Nobel prize for effort...

Interesting awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize this morning to President Obama.  At first, I thought maybe there were just no other candidates this year and they gave it out based on plans and promises... then I saw an article on yahoo with this little paragraph.

"Compare this to Greg Mortenson, nominated for the prize by some members of Congress, who the bookies gave 20-to-1 odds of winning. Son of a missionary, a former army Medic and mountaineer, he has made it his mission to build schools for girls in places where opium dealers and tribal warlords kill people for trying. His Central Asia Institute has built more than 130 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan - a mission which has, along the way, inspired millions of people to view the protection and education of girls as a key to peace and prosperity and progress."

Seems like a worthy choice to me.

Full article here...

Mash right here

A shocking trip to the restroom

Yeah, so the other day, I was in Columbia doing some water testing (a process whereby we spray water on a roof at specific locations where a leak is suspected to isolate the point of water entry into the roof system so it can be repaired) at a middle school.  We were there pretty much all day and part of the job involved cutting the gypsum board ceiling (think sheetrock like is on walls overhead) in order to monitor the underside of the roof deck to watch for water coming in... if you have ever cut sheetrock, you know it creates a ton of fine dust.  Now, imagine standing under the cut and looking up... yeah, dust in the hair, in the mouth, in the nose and in the eyes as well as down the shirt.

So, when we had finally finished up, I wanted nothing more than to get some water and wash up.  I am driving down the road toward the interstate and spot a gas station.  I go inside and see that it is a unisex restroom.  I turn the doorknob, no problem, and open the door.  As I am pulling the door open and starting to walk in, I am glad I was looking down and rubbing my eyes as I only see a woman's purse on the floor and a pair of woman's shoes with feet in them and hear a woman frantically exclaim, "There's somebody in here!!!!".

Which brings me to my main point... if you are using a unisex restroom in a gas station... LOCK the door.  Needless to say, I quickly left the gas station and drove down the street until I found another station (with separate restrooms) and washed up and got my bottle of water and a small package of peanuts.

I'm not going to lie to you...

I would love for Clemson to be a dominant team in college football.  Heck, the painful truth is I would love for Clemson to be a dominant team in our own conference.  But, despite any frustration I feel toward the football team over performance on the field, I am always proud to be a Clemson alumnus.  It is letters like the one below that give me this pride.

For background, Mark Herzlich is a linebacker for Boston College (Clemson's opponent from this past weekend) that won the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award last season.  In the offseason, he was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.  This letter is from his dad after his visit to Clemson on Saturday.

Sept. 22, 2009

Dear Clemson Fans:

First - My son is Mark Herzlich, the BC linebacker recovering from Cancer. The entire Tiger Nation should be proud of the complete class your entire program carries itself with. I wear a copy of Mark's jersey to games and I lost track of the number of Clemson fans who approached me to wish him well and to say that they were praying for him. These are people who don't know me, don't know Mark and have little reason to even be aware of his situation yet were both aware and involved enough to say some kind words. Thank you.

Second, for those who missed it, prior to the game Coach Swinney presented Mark with a Clemson jersey signed by the whole team with Mark's #94 on it. I've never seen such an outstanding and unsolicited display of sportsmanship.

Finally, throughout the weekend the major topic of conversation outside football was the graciousness of the Clemson fan base. All of us commented on how welcoming everyone was, both before and after the game. I've been to Clemson before and interacted with Clemson fans in Boston so I wasn't suprised any more but I was glad to see my friends get the message too. There was absolutely no lack of support or fanatacism for Clemson football but it was all wrapped up in an understanding that competing doesn't mean hating, that you need an opponent to play a game and that there's a difference between an opponent and an enemy. My younger son, who's used to the whole us versus them attitude in a lot of fan bases turned to me at one point and said, "you just can't hate these guys!"

Clemson continues to be my favorite road trip. I always root for Boston College to go undefeated and win the ACC, but in the years that it can't be us, I hope it's you.

If you're going to be a bear - be a grizzly!

-Sandon Herzlich


I take no credit for this as I never saw this man and wouldn't recognize him if I saw him.  Having seen his son play in person (in Boston last year, a great trip), I knew him and I certainly was saddened to learn he had cancer and I do wish him the best and I have prayed for him (though I confess it wasn't until after reading this letter that I thought to do that).  But it makes me proud to be a Clemson man when I hear of how well we treated this man and how well our football team treated his son.  


This is not an isolated case as I've heard from many opposing team's fans during tailgates and read on other team's message boards on the internet about the unique atmosphere at Clemson where the passion for the team is undeniable but so is the hospitality shown toward visiting fans.  Clemson hasn't cornered the market on good fans, and we have our share of idiots, but I still love that people come to visit our campus and leave with such great memories (along with a loss, hopefully).

Wow, just wow

http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/post/190257091/worlds-largest-burger-a-185-pound-burger-is-the


this is a 185 pound burger... wonder if that is pre-cooked weight, because you know, it loses weight while it cooks








largest burger i've ever had was the one pound (post cooked weight) burger from Cheeburger! Cheeburger! in Auburn, AL. (www.cheeburger.com)


Cost me (well, the church as I was on a road trip with the utes, that's me, suffering for the Kingdom) over $12.00.   But I got my picture on the wall, so I got that going for me, which is nice.

Week 3

Several interesting games this weekend...

