Consumer Christianity

Rev Ed has a good discussion about Christian merchandise and representing the faith.

I take a ten-minute glide through a few of my favorite blogs and I hit a theme. ... That idea was simple: If we make any outside indication of our Christian faith to the world, then our walk had better not run the name of Jesus Christ through the mud.

It is a good piece and he makes a good case for buying Christian merchandise to create ministry opportunities. I'm going to play a little devil's advocate. Hopefully not too literally.

The problem I have with a lot of Christian merchandise is that in the end I think it is really poor advertising. If you do a bad job of walking the walk, then the t-shirt reflects badly on Christ. If you do a good job, then you don't need a t-shirt to tell people what you are. They will know. If they don't know yet, then they will see the difference and ask. T-shirt that says "Ask Me Why I'm Different" would be a far better choice than a giant cross. It starts you talking and relationships are where ministry and witnessing really begin.

This is why I will never have a Jesus fish on my car. If you see the back of my car it will be after I pass you while speeding, you pass me while speeding, or maybe if I'm stopped at a red light or pulled over by a cop. It might say "Christian" on the car, but under no circumstances will we ever get out of our cars so we can actually talk about who my savior is.

I also think in the end a lot of Christian merchandise just serves to marginalize Christians. Oh it's a Jesus Freaky girl in a Jesus Freaky shirt. I'll just put them in a nice little box labeled Jesus Freak where I can deal with her and keep her at a distance. Which is fine, because a lot of Christians wear the merch to keep the non-Christians at arms length. They may not actually realize this themselves. But if someone asks you about your witness and your answer is "I wear godly t-shirts" not "I actively befriend ungodly people" then we know the real deal.

But really my problem is just the quantity of Christian merchandise and the pervasiveness of it in American Christian culture. Oh so much of it is unnecessary. There is a lot stuff out there that is just junk with a cross stamped on it. It's like people think "well I want to buy these extravagances, but if I buy these Christian brand ones then that doesn't count as materialism." Well I'm sorry, but it does count. I've gone into quite few Christian homes and been appalled by all the Christian baubles and tchotchkes. Enough with the Christian kitsch! When Jesus sent out his Apostles it was with the clothes on their back and a good walking stick. Why are you spending hundreds or even tens of dollars on this stuff if the homeless man on your doorstep is still hungry? Is this storing up treasures in heaven? Is it?

I used to wear a lot of Christian merchandise. I had a Reebok-esque "Life is Short, Pray Hard" shirt. I had some other shirts that looked heavy metal, but were actually scripture. I wore them to school and hung out with some metalheads at the time. They did make for good conversation starters. If you use something similar for that purpose, then do so with my blessing. Now the only piece of Christian merchandise I carry on a daily basis is a small metal cross. It is in my wallet and it is there to remind me of whose money I am spending.

From the Mouth of Babes

I was trying to explain the irresistable Grace joke to Amybear last night. Her response was "who cares if God chose you first or you chose God first, isn't the real point that you believe in Jesus?" She's so smart. If only other Christians were as smart as my Jewish fiance.

Bad Movies and Snakebites

So Charlies Angels: Full Throttle came on TV last night when I was at the gym. I didn't turn it on, but I did watch it all the way through when I got back to my apartment so that's still my bad. The film required rampant suspension of disbelief. Demi Moore's .50 AE Deagles seemed woefully underpowered (as was her C4). Things explode and these skinny little girls get thrown around like matchsticks, then bounce back up ready for more.

In the final fight sequence they start driving a Cobra around. I really gave me a lusting for one of these.

This Guy Has Me Figured Out

You scored as Engineer. Military Engineer. Your job is usually overlooked, but without you nothing gets done. While you sometimes annoyed at this, and you know the only time people come to you is when there's something wrong. You understand that you are the heart and soul of any organization with honesty and nice work ethic to boot. "I need more Duct Tape!!!" Engineer 94% Combat Infantry 88% Special Ops 75% Medic 63% Support Gunner 63% Artillery 63% Officer 56% Civilian 0% Which soldier type are you? created with QuizFarm.com

PBS the Bell Tolls for Thee

The former chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is accussed of breaking federal law after trying to influence PBS politically. This is against the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. Why was he trying to influence them politically? He wanted to balance the political content of the network back to center from where it stands on the far left. I'm sure some liberals are celebrating. They shouldn't. What this says is that PBS is unreformable. This is the reaction from the right:

So what are we to do with PBS? Leave it a sewer of left-wing propaganda? Put in a quota system? -The last guy got in trouble for that idea.- It's a catch 22. You can't politicize it but you can't do anything to keep it from becoming politicized because that is politicizing it.

The answer is simple. Dissolve it. Can it. Toss it. Sing it a few choruses of "Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey- Good Bye" and send it packing.

Simply put, America does not need state funded media.

His reaction is by no means isolated. We're running a deficit. Why should the government be funding TV to the tune of over a hundred million dollars when we have a million channels of cable that can do the same job? Especially when it is TV that is only watched by rich liberals who can afford to pay. PBS might have been necessary when the Big 3 networks were it, but they aren't anymore. Times have changed. I guess I'll just have to catch my Dr. Who reruns on Sci-fi channel or BBC America.

Beat Me to It

John the Methodist says:

Pat Robertson is a total jackass. And it's important that Christians in general and conservative Christians in particular completely disavow him. You are judged by the company that you keep, and I have a strong desire not to be considered in his company.

My thoughts exactly. I cannot stand idly by when a someone says things like:

I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected him from your city. And don't wonder why He hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for his help because he might not be there.

Unfortunately our cries to cut Robertson off may not matter. ABC family is legally required to show the 700 Club three times a day. This goes back to when the Family Channel was originally sold to FOX in 1988 and then resold to Disney 2001. The good news is that CBN is currently more dependent than ever on financial donations because many of its business interests have failed. So now is a great time to not write a check.

For the record, I'd like to point out that God is not a single issue voter. Nor does claiming to speak for Him actually make it so. Why is it the world turns on Intelligent Design with some people? Aren't there more important things? Like murder, rape, theft, and the plight of the poor?

UPDATE: Ok Von and Bob got me. I don't think anyone is going to come out publicly for murder, rape, or theft. The plight of the poor is very much unsettled and up for grabs though. I have a real hard time cutting government spending when it means people aren't going to eat. That isn't to say it isn't necessary so that investment can bear fruit and people can eat tomorrow. That is part of the ongoing debate of course.

The point is this: when you think about the sorry state of K-12 education in this country, I really don't think ID should be at the top of anyone's list for things to fix first or even second.

Tinfoil Helmet Alert

Paranoids beware, aluminum foil helmets may actually be amplifying the effects of corporate and government mind rays.

Stupid Kids

Did you know the Lilitz, Pa teenagers were bloggers? Yup. He's on myspace and xanga. She is too but only her xanga account is public.

Weird stuff. I have to admit that this story me interested. The kids seem so normal. Why do it? Is there more that hasn't come out? I guess I'll have to keep my ears open.

Hybrid Economics

I did an analysis and found that hybrids didn't work for me. They are slow, handle poorly, and don't save me any money. They really aren't any fun for me so I drive a zippy econobox with a decent suspension. This article does a pretty decent job of examining the cost/benefits of hybrids.

I would really like to see an examination of diesel cars and diesel-electric hybrids added to this. I would also like to compare the environmental costs of hybrids compared to high occupancy vehicles they would compete with under HOV restrictions. I have a real hunch that 4 guys in a Camry is far more efficient in both fuel consumption and emissions production than 1 guy in a Prius.

UPDATE: Turns out there are diesel-electric hybrids out there. London is testing some for use as cabs. However a coworker has pointed out that the diesel combustion cycle doesn't not seem to benefit from hybridization to the same degree as gasoline engines. It has something to do with the idle cycle of the engine. Oh well.

The Political Catfight

Joan has some great points in her current post.

I'm tired of all the biting remarks coming from both sides of the aisle. It's a never-ending game of 'your mama'. If just once I could find a candidate that was about more than that (and wasn't crazy as a fucking loon), I would throw everything I had into supporting them, no matter what their political affiliation. But unfortunately I don't think that person exists in Washington anymore. And that is a very sad thing for our country.

There is an old saying, "It only takes one person to start a fight." Lately both parties have been taking turns starting the fight. At some point we're going to get a real leader, then we might actually see a true uniter not a divider. Reagan did pretty well at this, the Bushes and Clinton did not. I'd personally like to see someone step forward and tell both Ralph Nader and Pat Robertson to go screw themselves. But that's just me.

