Mount St Helens

Looks like its the end times. Mt. St. Helens is not only erupting but also beset with giant insects.

Federal Holiday

Hope everybody enjoyed Columbus Day. Being a federal employee I had the day off (gloat gloat). I celebrated the discovery of the New World by sleeping in and then cleaning a lot. I got a few chores done too.

In my last apartment I tended to go a while between cleanings. That isn't necessarily bad, but things tends to build up and then its a pain. Cleaning out my apartment last month broke me of that habit. Now I'm probably going to go for more of a regular weekly or bi-monthly cleaning schedule that will keep everything tidy and probably save time too.

I realized that the shower at night methodology just doesn't work for me. I went shooting yesterday with my brother at our local indoor range. That means I basically got myself covered in a light dusting of lead and lead salts. I made sure to take a shower and wash that stuff off before ended up inhaling it all night long. I woke up this morning and had to shower again just to get myself feeling clean enough to leave the house. Showering is just part of my morning routine I guess.

Chores were good. I dropped my FN Hipower off at a local gunsmith for some trigger work. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with it. If he does do good work I will be giving him some free publicity here.

Coming back from there I stopped in at my old supermarket. Its a Mega Superfresh that is within walking distance of my old place. I miss it. My new neighborhood supermarket (also in walking distance) is a crappy Acme with a really horrible produce section. How am I supposed to eat healthy if I can't get good fruits and veggies?

I did my second act of mindless routine coming back from Superfresh. My old apartment complex is on the way home and I stopped to make a turn into it. I didn't actually make the turn, I just stopped at the turn like I would if I was about to turn. It annoyed the woman behind me to no end. I didn't even realize what I had done until a second later. I guess its some sort of weird pavlovian response to coming home from that Superfresh. Part of my mind must have still thought that I had to make that turn.

The Debate and Why I Missed It

I hear Bush won last night. Good for him. I had other stuff to do. I wonder how many people were watching a debate on a friday night. Lets hope enough to stop his slide in the polls.

Amybear and I were starting to talk details about marriage instead. We aren't engaged yet, but now is the time to talk about this stuff before we commit to getting married. Amybear is smart and realizes this. We love each other but the interfaith marriage stuff is going to be challenging, especially once we have kids.

Despite what Jews may think, Baptists are pretty cool with going to Jewish stuff. We see Judaism almost as a parent religion so learning more about it is pretty cool for us. It allows us to put ourselves in better context. The Jews don't have as enlightened a position about Christianity. While they spent the first hundred years of Christianity persecuting us, the tide turned and they've basically been called "Jesus killers" and persecuted ever since. I can understand why they wouldn't like it very much. The fact that they're a less popular religion (in the purely numerical sense) and they tend to attrit a fair number of people to christianity every year doesn't help either. Anyway while Christians are pretty cool with learning about Judaism, Jews can be kind of uptight about it going the other way around which should make raising the kids interesting.

100th Post!

Yup, the big one-oh-oh I feel so old...

Anyway, bought myself a new gun today. Its a mossberg 590. 8+1 shots of 12 gauge shot. It has the bayonet mount and heat shield so it should look sufficiently mean. Well if trouble happens I'll be ready. Until then I'll be praying it doesn't happen.

I was originally looking at Winchester 1300 defenders and Remington 870 HDs. The 1300 is really nice, but its sales numbers are fairly low. If you already own one, it is a problem if you want to get aftermarket parts. If you want to buy one then good luck finding someplace local with them in stock. Walmart carries the sporting models, but they do not carry the defense models. I wanted a defense gun.

The 870 is also quite nice but it has the disadvantage of being an older generation design. The 590 and 1300 have aluminum receivers. The 870 is all steel which should allow it to last longer, but makes it heavier and more expensive for what you get. Remington just doesn't offer the features the other companies do at the same price point. My Mossberg is roughly competitive with the 7 round (6+1 in the chamber) HD, but its superior in many regards. The remington needs a new forend, sling swivels, and a new mag extension just to get in the ballpark.