Does Anybody Really Care Game:  GT @ Miami
I know a couple of GT fans, but really, other than them, is there a lot of interest in this game?  Judging from attendance down there at the game... no.  Come on, combine The Office season premiere with the game being played in the outfield of a baseball field and these announcers (and ESPN's insistence on breaking into coverage every 15 minutes to tell us what is going on everywhere except for the game we tuned in to watch).  Anyway, GT ran over, around, through and maybe even under Miami last year en route to a rout... so I'll say GT wins.  (Note: The game just started and I paused it on my DVR so the opening kickoff is in the air, so I don't think it is too late to make the call.)

Revenge is a Dish Best Served... with Brisket?:  Texas Tech @ Texas
Last year, on their way to a Big 12 and possible national championship game appearance, Texas ran into a problem, they had to go to Lubbock where they were shocked by Crabtree, Harrell and the video game offense of Mike Leach.  This year, they play in Austin and Crabtree and Harrell are gone.  Texas wins this one, but everybody gets some great brisket and then they all go to Dallas to see if one of the punters hits the scoreboard in Sunday's game.

Shut Yo Mouf Game:  UT @ UF
Loud mouth Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin commented that he would enjoy singing "Rocky Top" all night after beating Florida this season.  Not sure if he said this before or after he accused Meyer of breaking NCAA rules (turns out he did what Lane accused him of doing, but it was legal, whoops).  Not much to see here, except maybe Lane crying on his daddy's shoulder.  Tennessee is just not that good this year (maybe they'll get better, time will tell).  Florida will win this one big and Tebow may actually beg Meyer to show mercy.

North vs. South, Part 5 Game: BC @ Clemson
This has become a very good series with 4 very close games (BC leading the series 3-1).  There is even a trophy, the O'Rourke-McFadden Trophy, now for the winning team and an MVP award for the player of the game (http://bceagles.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102908aac.html).  Clemson has much more talent and the Eagles are going with their 3rd coach in 4 years and have lost key players on both sides of the ball over the last two years... Clemson normally finds a way to keep this game close, often with BC finding a way to win it at the end or in OT, but this year is different - Clemson wins this one.

Can you blame one team when the other just does nothing to stop them?

Poor sportsmanship or poor defense?

Apparently, a Florida high school football team has come under fire for beating another team 83-0.  At first glance, this seems a clear cut case of "running the score up".  Now, many will rightly say, it is the defense's job to stop the offense, but at some point, to score 83 points, you assume the offense had to be doing something, right?  I mean, it is certainly the defense's job to stop the other team from scoring, but that doesn't give the offense carte blanche to run trick plays and leave the starters in and go deep ever series and call timeouts throughout the game.  Now, when you look at the details of this game (in the link above), several factors lean me to believe that Chaminade-Madonna didn't do anything wrong.

1. They lost to this team the year before.  It is not a case of an inferior team just being outclassed and a game that should never have been scheduled.
2. Chaminade-Madonna lost 5 games in which they gave up more than 40 points last year.  They are not some historical powerhouse with a history of blowing teams out.
3. They scored on a blocked punt and a kickoff return (to open the second half) and had two interceptions that set up short TDs.  They forced four other turnovers that led to quick scores.
4. The starters did not play in the second half.
5. You cannot ask the backups, who practice just as hard as the starters (and often serve as tackling dummies to prepare the starters for the game), to not try to perform to their best.  That being said, they only threw one pass in the second half.
6. The entire second half was played with a running clock (the clock didn't stop for anything - not incomplete passes, not turnovers nor even going out of bounds).

And yet, the team is having to answer questions about what they did and the parents talked of being embarrassed as they scored in the 4th quarter... can't imagine a mom of a second stringer being made to feel embarrassed that her son scored a TD.  The coach of the losing team won't talk about it and the AD won't return phone calls.  I hope they are using this opportunity as a teaching point for their team.  If this is the worst thing that ever happens to these players, then they are very blessed.  Teach them to use it to grow.

I've read stories in years past where states such as Connecticut and maybe New York state were imposing penalties on teams that won by too many points as it was deemed poor sportsmanship... give me a break.  There are youth leagues in baseball (not talking about T-Ball, but 12 and 13 year old kids) nowadays where they don't keep score and everybody bats every inning so that nobody loses and nobody feels left out.  Ummm, losses happen in life, what's wrong with teaching kids how to deal with it?  I think we are teaching a dangerous lesson to kids when we tell them that there are no losers because this means there are no winners, and no matter what effort we put into it, we are all guaranteed the same result...

The next step...

Yeah, so I got my Ministry Data Form (form used by the PCA to let prospective churches know more about you as they seek to fill pastoral positions, rather exhaustive with questions about your views and preferences, big city vs suburbs vs rural and so on, and where you rank certain aspects of ministry... how do you rate missions versus small group ministry, etc.?) filled out and submitted to the denomination.  Even applied for two positions.  One was more of an inquiring email to a church in Scotland seeking a youth minister.  I'm not too sure what they are looking for or if it would be even close to a good fit for me and the church, but asking for information never hurts (unless you are asking questions of a big guy with little patience that doesn't like to be asked questions).

The one I am really excited about is a church in Mauldin, SC (near where I used to live in Greenville).  I know the pastor and know the church and their vision.  I, personally, think it is a great fit.  They just started their search so I am not sure what their time frame is, but they have my resume and my MDF... I'll just keep praying and seeking God's direction.

Ever since beginning to help teach Sunday school at my current church, I started to feel that tug to go back into youth ministry.  Then, helping run the ministry over the summer between interns for the church really began to confirm for me that God created me to be a youth minister, not an engineer.  I resisted this call for several months,  because I didn't want to go changing careers again at age 35.  But I am now convinced that I can do no other than follow Him where He leads me.  I would rather follow what I believe is His leading and make a mistake than ignore Him and do my own thing.

