some nice parts (the lobby that everyone sees) and some less than nice parts (that only employees see). In our case there are some unfinished areas, like the basement, the parking structure and the stairwells. In these areas you can see lots of pipes, mostly for the sprinklers for the fire suppression system. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we have a sprinkler system in the office. The floor I work on is higher than the tallest ladder the local fire department has, so sprinklers are good. But man, are there are lot of pipes for that system. They are everywhere.

The weird part is, apparently there is a law that these pipes must always look good. They get repainted fairly regularly. Nothing else get's repainted. Not the walls. Not the metal stairs or railings. The paint on them has worn through in some places, but they never get repainted. Only the bright red pipes that no ever touches get's repainted. Weird. There's probably some law... Who know what's it is trying to accomplish, but it seems rather pointless. I suspect it's a conspiracy by the makers of red paint. :-)

There Ought to Be Law

On the way home from work, I pass 4 gas stations. Three of those stations are potential refueling stations for me. The fourth, well let's just say it has to be a cold day in hot place before I stop there. (read more here)

The three stations that I would potentially stop at are usually fairly close in cost of the gas. A few cents per gallon doesn't matter too much on any one fill up. But over the long haul, I'd like save a few bucks and get the best deal. Here's where my problem arises. No one of those stations is always the cheapest. In fact, I've not been able to determine any method for determining which station will have the cheapest gas (other than driving past all 3 and then back to the cheapest one - which would use more gas and defeat my whole goal of saving a few bucks).

It sure would be nice if I always knew that one particular station was always going to be the cheapest. I guess it's not the worst problem in the world, but it is annoying.

It would be great if everything in the world worked so my life would be easier, better, nicer, happier, etc. But, as you can imagine, the world doesn't work that way. In fact the Bible pretty clearly states that it's not all about me, it's all about God. Maybe someday I'll really learn (i.e. understand) that lesson.

What little thing annoys you? Does it just annoy you, or are you learning and growing from it? That's worth pondering about...

NASCAR and Rain

I'm not a huge NASCAR fan. Parts of it are mildly entertaining, but really how hard is it to turn left repeatedly?

This weekend was one of NASCAR's premiere events - the Dayton 500. I had it on in the background while I was working on the computer. I must say, who in NASCAR approved the singer for the National Anthem. It was maybe the worst I've ever heard. Big thumbs down for that. There were a couple of cool wrecks (that is why we all watch, right?). But at the end of race they had to stop because it was raining. Really? Rain? Put some rain tire on those cars and keep going. Formula 1 runs in the rain and they have open cockpits. Even the motorcycles run in the rain.

I don't think it's a real sport until you can play/race when conditions aren't just perfect. I'm just saying...

A Change of Perspective

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that I ride a motorcycle. (here, here and here). Riding a motorcycle is not just a hobby or something I do on weekends. I ride to work nearly every day of the year. I also leave for work pretty early in the morning and I don't want the entire neighborhood to get up when I do, so I ease out as quietly as I can.

Sometime last winter something happened on my morning ride that I had almost forgotten about - until last week. I had gotten out of my neighborhood and was on the main road out of the housing development on my way to work. I was still taking it very easy and going slowly and quietly. A few blocks down there was an older man taking out his trash in the morning. He was a bit of a mess. He was wearing pajama bottoms, a white t-shirt tank and had messed up white hair. He looked up at me as I went by and then, for no reason I could determine, flipped me off. I was mildly peeved. I hadn't done anything to him. I was trying to be a good neighbor and quietly head to work in the morning - what I done to deserve such treatment from him?

For a while I wondered about him each morning when I passed his house. Did he hate motorcyclists? Was just a crazy old man? Did he hate everyone? Eventually, he just faded away out of memory - until last week.

Last week there was a major fire in his house. The house is a complete loss. I don't know what happened. Was it an accident or intentional? Was it a wiring problem? Did he fall asleep with a lit cigarette? I don't know. I don't even know if he was hurt or killed in the fire. I don't know if he had a wife or anyone else living in the house. Basically I don't know anything about him or his situation.

But the weird thing is that I noticed that my feelings about him changed. I went from wondering if he was a crazy old man to be concerned and hoping he's OK. I guess that's fairly normal. We often come to the aid of people when disaster strikes. We send aid to places where there's been floods, typhoons and earthquakes. We help our neighbors in times of need. And that's good. But what about when the need isn't quite so obvious or related to a disaster? Do we offer help when someone is a little down? Or when they are having a bit of a rough time? Or do we only notice there's an issue when things reach epic levels?

