The Master Eclectic

Frontierland at Dusk (Tilt Shift)

2009-10-10T17:11:00.001-07:00

Frontierland at Dusk (Tilt Shift)
Originally uploaded by Averain

I just really love how this came out. It really looks miniature.

Creating Kindle Files from Plain Text on a Mac

2009-09-26T11:54:00.001-07:00

I really like the Kindle 2 my wife got me and one of the best parts about it is how easy it is to get text files onto it (especially because of all the free books in plain text format at sites like Project Gutenberg and Christian Classics Ethereal Library). When I first got the Kindle I wasn't real sure how easy it would be to read text on a screen. I've tried reading text on all sorts of screens over the years and I could never get through an entire book without feeling like I was reading it off of a screen. That's important to me. When I really get into a book I seem to forget that I'm actually reading something and just meld with the book. If you're a reader I think you'll understand this. When I used to read books off a screen I never got that feeling of really being a part of what was happening in the book and it made it hard to keep reading so I rarely finished books I was trying read on the computer, for instance.

The Kindle doesn't have this problem. I've read through many books on the Kindle now and it feels like reading it from the printed page. The other thing that has happened with the Kindle is that it has effectively killed my Barnes and Noble addiction. Unfortunately I think it has worked by replacing one strong drug with a stronger one. This is because I have found with the Kindle that the "bookstores" of free books on the web and being able to browse through Amazon's Kindle Store using the built-in cellular connection are working well as feeds to the book addiction I have - better even than a Barnes and Noble or Borders because of the extremely wide availability of material.

Now, reading plain text on a computer screen is just awful. It is worse than trying to read nicely formatted text on a computer screen. And reading an entire novel this way just a non-starter for me. But reading plain text on a Kindle is another story entirely. So here is how to get a plain text book off of a site and onto the Kindle. I wrote this on a Mac but there are directions for doing in in Windows at other sites and you can use the same steps on a Windows system as well since there is a version of Stanza for Windows as well. Also, you don't have to use Stanza at all if you just want to copy the text files directly over (although you'll still probably want to remove the line endings).

You'll need to download Lexcycle's Stanza application if you don't have it already. Yes, it is free. Everything in this blog post is free. You'll also need a text editor that can remove line endings. I used TextWrangler, which is also free (see?), for this. Some smarty pants may point out ways of doing this with TextEdit but I'm lazy and TextWrangler has this nice selection in a menu, making all of this a snap.
Choose the text file you want to transfer and save it somewhere accessible. In this example we will take The Wind in the Willows and put it on the Kindle. Navigate to Project Gutenberg's page for The Wind in the Willows.
Go to the bottom of the page where the links are and grab one of the ones in Plain Text format with a compression of "none". To do this, Ctrl-Click the link for downloading plain text and select Save Link As... to save the file somewhere you can get to it later.
Now, open the file in TextWrangler (or some other text editor that can handle removing line breaks from the file)
Once you are in TextWrangler with the file open, select the Text menu and then Remove Line Breaks.
Now, I like to make sure that the file comes up in the Kindle with the right title and author because "Unknown" is a little difficult to find later on. To make sure that it will convert nicely go to the top of the file and insert the following two lines of text:
Title: The Wind in the Willows
Author: Kenneth Grahame
Now save the file and you can close the text editor.
Open the text file in Stanza (either with the File->Open File... command or by Ctrl-Clicking the text file and selecting Open With->Stanza).
In Stanza, select File->Export Book As->Amazon Kindle
Make sure you note where the .azw file gets saved to.
Plug in the Kindle
When the Kindle has been plugged in to the Mac it will mount as a drive. This is what you want. Open the "Kindle" drive in the Finder and select the "documents" folder.
Now copy the .azw file to the documents folder and eject the Kindle.
The next time you power on your Kindle you should have The Wind in the Willows available as a selection to read.

Insalata Caprese

2009-09-11T17:39:00.001-07:00

DSC00427
Originally uploaded by dpserik

This isn't my picture but it was taken by a good friend who won't mind my blogging about it. This is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world.

Best Insect Photos I've Ever Seen

2009-07-10T11:41:00.001-07:00

Opo Terser's Photostream on Flickr has some of the best insect shots I've ever seen in my life.

No Pants

2009-04-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

I'm just experimenting with Picasa, but I do love this picture. I always think of this poor duck as though he is having those dreams of himself where he is naked and everybody can see him but he doesn't know why. I'm sure he is psychologically damaged.

Famous!

2009-03-23T19:08:00.001-07:00

Jellyfish
Originally uploaded by Averain

Well, okay, maybe not really famous, but it was still fun to get asked to post this pic in another blog. The post is here.

Desert Flowers

2009-03-15T20:48:00.001-07:00

Field of Yellow 3
Originally uploaded by Averain

This has already been a fantastic year for wildflowers and it just keeps getting better. There are seas of yellow on the sides of the hills around here.

Sheep In The Desert

2009-03-15T20:46:00.001-07:00

Sheep Group
Originally uploaded by Averain

When I was growing up we would go out driving in the desert and sometimes we would go to a place called "Sheep Springs" which my parents told me had a well for watering flocks of sheep. Thinking of sheep in the middle of the desert seemed very strange to me, but you do see signs every so often that flocks are led through this area. This particular flock was right off the side of the road as I was taking the 395 south out of town.

Sad

2009-02-17T13:04:00.001-08:00

Sad
Originally uploaded by Averain

I was supposed to be on my way to see this today, but things happen in life that you hadn't planned for. Anyway, my poor little car which I love very much suddenly developed a problem in the power steering and the dealership pointed out that I am still under warranty and, better yet, that would cover the delivery of the car for service as well as its return (which is pretty cool, actually).

But just look at the poor little thing. Doesn't it look like a sad little person on that truck?

Snowmobile

2008-12-13T13:21:00.001-08:00

Snowmobile
Originally uploaded by Averain

This thing is in our Christmas Parade every year and every year I think of how cool it would be to ride around in it in the snow. Elena told me I should go and get lost in the snow and then I could get a ride but that sounds a little dangerous.

Rock and Roll Lifestyle

2008-11-11T20:56:00.001-08:00

One of the greatest songs ever.

My favorite part:

"Excess ain't rebellion, you're drinkin' what they're selling. Your self-destruction doesn't hurt them. Your chaos won't convert them."

Ghost Stories

2008-10-31T12:16:00.001-07:00

Haunted Driveway
Originally uploaded by Averain

It is that time of year and I thought I would post some of my favorite spots for reading ghost stories:

http://www.horrormasters.com/Themes/Haunted_Houses.htm
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/l#a272 (Le Fanu is amazing)
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/j#a2768 (M. R. James is my favorite ghost story author of all time.)
http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/

Relay For Life Ridgecrest 2008

2008-10-05T15:36:00.001-07:00

Relay For Life Ridgecrest 2008
Originally uploaded by Averain

I participated in the Relay for Life again this year and it was a great experience. I highly recommend it.

Political Speech (aka. Lying)

2008-10-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

From this article:

"We don't have a lot of leeway on time. One of the individuals in the caucus today talked about a major insurance company. A major insurance company -- one with a name that everyone knows that's on the verge of going bankrupt. That's what this is all about," Reid said prior to the Senate's approval of the $700 billion bailout bill.

and from a little later in the article:

A spokesman for Sen. Reid backtracked a bit Thursday and said that the senator was not aware of any company being in danger of bankruptcy.

"Senator Reid is not personally aware of any particular company being on the verge of bankruptcy. He has no special knowledge about [a bankruptcy] nor has he talked to any insurance company officials," said Jim Manley, spokesman for Sen. Reid, in an email to CNNMoney.com.

"Rather, his comments were meant to refer to the conditions in the financial sector generally. He regrets any confusion his comments may have caused," Manley added.