I covet your prayers as I journey on the road to find God's specific call for me.

A trip inside my mind while running...

I thought you might like to know what goes on in my head while I am running... be warned, you may want to turn back now...

First 5 minutes -  this is a nice day to be running

6:00 - I love running on the greenway, families out biking and walking their dogs, it's beautiful.

10:00 - Wow, no leg pain, only supposed to go 28 minutes for the training plan but maybe I'll just stretch it to 30, feeling pretty good.

11:00 - Sweet, beautiful springer spaniel.

12:00 - Oh, she's  cute, try to collect your breath big guy and smile, look like you have it under control.

14:30 - Hmmm, that ankle I twisted a couple of weeks ago is started to hurt a little.

15:00 - Wow, that last 5 minutes felt like 10 minutes, that's weird.  Hey there's Bama Bangs with his dog and his two cans of beer.

15:30 - Okay, this stinkin' watch is broken, it can't have only been 30 seconds.

17:00 - Come on, these stupid families need to get off the greenway, this is what I hate about running on the greenway.

18:30 - I think the ginger ale at the coffee shop is really just coke and sprite mixed together.  How can I prove it?  Aggh, I can't.

19:00 - Whatever, little guy running by me so fast, what are you, training for a marathon, makes me sick, if I only weighed 100 pounds, I could run that fast, too.

19:45 - Another cute woman coming... forget it, no way I can stop breathing like a fat, asthmatic Darth Vader.

21:00 - Look, a dead cicada, I wish I could lie down on the sidewalk right now.

22:30 - she blinded me... with science!

23:00 - we went this way and he went that way and i said hollywood, where'd he go and hollywood said where'd WHO go?!

24:00 - Are you kidding me?  Does that joker think he is in the Tour de France with his fancy sponsor covered cycling outfit?  Oh whoops, that's a woman.

26:00 - Sidewalk closed????  Stupid construction, oh look, those windows are going to leak, tsk.

28:30 - Oh sweet, it's been over 28 minutes, I can stop now.  Now how do I get home after that detour?




Just imagine what I could have thought about if I had headphones for my iPod.

And don't think I didn't notice

I went 3-0 in predictions for games this past week.  Sure I was way off in how the UGa-usc and OSU-USC games would go, but I just picked a winner, I didn't pick a score.

To borrow a page from Leonard Postosties ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard%27s_Losers ), looks like I got the Smart Pill Machine working this weekend.

Mom jeans... the rare funny SNL skit

Week 2

You are not crazy, I didn't write anything about Week 1 (and if you are a college football fan, you understand what Weeks 1 and 2 refer to...)

Week 2 began with a crazy game in Atlanta.  I talked about in the previous post, refer to it for any comments.  There are some intriguing games this weekend, and some that are just funny.  Please don't look for breakdowns or anything that might resemble opinions gleaned from watching film, that ain't going to happen here.

The Funny I - UNC at UConn

The Wine and Cheese Tour 2009 packs up all 15 fans of the baby blue for the trip to Connecticut to take on the Huskies.  I kid, UNC might have more than 15 fans show up for the game, only if they trick some of them into thinking it is a basketball game.  Seriously, Skip Holtz built a pretty good program up there in Storrs before moving to be assistant  coach for his father at South Carolina with an apparent understanding that he would become head coach.  He coached their offense to some of their best years, but was scapegoated after a bad season in 2003 and resigned before his old man fired him (who later stepped down after another year of futility) and left to got to ECU as head coach.  Anyway, UConn was not very good last year, but they did go 8-5 and won some bowl in Toronto against Buffalo (the college not the pro team).  UNC expects to be good and needs to win this game if they hope to be... we'll say they win and all 20 of their fans are excited and break out the good glasses for their wine after the game (even though 5 of them are still wondering when the basketball game is going to start).

The Funny II - Notre Dame at Michigan

Wake up the echoes, Notre Dame goes to the Big House to play football in front of the quietest 104,000 people you will ever hear (as quiet as the library at the University of Tennessee, all of the books have been colored so no need for the students to go in there anymore).  Does anybody really care about this slap and tickle fight?

Always Intriguing Regional Match-Up - South Carolina at Georgia

No matter how bad USC is (and they've been really bad some years) or how good UGa is... this game is almost always tight.  UGa is trying to replace a #1 draft pick in Stafford (starting on Sunday for the Lions, poor guy, never had a chance at a pro career) at QB, a great RB in Moreno and a great WR in Mossaquai (I would ask for spelling help from Independence High grads, but please, like they would know how to spell) and they didn't seem to find anybody against Ok. State last week.  Let's just say USC may have the worst offense they've had under Spurrier this year, and that is saying something.  First team to 14 (heck, first team to 10, probably) wins... let's say UGa.

Big Show Saturday Night - USC at Ohio State

Southern Cal comes to the Horeshoe (is it still a horse shoe when the end zone is filled in?) to take on Ohio State in another chance for the Buckeyes to redeem themselves for their poor showings against big teams from outside the Big 10/11.  The game was ugly in LA last year and I don't see it being much different this year, though maybe a bit closer... USC wins.

Aftermath of the GT game...

Well, there are things to be encouraged about from the Clemson-GT game last night...

1. Kyle Parker had a very good game and seemed to cme of age, it seemed, showing off his talent and not looking like a total freshman in his first road game in college.
2. Our offense found creative ways to get the ball into the hands of Spiller and Ford (something we didn't always do under the previous OC).
3. Our defense rebounded from a horrendous start to play very well.

