Every now and then I go through a period where my eyes are "re-opened" to everything going on in the world, and how many problems there are that nobody seems to care about, and how we are blissfully ignorant of what is going on as long as we have our own world secure around us. I get sick of the apathy and ignorance of our society and it's culture of greed, but even more so, I get sick with myself for allowing my mind and my focus to be overcome with this apathy and greed. I can't go out there and fix everything, but I can at least keep it in mind, help make others aware, and pray that God would open doors to resolve those problems.
On that note, here are a few links that I think everyone should be aware of:
http://www.abort73.com/
This site has some very intense images and descriptions of what exactly goes on with abortion, and exposes it for what it really is - murder.
The following two links deal with the same thing - redefining the way we celebrate Christmas, to align it more closely with what Jesus came to do:
http://www.vimeo.com/421624
http://www.adventconspiracy.org/
Furthermore, you can find tons of sites for organizations seeking to help all of the problems in Africa, such as hunger, water, child abuse, AIDs, etc. These are just a few from the top of my head:
http://www.feedjustone.org/
http://worldvision.org/
http://www.compassion.com/
http://www.invisiblechildren.com
http://www.bloodwatermission.com/
If you don't have money to donate to causes such as this, then at least pray and tell other people.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Go to church
It seems that the idea of what the church is has undergone an extremely damaging redefinition. Instead of "the church" being an integral, inseperable part of every believer, it has become a location and/or an activity external to a believer. This has made it easy for us to separate what we do on Sunday from what we do with the rest of our week. The church as an internalized ideal is much more pervasive in one's life.
What I wonder now is how do we correlate the externalized church and the internalized church?
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Oi!
Haven't updated in a month. Oops. I suppose I have good reason though.
The past month has been kind of crazy. I knew I didn't want to be in my old apartment anymore, because it, well, sucked. So, I spent pretty much most of last month researching new places to live, packing up/throwing away stuff in my old place, and doing everything else I usually do throughout the week. A girl at work that's on my team said she lives at "Harbin Pointe" and that I should get a place there because she'll get a $400 discount. So I checked it out, and signed a lease the same day. Out of all the places I checked, it was the nicest, the roomiest, accepted my feline roommates, and most reasonably priced.
During the last week of August, I went into overdrive as far as packing and all that goes. I took off work on Friday to ensure I'd have enough time to get boxes, get stuff packed, and all of that. Saturday morning I got a truck and started packing stuff onto it. The truck story is funny but I'll get to that later. Ryan came and helped me out with the loading and unloading, so he got major points for that.
It took about a week or two but I got everything unpacked and put in its place. I got a video of my new place here. At the time of this video, it was still a little disorganized, but it looks better now.
As far as the truck story is concerned, I went to buy some boxes from Uhaul and to see if they had any 14' trailers available - I thought that would be plenty of room for me. Turns out they didn't. They said I could pay a deposit and put in a reservation for one, but that wouldn't guarantee me that I'd get a truck, so I decided to go elsewhere. I called Budget and asked if they had a 14' trailer. They said they only had 16' trailers that were close to that size, and that they didn't have any available, but they had a 24' trailer available they'd let me use for the price of a 16', so I went with it. When I picked it up, it was this behemoth monstrosity of a machine. I managed it ok but I was so nervous the entire time. I don't know how people can drive big SUVs, trucks, etc. I love the maneuverability of my Elantra.
That's about all I have right now. I'll try to update more frequently.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Something else
After I wrote the previous post I was thinking about some stuff that somehow tied together. The question, "why do bad things happen to good people?" came up. The only explanation for this that I can come up with is that since God is an impartial God, showing unconditional love, giving consistent favor to some and consistent disfavor to others would be evidence of very conditional love. God loves both those who do and do not follow Him, and the fact that good and bad things happen to both sets of people confirms His unconditional love.
Now, how are people that follow God supposed to handle bad things happening to them? The response I alluded to in my previous post is that we are to understand that God is working out His purpose and we should submit to His will and recognize that He is doing something through it.
This leads me to the topic of blessings. For a while now I've believed that "blessings" are not something God gives to us to make us happy, i.e., a bigger house, more money, nicer car, etc. Along with blessings come the responsibility to use those blessings to further His kingdom. The idea I've had up to this point is if I get a raise, for example, God has blessed me with extra finances to use for Him. But what about bad situations? What if we come down with a disease that takes years to fight off? What if we lose a loved one? What if our finances are taken away? By going through these experiences, we gain knowledge and insight into how to deal with these situations. I believe that these are blessings. God has given us experience, knowledge, and wisdom by going through these things, so we now have the responsibility to share it, to sympathize with others, and show God's love and compassion.
None of that really links up but that's how He showed it to me.
Crushed
It sucks having to come to terms with my humanity. There are things that I can't fix. There are times I make mistakes, and some that I even repeat. There are things that go completely contrary to what I want in life, but I am utterly powerless to affect the outcome. Where can I find hope in this? Do I hope in the wrong things? Is what I want completely contrary to what God's will is? How can I be sure that what I want is completely aligned with what God is doing so I never have to experience this?
I know that God had said He has plans for us, to prosper us, to give us hope and a future, but I simply can't see what He does. He never promised life would be all sunshine and bunnies. He said He would be there for us though, to comfort us in those times and to bring us through stronger. The real challenge is laying aside my pride, my selfish desires, and essentially "dying to myself" to come under complete submission and cognizance that God is doing something in every situation.
I'm glad that this world is not all we have.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Married people have it easy.
"I have to spend time with my spouse" is a great excuse. If I were married, or even if I had a girlfriend, there is no way I'd be able to work 45 hours a week, play in two bands multiple times a week, spend time throughout the week preparing music, work in youth ministry, cook, clean, etc., and give my significant other personal time. Maybe that's why God has kept me single.
As long as the time I'm giving is impacting lives I don't mind being single. I just want to know that what I do matters.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Haven't updated in two weeks. Oops.
Hmm, I don't think I have anything to say. If I did have something it has probably escaped my mind since it's late, and I don't do much more of anything this late other than vegging out to stupid youtube videos at this time of night.
Pippin is in the bathroom meowing at the ceiling, so I guess he says hi.
That's all I have for now.
Pippin is in the bathroom meowing at the ceiling, so I guess he says hi.
That's all I have for now.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
"Militant anti-nondenominationalism?"
I never knew a communion service would be so extreme.
In the past, my parents have expressed some level of skepticism about my brother and I becoming involved in non-denominational churches. They claimed that since such churches were without any accountability to a central organization, the doctrine could be way off target. They often quoted, "if you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything." I never completely understood the reason they held this perspective until today. I don't hold this against them; at that time I respectfully disagreed, but I think that they're even coming around to the perspective I've held for a while now.
I went with my parents to their church this morning (a Southern Baptist church) since I've been visiting them this weekend. I essentially grew up in that church, so whenever I go home I visit and see people I knew years ago. They were having their communion/Lord's Supper service this morning, so the pastor gave the usual service explaining what it was, why we had it, why it was important, what it symbolized, etc. etc. I agreed with everything he said doctrinally. However, I didn't take a few things quite so well.
I don't remember everything he said chronilogically, but the first thing that comes to mind is he said that, "if you don't agree with this Baptist doctrine, there's another church out there for you." In other words, if you don't like this, you can leave. It came across in a somewhat hostile manner to me. He also railed a bit against "non-denominationals," which is how I identify myself. He spoke of a person he met that was non-denominational that said the term "saved" is a "Baptist word," and that they didn't use it. I feel he made an attempt to demonize non-denominationals by using an example of a nut-job non-denominational that truly had an incorrect doctrine. Ultimately, it came across to me as though he touted Southern Baptist doctrines moreso than Biblical doctrines.
Now, I will agree that in my experience thus far, Southern Baptist doctrine does closely align itself with Biblical doctrine, but that's the point right there - it's Biblical doctrine. It doesn't matter if it's Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic, Luthern, non-denominational, or whatever doctrine. If it's Biblical, then it is right.