So saying, "One of the individuals in the caucus today talked about a major insurance company ... one with a name that everyone knows that's on the verge of going bankrupt" is meant to "refer to the conditions in the financial sector generaly" and does not refer to "any particular company being on the verge of bankruptcy."

Right.

I wish our politicians could tell the truth, really I do. I guess that they would get voted out of office in favor of the lying ones (just like when somebody says they don't like a "negative campaign" and then votes against somebody on the ticket because of all the bad things they heard about them) but just once it would be refreshing to have them not flatly contradict themselves in public.

How to Increase Your Flickr Views

2008-10-01T12:14:00.001-07:00

Little Cat
Originally uploaded by Averain

Apparently nothing quite brings up the Flickr view count like a picture of a cute cat. This one has my highest number of comments, the most group invites, and the most faves I've had on any photo since I started with Flickr.

The Most Dangerous Cake

2008-09-11T08:14:00.001-07:00

I got this in an email today and thought it was too good to not share!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour(that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional) some nuts (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well . Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT!
(this can serve 2 if you want to share!)
And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?
Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

One Degree of Separation

2008-09-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine from High School wrote the score for this movie, which just seems cool to me. I'm always amazed that anybody I know has a job like that.

DO AS I SAY - Official Trailer (1080p) from DO AS I SAY Movie on Vimeo.

Sweet, Sweet Basil

2008-09-05T11:30:00.001-07:00

Sweet Basil
Originally uploaded by Averain

This is my great pride and joy, my sweet basil plant. When I planted it at the beginning of the season, it looked like this.

This may not be so impressive to you, but I have a thumb as brown as the fence in the background (note that I killed the tomato and jalapeno plant that used to share this barrel with the basil) so I'm quite pleased that this little plant grew so well. I'm a bit sad that its leaves are getting smaller as the season nears its end and I'll miss Caprese Salad and basil in my scrambled eggs, but I'll be buying a basil plant first thing next year when they show up at the stores.

The Desert

2008-08-23T18:46:00.001-07:00

Power Line Sunset
Originally uploaded by Averain

I love the desert. I didn't used to, but now I love long stretches of nothing and dry air; dirt roads that stretch to the horizon.

Stroustrup, C++ and Java

2008-08-23T09:39:00.001-07:00

In the June issue of SD Times there is an entire article on how "spec-laden" and "bloated" the Java language has become. When I read it I was immediately reminded of Bjarne Stroustrup (the inventor of C++) and what he said in response to the question, "Is Java the language you would have designed if you didn't have to be compatible with C?" Keep in mind that he wrote this when Java was considered superior to C++ for its simplicity and he was being mocked in the press for creating such a "bloated" language. This is from his FAQ:

Much of the relative simplicity of Java is - like for most new languages - partly an illusion and partly a function of its incompleteness. As time passes, Java will grow significantly in size and complexity. It will double or triple in size and grow implementation-dependent extensions or libraries. That is the way every commercially successful language has developed. Just look at any language you consider successful on a large scale. I know of no exceptions, and there are good reasons for this phenomenon.

When he wrote this (back in the 90's) people pooh-pooh'ed this statement and said he had sour grapes but of course you shouldn't second-guess somebody of Stroustrup's caliber because, of course, he was right, Java is "spec-laden" and "bloated" now but also, "there are good reasons for this."

Hummingbirds!

2008-08-09T16:39:00.001-07:00

Whoa
Originally uploaded by Averain

We went to the annual Kern River Valley Hummingbird Celebration today which is one of my favorite things to do since it isn't every day that you can have Hummingbirds by the dozen dive bombing you. But this year I was especially excited since I had a new camera and no bird is as cool to catch in flight as a Hummingbird.

Taylor Creek Fish

2008-08-08T09:10:00.001-07:00

Taylor Creek Fish
Originally uploaded by Averain

If you are ever at Lake Tahoe you should take the time to go and visit the Taylor Creek Stream Profile Chamber. First you get to take this great little nature walk through the woods and then you descend under the water level of the nearby stream into this little room which has windows on the side facing the stream so the stream actually flows right by the window. It is a neat idea and well executed.

The Taylor Creek Stream Profile Chamber is a short walk on the Rainbow Trail (a paved trail which is not at all strenuous) that leaves from the Visitor Center. You can park at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center which is located off of Highway 89 a few miles to the north of Camp Richardson which is just outside of South Lake.

Mariposa Lily

2008-07-08T20:17:00.001-07:00

Mariposa Lily
Originally uploaded by Averain

This shot of a Mariposa Lily on the hike to Telescope Peak in Death Valley came out nice, I thought.

Best Day Ever

2008-06-13T22:19:00.000-07:00

What an outstanding day! I started it off by giving Elena an early Anniversary present (a Coach coupon I had gotten from a friend, and a Coach store trip to use it in). Then we went to Panera Bread and they had their Tomato Mozzarella salad back again. It is a summer item, and one of my favorite dishes in the world, so I've been missing it pretty bad for almost a year now. Last year when the season ended I can still remember the disappointment when I went to a Panera Bread and they no longer had it on the menu. After that we went to Bowers Museum and got to see the Chinese Terra Cotta Warrior Exhibit, which was fantastic and then off to Macaroni Grill (which Elena and I love) and Chicken Florentine salad with Blackberry Mint tea.

Amazing, but the day wasn't over yet.

When we got back to the hotel we went swimming in both the indoor and outdoor pools (and the hot tub). Oh, did I mention I burned some Hilton Honors points so the hotel stay was free (and it is a great hotel). Elena even went in the pool (which is most unusual for her).

But still, the day wasn't over.

We are right across the street here from Angels Stadium and we knew there would be fireworks after the game so Elena reminded me to take a look and sure enough, there were fireworks. We watched them for awhile and then we realized that there were two fireworks shows going off at the same time and we had actually been watching the Disneyland fireworks show originally. So we could see both the Disneyland fireworks and the Angels game fireworks at the same time from our room window.

I mean, really. It doesn't get much better than that. My kids called it, "The Best Day Ever" (with a bow to Sponge Bob).

I've opened an Etsy shop!

2008-05-31T08:27:00.000-07:00

And since this is my blog, I can advertise for free, wheeeeee! ;)

So yes, I've opened an Etsy shop, and to get it out of the way, you can find it here. I had been thinking that I ought to try again to sell some of the items I had made (mostly knit and crochet) and since I had zero luck trying to sell things locally, I hoped that the internet would give me a little more visibility. :) Etsy is a really cool site, it's like eBay in the sense that individuals use the site to sell their items, but unlike eBay it is not in the auction format, and with Etsy, the items are handmade. So if you're interested in buying handmade items, you should check it out. And if you are interested in buying bags of all kinds, you should definitely see my site. :)

This Makes No Sense!

2008-05-24T15:11:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday here it was 107 degrees. Today it is 65 degrees. Where is this global warming I am hearing so much about!?

Security, The Eternal Concern

2008-05-21T15:43:00.001-07:00

In the May 19th issue of eWeek there is an article on Web 2.0 wherein we find that "Enterprises are embracing Web 2.0, but they're keeping the technology close to home for now as security and liability concerns remain." I think it would be nice to read an article someday that talks about some technology for which security isn't a "concern." Of course security, being what it is, has an intrinsic property of subjectivity and so it will always be a "concern" in any endeavor.

Microsoft + Competition = "Innovation"

2008-05-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

In the May issue of Visual Studio Magazine a letter to the editor bemoaned the fate of VB.NET as being a second-class member of the Visual Studio suite. Of course it is absolutely true that VB.NET is not given the same attention by Microsoft as C#, but why that should surprise anybody is beyond me. Language-wise Visual Basic has no competitors and Microsoft does not make it a practice of spending too much effort on product areas within which they have no competition. C#, of course, was created as a counterpoint to Java and therefore it behooves Microsoft to make certain that it is projected to the fore of the VS.NET languages and that maximum effort is spent on it.

