New Year's Resolutions for 2006

In the year 2006 I resolve to: Fill my house with more clutter than I already have. Get your resolution here

When we make New Year's resolutions, we do so with every intention of keeping them. But I'll wager few of us actually do.

As I was thinking about what to write for my resolutions for 2006, I tried to keep it simple, so my chances of actually following through would be greater.

My resolutions then, for 2006 are:

1) Be a better dad for my kids.
2) Spend at least 15 minutes a day reading my Bible.
3) Start to dig myself out of debt.
4) Apply to grad school to get my masters degree.
5) Get my writing career off of the ground.
7) Procrastinate less and make better use of my time.
8) Not to worry about being single in 2006. God has someone special in mind for me. Will this be the year I meet her?

Happy New Year everyone.

How well do you know the Bible?

I've read this before, somewhere. Maybe you have too. This comes from an e-mail my infamous Grandmother sent to me. Since I see nothing controversial here, I thought I'd share it with you. Enjoy.

PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE WORDING AND SPELLING. IF YOU KNOW THE BIBLE EVEN A LITTLE, YOU'LL FIND THIS HILARIOUS!

IT COMES FROM A CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEST KIDS WERE ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ABOUT THE BIBLE WERE WRITTEN BY CHILDREN. THEY HAVE NOT BEEN RETOUCHED NOR CORRECTED.

INCORRECT SPELLING HAS BEEN LEFT IN

1. IN THE FIRST BOOK OF THE BIBLE, GUINESSIS, GOD GOT TIRED OF CREATING THE WORLD SO HE TOOK THE SABBATH OFF.

2. ADAM AND EVE WERE CREATED FROM AN APPLE TREE. NOAH'S WIFE WAS JOAN OF ARK NOAH BUILT AND ARK AND THE ANIMALS CAME ON IN PEARS.

3. LOTS WIFE WAS A PILLAR OF SALT DURING THE DAY, BUT A BALL OF FIRE DURING THE NIGHT.

4. THE JEWS WERE A PROUD PEOPLE AND THROUGHOUT HISTORY. THEY HAD TROUBLE WITH UNSYMPATHETIC GENITALS.

5. SAMPSON WAS A STRONGMAN WHO LET HIMSELF BE LED ASTRAY BY A JEZEBEL LIKE DELILAH.

6. SAMSON SLAYED THE PHILISTINES WITH THE AXE OF THE APOSTLES.

7. MOSES LED THE JEWS TO THE RED SEA WHERE THEY MADE UNLEAVENED BREAD WHICH IS BREAD WITHOUT ANY INGREDIENTS.

8. THE EGYPTIANS WERE ALL DROWNED IN THE DESSERT. AFTERWARDS, MOSES WENT UP TO MOUNT CYANIDE TO GET THE TEN CONDAMENTS.

9. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT WAS WHEN EVE TOLD ADAM TO EAT THE APPLE.

10. THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT IS THOU SHALT NOT ADMIT ADULTERY.

11. MOSES DIED BEFORE HE EVER REACHED CANADA. THEN JOSHUA LED THE HEBREWS IN THE BATTLE OF GERITOL.

12. THE GREATEST MIRICLE IN THE BIBLE IS WHEN JOSHUA TOLD HIS SON TO STAND STILL AND HE OBEYED HIM.

13. DAVID WAS A HEBREW KING WHO WAS SKILLED AT PLAYING THE LIAR. HE FOUGHT THE FINKELSTEINS, A RACE OF PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN BIBLICAL TIMES.

14. SOLOMON, ONE OF DAVIDS SONS, HAD 300 WIVES AND 700 PORCUPINES.

15. WHEN MARY HEARD SHE WAS THE MOTHER OF JESUS, SHE SANG THE MAGNA CARTA.

16. WHEN THE THREE WISE GUYS FROM THE EAST SIDE ARRIVED THEY FOUND JESUS IN THE MANAGER.

17. JESUS WAS BORN BECAUSE MARY HAD AN IMMACULATE CONTRAPTION.

18. ST. JOHN THE BLACKSMITH DUMPED WATER ON HIS HEAD.

19. JESUS ENUNCIATED THE GOLDEN RULE, WHICH SAYS TO DO UNTO OTHERS BEFORE THEY DO ONE TO YOU. HE ALSO EXPLAINED A MAN DOTH NOT LIVE BY SWEAT ALONE.

20. IT WAS A MIRICLE WHEN JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND MANAGED TO GET THE TOMBSTONE OFF THE ENTRANCE.

21. THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED THE LORD WERE CALLED THE 12 DECIBELS.

22. THE EPISTELS WERE THE WIVES OF THE APOSTLES.

23. ONE OF THE OPPOSSUMS WAS ST. MATTHEW WHO WAS ALSO A TAXIMAN.

24. ST. PAUL CAVORTED TO CHRISTIANITY, HE PREACHED HOLY ACRIMONY WHICH IS ANOTHER NAME FOR MARRAIGE

25. CHRISTIANS HAVE ONLY ONE SPOUSE. THIS IS CALLED MONOTONY!

Just around the corner

Here's the dilemma:

I've been trying to leave a new post every day. Why? Because it's challenging to try and come up with interesting things to write about that you, my audience, might find interesting or amusing. But by leaving a new post everyday, some of you might not scroll down to see what you have missed. You know just read the most current post and forget the rest...

So should I leave fewer posts so that I'll be more certain that they will be seen, read and commented on by everyone who cares to? Criticism in the comments is welcome, too - as long as it's constructive and not mean spirited.

I write this because I'm planning on revealing more of me, the man behind the monster, in the coming days. And since I'm going to put forth the effort, I wouldn't want you to miss out. Don't say I didn't warn you in advance! ;>) Plus, I like the attention....

I commented on lccb's blog earlier this evening (slightly edited & expanded upon here) in response to her post for today because - I love to comment on other people's blogs and because similar thoughts have been going thru my head recently as well (disturbing thought, I know):

Funny you should mention this, because I've been thinking about the same kind of thing recently...

As an aspiring wannabe author, I find blogging enjoyable and am glad my friend american guy (see my link for him on my blog) introduced me to it.

"They" (writing professionals) always tell you (wannabe writers) to write every day, to keep the mind flowing with thoughts and fresh with ideas. For me, blogging provides an outlet for that.

These days, I often find myself thinking, "what a good post that would make" or what the reaction to one of my posts would be to those that regularly read my blog and for those who accidentally stumble upon it. For this reason, I'll read and edit my posts a gazillion times if I have to - to correct typo's, spelling, grammatical and any other errors I find when proofreading it. I'm the self proclaimed world's worst typist and my own worst critic.

Plus I love the anonymity of blogging. Which is why I'll never post a picture of me or my kids or anyone I know who may happen to read what I write. Nor will I give out my real name and why I refer to people I know as initials - to protect the innocent. And I love that I can selectively choose to reveal more of myself to certain people, which I have done (you know who you are...lucky people (or cursed, depending on your perspective)).

