Patience is a virtue....not all of us have.

Do you have it???

For those of you breathlessly waiting for the gripping conclusion to the second half of Acts 16, you'll have to wait a bit longer.

Tonight I went out with my old college roommates, G and P. We were supposed to go out last Tuesday night but G forgot. Then I called P and told him not to come.

We went to Applebees, like we've done the last few times we've been out. Good food and conversation. G had to endure a bit of ribbing for being forgetful last week. Friends do that to you on occasion.

Now I'm reading my mail and quickly scanning my blog list. Just a warning: I'm going to rearrange it soon because the current order has become stale & boring. Change is good!! I don't forsee deleting anyone. Just a shuffling is in order. That is all.

Good night.

Distractions

I was going to post on Acts 16:19-40 today as I had promised but I got a wee bit distracted. So you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that. Sorry.

In other news: The urologost called me back today with the results of the CT scan. Seems like my discarding the last half of the Barium Sulfate crap didn't hurt the pictures. They must over pack the packet, knowing that NO ONE can drink 30 oz. of that stuff in one sitting. Doctor Evil says that I have a wee-small stone in my right kidney that is the size of a pin-head, thus I should pass it easily. The rest of me insides looks okee-dokee he tells me. Super.

I decided today that I'm only going to work a half of a day tomorrow, so that I can do last minute trip related stuff. Like finish packing, etc. I went to Wal-Mart tonight to do four things, three of them trip related. I did two of them and forgot about the others, until I got home....

I'll be staying at my parent's house tomorrow night, since my brother is driving me to the airport and he lives at their house as well. It's also good, because I'm going out with G and P tomorrow evening and when we're done, I'm already halfway there. I also won't have to get up quite as early as I would have since there'll be somewhat less traffic to contend with in the AM. I am only a morning person becasue my current job-thing forces me to be.

The posting plan for the trip is this: I'm bringing my laptop and will post when I am able to. If I can't post on Wednesday or Thursday, I'll write some stuff down and back date some posts for those days for you. So stay tuned. Pictures of my trip will have to wait until I get back. Don't worry, I have a disposable camera already tucked away in my suitcase.

My son M has gotten into the habit of trying to pants me lately. So I have been doing it right back to him. Now it's like a game between us. I've gotten him three times and he did actually get me once yesterday. Good fun.

That toy I mentioned in a recent post sold today on ebay for $100 to a person in Honolulu, Hawaii. And they just sent me a paypal payment. Gotta love that. I'm going to mail it out tomorrow after work, since I must check my mailbox once more before I go.


Aaaah but now it is off to sleep for me. I hear my pillows calling.....

Acts 16:1-18 NIV

The last few weeks at church, we've been studying this chapter in the Bible, so I thought we'd take a look at verses 1-18 for today's post. The notes in blue are a mix of my pastor's thoughts and mine.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

1He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy
lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek.
2The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3Paul wanted to take him
along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in
that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4As they traveled from
town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in
Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5So the churches were strengthened in the
faith and grew daily in numbers.

Paul is on his second missionary journey, traveling with Silas (c. 49-52 AD) in what is modern day Turkey. Derbe and Lystra are in theregion of Galatia south central region of the country. In Lystra they meet a young man named Timothy, whose mother was a Jewish believer whose name was Eunice (2 Tim. 1:5) and whose father (name unknown) was "a Greek" , meaning a Gentile. Timothy was well known and had a good, solid reputation in Lystra and nearby Iconium. Timothy joins Paul and Silas as they teach about Jesus in the cities and towns in that area.

Paul's Vision of the Man of Macedonia

6Paul and his companions traveled
throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy
Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7When they came to
the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus
would not allow them to. 8So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.
9During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging
him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10After Paul had seen the vision, we
got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to
preach the gospel to them.

Troas is also known in history as Troy. You might have heard of a legendary battle in Greek mythology that took place there involving a large horse. Paul and his companions are prevented by the Holy Spirit from going into Asia. In v.9 Paul gets his course and are headed off to Macedonia in northern Greece which is in Europe. Notice in v. 10 the words "we"and "us." Paul has picked up a fourth companion, Luke, who is a Gentile and a physician. He is the author of the fourth book of the New Testament which bears his name and of this book of Acts. He is the only Gentile to author any part of the Bible.

Lydia's Conversion in Philippi

11From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the
next day on to Neapolis. 12From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony
and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several
days.

Samothrace is an island in the Aegean sea, approximaely half way between Troas in Asia Minor and Neapolis in Greece. Philippi, eight miles north of Neapolis, was the major city in the area, named after Philip the Macedonian who was the father of Alexander the Great. It was a Roman colony because it was the headquarters of a unit of the Roman army that was stationed there. Becasue of this, its citizens had all of the rights and priveledges that a citizen living in Rome would have had.

13On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected
to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had
gathered there. 14One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in
purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord
opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. 15When she and the members of her
household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a
believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded
us.

On Saturday Paul and his companions went down to the river to teach, because there weren't enough Jewish men to form a synagogue. Ten men were required in order to form the synagogue. Lydia's hometown was Thyatira, (known today as Akhisar) in Asia Minor. It was known in that time for it's purple dye. This was the favored color of the rich and noble, so Lydia was a travleing saleswoman, probably a single, wealthy woman, since members of her household likely included employees and slaves. It's impressive to note that Lydia was the first person on European soil to convert to Christianity, considering that women generally were not highly regarded at that time in that society.

Paul drives out a demon

16Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." 18She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I
command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her.

The word "spirit" here refers to a demon. This girl was possessed. The words that she spoke was like a taunt, even though what she was saying was true. It is very possible, though we can't know for sure, that this girl became a believer after the demon was driven out of her.

Tomorrow we'll look at verses 19-40.

Snowy Saturday

It started to snow about 11:00 this morning as we got ready to go down to my parents house for the afternoon. Southern New Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts was supposed to get 5-8" of the white stuff, according to a Boston television station.

After we went to the post office, We got stuck in some traffic on the highway. It was caused by a two car auto accident and very slight slick roads, along with all of the rubber necks driving by. There was a state trooper, two local police cars, a fire truck and an ambulance on the scene. I hope whoever got hurt wasn't hurt too badly.

My family is very cool. My brother volunteered to drive me to the airport on Wednesday and My parents gave me a little cash to take on my trip plus let me borrow a suitcase. They are also going to pick me up at the airport on Saturday night.

Last night we started to play a game of Pokemon Monopoly, which the kids had brought with them. The game strated to decline when M got upset that he had to give V $250 because he landed on one of her properties with a hotel on it. It ended soon after when M's attitude did not improve. V won and I came in second, beating M by a mere $22.