Calvinist Romances

You know I never heard this pickup line back when I was a PCA church member. I'd try it on Amybear, but I don't think she'd get it.

Oh and is it me or does that Truly Reformed hipster look a bit too much like JFK?

Where Do You Belong in Middle Earth?

Rohirrim


To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
brought to you by Quizilla

10 Years and a Promise

Amy and I went to my ten year on Saturday. It was surprisingly sparsely attended, maybe 35 attendees out of a class of 250. I did get to rub elbows with guys and gals I hadn't seen for over ten years. It was nice. A lot of people have just started families and a lot more are on the verge of doing so. Good stuff.

I will relay one story to you guys, because I want to ask for your help. Don't worry it won't be anything that makes you get up or leave your computer.

One guy who really touched my heart was a guy named Joe. In high school, Joe was your average athletic football player type. He was a very nice guy, but we didn't share many interests or classes so we didn't hang out much. Now Joe is 28. He's still a young man, but he has cancer. At the reunion he had lost a lot of weight and all of his hair fighting colon cancer. He managed to beat it. Now it has come back. He has surgery to remove a tumor from somewhere in his digestive tract on thursday.

It wouldn't surprise me if this was his last reunion. I think he realised that too, which was why he came to the thing. I did the only thing I could. I promised to pray for him. He said, "Thanks man, I'm going to need it." He looked like he needed it too.

So I'm asking you guys to pray as well. As soon as possible and as often as possible. And thank you in advance.

Love Your Freedom?

Today is a great time to thank a vet.

Joe Carter has a post up on being a Marine. Since I work for the Army, I don't think I'm actually allowed to respect someone for being a Marine. Semper Fi anyway Joe.

We had our Veterans Day observance on Wednessday. Everybody in the organization showed up for it. One of my coworkers who is both a Korean War and Vietnam War veteran spoke. He joined the Army at age 15(!) by lying about his age. He ended his career in the mid 1970s as a Lieutenant Colonel. This year he focused on Korea, which I imagine brought up some unpleasant memories. Like a true hero, he denied he was worthy of honor but honored the men he served with, many of whom never made it home. I'm honored just to know and work with him.

Incoming Epidemic

The first avian birdflu death has been reported in California. A former Navy man and the primary caretaker for triplets too. What a shame. Via Vodkapundit.

Why is Paris Burning?

I've given this a lot of thought. Most of the right wing blogs are operating on the theory that the rioting is a result in the breakdown of the socialist stratification in French society. The ethnic French get the benefits and the immigrants to France pay for it. I've never seen the words "dirigiste economy" used this much before.

But I'm not sure they're right about this. One of the things you have to understand about the rightosphere is that they are all libertarians. Well perhaps not all, but the vast majority have those tendencies. So the opportunity to blast the French not just for being cheese-eating surrender monkeys, but for being socialist collectivist cheese-eating surrender monkeys is too good to pass up. In the end though I think we're really discussing a symptom not the underlying disease.

Where am I going? Well lets stop looking at France for a moment look at ourselves, ourselves meaning the US. The US had a massive spike in crime and related social unrest starting around 1960s. For over a century previous to that, we had done things a certain way. We liked industry and making things. We oppressed black people and anyone else we didn't like. But that all changed and we really didn't know what was going to happen. Crime skyrocketed as did other less than legal coping behaviors. Then at some point in the late eighties the Cold War ended, we realized that the color of someone's skin doesn't really matter, and everything started to look alright again. The crime rate plummeted accordingly.

Great now lets look at Europe. Their crime rates are taking off. Their societies are undergoing massive social change. Immigrant populations are moving in as the birth rates of the nationals are dropping off. The European Union trying to break down the old national borders. Things are changing quite quickly.

Honestly, Europe doesn't know what to make of this. Most of France, with the exception of Alsace and Lorraine, have basically been French since the Vikings got tired of invading and Jeanne d'Arc kicked the English back across la Manche. Even relatively young countries like Germany and Italy have been that way for quite a while now. Unlike the US which has been a melting pot for most of our history, the Europeans really don't know how to handle immigrants from place they don't like and even immigrants from places they do like. As a friend of mine who taught at universities in Scandinavia once said:

Jeff, they are a very nice people. They're polite and they don't mine a Czech like me living down the street, working hard, and keeping to myself. But everything changes if I start trying to marry their daughter...

And that is the long and short of it. At some point France will come up with an answer for how to be France when you aren't even French. I expect to see lots of social tension in Europe for a generation or so just like it happened over here.

I'd Gladly Pay You Tuesday...

A friend sent me to Chomp Champ, a flash-based eating contest. It is fun provided you enjoy getting typing cramps.

White Phosphorus

Here is the current round up on the White Phosphorus "scandal".

Daily Ablution is questioning the seriousness of white phosphorus claims coming out of the British Media. He also gives a thorough rundown on the reports of civilian casualties.

Dozens of high-quality, colour close-ups show bodies of Fallujah residents, some still in their beds, whose clothes remain largely intact but whose skin has been dissolved or caramelised or turned the consistency of leather by the [phosphorus] shells.

Several groups are claiming that intact clothing is a sign of white phosphorus. It isn't. WP burns everything and one of the major ways it causes problems is by lighting a person's clothes and equipment on fire. These poor people probably look the way they do because of their stage of decomposition, not anything having to do with WP.

Remember Jeff Englehart? I mentioned that he might not be the most reliable witness. Turns out that was a pretty good call. He's an antiwar activist and his testimony about WP injuries also conflicts with established facts.

Instapundit is also weighing in with a mammoth post collating commentary from all over. A reader reports that the military still uses WP for marking (similar to a smoke bomb) and illumination, but not as an incendiary.

And I'm Not Even English

English Genius You scored 92% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 86% Advanced, and 80% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 28% on Beginner You scored higher than 42% on Intermediate You scored higher than 16% on Advanced You scored higher than 52% on Expert

Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on Ok Cupid.

Leaders of the Christian Right

Short Attention Span has a scathing criticism of political leaders on the religious right. Are they being used or are they just stupid?

Via Reverend Ed's highlight reel.

Hoplophobia

Joe Cathey posted several Oleg Volk posters up on his blog last weekend. I've mentioned Oleg before. Here is one of the posters. Dr. Jim West reacted very strongly and frankly somewhat irrationally to all this.

The poor child is clearly traumatized knowing that there is a gun six inches from her head. Note how she subconsciously tilts her little head away from, and not towards the tool of death that won't protect her as much as it will endanger her.

Jim's reaction is a bit scary to me. I don't worry about the little girl. She is a model, she is probably acting, and she is in no danger. She is most likely tilting her head so Oleg can get a clearer shot of the gun and balance the image left to right. What Jim sees in that poster is not what is there, but what he is projecting upon it. These are his fears not the girls.

Guns are things. They are tools. They won't bite unless you do something wrong. Truth be told that little girl is in more danger from the swimming pool in her back yard and the cleaning products under the kitchen sink than the gun on her father's hip.

School Shootings

Helen Reynolds, Mrs. Instapundit, is commenting on a school shooting near her home in Knoxville. I find this comment at the end of her blog heartenin:

For those of you interested in the gun debate on this issue--it has been found that boys who own legal firearms show less delinquency even then those boys who do not own guns at all. It is the boys that own illegal guns who comitt more crimes--not surprising as they have shown themselves willing to break the law already.

She links to these study results to prove her point.

I've suspected this sort of thing for a while, legal gun owners in general have a very low crime rate. Concealed carry permit holders are far less likely to commit crimes than even police officers. But as a gun owner who aspires to eventually be a parent, I'm still glad that the general statistical trends hold for kids too. Not that statistical trends mean you can rest on your laurels.

WMDs! Bush Lied!

One of the things that annoys me about Iraq is that the press has been persistent in reporting that we have found no WMDs. It isn't true. We've even had an IED used on us made from a Sarin-laced artillery shell. But two weeks after we find something, the press goes right back to "2 years into Mr Bush's war and still no WMDs."

Well someone has written a book on all the WMDs found in Iraq. The numbers are quite impressive. Wizbang has more.

Whisper Down the Lane

I love this post over at Mainstream Baptist

BBC has reported that Italian State TV has broadcast a documentary that accuses the U.S. military of using white phosphorus bombs against civilians in Falluja.