I also love the community spirit here in bloggerland. I, too, consider many people here to be my friends, even though we've never physically met. And if I bumped into you in the middle of the street (or in some dark alley) you wouldn't know me from Adam.

Some of the blogs I've linked to here are authored by people who hold similar views to my own. Some are waaay out of charachter for me, which is the voyeur in me trying to escape. I can (sort of) inhabit the lives of people whom I'd probably have little or nothing in common with otherwise and see their perspectives on life and invite them to see mine. That is very refreshing to see how similar and different we all can be, all at the same time.

To you all out there, I am green, but that's just a pseudonym.

True, what we write is a reflection of our personalities (in some way) or at least we should try to make it that way. Whether we succeed or not depends upon many things...

I didn't know dreams could do that...

A few nights ago, last Friday night I believe, I went to bed around midnight as I always do. I went to bed feeling basically fine.

Sometime after I fell asleep I had a dream that had to do with my ex-wife taking me to court, suing me over something I had no control over. In the dream, she was suing me because the hard drive for the new desktop computer that she bought crashed beyond repair or salvage. She apparently wanted me to pay for a replacement hard drive.

In the dream, I remember getting very upset. You know when you are yelling at the top of your lungs while your face turns red and veins are popping out of your neck? That kind of mad. Insanely mad.

Anyway, when I woke up from the dream I had a splitting headache. It was so bad that I had to get out of bed and take two naproxen (generic for Aleve) to calm down and get back to sleep.

WEIRD!

Just in case you are worried about me now, let me tell you that it is VERY untypical of me to get that upset over anything in real life. Normally I think I'm too calm and laid back to get upset.

That's one thing that frustrated the heck out of my ex. She was a very emotional person, so it would annoy her that she'd be upset about things that I wouldn't be. She always said that I don't get upset as much as I ought to and that instead of getting upset I'd hold my emotions inside. For better or worse, this may be true- to a point.

There were a few instances in my marriage where a situation happened where she was upset because she knew or thought I'd be upset, and that was upsetting to her. But in those instances I was always able to keep my head about me and stay calm.

Starting the process all over again

My half-birthday always falls on Christmas. So now I'm officially closer to 37 than I am to 36. Yippee!! But that's cool because I'd rather be older than younger. My daughter's favorite stuffed animal is a teddy bear that I gave her when she was six months old. I gave it to her then because I got it when I was six months old (Christmas 1969 for the mathematically challenged) and I liked the symmetry in that. Yes- the teddy bear, which V calls "Special Bear" is now 36. And in pretty fine shape for a toy of that age.

---

In early 2004, when I was separated, almost divorced, living at my parent's house and basically unemployed (working under the table for my brother doesn't count) I spent a good deal of money to hire a company to rework my resume and help me find a "career" instead of just a job. Then, just as I was getting started with their tailor made program for me, I lucked, networked, landed, the job at my present employer. Being desperate at the time, I took it and didn't look back. That meant not using all of the work that was done on my behalf, because I was now "gainfully" employed.

Fast forward to early this month. With my ever shrinking ability to meet the bills every month and my new found "dissatisfaction" with the present employer, I have gone back to this same company to help me again. Fortunately, the contract we signed when I hired them is good for five years, so I've already paid for their services. (Well technically not, but that's another story).

Today I had a meeting with my contact there and we began setting up preliminaries for redoing my resume and restarting the campaign I abandoned last year. I have a "homework" assignment due before my next meeting a week from today. Possibly one or two more meetings to get things in order before the fun of sending resumes out begins.

I hate looking for jobs, even when I'm still employed...

Christmas unwrapped

So Christmas is done for another year. Thankfully.

I do enjoy the holiday but there is just so much stress involved, as I'm sure you can relate. So that is why I tried to be serious in the posts leading up to and on Christmas. It was a good way for me to keep focused on the things at hand.

On Christmas morning, my kids woke up sometime after 6 AM but didn't get me up until 7:15. After tearing thru the meager presents I had for them, we had breakfast and prepared to go to church. Christmas doesn't often fall on a Sunday. In my likely remaining lifetime, Christmas will fall on a Sunday six more times: in 2011, 2016, 2022, 2033, 2039 and 2044. If I'm lucky I might be able to add three more in 2050, 2061 and 2067, when I'll be 98. Heck, my grandfather is 96 at present and still going strong (relatively speaking) for a nanogenerian. My grandmother died at 94 in 2001. My other grandmother is 88. So I have a chance based on heredity.

Anyway, my pastor just recently returned from leading a group to Israel and was the inspiration behind yesterday's post about Bethlehem. Don't miss it.

We drove to my parent's house and exchanged more gifts with the fam and had a wonderful turkey dinner with all of the fixins. I'm all over that tryptophan...

We met my ex at our usual meeting spot at 5 PM and then I went home and watched football while I wrote.

V spent the afternoon today with one of her friends from the old neighborhood, while M and I hung out at my apartment. My ex dropped them off so that she could go and babysit for her niece without distraction.

It rained all day today, sometimes really hard - which was good. That means it was too warm for snow. Unusual for central New England this time of the year to be this warm. No wonder why I have a cold right now...

"House of Bread"

With every good story, there is a beginning. So it is with Christmas. Let’s take a closer look at where this story began…

About five or six miles south of Jerusalem, today located in the Palestinian West Bank, is a small town called Bethlehem. The City of David. The birthplace of Jesus. The picture on the left is the grotto where Jesus is believed to have been born. It is located inside The Church of the Nativity, constructed in the sixth century AD. This building replaced another church, dated from 326 AD. The writings of Justin Martyr, around 160 AD, declare that this cave had long been a venerated site for Christians.

In every instance in the Old Testament, the word for Bethlehem in Hebrew is Beyth Lechem (bayth-leh’-khem) and means “house of bread.” Bethlehem is also linked ten times with Judah in Southern Israel (Heb. Y’huwdah (yeh-hoo-daw’). There is another Bethlehem closer to and on the west side of the Sea of Galilee, so it's important to make this distinction.

What are some Biblical events that happened in Old Testament Bethlehem, prior to Jesus' birth?

a) Rachel, wife of Jacob, after giving birth to her son Benjamin, dies and is buried in Bethlehem:

16And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
17And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
18And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
19And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
20And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day. Genesis 35:16-20 KJV

b) Jacob is sick and near death. His son Joseph comes to visit and mentions Rachel’s tomb.