Given what I heard of this pastor's opinion of non-denominationalism, it becomes clear to me where my parents got their preconceptions from, as well as many other people in this area. Yes, there are some nutjob non-denominational churches, BUT, there are plenty more good ones. I believe my church is among the good ones. If you ask our pastor what our doctrine is, he will tell you that it is every page, from Genesis to the maps, the God-breathed, inspired Word of God that we claim as our core of beliefs. Nothing more, nothing less. It is the only source of ultimate authority and guidance that we claim for our church and our lives. I believe that we practice what we preach as well. We routinely have a series of classes geared specifically toward making disciples of people, getting them educated in Christian sprirituality, helping them understand their role in Christ, and providing opportunities to take part in Kingdom servitude. We support local and global ministries and charities, and engage the community by getting out there ministering to people and showing them God's love at work through us. We're not nut-job non-denominationalists. We don't have ad-hoc doctrines. We definitely don't do this for ourselves, but for our King.
What kills me about this whole thing is in this sermon, the pastor said that in order for us to properly and worthily partake in communion, we must have unity. Unity can't be so narrowed down just to mean church-wide. Unity must flow through the ENTIRE body of Christ. We can't let denominational and doctrinal rifts stand in the way of this.
In the past, my parents have expressed some level of skepticism about my brother and I becoming involved in non-denominational churches. They claimed that since such churches were without any accountability to a central organization, the doctrine could be way off target. They often quoted, "if you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything." I never completely understood the reason they held this perspective until today. I don't hold this against them; at that time I respectfully disagreed, but I think that they're even coming around to the perspective I've held for a while now.
I went with my parents to their church this morning (a Southern Baptist church) since I've been visiting them this weekend. I essentially grew up in that church, so whenever I go home I visit and see people I knew years ago. They were having their communion/Lord's Supper service this morning, so the pastor gave the usual service explaining what it was, why we had it, why it was important, what it symbolized, etc. etc. I agreed with everything he said doctrinally. However, I didn't take a few things quite so well.
I don't remember everything he said chronilogically, but the first thing that comes to mind is he said that, "if you don't agree with this Baptist doctrine, there's another church out there for you." In other words, if you don't like this, you can leave. It came across in a somewhat hostile manner to me. He also railed a bit against "non-denominationals," which is how I identify myself. He spoke of a person he met that was non-denominational that said the term "saved" is a "Baptist word," and that they didn't use it. I feel he made an attempt to demonize non-denominationals by using an example of a nut-job non-denominational that truly had an incorrect doctrine. Ultimately, it came across to me as though he touted Southern Baptist doctrines moreso than Biblical doctrines.
Now, I will agree that in my experience thus far, Southern Baptist doctrine does closely align itself with Biblical doctrine, but that's the point right there - it's Biblical doctrine. It doesn't matter if it's Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic, Luthern, non-denominational, or whatever doctrine. If it's Biblical, then it is right.
Given what I heard of this pastor's opinion of non-denominationalism, it becomes clear to me where my parents got their preconceptions from, as well as many other people in this area. Yes, there are some nutjob non-denominational churches, BUT, there are plenty more good ones. I believe my church is among the good ones. If you ask our pastor what our doctrine is, he will tell you that it is every page, from Genesis to the maps, the God-breathed, inspired Word of God that we claim as our core of beliefs. Nothing more, nothing less. It is the only source of ultimate authority and guidance that we claim for our church and our lives. I believe that we practice what we preach as well. We routinely have a series of classes geared specifically toward making disciples of people, getting them educated in Christian sprirituality, helping them understand their role in Christ, and providing opportunities to take part in Kingdom servitude. We support local and global ministries and charities, and engage the community by getting out there ministering to people and showing them God's love at work through us. We're not nut-job non-denominationalists. We don't have ad-hoc doctrines. We definitely don't do this for ourselves, but for our King.
What kills me about this whole thing is in this sermon, the pastor said that in order for us to properly and worthily partake in communion, we must have unity. Unity can't be so narrowed down just to mean church-wide. Unity must flow through the ENTIRE body of Christ. We can't let denominational and doctrinal rifts stand in the way of this.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Youth last night
Worship went really well last night. I could have learned the songs a little better, but I think they still went well. Ryan blew out the drums. Like BAM. Josh had another inhuman rampage on the guitar, and John rocked the keys and vocals. This is the second week I've played with John, and I'm still working on developing a "synergy" with him, but I think it's coming along nicely. I think that God is really developing my leading skills. There is no way I could have been anywhere near where I am now a year ago. He's doing it through me, and I'm glad He is, because I am completely, 100% certain that I don't have it on my own :)
That's about it. God is good. Recognize.
Cooking log, 06/23/2008
This is more or less me making notes about my cooking for how to improve it. I won't be offended if you don't read :)
I made shepherd's pie again tonight. This is the second time I've made it. I used about half as much meat, but the same amount of onions and mixed vegetables. Probably the same amount of beef bouillon, but a little bit more worcestershire sauce. I think I used too much water again in cooking up the "flavor broth," but it was still much better than last time. I pretty much need to cook two 3 lb. bags of red potatoes for the mashed potato topping. I cooked most of one bag and it barely sufficed to cover the entire thing. Overall I think it is much better this time. Next time I need to use less water and more potatoes.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
I'm back.
New update. I'm in better spirits than my last post, thankfully. I do miss my family and everything, but I've gotten my mind realigned and have gotten readapted to everything going on here, so yay.
This past week I feel like I've lived like a college student. My friend Ryan graduated in May and moved out here to come work for Wal-Mart. Almost every night this week we've been hanging out, going to movies, hanging out with friends, etc. I had to get myself plugged in by myself when I first moved out here, so I'm trying to help him out and get him plugged in here and minimize the "shock factor" that moving out on your own for the first time can bring. I believe my efforts thus far have been fruitful. He played drums with us tonight for youth and it was great. He easily blows away all of the fill-in drummers we've had in the past.
That's about all that's new that I have to report. Peace out.
This past week I feel like I've lived like a college student. My friend Ryan graduated in May and moved out here to come work for Wal-Mart. Almost every night this week we've been hanging out, going to movies, hanging out with friends, etc. I had to get myself plugged in by myself when I first moved out here, so I'm trying to help him out and get him plugged in here and minimize the "shock factor" that moving out on your own for the first time can bring. I believe my efforts thus far have been fruitful. He played drums with us tonight for youth and it was great. He easily blows away all of the fill-in drummers we've had in the past.
That's about all that's new that I have to report. Peace out.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
After the New York Trip
The main thing I took back with me from New York is the feeling that I really miss my family, and if it were feasible, I'd drop everything here and move back to TN. I've been in what I believe is some sort of depressed state ever since I came back, and have had to fight off getting overly emotional a number of times.
I feel like I have next to nothing where I am now. Sure, I have great friends and a great church, and a great job, but I don't have family here, and that's one of the most important things in life. You can have family and go without the other three.
So if you read this, please pray for me, either that I develop a stronger sense of community in my church and with my friends, that God gives me a sense of comfort, that I find family here, or whatever.
I feel like I have next to nothing where I am now. Sure, I have great friends and a great church, and a great job, but I don't have family here, and that's one of the most important things in life. You can have family and go without the other three.
So if you read this, please pray for me, either that I develop a stronger sense of community in my church and with my friends, that God gives me a sense of comfort, that I find family here, or whatever.
New York Trip
I'm writing down as much as I can remember of my trip. I want to keep it fresh in my memory because I won't get to experience times like these for a very long time.
Day 1 (05/31)
I got all my luggage together that I had packed the previous night and stuck it in my car. Only two bags - one big one for clothes, etc. and the other a carry-on containing my Wii, my camera, and my computer. I packed my bags into my car and left for the airport around 7:30. I stopped by Sonic along the way and picked up a breakfast burrito and some coffee. I checked into the airport but they made me throw my coffee away. There wasn't an incredibly long wait between the check-in and boarding the plane. I read Mere Christianity and listened to some sermons while on the flight. I stopped off in Cincinnati and had a very similar experience. By 1:45 I was in Syracuse. I met up with Dad and Joel. We all went to Taco Bell and got Big Box meals. We went directly to Po Valley Chapel at Fort Drum, where Joel and Loren have their "The Crossing" ministry. Almost immediately we started practicing for the songs that night. Some people came, then we did worship, then Joel spoke, and the rest is a blur. I met a lot of people. We were there late.