Wow that is a lot of one guy telling the next guy about something else. Was a study hall involved? The response from the US military:

"Phosphorus shells are not outlawed. US forces have used them very sparingly in Falluja, for illumination purposes. They were fired into the air to illuminate enemy positions at night, not at enemy fighters," the US statement said.

Or in other words, yes we did and there is nothing wrong with that.

Their eyewitness account leaves something to be desired though

Jeff Englehart, described as a former US soldier who served in Falluja, tells of how he heard orders for white phosphorus to be deployed over military radio - and saw the results.

Wow a US soldier. That means US Army. Too bad the storming of Fallujah was a Marine Corp operation. One way or another someone involved in this story didn't do their legwork.

"Burned bodies, burned women, burned children; white phosphorus kills indiscriminately...

This is exactly why it is used sparingly, because it will kill our guys just as indiscriminately.

When it makes contact with skin, then it's absolutely irreversible damage, burning flesh to the bone," he says.

Wow good imagery Jeff. You should be a writer. But do you actually know this? Have you ever treated Willie Pete burns? Are you a doctor? No I didn't think so. WP is not harmless and will put a hurting on somebody, but so will high explosives and sharp metal fragments.

I can't wait until Italian TV starts eating up my documentary. I'll be exposing the fact that the US military is actually shooting people in Iraq. It's Europe so the thought of people actually shooting guns should be pretty mindblowing. I can just imagine the shock from the left now when they realize that fighting a war involves actually killing people.

UPDATE: Wizbang also has two posts on White Phospherous: When the Defendant is the US, the Guilty Bar is Lowered to the Floor and Killing Me Softly. His reasoning is similar to mine. Some commenters are also noting that we did not sign any of the conventions regulating its use.

Remember all the complaints about Depleted Uranium a few years ago? This is the same thing with a different part of the periodic table.

Movie Reviews: Jarhead, Hitchhiker's Guide, and Kingdom of Heaven

Joe Carter has a review of Jarhead over at Evangelical Outpost.

Francois Truffaut once claimed that there could be no such thing as an antiwar-movie since even a gruesome war movie makes war look energetic and exciting. If the French director had lived long enough to see Sam Mendes’ latest film he might have changed his opinion. Jarhead is so lifeless and dull that it could qualify to be the first true antiwar movie.

Now I really don't want to see the movie.

I rented Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Kingdom of Heaven this weekend. Long story short, they were both ok. Not spectacular but ok.

HHGttG surprised me. Originally, it was a Radio series on the BBC, which I have copies of on MP3. Then it went through incarnations as a TV series and several books, although possibly not in that order. What surprised me was that they changed a good bit of it for the movie. I understand much of this was Douglas Adams's idea, but that isn't a good excuse because many of the changes don't work.

The comedic timing of the film is just off until you get Ford and Arthur onto the Heart of Gold. You rush through the destruction of Earth so quickly you can't really take it in. This pacing means you also don't have any time to laugh at the early jokes.

Some of the changes do work for me. In the books and radio series, Arthur Dent is a pitiful earth monkey who has a profound effect on the universe because he's the only survivor of Earth's destruction. In the movie he's far less pitiful and loserly. They accomplish this transformation mostly by making Trillian his love interest. To make up for turning Arthur interesting, they turn Zaphod into a worthless twit and add a whole bunch of stuff to the middle of the movie that doesn't belong there. Ah well, at least it was just a rental.

Kingdom of Heaven is to medieval history what Gladiator is to Roman history. Both are Ridley Scott films. Both tell the story he wants to tell with little regard for actual history. There are good fight and battle scenes, none of which have any particular historical accuracy at all. The swordplay is wrong. The battle tactics are wrong. There is a lot that is wrong. But it looks good. So if you want a movie that has a lot wrong with it, but looks good, then this is a good choice. It made me want to take my sword off the wall and give some milk jugs what for.

Kingdom of Heaven got a lot of bad press when it initially came out. Some reviewers thought the movie showed a very one sided portrayal of Christians and Muslims. This is mostly true. There are token Christians who are "enlightened" and tolerant and token Muslims who aren't. Generally devout Christians are portrayed badly while devout Muslims aren't generally portrayed at all. The overall theme of the movie is that Muslims, Christians, and Jews really aren't any different and we should just live in peace and toleration. The problem is that the movie comes to no conclusions about how to accomplish this when individuals on all sides want the conflict to occur and will actively engineer it.

Today in Technology

A couple articles from Gizmag caught my eye today.

The first is that Japanese entrepreneur Daisuke Enomoto will be the next civilian on the International Space Station. Dice-K, as he is referred to, is a technology company exec and investment advisor. The good news is that Dice-K shouldn't have any trouble adjusting to the cramped quarters on the ISS which is still larger than a typical Tokyo apartment.

The second is that someone has shoehorned a 1000cc 180 horsepower sportbike engine into the Smart. This has turned the minute motorcar into a tiny terror that does the quartermile in the 12s. This is really scary. Not because you have a little car that goes very fast. That is kinda cool. No, the problem is that the Smart has been declared the worst cornering car ever by Top Gear. It is tall, skinny, and short. The worse of all possible worlds in terms of cornering. This wasn't a problem when it was also slow, but putting a fast engine in one is creating a widow maker.

Marriage and Arguments

Behold: the Graph. Empirical proof that men cannot win arguments post-marriage. You are immersed.

UPDATE: Amybear has informed me that I will be allowed to win some arguments once we are married. Specifically, I will be allowed to win the ones we have over things she doesn't actually care about. Nice to know that I may decide whether Miller Lite "tastes great" or is "less filling" for my entire household.

General's Test

King Edward I You scored 72 Wisdom, 69 Tactics, 56 Guts, and 65 Ruthlessness!

Or rather, King Edward the Longshanks if you've seen Braveheart. You, like Edward, are incredibly smart and shrewd, but you win at any costs.... William Wallace died at his hands after a fierce Scottish rebellion against his reign. Despite his reputation though, Longshanks had the best interests of his people at heart. But God help you if you got on his bad side.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 81% on Unorthodox You scored higher than 44% on Tactics You scored higher than 56% on Guts You scored higher than 92% on Ruthlessness

Link: The Which Historic General Are You Test written by dasnyds on OkCupid

Election Anniversary

The president was elected a year ago yesterday. I've been hard on him lately. Just like La Shawn Barber, I'd like to reiterate how glad I am that he won instead of Lurch.

Summer Solstice

I don't live in a convertable climate, but I have to admit that the new Pontaic Solstice is looking good. I won't buy one anytime soon, but if they're still making it when my mid life crisis hits I definitely start shopping the used market. Others seem to be having a similar reaction because the assembly plant in Wilmington is up to three shifts now.

Edmund's has picked it as the most significant new car. Maybe. The technology going into it for it's price is pretty amazing. Plus it's an American made roadster, previously you had to look to Mazda or Honda or BMW for one. Neither of those worked for me. The S2000 has no torque, the BMW too expensive, and the Miata is just too small. Seriously, have you ever seen a Miata driver who was over five foot eight? If you meet one, ask how much they had to modify the seats so they could fit. Seriously, ask them and they will tell you.

Plus it looks incredible. The new Miata looks like a jelly bean. The Solstice has curves. It is sexy and extravagant, an impression hammered home by the complete lack of trunk space. At 3000 lbs. I'd like to see a little more power. Not this much, but a turbocharged inline-four or even V6 would be great. Plans for a turbo four are out there.

Rule of Law

One of the things I really don't understand about liberals is that they make a huge deal about concepts like Rule of Law and Precedent. Then they throw all that out whenever they want. This seems to be pissing Dale Franks off too. Here is a good taste:

This is a microcosm of whole problem with the way the Left views the Courts. They view the Courts as another governing branch, which makes interest in "proper results" and "looking like America" and "making history" important to them. But the Judiciary is not a governing branch. At best, it's a referee for the real governing branches, the executive and the legislative.

SBC Denies People Water

A lot of people out there may have heard the story: Southern Baptists denied hurricaine survivors water because it came from Anheuser-Busch. Oh, that beer water would taint their very souls! Better for them to die than allow them to drink it!

Turns out it's a damn lie. The Baptists didn't distribute Busch's water, but that's because they didn't need to. They had more than enough water to go around, so they held the Anheuser water in reserve. Had they needed it, they would have used it.