Microsoft's practice of spending minimal effort until prompted by competition is clear enough when looking at the market share of Internet Explorer and placing that against Internet Explorer's release history. Notably, IE6 came out in mid-2001 when IE's market share was just about to reach its peak. IE7 did not even have a beta release until mid-2005 and it did not officially release until late 2006. Prior to IE7 Microsoft had released a version of IE about every other year. So when IE7 came out the market share for Internet Explorer had begun to fall. Now, by any estimation IE's falling market share during the years 2001-2006 was driven almost entirely by the rise of Firefox. It shouldn't be any surprise that one of the primary differentiators of Firefox was tabbed browsing and one of the primary features touted in IE7 is, you guessed it, tabbed browsing.

The fact that competition drives innovation is, of course, a foundation of a market economy. However, Microsoft seems to embody that principle more than most companies do.

My exercise progress

2008-05-09T17:00:00.000-07:00

So, the other day, I was absentmindedly stroking my upper arm when I felt kind of a lump. I thought, "Oh, my allergy shot got swollen this time, bummer." Then I realized I had my shot the day before--the lump was actually *gasp* MUSCLE!

I am still pretty scrawny, but considering I've quickly gone from barely being able to do 6 girly pushups to easily being able to do 12 girly pushups in one set, I think it's pretty good. I'm still doing cardio 5 times a week (usually 6, but I aim for 5) and the strength training is three times a week.

So yay me! I am on my way to being the fit skinny girl, not the skinny girl who is just skinny because of genetics. :D

Win a Free Bike!

2008-05-09T09:16:00.001-07:00

How totally awesome is that?!? Lipton Tea is partnering up with a couple of blogs to give away a Fuji Crosstown 2.0 bike, along with a check for $75 to pay for professional assembly of said bike. What a great way to start your summer!

Click here to enter the contest at John Is Fit--John's contest requires that you link back to him to enter, and you need to enter by May 11.

Click here to enter the contest at Scale Junkie--you can enter just by leaving a comment but a link back will gain you a second entry! This contest ends May 14th.

Both contests are for US residents only. Happy entering!

Mother's Day Giveaways!

2008-05-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

You know I am all about the sweepstakes. :) Well, click on the button to find several Mother's Day sweeps! You don't have to be a mother to enter, either. :) Open to USA and Canada. Contests end May 9 at 9 pm eastern time.

I rock!

2008-04-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, maybe this time it will stick! :D

I've started an exercise program. At least 5 days a week I'm doing a half-hour's worth of Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds. I try to make one of those days a 3 mile/45 minute session. I've been doing this for about 6 weeks and I think I have finally gotten to the point where I don't hate it! I don't exactly love it, but I don't loathe doing it like I did at the beginning.

I don't want to be a total exercise nut but I want to be able to eat junk so I guess I need to exercise. :D

The Ministry of Love

2008-04-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

In the book 1984 the government consists of several "Ministries." These are: The Ministry of Truth, The Ministry of Plenty, The Ministry of Peace and the Ministry of Love. Each ministry is actually responsible for the opposite of whatever its name is. So the Ministry of Peace, for example, wages a never-ending war. Using intentionally misleading names for government entities is not just a phenomenon in fiction:

KGB (Committee for State Security)

SS (Protective Squadron)

People's Liberation Army

I think it is important to understand that if any modern government wants to remove your freedoms it will do it under the guise of an agency that is named with neutral or positive terms. This has the very convenient effect of silencing the bulk of public opposition since it is inherently difficult to say that The Ministry of Love has nothing to do with love.

I wonder if we are in such a situation today with Child Protective Services.

Um... That is not a cat.

2008-04-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

You have to see the picture at this link.

Nerds In Training

2008-03-28T20:04:00.001-07:00

My daughters discovered our set of the first five Star Trek movies on VHS and have now officially enrolled in the Nerd Training Curriculum by watching them.

I'm so proud.

Proving It Is The Artist And Not The Tools

2008-03-22T22:54:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am a Fanboy

2008-03-17T20:28:00.001-07:00

Elena (who I love with more passionate love that I have ever loved anyone) bought me a MacBook. I have always loved Macs. She asked me, "How does it feel to be a fanboy?" I told her it felt just fine. And it does.

YouTube - Star Wars (Sweded): A Cardboard Hope

2008-03-15T07:56:00.001-07:00

This is absolutely marvelous.

She's Reading

2008-03-11T19:30:00.001-07:00

We're here in the living room and all of a sudden my youngest bursts out in laughter. I look at her mother and she says, "She's reading." And so she is. My little girl is reading a book to herself and laughing. Isn't the world wonderful?

March

2008-03-11T19:25:00.001-07:00

I took a walk with the family this evening and it was wonderful. The weather was warm and with the time change we had plenty of light.

It's Not Terrorism Unless It's an Airplane

2008-03-07T10:10:00.001-08:00

The recent stories on the ricin found in the Las Vegas hotel room and the bombing of the armed forces recruiting center in New York really bother me. In both of these stories we have the "authorities" saying that they don't know if it is terrorism at this time or not. In fact, in the story on the ricin in Las Vegas they said this:

"I want to assure everybody that the Las Vegas Valley is safe," Las Vegas police Capt. Joseph Lombardo said. "We don't currently have any terrorist threat at this time or possibility of contamination (due) to ricin."

And in this story on the bombing in Times Square we find:

In Washington, the Homeland Security Department said there was no sign of an immediate threat to the United States from the incident and White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said there was no initial sign of any link to terrorism.

Okay, I'm all for the investigating authorities withholding judgment until the facts are in and I'm all for actually thinking things through before accusing people of terrorism, but my problem here is the complete lack of consistency in the way that our government is behaving when it comes to the threat of terrorism. I am told we must maintain a constant state of preparedness. I am told, when I read the story of the teen who had his feeding tube examined by the TSA that anybody could be a terrorist and we have to be constantly vigilant. On the DHS web site for the current National Threat Advisory I am told the following:

All Americans should continue to be vigilant, take notice of their surroundings, and report suspicious items or activities to local authorities immediately.

(I wonder if "guns and literature about anarchy" along with an actual chemical weapon doesn't constitute "suspicious items or activities.")

On the TSA blog the byline says, "Terrorists evolve. Threats evolve. Security must stay ahead." According to the TSA's site on "Why we screen shoes":

Today improvised explosive devices are the number one threat that we guard against. More than 31,000 of our TSOs have received rigorous training in IED detection and are required to complete four hours a month of recurrent training to detect all forms of explosives.

Oddly enough, actual explosives that, you know, blow stuff up, are not an indication of "any link to terrorism." Every time I go through an airport I stand in a long line of people that go through the now very familiar partial undressing ceremony and ostensibly this is "for our protection" since anybody could be a terrorist and shoes might contain an IED. Actual IEDs elicit a shoulder shrugging and a denial of "any link to terrorism" from the same authorities that insist upon checking our shoes. This inconsistency is driving me crazy. I'm a pretty conservative guy, but this type of thing makes me wonder if the libs have got it right and all this security paranoia talk is really just to control the sheep like me who aren't actually a threat and not to actually do anything about real terrorists. I'm trying to decide if all of this is malice or incompetence, and which of those two options frightens me more.