Day 2 (06/01)
Got up around 7 or 8 am to go to church at Parkside Bible Church in Watertown (I think?). Joel and Josh (the worship leader the church) and some other people practiced for a while. They figured out their guitarist wasn't coming so I got pulled up to play. I was still kind of tired and lacking in coffee, but I made it through alright. After that we went to the PX (grocery store on base) and got lots of ingredients to make some fondue. We got home, and I laid down while Dad watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail while Mom, Joel, and Loren prepared the fondue ingredients. When all was ready, Ron and Julie came over and we had a big fondue cooking time. We then played some games I think. After that I goofed off on the computer, then went to bed.
Day 3 (06/02)
Got up around 9 or 10. After having breakfast, which I think was eggs and bacon, we left for Niagara Falls around 10:45 - 11:00. All five of us packed into Loren's car. It's not a small car, but it's not big, so it was a squeeze. We stopped by Starbucks and got coffee. We then completed the rest of the 4 hour drive and arrived in Ontario. Some Canadian tried to rip us off on a "tour package". We made it Niagara Falls. We ate lunch and fed seagulls. Spent a while walking along the riverside taking pictures, then taking pictures of the falls themselves. Joel chased Canadian geese. We went and walked through the gift shops, checked out the botanical gardens, then went to the really (sickeningly) "tourist-y" area of Niagara Falls. Here a Starbucks venti caramel macchiato cost $6.15, and a 20 oz. Coke cost $3.25. Screw that. We walked around a while and I started to get low on energy, so we ate pizza and wings and stuff at Boston's pizza. Then we got on a big ferris wheel to overlook the waterfall with the lights on them. Then we started the drive home. We stopped at one of New York's "gas station mini-malls." It's about two or three restaurants and a gift shop crammed into a building with gas pumps outside. After that we hit home then bed.
Day 4 (06/03)
Got up around 9 or 10. Had breakfast then goofed off for a while. Dad and I drove around Carthage and came across this place where an old mill had been. The Black River ran through it. I probably trespassed and got behind a fenced-off area and checked everything out and took pictures. Then we went to a small park where I saw either a beaver or groundhog. I'm not sure which. Then we drove out to some fishing places and tried fishing a bit. I caught about a 1.5 lb. Pike. We drove to another place and tried fishing but didn't have much luck. This place had a hiking trail that followed the Black River. Dad fished while I hiked down the trail a little ways and checked stuff out. Eventually I came to a place where the river was so low that I could walk out into the middle of it without getting wet. It seemed most of the water was pushed to one side of the entire riverbed. Dad came down that way and fished a little bit. I ran around and explored and took pictures. None of them turned out so great since the skies were overcast. We got back around 5:30 - 6 and cleaned up a bit. Ashley and another girl whose name I can't remember came over and we had turkey burgers on the grill. We played some Mario Kart Wii for a while.
Day 5 (06/04)
Got up, had french toast for breakfast (I think), then went to the thousand islands region, about a 45 minute drive. I got a touristy hoodie sweater since I forgot to bring something warm. We took a boat ride on the St. Lawrence river to see the houses built on the islands, hear some of the history of the place, etc. Got some pictures, but it was still overcast. Eventually we came back and visited Boldt Castle. We spent a while there checking out all of the rooms and hearing more about the history of the place. We checked out all of the little buildings on the island. Then we went to the Boldt Castle yacht house. After that we left and went to Stephano's, an Italian place. We saw a guy riding a unicycle on the way there. We had garlic knots at the restaurant. I had some sort of broccoli and chicken alfredo. We all ate a bunch of hot wings. We got home then pretty much took it easy the rest of the day.
Day 6 (06/05)
Got up and goofed off for a bit. Joel did a cookout for his army Bible study, so I went to that. After that, Joel, Dad and I went back to the Black River place again and fished. When we were done, we stopped by the P&C grocery store to pick up some salad fixings, and Joel and I made a big salad for dinner.
Day 7 (06/06)
Didn't really have any plans for today. Around 12 or 1, Joel, Dad and I went out fishing again. We went to a place called Indian Creek but didn't have much luck. Then we spent a while trying to find a way to get to Lake Bonaparte. Once we did, we found the lake shore was so shallow that we gave up and left. We went further down the road to a place called "Grand View Park." I don't remember the name of the town it was in. Joel and Dad fished while I walked around and took pictures and explored. Joel caught a bunch of tiny fish. When we were done there we went to the grocery store again and I got ingredients to make spaghetti. We got back and Joel took Loren to a doctor's appointment while I cooked.
Day 8 (06/07)
Mom and Dad found out the plane they had intended to leave on was too full, so Joel took them to the airport to catch an earlier flight out. I stayed at Joel and Loren's apartment and did stuff on the computer, practiced some songs for that night, and started packing my bags. When they got back, we headed to Po Valley Chapel to start getting stuff ready for The Crossing. We had another cookout, then played some worship then hung out a bit. We had an open mic going on, so I played and sang a number of songs I had stashed away in my head. Then we went home.
Day 9 (06/08)
Got up and had pierogies for breakfast. I loaded my bags into the car and we drove to Watertown to drop Joel's truck off at Home Depot so they could pick an air conditioner up on the way back. After that we drove to Syracuse. I left my phone in their car then checked into the airport, then realized I forgot my phone. Got on the plane and flew to Atlanta. Waited around there for about 4 hours, then got on the plane to get back to Northwest Arkansas. I arrived, got in my car, and drove to my apartment. I got back around 8:45 pm.
Day 1 (05/31)
I got all my luggage together that I had packed the previous night and stuck it in my car. Only two bags - one big one for clothes, etc. and the other a carry-on containing my Wii, my camera, and my computer. I packed my bags into my car and left for the airport around 7:30. I stopped by Sonic along the way and picked up a breakfast burrito and some coffee. I checked into the airport but they made me throw my coffee away. There wasn't an incredibly long wait between the check-in and boarding the plane. I read Mere Christianity and listened to some sermons while on the flight. I stopped off in Cincinnati and had a very similar experience. By 1:45 I was in Syracuse. I met up with Dad and Joel. We all went to Taco Bell and got Big Box meals. We went directly to Po Valley Chapel at Fort Drum, where Joel and Loren have their "The Crossing" ministry. Almost immediately we started practicing for the songs that night. Some people came, then we did worship, then Joel spoke, and the rest is a blur. I met a lot of people. We were there late.
Day 2 (06/01)
Got up around 7 or 8 am to go to church at Parkside Bible Church in Watertown (I think?). Joel and Josh (the worship leader the church) and some other people practiced for a while. They figured out their guitarist wasn't coming so I got pulled up to play. I was still kind of tired and lacking in coffee, but I made it through alright. After that we went to the PX (grocery store on base) and got lots of ingredients to make some fondue. We got home, and I laid down while Dad watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail while Mom, Joel, and Loren prepared the fondue ingredients. When all was ready, Ron and Julie came over and we had a big fondue cooking time. We then played some games I think. After that I goofed off on the computer, then went to bed.
Day 3 (06/02)
Got up around 9 or 10. After having breakfast, which I think was eggs and bacon, we left for Niagara Falls around 10:45 - 11:00. All five of us packed into Loren's car. It's not a small car, but it's not big, so it was a squeeze. We stopped by Starbucks and got coffee. We then completed the rest of the 4 hour drive and arrived in Ontario. Some Canadian tried to rip us off on a "tour package". We made it Niagara Falls. We ate lunch and fed seagulls. Spent a while walking along the riverside taking pictures, then taking pictures of the falls themselves. Joel chased Canadian geese. We went and walked through the gift shops, checked out the botanical gardens, then went to the really (sickeningly) "tourist-y" area of Niagara Falls. Here a Starbucks venti caramel macchiato cost $6.15, and a 20 oz. Coke cost $3.25. Screw that. We walked around a while and I started to get low on energy, so we ate pizza and wings and stuff at Boston's pizza. Then we got on a big ferris wheel to overlook the waterfall with the lights on them. Then we started the drive home. We stopped at one of New York's "gas station mini-malls." It's about two or three restaurants and a gift shop crammed into a building with gas pumps outside. After that we hit home then bed.