Quiz Time

You Are Somewhat Machiavellian

You're not going to mow over everyone to get ahead... But you're also powerful enough to make things happen for yourself. You understand how the world works, even when it's an ugly place. You just don't get ugly yourself - unless you have to!

How Machiavellian Are You?

Via Hube.

Graphics

My title graphics don't seem to be loading. I'll have to see about hosting them on a different site. I'm currently using Roadfly and they seem to be reworking what services are allowed for free.

UPDATE: Thanks to Izzy who suggested Photobucket. I've switched the graphics over and we shall soon see if they work. Yup they do.

As an aside, I can tell my blog has really grown just from the amount of time it takes to republish the whole thing.

Faith and Reason

Joan has written a good paper on the Senses vs. Reason philosophical debate. She posted a copy on her latest blog entry.

I don't necessarily agree with these sorts of debates. Senses vs. Reason seems to be a false dichotomy. Your senses can be lead astray as it is not possible to perceive everything. Anyone who has examined witness testimony will realize that people's senses are very unreliable. Your reason can also be lead astray. Most of Aristotle's scientific work is crap for this reason. In ancient Greece, the great philosophers did not dirty their hands with experimentation. That would be turning great thinking into the work of mere tradesmen.

So the truth is that you need both. Sense and Reason inform each other. Together they bring you closer to the Truth than either can separately. Sense informs Reason and grounds it. Reason allows multiple senses (and individuals) to be combined into a more accurate whole. Which one of the two is more reliable depends on the specifics of each case.

Now I'm a Christian. I would hope my regular readers would have figured this out by now. Another false dichotomy we Christians encounter a lot is Faith vs. Reason. The truth is that both are necessary.

Reason is a great tool. God gave it to us after all. The problem with the Faith or Reason debate is getting the "Reason" side started. You need first principles to reason from. While those can be achieved by starting from conclusions that have already been reached previously, this is really just moving the starting point. Those conclusions had to come from somewhere, etc., etc. At some point you come down to foundational assumptions. These could be empirically derived or just "reasonable" basics. The point is that these things cannot be proven, they just have to be assumed or postulated without proof.

So what is Faith? The writer of Hebrews says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Faith is the proof for the unprovable assumptions. It is the starting point.

This doesn't have to be religious faith either. This is any faith. Faith that the scientific methodology was valid that you used to generate your foundational empirical assumption. Faith that that this result is has wide enough applicability to be useful. It all comes down to faith one way or another.

Which is why the Reason not Faith argument does work. Faith is not the antithesis of Reason, at least it doesn't have to be. Faith is not where Reason stops. Faith is where Reason starts. It is faith in both your first principles and in the reasoning process itself that allows Reason to operate in the first place. It is the foundation of Reason. Reason is built on a bedrock of Faith.

Now Faith can be misled just as your senses can be misled. People have faith in very silly things. Faith alone is pretty weak proof of anything and Reason can greatly reduce the burden of Faith necessary for belief. Ideally the conclusions reached by Reason should inform Faith, just as the assumptions made by Faith are the feedstock of Reason. Really, neither can exist alone for long.

The right answer is Faith and Reason not Faith or Reason.

Christian Healthcare

Joe Carter is discussing taking "social justice" issues back for the Church starting with Healthcare:

These "church plans," as they are known in the insurance industry, attempt to fulfill the Biblical admonition to “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2) by bringing Christians together to share the cost of their medical bills.

Although the plans differ in details, their basic premise is similar to health insurance programs. Members send a monthly check -- a "share" rather than a “premium”-- ranging from $100 to $400, either to the plan or directly to those the plan designates with "needs." The members also agree to send cards and letters or to pray for those members who are sick or injured.

This seems like an bad idea to me. If run properly this sort of plan will work like health insurer (give or take). "Shares" might be higher or lower than normal insurance and coverage would vary as well. If run improperly, this could defraud the plan members and be a poor witness for the Church at the same time. Since there is no regulation of these things, it's a coin toss which plan will do which. If you're lucky you will roughly break even. If you are unlucky you lose out. There is no win here. Which means on average you still wind up behind. From a purely financial perspective, it is a bad idea. This is medical coverage in the same way that the lottery is an investment plan.

But more importantly, should the Church even be doing this? No, this is just taking the Church where it really doesn't belong. In the end this is just a business, albeit a non-profit one. Does the Church need to be involved? No. Is this the image of the way christians are supposed to help one another? Not really. This isn't charity or communal sharing. This is a purely contractual business relationship. It does not meet the definition of true Christian sharing found in Acts.

Is health insurance inherently unchristian? No. So why are we inventing an inferior wheel? I'll have to go with the wisdom of the Apostles on this one, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables." When you look at the churches who have been heavily influenced by concerns of "social justice" it has taken over their church to the detriment of ministering the Word. It is just arrogant to think that we wouldn't follow the same path.

This isn't even touching on the fact that "social justice" is not social but political. It generally isn't just either.

Disappointment in Alito

From Instapundit:

On the other hand, there's this smoking gun: "As for Judge Alito's trumpet skills, the former band leader said, 'he certainly was no virtuoso.'"

As a former trumpet player, I don't think I can stand behind a judge with shoddy horn technique. Being a crappy musician might have been good enough for Presidents like Bill Clinton or Attorney Generals like John "the Singing Senator" Ashcroft, but Supreme Court Justices are life appointments and must be held to a higher standard. My disappointment with the president grows along with my sarcasm.

UMC Minister Defrocked

Admitted and active lesbian Beth Stroud was defrocked today by a Methodist Court ruling. Some gay methodists are having trouble with this. I'd imagine other methodists aren't so conflicted.

I'm not a Methodist and my big question is: What took you guys so long? This has been going on for years. This is why I belong to a congregationally organized Baptist denomination. If a minister pulls this stuff they generally either get kicked out by their own church or the church falls apart around them. There is none of this years of church court stuff.

My bible study is current embarking on 1 Corinthians. Corinth was a church beset with sexual immorality on a number of levels (prostitution was a biggie). Chapter 5 seems very applicable right now.

I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."

Or in other words, cast the unrepentant sinner out of your fellowship. Once that is done, let them go on their way.

Of course many people will hold that homosexuality is not "sexually immoral". I'm sure Paul would have a lot to say about those people too.

UPDATE: John the Methodist says that I don't understand why there is a debate here. That isn't the case, I understand why. What I don't understand is why it took over two and a half years to resolve the debate.

The woman preached her "coming out" sermon in April of 2003. She admitted publicly to living a lifestyle that is officially in conflict with being a minister in the UMC and the penalty is, to my understanding, pretty plainly spelled out. It isn't like members of her congregation were sneaking around her garden digging up dirt while violating her privacy.

The facts are a matter of public record as is the penalty. Why did it take over two years to reach a final verdict? My guess is politics, the liberal wing of the UMC didn't actually want to execute their own church laws on the matter.

Halloween

Today's the day. I try not to speak ill of my fellow Christians for sermonizing about the grave spiritual threat this "unholy" day poses for us and our children. I just have to wonder whether we might be better off if the Christian media spent October 31st celebrating the anniversary of Martin Luther's 95 theses instead of expressing professional outrage about this "pagan" cultural institution.

Google Video

If you haven't tried it yet, go ahead and have some fun. The great thing is that you have access to all types of video and TV. The bad thing is that it seems to be very beta. It is also shockwave/flash and my copy of Firefox at work is too "special" to handle it.

I've been using this to watch clips of Top Gear, a british car show. Unfortunately I can't find a link to the episode where they torture test the Toyota Diesel Hilux. By torture I mean roll down steps, set on fire, and blow up.

Plame Flame

My analysis is a little flawed. While this scandal is not bipartisan, it may be making deeper inroads into the swing voters than I thought. Why? As Instapundit points out, news coverage is rewriting history very heavily. I caught a few minutes of Dateline this weekend and sure enough they were turning this from "a vice presidential official was indicted for procedural violations" to "Bush lied, people died!"

The Ratings Game

The President's are low. Very low. Now analysts are are picking lots of reasons for this:

• Iraqi casualties are a big round number.
• Someone outed covert suburbanite Valerie Plame.
• The economy is pretty mediocre.

I've been watching a lot of BBC lately, so I'll use my favorite British response: Rubbish.

Bush was elected with 51% of the vote. His approval ratings are sitting around 40% right now. What does that tell you? I tells you a lot of people who voted for Bush aren't happy with him at the moment. So?