That's worth pondering about.

Bush twins’ letter to Obama girls

Days before moving out of the White House, former President Bush’s two daughters wrote an open letter to Sasha and Malia Obama, giving the girls some advice on living in the White House.

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Well done!

The link is here : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28809961#28809961

Yuck!

Today I had the privilege of doing one of the worst household chores - cleaning the carpets.

Actually I don't mind cleaning the carpets - too much. We have a small carpet cleaner that's kind of like an up-right vacuum. It works fairly well and it isn't too much effort. The bad part is dumping that nasty, black water out of the machine. Yuck! I always swear not to walk barefoot on the carpet again after that. It's disgusting. I swear the vacuum must be broken.

The carpet doesn't look that dirty. But the water tells a different story. Kind of like our lives sometimes. We don't look that bad. Everything seems ok. But a closer examination reveals the truth - we have some pretty big stains with a lot of dirt. Sometimes we try to hide the stains, this is kind of like putting a throw rug over the stains. You can't seem them as much anymore, but they are still there. There's only one way I know of to get rid of the stains - a deep cleaning. It takes effort and it is dirty, but it gives the best results.

Have you got a big stain in your life? Do you need a deep cleaning? Ask for forgiveness. Forgive yourself. Forgive the other person. Ask God for forgiveness. It's not always easy. But it sure feels good to be rid of big nasty stain!

The Main Thing

The Main Thing is to keep the Main Thing the Main Thing.
-Stephen R. Covey

When you first read this quote, it seems stupid. But when you think on it for a bit, it's really true. What's the main thing in your life? What are you doing to keep it the main thing? That's worth pondering about...

RPMs Matter

I supposed there are lots of situations where RPMs (Revolutions Per Minute) matter.
If you are in motorsports - RPMs matter. More RPMs means faster engines which means faster vehicles.
If you are working with industrial machinery - RPMs matter. More RPMs means more product in the same amount of time which equals more money.
If you are a cook - RPMs matter. Different recipes require different speeds in the mixer or blender.
If you are using a computer - RPMs matter. Faster spinning disks means faster access to the data on the disk.
And I'm sure there's many more. But I found a new place where RPMs matter and it kind of surprised me - my razor.

I've been using Panasonic Wet/Dry razors for a long time. I tried some other brands a couple of times, I thought they were trying to eat my face, so I took them back and went back to the Panasonic Wet/Dry. Last time I bought a razor, I thought I'd save a few bucks by buying one at the big discount electronics store. And I did save a few bucks, but that razor never worked all that well. Fortunately, the rechargeable battery didn't last all that long so I had a good excuse to get another one. This time I spent a few more dollars and got a good one. One of their big selling points was a 10,000 RPM shaver head. I wondered if that would really make a difference. Does it really matter if the shaver head moves at 10,000 RPMs or 5,000 RPMs? The answer is - "Oh yes it does!" This is the best shaver I've ever had. It's great. The shave is better in every way I know how to measure it. It's awesome.

I suspect every human endeavor has something that matters. Different careers or occupations all have things that matter. For an accountant, maybe it's the software they use. For a mechanic, maybe it's the tools. For a artist, maybe it's the paint brushes. Just about everything we do, has something that matters. Something that is important. Something that is the main thing.

As Christians, what matters? What is the main thing? What matters the most? If God asked you to only do one thing that mattered today - what would it be? Would it be to tell someone about some point of doctrine or teaching? Would it be to worship in a certain worship style? Would it be to read the Bible in a specific version? I hope it's none of those things. But what would it be for you?

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)

Are you willing to show a little love to the folks around you? Even to those folks who might be unloveable? I guarantee it will be hard at times. I guarantee it will cost you your valuable time. I guarantee it will frustrate you and sadden you at times. Is it worth the cost to you? That's worth pondering about...

Do we NEED God?

I stumbled across a great article today. It's "As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God" by Matthew Perry. In this short article Matthew outlines why faith and Christianity is important. He says things like

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

Good stuff!

A confirmed atheist can see how much people need God. As Christians, can we see it and are we will to make the sacrifices necessary to help people find God? That's worth pondering about...

Read the whole article here.