I also like the mossies controls better. Everybody mentions the ambidextrous safety on the back of the mossies receiver. Great position for it and a big plus. What they don't mention is that the mossberg has the bolt release back by the trigger guard instead of in front of it. That means I can press it without having to move my hand. Bigger plus.

Weird Polling Numbers

Seems to me a lot of the political polls have been behaving weirdly. Some results favor Bush, other Kerry and often skewing by larger values than the margin of error. Maybe this is due to ideological skew in the questions introducing bias, but I have another idea.

I was just called by someone doing a survey of new home owners. Problem? I don't own a home, I rent an apartment. It is not unusual that I would get call from this survey, since they basically call people at random. What is unusual is that this time the woman on the other end had a strong Indian accent. I had a hard time understanding her and I believe it was mutual. When I explained that I'm not a homeowner she ignored me and kept right on going with her script. So I hung up.

Then something occured to me. How many of these polling firms places are outsourcing their legwork and data gathering overseas? If this is common that may explain the poor quality of polling these days.

Errands

I've been running around most of the day. I went to the DMV and I took care of my voter registration. I moved at the beginning of the month. It went well and now I have a new license with the correct address on it.

This especially good because I hope to be buying some guns soon (before the election). I need the DL for with the proper address for that. If Bush wins things could get violent in some liberal dominated areas. I'm a stones throw away from the ultra-liberal conclave also known as a college campus. I'd like to have a long arm to go with my hipower just in case. Luckily for most the ultra-libs don't usually own guns. Unfortunately for them if they try anything near me and mine, I do.

I got my car washed too so the protective layer of filth has been removed. Hopefully I won't get rear-ended again now.

My girlfriend showed me an Anna Nicole game on E! Online. Its disgustingly addictive. So far I've managed to get up to level 9. The level when the first introduce the pickle is a bear too.

Messianic Jews

GetReligion is writing about the cultural divide between Messianic "Judiasm" and the unleaded variety. More specifically they're talking about the trouble the press has expressing this objectively in a way that both sides can agree upon.

This kind of hits home for me. My Girl Amybear is a Reform Jew. I'm a Baptist (duh). We're seriously considering marriage at this point and we're wondering how the kids religious upbringing will work out. What's my point and how does this relate to the article? Well one of the things we considered (well I considered more on that later) was Messianic Judaism. They have the Jesus I want and some of the Jewish tradition she wants.

The problem? Well its twofold.

One is that a lot of Messianic congregations are pretty non-traditional in Jewish circles. Regular Jews do not, for instance, practice Davidic worship. Thats when parts of the congregation starts dancing up front during the worship section of a shabbat service. Its weird. Amybear and I are unanimous on its weirdness. Regular Jews have some traditional dances they do at wedding receptions and parties of religious significance, but in services? Don't be ridiculous.

The second problem is what GetReligion is talking about. Jews as a whole tend to be inclusive of all other Jews provided they are ethnically Jewish and not Christians or Muslims. The exclusion of Jewish Christians and Muslims has a lot to do with cultural/religious warfare and historical incidents of forced conversion like the Inquisition. Jews have been excluding Christian Jews from their fellowship since the Apostle Paul.

Our kids will technically be Jewish because Amybear is Jewish and Jews follow matrilineal descent. But Jews specifically exclude Messianic Jews from their congregations and gatherings. You can't even join a Jewish mailing list or online forum if they find out you're Messianic. Amybear doesn't want our kids to have to go through that and I see her point.

So we're going to have to do some tap dancing once we have kids. It should keep our lives interesting at least.

Bad Ways to Start a Day

Bad Way Number 1: Get rear-ended leaving your apartment complex. I pull forward to get set to merge out into traffic, she pulls forward into me. I'm guessing she was looking at traffic and not at the guy in front of her.

Anyway the good news is that the collision was very low speed. My car has a small scratch on the rear bumper. She might have something similar. Looks like the bumpers did their jobs and prevented any other damage. Plus, for once, it isn't my fault.