Day 4 (06/03)
Got up around 9 or 10. Had breakfast then goofed off for a while. Dad and I drove around Carthage and came across this place where an old mill had been. The Black River ran through it. I probably trespassed and got behind a fenced-off area and checked everything out and took pictures. Then we went to a small park where I saw either a beaver or groundhog. I'm not sure which. Then we drove out to some fishing places and tried fishing a bit. I caught about a 1.5 lb. Pike. We drove to another place and tried fishing but didn't have much luck. This place had a hiking trail that followed the Black River. Dad fished while I hiked down the trail a little ways and checked stuff out. Eventually I came to a place where the river was so low that I could walk out into the middle of it without getting wet. It seemed most of the water was pushed to one side of the entire riverbed. Dad came down that way and fished a little bit. I ran around and explored and took pictures. None of them turned out so great since the skies were overcast. We got back around 5:30 - 6 and cleaned up a bit. Ashley and another girl whose name I can't remember came over and we had turkey burgers on the grill. We played some Mario Kart Wii for a while.
Day 5 (06/04)
Got up, had french toast for breakfast (I think), then went to the thousand islands region, about a 45 minute drive. I got a touristy hoodie sweater since I forgot to bring something warm. We took a boat ride on the St. Lawrence river to see the houses built on the islands, hear some of the history of the place, etc. Got some pictures, but it was still overcast. Eventually we came back and visited Boldt Castle. We spent a while there checking out all of the rooms and hearing more about the history of the place. We checked out all of the little buildings on the island. Then we went to the Boldt Castle yacht house. After that we left and went to Stephano's, an Italian place. We saw a guy riding a unicycle on the way there. We had garlic knots at the restaurant. I had some sort of broccoli and chicken alfredo. We all ate a bunch of hot wings. We got home then pretty much took it easy the rest of the day.
Day 6 (06/05)
Got up and goofed off for a bit. Joel did a cookout for his army Bible study, so I went to that. After that, Joel, Dad and I went back to the Black River place again and fished. When we were done, we stopped by the P&C grocery store to pick up some salad fixings, and Joel and I made a big salad for dinner.
Day 7 (06/06)
Didn't really have any plans for today. Around 12 or 1, Joel, Dad and I went out fishing again. We went to a place called Indian Creek but didn't have much luck. Then we spent a while trying to find a way to get to Lake Bonaparte. Once we did, we found the lake shore was so shallow that we gave up and left. We went further down the road to a place called "Grand View Park." I don't remember the name of the town it was in. Joel and Dad fished while I walked around and took pictures and explored. Joel caught a bunch of tiny fish. When we were done there we went to the grocery store again and I got ingredients to make spaghetti. We got back and Joel took Loren to a doctor's appointment while I cooked.
Day 8 (06/07)
Mom and Dad found out the plane they had intended to leave on was too full, so Joel took them to the airport to catch an earlier flight out. I stayed at Joel and Loren's apartment and did stuff on the computer, practiced some songs for that night, and started packing my bags. When they got back, we headed to Po Valley Chapel to start getting stuff ready for The Crossing. We had another cookout, then played some worship then hung out a bit. We had an open mic going on, so I played and sang a number of songs I had stashed away in my head. Then we went home.
Day 9 (06/08)
Got up and had pierogies for breakfast. I loaded my bags into the car and we drove to Watertown to drop Joel's truck off at Home Depot so they could pick an air conditioner up on the way back. After that we drove to Syracuse. I left my phone in their car then checked into the airport, then realized I forgot my phone. Got on the plane and flew to Atlanta. Waited around there for about 4 hours, then got on the plane to get back to Northwest Arkansas. I arrived, got in my car, and drove to my apartment. I got back around 8:45 pm.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
A Comprehensive God Experience
As I stated earlier, I came away from my hiking trip with a few thoughts. The primary thing was an awareness of God's goodness, and how often we overlook it, take it for granted, or simply neglect to experience it.
It's hard to look at the beauty and diversity of nature and not become overwhelmed with God's greatness and creativity. As I was hiking and enjoying the weather, the exercise, and the scenery, I realized that I was enjoying God's goodness. He created these things for Himself so that He could share them with us and show His greatness and goodness to us.
Despite some of the situations we have to deal with in life, God is constantly unveiling His goodness to us. A few months ago one of my tires had a blowout on the highway. It was kind of a bummer, but I was able to safely stop the vehicle and put the spare on. Although I wasn't aware of this at the time, God was showing His goodness to me in that moment in that He had provided me with a great father in my life that was able and took the time to teach me how to stop a car with a blowout, how to jack up a car, how to remove a tire, and how to put a new one on.
At work I've been on the same project for a number of months, and sometimes I get rather frustrated with looking at and thinking about the same stuff so much, but this is another opportunity to be aware of His goodness. He has blessed me with a job that I for the most part enjoy, has given me the mental ability and talent to grapple with the issues I have to tackle, and gave me parents that supported me in learning my trade.
Being aware of His goodness is an act of gratitude and worship. We acknowledge His greatness and His goodness and thank Him for what He has and is doing. As I was hiking, I kept thinking to myself, "God, this is good. Thank you." As I was replacing my tire, I should have thought, "God this is good. Thank you." As I continue to focus on my project in the future, I will do my best to remember to tell Him this same thing to try to stay focused on a worship lifestyle.
It's hard to look at the beauty and diversity of nature and not become overwhelmed with God's greatness and creativity. As I was hiking and enjoying the weather, the exercise, and the scenery, I realized that I was enjoying God's goodness. He created these things for Himself so that He could share them with us and show His greatness and goodness to us.
Despite some of the situations we have to deal with in life, God is constantly unveiling His goodness to us. A few months ago one of my tires had a blowout on the highway. It was kind of a bummer, but I was able to safely stop the vehicle and put the spare on. Although I wasn't aware of this at the time, God was showing His goodness to me in that moment in that He had provided me with a great father in my life that was able and took the time to teach me how to stop a car with a blowout, how to jack up a car, how to remove a tire, and how to put a new one on.
At work I've been on the same project for a number of months, and sometimes I get rather frustrated with looking at and thinking about the same stuff so much, but this is another opportunity to be aware of His goodness. He has blessed me with a job that I for the most part enjoy, has given me the mental ability and talent to grapple with the issues I have to tackle, and gave me parents that supported me in learning my trade.
Being aware of His goodness is an act of gratitude and worship. We acknowledge His greatness and His goodness and thank Him for what He has and is doing. As I was hiking, I kept thinking to myself, "God, this is good. Thank you." As I was replacing my tire, I should have thought, "God this is good. Thank you." As I continue to focus on my project in the future, I will do my best to remember to tell Him this same thing to try to stay focused on a worship lifestyle.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
An update for the sake of updating
I went hiking today. I took pictures. I put them here. I had some interesting thoughts come out of it. I'll try to expound on them later when I get some more time and crashing into bed is not immediately imminent.
Nitey nite.
Nitey nite.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Looking for hope
Lately I've been thinking that I could use a lot more hope in my life. I'm not very good at it, to be honest. What sparked my interest in hope was a message given by Rick Zachary last year the Sunday after our men's retreat. The primary focus of his message was about developing vision. Hope is a key element to developing vision, yet I am somewhat in the dark about what it actually is and how to acquire it. I Corinthians 13:13 says that the three things we have to make it through life until perfection (Jesus) comes are faith, hope, and love. It seems we hear much less about hope than faith and love, yet if we are to make it through these times, we must be equally educated in and understand all three of these things.
This may not be the case for some people, but I am very intently focused on making the best of my immediate situation. If someone were to ask me what sort of goals I have set for the next six months, year, or five years, I completely draw a blank. I don't think that far ahead. It's very easy for me to expect nothing more out of tomorrow than what I experienced today, and I feel that is a very dangerous place to be in. To experience fuller life, there must be something we can look forward, to feel that we are in some sense progressing in life. Therefore, I for one need to find and implement hope into my life.