[hat tip: The Philippian Jailer]

A Little Green

One of the goals that I'd like to meet next year is to be a little more green. Not the color, but eco. Being green is one of the cool things that we'd all like to be, but there's so much noise, confusion, and misinformation that's hard to know what to do. For one, I think the the extremists on both sides don't help. Some tell us that we shouldn't do anything that hurts the planet - don't cut down a single tree, never run an internal combustion engine and heaven forbid never use a regular light bulb (apparently using regular incandescent bulbs is the single worst thing you can do). The other side is no better. They tell us there is plenty of oil, plenty of trees and that the status quo is good. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Nearly everyone believes we need to take care of the planet. It's the how that we differ on. If you believe some folks, the simple act of using a CFL (Compact Florescent Light) will save the planet. I think it's a little tougher than that, although I do have some CFLs in my house. Of course, others tell you that everything is just fine and there's nothing to worry about. I'm not sure that I believe that either. I'm no expert, but I suspect we are going to need to make some adjustments in our lifestyles. I want to do my part, without turning into some eco-terrorist.

I was proud of my little contribution recently. Like nearly everyone else in America, I've got a garden hose in the back with a spray nozzle on it. After several seasons the nozzle broke. However, I could not get that *#&$^% nozzle off the hose. The metal nozzle had fused itself to the metal end of the hose. Pipe wrenches, thread releaser, nothing worked. I needed to water the plants so I cut off the end of hose. I figured I'd just have to replace the hose. When I went to the local home improvement store to replace it, I was shocked to find out how much a stupid garden hose is. Then I saw a little plastic end to replace the end of the hose. For a $1.99, I figured I give it a try. I didn't really expect it work, I expected it to leak like crazy or come shooting off when I turned on the water. But I was trying to be a little green, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

I'm happy to report that it works like a champ! It doesn't leak. It was easy. (And remember, I Hate Plumbing!). And it was only $1.99. Now my garden hose is like 2 inches shorter than it was - no big deal. It's as good as new, so my old one is not in a landfill. The plastic end shouldn't fuse to the new nozzle like the old metal one did. And did I mention that I saved quite a bit of green (cash)? Not too bad.

What little steps are you willing to take to help take care of the planet? That's worth pondering about...

New Year's Resolutions

I'm not much of a New Year's Resolutions kind of person. It seems like I can never keep a New Year's resolution very long. I don't know what happens, but they just don't work. If it works for you - that's great. But it doesn't work for me. So my normal New Year's Resolution is "not to resolve."

But this year I do have some goals I want to accomplish. (Maybe if I don't call them resolutions they'll work better.) One of my overarching goals is to be a better Christ-follower. This one always gives me problems because it's to vague and I worry about being a fake Christian. I end up with read the Bible more, spend more time in prayer and be less self centered on my list. I guess those are ok, but they are pretty nebulous and hard to follow through on. But if you make a more detailed list, you can run into problems too. I don't want my resolutions, oops - I mean goals, to look like this.
1. Get a holier email like IForgiveYou70x7@yahoo.com. (It's available - I checked...)
2. To look more righteous and pious by carrying my Bible with me everywhere I go. (hey, maybe then I could get through the Read the Bible in a Year plan in something under 4 years.)
3. Obliterate all the other Vacation Bible Schools in town.
4. Join the prayer team at church so I can look more spiritual.
5. Follow more theological blogs in my RSS feeds.
6. Include the Bible verse of the day on my blog.
7. Make sure my church website takes all comers in the Church Websites Smackdown.
(list inspired by The Stuff Christians Like and he's WAY funnier than me. You can find him at http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/2008/12/462-making-christian-flavored.html)

Recently I've been dwelling on what's the difference between the a typical, fake Christian that no one likes and a true Christ follower. My goal is to be the later and NOT the former. Everyone hates people who ACT holier than thou. Non-Christians don't like them because they are always all over their case about something. Christians don't like them because they give Christianity a bad name and they're basically a pain-in-the-neck. And I'm pretty sure that Jesus doesn't like their behavior either. I REALLY don't want to be that type of Christian.
I want to be a genuine Christ-follower, not a religious guy.
I want to be authentic, not a fake Christian.
I want to be about people, not about programs, ministries and services.
Even saying some of those things can make you throw up a little in your mouth. They are so over used and cliche that it's disgusting. But I do desire to be better. So I'm working on list that will help me accomplish those goals. It's not easy....