More forgotten words & stuff:

bobance- Pride boasting, presumption.
- Edward Lloyd's Encyclopaedic Dictionary, 1895

Adapted from Old French bobance, arrogance, pomp.
-Sir James Murray's New English Dictionary

Impersonal Ad
In 1759, the Boston Evening Post ran the following notice:
"To the ladies: Any young lady between the age of eighteen and twenty-three, of a midling stature , brown hair, regular features and a lively brisk eye; of good morals and not tinctured with anything that may sully so distinguishable a form; possessed of three or four hundred pounds entirely [at] her own disposal and where there will be no necessity of going through the tiresome talk of addressing parents or guardians for their consent. Such a one, by leaving a line directed for A.W. at the British Coffee House in King Street, appointing where an interview may be had, will meet a person who flatters himself he shall not be thought disagreeable by any lady answering the above description. Profound secrecy will be observed. No trifling answers will be regarded."

ruff- The expression of applause by stamping the feet.
-Joseph Wright's English Dialect Dictionary, 1896-1905.

The "Glory of the Bank"
On February 21, 1599, the Chamberlain's Men (William Shakespeare's acting troupe) and the Burbage brothers, Richard and Cuthbert, signed a construction contract for the Globe Theatre near the bank of the Thames. Eliezer Edwards's Words, Facts and Phrases: A Dictionary of Curious Matters (1882) described this theater- the first in England to accommodate large numbers of commoners: "The earliest theatrical performances in [post-Roman] Britiain took place in inn yards. The spectators watched the performances from the open galleries which led to the bedchambers of the inn. The Globe Theatre, which was built on the grounds of the Globe Tavern, modeled much on the style of the inn yard, being without a roof. It was afterwards thatched, except in the centre, which was left open to give light. The galleries ran tier-above-tier round three sides of the building
over the rooms, which correspond to our modern boxes. What we call the 'pit' was then the 'ground,' where the common people stood.... Shakespeare speaks of this portion of a theatrical audience as the 'groundlings,' and Ben Jonson mentions 'the understanding gentlemen of the ground.'"

week wrap up

I went in for my CT scan at 7:30 this morning. Everything seemed to go okay but the CT guy wanted me to hang around for a few minutes after so he could have the radiologist look at the pictures to make sure they got what they needed. Apparently they did because I was outta there by 8:15. I made a quick stop at my apartment to make my lunch and then I was off to work. Today was a relatively busy day setting up machines for Monday and Tuesday of next week and breaking another machine down for cleaning.

I'm glad the weekend is here. Tomorrow V, M and I will go down to my parents' house so I can borrow a suitcase from them to take on my trip. Then I can pack over the next few days.

I am getting more and more excited as we get closer to Wednesday. I have heard that the pace of everyday life in Texas is much more relaxed than in the super-tense northeast. And there certainly is a lot more open space there, not that I will see it, since I'm only going to be in Dallas and not needing to rent a car. I'm also excited about flying, which I have not done since 1996.

I'll post more fluff tomorrow. Sunday I hope to post something with meat on it.

I must be outta my mind...

well temporarily, anyway.

See what a fine looking woman can talk me into? First there was the Dane Cook CD's and now this.

Get a good look people because it's only temporary.

2/24 Ed. note: Ok, since the overwhelming opinion is that y'all like the picture, I'll keep it.

Though I thought the green monster was cool, so now it's on the sidebar in larger than life detail.

CT scan and Barium Sulfate

I've been feeling a slight discomfort on my right side kidney area recently. Now that I'm being more sensitive (paranoid) about what my body is telling me, I went in to talk to the Urologist that removed my kidney stone last November.

He thought that I'd had a CT scan done then instead of just x-rays, but I did not. So we made an appointment for this to be done tomorrow morning at 7:30.

In about 10 minutes I have to drink 30 ounces of water or juice mixed with a "contrast" which is .8 oz of Baruim Sulfate. Then I can't eat or drink anything after midnight until the scan is done.

How much do you want to bet that this stuff I have to drink will taste nasty?

{Ed. Note I : Well it didn't taste too bad becasue I decided to mix it with cran-something juice instead of just plain water. The white chalky substance turned my red juice into a whitish-pink color. I have to keep shaking the container because the Barium Sulfate collects at the bottom of the container.}
{Ed. note II: I changed my mind. That is nnnaaaaaaasssstttttttyyyyyy stuff. So nasty in fact that I drank only half of it and poured the rest of it in the sink. If this messes up the scan oh well. I'd almost rather have another surgery than drink more of that crap. YUK!}

So what exactly is Barium Sulfate (BaSO4) and what does it do? Good questions all.

Barium sulfate is a radiopaque agent. Radiopaque agents are used to help diagnose certain medical problems. Since radiopaque agents are opaque to (block) x-rays, the areas of the body in which they are localized will appear white on the x-ray film. This creates the needed distinction, or contrast, between one organ and other tissues. The contrast will help the doctor see any special conditions that may exist in that organ or part of the body.

Barium sulfate is taken by mouth or given rectally by enema. If taken by mouth, it makes the esophagus, the stomach, and/or the small intestine opaque to the x-rays so that they can be "photographed". If it is given by enema, the colon and/or the small intestine can be seen and photographed by x-rays.

The dose of barium sulfate will be different for different patients and depends on the type of test. The strength of the suspension and tablet is determined by how much barium they contain. Different tests will require a different strength and amount of suspension (some may require the tablet form), depending on the age of the patient, the contrast needed, and the x-ray equipment used.

Barium sulfate is to be used only by or under the direct supervision of a doctor.

What I'd like to know is how "they" figured this out. What led these people to discover that this stuff actually helps with CT scans?

more words for you

chalm- to chew or nibble into small pieces. Books and papers are often chalmed by mice, if they can get at them. The letter l is dropped in pronunciation.
-Rev. Robert Forby's Vocabulary of East Anglia, 1830.

lungeous- Ill tempered; quarrelsome; irritable. English provincialism.
-T. Ellwood Zell's Popular Encyclopedia of Knowledge and Language, 1871.

februation- Purification.
-Rev. John Boag's Imperial Lexicon, c.1850.

anteloquy- A preface, or the first... turn in speaking; also, a term which stage players use, by them called their "cue."
-Thomas Blount's Glossographia, 1656.

pediluvium- A sort of bath for the feet.
-Stephen Blanchard's Physical Dictionary, 1702.

Medieval or modern Latin, from pes, foot, and luvium, washing; plural, pediluvia; also in anglicized form, pediluvy; [late 1600's-early 1900's].
-Sir James Murray's New English Dictionary, 1909.

sheep dumplings- Sheep manure. Sheep dumplings are used in the home treatment of measles and certain other ailments.
-Vance Randolph, Down in the Holler: A Gallery of Ozark Folk Speech, 1953.

