I'm Baack

Hi. I hope my extended absence hasn't driven you fine readers away. I was having some serious PC troubles and it took quite a while to figure things out.

As mentioned in my previous post, my folks were in town and we spend several days in Canada visiting my Grandparents in Niagara Falls. However, just before that trip we started having some serious problems with our laptop (actually, the churches laptop). It turns out that it had become a large collection of viruses contained within a plastic shell. We got it back several days later after it was wiped clean and rebooted. Then the power cord stopped working. Since I had received the laptop secondhand the battery had very little usable life (and by very little I mean 5 to 6 minutes), but it was not a big deal because I always had the power cord in order to use it. Until now. So I had to order a new power cord, which got to me several days later. The laptop worked great for 1 day... and then it really broke. Gone. Dead. Garbage.

I spent about a week shopping around. I was really hoping to get a mac. but our church doesn't have much budget for technology and price drove us to go with a Dell Inspiron. I'm sad the mac didn't work out, but someday it'll happen.

I'm glad to be back in the blogosphere. Hopefully we can get back in the ongoing conversation that is 'the best 3 minutes of your day'.

Bloggin from work

I don't usually blog from work, but I thought I should give you all (all one of you) an update of what's going on in my life. Just a couple posts ago I talked about how I wanted to get back in the habit of blogging more consistently, but then our laptop became a virus factory. Nothing would work and I had to take it in to a repair shop who is wiping it clean. This process takes several days, of course.

We won't get it back until tomorrow and then I won't be blogging because my parents are coming into town and we're headed off to Canada to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Teal.

I'll be back soon. Promise.

Bubbles gets a makeover

Detroit is hurtin' these days. In addition to the well documented struggles of the Big Three, the Detroit public school system is shutting down 23 schools and laying off 600 teachers and staff. The D can't catch a break. But one of the city's most troubled citizens is getting a facelift this year.

Bubbles.

You may know him as the logo for the Detroit Lions.

I have no idea how or why he is named Bubbles, he just is. I first heard about this from sports insider Robbie Bolton who told me that the lions website was liquidating all the old gear. The rumor is that the new logo may be publicly revealed sometime around the upcoming NFL draft. But, it appears that a copy of the image was leaked onto the internet, so here's a sneak peak:

(new logo on the left, old one on the right. new font underneath)



I like it. I'm glad they left the colors the same and it's not drastically different from the old one, but it's one step removed from that 0-16 season. Bubbles is looking gooood.

What do you think?

graboids

Right now Becky and I are watching "Tremors" on T.V. Right away, how many of you have seen this cult classic? I mean, my mom even loves it.



I've seen it tons of times and it never gets old. Cheesy, but fun. I don't think you can really classify it as a horror film since it's not really scary. The Comcast on screen guide calls it a "good- natured spoof", but I don't think it's quite that light. Regardless of whatever section of the movie rental store you find it in (which is probably going out of business) it's irresistibly watchable. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward have really chemistry as two old buddies stuck going nowhere in a tiny town in the middle of the desert and decide to leave "Perfection" just one day too late. Monsters and mayhem ensue and Michael Gross and Reba McEntire are hilarious as gun loving isolationists.

It requires watching anytime you come across it. I find the same thing with Die Hard. If it's on, I've gotta watch it.

What movie will you watch when you find it on T.V., no matter how many times you've watched it before?

april update

Apologies to my dedicated readers for not blogging lately. No excuse or reason, just wasn't participating the global interweb community.

I actually don't have anything to blog about now; I'm just trying to get back in the habit. I enjoy posting my thoughts and web gems that I come across, not to mention reading your comments. It's widely known that one of the keys to having a successful blog is consistent updates. Consider yourself updated!

SPARTANS

Way to go STATE!! I didn't get a chance to watch all of the game but was excited that our homestate Spartans will be playing in the big game on Monday night. I must admit I'm primarily a Michigan fan, but I'm not hardcore enough that I want Michigan State to fail (unlike the Lopez's:). The way I see it, their success reflects well on all of the Big Ten. Plus Michigan certainly can use all the good news we can get these days.

Big NFL news

Jay Cutler was finally traded today to the Chicago Bears. (source) Chicago gave the Broncos starting quarterback Kyle Orton and a few draft picks. For those of you who haven't been following this story here's the short version: Cutler is a very talented young quarterback who lead the second t offense in football last year. However, the Broncos defense is horrible and they missed the playoffs. So they fired the head coach and brought in a new guy from New England to coach the team. The new coach tried to trade Cutler for Matt Cassel (who had a great year for the Patriots) and when Jay found out about it he lost it. He asked to be traded and refused to talk to the coach or owner. Now he'll be starting for one of the worst offenses in the league and I think he's totally ruined his reputation (I'm not the only one who thinks so).