As often as I have time I'm going to try to study and write more about what I believe hope to be, how to acquire it, what sort of implications it has on our lives, etc. I hope that someone else gets something out of this as well.
This may not be the case for some people, but I am very intently focused on making the best of my immediate situation. If someone were to ask me what sort of goals I have set for the next six months, year, or five years, I completely draw a blank. I don't think that far ahead. It's very easy for me to expect nothing more out of tomorrow than what I experienced today, and I feel that is a very dangerous place to be in. To experience fuller life, there must be something we can look forward, to feel that we are in some sense progressing in life. Therefore, I for one need to find and implement hope into my life.
As often as I have time I'm going to try to study and write more about what I believe hope to be, how to acquire it, what sort of implications it has on our lives, etc. I hope that someone else gets something out of this as well.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
My car is now Zune-compatible
My car came with a factory standard Kenwood stereo. It's pretty decent. I think I'd still prefer a Pioneer, but I'll stick with this for now.
Anyway, it lacks any sort of auxiliary input. Many newer head units have a 1/8" input on the front face of the stereo so that it may receive a sound signal from some sort of external sound source, such as satellite radio. Although it lacks a standard auxiliary input, it does have a CD changer control port on the back. After doing a little research I came to find out that there is an adapter that can be used to convert the CD changer control port to a pair of RCA inputs.
I did some shopping around and found that every place selling this converter wanted $20 minimum for it, not including shipping. I checked ebay and found a sort of knock-off of the original Kenwood adapter selling for $8. I felt I could justify the longer shipping time by saving at least $12, so I purchased it.
The adapter came in the mail today, so after work, church, and all the other stuff I had going on, I started working on the installation. Despite it being my first time to pull the dash off of this car, it pretty much went without issue. All of the snaps connecting the dash to the frame were sturdy, and went back in just like they came out. The most difficult part was removing some of the harnesses connecting the dash controls to the car computer. I had to leave one in because I simply couldn't get it to unplug. I installed the adapter and ran the cable out from beneath the smoking tray. It was a bit of a tight fit but it works and doesn't look bad at all. After I got it all together I fired up the stereo and started blasting some sweet Zune tunes.
I'm never using CDs (audio or MP3) again.
Anyway, it lacks any sort of auxiliary input. Many newer head units have a 1/8" input on the front face of the stereo so that it may receive a sound signal from some sort of external sound source, such as satellite radio. Although it lacks a standard auxiliary input, it does have a CD changer control port on the back. After doing a little research I came to find out that there is an adapter that can be used to convert the CD changer control port to a pair of RCA inputs.
I did some shopping around and found that every place selling this converter wanted $20 minimum for it, not including shipping. I checked ebay and found a sort of knock-off of the original Kenwood adapter selling for $8. I felt I could justify the longer shipping time by saving at least $12, so I purchased it.
The adapter came in the mail today, so after work, church, and all the other stuff I had going on, I started working on the installation. Despite it being my first time to pull the dash off of this car, it pretty much went without issue. All of the snaps connecting the dash to the frame were sturdy, and went back in just like they came out. The most difficult part was removing some of the harnesses connecting the dash controls to the car computer. I had to leave one in because I simply couldn't get it to unplug. I installed the adapter and ran the cable out from beneath the smoking tray. It was a bit of a tight fit but it works and doesn't look bad at all. After I got it all together I fired up the stereo and started blasting some sweet Zune tunes.
I'm never using CDs (audio or MP3) again.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Another Monday
So I almost cut my thumb off while cutting up onions to make spaghetti. Thankfully my knife is so dull that it did little more than scratch it.
I was listening to the Imago Dei Community podcast while at work today, and Rick told a story about a friend of his that put an interesting perspective on things. I can only paraphrase it so bear with me. He had a friend named Shane that was involved in some sort of accident or something and ended up receiving a settlement of $10,000. Instead of keeping this money, he sent 100 $100 bills out to different churches throughout the area, with an accompanying letter requesting that the money be used to minister to someone that needed it, whether through help in hard financial times, buying someone food, clothes, etc. Rick received one of these $100 bills and spent a while thinking about how it could best be used to take care of someone.
At one point, he was at a grocery store and had to either go to an ATM and get some cash to pay for his groceries, or simply spend the $100 bill and replace it later on. He said that he could not bring himself to spend it, however, for across the front of the money the word "LOVE" was written. It had a special purpose that was not to be compromised.
He then went on to ask, what if every dollar in your wallet had "LOVE" written across it? What if it was printed boldly on your car? On your house? Everything that we have God has given to us to take care of other people. It has a special purpose that is not to be compromised. He then said, "God does not need collectors in His kingdom," which is essentially what our society is founded upon.
Again, I am in awe of what great surrender following Christ requires. It's hard for us to wrap our heads around things like this, and verses like I Cor 6:19-20 - You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. It almost seems too hard for us to deny ourselves to that extent, but we have to keep in mind that God painted "LOVE" across Jesus and willingly gave Him up for us. Despite the pain Jesus knew he would have to endure, he did not compromise. It is the least we can do to follow His uncompromising example and see everything in our possession, even our own lives, with love written across it.
I was listening to the Imago Dei Community podcast while at work today, and Rick told a story about a friend of his that put an interesting perspective on things. I can only paraphrase it so bear with me. He had a friend named Shane that was involved in some sort of accident or something and ended up receiving a settlement of $10,000. Instead of keeping this money, he sent 100 $100 bills out to different churches throughout the area, with an accompanying letter requesting that the money be used to minister to someone that needed it, whether through help in hard financial times, buying someone food, clothes, etc. Rick received one of these $100 bills and spent a while thinking about how it could best be used to take care of someone.
At one point, he was at a grocery store and had to either go to an ATM and get some cash to pay for his groceries, or simply spend the $100 bill and replace it later on. He said that he could not bring himself to spend it, however, for across the front of the money the word "LOVE" was written. It had a special purpose that was not to be compromised.
He then went on to ask, what if every dollar in your wallet had "LOVE" written across it? What if it was printed boldly on your car? On your house? Everything that we have God has given to us to take care of other people. It has a special purpose that is not to be compromised. He then said, "God does not need collectors in His kingdom," which is essentially what our society is founded upon.
Again, I am in awe of what great surrender following Christ requires. It's hard for us to wrap our heads around things like this, and verses like I Cor 6:19-20 - You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. It almost seems too hard for us to deny ourselves to that extent, but we have to keep in mind that God painted "LOVE" across Jesus and willingly gave Him up for us. Despite the pain Jesus knew he would have to endure, he did not compromise. It is the least we can do to follow His uncompromising example and see everything in our possession, even our own lives, with love written across it.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Sunday Sunday Sunday
Good Sunday today. Had a few hiccups in the worship this morning but overall it went well. Casey went over a much needed lesson this morning and expounded on the three Rs of Christianity: Relationship, relationship, relationship. I can't get that through my thick head enough.
(Casey didn't phrase it as three Rs, by the way, that's just how I took it.)
Youth went well also. Worship was better than usual, probably because Ray, Josh and I spent quite a bit of time going over the songs multiple times and solidifying the progressions. I think Ray and Josh will be out of town next weekend, so it will probably just be Jason and I. Can anyone say "acoustic set?" Woot.
Brock had a good message that played off of the catch phrase regarding "addressing the elephant in the room". He talked about confronting the issues in life that we don't want to or that are hard to address. By some strange coincidence I happened to wear a shirt that had an elephant on it that I got from my brother a while back. Weird.
Weekly routine starts tomorrow. I'll be glad when this month is over, because then I'll start to get out and actually do stuff. Here's my list:
- Visiting my brother - May 31 - June 8
I purchased some plane tickets tonight to go visit my brother in New York. I'm going to be gone from work for an entire week and will miss two Sundays of church, which kind of stinks, but I have not seen my brother or been out of the state in a VERY long time. As an added bonus, my parents will be there as well. We'll all get to be together again, which I must admit gets me kind of teary. We haven't been together as a family since Thanksgiving last year.
- Going to my friend Matt's wedding - June 27 - 29
My friend Matt is getting married in Memphis. I'm gonna be a groomsman.