FEAST DAY OF ST. BERNADETTE
a ninteenth-century French patroness of shepherds. Her patronage apparently grew out of an unusual penance she was assigned during a vision- to eat grass as sheep do in order to atone for the world's sins. Eliezer Edwards's Words, Facts and Phrases: A Dictionary of Curious Matters (1882) commented on an ambiguous expression, "to bear the bell," which, he wrote, proverbially denoted "one who has achieved some distinction. By some it is thought to alludeto the practice of attaching a bell to the neck of the most corageous sheep in a flock. But a more probable origin is in the customwhich formerly prevailed of giving silver bells as prizes in horseracing, the winer being said to 'bear away the bell.'"

On forgetfulness & observations at the grocery store

Tonight I was supposed to have a night out with my friends, G and P whom I've known since college. Lately we've been meeting at an Applebee's that is relatively convenient to all of us. Since I live the closest, I'm usually there first, followed by G and then P. As usual I arrived first, at 17:15 and reserved our table, expecting G, who lives the farthest away but is a school teacher and gets out early enough from work to make the hour drive before rush hour. P is an IT guy for an insurance company, I think. He's usually the last there not because of distance but because of rush hour traffic congestion. He's also the one who is the most likely to forget.

So at 17:40 or so I call P on my cell and he tells me he's just leaving work and should be there between 18:15 and 18:30. Ok, fine. Then I call G who would normally be sitting at the table with me by now but is not. His mom picks up the phone and upon recognizing my voice hands the phone to G. G forgot that we agreed to meet tonight and sounded a bit distracted, as if one of his three kids was clamoring for his attention. So I ask him if he wants to meet next Tuesday instead and he tentatively agrees. Then I call P back and tell him not to bother making the drive and ask him if next Tuesday is better. He tells me he's got to check his schedule, having four kids, including two new beautiful recently adopted daughters.

I quickly finished my soda and asked the waitress if I could have the check for the soda. She tells me not to worry about it. I left her a dollar tip anyway and grabbed my jacket to leave. I've been kind of free spending lately, so even though staying to eat was an attractive option, I decided to save my money for next time. Besides, what fun is it to go out and eat and have a drink all by myself? The dinner crowd at this very popular and empty restaurant hadn't come in yet, so there wasn't even anybody to sit next to at the bar.

So as it stands now we'll meet on the 28th, the day before I go to Dallas, which will be nice. The funny thing is I was going to send them reminder emails last night but decided against it.

The good thing was I was able to swing by the grocery store on my way home to pick up some cold cuts for lunch tomorrow. This I wouldn't have been able to do tonight if we had met because the store would have been closed by the time I got there.

At this grocery store chain that I go to, the folks working behind the deli counter always fail to seal the bags of meat and cheese that I order. They used to use non sealable bags at the deli but now use the handy zip-loc baggies. But they never do it and they should because they should know that it helps keep the product fresher longer.

While I was waiting in the checkout line, there was an elderly couple in front of me who (it sounded like) were conversing in Italian with each other and the cashier, whose name was Fatima. It seemed like it took longer to get through the line than normal because of this. Good thing I wasn't in a hurry.

In a way I'm pleased that I'm home early tonight. After the MAT, I went to check my mailbox and found that my Dane Cook CD/DVD's arrived today along with an item I bought on eBay.

Are you reading this, amz? I'm going to check out your man Dane tonight or tomorrow. I hope he's as funny as you say. He must be good, since she and some friends are flying from Houston to Boston in April to see him live in concert.

Well, that's all for today, folks. See you tomorrow.

Miller Analogies Test

I'm taking the real thing at 14:00 today. Wish me luck. For those of you who have already, I appreciate it.

First misconception of the day:

I thought I'd be able to take a practice test online this morning in preparation for taking the real thing this afternoon.

WRONG.

All of the test prep websites I visited wanted me to pay to take the test. Do I really need to pay to take a practice test when I still have to pay to take the real thing? I thought they'd have a bunch of questions available online for free. Oh no. Every one has to make a buck or 30. Buy the prep guide. Buy the practice test. It's a conspiracy, I tell ya!!

I'm a smary guy, so....how hard could it be? I'll find out soon enough. One hundred twenty questions in one hour. Can I do it? How will I do? Check back here later today and I'll tell you how I think I did.

Update 16:15- The test was easy, hard difficult and down right annoying. Some analogies were obvious, others basic and some were just flat out rediculous. Who uses some of these words in every day speech, anyway? Some of the words I had no clue what their meanings were, let alone how they related to other words in the analogy.

That being said, I think I did okay. I need a 400+ for a grade in order to meet the school's requirement. But I'm not sure if that's out on an 800 scale like the SAT is or what. The catch on this test is this: Only 100 of the 120 questions will count towards my actual score. The other 20 questions are test questions which might be incorporated as "real" questions in the future. The problem is you can't tell which 20 questions are the test questions. DTS shoud get my score in about two weeks.

I took the test at Rivier College in Nashua. There were four of us in the room, not counting Sister candy bar, a nice, sweet old lady who probably has been administering these tests since time began. The other guy there wanted to get into a criminal justice program at UMASS Lowell and two ladies, obviously friends, who want to get into the psychology program at Salem State College. The woman sitting on my right was knock out gorgeous and her name was Jessica Shaw. She was wearing a black top and a pink Red Sox hat. She had long fingers (no rings) with pink nail polish that matched her hat. Alas, I could not get any more information about her, as I left before she did. Oh, well.

Relaxation

Today was a day of total relaxation and nothingness.
V, M and I had a "jammy day" today, where we stayed in our jammies all day.

Or until I had to take them back to their mom's house this afternoon.

Otherwise we din't go anywhere or do anything exciting. The kids and I took turns playing some Atari. They helped me repair a box that belonged to a toy I had gotten for Christmas in 1981 or 1982. A toy that until last week had spent the better part of the last 20 years in my parents' attic.
An item that is now for sale on ebay. If you want to know what it is, look me up.

The rest of tonight is mine to do as I wish.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) I have to take the MAT and I will be going out with G and P in the evening (I hope they remember). So I'm going to take the practice test in the morning, the real thing in the afternoon and end the day with a a nice steak dinner or something close to it along with a nice, cool frosty frozen mudslide. mmmmmm.