However, since "you play to win the game, hello" (thank you Coach Edwards...

There are things to be discouraged about...

1. You cannot give up an 82 yard TD run to an option team when the back is not touched. It appeared to start when the DE pinched on the B-back (Dwyer) causing the LB to have to take the QB, leaving the CB and safety to take the A-back. The safety got lit up from a tremendous block by the A-back from that side and the CB got blocked by the WR and there goes Allen down the sideline untouched for 82 yards. Again... the defense made adjustments (DE getting up field to take QB out of it) and stepped up their game tremendously after this, but the damage was done.
2. I have no problem with the play call for the pooch punt from the FG formation (Jackson did punt in high school), but it was executed poorly as Jackson cannot punt it to the hashmark when there is a return guy there. As Dabo said forcefully and colorfully... punt the "flipping" ball out of bounds. Note to Jesse Palmer - the GT returner may be athletic, but juking two offensive linemen does not prove that.
3. The fake FG was a taste of our own medicine. As the offense for GT left the field, 10 members of the FG team ran to the ball and the 11th guy stopped at the sideline, very similar to a play we ran on South Carolina last year for a TD (we had two guys run to the sideline, one stopped at the sideline still on the field and one guy came from the bench to the huddle). Somebody has to count to find all 11 guys and not assume the other team does not have enough guys on the field.
4. We have to find a way to convert 3rd and 2 from the 5 yard line. The way things were going, if we get a TD there to go up 28-24 in the 4th, it might have really deflated GT and forced them to try to throw more, and throwing when they have to and not when they want to is not their strong suit. Who knows, they may still have won, but we have to convert that short yardage anyway.

Well, the team showed heart, but we have a lot of work left to do. That was not a pushover team that beat us and we made a strong showing. But it is football and the 1st quarter counts just as much as the other three. Congratulations to GT and let's go beat BC, Tigers.

P.S. Dear ESPN, I do not know if they were telling limericks or reading Mad Libs in the booth or what last night, but what was the deal with the giggling in the first half from Craig "I helped bring the death penalty to SMU" James and Jesse "Big Freakin' Tie" Palmer? Are these the most professional announcers you can find, ESPN? Well, considering you have Lou "I've put EVERY team I've ever coached on probation" Holtz as an analyst and let him talk about running a clean program during the shows, they might be.

And Erin Andrews... please use names and quit calling the guys "CF" and "CJ" (why did you never talk to Jesse?). I blame Kirk Herbstreit, this all started when he called you "Pookie" on the air.

Just a test...

Trying to add a video... PLEASE BE WARNED, THE MAN GETS UPSET AND LETS THE OBSCENITIES FLY AT THE END...

Clemson vs GT 2009

The Clemson football team traveled to its own little house of horrors, Atlanta, tonight to prepare to take on the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech. Not since beating GT 39-3 in 2003 and Tennessee at the end of that season in the 2004 Peach Bowl 27-14, have the Tigers had anything close to success in Atlanta.

Losing heartbreakers to GT in 2005 (10-3 after having a TD called back due to not enough men on the line of scrimmage - TE FORGOT to go into the game and the tackle apparently didn’t notice his absence) and 2007 (13-3 with another TD called back, this time due to tackle ripping the helmet off a defender, whoops, and a WR dropping a TD pass, along with 4 missed field goals - including one each on those two drives).

And, of course, an OT loss to the Tigers of Auburn in the 2007 Peach Bowl and a shellacking from Alabama to open the 2008 season in the Georgia Dome. And, let’s not forget a heartbreaking loss to GT in Clemson 2004 at home, in which our brilliant DC tried to guard a 6’-5” stud wide receiver with our rather short CB in tight man coverage, which, with the help of a botched punt snap with less than two minutes to play, led to an improbable come from behind win for GT in Clemson.

At least Clemson fans can hang their hat on a national TV drubbing of GT in 2006 in the Valley when Spiller and Davis went berzerk running all over the vaunted Tech defense (before our right guard and leader of the offensive line went down with a season ending injury and causing a lot of trouble for our offense the rest of the year).

Of course, let’s not forget about last season, with our 6 turnovers against GT while facing them 4 days after firing our coach... this led to a frustrating close loss to them again.

Will this year be different? Clemson is a whopping 2-8 on Thursday nights... one of the wins coming over Temple (the other NCSU). Clemson struggles in Atlanta for whatever reason. Clemson has weird games with GT that end in GT winning close games or Clemson blowing out GT in a shocking fashion (GT was favored in 2003 and 2006). All that ultimately means nothing. It will come down to Clemson preparing to stop a difficult offense that they do not prepare to face other than this one time a year and that forces the defense to rethink what it is they are doing on every snap. It will come down to Clemson’s freshman QB being able to handle his first game on the road. It will come down to GT preparing for an offense they have never seen and have game film of one game in which Clemson ran basic plays and showed nothing.

I don’t make predictions... I just watch games and try to enjoy them. But I will say Clemson has a great shot to win this game.

P.S. I had pictures to put in here... but no matter what I did to add them, they were all put at the beginning and when I started trying to move them, the font size got all changed up (size going to super big in the middle of a paragraph, etc.) and even when it looked normal here, it would be crazy spacing on the preview, so there are no pictures. I cannot figure out how to easily add pictures, I'm a moron, I apologize.

Fall Saturdays... beautiful.