7And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem. Genesis 48:7 KJV

c) The next time Bethlehem is mentioned can be found in the book of Ruth, where Ruth settles with her mother in law Naomi. She meets and marries Boaz and ultimately becomes the great, great grandmother of King David.
d) Bethlehem is the town where David was raised and grew up. 1 & 2 Samuel mentions Bethlehem in several verses ( 1 Sam. 16:4; 17:15; 20:6,28; 2 Sam. 2:32; 23:14-16,24) when David became King of Israel instead of Saul. 1 and 2 Chronicles also mentions Bethlehem in reference to King David (1 Chr. 11:16-18, 26 & 2 Chr. 11:6).

To me, the most interesting reference to Bethlehem in the Old Testament is found in Micah 5:2-3 KJV.

2But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
3Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

Micah was written in the latter half of the 8th century BC, more than 700 years before the birth of Christ. The Jews clearly believed this revealed the birthplace of the Messiah, as evidenced in Matthew 2:5. “Ruler in Israel” refers to a king from David’s line. “From of old, from everlasting” clearly refers to the eternality of the one who is to be born here in Bethlehem. “She which travaileth hath brought forth” is a reference to Mary, the human mother of Christ.

In the New Testament, Bethlehem is only mentioned eight times, all in the Gospels, primarily in Matthew and Luke and once in John and all in reference to Jesus birth:

1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
7Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
12And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
13And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Matthew 2:1-16 KJV

1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. Luke 2:1-15 KJV

42Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? John 7:42 KJV

It is also interesting that Jesus refers to himself as "the Bread of Life" in John 6.

In 1867, Phillips Brooks wrote this famous Christmas carol, which you can listen to here:

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth!

How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv’n;
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

Where children pure and happy pray to the blessèd Child,
Where misery cries out to Thee, Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching and faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, and Christmas comes once more.

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!

I hope that you all have a Merry Christmas.

Luke 1:26-56 and 2:1-40 NIV

The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God."

38"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth
39At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
Mary's Song
46And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers."
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Luke 2
The Birth of Jesus
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.
4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Jesus Presented in the Temple
21On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
22When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"[b]), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."[c]

25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss[d] your servant in peace.
30For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."

33The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[e] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

39When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

Footnotes:

Luke 1:26 That is the sixth month of Elisabeth's pregnancy.
Luke 1:35 Or So the child to be born will be called holy,
Luke 2:11 Or Messiah. "The Christ" (Greek) and "the Messiah" (Hebrew) both mean "the Anointed One"; also in verse 26.
Luke 2:23 Exodus 13:2,12
Luke 2:24 Lev. 12:8
Luke 2:29 Or promised, / now dismiss
Luke 2:37 Or widow for eighty-four years

Reprinted from www.biblegateway.com

Matthew 1:18-2:23 NIV

The Birth of Jesus Christ
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[a] because he will save his people from their sins."

22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[b]—which means, "God with us."

24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 2
The Visit of the Magi
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[c] from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east[d] and have come to worship him."
3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ[e] was to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:

6" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'[f]"

7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east[g] went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt
13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."[h]
16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18"A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more."[i]

The Return to Nazareth
19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."
21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

Footnotes:

Matthew 1:21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.
Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14
Matthew 2:1 Traditionally Wise Men
Matthew 2:2 Or star when it rose
Matthew 2:4 Or Messiah
Matthew 2:6 Micah 5:2
Matthew 2:9 Or seen when it rose
Matthew 2:15 Hosea 11:1
Matthew 2:18 Jer. 31:15

Reprinted from www.biblegateway.com

Christmas plans and a note to #18.

Most people I know, here in real life and in the blogosphere have grand plans for Christmas. Being with family and away from their computers.

Not me. Not entirely.

My kids and I will be at my parents house for Christmas dinner, after going to church in the morning and opening some presents before that.

Fortunately, my parents only live about 40 minutes away by car, and they have a computer with internet access. So even though I won't be "home" for part of the day, I should still be within shouting distance of a computer.

Have no fear, my friends. I, green, shall not be far away. And I suspect I'll continue posting throughout the holiday weekend, just in case you get bored with the coal Santa will give you in your stocking, and need something to do. Plus, the internet is my biggest procrastination device.

What would I do without it? (No need to answer that....)

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I've been hesitant to post about this, or just maybe too depressed about it but I must make mention of Johnny Damon's defection to the Yankees.

Johnny, of all the other teams to sign with, why the Evil Empire? Just because they offered you $12,000,000 more than the Sox were offering? Don't you know that they would have made a counter offer to you IF you had just been patient? Now you know I can't root for you and in fact must root against you. Just like I did for Wade Boggs and Roger Clemens when they crossed the line and signed with Noo Yawk. Instantly they became the enemy and now so are you. Any other team, Johnny and I'd still be in your corner. Not for the next four years, though. Even after all you've done for Boston, don't expect a warm friendly welcome back to Fenway at all in 2006. Nope, don't even expect one. Didn't you say last summer (you did) that you couldn't see yourself ever playing for the Yankees? And that you loved Boston and fell in love with the city? Don't you know you'll just be another player there? That you won't have that legendary status in the Big Apple? Johnny, you were a cult hero in the Hub, in case you missed it. Is the loss of your beard and long hair plus the gain of $12 million really worth losing all of that?

Apparently so.

Damn Yankees.

The end result

OK friends, here's a question for you. Ready?

Here's another: Have you ever had something (or a list of things) to do, know you have to do them sooner or later and not have the energy or desire to do them?

You're a liar if you said NO.

This my friends is called P R O C R A S T I N A T I O N!

And I seem to have it in spades. How or why did I get this way? I couldn't begin to tell you. It doesn't help that I was diagnosed at one time with ADD. It doesn't help that here at home there are soooo many distractions which keep me from doing the things that I know I need to do.

I know that I need to stop being distracted as easily, but that is a tremendous uphill battle. Most of the time I feel like I'm taking one step forward and two steps backward.

Have you ever heard of Stenderup's Law? It says that "the sooner you fall behind, the more time you will have to catch up." That seems to be the story of my life.

It's gotten so bad that I think my life is in a holding pattern, if you know what I mean. I know what I need to do in order to move my life along to the next level, to the next set of challenges but somehow am perpetually and continually stuck in the mud.

How many of you are familiar with the story of Jonah? Well folks, in a way you could say that I'm stuck right now in the belly of the whale. Now how do I get out?

So I'm looking for how you deal with this problem in your own life and what helps you to overcome it? What helps you to climb the mountain?

More silly tests...

...because it's too late to think of anything intelligent to post tonight.

I have a few good posts in the works (thought process). Be patient people, you'll be subjected to them soon enough.

What Your Sleeping Position Says

You have a passion for everything - including sleeping. Outgoing and brash, you tend to still shock those who know you well. You tend to be selfish. You are the most likely type to hog the covers. You gravitate toward comfort and don't like extreme situations.

What Does Your Sleeping Position Say About You?

You Should Learn Japanese

You're cutting edge, and you are ready to delve into wacky Japanese culture. From English to eating contests, you're born to be a crazy gaijin. Saiko!

What Language Should You Learn?