So Iraq and the Plame affair were going on when we voted for the man a year ago. As one of the unhappy 10% who voted for the President, let me say that I don't give a good God damn about them. Iraq has had elections and passed a constitution since then and the violence is at worst leveling off and seems to be falling. The Plame affair is partisan crap. The congressional scandals are much the same. The economy? Eh, if anything it's probably reacting the president's troubles.

So what is the real problem? The real problem is that the President has done a piss poor job of demonstrating any form of conservatism. In his first term, we forgave a lot of this because he had a war to fight, trouble in the Senate, and hopes for a second term. But now? There can't be a third term. Iraq is greatly improved, but government spending remains out of control. Furthermore domestic security, one of the things we trusted him to take care of, was proven insufficient by Hurricaine Katrina. His first term staff was an impressive brain trust. With the exception of Cheney and Condi, I wouldn't trust his second term staff to out-think my old high school trivia team.

So we're sick of it. And we can do the math. It's 3 years until the next presidential election? The public only remembers two. Now is the perfect time for us to express our displeasure with a minimum amount of collateral damage to the nation.

Most of this is fixable. Get fixing. Your base is your problem. Make us happy. Stop pandering to a left that will never even like you and throw us a bone. And not the kind you find in the bottom of a barrel of pork.

Investing

Evangelical Outpost has good investment advice from Austin Pryor. It is worth a read.

I'm a young guy without much in the way of debt or long term savings. Right now my retirement money is sitting in a TSP account, that is the federal governments version of a 401k. Since I don't have that much to lose, I'm heavily invested in the riskier but higher yielding stock segments like small businesses and internationals. As I get older (and the interest rates improve) I'll shift more of my money to more secure investments like government securities and bonds.

My more immediate savings is going to be headed for an ING savings account. They have an excellent rate of return (for a savings account). This should get my house savings started.

Fragile Fuzzy Nazis

John the Methodists explains what it is like to keep rabbits as pets.

It sounds like Patti fell for the houserabbit myth. There is a popular notion among some rabbit people that one can raise a pet rabbit like one keeps a cat. ... If this were true, it would necessitate that my rabbits are exceptionally stupid for rabbits. I do not think that this is the case.

He also goes on into detail about the many ways you can accidentally kill a rabbit. There are rather a lot of them.

My parents had a garden for most of my life. For a good part of that time we weren't planting it, but one would spring up in that spot anyway. Because of this we had rabbits in the back yard. We also owned a series of dogs. The dogs didn't kill any rabbits, but they had fun chasing them. I did kill a rabbit once. I accidentally stepped on it while walking one of the dogs. I still feel bad about it to this day, but I console myself with the knowledge that it couldn't have been a very smart rabbit.

Oh, the Nazi part? It is a reference to the quite excellent furry comic anthology Albedo Anthropomorphics. This is a hard sci-fi space war series where the good guys are the Extra-planetary Defense Forces and the bad guys are the Interstellar Lepine Republic (ILR). The ILR are rabbit space Nazis who believe in their own buck-toothed racial superiority. Yes I realize that space Nazis are somewhat over done, but it is a really good series. Even the furriness makes sense.

UPDATE: On the other hand Rabbit Nazis are nothing compared to guinea pig jinxes.

Batting 1000

I looked at my postcount for the first time in a long while. In the past year and a half, I've written over 1000 posts. Wow. Hope you've liked reading so far.

Gun Collecting

The Gun Guy is commenting on the death of his gun obsession. He's hit hard times financially and has had to sell off a good portion of his collection to finance his business.

I don't have an obsession. I know, I know, the first step to healing is admitting you have a problem. But seriously, I own 6 guns: two shotguns, 3 handguns, and a rifle. That may sound like a lot to someone who doesn't own any, but the truth is that there is a lot of space in my gun cabinet. I'd eventually like to add a revolver and an AR-15 to my "collection".

A collection isn't exactly what it is. A collection is something you have just to have. My gun cabinet is more of a big green toolbox. Some are for protecting my home (Mossberg 590 and centerfire pistols). Some are purely for training skills (Buckmark and M1 carbine). Some are for sport shooting (grampy's 20 gauge). The only one I'd never sell is my grandfather's 20 gauge, too much history there. I'm not much of a materialist and Amybear's insistence on an upper limit to my number of firearms has helped to hammer that home.

I do get an itchy trigger finger if I haven't gone shooting in a while though. Mostly that's because I'm mostly a handgun shooter. Handgun skills involve complex motor control and are very perishable. So if you haven't shot in a month, you're going to suck when you do.

Still, the funny thing is that my gun obsession has diminished as my collection has grown. Before I owned anything, I studied and read on firearms extensively. I soaked up anything and everything like a sponge. Now I only read posts about the guns I own or would like to own. I suppose I just know what I like as my experience has grown.

Gone Daddy Gone

That was the message today as Michele Catalano has closed down her blog A Small Victory. I'll miss it, but she'll be writing in NaNoWriMo here come November 1.

Miers Out

Harriet Miers has asked to withdraw her nomination and the president has accepted. While I'm sure she is a fine person and a wonderful human being, she was not an acceptable supreme court nominee. The appearance of impropriety surrounding her nomination saw to that. Not only did she not have any evidence of deep-seated conservative principles, but she headed up the search committee that chose her as the nominee. That doesn't cut it folks.

Now can we please get a decent nominee, i.e. not Alberto Gonzalez. Not this guy either as amusing as it might be.

Cell Phones for Kids

While not as cool as Graham Norton's doggie phone, the Buddy Bear phone is a neat idea and a thoroughly engineered product. My only worry is that your kids might think it's a toy and run up tons of charges, but I believe they have thought of that.

Serving the Reserves

Mudville Gazette has a story on the 80% retention rates the reserves are seeing right now. 80% retention for the reserves in a time of war just sounds amazing to me. Why are they staying in?

"It's who I am; it's what I do."
"Duty, honor, country."
"If not me, who will do it?"

Why are 20% getting out?

"Not enough money or bonuses."
"Not worth the risk."
"Tired of higher rank bullheadedness and lower rank slothfulness."

Check out 1st Lieutenant Bishop's quote at the end. It's a winner.

The Sky is Falling!

I'm not a big fan of intelligent design. I'm not a big fan of evolution either. Frankly they don't really impact my work and I don't find either of them especially theoretically satisfying. Both have major falsifier problems.

But just once I would like see someone actually read a book on ID before bashing it foolishly.

Americans and their leaders will have to get over their love affair with intelligent design . Polls show that most don't believe in evolution. But it is actually impossible to talk logically about bird flu, or any other rapidly evolving and constantly changing virus, without using the language of evolution -- specific words such as "mutant," "recombination," "genome" and "selection."

You do realize that ID does actually believe in parts of evolutionary theory, don't you? ID generally holds that natural selection and mutation are generally not sufficient for the generation of new species. ID does not say that these things do not exist in the universe. ID has never said this and will never say this. Adherents to ID are not so obstinate that they reject easily observable facts. Read a damn book.

If I were to criticize evolution because Darwin got inheritance completely wrong (and he did) or because his predictions about the fossil record were completely off, you would think me equally looney. Those things aren't major parts of current evolutionary theory. Darwin's inheritance scheme was replaced with modern genetics. The importance of the fossil record was downplayed via new theory like punctuated equilibrium. See, I've read a book.

Get with the program. If you are going to savage a line of thinking, at least have the decency to learn about it first so you savage it properly. Otherwise you simply jump to baseless slurs with no foundation in actual science. And you spread ignorance. And that pisses me off.

Ammo Prices

The Gun Guy has remarks up about the current ammunition market in the US. Long story short:

• The massive ammounts of foreign surplus ammo coming into the country is really screwing with consumer price expectations.
• Expect premium ammo to shoot up in price because of reduced demand in comparison to the inferior but cheap surplus.
• Expect more cheap foreign ammo to come onto the market from Eastern Europe.
• Expect American "manufacturers" to start rebranding foreign ammo because they can make it cheaper over there.
• .22 is going to be going up in price.

In short, if you shoot a lot now is a great time to start reloading. Make your own premium ammo if you require it. Once I have a house to put a reloading bench in, I'll probably do that.

On a Lighter Note

Here are some insults from Sigmund, Carl and Alfred. Good ones include:

I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.

I don't think you are a fool. But what's my opinion compared to that of thousands of others?

I would have liked to insult you, but the sad truth is that you wouldn't understand me.