Yesterday was the first football game of the season for Clemson. I had a wonderful day. Clemson is a special place for me and I relish any opportunity to get back there and soak it in. Especially now that I am looking to move into a new career (or back into an old career) that may take me out of the southeast and will severely limit my ability to go to games and be out late on Saturdays, no matter where I live, I am looking to relish every moment I am there.

Yesterday was a 6:00 kickoff, which is wonderful as it gives plenty of time to hang out before the game and walk around to visit other tailgate spots to see old friends. We arrived to our parking lot (the grass intramural fields in front of Fike and across Hwy 93 from the Pi Kappa Phi house if you are familiar with the campus) around 8:30. We were soon set up (we only bring a tent, a grill if needed, a table and some chairs) and helped our neighbors (friends we tailgate with) set up their Taj Mahal of a tailgate setup - 4 tents, astroturf carpet, Directv, stereo and 32” LCD TV). When that was complete, I ventured downtown to do some shopping as I like to do the first game of each year. I bought my nephew a birthday present (it’s too big, going to have to go back and exchange it - another trip to Clemson, schucks) and a hat for myself. Later in the day, I ventured over to a tailgate with some folks I met in Boston for the BC game last year. I stayed there a while, then grew hungry and headed back to my spot for lunch, which folks were bringing around 12:30 - chicken fingers from Zaxby’s (no Guthries, but hey, chicken fingers are good for tailgating).

After lunch, while just sitting around... got a phone call from my former roommate, who now lives in Charlotte and he was in town with his son, so he stopped by and we hung out a while before he continued his tour of the campus with his son. Shortly, another friend, this one lives in Clemson still, came by with one of his daughters and his son. Didn’t know I was going to be there, but just walked by.

Anyway, let’s move on to the game... I wasn’t sure what to expect from the game as Middle Tennessee State is not a horrible team, despite people not knowing the name. Anyway, with many new coaches, I was a tad nervous as MTSU kicked off to get the game going... nerves were soothed quite a bit as Spiller fielded the kick at the 3, headed upfield, sprinted through a cavernous hole in the coverage unit, cut right across the field and was gone, except for Jacoby Ford who ran with him and blocked the safety man who had taken an angle on Spiller. So, 15 seconds into the 2009 season and Spiller had a 97 yard kickoff return for a TD.

From that point, things looked pretty good. MTSU does some things on offense to negate the talent gap along the lines that they have and accentuate the skills of their QB. This gained them yardage and a TD (also had a TD on an INT return, but more on that later), but overall, the defense looked much more aggressive than last year and showed much better tackling. The secondary played tight coverage much of the game and the TD actually came with the freshman DB in position, but just didn’t make the play on the ball, but he did come back later in the game and looked much improved.

The offense was hit or miss, the receivers dropped way too many passes, perhaps 6 or 7 with what seemed like the first 3 passes being dropped. Kyle Parker made his first career start in college and looked pretty good, He had good speed on the ball, made good decisions, and avoided sacks and threw the ball away when he had the chance. Korn, on the other hand, was snakebitten. His first series, he raised his arm to throw the ball and it popped out of his hand into the air and right into the arms of the defender who ran it back for a TD. He came back in the third quarter and threw a pass to the RB, it went through his hands, hit his facemask and bounced right into the defender’s hands for an INT. He saw no more action until the 4th quarter, a drive that saw him hand off several times to Ellington and then take a knee. I hope he gets another opportunity this season to gain some confidence, but I don’t really want to see him in a close game, things are going wrong around him, for some reason. Once we went up 37-14 in the third quarter and our defense showed no signs of giving it up, it was good to see our coaches working on situations, like running the short yardage team for a whole drive.

The most encouraging sign of the game was the intensity on the field and the crispness between the coaches and players. What I mean is that the plays got into the players early in the play clock and there was seemingly no confusion. I do not remember a time when the defense had to call a timeout due to confusion, either. These are unusual things for the first game of the year and I hope this sort of efficiency and communication and getting the players in their position and letting them play continues.

Alright, sorry for the long post, but I sometimes can’t stop talking about things I’m passionate about.

Good news today...

So, if you read the last post... I am looking at getting back into youth ministry... I was wondering about my status with ordination and being a teaching elder in the PCA as I just wasn't sure what the deal was since I have been "without call" (the official way of saying I have not been serving as a minister in the PCA) for several years. Talked with a friend who got in touch with the clerk of the presbytery I served in and ...

I am a member in good standing and carried on the directory as a minister without call in good standing. Now, I just have to make the final call to pursue this calling and find a church to serve and then have my ordination transferred.

Hello?

Yeah, so it has been a long while since I've written anything. This is certainly not due to nothing going on in my life. Big things are afoot at the Circle K (gratuitous Bill and Ted's reference, always glad when I can work that in there) if you will.

I am on the verge of pulling the trigger to begin a search into a career change. As some of you may or may not know, I used to be a youth minister prior to working as an engineer. I went to work as an engineer during a time when I was trying to sort out what I should be doing. Should I be an full time minister or an engineer that volunteers with the local church? Recently, I have taken on a larger role as a volunteer with the youth ministry at the church and it has been incredible. The more I do, the more I love it. It is not that I hate my job, but it is definitely not something I love. I have some of the gifts to perform it well, but I also have the gifts and personality and passion for youth ministry.

So, I believe I need to pursue what I believe is the calling of God in my life. I'll try to do better of keeping this blog up to date.

Hey strangers.

Yeah, so it has been a LONG time since I posted. Sorry, been incredibly busy.