Inspiration

These gifts I ask of the Spirit:
Serene Strength for the daily task
Courage to face the road
Good Cheer to help me bear the traveler's load
and for the hours of rest that come between An Inward Joy of All Things Heard & Seen.
-Henry Van Dyke

My life is an instant - an hour which passes by
My life is a moment - which I have no power to stay
You know O my God that to love you here on earth - I only have today.
-St. Therese of Lisieux

Give me a pure heart that I may see thee
A humble heart that I may hear thee
A heart of love that I may serve thee
A heart of faith that I may abide in thee.
-Dag Hammarskjold

I believe in the SUN even when it is not shining.
I believe in LOVE even when I cannot feel it.
I believe in GOD even when He is silent.
-Anonymous Jewish prisoner during the Holocaust

God grant me the sernity to accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can and
Wisdom to know the difference.
-Reinhold Niebuhr

Teach Us Good Lord to Serve Thee
As thou deservest
To GIVE and not count the cost
To FIGHT and not heed the wounds
To TOIL and not to seek for rest
To LABOUR and not to ask for any reward
save that of knowing that we do Thy will.
-St. Ignatius of Loyola

DEAR LORD
I expect to pass through this world but once;
and any good thing therefore that I can do OR
any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature
LET ME DO IT NOW
let me not defer or neglect it for I may not pass this way again.
-Stephen Grellet

Let there be peace on earth
and let it begin with me
Let there be peace on earth
the peace that was meant to be
With God as our Father
brothers all are we
Let me walk with my brother
in perfect harmony
Let peace begin with me
let this be the moment now
With every step I take
let this be the solemn vow
To take each moment and live each moment in Peace eternally
Let there be peace on earth
and let it begin with me.
-Jill Jackson and Sy Miller

Lord, make me an instrumentof your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
Where there is sadness, joy
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love
For it is in giving that we receive
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
AMEN.
-St. Francis of Assisi

An Irish Blessing
May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm on your face
The rain softly on your fields
and until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
-Anonymous

The LORD is my Shepherd
I shall not want
He makes me lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my Soul.
-Psalm 23:1-3

OUR FATHER
Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For Thine is the kingdom
And the power
And the glory forever
AMEN.
-Matthew 6:9-13

Winning Powerball Number

15-17-43-44-48 *29* results pending. I just know I didn't win. How surprising considering the odds.... I'll bet someone wins tonight, or maybe a group of people went in on some tickets. We shall see.... :>)

A bit of this - a bit of that

Even though you never read here, Happy 62nd Birthday, Mom. I love you.

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A day of freeedom is welcome, however unexpected. What with today being Saturday and my kids not coming until tonight I have the day totally to myself. Unusual but nice. (My kids actually arrived around 18:30.)

So what did I do with my day?

Well after playing here for a while, I did some errands from 11:00 to 14:30. Sat in traffic for about a half hour or so trying to get from the connector highway to the grocery store. If you ever come to Nashua, do yourself a favor: stay away from the Daniel Webster Highway and connecting roads on Saturday afternoons. Way too much traffic for that road, what with a mall and all kinds of shopping plazas, restaurants and car dealerships on that road... I actually finished watching a movie this afternoon that I started to fall asleep on last night.

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Looks like there will be no digital camera for me right now. I'll just have to bring a regular camera with me on my trip to Dallas and have the pictures put onto a cd-rom for easy uploading to blogger.

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The "plan" has hit a bump in the road. DTS has received all of my references and my college transcript but they can't begin to process my application yet. You see, due to a lackadasical freshman year of college on my part, allowing 1.0 and 1.5's to drag down my GPA instead of withdrawing from the classes as I should have, my overall GPA is below a 2.5. So I must take the GRE or MAT. They recommend the Miller Analogies Test for those who have been out of school for some time. I called the closest place to me that gives it, which is a small Catholic college in Nashua. I arranged to take the test this Tuesday, with a nice old nun called Sister Mary Jane- just like the candy bar. (She actually said that to me on the phone. I'm not poking fun at her name, honest...) Once I take the test and the school receives my score, then they will make a decision on my application.

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Spring is on the way!! Red Sox pitchers and catchers reported to camp today with first workouts on Sunday afternoon. Regular position players report on Wednesday. Though I don't pay real close attention to the spring training games; but for me it's always a reminder that spring is just about a month away. And let me tell you, it can't come soon enough.

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The Powerball drawing tonight is at a record $365 million annuity ($177 .3 million lump sum). I don't normally buy lottery tickets, but when the jackpot gets to astronomical levels....well how can you not buy some numbers and wish? You can't win unless you play, right?

Maybe I wasn't listening

Today is Friday and it's 6:30 PM here on the east coast. Usually, every weekend around this time, my ex drops off the kids so that she can go to work. This month M picks a movie for us to watch on Friday nights. But it's so quiet here, now. Why? MY kids are not here and they should be!!! So I called the ex's cell phone and left a message. Then I called her house, expecting to get the answering machine and instead she was there.

me: "Hi, where are you? Aren't you gonna drop off the kids?"

ex: "No, I got tonight off because of the birthday party tomorrow."

me: "I thought you were bringing the kids down tonight and that I was going to bring M and V to the party tomorrow."

ex: "I told you that was the plan if I wasn't able to get tonight off."

me: "Oh. I didn't know you were going to try and get tonight off."

ex: "I told you that I had tonight off and that I would bring the kids down tomorrow evening after the party, then I'll go to work."

me: "What time is the party?"

ex: "2-4 pm. It's M's school friend's party, remember?"

me: "Yes I remember that, but I don't think you told me about your night off and not bringing the kids down until tomorrow."

ex: "I did tell you."

me: "Ok then, I'll see you tomorrow around six."

ex: "Do you want to talk to the kids?"

me: "Sure! Absolutely!"

I swear to you that she never told me that she got tonight off. So when she and the kids didn't arrive when they normally do I was concerned. But she insists that she did. Maybe she did and I just wasn't listening. Maybe that's one of the reasons we're divorced. Because I heard her but never listened to her.

If that's the case, I'll have to do a better job listening in the next relationship I'm in.

What I am and what I am not.

I recently took some flak for some comments I made on scribe's blog. Ok, fine. I can deal with that. These comments of mine have been perceived to be an "attack" on his newfound "spirituality." You'd think I was attacking the man's moral character or manhood or some other such nonsense.

Whatever.

DO I regret making them or take them back? NO.

Whenever I make comments like that (where I obviously disagree with something) I am not trying to start an argument. My main goal is and always has been to try and make people be introspective and think about why they believe the way that they do. Maybe perk up a little discussion. But because of the nature of religion and such related topics as beliefs and faith, these prompts are viewed with me in the position of aggressor.

This has led some people to believe that I am a zealot when it comes to my faith. I'm now #1 on Scribe's list of most annoying people, because I'm a Bible Thumper (and sanctimonious about it)!! If these are the labels I've earned, fine. So be it.

Some people may say I'm intolerant of the beliefs of others. That's not true at all. I respect your beliefs as I hope you will mine. But if I happen to ask you WHY you believe something it's probably because I'm curious as to how you've reached your conclusions. This aspect of human nature fascinates me. So please don't automatically assume that I'm jumping down your throat or that I'm going to beat you in the head with my Bible. You should - anyone should - logically be able to explain why (even if only to yourself) you believe the way that you do. Even if no one ever asks you why publicly you still ought to have some idea.