Recent rants & observations

I spoke to R, my boss, last Wednesday. I made my suggestions for improvement in some of the paperwork to him and he seemed to take my suggestions well. He confirmed that I am on the owner's shit list. Apparently the only way to get off of it is for someone to step up and piss him off more to change the focus of his annoyance. R also told me that at present, L would not even consider raising my salary - even up to industry standard level. Because I'm not viewed in the best light right now and considering that I'm consistently having to borrow money to make ends meet means that I've started looking for other employment. Too bad really, because I generally like my job.

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M lost one of his two front teeth last week and the other one is hanging by a nerve. I kept telling him all weekend just to pull it out, but he would not do it. V was all upset about sporting her first real zit. Of course it was right on the front of her nose. I just can't wait until she's a teenager...

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A few nights ago I pulled into the parking lot next to my building and there was a car in the first space to the left of the door. This car was taking up two spaces. Combined with the snow build up in the lot and that building management did not repaint the lines in the lot as I suggested and that they said they would do got me really annoyed. So much that I scribbled out a note to the owner of the offending vehicle - not so gently telling this person the appropriate use of parking spaces and stuck it under the windshield wiper before I went into my apartment.

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As I was waiting at a traffic light the other day I could see the people in the car in front of me. The man was driving and the woman was in the passenger seat. They seemed to be arguing about what cd to listen to. Seemed to me that they were handling these cd's improperly, putting their fingerprints all over the shiny, recorded side. Great way to take care of your stuff.

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I admire a multi-tasker. Last Monday at Tae Kwan Do, one of the parents, a woman who has one kid in the class, was able to entertain her other three kids at the same time. She was calmly talking to one, reading to another and breast-feeding the infant, all while maintaining a level of calm I could never muster.

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Tonight was my last night to take V and M to their Tae Kwan Do class, and I am so glad. The ex's Spanish class is over and now she'll be there to take them. I enjoy spending time with my kids any chance I get, but doing this was a pain. Ruined any productivity I had hoped to achieve on these Mondays off of mine. Their class is from 5:30 to 6:30 and ex's class was from 5-6:30 but that wasn't the problem. I live in Nashua. Ex lives in Weare, which is about an hour drive away. Ex's Spanish class was at the hospital where she works, which is in Nashua. So I had to leave my place at 2:45 each Monday to get to her house by 3:45 so she could get back to Nashua by 4:45. She gets back to her house around 7:30 and I never got out of there before 7:45 due to speaking with the ex and the kids giving me good bye hugs. That means at the earliest, I get home at 8:45. So not counting actual class time, thats five hours of wasted time traveling and sitting around. I'd have much less problem with it if the ex had decided to buy a house closer to where I am and to where she works.

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On the way home tonight the radio station I was listening to played these songs, along with a few others: Stayin' Alive (Bee Gees), Manic Monday (Bangles), Come Sail Away (Styx) and Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves). Their motto is that they'll play anything. I like that. I can't tell you how long it's been since I've heard Stayin' Alive or anything from the Bee Gees for that matter.

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Well, I suppose that's all for now.

Priceless

Matinee tickets for three: $17

Meduim Popcorn: $4

Kids first experience in a movie theater: priceless

Ok, so I'll admit I'm stealing from a tv commercial here. Anyway, I had been seeing the previews for Narnia for weeks and told my kids I wanted them to see it with me. I especially wanted to see it because I had recently read the book (#2 of 7 in the series.) M wanted to go but V did not - until this weekend.

In her computer lab at school last week, she played some sort of game involving Narnia and liked it. So when the kids came over this weekend the first thing V said to me was that she now wanted to go see Narnia in the movie theater with me. Kewl.

So we went to the movies instead of going to church. I know, my bad. This was their first time actually going to a movie theater. I thought they'd like the movie, but wasn't sure if they would be able to sit through the whole thing without needing a snack break or to use the bathroom.

I made sure they went to the restroom before we left for the theater and they tried again once we got there, before the movie started. This because I warned them that I was not going to get up during the movie to take them to the restroom. If they needed to go *during* the movie, that they would have to hold it until the end, when we would ALL use the bathroom. To aid in matters, I only bought popcorn for them - no drinks. M and I demolished the popcorn before the previews even started. I offered some to V several times but she didn't want any. I of course, snuck in a soda for myself, knowing I could hold it if need be. As soon as I opened the can my daughter noticed and commented. Life is unfair sometimes.

The movie was excellent and I highly recommend it. Definitely needs to be seen on the big screen, though. The special effects were excellent. I think they did a great job staying true to the book. I don't think they added much, if anything. If you haven't read the book or are generally unfamiliar with the story, I don't want to spoil it for you. So I'm not going to give away any plot details here. I think they did an excellent casting job for the most part, though I would have chosen another actress other than Tilda Swinton to play the white witch Jadis. She wasn't bad in the part, just not as wickedly beautiful as the books make her out to be.

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Getting the weekend off to a good start was the Patriots winning on Saturday, dominating Tampa Bay 28-0. They won the AFC East and ensured themselves of a home playoff game on the weekend of January 7-8, 2006. Two more games to go in the regular season, then the title defense begins in earnest. Don't underestimate the champs, my friends. That's all I can tell you.

By virtue of the results of this weekends games, the Patriots opponents for 2006 are set.

HOME: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears.

AWAY: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers.

Andy Rooney is great!

BUT misquoting him is not.

I've always loved reading Andy Rooney's essays and his little commentary bits at the end of "60 Minutes". My mom found a book at work recently that is a compilation of his "60 Minutes" commentary from 1982-2003. I love it, and I still do.

But...

...because I'm human, I make mistakes. The piece attributed here to Andy Rooney was something that was emailed to me recently. It sounded good but was shown to me to be inaccurate by my friend american guy.

Here's the link that he provided to me. What you'll read is essentially what was posted here plus Andy Rooney's denial that this bit was said or written by him.

I have too much respect for Andy Rooney's writing and views to leave that post up on this blog, which is why I have replaced it with this.

Kids say the darndest things

TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America.
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America?
CLASS: Maria.
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TEACHER: Why are you late, Frank?
FRANK: Because of the sign.
TEACHER: What sign?
FRANK: The one that says, "School Ahead, Go Slow."
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TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
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TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell "crocodile?"
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L
TEACHER: No, that's wrong .
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
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TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
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TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years
ago.
WINNIE: Me!
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TEACHER: Goss, why do you always get so dirty?
GOSS: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
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TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with "I."
MILLIE: I is...
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, "I am."
MILLIE: All right... "I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."
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TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted doing it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the ax in his hand.
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TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to. My Mom is a good cook.
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TEACHER: Clyde, your composition on "My Dog" is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, teacher. It's the same dog.
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TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher.

Kissing test

More silly tests to distract you from the real agenda....