Last week I was hoping the the Lions might trade for him since they have plenty of draft picks to negotiate with, but I'm really glad we didn't get him. The way that he has handled this situation has shown his selfishness and immaturity. The Lions certainly need as much help as they can get, but we also need the right guys. Jay ain't one of 'em.

Kindygarden

I hate it when people call Kindergarten "kindygarden". I try hard not to be the pronunciation police, but there are some words too annoying to be ignored. But I digress...

Becky and I have been traveling around the Kindergarten circuit in preparation for Evan's entrance into academia next fall. The state of Michigan is mandating that all schools must transition to all day Kindergaten in 2010, but the Dearborn district has decided to be ahead of the curve and the public schools are all implementing full day K starting this fall.

When I first heard about this I was pretty put off by the concept. I know that having our kids at home with mom puts us in the minority these days, but it seems like a major challenge to put kids into school all day instead of easing the transition with a half day program. Last night we went to the open house for the local public elementary school (Snow) and I have to admit that I left the meeting much more open minded about the possibility than I've been the last few weeks.

The two things that stood out to me are:
1) It give the teachers more time to teach each subject. Instead of rushing from writing to math to recess the students are able to work on each topic with greater flexibility and less pressure to power through it.
2) It allows more time for social interaction and communal learning. I think this is one of the most important things for Evan to get from Kindergarten; a full day program gives the students time to interact that doesn't exist in half day K.

So here I am, harnessing the limitless potential of the internet, asking you readers what your take is. Have any of you sent your kids to full day K? or experienced it yourself?

pwnage

Jesus Pwn3d U - barats and bereta

Close Call

I was stopped at a red light when I saw police lights flashing behind me. He was about 1/2 a mile back so I was pretty sure that he wasn't after me, but you can't help the fact that for a second your heart jumps and you have "wha'd I do!?" rush through you're head. I was in the center of 3 lanes so I moved into the "right turn only" next to me to do my best to clear the way for him... and I'm glad I did.

No sooner did I pull over when ZOOM, some ancient mini-van goes flying through the red light just ahead of the cop. I didn't see him behind me because I was focused on the lights and siren. He was lucky to make it through the intersection because it's a very busy 6 way stop (for you locals: Outer Drive, Pelham, and Carlysle). I was really, really, really tempted to follow them to see how it would end [i.e. pit maneuver], but I needed to get home. I didn't follow them far, but it appeared to me that he later turned the wrong way down a one way street.

It was my first time seeing a live police chase. It was a bit exciting, but I just can't believe the stupidity of anyone trying to outrun the police. Haven't we all seen "World's Wildest Police Chases" volumes 1 through 25? Or even more seriously, the metro- Detroit area is still reeling from the recent deaths of 4 teens at the hands of a drunk driver; drunk driver, reckless driver, it doesn't matter... police chases never end positively. Fines. Jail. Injury. or Deaths.

I hope the chase ended quietly and the guy gets what he deserves.

Candy Tails

tweety

About 6 months ago I was asked by a co-worker "have you ever heard of twitter?" I told him "no" and he introduced to me to the concept of micro-blogging. I thought it sounded pretty cool, combining the status update of facebook with the mobile convenience of texting. I haven't tried the service though since I don't have a phone plan which includes texting [as mentioned in this previous post].
Fast Forward to today where it seems like Twitter is taking over the planet. Everyone is talking about Twitter or tweeting [the act of posting a message to Twitter]. NBA players are tweeting during halftime IN THE GAME THEY ARE PLAYING! (source) Congressmen and Senators were tweeting DURING PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FIRST PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS (source). I know that several of you readers tweet and the rest of the internet is taking notice as well. The much maligned recent update to Facebook appears to be a direct response to the Twitter trend.

So what is your take on Twitter? Is micro-blogging the future of social networking and web communication? Does Twitter have a place in the virtual world along side Live Journal, Blogger, Myspace, and Facebook... or will it replace them?

Just a few degrees

Why is it that in the spring 50 degrees feels sooo nice, but in the fall it's freezing?

We got teased with nice weather (high 50's) last weekend, but it's been nothing but grey skies and cold days ever since. I'm ready for summer, anyone else?

10 Year Anniversary

I can't believe that 10 years has past so quickly. It was just a short decade ago that one of the most influential musical acts in human history dropped their debut album on a world totally unprepared for the melodic sonic-boom that was about to overtake them. I am speaking, of course, about "Where No Cheese Has Gone Before" by Smooth Smoothie Smooth and the Smoothed Out Smooth Ones.