My last car had really crappy brakes. So that the last two times I've been in one of these I had the guilt of causing it. Not so with this one, she hit me. I can't really be too mad. She didn't do much damage and I've done worse to other folks. Ok so I can be mad, no sense going into denial or anything, but frankly little harm was done.

Bad news. I have her information, she has mine. I was mister nice guy and didn't insist that the cops be called. Like I said, there really isn't any damage or injury so it shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully the lack of a police report won't do much since no money should be changing hands. I'm going to have to buy a cell phone now so I can call the cops and not depend on the other person though. Oh well hopefully learning from my mistakes won't be too costly.

Christian Blogging

Should blogging be a spiritual discipline? Well not necessarily, but lately it seems that the vast majority of material written by christian bloggers is political. Kerry Sucks, Bush Rocks.

Thats nice and I don't disagree, but where is the love? Where is your first love my fellow Ephesians? I think this has really become the leading failure of the religious right. We just don't show the love of God enough. We don't show the truth we live for through our actions enough. I'd rather not fall into that trap myself.

Scripture commands me to do all things for the glory of God. This blog is included.

Spiritual Deserts

No, not Death by Chocolate. I mean those dry places, the lonely valleys we travel through where spiritual direction is difficult to discern. It seems like a lot of folks are going through that right now. Messy Christian and Reepicheep are two people on my blogroll that have had a bit of it.

My first instinct is to start giving advice on how to be happier or why people are going through trouble. I usually manage to shut up before I inflict permanent spiritual harm. You never know who to blame, but the tendency is to blame the guy in the relationship that didn't create the universe. Blaming someone is not a way to bring comfort. You just end up being one of Job's comforters, I guess. What I really should be doing is just sympathizing/empathizing and let them know they aren't alone.

About the only advice I can give is this: God knows what you are going through. Spend some time with him and ask him to show you what you need to do to get things right. Jesus didn't call the Holy Spirit a spiritual counselor for nothing. If you do have wrongs that need to be settled, the Spirit can also convict you of your wrongs. God is good and he is always faithful and waiting. Go to him.

Taco Bell and Accents

Izzy and I went to Taco Bell today. They revamped their combo menu a while back so, in our opinion, it makes less sense. (They don't have a two taco combo and number 2 for instance.) Turns out they still have the old combo options available though. That made me happy because, as a creature of habit, I really wanted my two supreme gorditas and a soft taco. It used to be the number 8. Now its the number nothing, but I can still order it just the same. We also found it interesting that the taco at Taco Bell is the equivalent to french fries at Burger King or McDonalds. A taco is a meal for some folks, fries aren't a meal for anybody.

The woman taking my order sounded like she was an immigrant from some part of Germany. "Vhat kint of taco vood you like to go mit your gordita..." Somehow "Mexican" food is not supposed to go with Natasha Badanov's accent. But she did a good job so who am I to really complain. I was amazed that no mexican immigrants worked at the mexican restaurant. Although frankly if I was Mexican I would probably see Taco Bell as an affront to my entire people and culture.

Vice Pres Debates

Not watching it. Who cares? Does anybody ever vote for Vice President? No. The only thing they're good for is breaking ties in the Senate. It doesn't take much to guess which way either of these two guys will vote in that case.

UPDATE: Thought of another reason to avoid them. These guys aren't even arguing their own ideas. They're arguing for their boss. For instance Cheney is not the social conservative that Bush is. Edwards is not the northern liberal that Kerry is. So these guys are just parroting their respective party lines. Big whooptie do.

Turning into Mr Rodgers

Its cold at work right now. The heat isn't on but the weather is downright chilly at night. So the temperature in the office is pretty cold. To combat this I wear a fleece jacket at work. I also wear a windbreaker outside cause its cold and windy.

Long story short, I come back from lunch and I go into my cube. I take off my jacket and put on my fleece. I think about what I just did. Great now all I need is some slippers and the King Friday to come a-callin'.