- Independence Day - July 3 - 7 (?)
I'm going to work through Memorial day and probably work on a Saturday to get an extra day off, for a total of three days of vacation. Will visit parents and try to get together with some friends.
- Portland, OR trip - August?
I still want to visit Imago Dei Community in Portland. I still feel kind of drawn there. I don't know if something is in store for me there or not, but it wouldn't hurt to go just for the experience.
(Casey didn't phrase it as three Rs, by the way, that's just how I took it.)
Youth went well also. Worship was better than usual, probably because Ray, Josh and I spent quite a bit of time going over the songs multiple times and solidifying the progressions. I think Ray and Josh will be out of town next weekend, so it will probably just be Jason and I. Can anyone say "acoustic set?" Woot.
Brock had a good message that played off of the catch phrase regarding "addressing the elephant in the room". He talked about confronting the issues in life that we don't want to or that are hard to address. By some strange coincidence I happened to wear a shirt that had an elephant on it that I got from my brother a while back. Weird.
Weekly routine starts tomorrow. I'll be glad when this month is over, because then I'll start to get out and actually do stuff. Here's my list:
- Visiting my brother - May 31 - June 8
I purchased some plane tickets tonight to go visit my brother in New York. I'm going to be gone from work for an entire week and will miss two Sundays of church, which kind of stinks, but I have not seen my brother or been out of the state in a VERY long time. As an added bonus, my parents will be there as well. We'll all get to be together again, which I must admit gets me kind of teary. We haven't been together as a family since Thanksgiving last year.
- Going to my friend Matt's wedding - June 27 - 29
My friend Matt is getting married in Memphis. I'm gonna be a groomsman.
- Independence Day - July 3 - 7 (?)
I'm going to work through Memorial day and probably work on a Saturday to get an extra day off, for a total of three days of vacation. Will visit parents and try to get together with some friends.
- Portland, OR trip - August?
I still want to visit Imago Dei Community in Portland. I still feel kind of drawn there. I don't know if something is in store for me there or not, but it wouldn't hurt to go just for the experience.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Ideas
I've had some ideas lately about a potential blog "series." I'd like to get started tonight, but that may not happen since I have some other stuff to do (and spent too long goofing off). Maybe I'll get something up tomorrow night.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Stuff
Couple of things going on lately.
Got the bumper on my car repainted. When I purchased it, it had a few nicks and scratches in the paint, so as part of the purchase deal they agreed to get it repainted. It was quite an ordeal, but it's done now. That's the last of the car work I'll have done in a long time, hopefully.
In other news, I need to re-do the brake job I did on my car. The bolts tried to strip out whenever I put them back on, and now it's not braking correctly. I believe since the bolts aren't in right I'm losing some braking power. I got some new bolts from Advance Auto, as well as some new pins. Not sure how the pins go in there, but I'm going to figure it out. If I have the time I'll get it done tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, I get to go with the church bright and early at 7:15 to go participate in helping restore a woman's home. Her husband built the house 30 years ago, but he has since passed away, and she has been unable to take care of it, so everything is starting to kind of fall apart. We're supposed to clean up the yard, repaint some stuff, repair the house, etc. I haven't gotten to do something like this in quite a while so I'm kind of stoked about it.
Tonight we had a women's event. I played bass for it. It was kind of a nightmare, music-wise. Someone started the first song off on a wrong note, so when I came in, it wasn't sounding right at all. I just stayed out and came back in when it sounded safe. Same thing happened at the end of the service too. Overall it went ok. The ladies seemed to enjoy it.
Lastly, I need a life. After I got car back I came home and played Counter-Strike, then did some other inconsequential stuff. I don't know how many weekend nights I've spent like this. I'm getting rather frustrated with it. Friends are always too busy, and I don't blame them for it, because they actually have a life. I don't "go out" because I don't know where to go, and most places available to go out to are probably not the sort of environment I would prefer to be in (in other words, I'm not going to go hang out on Dickson). So, if anyone has any advice for what a single guy can do on the weekends in northwest Arkansas (other than sit at the apartment and play video games), please enlighten me.
Got the bumper on my car repainted. When I purchased it, it had a few nicks and scratches in the paint, so as part of the purchase deal they agreed to get it repainted. It was quite an ordeal, but it's done now. That's the last of the car work I'll have done in a long time, hopefully.
In other news, I need to re-do the brake job I did on my car. The bolts tried to strip out whenever I put them back on, and now it's not braking correctly. I believe since the bolts aren't in right I'm losing some braking power. I got some new bolts from Advance Auto, as well as some new pins. Not sure how the pins go in there, but I'm going to figure it out. If I have the time I'll get it done tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, I get to go with the church bright and early at 7:15 to go participate in helping restore a woman's home. Her husband built the house 30 years ago, but he has since passed away, and she has been unable to take care of it, so everything is starting to kind of fall apart. We're supposed to clean up the yard, repaint some stuff, repair the house, etc. I haven't gotten to do something like this in quite a while so I'm kind of stoked about it.
Tonight we had a women's event. I played bass for it. It was kind of a nightmare, music-wise. Someone started the first song off on a wrong note, so when I came in, it wasn't sounding right at all. I just stayed out and came back in when it sounded safe. Same thing happened at the end of the service too. Overall it went ok. The ladies seemed to enjoy it.
Lastly, I need a life. After I got car back I came home and played Counter-Strike, then did some other inconsequential stuff. I don't know how many weekend nights I've spent like this. I'm getting rather frustrated with it. Friends are always too busy, and I don't blame them for it, because they actually have a life. I don't "go out" because I don't know where to go, and most places available to go out to are probably not the sort of environment I would prefer to be in (in other words, I'm not going to go hang out on Dickson). So, if anyone has any advice for what a single guy can do on the weekends in northwest Arkansas (other than sit at the apartment and play video games), please enlighten me.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Stuff from today
I don't think many Christians take the idea of complete surrender to Christ quite seriously. I know I don't. It's incredibly difficult to engender an "eternal mentality" and come to this point of surrender when we live in a world that is so temporary and fast-paced. It seems there are so many obstacles that prevent us from doing it, ranging from the seemingly inconsequential distractions we deal with in every day life to our own selfishly-bent natures. I believe it takes a relentless pursuit of a relationship with God to facilitate overcoming these things and remaining focused on Him.
There's a lot of other stuff on my mind, but I don't feel this is the place to divulge it.
There's a lot of other stuff on my mind, but I don't feel this is the place to divulge it.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Things I've been doing for the past month
- Watched all of Lost, from season 1 to the most recently released episode.
- Dumped a ridiculous amount of money in my old car.
- Sold my old car (a '99 Mercury Cougar) and bought a new one (an '04 Hyundai Elantra).
- Got a new phone with a new service plan and everything.
- Did not blog.
- Played video games.
- Read a little bit.
Friday, March 14, 2008
INTERNETS
My internet has been out like the past four days. I just noticed it was on this morning, but I need to get to work. I might update later on if it's still working.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
This is stupid
I've been reading a bit lately about increasing pressure being driven to apply Title IX rules to colleges if they don't have more women in subjects such as IT, chemistry, physics, etc. Supposedly some people believe there is a "gross" inequity in the amount of male vs. female majors in these subjects. Title IX basically says, "if you don't have X percentage of women in this field, you lose your funding." But what if there REALLY ARE (GASP) specific differences in men and women, and many women by nature simply do not care to take up these subjects? What if women have the free choice to choose whatever field they want to be in, and choose something other than this? I was an IT major but I felt no such supposed animosity toward women in any of the classes I took.
There are some who very reasonably believe that the quality of training in these fields could degrade if they lose their funding because more women don't want to take those courses. Furthermore, this could very easily be translated into companies losing tax breaks because they don't have a specific percentage of some gender or race. Companies would be pulling potentially unqualified people into jobs simply to fill a quota, not to get a job done.
I wish people could just be left to do whatever they enjoy without any sort of coercion. People will excel at what they enjoy.
There are some who very reasonably believe that the quality of training in these fields could degrade if they lose their funding because more women don't want to take those courses. Furthermore, this could very easily be translated into companies losing tax breaks because they don't have a specific percentage of some gender or race. Companies would be pulling potentially unqualified people into jobs simply to fill a quota, not to get a job done.