As I'm trying to make sense of the senselessness here it is becoming obvious that we are now fixated on airplane travel as the primary (only?) threat vector for activity that we will label as terrorist. As evidence of this, I cite not only the preceding stories and incongruous government information but also the Department of Homeland Security's National Threat Advisory. Other people have noted that even after the IED in Times Square the National Threat Advisory level didn't go up. Now, I don't know why I didn't notice this before, but if you look at the DHS web site along the left-hand side where the National Threat Advisory is listed you will notice that it clearly states "The threat level in the airline sector is ..." Maybe I was the only person in America who thought that the DHS was taking a holistic approach to "Homeland Security" and wasn't just focused on airline travel but why is the only widely publicized metric for threat status only about airline travel? If a nuke destroyed Los Angeles would the National Threat Advisory level stay a pleasant shade of yellow, or would it only go up because LAX was in the blast zone? Why is the metric called a "National Threat Advisory" and not a "National Air Travel Threat Advisory" if it is really only about air travel?

In my opinion inconsistencies like this create insecurities. I don't like being told by my government that these things are for my safety and then discovering so much inconsistency. I doesn't make me feel safe.

Win a purty purse by The SAK!

2008-02-29T09:07:00.000-08:00

5 Minutes for Mom is sponsoring a contest where you can win the Dakota Hobo from The SAK! Enter it here!

Haiku Friday!

2008-02-29T07:57:00.000-08:00

The weather is warm
Spring is here in the desert
Why are we still sick?

But don't cheer for March
It's always windy that month
Stirs up allergies

I can write them too!
Click top button to see more
Now it's time to eat!

(breakfast, that is....)

Great Free Music

2008-02-26T20:16:00.001-08:00

I've been listening to these guys on Jamendo and I'm enjoying them very much:

Great Audio Resources

2008-02-18T14:31:00.001-08:00

I can't believe the stuff you can download for free. One of my favorite sites is Librivox where you can download audio for public domain books being read by people who have simply volunteered their time. The quality is surprisingly good, too. Along the religious lines, you can download some great classes at Biblical Training where Bill Mounce (who wrote my favorite beginning Greek text) got together a bunch of his friends (some no-names like Craig Blomberg, John Piper, Ronald Nash, Gerald Bray and Frank Thielman) and posted entire classes for free download. And on iTunes Elena recently directed me toward iTunes U where you can download whole classes for free from tiny unaccredited colleges like Stanford and MIT. Back on the religious side I've also downloaded some outstanding things from Sermonaudio.com. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to A.W. Tozer preach, for example. I guess you probably have to be a big nerd to enjoy this stuff but this world sure is getting a lot more enjoyable for nerds like me.

Sick!

2008-02-02T10:26:00.001-08:00

Elena is sick today, what a bummer. I hate it when she is sick because I want to hold her and comfort her but then she feels guilty if I get sick and it is just a vicious cycle. *sigh*

I'm a geek wife

2008-01-31T15:25:00.000-08:00

How would I say that in 133t? Anyway.

A few days ago, I asked my dearest husband if he had anything in mind to buy me for Valentine's Day. He, of course being the INTP that he is, had not. In fact, I'm pretty sure he didn't realize Valentine's Day was approaching until I said anything. :D I was actually glad he didn't already have something picked out, because I had a clever idea that was going to be on the expensive side, which I would have a hard time justifying if he had already spent (or planned to spend) the amount ~~I deserve~~ he usually spends. I was going to keep it a surprise, but I'm really, REALLY bad at that kind of thing, because I just love giving presents. So I spilled the beans, Justin agreed that it would be a neat purchase, and he surprised ME by getting one today. *swoon*

Yay me! It's actually this tv here. Now, for anyone reading this who knows us, which is nobody (LOL), this might seem like a rather strange purchase, because we don't watch tv. Well, we don't because we can't (by choice)--we have no television reception, no cable, no dish. We do have a roof antenna but it's no longer connected to anything. :) No, the reason I wanted a tv for our bedroom is because in the evenings, after the kids have gone to bed, when the house is dark and quiet, Justin and I like to snuggle together and do this. Or sometimes this. And when we're feeling really wild, this.

What did you think I was going to say? You did read the title of this blog, didn't you? :D *innocent expression* Anyway, there's nothing better than being in my cozy bed, cuddled up with the love of my life, and hacking and slashing my way to glory. Plus, the PS2 plays DVDs as well, so we can get caught up on our stack of Netflix movies, which currently has romantic titles like this one or that one. I told you I was a geek wife, now do you believe me? :D

Some Things I Love

2008-01-28T17:12:00.001-08:00

Weird Al and YouTube, for letting me watch things like this:

Amazing History Site

2008-01-26T16:44:00.001-08:00

Today I was searching for a particular quote that I thought came from Martin Luther King, Jr. and I found the American Rhetoric web site. This site has a large number of speeches with the transcripts and, where available, the recordings of those speeches. I had never heard, for example, FDR's Pearl Harbor Address which contains the famous, "A day which will live in infamy" quote. It was stirring to hear it and the recording was very good. In fact, I noticed that the Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century list at the site contains a lot of speeches that I'd heard of but never actually heard. And when the site doesn't have audio it will often have either the text of the speech or a link to a site that has text of the speech.

And you thought I couldn't do it...

2008-01-26T15:48:00.000-08:00

Picture me doing the "stir the pot" dance in triumph.....okay, maybe on second thought you shouldn't. :D

Anyway, I finished my book! Aren't you impressed? Darwin on Trial was pretty good, quite scholarly so I kinda had to put on my oh-yeah-I-used-to-go-to-college hat to read it, but I managed. The book was basically a criticism of the logical errors that many Darwinists make--using too broad a definition of the term "evolution," for example, and also not realizing that much of their allegiance to evolution is faith based, just not faith in a Creator. Very good, interesting, helped reinforce what I believed regarding evolution while also serving to clarify some things.

Yeah, so it's not much of a book review. But I did read it, I promise. :) Not sure what I am planning to read next. Justin thinks I should try Confessions by St. Augustine but I'm not sure I'm up for it. In any case, I finished Darwin on Trial early enough in the month that I have a little time to figure out what February's book should be.

I've got a stamp neener neener

2008-01-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

So, guess where I was when I wasn't blogging? I went to Finland! Yes, me, who doesn't like to travel and once swore that it was her life's goal to never own or need a passport. :D

Justin had to go there on travel, and I, on a crazy whim, decided that I would go with him. Because, you know, people who love hot weather like myself will always love to go to Finland in January. *roll eyes* But surprisingly, it was not that cold. It only snowed the first couple days we were there (and not all day) and there was no accumulation, it all melted. I saw a few large piles of snow on various sidewalks but I'm guessing that was leftovers from snow being plowed earlier in the season. The temperature on Thursday actually got up to 4C (about 39F for us crazy Americans) but it was windy and so it felt colder than any of the other days.

We spent the first part of our trip in Tampere (pronouned "Tahm-purr-ay") because that's where Justin had his meetings. While he was busy I decided to walk around Tampere a bit--I was originally going to travel around more by bus but decided against it as I couldn't make head nor tail out of the bus schedule. This was the view that greeted me as I exited the train station both days (our hotel was right near the station, but the better shopping was on this side of the tracks, hee hee). Well, except that the sky was completely gray, the trees had no leaves, and all the people were wearing black. Seriously, pretty much everyone dresses in neutrals there. I saw a few colorful scarves and hats but mostly it was black and gray and brown. I had fun just kind of immersing myself in the whole Finnish experience--the stores I went to in Tampere were mostly ordinary sorts of stores, but it was neat to have foreigners all around me. I mean, it's not like I was the foreigner or anything. The first day I ate lunch at Hesburger and the second day I ate at McDonald's. The McDonald's nuggets tasted like they used to a long time ago (and I don't mean old, I think it's from before they were "all white meat" or something like that)--much better. Same with the Coke, because outside the US you can get Coke made with real sugar instead of corn syrup. I'm no foodie, but now US Coke tastes like crud to me. :(

On Wednesday we went back to Helsinki (forgot to mention that Helsinki is where our plane landed, and where we spent the first night). Didn't do too much that day, as we had spent the morning on the train getting there, but we did go to the Jumbo mall near our hotel. That mall is about 1/2 sporting goods stores, LOL. On Thursday we did the tourist deal in Helsinki--of course we saw very little of the city, but what can you do in a day when it's freezing and you're on foot? We went to the Uspenski Cathedral and then walked to the Helsinki Cathedral. They were both very beautiful. We ate lunch at Cafe Engel which is right across the Senate Square from the Helsinki Cathedral, and was very tasty. It was also by far the loudest restaurant I had been in while in Finland, and when I say "loud" I mean that people were actually talking!