What are your resolutions, I mean goals, for the New Year? That's worth pondering about....

One Last Christmas Post

Yea, I know - Christmas is over. But there's something that has been bothering me about Christmas this year and I thought if I wrote about it - maybe I'd get over it.

I was born and raised in the East and Mid-West. Christmas was a fun time of snow, sledding, lights, Christmas decorations and very typical winter activities. I have fond memories of going to the "old downtown" where the stores were festively decorated and walking around in the cold winter evenings. Christmas in Southern California is a completely different beast. Usually we have sunny skies and pretty fair temperatures (this year was a bit unusually cold and wet). It's a very different feeling to Christmas.

Recently, one of my childhood friends on facebook asked me, "How do you get into the Christmas spirit in California without the snow and cold?" I understood what he meant. When I first moved to So Cal, it did take some getting used to. Christmas just didn't quite seem right. However, you adjust and eventually decorating the palm trees in the front yard while wearing shorts and a t-shirt seems like a normal Christmas.

But his question bothered me (hence this post). Why should it take certain atmospheric conditions to get me in the Christmas Spirit? And what does snow or no snow have to do with Christmas? Again, I understand his question. Certain rhythms or traditions in our lives is a good thing. There's nothing wrong with that. Cold weather, snow and Christmas lights are a great combination that help us feel festive and somehow ready for Christmas. That's perfectly ok. But does it help us get ready for Christ? Or does it help us get ready for spending too much money on too many people? That's a question we each have to answer individually.

I know this year my family made a conscious effort to be less about the stuff and more about the real reason of Christmas. I like that. It feels good. We didn't spend too much money, but we had a great time with our friends and family. Perfect.

I think this verse from The Message says it best.

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)

It doesn't matter if it's cold and snowy or not. It matters where your focus is. Are you focused on external things like presents, decorations, parties, etc? Not that there's anything wrong with those things, but those things shouldn't be our main focus. Maybe we should be more focused on what Jesus did, and continues to do, for us. Maybe we should be more focused on the "unforced rhythms of grace."

I know where my focus is. Where is your's? That's worth pondering about...

PS - I know I won't be missing the January/February blues when it's cold and nasty. I'll be riding my motorcycle! I LOVE So Cal!

I Celebrate the Day

By Relient K



Merry Christmas!

It's Not Christmas without Some Ho Ho Hoey

Gary Hoey makes some rockin Christmas music. But again, not many videos. Here are a couple of samples.

The 12 Days of Christmas

Relient K style

Angels We Have Heard on High

Relient K does some cool Christmas stuff. But they don't make many videos...

Music Box Blues

One last TSO.



You just can't go wrong with Trans-Siberian Orchestra!

O Holy Night

More TSO. From their 1998 TV special/movie.

Faith Noel

More TSO

We Definately Need Some TSO

That would be some Trans Siberian Orchestra!

Christmas Canon Rock

Happy Christmas

Yea, it's not Christmas without John Lennon

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

This is not really one of my fav Christmas songs. But I've always kind of like John Cougar Mellencamp.... I think that's his daughter singing at the end. Apparently she didn't get his voice.

Christmas Song

Here's a rare one from Blues Traveler



One of my favorites.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings

BNL and Sarah McLachlan



Love this version!

What are you listening to???

What are some of your fav Christmas tunes? Post them in the comments.

Little Drummer Boy

What Christmas is complete with Bowie and Bing?

The Christmas Song

This is always a classic



Dave Matthews and Tim Reyonlds

I've Been Away Too Long

Sorry that I've been far to absent around here. It's just been plain old crazy, busy this year. I'm finally getting a bit into the Christmas spirit this year. I know, kind of late, but hey - it is what it is.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to post some fun Christmas music from YouTube. So over the next couple of days watch for some of what I am listening to this Christmas.

Ken Block Shows Off Some Mad Skills

This guy can really drive!



I wanna know where I can get a 530hp Subaru!

Worth Watching

Wow.... What an inspiration.


What are you complaining about that you really shouldn't be?

Update: Video is now available here http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html

Interesting Conversation

When the prospective jurors (that includes me) were at lunch on Friday, a situation developed that I found interesting - as well as thought provoking.