I wish people could just be left to do whatever they enjoy without any sort of coercion. People will excel at what they enjoy.
Friday, March 7, 2008
I watched a movie
I went and saw 10,000 BC with some people tonight. It was pretty good. Kind of unbelieveable in a few parts, but whatever. It's probably not the sort of move that would end up in my DVD collection, but it was entertaining, so I'd recommend it.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
I'm really craving Chinese...
...but all I can really eat is crackers. I still have this stomach bug thing and it sucks. I'm going to a clinic tomorrow to get myself checked out. I'm getting pretty frustrated with the frequency of health issues I've had lately. Once warmer weather comes around I'll be alright.
Practice went well tonight. The Mix band is still a work in progress. It's requiring a lot of time and sacrifice, and to be honest it's hard to adjust to working with people like this after doing it solo for so many years. I'm not going to offer anything to God that has cost me nothing, though. I only hope that He uses our efforts to really affect some lives.
I'm still enjoying the new laptop. The battery life on it is insanely good. I'm finding that it doesn't work so well out of the box with Ubuntu as my previous laptop did, but that just means I have more of a challenge posed to me to figure it out :) The next version of Ubuntu will be out in April, so maybe it will work a bit better with the new revision.
I'm glad tomorrow is Friday. It's been somewhat of a weird, rough week. I've been on the pager this week, so I get a half-day off, which I will definitely be taking tomorrow. I really need to get my apartment cleaned up. Or I can just sit around and play video games. Such a tough decision...
Ok, I'm going to play some Counter-Strike Source for a bit then I'm heading to bed.
Practice went well tonight. The Mix band is still a work in progress. It's requiring a lot of time and sacrifice, and to be honest it's hard to adjust to working with people like this after doing it solo for so many years. I'm not going to offer anything to God that has cost me nothing, though. I only hope that He uses our efforts to really affect some lives.
I'm still enjoying the new laptop. The battery life on it is insanely good. I'm finding that it doesn't work so well out of the box with Ubuntu as my previous laptop did, but that just means I have more of a challenge posed to me to figure it out :) The next version of Ubuntu will be out in April, so maybe it will work a bit better with the new revision.
I'm glad tomorrow is Friday. It's been somewhat of a weird, rough week. I've been on the pager this week, so I get a half-day off, which I will definitely be taking tomorrow. I really need to get my apartment cleaned up. Or I can just sit around and play video games. Such a tough decision...
Ok, I'm going to play some Counter-Strike Source for a bit then I'm heading to bed.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Other events of the day.
Lots of snow on the ground this morning. I didn't go to work until about 1:30. I'm on call this week so I logged in from the laptop and worked from home. That was kind of nice. My cats were freaking out almost the entire time though - running around, meowing loud, knocking stuff over, etc. They're weird.
I'm pretty certain I have a stomach virus. I believe my colon is the cleanest it's ever been, which is a good thing, I suppose. The bad thing is that there's a possibility I could get dehydrated (yes, it's that bad), so I've been making sure I drink plenty of water.
I've been fighting off a sore throat for about the past two weeks and maybe this is just an additional symptom of whatever it is that's trying to break into my system. So far I've been successful at fighting it off. I guess that taking vitamins and drinking lots of orange juice has been helpful.
I'm kind of uncertain how practice times for the Mix band are going to work out this week. We were planning on practicing Wednesday, but Jason has other plans that night, so he can't do it. Ray and Monica have a life group on Wednesday too, so they can't make it. Looks like Wednesdays generally won't work. I might start trying to plan for practices on Mondays or Tuesdays, hopefully that will work out better.
I'm pretty certain I have a stomach virus. I believe my colon is the cleanest it's ever been, which is a good thing, I suppose. The bad thing is that there's a possibility I could get dehydrated (yes, it's that bad), so I've been making sure I drink plenty of water.
I've been fighting off a sore throat for about the past two weeks and maybe this is just an additional symptom of whatever it is that's trying to break into my system. So far I've been successful at fighting it off. I guess that taking vitamins and drinking lots of orange juice has been helpful.
I'm kind of uncertain how practice times for the Mix band are going to work out this week. We were planning on practicing Wednesday, but Jason has other plans that night, so he can't do it. Ray and Monica have a life group on Wednesday too, so they can't make it. Looks like Wednesdays generally won't work. I might start trying to plan for practices on Mondays or Tuesdays, hopefully that will work out better.
Continuing with the whole computer thing
Got my old laptop good to go (for the most part). After putting a few more things on there it will be ready to go.
Started installing Ubuntu on my new laptop. That thing has a crazy partition setup. The old laptop was reasonable - two partitions (one for the OS, one for user files) and one more for restoration. It's rather simple to take the user files partition, split off a partition from it for the swap space, and start installing Ubuntu on it. Not the new laptop, however. It comes maxed out at four partitions - one for the OS, one for user files, one for the restoration partition, and the last one for I have no clue what. I had to remove the user files partition, set it up as an extended partition, then split that extended partition between the Ubuntu OS partition and the swap space. For some reason, hard drives are limited to four primary partitions. I read somewhere that this has something to do with the way the MBR works. Setting up Ubuntu without blasting the other partitions would require five primary partitions, which wouldn't exactly work with current limitations. Thankfully we have extended partitions that let us work around that.
Anyway, that's going well. Hopefully all the dinking around with the partitions doesn't blast any of the Windows/restoration stuff. Files are copying right now.
While I'm at it, here's what my desktop looks like right now:
Yes, there are four computers in that picture. Yes, it is ridiculous.
Started installing Ubuntu on my new laptop. That thing has a crazy partition setup. The old laptop was reasonable - two partitions (one for the OS, one for user files) and one more for restoration. It's rather simple to take the user files partition, split off a partition from it for the swap space, and start installing Ubuntu on it. Not the new laptop, however. It comes maxed out at four partitions - one for the OS, one for user files, one for the restoration partition, and the last one for I have no clue what. I had to remove the user files partition, set it up as an extended partition, then split that extended partition between the Ubuntu OS partition and the swap space. For some reason, hard drives are limited to four primary partitions. I read somewhere that this has something to do with the way the MBR works. Setting up Ubuntu without blasting the other partitions would require five primary partitions, which wouldn't exactly work with current limitations. Thankfully we have extended partitions that let us work around that.
Anyway, that's going well. Hopefully all the dinking around with the partitions doesn't blast any of the Windows/restoration stuff. Files are copying right now.
While I'm at it, here's what my desktop looks like right now:
Yes, there are four computers in that picture. Yes, it is ridiculous.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Adventures in MBR restoration
Backstory:
I'm trying to restore my old Acer to factory default settings before I ship it to the person that's buying it from me. Apparently putting Linux on my old Acer wiped out the MBR (master boot record) - which I'm cool with, I like the GRUB boot manager that comes with Ubuntu.
Even more backstory:
The MBR tells your computer how to boot. Most computers boot to one operating system. GRUB is a boot manager that lets you select what you want to boot then starts up the respective OS. The problem is, GRUB has to be installed to the MBR, so whatever was residing there previously (i.e., instructions to boot Windows) got wiped out.
Irrelevant backstory:
Ctrl+Shift in the blog input window switches between Preview and Edit mode, and it drives me nuts. I use Ctrl+Shift to select blocks of text with the keyboard. It's cramping my style, yo. Word.
Back to the original backstory:
After dinking around for the past hour or two, I finally got the original Acer MBR back in action. The reason I needed to do this is because the ability to restore the entire computer to factory defaults relies on the Acer MBR being in place; if it's not in place, then the Alt+F10 key combination which is supposed to bring up the system restoration software, won't bring up JAAAACK SQUAAAT! (Clever Chris Farley/Matt Foley reference, no?)
All that being said, I got the MBR back, and I'm hitting Alt+F10 to get my entire laptop reset, and a Windows XP screen comes up as the startup splash screen. Mind you, this is a Windows Vista computer. Apparently it has two versions of Windows running on it. Spiffy! It's like Acer hacked up a copy of Windows XP and set it up to only perform the restoration process.