To catch you up, I am down to 233 pounds (3 pounds away from my goal for the year). I am about halfway into my couch to 5K running plan and things are going well. Did have a setback a few weeks ago when I developed a mild case of shin splints but I backed up the training to a previous week and I am once again progressing along.

Work is crazy, been working very long weeks, even after our pay and supposedly our hours were cut by 20%. I did learn yesterday that I have been accumulating comp time so I will have several days I can take off here whenever I slow down...

Interesting times...

I had a pretty good weekend... weighed in Saturday morning and had lost 7 pounds last week to get to 234 pounds. I've been building up running through this "Couch to 5K Running Plan" (found here http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml ) and I suppose that, combined with doing a ton of running at rugby practice (which I started back into last week) on Tuesday, led to the huge drop in weight. Whatever the reason, I am happy and now only 4 pounds away from the goal I set for this year. The actual original goal was to get to 250 pounds but after getting there fairly fast I re-set the goal by another 20 pounds. I am thinking I will continue to exercise at this level and maybe back off a little on the strictness of my diet (though that scares me as I lack self control if I do not go full out, have trouble finding a happy medium, but we'll see and I know how to get the weight off quickly if need be).

Sunday was a good day with teaching Sunday school and then a very relaxing afternoon spent alone with a book and a couch (maybe a little nap, too) and an evening of pops in the park with the lifegroup. Not a huge fan of orchestra music but it was fun to hang with the lifegroup.

Today is okay, I'm taking the day off work since I worked 6 days last week while we are still on the 4 day work week and, unlike other weeks, I'm not working from home this day, just relaxing. It feels good, though I am hoping we get back to full time and pay soon, there's a certain missionary couple I want to support.

And the best news so far this week... I am listening to the A/C repair guys replacing my A/C right now. I'm looking forward to some climate control in my place.

Sweet mercy but don't that look tempting...

That, my friends, is the double bypass burger from the Vortex in Atlanta. It is, from top to bottom:

grilled cheese sandwich
bacon
three fried eggs with 4 slices of cheese
8 oz. burger
grilled cheese sandwich

and it comes with a side of tots.

Probably 3 days worth of calories there...

Supper...

So, for supper tonight, trying to avoid going out to eat and not wanting to eat scrambled eggs again, i tried to decide what, exactly, I would eat. I finally rested upon the idea of a fried egg sandwich. Is that on my diet? Well, the egg certainly is, as is the whole wheat bread I got from Trader Joe's. What to include as a spread to try to make it a little less dry... hmmmmmm

Duke's light mayonnaise? yeah, that works, but seems unoriginal
Hummus? that works, but do I really want that?
Almond butter from Trader Joe's? that is okay and seems kind of interesting...

so I settled on the almond butter... and I must say it was one of the better fried egg sandwiches I have made for myself consisting of toasted whole wheat bread, almond butter and one fried egg (fried in a frying pan coated with a light spray of Smart Balance so it doesn't stick). It's no peanut butter and banana sandwich fried in butter, but hey, I'm not 1970s Elvis, either.



By the way, having had the grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich, I must say it is enjoyable, at least for the time it passes the taste buds.

I used to think bacon made every food better...

today I learned that was not the case... I give you the bacon chocolate cake...



from http://thisiswhyyourefat.com

this, however, while not looking great... does show promise (if you've ever eaten at Groucho's Deli, or at Andy's Deli who worked at Groucho's long enough to steal his recipes and start his own place, in Columbia (or wherever they are branching out now), you know that a mixture of thousand island dressing can be wonderful in odd places) i give you, from the same website, the In-N-Out Animal Style French Fries (not sure if they only used the name of the cult burger joint from California that gained national fame in the Cohen brothers' master film The Big Lebowski or if this fare is available there)...

this is an order of fries, american cheese (why use real cheese?), grilled onions and thousand island dressing

oh yeah, speaking of unhealthy food... i am at 239 pounds now (total weight loss of 43 pounds for the year) and even more exciting for me... i have returned to my Couch to 5K Running Plan and been doing it for 3 runs now and not experiencing shin splints. i imagine the lower weight coming down on my legs is really helping with this improvement.

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down?

Maybe sometimes is a better word here... I actually like rain, I have a nice raincoat from LL Bean (the Weather Channel line - fancy). And I have grown to love Mondays as that is the day I take off work under our current "reduced" work week. I say reduced but I am still putting in about 40 hours a week, just getting paid for only 32, but I do start later and work from home or other creative places like the park or the Whitewater Center.

Anyway, today is a Monday but I am working because we have a tight deadline for a job and I want to take Friday off to get a 4-5 day weekend (not sure how they are going to handle the "day off" with he Memorial Day holiday next week). However, it is raining and while I wouldn't mind working in the rain (see the above mention of the raincoat), one thing you cannot do is cut sections of roofing off in the rain nor can you repair them adequately. So... here I sit in the hotel lobby watching rain fall outside while it teases me by slowing down and even stopping for a bit only to start back up in a few minutes. Any work I could be doing is sitting back at my office and so I decided to update my blog, which hasn't been done in a while.

I have lost more weight... down a full 40 pounds as of last Saturday and was down another pound this morning, but that was on a different scale at my parents' house so I am not sure how accurate that is. Regardless, my pants feel even looser and I feel that, if nothing else, I have not gained weight, we will see when I can get back home.

Quick update

on the weight loss... dropped another 3 pounds to bring the total to 38 for the year. 14 more to go to reach my goal for 2009.

Also, I highly recommend the sunflower seed butter from Trader Joe's. It is magical.