Thoughts on the Trinity

If there is one christian theological concept people have trouble wrapping their minds around its the trinity. How does the trinity square with something like the Shema from Deuteronomy: "Hear oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One."

One of the best illustrations I have heard is that of water. Water? Yes. The trinity is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Water is liquid water, solid ice, and gaseous water vapor. All are the same yet all are different. God is water, but he can be perceived in different forms depending on what is happening.

My roommate used this illustration my freshman year. I like it so I thought I would put it down here. Thanks Dave.

Liberal Leadership

La Shawn Barber has a post up on her dismay with African American leaders. She's drawing her piece from a similar Armstrong Williams piece. I can see why black conservatives will be unhappy about "their" leadership. The most telling quote in William's piece (which Barber quotes):

Like the old saying goes, "easiest way to control the mob is to agree with them."

It seems to me this is what a lot of liberal leaders do. They use polling to get out in front of the current trends. Then, once they get to the leading edge of the mob, they shout "Follow me!" and everybody thinks they're leading and setting the agenda. They aren't of course, they're just mimicking the cry of the mob on a larger stage.

Eventually the mob slows down or changes course and the old leader loses touch. Then a new leader shows up and yells "Follow me!" in that direction.

Contrast this to Republican leadership (I hate call the Repubs conservative anymore because, well, lots of them aren't). Bush is known for disagreeing with a lot of the folks in his own party. He dislikes excessive polling because he thinks policy should not be based on a popularity contest, it should be based on judgement and fundamental governing principles.

In the end though I think the real difference is in how the two groups work socially. Conservatives are more authority driven. You follow the leader. Liberals have too much of that hippy culture for that to work. They're more anti-authoritative so you end up with cat-herding leaders. What do you guys think?

The Blogging Reformation

Doug Kern has a tech central column comparing the effect blogging has had on Big Media to the effect of the printing press had on the Protestant/Catholic divide.

Fortune Cookies II

I talked about fortune cookie fortunes here before. Tom, one of my coworkers, brought in two got at a restaurant with his fiance. His was "you are kind and courteous" hers was "It tastes sweet." Insert to proper phrase after the second and you will be appalled or laughing so hard you will have to sit down.

Fixed!

I'm starting to see why everybody moves off of Blogger eventually. Its not that the user interface sucks. Granted, it could use some improvements. For instance I just had to delete over a hundred posts by hand, and blogger forces a time consuming republish after every friggin' one. It took hours. If they had designed it properly it should have taken minutes (like purging my hotmail account does). I should be able to select the posts to kill and then do a single republish. But thats not the real problem.

The problem is that it breaks. A lot. And the channel they use to tell us that it is broken doesn't respond in a timely manner. So I don't get the message until 2 hours and 100+ accidental posts later. And that sucks, not because a service I use for free broke, but because my discomfort was completely avoidable if they had just promptly reported its brokenness. I don't pay money for this service but I do pay time. And I want those hours back dammit.

Oh did I mention that the rate Blogger sends random people to your door with the "next" button up top there seems to be dependent on how often you post? I seem to be getting a lot of folks recently because of my blogger screwups.

Commuters in the Mist: Updated

It was a foggy morning on the way to work today. Driving at highway speeds in a moderate fog isn't fun. It did give me a bit of revelation about which driver to avoid though. Seems that the people who weren't bright enough to put their headlights on were also not bright enough to slow down with reduced visibility. So now a I have an easy methodology to identify dangerous drivers in fog: no headlights.

UPDATE: Blogger broke so now I have a million of copies of this post. Grrr. I'm starting to realize why nobody "professional" uses blogger. Anyway I will be deleting the redundant posts but it will take a while.

Chris Muir

Unfortunately Day by Day has been on haitus because of things going on in the life of Chris Muir, the artist. Even more unfortunately it seems that one of the family members who was battling cancer has lost her fight. My prayers are with you Chris.