You're an Expert Kisser

You're a kissing pro, but it's all about quality and not quantity You've perfected your kissing technique and can knock anyone's socks off And you're adaptable, giving each partner what they crave When it comes down to it, your kisses are truly unforgettable

What Kind of Kisser Are You?

Left or Right Brained

OK, because I love these little tests.... let the stealing continue (since I stole it from ...)

You Are 65% Left Brained, 35% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Alias 5.9: The Horizon

Michael Vaughn arrives in Sydney's apartment and starts preparing dinner. He also tells a very pregnant Sydney that she is going to be a great mother. Syd looks at herself in a mirror and sees a vision of herself, strapped in, with wires attached to her head. She regains consciousness and finds out that the vision is reality and "recently" being with Michael Vaughn was part of a dream. A doctor injects her with a chemical and she protests helplessly.

Two days earlier, Peyton stabs a man who has access to CIA archives in San Francisco. She breaks in and retrieves Vaughn's files. She calls Aldo Desantis and arranges a meeting.

At the APO briefing room, Jack tells them that the CIA archives were breached and they had identified Peyton as part of Prophet Five. He added that she stole files of killed agents in the line of duty, including journals and protocols. Syd knew that he meant Vaughn. As Jack tasks Sloane to oversee Rachel analyze the intel, he asks Syd to meet with Renee Rienne who might provide information about Prophet Five's motives.

In a warehouse, Peyton's team listens on mission tapes. This leads them to believe that Vaughn had told Sydney crucial information about Prophet Five, and Sydney might not even be aware of it. Peyton calls Desantis and he recommends a doctor who specializes in extracting information.

In Madrid, Sydney meets with Renee who confirmed that Vaughn didn't keep anything on record related to Prophet Five. Just then, Syd notices two men moving menacingly toward them. She and Renee start moving away. Though Renee kills the two men, Sydney gets abducted by another group and is thrown into a van. As another van attempts to follow Sydney's, Renee shoots it and opens the door to find Desantis.

Still trapped and bound in the interrogation room, Sydney listens to the doctor explain to observers behind a one-way mirror that the chemical he injected will force hypnosis. When the doctor asks her to find a happy moment with Michael Vaughn, Syd's subconscious reverts back to the time Vaughn had proposed to her. In this dream state, she gains awareness and frantically tells Vaughn in the dream that Prophet Five is using her. Vaughn is taken aback at Syd's knowledge of Prophet Five.

Renee contacts APO and tells Jack about Syd's abduction. Jack moves the team to locate Sydney and points out that since Desantis is involved, this means involvement of Prophet Five experimental medical procedures. Jack asks Sloane if he knew another Prophet Five contact and Sloane denies it. Later, Sloane privately begs his Prophet Five contact to plead for Sydney's release but to no avail.

At the lab, the doctor continues the regressive process attached to Sydney's memory of Vaughn. She recalls speaking to Vaughn on a hospital bed minutes before she lost him, and her conscious mind breaks through in this memory and starts talking to Vaughn about Prophet Five once again. Living in that state, she realizes that the drink she had given him that was recommended by the nurse caused Vaughn's body to crash. As she refused to let him die, Vaughn tells her to let him go, since this is the only way to defeat the people holding her captive. She recalls another memory where they were stuck in a jail cell, and she refuses to let Vaughn go.

Jack interrogates Desantis and threatens to torture him more after cutting one of his ears off. Just then, Renee finds a recurring address located in Hungary through a notebook that she retrieved from Desantis. Jack realizes that one of the dates listed is Sydney's delivery date. Jack leaves the room and Renee shoots Desantis.

Meanwhile, the doctor once again urges Sydney to dive into her memory. She recalls a moment where she speaks with Vaughn at the pier, and in a similar pattern, Vaughn urges her to let the memory of him go before they hurt her further. In the memory, Syd's phone rings and she hears the doctor's voice on the other end, asking her to draw a map. In the memory, Syd and Vaughn tell each other that they give each other strength.

Syd's memory jumps back to one of her first meetings with Vaughn, where they spoke about SD-6. When Vaughn shows Syd the real map of SD-6, the doctor asks a semi-conscious Sydney to read the information on the map. After Syd says "X-23 Norte," the observer from behind the mirror tells the doctor to end this procedure. A satisfied Irina Derevko prepares to leave and orders Peyton to tell their associates that the location has been found, and to keep Syd comfortable.

In a deserted beach inside Syd's head, she meets with Vaughn. They listen to the waves and Syd expresses how much she wants to stay with him. Vaughn encourages her and tells her that together, they will defeat these people -especially after they find out that Syd had given them the wrong information. He has to go so they can stop using her.

Renee and Jack arrive in the Hungarian address listed in Desantis' notebook. They go into a deserted building, and was surprised to find a room where a nursery was set up. Meanwhile, with the chemicals wearing off, Sydney opens her eyes and finds Peyton unstrapping her. With one hand, Syd stabs Peyton with the drug and escapes. Still groggy, she finds her way around narrow corridors. She bursts through a door and realizes that she is in a ship, in the middle of an ocean.

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That mysterious person with an interest in Syd and the baby was Sydney's mother, Irina Derevko (Lena Olin). Vaughn (Michael Vartan) had a cameo role tonight, through drugs and Sydney's memory. This was a good episode. Left us with a bit of a cliffhanger until next time.

ALIAS is going on hiatus until sometime in March, due to JG's real life maternity leave (now). They did not say specifically when the next episode will be on in March, just that it would be then. The plan apparently is for ABC to reintroduce the show then and run solid for 13 weeks, until the end of the season/series finale. SO when the show resumes, so will my updates. Not that I write them, but I cut & paste them from ABC's web page.

Romantic Lover Test

The Romantic Lover

68% partner focus, 57% aggressiveness, 40% adventurousness.
Based on the results of this test, it is highly likely that:

You prefer your romance and love to be traditional rather than daring or out-of-the-ordinary, you would rather pursue than be pursued and, when it comes to physical love, your satisfaction comes more from providing a wonderful time to your partner than simply seeking your own.

This places you in the Lover Style of: The Romantic Lover.

The Romantic Lover is a wonderful Lover Style, and is the hallmark of young love--the Romantic Lover often loves the idea of being in love, and being a wonderful lover, and so they try to bring their prospective partners every bit of joy or happiness that they can. They are the serenaders, and the ones to rent carriages in the park or take a gondola ride down a canal. The Romantic Lover is a treasure to find, though they sometimes are prone to being hurt if their advances are ignored or harshly rebuffed.

In terms of physical love, the Romantic Lover can seem shy, but usually it is simply a by-product of wanting to be perfect for their lover, and often needs some extra encouragement and re-assurance to truly feel at ease. Given a special, intimate evening, and the right lover, the Romantic Lover can be a delight in bed.

Best Compatibility can probably be found with: The Classic Lover (most of all) or the Suave Lover, or the Exotic Lover.