UPDATE: Silly me forgot the link. Fixed now. Feel free to add novel insults on that subject in the comments.

NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month. Risawn is thinking about doing it and Michele Catalano has actually signed up.

The way NaNoWriMo works is you spend all of November writing a novel. A novel is defined as a work of fiction no less than 50,000 pages long. Did I say pages? Sorry that is only for the fantasy novelists. I meant 50,000 words long.

That is the equivalent of writing about 6 to 7 pages per day, every day, for the whole month. At the end you are a "winner" for completing it. In order to do this most people work out the details of plot beforehand and then do massive free writing for the whole month. Editing comes later, if at all.

I've thought about doing this, but it won't be this year. I'll be busy in November and I'm not out of my bible study leadership role yet either. Maybe I'll start the outlining process for something next year.

Traffic Violated

I'm mentioned the traffic habits of cops before. Last night it came home to roost. What was my real crime? I was driving like a cop without the badge.

I left work late last night. As I pulled out of the parking lot, a police SUV pulled in front of me. I slowed down to let him in and then followed him through a series of turns. I matched his speed. At the end of the turns he stopped suddenly and then pulled over in the left hand lane. I slowed down and waiting for him to make a move, then passed him on the right. He turned on his lights for the first time and pulled me over.

He checked my ID and gave me a warning for following too closely. He also chastening me for driving too fast. Of course I wasn't doing anything that he hadn't been doing a few seconds before me. If I can't use a police officer as my model, who the hell can I use?

The whole thing pissed me off so much that I had trouble eating dinner and getting to sleep last night. I suppose I'm overreacting, but the whole hypocrisy of the event raised my hackles even now.

Real American Heros

Rosa Parks died yesterday at the age of 92.

Brazilian Keep Their Guns

Despite pressure from the government, the media, and the Catholic Church, Brazilians rejected a gun control referendum by over 60%. Geek has more.

People need to get a few things through their heads. Guns are not just a violence issue, guns are fundamental civil rights issue. You have a fundamental right to defend yourself from aggression. If I lived in Brazil, with that moron Chavez on across the border, I'd want to keep my weapons too. They have a ready made example of how tyranny follows disarmament. They also have a good reason to worry. As Venezuela collapses (and it will) trouble will be coming to them.

Blogger

I'm having a lot of trouble getting blogger to work today. Not sure why, but it just does not want to post. Keep that in mind.

Classified Top Sacred

John has a practical question about congregational confidences:

As ministers, we are ethically obligated to protect the privacy of struggling people in our congregations. At what point does it become acceptable to refer to someone as a sermon illustration?

Several of his readers have commented, but here are my two cents.

I actually was quoted in one of my senior pastor's sermons. It was not a story of my sordid past (which I don't actually have.) My pastor did a sermon series on Calvinism. I thought it was a bad idea. This topic can divide churches and makes little practical difference in your daily christian walk. I told my pastor so in response to an email he had sent. He liked some of my thoughts so much he actually quoted me. He did so anonymously and with my permission, even though what I had said was not in confidence.

Now things will probably get murkier if the person is dead or if you are pastoring a different church. Then maybe you can avoid asking for permission if you change the names to protect the innocent. Maybe.

Today's Online Quiz

Wow I'm normal. Must be a software bug or something.

Get Fuzzy

Bucky is taking a class in gunsmithing? Something about that makes me nervous.

I also found it kind of sad that I actually know what you do with a "chamber reamer". I even know where to buy one.

Peanut Obscura

You are Rerun!

Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Firearms Industry Protection

For many years now, the firearms industry has been beset with lawsuits. Most of these are brought by liberal cities egged on by gun control groups. These folks are trying to bleed the industry to death using the legal system. To date firearms makers have won all but one, with the vast majority being thrown out of court. Some states are sick of it and have passed state laws to shield the industry.

Today the house passed a bill extend this legal shield from a few states to the entire nation. The Senate had passed a bill months ago. Bush says he will sign it and good for him.

Commuter Cars

I'd like to add the EcoRacer to my list of cars I wouldn't mind owning. It's a mid engine volkswagon turbodiesel in a very light body. It gets great gas mileage (70 mpg), has good acceleration (6.3 0 to 60ish), and it's even a convertable. As long as they didn't go into production in Mexico, I'd consider buying it.

Urban Archipelago

A coworker pointed me towards this essay on the Red and Blue State divide. It gets the analysis right, that the Democrats win the cities and the Republicans win the country/suburbs. That is where the smart stops.

The whole rest of the essay is complete foolishness. My coworker showed it to me because he thought it was satire. They obviously have no understanding of how infrastructure scales with population density. Their vision of a new selfish form of urban liberalism is also misguided. Read it if you must, but unlike my coworker I thought it was just sad.

Stossel on Guns

I already knew the contents of this article by ABC reporter Jon Stossel. It is still nice to see a network news personality saying to it though.

Hillel's Angels

That's what you call yourself if your a group of motorcycling Jews from North Jersey. Just go read it.

Not A World Traveler

Put me down, you don't know where I've been.



create your own visited states map

These are the states I have really visited as opposed to driven or flown through. I don't think you can fly in the US without going through Hartsfield in Atlanta. I've also been through most of the northern US when we droven my grandfathers Dodge home to Pennsylvania from Washington. But none of that counts because all I did was see airport and interstate.

Not Just for Star Trek

The Air Force has actually developed transparent aluminum. Montgomery Scott would be proud.

Chinese Cars

Chinese industry can be good. They actually make some darn good guns. Cheap labor prices mean that they can do things the high quality old fashioned way instead of the cheaper and often crappier modern way.

But sometimes not so much. The Chinese auto industry has a way to go. Their Landwind SUV recieved a crash test rating of 0 out of 5 in European testing. It is the only zero ever recorded. Not only does the safety cage fail, but it turns around and throttles the steering wheel through the crash test dummy's head. There are videos!

But hey it's probably pretty cheap. Of course if I were going to drive a car that I knew would kill me, why not make it expensive? I won't be needing that money anyway.

At least when I get the itch for a motorcycle again, I'll be able to tell Amybear "but dear, it's still safer than a Chinese SUV."

Ugly Europistols

Sad to say, but "the Gun Guy" shows the ugly didn't start with Glocks. Maybe it's genetic or something.

For comparison, tGG has a Remington 1875 single action revolver. It's a beaut. I have a real itch for a single action revolver right now. A problem is that I really don't like Colts or clones which is 90% of the single action market. I'm thinking about either buying a replica 1875/90 Remington or taking a replica percussion Remington revolver and modifying it up as a garage project.

The real problem with all these guns is that the standard caliber is .45 long colt and it's helluva expensive. We're talking about 50 cents/round and even 31 cents/round for reloads. By comparison, commercial reloads in .45acp are available for 17 cents/shot and 9mm is about 13. I suppose I could look into getting them in .38sp but then the extra weight throws the balance out of whack.

Parents These Days...

Michele is pontificating on proms and the quality of modern parentage.

The sad part is, it's not just prom night. Have you seen the MTV show about Sweet 16s? It's enough to make you sick to your stomach. What is it with this generation of parents?

Amen sister.

I'm a TV addict. I blame my parents (or else I would have to take personal responsibility and we can't have that...) I'll admit to catching parts of Sweet 16 and Laguna Beach on MTV. It's scary and I don't often watch long. The shows compel you to watch in the same way "when animals attack" or the police chase shows do. They're like watching a train wreck, which is kind of fun in a sick way.

What really scares me is not that these children are little monsters. They certainly are, but that is beside the point. What worries me is that some younger kids, the junior high MTV set, may be watching Laguna Beach and thinking that is how they are supposed to behave. Now that is frightening.

A Shooting Brake

What is a shooting brake? Sounds like some sort of catastrophic vehicular failure, but it isn't.

The Shooting Brake concept evolved a century ago from European gentlemen wishing to have enough room for their guns when they were going hunting or to shooting contests yet at the same time drive their sports cars. A "shooting brake" is a modified two door coupe with an estate-wagon back crafted, rather than grafted, on.

What a wonderful idea! I want one. I'd, uh, carry groceries in the back. Yeah it's for groceries dear. Thats the ticket.

On a more practical note, carrying firearms in a car like this might be troublesome in the states. (The shooting brake seems a Euro thing.) Some firearms transportation laws direct you to store guns unloaded and locked out of reach. Your car's trunk is great for this. A small car with a hatchback is much less ideal. This is part of the reason my current car is a sedan, by the way.