I was sitting by myself at a little outdoor eating area reading my book. The 5 people at the table next to me were heavily involved in a discussion about Prop. 8 (gay marriage). They appeared to be extremely against gay marriage - based on their language. Lots of strong adjectives, lots of colorful language that people don't use in mixed company (although there males and females at the table). As the discussion went around and around as to why gays should not marry, a lesbian couple walked past. I guess I don't really know that they were lesbian, but since one of the girls (yes, they were very young - probably high schoolers) had her hand down the pants of the other one with her hand on her butt, I'm making the assumption that they were lesbian.

As you can imagine, that couple walking past re-ignited the conversation at the table next to me. Another way of putting it, would be that it poured gasoline on the fire.

As a Christian, I believe that homosexuality is wrong.
As an American, I believe in live and let live.
Up till now those two items have never been in conflict. I realize that I can't force my beliefs on anyone else, nor do I wish too. But at the same time I don't want someone else to force me to accept their beliefs.

It's a tough issue. I suspect that either way the vote turns out - the issue will end up back in court. It kind of makes voting on this particular measure feel very empty.

That doesn't make me happy.

Rough Day So Far...

I got called in for Jury Duty on my Friday off.... Bummer.
I got rear-ended by someone on the way to court this morning.... Double Bummer.
I haven't gotten put onto a jury yet.... Well, that's one good thing.

Update: I managed to escape without getting on a jury. Now to get some estimates on getting my truck fixed. At least the damage is not too bad.

Funny Marketing

My son turned 16 a few days ago. He got the usual barrage of cards from family and friends. Most had some money in them to help him celebrate his big day. One card was different. It was from the Car-Freshner Corporation (yes, they spell their name wrong). You know the guys who make those little pine tree car freshener thingies. They actually sent him a Car-Freshner for his 16th birthday!
That is just classically funny.

Smart Bears

Here's some fairly intellegent bears...

More funny videos like the "Super Smart Bears" at Heavy.com

Vote

I seriously hope everyone is registered to vote and planning to vote this year. It's important. I honestly believe that.

If you haven't decided on who to vote for, maybe this will help you decide.

click here

Fun Friday Video

I'm not quite that bad.... yet...

Back Up Plan

Do you have a back up plan? You might need one.

Late is Not Always Better Than Never

It was an interesting weekend here in Downey. We weren't supposed to drink the water. Now over all, this isn't all that unusual, cities occasionally issue warnings like this for contaminations. Most Californians don't drink the water anyway - we'd much rather pay premium prices for water in a plastic bottle. But I digress...

Here's some of the back story. The city of Downey "produces" most of their own water. I laugh every time I read that, but I'm pretty sure there's not a water factory in Downey. The good Lord provided water and Downey pumps it out of the ground at 25 different wells. Downey also has 25 test sites where they continuously test the water. (Anyone wanna bet the 25 test sites are next to the 25 wells?)

Sometime on Thursday, three of the 25 test sites reported higher than allowed levels of bacteria. This happens occasionally here in So Cal (and probably in other major cities too). Usually the city just works with the area affected. But for some reason Downey decided to issue the 'boil your water' release to the entire city. This hit the news outlets Thursday evening and Friday morning. Most Downey residents learned of the order to boil water from the news. Apparently this upset some folks, rightly so in my opinion. So Friday evening the city used their calling system to call all the residents in Downey telling them to boil their water. This was more than 24 hours after the bacteria had been found. At our house, we got two phone calls about an hour apart.

At the time the old saying, "Better late than never" popped into my head as I thought about how late the notice was. Chances were that if I drink tap water, that I would have done so already in the last 24 hours. This was not a big issue for our family. We could easily boil water and we had some bottled water (for my wife - I drink the raw tap water). However, it was kind of unusual to see every restaurant and fast food place in Downey closed all weekend. I bet that hurt some one's pockets.

Late Sunday evening, and by late I mean 10:30 pm, the mayor's recorded voice was on the phone again. This time telling us it was safe to drink the water. Cool. I wondered about a call so late in the evening. Linda and I had just gone to bed so it didn't interrupt us to much, but I'm sure some others go to bed much earlier than that. I remember wondering about two phone calls on Friday evening as I drifted off to sleep. Sure enough, at 11:35 pm the phone rings again with the same message from the mayor. 11:35 at night. I don't want a drink of water at 11:35 pm. I want peace and quiet so I can sleep. Needless to say, my vote will go the other guy running for mayor at the next election.