Congratulations!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
You scored higher than 73% on partner focus
You scored higher than 49% on aggressiveness
You scored higher than 19% on adventurousness


The Romantic Lover
68% partner focus, 57% aggressiveness, 40% adventurousness

Based on the results of this test, it is highly likely that:

You prefer your romance and love to be traditional rather than daring or out-of-the-ordinary, you would rather pursue than be pursued and, when it comes to physical love, your satisfaction comes more from providing a wonderful time to your partner than simply seeking your own.

This places you in the Lover Style of: The Romantic Lover.

The Romantic Lover is a wonderful Lover Style, and is the hallmark of young love--the Romantic Lover often loves the idea of being in love, and being a wonderful lover, and so they try to bring their prospective partners every bit of joy or happiness that they can. They are the serenaders, and the ones to rent carriages in the park or take a gondola ride down a canal. The Romantic Lover is a treasure to find, though they sometimes are prone to being hurt if their advances are ignored or harshly rebuffed.

In terms of physical love, the Romantic Lover can seem shy, but usually it is simply a by-product of wanting to be perfect for their lover, and often needs some extra encouragement and re-assurance to truly feel at ease. Given a special, intimate evening, and the right lover, the Romantic Lover can be a delight in bed.

Best Compatibility can probably be found with: The Classic Lover (most of all) or the Suave Lover, or the Exotic Lover.

Congratulations!

Link: The Lover Style Profile Test

Weekend wrap-up

The Patriots moved one step closer to locking up the AFC East today, routing Buffalo on the road 35-7. The Patriots set a franchise record with 32 first downs in the game and converted about 70% of their third down opportunities. They also had the ball for almost 42 minutes. They just flat out dominated this game, which they should have. The scary thing for other teams in the league is that the Patriots appear to be getting healthy at the most critical time of the season. I'm guessing that the Patriots are one team that no one will want to play in the playoffs, including Indy, who beat up the Pats earlier this year. Tough game next Saturday vs. Tampa Bay at the Razor. Hopefully the weather will be bad. Tampa should not be used to playing in bad weather and the Patriots play well in it.

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As I mentioned last night, my choice for tonight's movie was the original "King Kong". Horrible, stiff acting but overall a great monster movie. State of the art special effects for its time. What a classic scene near the end, King Kong fighting the planes on top of the Empire State Building. M loved it as I thought he would. V said it was interesting, but she did watch the whole thing, which was great.

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We did not go to church today, even though the sky was clear. There is really no excuse for that, so I won't make one up. We didn't even go out to the store, even though I could have used some quarters in order to do another load of laundry. Oh well, I did one load yesterday - which was key, since I was out of a crucial piece of clean clothing.

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I have tomorrow off, but that will change in January. I've asked to go back to the regular five day, eight hour per work week instead of four day, ten hour per that I've been working for the last couple of months.

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The ex will come and pick up the kids in the morning for school and I'll need to take them to their martial arts class tomorrow night. I can't wait until this duty is done.

Saturdays were made for errands

Normally I buy into that statement 100%. Not today.

The only place we HAD to go was the grocery store. So my kids and I went out to do that this afternoon. We didn't go to the post office. We didn't go to the recycle center. We didn't go visit my family. All things we routinely do on Saturdays. We did the one errand that we had to do out and about, then came back to the apartment and that was it.

My kids did help me wrap some Christmas presents for some of my family. Otherwise we just hung out.

I made them watch one of my favorite Disney movies, the original 'Herbie' movie, "The Love Bug". I've always had a thing for the old style VW Beetle. I think that's the main reason why I like this movie. It's by no means a classic, but it is good family entertainment. My daughter seemed to like it once she got into it, but my son did not. That disappointed me a bit. Aren't biys supposed to like movies about cars? Apparently not at six years old.

My daughter V chose the movie tonight, and she picked "Anastasia". That was good as it isn't one they regularly pick. Tomorrow night is my choice. I know already what I'm going to pick. I've already told them it is a black and white movie, made before there were movies in color. My daughter thinks it'll be bad because it's not in color. I'm actually looking forward to watching it too, because I've never seen it. I saw the 1976 remake with Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange and I'll probably see the new version coming out soon because it's directed by the estimable Mr. Peter Jackson.

Of course I'm referring to the original King Kong, which came out on DVD a few weeks ago. I'll tell you how we liked it in tomorrow's post.

My son M should like it because he likes apes & monkeys. I'm not too sure what my daughter V will think once she sees it OR even if she'll watch it. It came out in like 1933 so there won't be any nudity or graphic sex, 'least I don't think so, anyway. Maybe a bit of violence but surely it couldn't be any worse than the violence in the programs/cartoons they watch these days.

What else did we/I do today? I sent an email to a friend, received a reply and sent a reply back. I'm doing a load of laundry and remaking my bed with nice clean sheets. We made chocolate/peanut butter chip brownies this evening, which we had for dessert. Yum. I'm also going through some of the stacks of papers lying around, selectively shredding some and saving others. While V & M were watching the movie tonight, I was reading the back posts of two new bloggers to my list of links, avery and wickedly blonde. These are two interesting reads who probably aren't aware I've linked them, yet. So check them out, ok?

You know, I've noticed that most of the blogs I've linked to are written by women. Why is that, I wonder? Could it be because I'm a single guy? Maybe, maybe not. Primarily it's becasue they are well written and interesting. And if I didn't link them, I'd forget their URL's, which would be a bad move on my part.

Right now I've got the tv on to "The Fugitive", because that's the best thing that's on, though I'm not really watching it. It's just on for background noise, which is what I do most of the time instead of listening to a music CD.

Oh well, back to work. The night is young...

First big snowstorm of the season :o(

This morning, as I groggily (and vey reluctantly I should say) got out of bed, I was greeted by the first major snowstorm of the 2005-06 season.

It started somewhere between 5:30-6:00 AM and snowed at a good clip for most of the day. I'd say southern New Hampshire/northeastern Massachusetts got between 12-15" of the white stuff. During the early afternoon the snow was really falling hard and fast. So hard in fact that I got let out of work four hours early, at 2 PM. The highways were a mess, back roads were worse and the visibility was next to nothing in the white out conditions I faced on my ride home. This 3.2 mile commute normally takes me 7 minutes. This afternoon it took close to 25 minutes.

As I was leaving work I called my ex and volunteered to meet her halfway with the kids. Normally she'd drop them off at my apartment sometime after 6 PM. But I didn't want her to drive all the way today becasue the roads were horrible as the plow crews were just getting started on the serious cleanup. Seriously, I could have taken the easy way out - and wanted to - letting her do all of the driving and taking all of the risk. But that's not what I'm all about. Really.

It must have ended around 3:00 PM or so, because when she called around 4:00 it had stopped snowing and the sky was a clear blue, with those wispy clouds that you often see on a warm summer day. And as a bonus a minor winter sunset was beginning to form on the horizon. So driving to meet her wasn't as bad as it could have been, fortunately.