Mars and Venus

Amybear and I have different planning styles. She likes to get as much done up front as possible so there is less worrying to do later. I like to put off decisions for as long as possible so I can avoid making the same decision twice. (Oh the contracter you booked three months ago? He just canceled.) This is causing some conflict in wedding planning, but it is easily solved by me minding my own damn business.

It occurs to me that this same relationship, the woman plans and the man procrastinates, is exactly the same as what I see in my parents. I wonder, is this a man/woman thing or am I just turning into my father as I grow older?

Blessed Transitions

My small group had a long talk about where the group is going last night. To make a long story short I will be transitioning out of leadership and we'll be going to a more round robin style of teaching. This is good because (1) I'm in a singles group but am getting married (2) the guys in my group are strong mature christians and capable of taking this on themselves.

It is like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Leading a lesson per week for about 2 years has really worn me out. I'll be still be leading a study here and there as part of the rotation, but sharing responsibility is a good thing. Maybe I'll have time now to do more substantial writing for the blog.

Morning Commutes

Ooccasionally I get the idea that a motorcycle would be a great idea for my morning commute. Then I have a trip in like this morning, when an idiot in an SUV decides to go from 60 mph to complete stop on the onramp only a few feet in front of me. Antilock brakes don't fail me now. I'm fine. The car's fine. The driver was an idiot, but it only takes one idiot to make your life miserable.

So far I'm ahead of the game for October though. Last year I had two people rear end me within the space of two weeks. So far I'm clean. What is it about fall that makes people stupid?

Sly 2

Well I finished the game last night. Amybear will be very happy about that. I liked it. If you have a PS2 and enjoy a good platformer Sly 2 is it. Plus it's on the $20 greatest hits list right now because Sly 3 just came out.

Sly 1 was good. In some ways it was a ring-tailed copy of other games like Spyro, the hub and spoke organization was similar. The levels were straightforward platformer stuff, but good straightforward platformer stuff. They tried to break up the Sly gameplay with shooting and driving mini games. To some extent it worked. But some of the levels were just incredibly hard and the master thief challenges were barely worth playing.

Sly 2 is great. It has a feel all it's own. The hub and spoke system is basically gone. Levels are organized into 8 hubs with missions set in each hub much as in GTA. Instead of the obvious mini games of Sly 1, the Sly 2 gameplay is broken up by playing Bently and Murray, Sly's cohorts who each have their own gameplay style. There are mini games, but they move you towards a goal with a much more seamless quality. Oh and the difficulty is tough, but not impossible like the last one.

In short I liked it. The only thing I really wish for is the ability to replay all the missions in an episode once you have beaten it.

Hey Crackhead!

Ok I saw this really funny post on a motorcycle forum. It does contain some profanity so if that's a problem, skip it.

Disciple

My music tastes shift a lot. I generally gravitate towards music that will have a long shelf life. I don't do fad music. Except hair metal. But I was young and impressionable then. Boy bands? No. Hootie? Boring. Teeny pop? Not really, certainly not Britney. Alternative rock? How is it "alternative" when the majority of kids in my high school were listening to it? I do admittedly like swing, but swing is classic and I don't own a zoot suit or go to the dances.

I was on a secular rock kick for a while. Sorry Contemporary Christian Music lovers, but a lot of CCM sucks. I went secular to get music that doesn't. I bought some early Beatles albums. I bought some rock albums. I even bought Greenday's latest. Then I realized that it was only winning awards because it bashes Dubya and the War. Oops.

After leading a study on 1 Kings 18 (Elijah kicks Baal's ass), I remembered a Disciple song on the subject "God of Elijah". So I bought the album it was on at my local Family Corporate Store. Now I'm back on the Christian metal kick. As long as I don't buy any Petra, I might not do anything I regret later.

Organizers on the Cheap

I have a PDA. It's a palm m105. I bought it in grad school after I missed one too many meetings. I considered several options to spending over a hundred bucks, like small notebooks and the like. In the end though a paper notebook won't beep and annoy me if I forget something (like jury duty that was scheduled months ago). So the palm was a good investment and I still use it regularly.

If you are looking for something with 90% of the functionality, then there are two possibilities you might want to look at. The first is the Pocketmod. It's a sheet of paper you make with flash program. Using some creative folding, you cut and fold it into an 8 sheet organizer.

Nice, but there is no way to hot sync the thing with my datebook. What I really want is a pocketmod program that interfaces with my electronic calendar at work. That way I print out one in the morning and I have everything I need to do that day in my pocket.

There is also the Hipster. This is a stack of 3x5 cards binder clipped together. You write on them with a pen. The hipster mini uses business cards instead. If the bind clip bugs you, then several index card or business card holders are available at office stores.

Via Evangelical Outpost.

The Crave Factor

Man I've been having a serious thirst for Cheerwine. But the closest distributor is in Warrenton, VA. Thats a good hour on the other side of Amy's parents. Maybe some day I'll surprise Amy and make the drive. We would both like a few cases at the wedding, if nothing else.

Baseball

I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. It taught me a few things about professional sports. The Eagles, the Flyers, and even the Sixers can win. They'll come and go, but the franchises themselves have potential. You can expect to get to the playoffs and maybe even get somewhere. They won't go all the way, but they'll make a decent showing of themselves.

But the Phillies will always suck. When I want to see a baseball game now, I go see the Wilmington Blue Rocks. It's a minor league team, but they play almost as well as the Phillies and cost much less.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Joan and Jimmy are no longer an item.

I'm not quite sure what to say. I can't even wrap my mind around it yet. But apparently Jimmy and I are no longer an us and no one bothered to tell me. I found out on my own today. I just wish he had told me himself. I think I deserved at least that. I've always been of the opinion that if you are causing someone else pain, the very least you can do is plant your feet firmly on the ground and let them unload on you.

I agree. You did deserve better than this and if this is all Jimmy had to offer, then frankly I'm disappointed in him. I thought he was a stand-up fella. Amybear and I broke up once. We were long distance and it was over the phone, but at least it was her and me and she could dish it out as needed.

Joan, I wish I could say something that would make it alright. God has a plan for you and even if Jimmy isn't part of it, it'll still be a good one. Reading your site for over a year now, I've picked up on an undercurrent of self loathing. It's understandable given all that you have been through. Not to go all Stuart Smalley, but you are special. You're good enough. You're smart and sexy and beautiful. In the end, this is Jimmy's loss.

You may not want to hear that, but it's all I got. In the end I'm sorry and I wish I could do something more substantial for you.

Newborn

My suspicions were correct. Feeble Knees had her son a little over a week ago. "Bug" (thankfully a pseudonym) is healthy and 7 pounds, 12 ounces.

Gift Registration

Because I'm a slackergovernment employee I had a nice 4 day weekend. Amybear came up last week. We snuggled, caught a movie or two, and went shopping.

Part of this shopping was our initial effort to set up a Gift Registration list. So far we have some fine china, bedding, towels, small kitchen appliances, etc. I'm looking into good knives right now.

I know some of you folks out there in bloggerland have been through this already. I curious if you have any suggestions for things to put on the gift registry. A coworker has already suggested that there be enough articles of manliness there that all our gifts aren't for Amy. Anything else? That's what the comments are for.

UPDATE: On another note, Bridal Flip Flops?

Battle for Mosul Recap

Michael Yon's current dispatch is amazing. It is long but well worth the read.

Nice Guy Syndrome

Michael Dean has two posts up on Nice Guy Syndrome or just NGS.

For those that don't understand NGS here is how it usually works. You become friends with a girl, you are attracted to her and have strong feelings for her. At some point in the friendship you begin talking about possibly becoming more than friends. With NGS this conversation quickly turns to the female friend stating, "You're too nice to date, let's just be friends." Of course she fails to realize that in saying these words, that friendship will never be the same. The guy begins to think that someday she will find someone that's not "too nice to date" (read "a jerk") and will break your heart even more. Therefore that friendship falters and slowly fades away to nothing. Both sides are sad and upset, but usually the guy more than the girl, since his heart was broken.

Yup. I have been the victim of NGS several times. The last time was in college with a girl I knew in High School. It ended with her saying "but Jeff you're such a good friend, why would I ever want to date you?" Well you ripped my heart out, would you like to stomp on it a bit while it's on the ground?