It was pretty neat. I am, of course, exhausted now, and not really wanting to do any major traveling any time again soon, but I'm glad I did it, because now I know I can. *cue triumphant music*

The Black Fly Song

2008-01-19T13:53:00.001-08:00

I have never seen a black fly but I love this song.

Non-resolution

2008-01-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

I don't really like New Year's resolutions. I'm of the mindset that if you think something is a good idea, and that you should start doing it, then there's no time like the present. But the new year is a convenient time to start things, so I got sucked in like everyone else.

Last year I followed a program that had me reading the New Testament and Psalms in one year. I did pretty well with that, though at the end of the year I got kind of bogged down and I still haven't finished Revelation, nor have I read Psalm 119. *blush* But I think I can finish that up in enough time to start my new reading project, which is to read at least one religious-ish study type book each month. But first, a detour.

I was a very early and voracious reader--taught myself to read at age 3 and used to read in pretty much every spare moment. Then I became an adult, had a couple of kids, got captivated by the internet, and I realized that it's been a long time since I actually read a book. I mean, I read all the time--newspapers, magazines, Bible reading, and of course internet content. But actual books? Eek, I can't remember the last one I read to completion. I felt especially ashamed after reading this post the other day, 73 books! I don't know that I've read that many books in a year since I was in elementary school. So, I was thoroughly embarrassed, and thought I ought to get back on the ball, and 12 books in one year isn't particularly overwhelming.

So back to my 2008 reading schedule. Once I finish up Revelation from last year's program *ahem* I plan to read Darwin on Trial. I found it referenced in The Case for a Creator, which is a book I, uh, started reading a few weeks ago but never finished, and I gave it away, which is probably a terrible faux pas but anyway, it's done now. :) I think I should be able to manage to get this done in the remaining 3.5 weeks of January, and if you're nice to me I might even post a review when I'm finished. ;)

Yeah!

2008-01-06T20:28:00.001-08:00

Hey, this blog sure does look a lot better now. It is a good thing Elena is taking care of the looks because my sense of art is just zero.

Unforgettable...

2008-01-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

We couldn't let this blog be neglected forever, so with a new year, we have decided to resurrect it. Justin and I have both been blogging at MySpace for a while but I thought it was time we went back to a more traditional blogging format. And what I say goes, you know. :D

So, here we are. We are keeping our old title, because this blog is definitely going to be eclectic. You'll see silly posts, serious posts, videos, pictures, Bible commentary, product reviews, and who knows what else. Maybe even a guest blogger. No holds barred, man.

Zoundry

2006-07-30T21:19:00.000-07:00

I'm trying out Zoundry to see how it works for blog posting. This post was done from Zoundry and it seems to be okay. The tool is actually pretty cool, I think I can recommend it.

Earphones and Flying

2006-07-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

Until recently I have had a pretty intense fear of flying. This is very problematic for me because I do a lot of travel for work, so I was very happy to discover Shure E2C earphones. You may be wondering what earphones have to do with a fear of flying, but let me assure you that with these in (they are basically ear plugs with a music pipe through them) since it kills 90+% of the sound, the experience is completely changed. I find that I sleep right through turbulence, for example, whereas before I would grip my seat and sweat.

Windows Lacks Conceptual Integrity

2006-06-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

I read an interesting article recently that described "20 Things You Won't Like About Windows Vista." While I was reading the article I began to realize that most of the complaints about Vista centered on the lack of a coherent central vision for the Windows platform. This is something that I've realized about every version of a Microsoft Operating System that I have ever used, especially when I compare it to the Macintosh (something that the article does as well). If you have ever used a Mac you will remember that everything you do just seems to make sense when you are doing it. Anti-Macintosh zealots (one of which I used to be) will usually say that this is because the Macintosh is simple-minded and made for idiots, but after working on software design/development now for over 10 years I disagree vehemently with the notion that just because an application is easy to use it was designed for the stupid. I would give anything to have the application our team works on be as well-understood and easy to use as the Mac. The reason that the Macintosh is easy to use, in my opinion, is that it is one of the best examples of a system that wasa designed with "conceptual integrity." What do I mean by this? Well, for those who haven't read The Mythical Man-Month by Fred Brooks, for a system to be user-friendly it must have conceptual integrity - that is, it must have a coherent vision for the implementation of its functionality. Fred Brooks' idea on how to achieve this was to have a minimal number of architects overseeing the development of the system (since a system designed by a committee would appear to be... well... designed by a committee). Systems that have too many cooks in the kitchen, as it were, are usually much more difficult to use since different parts have different visions and the user subconsciously attunes to the differences and finds the system hard to figure out. The best example I know of a large-scale application that lacks conceptual integrity is Windows. The OS is so clearly designed by committee with a variety of competing visions that it only becomes more difficult to use as time goes on. With the Vista Aero interface Microsoft will copy Apple's GUI enhancements that Mac OS X had several years ago, but this will not make the system any simpler to use because it doesn't change the underlying design problem. With a code base that only continues to bloat and a feature set that never seems to appreciably diminish even the deprecated portions it seems that Windows is doomed to a worsening usability metric as later generations of Microsoft developers tack on new incoherent visions to an already confusing mass of stuff. Now if only Apple would pick up some decent market share maybe I would get my Mac back at work.

Poor Lil' SGI

2006-05-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

The IT press is in a tizzy over the Chapter 11 filing by SGI. This is strange to me because if ever there was a company whose impending demise made perfect sense it was SGI. I should say that I, like almost all other folks who have anything to do with tech, love SGIs in much the same way that we love beautiful sports cars. In much the same way as we cannot afford beautiful sports cars, however, we usually can't afford SGIs. There used to be a lot of companies that had to have the capabilities that only SGI could offer, but that is no longer the case. Unfortunately for SGI they have maintained their marvelous brand image so even when we want a good graphics system they aren't the first place we look (because even if we could afford it, we feel like we can't). My sports car analogy is apt, I think, because there are brands of cars that you would never even consider because you have in your mind that they are expensive. The same is very true when we consider systems for purchase. I'll be sad if SGI goes away completely because I had always hoped that one of our projects might actually require something that cool, but now I may never get the chance. *sigh*

Australia

2006-05-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a trip to Australia and it was outstanding. I figured I would have a really tough time with the 14 hour LAX to Sydney plane trip since I had only been on domestic flights previously, but for some reason I found it easier to fly the longer trip. I adjusted much faster on this trip than I have on coast-to-coast US domestic flights. The only thing I can figure out is that maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was able to sleep so much (8 hours) on the plane.

I also had a much easier time with driving on the other side of the road, which I thought would give me fits. It was a little hair-raising when I had to turn right or left the first time, but after that it was no problem.

One of my Australian friends there referred to his country as the "51st state" and it certainly did seem close to the US in a lot of ways, but there were some things that really made it seem like a foreign country. First and foremost was all the Rugby on TV. I thought I was confused after watching it but then asking an Australian about it and having them go into the differences between Rugby League and Rugy Union and Australian Rules Football was even worse. That said, I really think I enjoy watching Rugby more than American Football. It moves very fast and that is good for my short American attention span. Because of this short American attention span I had a much harder time watching Cricket, which is like Baseball, but slower.