What is my relationship to the Earth

I've been giving this a lot of thought lately (well, for many years) and trying to figure out how I should relate to the Earth around me. I love hiking, I love waterfalls, I love green spaces and I love the fact that my field of work (dealing with roofing) is looking to advance in "garden roof" technology which involves basically planting everything from basic shallow root grass-like systems (more like moss) to full blown grass and trees on roofs in cities. The installation and maintenance cost for these systems is higher than for traditional systems, but the benefits to the owner in insulation, heating and cooling bills as well as the benefits to the community in oxygen production, reduction in "heat island effect" (how it is always hotter in a city than out even in the suburbs) and control of rainwater runoff are also very substantial.

Anyway, I got off track there. Often, any time you talk about caring for the environment, people will refer to you as being an "environmental whacko". Now, I don't mind being labeled a whacko, but I don't consider myself an environmentalist. I see too many times that environmentalists want to put humans at best equal to nature and often below nature and I do not believe this is the economy that God has ordained.

So, I thought of myself, for a while, as a conservationist. But I see more and more that conservationists tend to see nature and the environment as there for humans to use as we see fit and we make decisions based solely on what is best for humans. In this view, things like mountain top removal coal mining is a good thing because it is a cheap way to tap into an energy source that we can use. From what I have learned about mountain top removal... it is bad for the environment, it is bad for the communities in those areas and it is bad for employment as the high level of automation has forced many out of work.

Recently, I finally was able to coin a phrase (I'm sure it is in use elsewhere, but I had never heard it in ths context) that I think describes my view - "dominion-ist". From the book of Genesis, I believe that God has given man dominion over the environment. It is important to know that dominion does not equal domination. We have a responsibility to care for the environment and nurture it but, at the same time, we are placed over it. Some decisions we make might be seemingly bad for the environment, but some might be bad for us. Like life itself, it is not cut and dry such that I think we should ALWAYS put the environment first, nor do I think we should ALWAYS put ourselves first. God has given creation into our care to have dominion and take care of. It is an enormous responsibility that I think we need to do a much better job of taking seriously.

On the road again

I am off to travel again tomorrow. Headed back to Wilmington, DE for another three days of fun and excitement testing sealant and photographing the cleaning efforts on a stone panel building. Maybe this time I'll get to ride a swing stage or climb up and down scaffold stairs (I'd prefer riding the swing stage, I don't like stairs). Anyway, kind of hoping the pool is an indoor pool so I can do some exercise there as I have heard that treading water is a good way to get cardio exercise... if not, I'll just do about 150 laps in the tiny pool and look something like Tim Meadows in the SNL skit where Jim Carrey was the lifeguard at the hot tub.

http://flimmr.passagen.se/movie/jim_carrey_lifeguard_on_duty1.action

(this is a link to the video, couldn't find an english one that would play, but this is in english, just with subtitles)

Slow and steady progress...

Well, I lost another pound this week, bringing me to a total weight loss of 35 pounds for the year. This is 5 pounds more than my original goal and 17 pounds away from my updated goal. I am happy and I feel like I lost some inches in the waist and size in other areas, just not weight this week, if that makes any sense.

On the exercise front, I have just discovered a new outlet for my exercise other than walking (which I enjoy and have some good areas to walk in). I just discovered that the whitewater center (very convenient to my place of work) is offering a "Allsport Pass" for the year for a cost of $139. I can flatwater kayak, raft, climb, rent mountain bikes, do the zip line or eco caching any amount of time for the whole year. I figured it out quickly and roughly any combination of these items about 5 or 6 times will pay for the pass. I think I will invest part of my NC tax refund in myself, so to speak, and get this pass and get out there and exercise. There is also a pretty decent restaurant there that I can grab food at before heading home (as long as I budget my food purchases the rest of the week).

Speakingof food purchases, I am excited that a friend will be taking me tomorrow to the farmer's market and a local grocery store to help me learn how to eat healthily and still inexpensively. This will be good, as I know how to eat cheap and I know how to eat healthily, but need help putting the two together.

It's been a great Lord's day.

First day of furlough

So... I have some friends that work at Clemson University and they have been forced to take unpaid furlough days this year in an effort to not have to lay a lot of people off. My company last week informed me that we are all going to 4 day work weeks with a 20% paycut. I have decided to refer to this as a weekly furlough because it seems to be easier and conveys more of the unpaid sense than "day off".

The question is... what to do? I'd like to travel around and see different areas. However, I do not know how long this will last nd don't want to blow savings on unnecessary things. Luckily, today and tomorrow I have plenty to do in preparing a Sunday School lesson, catching up on some reading, and doing some MAJOR house cleaning (have traveled for three straight weeks and the place is a WRECK). In the future, I figure I can do more writing for this blog and I have kind of been thinking of writing about some of my travels in life to different baseball parks (have seen this idea with college football stadiums, Alabama football RV tailgater crowd for a season and hiking the AT) so maybe I can include some skeleton chapters here and the one person that reads this can tell me to give it up, give it mroe work, or it's good. I also have a paid parking pass to the whitewater center so I can go there and walk or splurge for a $20 flatwater kayak session on the Catawba or just do a bunch of walking in the parks around the house. Also, I will be looking for odd jobs or lawns to mow or things to paint (preferably for spending money).

If you have any other ideas... feel free to let me know.

Weight loss

Well, I weighed in at 248 this morning bringing my total to 34 pounds for the year and just 18 pounds away from my updated goal of 52 pounds for the year. I am happy about that and also happy that I can now wear a size smaller pants, yay for me.