No, I don't expect everyone to believe things the way that I do and I don't have a problem with that. However I AM NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT and have never claimed to be. I'm not going to blow sunshine (you know where) just to see you smile or to receive a compliment in return. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, I'm going to call it a duck. I'm not afraid to throw my two cents in, whether it's asked for or not. If that seems too abrasive or strikes you the wrong way, well I'm sorry you feel that way.

What I do know is this: my Christian faith is grounded in facts and evidence, which I would be glad to share with you anytime you like. If it weren't I wouldn't believe the way that I do. As you may have guessed, I am very passionate about the subject. This faith of mine is solely based on the Bible, which is the inerrant Word of God, and the foundation on which this country and the western world was built.

WHAT I AM AND ALWAYS STRIVE TO BE IS CONSISTENT with what the Bible teaches and how it should be interpreted. Now if you ever catch me being inconsistent in this way, I expect you to immediately call me out on it.

I'll be the first to admit that I am not perfect and I certainly am no expert at understanding everything that the Bible has to offer. That being said, the Bible is the most profound collection of books that you will ever read - if you read it in the right light and with the right attitude.

And yes, there are principles for sound and consistent Bible interpretation. It's called Hermeneutics and Exegesis (see Webster's definitions below). I'll post more about why this is so important at another time.

HERMENEUTICS: 1) the science of interpretation, esp. of the Scriptures. 2) The branch of theology which treats of the principles of Biblical exegesis.
EXEGESIS: critical explanation or interpretation of the Scripture.

The problems in Biblical interpretation arise when people spiritualize the text or claim it is all allegory. In another post I'll clarify (or attempt to) why interpreting the Bible as entirely allegorical is not good and why it really annoys me when people say they do it all of the time.

More later. I need to go to bed.

Ready or not - Texas here I come

That's right kids, I'm goin' to Dallas, Texas (by way of Milwaukee) for the first time in just two weeks. I bought my airplane tickets last night and reserved a hotel room near the airport for my final night there. Way cool. I am so excited.

Did you know it cost me less to fly back on Saturday than it would have to fly back a day earlier? It also is cheaper for me to fly out of the bigger, less convenient local airport than the smaller, friendlier even more local airport.

Wednesday, March 1, 2006:

Midwest Airlines #206 (Boeing 717)
Depart BOS 11:10
Arrive MKE 12:42
travel time: 2 hours 32 minutes. Distance: 859 miles.

no plane change. time between flights 43 minutes.

Depart MKE 13:25
Arrive DFW 15:53
travel time: 2 hours 28 minutes. Distance: 852 miles.

Total travel time: 5 hours 43 minutes. Distance: 1,711 miles.

Saturday, March 4, 2006
Midwest Airlines #305 (Boeing 717)

Depart DFW 10:42
Arrive MKE 12:50
travel time: 2 hours 8 minutes. Distance: 852 miles.

plane change! Time between flights 1 hour 0 minutes.

Midwest Airlines #211 (Boeing 717)

Depart MKE 13:50
Arrive BOS 16:55
travel time: 2 hours 5 minutes. Distance: 859 miles.

Total travel time: 5 hours 13 minutes. Distance: 1,711 miles

As I did waay back in October when I was going through the kidney stone thing, I've posted the full monty because my memory is bad about these things and my desk has been granted federal disaster relief funds.

So call out your closet terrorist network and give'em all of the juicy details....

The school is offering for all of the visitors from out of the area guest lodging with a host family for Wednesday & Thursday nights and I'm on my own from Friday afternoon on.

I've decided that I'm going to bring my laptop because my hotel on Friday night has internet access. Maybe my host family will too. Even if I don't post regularly on those days, I will keep a journal and leave some relevant posts from the trip and backdate them. Maybe I'll even buy a digital camera so I can post some pictures, too.

St. Valentine's Day

I was going to give you a rundown on the history of Valentine's Day, but that would be too depressing, what with me being single and all. Then I was going to send all of my female readers an e-v day card but that would have been cheesy and would have lent to the commercialization of another holiday. Then I decided I would give a shout down to V-day, but some of my blogger friends already have beaten me to the punch, such as steph, sarah, amz and bluez to name a few.

Okay, I give up. Here's some chocolate for you...



Instead I'll just share this forgotten word & blurb with you, courtesy of my calendar:

LADDESS: Lad made, once upon a time, a feminine laddess, which subsequently shrunk into simply lass.
- M. Schele de Vere's Studies in English, 1867.

VALENTINE'S DAY
Alice Morse Earle, writing in Colonial Days of Old New York (1896), described a curious Valentine's Day observance among early Dutch settlers called Vrouwne dagh, or Women's Day: "Every young girl sallied forth in the morning armed with a heavy cord with knotted end. She gave every young man whom she met several smart lashes with the knotted cord. Perhaps these were 'love-taps,' and were given with no intent of stinging. Judge Egbert Benson wrote in 1816 that in New York this custom dwindled to a similar Valentine observance by children when the girls chased the boys with many blows. In one school the boys asked for a Mannen dagh (Men's Day) in which to repay the girls stinging lashes." The English author Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682) speculated that this custom commemorated the martyrdom of St. Valentine, whom the Romans are believed to have persecuted around the year 270.

I hate shopping...in person

when I can't find what I'm looking for in the first place I go to look for it.
and when I'm stupid and forget the one item I've been talking to myself and reminding myself all morning not to forget. That- one- lousy- item. Well guess what?? (read along and find out)

Saturday I dragged (drug?) my kids all over creation (well, Nashua anyway) looking for another bookcase for my apartment, since mine are overflowing with books and other stuff. I was looking for the cheap, wood-looking, pressboard, three shelf, weigh-a-freakin'-ton, assemble it yourself kind. Wal-Mart had two, but both boxes were opened and had tape all over the place on them. Past experience tells me one thing here: missing pieces. Sams Club was a disappointment too. Wrong style and not enough shelves. I didn't even venture into the K-Mart I passed by because now it's a Sears Express and who knows what they sell now. And Sears is always more expensive. Next stop - Target. Absolutely nothing in boxes or on display.

I wanted to get something on Saturday, so I could put it together on Sunday during the snow storm. Maybe it was better that I didn't buy anything because I found something better!!!

Actually, I had gone here before, and liked what I saw but had not the cash to buy something. Hello tax-return!! So here's what I ended up with:

Deluxe Multimedia Storage Rack
Holds any combination of:
1500 CDs; 612 DVDs; 900 8mm video/cassettes or 360 VHS tapes.

adjustable shelves,

a beautifully designed cabinet

superior hand crafted quality out of a deluxe wood grain finish;

heavy duty construction;

assembles quickly and easily

available in oak, cherry and black.

Dimensions: 63 3/4"H x 65 5/6"W x 9 1/2"D


And it only cost $XXX.xx with free shipping by UPS !

The only bummer is that I ordered it in oak, which style is backordered until the beginning of March. Knowing my luck I won't be home when UPS comes to deliver it.