Recorded and released in the fall of 1999, the Compact Disc (or "C.D.") was greeted with mixed reviews. Some called it "the most amazing album ever produced" while others said it was "the most incredible album ever produced". 500 CD's were produced and over 400 of the CD's were sold to a ravenous and dedicated fan-base. The few remaining unsold copies are a highly sought after collector's item with unopened editions selling for tens of dollars.

Before the break-up of the band in the winter of 2000, the 6 remaining band members sat down and recorded a small collection of songs that were never released. This uncompleted EP has been worked on in several stages and will perhaps be released to the public at some point in the future. There have been rumors circulating around the internet community of a reunion concert, but the band has never spoken of reuniting.

But seriously folks (or based on my readership, folk), it was such a great experience to be a part of The Smoothies. If you ever have a chance to be a part of a band, do it. Even decades later you'll look back on those times with a smile.


(actual photo's from the final Smooth Smoothie Smooth and the Smoothed Out Smooth Ones concert)

The Heartbeat of America

This past week the results of the American Religious Identification Survey were released (source). This poll is regarded as one of the most comprehensive studies of "how contemporary Americans identify themselves religiously, and how that self-identification has changed over the past generation" (they've also conducted the survey in 1990 and 2001). The survey found that the number of Americans that identify themselves as "Christian" has dropped from 86% in 1990 to 76% in 2008.

My friend and fellow blogger Adam recently commented on the opportunity that these findings hold to remind us of the growing need of lost people. I agree with Adam that our reaction to this survey should not be to circle the wagons and cry about the decaying moral fabric of our culture. I mean, who among us in the church really believe that 76% of Americans are Christian? Perhaps this is a good sign that many people who consider themselves Christian are realizing just how little they invest in their faith. Maybe there are people out there today that would be willing to explore a walk with Christ who would have not thought of it as necessary previously.

People need the Lord. It's not just a rockin' 80's tune... it's the truth.

Untouchable Movies

We're all aware of the biggest trend in movie making today... the Reboot/Remake. It's simple and a safe bet because you take an existing film with a built in audience and add a few cg effects and *boom* a new, old money-maker. IGN.com recently came out with a list of the top 10 films that should be left untouched and un-updated:

1. The Exorcist
2. The Godfather
3. Blade Runner
4. Ghostbusters
5. The Terminator
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark
7. The Wizard of Oz
8. Poltergeist
9. Jaws
10. Alien

I think it's a pretty good list. It's not necessarily a list of the best or most important films, but movies that are unique because they were executed well and a new film would miss the elements that make them great. I absolutely agree with "The Godfather", The Terminator", and "The Wizard of Oz". I'd also add "It's a Wonderful Life", "Citizen Kane", and "Jurassic Park".

What movies would you hate to see remade/rebooted?

Manual Transmission

Has it ever taken you a really long time to read a book? Not due to the extended length of the book or complexity of the subject matter, just for some reason you start to read it but aren't able to find the time to continue. I've been "reading" Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell since September. I've really enjoyed it and been challenged by it and someday I'll finish it.

One of Rob's arguments really stood out to me this past week. He says that we should get rid of the 'Bible as an owners manual' analogy. The analogy is often used because a manual gives us instruction and guides our path. The problem is that we only use owner's manuals when something goes wrong.

Last week a projector stopped working in the church basement. I opened the owner's manual for the first time in the 3 years I've been using the projector. And not only was it the first time that it was used in three years, but it didn't even help with the issue I was facing. There were no problem shooting tips for the lamp inexplicably shutting off. The 50 (english) pages were not even remotely helpful and I'll probably never refer to it again.

The Bible is not a simplified set of unhelpful, vague schematics. It is the wild, uncensored, passionate account of people experiencing the loving God (Bell, 63). I like that.

mother nature

I just saw this commercial on T.V. and I nearly fell over laughing. Too funny...

Man vs. Food 2: Electric Boogaloo

Watching Man vs. Food again. Tonite's episode features none other than food guzzling world champion Joey Chestnut!

Joey just pounded down a 17.5 inch, 5 pound burrito in 3 minutes, 10 seconds.

The picture says it all. [he's 2/3rds of the way done]

what villainy is afoot?!

Quick Poll:

Who is the most evil villain currently on T.V.?














Ben Linus, LOST
















Simon Cowell, AMERICAN IDOL
















General Juma, 24

... or this guy...















Jason Mesnick, THE BACHELOR