A's landscaping company does the plowing for my company. This contract was in effect, a reward for the great job they did reworking the landscaping this past summer and re-claiming the surprisingly large lawn outside the mirrored windows that I look out of every day from two-foot tall weeds, crabgrass and who knows what else. If you've read my earlier posts, you'd know that A is my little bro, and I recommended his company to the powers-that-be that he be hired to oversee and do the job. Resulting in, as I knew there would be, compliments to A and his crew and to me for the recommendation because I knew what good work he does.

Anyway, A brought both of his trucks out in the mid-morning, when we had maybe four inches maximum on the ground. He was back hard at work with both of his trucks plowing away when I came out of the building at 2:00 to begin the process of unburying my van.

All day I wondered how my blogger friends in Texas would deal with the snow. Considering that in the Dallas area, schools let out early on Wednesday for a bit of snow and icy roads and cancelled school altogether on Thursday for a minimal amount of snow, which for me, a hardy lifelong (but reluctant) New Englander is nothing. For folks in the warmer parts of the country, snow must be a great hassle for two main reasons: a) you're probably not used to getting very much snow and b) the lack of major snow removal equipment (plows, sanding trucks, etc.).

But feel not bad folks, because I envy your warm(er) weather this time of year and would gladly trade places with you so I can get out of the cold. I AM NOT a fan of winter AT ALL. I say snow for Christmas is fine. But bring on spring as soon as Christmas is over, because I can't wait for the unofficial beginning of spring (when pitchers and catchers report to FL and AZ for Spring Training.)

If any of you, my Texas blogger friends, are reading this - can you relate to me exactly how much snow you got this week? I'm curious and would appreciate the information.

What color should your eyes be?

Your Eyes Should Be Green

Your eyes reflect: Striking attractiveness and danger What's hidden behind your eyes: A vivid inner world

What Color Should Your Eyes Be?

My eyes are green (which is why I chose this for a blogger name.)

Learn somethin' new every day, dontcha?

Did you ever have that feeling?

This week at work, but especially today, I got the feeling that I've just about outlived my usefulness at my present employer. The weird thing is that I'm not entirely sure what I've done to earn this. I've never felt as uncomfortable on the job since I started working there in August, 2004 as I have this week.

I can just sense that I'm on someone's shit list and again I have no idea why. Nor do I know (for sure) whose shit list I am on, and that bugs me. Very much.

How did I arrive at this conclusion?

Well, several people at work have made innocent sounding comments which, when put together, give me this eerie feeling that I'm on the outs.

Late in the day today I asked my boss if I could speak with him. He was kind of busy, having just finished a conference call with L and some client or someone of importance. So he agreed that we'd talk in the morning after our company wide morning meeting.

My boss, R, is also my friend. He's the one who recommended me to L. Otherwise I never would have considered working in this industry, because up until last year I had no clue it existed, let alone that I wasn't qualified for it. Not that I'm qualified for it now, just that I have over a year of experience in my corner, which is qualification enough, I guess. Because R is my friend, I feel confident he won't bullshit me or throw me under the bus. Let's hope I'm just being paranoid for no reason.

So my conversation with R will include the following: (Innocent beginning) I have a suggestion for an improvement on some of the paperwork we fill out regulary- which I honestly do- a change that I think he'll agree makes sense and therefore is a good idea. Then I'll ask him about my wages, and if he thinks L would raise me up to industry standard. R knows that when I was hired I wasn't familiar with the pay scale for the injection molding industry, so I unwittingly lowballed myself to a payscale that I thought was good, since it was more than I'd ever made per hour in any job I'd ever had. Hindsight: bad move on my part, but what can I do? No matter what his response, I'll finally ask him if I'm in danger of losing my job and if he knows whose shit list I'm featured on and reasons why? Finally I'll ask him how I can get off of this list, because I don't think it's deserved.

BTW, I'm still working on other projects (much to my dismay) and we still haven't made any of the slice of hell piece, so nothing to update there.

Alias 5.8: Bob

ALIAS is now on Wednesday nights @ 10PM, so the weekly update is now on Wednesdays (at least for the month of December). The show goes on hiatus from January until March due to JG's real life maternity leave. Anyway, on to the episode...

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In Siberia, Lukas Basarov plants a bomb in a train car. It explodes and incinerates only the people, leaving the rest of the car intact. Upon learning of the explosion, Marshall tells the APO team that it was a Micropulse bomb.

Meanwhile, Sydney dines with a lady at a Yorkshire garden party. When she spots Elizabeth Powell, the wife of the French ambassador, she hands her a napkin with a message from Jack. Elizabeth meets Jack in the library and he asks her about the attempts of French intelligence agency MI-6 to acquire a Micropulse bomb. Elizabeth assures him that MI-6 isn't involved but Jack asks her to look for a mole in the organization. He says this might lead to info about Prophet Five.

Back at APO, Jack tells the team that his contact had identified Basarov as the engineer of the Micropulse, and that MI-6 is trying to acquire it off the books. Basarov, he says, is attending a conference in Brazil and expects to receive a transmission about the sale rendezvous through his laptop. He assigns Rachel to intercept this intel. Before leaving, Syd reminds a stressed Rachel to have fun.

Disguised as a British scientist, Rachel checks in a hotel in Sao Paulo and ends up in an elevator with Sark, who's posing as an American. They make a connection, and realize that they're across the hall from each other. Once in their respective hotel rooms, they start planting cameras for surveillance in Basarov's room.

At the conference, Rachel asks for Basarov's autograph, which she scans to produce a fingerprint copy. Later, when Basarov steps into the shower, Rachel breaks into his room and tries to access his laptop using the copied fingerprint. Rachel takes to the window ledge when someone enters. He can't see that it's Sark bugging the laptop. When he leaves, Rachel puts her own bug in the laptop.

Sark hits on Rachel in a bar and they go back up to his room. Rachel finds an airline ticket indicating the Bahamas as Sark's next destination. Just then, Rachel's phone vibrates, signaling the receipt of crucial intel. She quickly leaves and sends the transmission to Marshall for decryption.

Back at the APO office, Rachel confides to Sydney about meeting a guy. Jack says that Basarov is meeting the MI-6 double agent in Spain. Later, Jack and Elizabeth stake out the sale in Malaga. A terrorist organization led by Benjamin Masari ambushes Basarov's group. Jack and Elizabeth are abducted.

Sydney and Sloane watch the video footage and conclude that Sark intercepted the transmission at the hotel. Rachel, angry at herself, says they can catch him in the Bahamas.

Upon landing, Sark sees Rachel with Sydney. Sydney tells him that Masari has Jack and asks him to help in Jack's rescue. Later, while Jack and Elizabeth are being brutally interrogated by their captors, Masari gets a phone call from Sark. Sark makes a deal with him to buy Jack and Elizabeth.