But here's the best part, in my opinion: I'll be able to free up the bookshelves where my dvd's are now. So I get a new rack for my DVD's, left over VHS tapes and CD's without buying a brand new bookshelf. I'll be able to get rid of the awkward thing I'm partially using now that takes up too much space and is poorly designed for my intended purpose. That would be my 96 year old grandfather's old tv/stereo cabinet, which when the television finally went bye-bye he had a middle shelf installed in it and used it for dust collecting knick-knacks & such.

Don't get me wrong, this tv cabinet is a nice piece of furniture, that now will get donated to the Salvation Army.

But anyway - my other shopping story: On Saturday after all of the bookshelf stops we went grocery shopping. Upon our arrival home I discovered that I forgot to buy white milk for M and I. Oh, well we'll get it tomorrow I thought, not wanting to go back outside.

Sunday morning I almost decided to not go to church becasue of the inclement weather. Then I realized that we had to go out and get the milk anyway. How would that look if I went shopping to get milk but was too lazy to go to church?

Not very good.

So I drove us to church in nearly white-out conditions. Fortunately the highway was near to deserted of any other crazy people driving in that weather. But that didn't stop me from thinking that I had made a serious mistake because the snow plow crews hadn't time to make any sort of dent in the rapidly falling flakes. It was near 10 AM when we arrived at the church building. When we got out at 11:30 the snow had stopped and the roads were markedly better.

We easily and painlessly made the required grocery store stop after church and made it home by 12:30 easily.

Frustrated =>#!!

I want to print some stuff but my printer isn't working. My ink cartridges were low, so I spent $55 on four new cartridges and the thing still won't print. Troubleshooting the problem leads me to the phone number for Epson customer service. But they're only open until 6 PM PST. This is NOT GOOD. I don't want to wait - but I'm going to have to.

197 years young

or he would be if he were alive today.


I'm talking about my favorite US President of the past, whose birthday is today. The first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln.

History shows that Lincoln was a humble, religious, God fearing man. From a book entitled "The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln" I give you this story:

After the battle of Gettysburg Lincoln urged General Meade in a peremptory order to pursue General Lee in his retreat, attack him, and with one bold stroke end the war. A friendly note came with it:
"The order I inclose is not of record. If you succeed, you need not publush the order. If you fail, publish it. Then, if you succeed, you will have allthe credit of the movement. If not, I'll take all the responsibility."
Is there in our history a more generous act, a nobler patriotism?

One of the most famous speeches in American history was given by Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863:

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow, this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.

It is rather for us the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."

drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip

drip drip drip drip drip drip drip

That was the theme of the day as soon as my daughter noticed the water dripping from the ceiling fan in my bathroom. Drip drip drip, splashing onto the vanity and floor, making an awful mess and soaking through two bath size towels in a matter of less than two hours.

Water dripping from the ceiling fan? What the?

As I removed the grate that covers the ceiling fan the drips became faster. Now instead of one drip there were three. Great. Now I need a bucket or trash can to catch the water, but what can I use? Aaaaah, one of my plastic recycle bins! Bingo!!!

I called and left a message with the complex office advising them of the situation. Of course I got the answering machine which told me that the office would reopen on Monday.

After three hours of dripping, the bucket had accumulated seven inches of water before I emptied it.

When my kids went to bed I went upstairs and knocked on the door of the apartment above me (I live on the ground floor) to advise them that the pipes under their bathroom sink were leaking, but no one was home.

Update: When I got up this morning there was about 15 inches of water in the bucket, which I emptied again. After church I went upstairs again to see if the people who live above me were home. They were. I spoke to an elderly Brazilian woman who did not speak English, and her teenage granddaughter, who were totally unaware of the leak. Since then they have taken precautions to stop the drip. I advised the granddaughter to call building maintenance so they can fix the problem.

A good start to the weekend

It started yesterday when I received my order in the mail from one of my favorite online stores, minus one item on backorder.

Today I am very fortunate. Let me explain my nervousness.

This week I wrote two checks, one for my car insurance and the other for my rent. I knew I would be able to cover the car insurance check if it hit my account first. The rent check I knew would bounce when it hit my account, first or second. If the rent check hit first then the car insurance check would also bounce. But, my ace in the hole came through today. Neither check has cleared my account yet AND my federal tax refund hit my account today. So now I can catch up with Mr. Electric Company and Ms. Cable TV and Internet. Grocery store here I come. I can now also purchase my plane tickets for Dallas. Woo-hoo.

Plus, my kiddoes are here for the weekend, which is ALWAYS good.

It's suposed to snow on Saturday after midnight and into the afternoon on Sunday here in the Northeast. A potential killer storm- I've heard between 12-18" of the white stuff. Now the big question is: will Nashua get hit hard or will the storm pass just to the south and east of me, meaning Massachusetts and maybe New Hampshire's pathetic excuse for a coastline... even weather.com isn't sure how the storm will track.

Pitchers and Catchers report next Saturday to Ft. Myers, FL for the start of Red Sox Spring Training 2006. This is good because it meas that warmer days are a comin'.

Don't worry, I'm not running for anything

I've got too much on my plate & wouldn't want to run for anything anyway.

but I thought this headline was cool.




I found this a few months ago in some local newspaper. It's actually an article about some fight to preserve some wooded "green" areas in a town near here instead of building a condo complex or strip mall or some other silliness. I didn't actually read the article after I found it. I just liked the headline, obviously.

So that's all I have for you today. Maybe more tomorrow.

Ok, so I asked for it

I've been tagged by superspygal, but only because she forgot to tag others and weeeeellllll, I did ask for it (sort of). But, being a man of my word I said I would post mine responses tonight. So here goes:

Four jobs I've had:
1. Operations Specialist (current position)
2. Accounts Receivable Manager
3. Collections Associate (for many companies)
4. Movie Theater ticket seller/refreshment stand operator (going waaaaaay back into the job bank)

Four movies I can watch over and over (and over, and over, etc.):
1. A Few Good Men
2. Mr. Holland's Opus
3. All six Star Wars movies
4. Good Will Hunting

Four Places I have lived:
1. Bellingham, Massachusetts
2. Burlington, Massachusetts
3. Merrimack, New Hampshire
4. Nashua, New Hampshire

Four Shows I like:
1. ALIAS
2. New England Patriots games
3. Boston Red Sox games
4. Sportscenter

Four highly-touted TV shows I dislike:
1. American Idol
2. Survivor
3. The Amazing Race
4. Any other "reality" show not already mentioned

Four places I have vacationed:
1. Israel & Egypt (same vacation)
2. Jamaica
3. Washington DC/Virginia
4. Florida (17 years ago)

Four of my favorite dishes:
1. Steak & potatoes
2. chimichangas & gorditas
3. teriyaki steak, crab rangoon and pork fried rice
4. anything chicken (doesn't everyone write this???)