So, while I'm frustrated with Downey's leadership in handling this relatively minor situation - I also find myself wondering if 'better late than never' is really true. If the water had been seriously contaminated, instead of slightly elevated levels of bacteria (probably harmless), would telling the population more than 24 hours later be ok? I don't think so. In 24 hours I bet a lot people drink water, brush their teeth and do other things that could expose them to the bad water. Is waking everyone up, twice, at night ok? Hey, we know it's late, but we wanted to let you know... Come on. That's just ridiculous.

Most of us have probably said better late than never at least one in our lives. I know I have. I'm going to make an effort to be more careful when saying that from now on. I don't think late is better than never. On time is better. If it's your birthday, I want to tell you happy birthday on time - not late. If you are sorrowful for something, I want to tell you when you mourn that you have my sympathies, not late. If you are celebrating a wedding, graduation or other big event, I want to tell you congratulations on time, not late. On time, now that is better.

That's just disturbing

I was at Target this past week with the family. Target seems to be one of the few stores that we all like to go to. There is something there for just about everybody (at least in our family).

Anyway, we are walking around the store and of course the Halloween section is in fully glory. The costumes, the decorations, the candy - it was all there. Right behind the orange and black Halloween decorations, was the white and red lights of Christmas. Yup, that's right. Christmas decorations in September! Out on display with the Halloween goodies. That was just plain old sad to me.

I know Christmas is a big deal.
I know Christmas is more commercial than I wish it was.
I know that for many retailers, a good Christmas can be the difference between closing the doors or remaining open.
But wow, Christmas in September with Halloween. That's just too much.

What are you asking?

I received a call from WalMart the other day. First of all you have to understand that I hate WalMart. I refuse to shop there. So I was very surprised they would call me. I wondered if I was the last person on earth who didn't shop there and they were calling to find out why. It turns out they wanted a reference for someone who had applied to work at WalMart.

For a brief moment I was impressed with WalMart. I've had quite a few friends through the years who would say "I used you for a reference on an application" and usually no one ever calls. So here WalMart was actually following up. The HR rep said, "I only have three questions to ask you." "OK," I thought, that can't be too bad. Then she actually asked five questions. Not follow ups, but actual questions. Why set the expectation to three questions and ask five? Did she think I'd hang up when I found out that I would have to answer 5 questions?

One of the questions was very unique. She asked if "I thought the applicant could do the job to which they had applied." So I asked what I thought was a very normal question, "What did they apply for?" Hey, if the guy applied for the CEO spot, maybe he's not up to that. But if he's applied for the stockroom, then we're good. The HR rep told me that she couldn't tell me what job he had applied for. I asked, "So you want me to tell you that the applicant can do the job, but you won't tell me what the job is?" She said, "Yes." That sound you hear is what little respect I had for WalMart leaving the room.

I almost gave my friend a bad review - I wanted to save him the pain of working for a company like that. But I didn't. I told the HR rep that "They could do the unknown job very well." She seemed ok with that.

If you are going to ask someone to do something - make sure there's value added to it. Don't ask them to give you give you a reference for something unknown. Don't ask them to do more than you originally asked for.

It doesn't seem that hard....

It’s the Simple Things

It’s the simple things that make life so great. Things like new motorcycle tires. I love new motorcycle tires. It’s kind of like when you were a little kid and you got new sneakers – except it’s a million billion times better. Remember how new shoes made you run so much faster? New motorcycle tires are just like that.

For those who haven’t thought about such things – motorcycle tires have a round profile. Compare that to car tires which are decidedly square. Car tires have a large side wall, a fairly abrupt angle and then the tread which is fairly flat. Contrast that with motorcycle tires that have a small sidewall and a very rounded tread. This type of tire makes it much easier for bikes to lean when turning (relatively important).

The problem is when you don’t turn very much and you just ride your bike in a straight line – like I mostly do going back and forth to work everyday. Then your tires develop a flatspot right in the middle of the tire. When that happens the bike doesn’t handle very well. The bike wants to go straight and it takes more effort to make it turn. The bike will often be ‘jittery’ as it transfers from the flat spot on the tire to the rounded edge. This makes freeway off ramps all kinds of fun.

New tires fix all that. My old bike feels new again. It corners great! Just like new sneakers when you were five years old.

It’s amazing how a simple thing like new tires make the bike new again. That can also be true in our lives as well. Things might not be going to well – for whatever reason – but a simple smile, a card or note, or an act of kindness from someone can change the whole day.

What simple thing are you going to do to make some else’s day better?