Fortunately Amybear was able to cure my NGS with a small injection of BGI or Bad Girl Influence early in our relationship. Otherwise we might still be discussing our favorite forms of laundry detergent. Instead she gave me a kiss and I found better things to do than talk, like try to get another kiss.

Why is this such a problem? Michael says it is due to feminism breaking the male spirit. He has a point. When I was brought up, we were taught to be sensitive. We didn't do anything to offend the girls. We suppressed our juvenile rough housing. We learned to be quite passive really, because that was how good little boys behaved. Being good little boys, we listened and obeyed.

Now this whole thing is great if what you want is well behaved little boys. Which is what many of the uber-feminists want. They don't have kids or husbands and they just want men they can walk over. But most women aren't like that, which is why feminism is dying as a popular movement. Real women want partners not peons. So in practice, this feminist training doesn't work.

I'm a man. I'm not a little boy. Somewhere along the line, I realized a good little boy is just a doormat. Just think of the guys in High School who got the girls. The dicks. Who got to kiss Lois Lane more, Clark Kent or Superman? And Superman is still a big blue boyscout.

Good little boys get left behind. That is until we've had enough. Then we realize that the jerks are stomping us flat and nobody is going to stand up for us if we don't stand up for ourselves. We become adults. We become men. We start taking care of our own problems. We're still nice guys, but we don't take crap from bad boys.

Women want someone who will is a worthy partner. Someone who will defend them in a fight and keep their children safe. Someone with the decisiveness to take charge and solve problems. They want men. It is a damn shame we aren't training our boys to be men anymore.

Now this isn't the only reason of course. Another biggie is that women know many friendships don't survive becoming relationships. So if you spend a lot of time together and get to be good friends, she isn't willing to risk what you have now for what you might have in the future. You have invested all this friendship together, why risk it? But in a way this is just a penalty for going slow and being over-cautious. If you were more aggressive, you wouldn't have this huge friendship investment would you?

For those of you out there who haven't found your woman yet, just don't be a little boy. Be a man. Hit her over the head with your club and drag her back into your cave. She'll love and respect you for it.

Dogs of War

Get Fuzzy is featuring them in today's comic. If you want to full story on war dogs like Stubby and Chips, here is a site on war dogs throughout history.

Among the things you will learn is that Darby Conley got a few things wrong. Chips did not receive the purple heart or silver star. He was nominated for them by a brigadier general, but someone higher up decided that medals are only for men not dogs. He was probably denied because he bit Eisenhower...

Blogging

Posting is going to be sparse for a while until further notice. Unfortunately my internet access at work has been completely cut off by my own stupidity. The speed of my return will be hastened by the responsiveness of the IT department.

Two Horns

Here is a great idea that came up driving home from lunch. Cars should have two horns. The first horn would be the nice horn. It's the one you honk for thanking someone or just getting their attention. It would probably sound like a clown car horn, cute and high pitched. The second horn would be the one you use to tell people off. It would sound gruff and rude, like a large man yelling profanity, because that is what it's for.

I think this would add a real depth to travel on the nations roadways. As it is I just use my horn to tell people off, but with two I have so much more depth. I can practically converse with them.

Harriet Miers

So she's the big story in the blogosphere. She seems woefully underqualified to be on the highest ranking court in the land. Her main recommendation is that she is Bush's attorney. I don't want to be mean, but I hope the Senate bitch-slaps both her and the President down for this.

Bush has worn out the "trust me" line. I'm genuinely tired of seeing him nominate good ole boys and gals. It's time for the Republicans to get a serious setback. Maybe shattering their aura of electoral invincibility will get them to act like conservatives again.

Final Prayers

I've been asking for prayer because a friends father was in a bad way. His dad died at about 6:30 pm EST today. He had terminal pancreatic cancer, but the actual cause of death was a heart attack and stroke.

The good part is that the family had enough time to get together and was present with his dad when he died. This was far more sudden than most of them were expecting. It's hard on the family, but it may be a merciful end for his dad compared to the effects of pancreatic cancer.

Please continue praying for the family as they grieve their loss and make funeral preparations.

Rosh Hashanah

It starts at sundown. Amy and I figured this out by checking the Hellboy calendar in my kitchen. There is something funny about looking up the times of Jewish High Holy days on a Hellboy calendar.

Landing on Your Feet

Joe Cathey is recounting whimsical days of his youth. Back when he used to drop his cat out the window onto his sleeping bulldog to see what happens.

Now I don't have many stupid kids stories. That is what happens when you're an introvert, you stay home and don't get in much trouble. At least not until you go to college. But here is a quality window story.

It was winter in the mid 1980s. Snow was on the ground and I was stuck in Sunday school with a gang of other boys in our late elementary years. Our teacher failed to show up so we had to keep ourselves occupied until church started. You can see where this is going.

Well our sunday school room is on the back side of the church. Because of the lay of the land, our second story window is only about a half story up. The ground is at about window level on the first floor and is covered in nice soft snow. We wondered if we could safely jump out of the window without hurting ourselves. It took about a half hour before anyone worked up the nerve to try it.

Sure enough, he landed safe and sound and more people followed. I didn't try it until at least the second or third go round because I'm a good introvert and also afraid of depths (heights are fine, depths uhh uhh).

Now where is the comedy? Well you see my classroom happened to be located directly above the senior pastor's office. The fact that he was leading an adult Sunday school class in there didn't help us one bit. Fortunately my parents weren't in it. Unfortunately other boys were not so lucky. I don't think I've seen Rev. Brown's face quite that color before or since.

We all got yelled at. Some mercy and grace was dispensed later when the church realized they screwed up and left a seven or eight pre-pubescent boys without adult supervision.

Compacts

Nissan is bringing a concept car forward that looks oddly familiar. I think I've seen riceboys driving their '93 civics dolled up just like that!

It has been my opinion that the Honda Civic 3-door hatchback from the early '90s is the almost ideal form for that type of compact car. It's small and nimble with the wheels at the corners. The design is such that four adult males can actually sit in the thing comfortably, albeit not with much in the way of trunk space. If you turbocharge it, you can even get it to accelerate at a fair pace. It's sort of like a mini, except with a useable back seat and better reliability.

When I went looking to buy my first car in 1999, I wanted one of these, but couldn't find one for the life of me. By then the later generation Civics had expanded so that they were both larger in ways that didn't matter, and smaller in ways that did. Sadly, I ended up with a Ford Escort instead.

In 2003 when the Escort was showing its age I entered the market again. When I saw the Ford Focus, I thought they may have captured some of the old magic. But I rented a Focus once. I couldn't bear to own one. So I bought a Mazda Protege, which I like a lot and have no complaints about.

We'll see what is around when the Protege bites the dust.

Baby Off-Board

If my calculations are correct, Feeble Knees probably had her baby this weekend. A few prayers in their direction would not be remiss, even at this late date.

A Weekend in Review

I got a lot done this weekend. Floors were vacuumed. Clothes were washed. Recyclables were recycled. I bought and delivered my Dad's 70th birthday present. Things were generally good. The following deserve a bit more than a footnote, perhaps a bullet point.

• My brother and I went to see Serenity yesterday. It was quite good, but also fairly open-ended. I got the feeling they tied up the major arc-plots of the original series, especially River and her brother's plot. There is also room for future stories with most of the crew, if you get my drift.
• I went shooting Saturday with my hipower and 1911. Things went well, but towards the end of shooting the grips on my hipower cracked. This is the second set of wood grips to crack and both did it in the same place along the grain lines. The first set were fairly cheap, but these latest were not. No more wood grips for me, my next set will be synthetic.
• While cleaning the air filter on my Protege, I noticed that one of the mounting brackets on my intake had cracked. I bolted it down as best I could and now I have to call AEM to see if they'll send/sell me the replacement part. The car still runs, although I'm running good gas for the next tank until my fuel injection system realizes the engine is breathing better.
• Sly Cooper 3 is out for PS2. This meant I had to do the only logical thing. I bought Sly Cooper 2 for $20. It is a great game and unlike the last one, there are levels where you play the whole gang. Murray the Hippo (the muscle of the team) and Bentley the Turtle (the brains) make for much more interesting game-play changes than the mini games of Sly 1. I'm enjoying it way more than I should. Which is why I got way too little sleep last night.

UPDATE: Tycho is noticing that Serenity isn't burning up the box office. I would like to note that nothing is burning up the box office right now. Turnout to the theatres was really light yesterday, probably because the weather was so nice. At least Serenity came out on top of the new releases moneywise.