Electricity

2006-05-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

We had power outages today and yesterday that lasted way longer than we are used to (you know, you expect little 20 second things when there is a storm, but the outages today lasted 6 or 7 hours and we had a few yesterday that lasted a couple of hours). Talk about taking things for granted.

Coffee Addiction?

2006-03-11T10:34:00.000-08:00

I'm wondering if I'm addicted to coffee. I've been cutting down on my coffee intake over the past month or so (coffee intake has a tendency to creep upwards and before you know it you are drinking 10 cups a day), but when I just had a cup this morning I feel all good and warm inside. I did not feel this way yesterday when I just had water with my breakfast. Am I a druggie who just had a hit?

Old Bay Seasoning

2006-03-08T18:28:00.000-08:00

I first went to Maryland about 8 years ago on travel for my job. A friend of mine who had grown up there was going with me and so he had the good information on where to eat. We both like seafood and so we went to this great restaurant on Solomon's Island called The Lighthouse. Well, I had shrimp there done in a way I've still only had in Maryland, cooked with the shell on and doused in Old Bay seasoning. So to me, the taste of Old Bay always takes me back to Maryland. Jane got me some recently, so I've been eating it on all sorts of things and I'm surprised how versatile it is on foods other than seafood. I actually got a whiff of some at work the other day and found out that the Baltimore native who lives in the cube next to me was putting it on Thai food. I'm not sure I'd go that far, though.

Finally Did the Downhill... but not Clipped In.

2006-02-24T16:02:00.000-08:00

Okay, so here is the deal, I finally got some clipless pedals for the first time a few months ago and everybody says, "You'll fall off a few times, but after you get used to it you'll be okay." So when I first went riding I was real proud of myself when I properly unclipped before every stop. Then I decided to take my daughters riding around the block, so I'm riding as slow as possible with them and they're pretty cute with their pink and purple bicycles so everybody glances when we go by, and around a corner my youngest has to go out in the street so I slow down even more to let her go in front of me and the bike starts to go over. So I put my foot down. Or at least that is what I meant to do, but what ended up happening was I went completely over with the bike up in the air because I was clipped in and I couldn't unclip to save my life and to make it all even better there is a group of teens lounging across the street and they just bust out laughing (which is understandable because it must have looked really funny).

So after that ride (and I actually fell over twice in one trip around the block, which made my older daughter really laugh because she had just learned to ride her bike and she didn't fall over once) I was a little more cautious and worried because I realized that your mind doesn't behave properly if you need to automatically put your feet down (until you've re-learned that way). And besides it hurts to fall down in the street and it is embarrassing to have people laugh at you. So I had avoided taking my favorite riding route since getting the new pedals because it goes over this hill and has some downhill singletrack on the other side with a pretty good drop on one side and I wanted to be sure of myself before taking it.

So what ends up happening was that I would feel angry at myself for being a coward and not taking the downhill on and I actually started dreading riding because I thought I might never feel up to going over the hill again. (Weird, huh?) Well, today I went rode up to the trailhead and I made myself do it and although the downhill was tougher than it was with the old pedals (because there is a lot less platform and I wanted to make sure I didn't accidentally clip in), I managed not to injure myself and I feel pretty good for breaking through that barrier. That said, I don't know how much I'll continue to do that because for me downhills are all about concentration and when I'm concentrating on not clipping in I feel like I'm a lot more likely to make a mistake.

Fish out of water

2006-02-19T16:10:00.000-08:00

That's me. I am known for my snap decision making, yet I am paralyzed with the inability to choose.......
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.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
What I'm going to knit next. :D

A friend gave me two Wal-mart bags stuffed full of yarn, one bag was all the furry stuff, the other was mostly this really luxe baby yarn and a few other random skeins. I'm stuck, I don't know what to do with it all, but it's calling my name and begging me to do something with it. *sigh* I'm thinking of starting an afghan with the baby stuff just to get the monkey off my back, but it's a little silly as I've already finished an afghan for the only pregnant person I know. Oh well, gotta get my fix. *ha*

Great Cake

2006-02-18T11:10:00.000-08:00

I've been a Cake fan ever since I first heard Rock'n'Roll Lifestyle, but on their most recent CD (Pressure Chief) the best song (in my opinion) is End of the Movie. Here are the lyrics:

People you love
Will turn their backs on you
You'll lose your hair
Your teeth
Your knife will fall out of its sheath
But you still don't like to leave before the end of the movie
People you hate will get their hooks into you
They'll pull you down
You'll frown
They'll tar you and drag you through town
But you still don't like to leave before the end of the movie
No you still don't like to leave before the end of the show
People you hate will get their hooks into you
They'll pull you down
You'll frown
They'll tar you and drag you through town
But you still don't like to leave before the end of the movie
No you still don't like to leave before the end of the show

Ain't that the truth?

FLCL Update

2006-02-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

So, it turns out that FLCL was just stupid. :( Very weird, oddly sexual, and just plain hard to understand. TME read some reviews and episode guides and it turns out there are a lot of inside jokes that refer to either other shows (that we haven't seen) or things from Japanese culture (that we aren't familiar with).

On a good note: there is finally a release date for the North American version of Final Fantasy Advent Children! The only people who would be interested in it already know what it is, but for Amy's benefit (ha!) it's a movie that is basically a sequel to a video game (Final Fantasy VII). We already have the Japanese version (with subtitles) but I am looking forward to actually hearing it in English. :)

Jane Finished my Hoodie!

2006-02-12T19:27:00.000-08:00

Jane finished my sweater today (isn't she amazing - she only started it a short time ago). It is very soft and comfy. She's bummed because it is warm now, but it will get chilly enough to enjoy the sweater in a few weeks.

Warming Up

2006-02-12T18:54:00.000-08:00

It is just starting to warm up and although it can get pretty cold in March this is usually an indicator here that winter is mostly over. That means that I made it through the holiday season with minimal weight gain. Even better, since I used the trainer during winter it seems that I've actually gained cycling strength over the winter season. This is a big deal for me. I think the big lesson here is clear: keep the calorie intake as low as possible over the winter season (there is a natural growth anyway, but if you can keep some self-control the payoff is tremendous) and exercise as much as possible - and you will go into the warm season way ahead of the game. Now that it is warming up I've noticed from my FitDay logs that I'm having a much easier time keeping under the calorie bar than I was the past few months.

huh?

2006-02-10T14:25:00.000-08:00

So, TME and I have been on an Asian movie kick for a while. We've watched kung fu movies, samurai movies, and a LOT of anime. Right now we're in the anime mode. We watched the whole series of Trigun (which was excellent, if you're into that sort of thing), Cowboy Bebop (took a while to grow on me, and Faye's outfit annoyed me, but was otherwise pretty interesting), and right now we're watching The Irresponsible Captain Tylor (kinda funny so far, but I'm hoping it gets better).

But in the midst of watching Captain Tylor, my dear TME decided he wanted to see the whole series of a show he saw once on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network. That show was FLCL, pronounced "Furi Kuri" or "Fooly Cooly" depending on how Japanese you are, I guess. Now, you have to understand that pretty much all these shows are based on some kind of futuristic world, lots of robots and amazing weaponry and spaceships and all that. I have no problem with digesting a show that's based on all kinds of unrealistic things. But I have to tell you, I watched four episodes of this show (there are only 6 total!) and I have no idea what in the world is going on. Even TME is confused, and when a dedicated INTP like him can get totally confuzzled by the plot of television show, then there is no hope for us realist ISTJ's to have a clue what is going on. I'm looking forward to seeing the last two episodes only because then I will know for sure if this is just stupid or if there's really supposed to be a point to this show. LOL

P.S. Sweater report: Front and back and both sleeves are done. I want to sew the sleeves on to see if they are the right length before I start the hood.