I'm going to write down everything I did so if I have to do this in the future I won't struggle trying to re-figure everything out. Unless you're just curious, you might want to go ahead and stop reading this (unless you already have anyway).
Prerequisites:
a. Windows partition is intact
b. PQSERVICE (Acer restoration partition) is intact
c. We have a Ubuntu Live CD
d. We have internets
If all that is good, then it's time to start cooking.
1. Boot into Ubuntu with a Live CD.
2. Go to System > Administration > Software Sources
3. Enable the "Universe" repository. Let it refresh the repositories so it will know ms-sys is available.
4. Install ms-sys: "sudo apt-get install ms-sys"
5. If the hard drive you're booting from is /dev/sda, then run "sudo ms-sys -m /dev/sda". As far as I know, you can't run it for a particular partition (i.e. sda1).
6. While you're in Ubuntu, copy the "RYTOOLS" directory from the "PQSERVICE" restoration partition to the root directory of your "ACER" partition. By default, the partition Acers boot from is called "ACER".
At this point, we have fixed the MBR so that Windows can boot, and have grabbed all of the utilities necessary to restore Acer's custom MBR. Now we just need to run it.
7. Restart the computer. While it is booting, hit F8 repeatedly to bring up Windows' boot menu.
8. Select the "Repair Windows" option (that's not word for word, but it does have something about repair in it).
9. Select the command prompt option. This will bring up a Windows terminal window.
10. Run "cd \RYTOOLS". This will put you in the restoration utility directory you copied over while in Ubuntu.
11. Run "mbrwrwin.exe install rtmbr2.bin". This command does the actual custom Acer MBR installation.
12. Reboot your computer. You should be able to hit Alt+F10 to restore it to default factory settings.
WARNING: I read how someone used a method somewhat similar to this and they accidentally jacked up their Windows partition. I think they did some other things to mess up their computer aside from running mbrwrwin.exe. Since we're just modifying the MBR and not touching the actual data, the only thing we can really do is make Windows unbootable. So, if you're just wanting Windows to boot and don't care about getting the restoration functionality in place, just run the ms-sys commands in Ubuntu above and that should be good.
And now my old laptop has finished restoring and is getting everything set up for it's second first-time run. Thank you internets!
I'm trying to restore my old Acer to factory default settings before I ship it to the person that's buying it from me. Apparently putting Linux on my old Acer wiped out the MBR (master boot record) - which I'm cool with, I like the GRUB boot manager that comes with Ubuntu.
Even more backstory:
The MBR tells your computer how to boot. Most computers boot to one operating system. GRUB is a boot manager that lets you select what you want to boot then starts up the respective OS. The problem is, GRUB has to be installed to the MBR, so whatever was residing there previously (i.e., instructions to boot Windows) got wiped out.
Irrelevant backstory:
Ctrl+Shift in the blog input window switches between Preview and Edit mode, and it drives me nuts. I use Ctrl+Shift to select blocks of text with the keyboard. It's cramping my style, yo. Word.
Back to the original backstory:
After dinking around for the past hour or two, I finally got the original Acer MBR back in action. The reason I needed to do this is because the ability to restore the entire computer to factory defaults relies on the Acer MBR being in place; if it's not in place, then the Alt+F10 key combination which is supposed to bring up the system restoration software, won't bring up JAAAACK SQUAAAT! (Clever Chris Farley/Matt Foley reference, no?)
All that being said, I got the MBR back, and I'm hitting Alt+F10 to get my entire laptop reset, and a Windows XP screen comes up as the startup splash screen. Mind you, this is a Windows Vista computer. Apparently it has two versions of Windows running on it. Spiffy! It's like Acer hacked up a copy of Windows XP and set it up to only perform the restoration process.
I'm going to write down everything I did so if I have to do this in the future I won't struggle trying to re-figure everything out. Unless you're just curious, you might want to go ahead and stop reading this (unless you already have anyway).
Prerequisites:
a. Windows partition is intact
b. PQSERVICE (Acer restoration partition) is intact
c. We have a Ubuntu Live CD
d. We have internets
If all that is good, then it's time to start cooking.
1. Boot into Ubuntu with a Live CD.
2. Go to System > Administration > Software Sources
3. Enable the "Universe" repository. Let it refresh the repositories so it will know ms-sys is available.
4. Install ms-sys: "sudo apt-get install ms-sys"
5. If the hard drive you're booting from is /dev/sda, then run "sudo ms-sys -m /dev/sda". As far as I know, you can't run it for a particular partition (i.e. sda1).
6. While you're in Ubuntu, copy the "RYTOOLS" directory from the "PQSERVICE" restoration partition to the root directory of your "ACER" partition. By default, the partition Acers boot from is called "ACER".
At this point, we have fixed the MBR so that Windows can boot, and have grabbed all of the utilities necessary to restore Acer's custom MBR. Now we just need to run it.
7. Restart the computer. While it is booting, hit F8 repeatedly to bring up Windows' boot menu.
8. Select the "Repair Windows" option (that's not word for word, but it does have something about repair in it).
9. Select the command prompt option. This will bring up a Windows terminal window.
10. Run "cd \RYTOOLS". This will put you in the restoration utility directory you copied over while in Ubuntu.
11. Run "mbrwrwin.exe install rtmbr2.bin". This command does the actual custom Acer MBR installation.
12. Reboot your computer. You should be able to hit Alt+F10 to restore it to default factory settings.
WARNING: I read how someone used a method somewhat similar to this and they accidentally jacked up their Windows partition. I think they did some other things to mess up their computer aside from running mbrwrwin.exe. Since we're just modifying the MBR and not touching the actual data, the only thing we can really do is make Windows unbootable. So, if you're just wanting Windows to boot and don't care about getting the restoration functionality in place, just run the ms-sys commands in Ubuntu above and that should be good.
And now my old laptop has finished restoring and is getting everything set up for it's second first-time run. Thank you internets!
Returning to the blogosphere (and catchy buzzwords)
Well, I've tried this whole blogging thing two times before - once on LiveJournal (back when you had to have an invite to join, else pay), and once on MySpace. The MySpace blog is still technically there, but meh. I don't particularly feel like updating it. It seems I go through phases where I feel like sharing what's going on, and some where I feel like being reclusive. I think that in the past I've had a tendency to think that I had to write huge posts explaining some massive idea or detailing some intricate story so that it would be a worthwhile read. Creating such writings takes time, and that is something that is in rather short supply in my life now. So, hopefully after this initial post I'll be able to cut down a bit on my long-windedness..
Anyway, I decided to try this again because I have a few friends that have prodded me occasionally to blog. Maybe by blogging I'll be a better friend, and perhaps I might even read other peoples' blogs more frequently!
So, my big recent news is I'm selling my old laptop (an Acer 5610Z) and have in its place gotten a new laptop (an Acer 5920-6864). I wanted to upgrade the memory in my old laptop (it had 1 GB of RAM), but I also liked the design of the new Acers. The 5920 had the new body style and 3 GB of RAM (as well as some other cool things), so I went ahead and purchased it for nearly the same price I paid for my old laptop. I'm going to be spending the next few days getting it configured how I like it (i.e., Linux, desktop effects, a good desktop theme, etc.), so the following posts will probably detail how that effort is going, along with pictures and everything. Fun times.
I have some music stuff to go take care of, so I'm out of here.
Anyway, I decided to try this again because I have a few friends that have prodded me occasionally to blog. Maybe by blogging I'll be a better friend, and perhaps I might even read other peoples' blogs more frequently!
So, my big recent news is I'm selling my old laptop (an Acer 5610Z) and have in its place gotten a new laptop (an Acer 5920-6864). I wanted to upgrade the memory in my old laptop (it had 1 GB of RAM), but I also liked the design of the new Acers. The 5920 had the new body style and 3 GB of RAM (as well as some other cool things), so I went ahead and purchased it for nearly the same price I paid for my old laptop. I'm going to be spending the next few days getting it configured how I like it (i.e., Linux, desktop effects, a good desktop theme, etc.), so the following posts will probably detail how that effort is going, along with pictures and everything. Fun times.
I have some music stuff to go take care of, so I'm out of here.
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