That’s worth pondering about.

Who Wants to be Like That?

I have a daily Dilbert calendar on my desk. Dilbert is great cartoon, IMHO. You can never have too much Dilbert. Anyway, a strip the other day featured Dogbert talking to Dilbert. If you're not familiar with Dilbert, yes - Dogbert a talking dog (what comic is complete without at least one talking animal?). Dogbert is always trying to make money or scam someone in one way or another.

In this particular comic Dogbert does all the talking. He says, "I decided to start a discount religion." "The tithing would only be 5% and I'd let people sin as much as they wanted." In the last frame he says, "The only problem is that I don't want to spend time with anyone who would join that sort of religion." It's not the funniest Dilbert comic ever... but it sure got me to thinking.

Why doesn't Dogbert want to be friends with people who'd join that religion? Probably because we don't like people who take shortcuts or who cheat. There's some sort of honor or status from doing things the "right" way. We don't want to be associated with people who would join a cut-rate religion that allows them take shortcuts. It's just not right. Yet many Christians do support taking shortcuts. Many Christians don't pay tithe and offerings. And there's plenty of Christians who pick and choose what parts of the Bible are important to them. Then we wonder why Christians are viewed less than favorably by the public at large. One recent (questionable) poll even showed Evangelic Christians to rank very low in trustworthiness.

If we know cheaters aren't appreciated, why do we cheat? If we sign up to join a community, whether that's Christian, Buddhist, the Boy Scouts or whatever, why don't we willingly do our best to live up to that communities standards? That's worth pondering about...

Pride Goes Before A Fall

We've all heard it. Pride Goes Before a Fall. Here's a visual illustration.



The old truth remains true.

Stupid Olympics

OK, the Olympics aren't really stupid. Me staying up too late every night watching sports I don't even care about, now that's stupid.

What is it about the Olympics that entices us to stay up and watch? The other night I was watching Women's Team Handball - and the US wasn't even playing. It was like Norway vs Ukraine or something like that. But wow, what a weird, ummm, I mean unique sport. It's like the inventor loved basketball, ice hockey and soccer and wanted a sport that featured all their favs. Strange stuff. Then there is rowing. I can tell by watching the people in this sport that they have trained hard and they are really putting out some effort. But man, what a boring sport to watch. They have individual rowing. Two man (or women) rowing. Four person teams and even eight person teams. But the eight person teams aren't twice as fast as the 4 person teams - how come? Seems like the 8 person teams are slacking. Then there is water polo. I mean really, who cares? Yea, it's a tough sport. It's hard to swim, control the ball and try to drown your opponent all at the same time. But still, who cares? Apparently I do, cause I watched the stupid game and I don't know why. I still don't know why the ref blows the whistle every 3.2 seconds during that game either. Nobody fouled out, so what gives?

At least the Olympics only happen once every four years. Maybe next time I'll have more self control. Or maybe not....

Cool video

I know, it's been a while since I posted. Would you believe I got struck by lightening? Me neither....

But here's a cool slow motion video of a lightening strike. Supposedly filmed at like 5000 frames per second!



That's one bad thing about So Cal, there's no good thunder and lightening. Oh well, I guess you can't have it all.

You want me to what?

A major intersection not to far from my house is undergoing construction. It appears they are widening the entire intersection. So they ripped out all the sidewalks and put up approximately 10,000 orange cones. Just in case someone might not notice that the sidewalks are missing, they added signs saying "SIDEWALK CLOSED USE OTHER SIDE." (yes the sign is in all uppercase. I guess they figured if they yell people will pay attention.) The only problem is the other side is in the same condition as this side. What's a pedestrian to do?

Surely the construction workers noticed the absurdity of putting up signs tell you to use the other side with the same sign on the other side. But they did it anyway. Is it a law that you have to have that sign up? Can you get a ticket for walking where the sidewalk is closed? Since there's a bus stop right there, people continue to make their way through the mess as best they can. I'm sure for some people with limited mobility, that's a significant challenge.

As I think about areas of my life where I have influence, like work or home or church, I wonder if I'm doing things that create more challenges; or am I doing things to help people? After all, if you believe Jesus came to show us a better way, shouldn't that include all parts of your life?

That's worth pondering about.

Why is it so hard???

Why is it so hard to find someone who can give a decent consistent haircut? It doesn't seem like it should be that hard.

What in your life is harder than it should be?