On Behalf of Jane

2006-02-05T16:25:00.000-08:00

Well, the Zicam worked (or at least she got over the cold quickly, anyway). And I have to report that I've now managed to dodge 3 out of the last 3 colds that have gone through the house. (I think it is due to all of the juice I've been drinking, but I might have just gotten lucky, I guess.)

She also wanted to say that she has to work really fast on my sweater since it is getting warm. (But it is just the nice February warmth and we always have some freezing and windy days in March and April, so she shouldn't worry too much.)

I am still here!

2006-01-30T17:56:00.000-08:00

Working feverishly on TME's sweater. The back is done and I'm halfway through the front. I bought four skeins as the pattern required but I think I may need more, I am almost done with the 2nd skein already.

So much for exercising. I have ANOTHER COLD! I am using Zicam AND Airborne so I had better get well soon or else.

On a more fun note, we are going to be butterfly parents! Shorty got a Butterfly Pavilion from Insect Lore for Christmas and we were waiting until it got a little warmer to order the caterpillars. Well, since it takes a few weeks to get them, and about 5 weeks for them to mature, if we order now they should be full-grown butterflies by the end of March and that's practically summer in Eclectic-ville. :D

Buying Food on the Plane

2006-01-27T18:59:00.000-08:00

Some of the airlines have started programs now where they sell you food on flights that they normally would have given you a meal on before. I'll have to admit that I was very cynical about this the first time I was on a flight where they were doing it, but I had a change of heart pretty quickly after I realized that in general the quality was higher than what we were getting before and I could ask for more healthy options that tasted better than what you used to get if you selected the "Low Fat" or "Vegetarian" meal preference. I could still hope that they would just give these choices to us for free, but in the end I'm happy with the switch (except for the times when I've forgotten to bring cash on the plane with me and had to sit with a growling stomach and nothing but the snack mix bags they still hand out for free to kill the pain for 5+ hours, but those were my fault).

yay for me!

2006-01-22T19:12:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been mostly keeping up with exercising. It is still boring, and I'm still not seeing any real changes (TME doesn't think I will, since I am already scrawny--maybe just an increase in endurance), but at least I'm still doing it. And I finished the sweater! It actually turned out pretty cute, although I need to re-do the buttons. I bought the size specified, but they are really too small for the buttonholes--it won't stay buttoned. And it's much easier to put on new buttons than to re-do the buttonholes.

Now I've started on TME's sweater. I am making it in "Montana Sky" Homespun yarn by Lion Brand, I think it will look nice on him. Now I'm just hoping I can finish it before sweater season is over--sweater season doesn't last very long in Eclectic-ville.

Context and the Gospel of John

2006-01-20T18:42:00.000-08:00

The Gospel of John is a paradoxical book to me. John's tone (both in the Gospel and his letters) is very matter-of-fact and this leads to a lot of quotable verses (of course the most famous of all being John 3:16). But I think that there is a fundamental problem with this because John's books are so context sensitive (there are broad ideas being communicated and reading individual verses, though they may seem to pass along concrete ideas, are often really slaved to the main idea of the passage that can span entire chapters). So this is central to the interpretation of the book and always has to be kept in mind - that it often sounds like John is quoting proverbs, but they link together to form an entire idea. A couple of verses will show what I am talking about here, I think:

John 5:31 - "If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid."

John 8:14 - Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going."

John's tone makes us want to take each statement as simple standalone fact because they are so straightforward. But if both of the above separated statements were meant to be true by themselves then Jesus contradicts himself. An atheist may have no problem with this, but I'm not an atheist, so I choose to believe that this is not the case and rather we must understand each passage in the light of the entire passage, not in individual verses pulled from their context. In the first case Jesus wants to point out that there is another who testifies about him (John 5:37 - "And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me.") and that this is not just anybody, but rather is the Father himself. In John 8 Jesus has a similar concern (to point out that his testimony is given validity not because of himself, but rather because God the Father testifies concerning him). We can see this in John 8:18 where Jesus says, "I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me."

Of course, I've just quoted other verses in the same area to point out that I don't think we should be quoting individual verses, which is a little silly of me, but I think that examination of the entire passage in each case proves the point.

relaxation

2006-01-17T19:49:00.000-08:00

TME and I recently returned from a few days spent in sunny Arizona. It was a very nice and very relaxing vacation. It was pretty cool to swim in the middle of January. :D

On the flight home we were on the plane with a guy who looked remarkably like Elijah Wood. I couldn't stop staring because I was just sure it was going to be him, LOL. I think I embarrassed TME by standing near this guy at the baggage claim so I could get a glimpse of his name on his checked baggage. It wasn't Elijah. We figured Elijah Wood wouldn't fly Southwest, haha. Although if you're out there reading my blog (!), Elijah, you've got a guy out there who could seriously be your double.

sort of a WOOT

2006-01-11T14:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I decided for exercise purposes that I would try running in place on the trampoline instead of jumping on it. On Monday I did it for 15 minutes! *insert WOOT here* On Tuesday my calves ached so bad it hurt to walk. I didn't exercise Tuesday partly because of my calves and partly because I got my allergy shot that afternoon and I read somewhere that you aren't suppose to do heavy exercise after an allergy shot ~~and that sounded like a good excuse to me~~ and I want to take good care of myself. So today I exercised again! That makes twice in one week, which is a pretty sorry achievement but I will take what I can get!

I also found a new project to start! This time I am making myself another "house sweater." I am a little like Mr. Rogers in the winter, I get home, take off my jacket and put on a sweater. My current house sweater has a bunch of snags on it because I like to pick up my cats so I thought I'd make another. Of course now that I am making one I will be really mad if my cats snag it, haha. I am crocheting it, and I am a super fast crocheter so I am already done with the back and have started on the left front. I used "reclaimed yarn" from a project that I tinked--it was going to be a sweater for TME but I started it on the knitting machine, then put it aside and forgot how I had done all the settings so I just gave up on it. It is navy blue, and I would post a picture but it would just come out looking like a black blob and you would wonder why in the world I would waste my time on that. Hopefully it will be semi-cute when I'm done.

Phooey.

2006-01-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

I am officially a wuss. And exercise is officially the pits.

Okay, so we got one of those mini trampolines at the thrift shop. Shorty and Midge were thrilled of course, as they are already bouncing off the wall half the time anyway. And clever me thought it would be useful for exercise. I can jump about 10 times before I get a side stitch. Today I managed to run in place on it for 15 minutes. About an hour later I got stomach cramps which TME said was basically my innards getting all revved up due to the exercise. Just lovely. Yeah, that's really what I need, revved up innards. *blah*

TME tells me that if I work through it then it will get better. I'm not sure why I want to. Grrrr.

Moving to a New Computer

2006-01-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted lately as I've been moving myself to a new computer. The old one was having power problems so I finally decided it was time to just begin anew. Anyway, one of the most frustrating things about starting over like this is all of the passwords that I have to re-enter (some of which I have forgotten and can't find anywhere). I suppose I could use one of those password managers but I feel like somebody should make a way to have a single password that is used for all sorts of programs, sort of an online driver's license. When you get a new program, it could, with a very simple-to-implement API, query this central identification server. Of course, there would be the huge problems inherent in securing something like this when some criminal stole your identity and then owned all of your data in a single stroke. Bummer.

Jane tells me that she never has any problems remembering all of her passwords. Of course, since they are all "Jane" that makes it easy... just kidding.