Four sites I visit daily:
1. Blogger (just to visit superspygal - *wink, wink*)
2. comcast mail & yahoo mail
3. eharmony.com
4. ebay.com

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. someplace warm
2. someplace warmer than that
3. in bed (in slumberland)
4. are you kidding, there's no place I'd rather be than typing away at my keyboard!!!

I'm not going to tag anyone else because the last five people I tagged either are:
a) ignoring me
b) ignorant to the fact I've tagged them for something
c) both a & b
d) none of these, I'm just too lazy to be bothered

The Plan revealed

Brace yourselves, folks, because I'm about to reveal The Plan.

The Plan that you first read about here and that I have mentioned a few times since. The Plan that you are waiting breathlessly to read about... (well maybe not)

The Plan.

I didn't want to spill it before because I hadn't finished/completed the application, which I did last night. Finally.

The whole reason for my trip to Texas next month is that I am applying to a grad school in Dallas in the hope of being accepted for the Fall 2006 semester. The school is having an open house type event for prospective students in March and I want to check things out firsthand, before I commit the next four years of my life.

The school is Dallas Theological Seminary. I want to earn a Masters degree in Theology, from which there are many options. Right now I am leaning toward possibly teaching in the world of university academia, or I could become a pastor. But who knows? This is subject to change.

Now you might be thinking; why this particular school, which is so far away? and Why now? The answers are simple. It is without question one of the best seminaries in the country, offering solid, Biblically based training. and Now is never too soon. If you've read here for any length of time, you should know that sound Biblical interpretation is very important to me. And its reputation is spotless. For a while now, I have had a link to the school's web site in my sidebar, or you can check it out here.

Yes, AG you guessed it last week, as I figured that you might, but it was too early to reveal details of The Plan. And it would have ruined the suspense and... well, the suspense. I know you all have been hanging, with all of your life and with baited breath on what The Plan was/is.

Though I'll have to admit, the super tough part about this whole deal is moving so far away from my kids, who live here in New Hampshire.

Certainly the ex won't move the kids to Dallas just to be close to me, nor would I want or expect her to. If I did, I still might be married, though probably not.

This weekend I got a very small taste of my kids' reaction when I told them what I wanted to do. Needless to say, my daughter V's reaction was not good. My son M's reaction wasn't as bad. Though they are young, presently 8 and 6, I don't expect them to fully understand why I want to do this. Nor is this a permanent thing. It is four years, and I would be back to see them as often as I could manage. Four years in the grand scheme of life is nothing. Plus, while not as good as in person contact, there are other ways of communicating with them, such as phone calls, emails and yes - handwritten letters.

My ex, having the weekend to ponder The Plan, called me last night to voice her concerns and the impact both emotionally and financially it would have on the kids and her, respectively. Her concerns I expected. If this is to work I will find a way to meet them.

I've even found a few Bible passages to reassure me that this is the right decision:

Mark 8:34-38 (NKJV) (see also Luke 9:23-26 for paralell passage)

Take Up the Cross and Follow Him

34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said
to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow Me.

35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

and

Matthew 19:23-30 (NKJV) (see also Mark 10:23-31 & Luke 18:24-30 for paralell passages)

With God All Things Are Possible

23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it
is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.

30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

but most of all, this:

Matthew 9:35-38 (NKJV) (see also parallel passage in Luke 10:1-12)

The Compassion of Jesus

35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

I want to be a laborer.

I have thought for a very long time about doing this, for more than a year actually. Believe it or not, I even mentioned it in my post of New Year's Resolutions. See #4.

This hesitation is also why I likened myself to the Biblical charachter Jonah (if clarification is needed it will be done in another post) in a post I wrote on my tendency to procrastinate.

So that's it in a nutshell. The Plan. There it is, out there for the world to see...

There is a back story to this as well, but that will have to wait for another night.

You really ought to check these out. Seriously.

Boy, oh boy have I got some great reading to share with you!!! I highly recommend adding these books to your library.


YOU MUST READ THESE BOOKS if you are Jewish or if you are a Christian.

YOU MUST READ THESE BOOKS if you want more insight into the Arab-Israeli conflict than the news media will ever tell you.

YOU MUST READ THESE BOOKS if you care about the most important and controversial place on the face of the earth. God's city, Jerusalem - "City of Peace".



I promise you that you will be emotionally impacted by the things you will read in these books. Again, I can't recommend them enough to you. I have links to both of them in my "Highly Recommended" section in the sidebar. If you read nothing else this year (besises your Bible, of course) you should definitely read these. WOW!

John Hagee is the senior pastor of Cornerstone Church, a place of worship and teaching he founded in San Antonio, Texas. This nondenominational evangelical church has more than 18,000 active members. Pastor Hagee is a well respected author and has been to Israel regularly since 1978. His inside sources plus a genuine love for the Word of God provide valuable insight into what is happening in Israel today and what the Bible has to say about it.

Randall Price has lived in Jerusalem and done graduate studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is president of World of the Bible Ministries and directs archaeological excavations at the site of Qumran, Israel (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found) and has investigated and researched the struggle over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem since 1989. His inside souorces and information will stun you.

Well, what are you waiting for???? You can get both of these books, plus many other great books & resources here.

Jerusalem is a truly beautiful city and Israel is a fantastic country. Lots of things to do and places to see. Never underestimate the importance of Jerusalem to God. It is His city and it is referenced 818 times in the Bible. And you can feel the presence of God there. I don't know how else to explain it.

Psalm 122 (NASB)

Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.
A Song of Ascents, of David.

1I was glad when they said to me,
"Let us to the house of the LORD."

2Our feet are standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem,

3Jerusalem, that is built
As a city that is compact together;

4To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the LORD--
An ordinance for Israel--
To give thanks to the name of the LORD.

5For there thrones were set for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.

6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
"May they prosper who love you.

7"May peace be within your walls,
And prosperity within your palaces."

8For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, "May peace be within you."

9For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.

Super Bowl XL wrap up

So the Steelers become the third team to win five Super Bowls with their 21-10 victory. They also are the first team to win the big game by winning all of their playoff games on the road.

I thought Pittsburgh would win but Seattle got robbed. The officiating was less than stellar. That first touchdown by the Steelers was a joke. The ball never broke the plane of the goal line until after Roethlisberger's knee/elbow clearly hit the ground. I don't know how the officials missed it. The play was even reviewed and they still missed it.

Unbelievable.

True that if the call had been reversed, they probably would have scored on the next play anyway, but for the sake of accuracy, get it right. It didn't help that Seattle missed two field goals, which would have made the end of the game much different had they been able to score those six points.

Coach Bill Cowher was tagged with not being able to win the big one. No more. I think he's one of the classiest coaches in the league and clearly one of the best in the business
The MVP was WR Hines Ward, with 5 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown. Hometown boy RB Jerome Bettis takes his championship and retires after 13 seasons. The future HOFer retires as the fifth leading rusher in NFL history.