At the office, Dixon advises Syd not to go on the mission in her pregnant condition. Meanwhile, Sark continues to flirt with Rachel, but Rachel rejects him.

Dixon disguises himself as a local truck driver and Rachel and Tom hide under the truck, When Sark enters Masari's Tunisia office, Masari points a gun at him. A doublecross! Dixon shoots the guards and breaks into the facility. He and Tom look for Jack, while Rachel tries to locate the weapon. She finds it, only that Sark is handcuffed to it. Marshall and Syd remotely guide Rachel through its disarmament.

As Jack says goodbye to an injured Elizabeth, Dixon asks Sark where they could wire his payment. Sark says this was a freebie and walks away, leaving Rachel interested. Later, Sydney talks to Jack over the phone and they make plans for breakfast. Before they hang up, Syd tells her father that she loves him.

----

I liked this episode. Sark always has been one of the best bad boys on the show. He was a regular during season three and had guest appearances in the other seasons. Now all they have to do is find a cure for Nadia and bring Will out of the witness protection program before the end of the season, since he's secretly has a crush on Sydney from the very first episode (1.1). Apparently Michael Vartan will be a guest star next Wednesday. His charachter died in the first episode this season but lives in Sydney's memory.

One smart kid

Something else my grandmother forwarded to me, which I thought was cute.

A first-grade teacher, Ms. Brooks, was having trouble with one of her students. The teacher asked, "Harry, what's your problem?"
Harry answered, "I'm too smart for the 1st grade. My sister is in the 3rd grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 3rd grade too!"

Ms. Brooks had had enough. She took Harry to the principal's office. While Harry waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms. Brooks he would give the boy a test. If he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the 1st grade and behave. She agreed.

Harry was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.

Principal: "What is 3 x 3?"
Harry: "9."

Principal: "What is 6 x 6?"
Harry: "36."

And so it went with every question the principal thought a 3rd grader
should know. The principal looks at Ms. Brooks and tells her, "I think Harry can go to the 3rd grade."

Ms. Brooks says to the principal, "Let me ask him some questions." The principal and Harry both agreed.

Ms. Brooks asks, "What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?"
Harry, after a moment: "Legs."

Ms. Brooks: "What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?"
The principal wondered why would she ask such a question!
Harry replied: "Pockets."

Ms. Brooks: "What does a dog do that a man steps into?"
Harry: "Pants."

Ms. Brooks: What starts with a C, ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious and contains thin, whitish liquid?"
Harry: "Coconut."

The principal sat forward with his mouth hanging open.

Ms. Brooks: "What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky?"
The principal's eyes opened really wide and before he could stop the answer, Harry replied, "Bubble gum."

Ms. Brooks: "What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?"
Harry: "Shake hands."

The principal was trembling.

Ms. Brooks: "What word starts with an 'F' and ends in 'K' that means a lot of heat and excitement?"
Harry: "Firetruck."

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and told the teacher, "Put Harry in the fifth-grade, I got the last seven questions wrong...... "

Barking up the wrong tree

Ok, I've been avoiding posting about the end results at work, relating to the o-ring problem.

As it turned out, the o-rings were NOT the cause of the leaking problem after all. My co-worker P and I were at wits end with this issue as of the close of business on Wednesday last. So he, being the R&D guy, called the big man - the owner of the company, L, to ask his opinion of the problem. A fresh set of eyes and mind can do wonders when dealing with frustration.

What caused the leaks?

Well, when the poorly designed mold was made, two of the slides that form the mold cavity were given three holes each for the coolant to flow through. After said holes were in place it was decided that only two holes were necessary, one for coolant going in and one for coolant coming out. The third hole in each slide was filled with a brass plug. The adhesive around these plugs had simply and finally given way, causing the slow, steady drip. Picture putting your finger over a pinhole leak in one of your old copper waterpipes and you'll get an idea of the pressure of the fluid that was leaking everywhere.

What gave the plugs away as faulty? Shooting a large amount of forced compressed air into one of the open holes while blocking off the other open hole caused the brass plugs to immediately pop out.

Now I had seen these plugs from the beginning, but didn't realize that they were actually plugs. I had thought they were part of the slides themselves to mark which piece belonged where, for purposes of correct disassembly/reassembly during cleaning.

The super adhesive mentioned in the previous post, which we frantically found late in the afternoon on Wednesday was to temporarily replug the cracks around the brass plugs, so that we could run something on Thursday. I didn't realize until later exactly what the adhesive would be used for.

Two days of valuable run time WASTED, barking up the wrong tree...

So we ran on Thursday hoping to make enough pieces to ship out by the time the FedEx guy got to our place around 4:30 PM or at the very latest dropping the package off at a FedEx location, allowing us two more hours of run time.

After running just over 100 start-up pieces, to fine tune the process, we sucessfully produced about 175 pieces. They looked like crap but based on similar parts we had shipped to the customer last year without getting any returned, figured these would be okay.

Not quite.

L, ever the prideful perfectionist, always wants to send the best quality parts to our customers, since his name and reputation are behind every piece. The parts that we figured were acceptible, L did not. Scrap everything.

So, with the shipping deadline totally shot, co-workers JA and M went back into the cleanroom Thursday night to try and figure out how to make better parts. Their work, and a meeting with L on Friday morning, determined that some additional minor work on the mold was necessary to help solve the problem. J then drove the mold to Leominster, to a company that has done mold work for us many times in the past and waited for the work to be done. When he got back, the mold was put back into the machine and more parts were made.

Where are we now?

As of Friday evening, my co-workers now directly involved were waiting to meet with L - for him to inspect the results, which unofficially were not good enough. Lord only knows what's happening with it today. It's my day off and I'll inquire about our progress on Tuesday, when I next go in.

Not needing the whole clean-room staff on this problem, I was assigned another task, along with co-worker JS. This for another project coming about in the not too distant future...

What will be the mood at work, now?

Likely tense until this 500 piece slice of hell can be shipped out.

Woo-hoo.

What are the keys to my heart?

I really don't know what this quiz has to do with the keys to my heart, but since these are fun diversions, here goes:

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to obedience and warmth. In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored. You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change. You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please. Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred. In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Nerd Test

What does your birth month mean?

These tests are fun fluff. Copied this one from Genna's blog...

Your Birth Month is June

Peaceful and harmonious, you seek the gentle side of life. Your warmth and consideration touches many. Your soul reflects: Friendship, love, and beauty Your gemstone: Pearl Your flower: Rose Your colors: Light blue, white, and cream

What Does Your Birth Month Mean?

Violet

E! online reports that Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck welcomed their new daughter into the world last night in Los Angeles.

Read the full story here.

Congrats to both of them. The birth of a child is always a special event.

I know. I've seen it happen twice.