Emoticons

2006-01-05T13:06:00.000-08:00

I don't know how many of you out there in Blogland use MSN Messenger, but I am convinced that they have three of the very best smileys out there. They are:

TME and I are very hip and wired and so we often use MSN to chat with each other when we are in different rooms. That's what very hip and wired people do, you know. We also got Shorty hooked up with MSN so that we don't have to shout when she's back in her room. That's what hip and wired people do who are tired of shouting "Get off the computer and do your schoolwork!" LOL

So I use liberally. TME thinks it's the exact face that I make at him when he's being silly. He's probably right. is good for all-purpose not getting your way. And is always useful when TME says he wants to read one more blog before he makes my pancakes on a Saturday morning. :)

caution Whining ahead

2006-01-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

I need to exercise more. :(

I don't need to lose weight (if anything, I need to gain weight), but I am not at all physically fit. Riding my bike around the block makes my thighs burn and puts me out of breath. *cry* My parents are still living and so are 3/4 of my grandparents so for the most part there is some decent longevity in my history, but I worry that because I am so out of shape I am going to have a heart attack at an early age or something. :( :(

My problems with exercising are this: I don't have a lot of free time to myself, make that almost no free time. I have to tell Shorty and Midge to beat it if I want to use the bathroom in private *roll eyes* and if I put in an exercise video they all want to join in. I know, a good mother would let them exercise with me, but our living room isn't all that huge and frankly it isn't all that fun to exercise as it is, and it's even worse when you are getting thwacked in the head and your feet stepped on. *heavy sigh* I could join a gym or Curves or something, but then the child care issue comes back--I don't feel like it would be very responsible of me to ditch my children for an hour or so three times a week just so I could exercise. We have a stepper, but that makes me feel inadequate because after a couple minutes I am dying of burning muscles.

TME tells me that I am also not properly motivated, that I need a clear goal. I guess he doesn't see "not dying" as a very good goal. :P But it's not like I can say "lose 10 pounds" or something similar as a goal. He suggests I use "lowering my resting heart rate" as a goal, but that just doesn't seem very doable to me, plus it's rather boring. My heart rate already fluctuates like crazy due to my thyroid so I don't know if we could even accurately track that as a goal. I would like to have more nicely shaped, muscley arms, but that's a pretty lame goal too.

In case you haven't noticed, my pessimism is at a high point when I get started talking about exercise. I am stuck in the quandary of being negative about everything, yet feeling constant guilt about not working on it. *blah*

Plain Jane--the criminal

2006-01-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

Saw this article today, guess I'm a criminal too. I think Shorty and Midge are better off for it, though. ;)

Many Browsers

2006-01-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

I have to say it, I'm addicted to new software. For some reason I'm especially fond of messing around with different web browsers. Once Opera became free recently I gave it a shot and I have to say that I use it almost exclusively now. I still like Firefox for the variety of its plugins (open source shines the most for that aspect), and I have to use Internet Explorer sometimes on pages due to compatability issues (Opera, for example, doesn't seem to like handling Blogspot's post editor that well - see screenshot). But all-in-all I think that Opera is my favorite browser... currently... until I try something different.

What is up with all this sickness?

2006-01-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, so today most of us in my family are sick, it seems. There has been a great deal of sickness going through our valley in the past month. While we were with the extended family during Christmas we had 2 sicknesses sweeping through at the same time (a stomach bug and a cold); it was awful.

Dinosaurs

2005-12-31T18:42:00.000-08:00

They never taught us this in school. Dinosaurs are depicted on Incan burial stones that date from the 1500's. That is, prior to the "discovery" of dinosaur fossils. How would these Incans have known to draw accurate pictures of dinosaurs without having actually seen dinosaurs? I suppose one could say that these dinosaurs were a figment of Incan imaginations, but how would that explain the multitude of dinosaur images on artifacts from other cultures, made by other ancient craftsmen?

Check out this page at Genesis Park. And lest you call this site biased, you will find many other sites that describe these artifacts, and I have not been able to find a single site calling them a hoax. Dinosaurs and humans co-existing?! Our God is an awesome God.

Hmmm...

2005-12-31T14:02:00.000-08:00

I am in a knitting quandary lately. All my holiday gifts are done and gone, but that means I have nothing left to do--or nothing left I have to do. TME (The Master Eclectic himself) gave me some yarn for Christmas, and right away I started on an afghan with it. But now I have bogged down a little. Part of the reason is that the yarns I am using are kind of fluffy, and little fibers come off of it as I crochet. I have a cold right now (thanks a lot to Shorty) and the little fibers will only make my nose run more. I have an ancient doily that's about half done, but I'm uninspired. I got some other yarn for Christmas and it's all beautiful but I don't know what I want to do with it yet. I started knitting a scarf with one of the lone skeins but I'm almost done with the skein and the scarf isn't very long. :(

TME wants me to make him one of these sweaters but I don't know if I have the patience. I already made one for me, Shorty, and Midge but TME is a lot bigger than any of us and the one I made for myself seemed eternal. *sigh* But I guess I ought to, that way we can be a goofy matched set.

Plain Jane Introduction

2005-12-30T21:09:00.000-08:00

Plain Jane is my wife. She is neither "plain" nor is her name "Jane." But my name really is "Justin."

WOOT!

2005-12-30T21:05:00.000-08:00

PJ is in da house! This blog is set to be seriously eclectic now.

People You Need

2005-12-29T16:48:00.000-08:00

One of my dearest friends visited this week and it occurred to me while he was here that he is the type of person that everyone needs around them. The reason being that he is a pusher, he pushes me to push my own envelope and find out that I can do things beyond what I had thought were my limits. He is an "edifier" in the biblical sense of building up other people and I think that we need to find such people and surround ourselves with them. We also need to discover what makes them edifiers and become that ourselves. I'm inordinately blessed to have him as a friend, but I'm even more blessed since my wife is also an edifier. She pushes me to different limits, though - more spiritual rather than physical. It is interesting to me that they both push me to areas where I am not so comfortable to discover that I have capabilities there. I think that this must be a common attribute of edifiers, breaking down barriers so that stronger foundations can be laid; or I might just be reading too many muscle-building web sites lately.

2005-12-27T13:24:00.000-08:00

I shot this on a trail I was on in July and every time I look at it I feel like I'm there again. I'm glad I got a part of the trail along with the mountains in the background since I think that is the part that makes the difference. Of course, I know absolutely nothing about photography, but I know what I like.

Coffee Geek

2005-12-27T09:39:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that I am a Coffee Geek (one of my favorite web sites is http://www.coffeegeek.com). I'm sure that there are worse ones out there than me, and I don't spend as much money on it as I could (thankfully), but I have at least 4 different ways of making coffee in my house and I like to cycle between them all every so often.

Anyway, Coffee Geek has a great post on how to make Turkish Coffee (http://www.coffeegeek.com/guides/turkishcoffee) complete with pictures of the entire process. This is important since many guides for making Turkish Coffee on the web are just text and you are sure to mess up one of the important parts from just a description. One of the most notable things about Turkish Coffee preparation is how almost everyone who has posted a description has some step that must be done as described or it is sacrilege, but other posts will have it completely different. My experience is that there is more slop in the process than many people seem to believe. Isn't that like most things?

Christmas Presents

2005-12-26T16:29:00.000-08:00

This year I got a CycleOps Riser Block (http://www.cycle-ops.com/products/riserblock.htm) that I can use with my trainer (don't laugh, I asked for it). Anyway, I was having a lot of pain in my wrists when I was riding my trainer and this simple little product just eliminated it (it just raises your front wheel). Highly recommended.

First Post

2005-12-26T13:33:00.000-08:00

I so enjoy reading everyone else's blogs that I finally decided to try one of my own. Unfortunately, I cannot decide on any central theme to plan for the blog, which I'm sure will eliminate whatever scant readership I might have had in the first place, but I'll have fun posting anyway.