As for me, I finished 7-4 straight up and 6-5 vs. the point spread. I've had better post seasons...

Let's get started to Super Bowl XLI in Miami, Florida

NFL Playoffs- Super Bowl XL

Ok, now that the hype is nearly over, let's get down to business, one final time. When last we left, I had successfully predicted the winners of both Conference Championship Games. So far in the playoffs I am 6-4 picking straight up winners and also 6-4 vs. the spread. Let's see if I can add one more victory this season...


Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (-4; o/u 47) @ Ford Field, Detroit, MI

Pittsburgh is the first #6 seed since the playoff field expanded in 1990 to win three road games to reach the Superbowl and only the second team ever to win three road playoff games to advance to the Superbowl. Don't underestimate them. This is Pittsburgh's sixth appearance in the Superbowl and first in ten years. Seattle is making its first ever Superbowl appearance.

Pittsburgh offense vs. Seattle defense: Pittsburgh's running game has been it's strength all season long, with RB's Willie Parker and hometown favorite Jerome Bettis. QB Ben Roethlisberger can throw accurately, but if he is forced to throw more than 25 times in the game, the Steelers will lose, because they will be playing from behind. Seattle has had one of the best, unheralded defenses in the league this year. Edge: Pittsburgh

Seattle offense vs. Pittsburgh Defense: Seattle's offense, led by league MVP RB Shaun Alexander and Pro Bowl QB Matt Hasselbeck has statistically been one of the best most well rounded offenses in the league this year. The Seahawks receivers are underrated because all of the focus is on stopping Alexander. Pittsburgh's defense is led by S Troy Palomalu and LB Joey Porter. They can be thrown on and beaten if tested often enough. Edge: Seattle

Bill Cowher vs. Mike Holmgren: Both coaches have coached in this game before, Cowher in XXX and Holmgren in XXXI & XXXII, with Holmgren winning XXXI. There is always pressure in these games and both coaching staffs handle it well. Edge: even

As always, teams who make the fewest mistakes usually wins. Even though the offenses for both teams seem to have an edge, I really don't see this as a high scoring game. Look for the game to be back and forth throughout with Pittsburgh winning it late in the 4th quarter.
My Prediction: Pittsburgh 23, Seattle 21
Actual Score: Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10

Random Musings

Don't you hate it when that little envelope pops up down there on your computer's toolbar telling you that you've got a new e-mail, and it turns out to be spam? I do. Just happened again. GRRRRRR.

Isn't it amazing how we seem to be consumed by our posessions? This hit me the other day as I recently packaged up three dvd's that I sold on ebay, only to open up a package I received that same day which had three cd's in it that I bought on ebay. Do we ever stop and realize how much stuff we own and take for granted? Can you imagine what people did in their spare time before television, movies, dvd's and the internet? I certainly wouldn't want to live in a techlology-less age or one with less sophisticated toys, anywho.

Two of these recent ebay buyers are from Canada and the other is from Austria. Even though the ad said I will only ship to the US & Canada, this fella bought a dvd from me anyway. I'm going to ship it to him anyway, since I've never sold anything to anyone in Austria before.

I believe I had more Forgotten English words here as part of this post at one time, but it looks like BIG BAD BLOGGER ate them. Hate it when that happens...

Five weird things/habits about me

Well, my friends, I have been tagged by my friend dabich.

The Rules: "The first player of this game starts with the topic "five weird habits" of yourself and people who get tagged need to write an entry about their five weird habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next five people to be tagged and link to their web journals."

I had to take a few and think about these things, so here goes:

1) I usually sleep on the right side of the bed (when someone else is there with me). Since October 2004 though I've been laying diagonally across the mattress. I sleep in the same position every night.

2) I have to sleep on two goose down feather pillows, preferably king sized. I take them with me whenever I go on trips. (Yep, they'll come to Dallas with me.) Once you sleep on a goose down pillow, you'll never be able to sleep on a foam pillow again. Just ask my ex: got her hooked real good, I did.

3) I always put jelly on my grilled cheese sandwiches. It looks gross but tastes really good.

4) When I sign my name, my initials are always obnoxiously large, non-cursive letters. When I just sign my initials, I always partially circle them.

5) I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I can tell you what uniform numbers some of my favorite Red Sox players wore 30 years ago. I can also read the sports page once and basically recite the entire thing back to you.

Bonus weird things) If I see an actor in a movie, even if it's a minor charachter, I can usually tell you what other movies they've been in. I can also identify obscure movie quotes repeated back to me - if I've seen the movie. I can do this even if I haven't seen the movie in a long time.

Ok, that was relatively painless.

Let's see, who am I going to tag??? There are just so many... ;>)
{Be nice and play along, ok?}

katie
american guy
zepplinlady
amz
~deb

So what movie did I watch tonight?

And the answer is:

Groundhog Day

What'd you think?

Of course, Groundhog Day would not be complete without checking out this site.

Personally I think winter will end on March 20th, but what do I know??

No "buddy pass" for me after all

I just talked to my sister C. She told me that the "buddy pass" cost for a ticket to Dallas is not as cheap as we would have liked it to be. No where near the price ranges we were talking about last night. In fact, her airline's "buddy pass" to Dallas would cost $272-$280, which is just a tad cheaper than a price I can get online somewhere. Plus with the "buddy pass," I'd be on standby and not guaranteed a seat on the flight I'd want or need.

So it's back to the internet search tomorrow night for reasonable tickets.

And just to clear some things up, here. This trip of mine to Dallas IS NOT a booty call of any kind. I am still unhappily single. eharmony or any other dating site has nothing whatsoever to do with it. NOR IS IT an opportunity to join any kind of antisemitic hate organization.

I will reveal the juicy details to you all, as I promised, soon.

In fact I started writing the story behind it all tonight. But it is still mostly in my mind, as I want to tell it. It needs some seroius fleshing out of the details, as I search my mind for the proper back story. All I ask is that you be patient. Some of you, maybe all of you, may be disappointed in the end game. That's okay though, I can do that and you'll have to deal with it. At least I've piqued your curiosity - and that's a good thing in my book.

Get you people thinkin'... using them brains of yours for something other than --. Well, you get the idea...

My word cloud

So I stole this from Katie's blog. I thought this was really cool. Here is the website to build your own.

What animal was I in a past life?

Ok, it's been a while since I posted some of these dopey lil' tests, so have fun stealing them! :>)

You Were a Lizard

You are able to bounce back from adversity and regenerate what was lost. Facing your fears and controlling your dreams comes easily for you.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

What kind of weather am I?

You Are Sunshine

Soothing and calm You are often held up by others as the ideal But too much of you, and they'll get burned You are best known for: your warmth Your dominant state: connecting

What Type of Weather Are You?