Ouch.

Found out earlier this week that, due to the downturn in the economy and some clients freezing projects we were working on and others outright defaulting on payments, my company is going to a 4 day work week effective immediately. This sounds great until the other part comes around... an accompanying 20% reduction in pay.

I know, I know, 80% is better than 0%, but this is still a big chunk of change and it is going to hurt. Apparently, I am the only person in the company that is working right now as I have been putting in long hours each week since the second week of January (all billable, no sitting around wasting time). Oh well. The memo states that no reduction in client satisfaction accompanies this reduction in hours and pay. So... if my schedule keeps up, it looks like I am going to be losing 20% of my salary while still working 50-60 hours a week. Doesn't that sound like fun? Oh well, times are tough all over.

Anyway, I am out of town this week and had gone over my paid time for the week as of yesterday. Looks my donating of my time has already begun. My uncompensated time for this week looks to be a minimum of 30 hours. Wow, guess I can just work 8-10 on Monday and go home for the week. If only I wasn't expected to complete this report for this trip I'm on now that was budgeted for two 40 hour weeks. I'm sure I can do just as good of a job in two 32* hour weeks as I could have in two 40 hour weeks. Oh yeah, I'm also gone for 4 days on another trip the last week of April, I sure am glad work is slow at our company...



Okay, I'm going to go whine in private, I apologize for taking your time.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards

In recent years, baseball teams have begun to build "old style" ballparks back in revitalized areas of the cities (or as part of revitalization projects) and moving away from the cookie cutter stadiums out on the suburbs of town. I think this is a great idea and love how the ballparks look different in each city, not like in the past where Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Riverfront in Cincinnati, Fulton County in Atlanta, Kauffman in Kansas City, Oakland Coliseum in Oakland all looked the same as massive concrete round stadiums, many of them used for football and baseball. The economics of using a stadium for football and baseball sounds tempting, but unlike basketball and hockey, football and baseball just aren't designed to be played in the same stadium. Any stadium that can fit a football field inside is not going to have a good layout for baseball (see Dolphin stadium) or will have bad seating that can't be used for one sport and looks odd (see Oakland Coliseum). This whole movement back started with Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD. So, imagine my joy when I discovered that Baltimore was only 80 miles from my hotel, the Orioles were playing at home on Wednesday AND due to flight schedule and work load, I could go down for a game. Having learned my lesson from the night before, I found a ticket in the center field bleachers online and I bought it. So, with ticket receipt in hand, I hopped in the rental car and took off for Baltimore and the fulfillment of a long awaited dream. As you can see below from the picture taken from my seat... I had much better seats.

View of the warehouse in left and center field from outside the stadium.

This was a much more enjoyable evening for me, the fans were much more positive for their team (though they did boo Yankees' first baseman Mark Teixeira mercilessly after MD native Teixeira said he wanted to play for the Orioles and then turned down a good offer from them to sign a monstrous contract with the Yankees). Now, there were a lot of Yankees fans at the game, and several of them were very annoying. Behind me was the "Over-reactor" - he would make a big production of standing up every time a Yankee got a hit or made a routine defensive play and clap loudly and look around as if daring somebody to say something. In front of me was the "Anticipator" - any time the ball was hit (but especially by a Yankee), this fool would jump up (blocking my view). This was annoying but humorous when it was a harmless fly ball, but very aggravating when there was a good play made as I would either have to have stood up to see it or turn in my seat to see the replay on the board. And there was "Nickname Guy" somewhere behind me. He had a nickname for every one of his beloved Yankees. Nickname Guy soon became "Obnoxious Drunk Guy" by last call in the 7th inning as the Yankees were losing and so he just started yelling loudly about how many titles the Yankees had won and on and on. He was severely disliked and the other Yankees fans in the area began to yell fr him to shut up, as well. He was given a standing ovation when he left after the top of the 8th inning, but that is probably what he wanted as I have a feeling underlying "Nickname Guy" and "Obnoxious Drunk Guy" was his true persona... "Attention Whore Guy" who is so insecure about themselves that they just want people to pay attention to them. It is best to ignore "Attention Whore Guy" as any attention just feeds them, but it is so hard to ignore their actions as they have a lot of practice and are very good at what they do.

Citizens Bank Park

This past week, I traveled to Wilmington, DE to make an inspection for a project with work. As Wilmington is just 30 minutes south of Philadelphia, I decided that I would try to make it to a Phillies game while in the area. As the schedule worked out, I got into town early on Tuesday afternoon and the Phillies playes the Braves at 7:00 that night.

One thing I learned, if you know where you want to sit and there is a seat available online when you check 3 hours before the game, go ahead and pay the convenience charge and get the ticket. I did not do this and just assumed the tickets would still be there when I got there. But, I was wrong and ended up with the choice of sitting up in the 4th level down the left field line or paying $75 to sit field level behind the home plate area. As you can see from the pictures below that I took from my seat... I chose the $13 ticket up in the 4th level.




Now, let me say, I am not a Phillies fan, at all. I am not a huge Braves fan, but I did grow up on them before moving to St. Louis and becoming a Cardinals fan, so I do not hate them. I was definitely going to be low key and just try to enjoy the game this night (Phillies fans have a reputation for being rough, and as it turns it out, the people in my section did NOTHING to disspell these rumors). Enjoying the game was a bit difficult due to the new combinations of curse words and lack of any hindrance to direct them at anybody, anywhere (I work around a lot of construction sites and enjoy the movie The Big Lebowski and this was a bit of a shock for me) and the bitter cold temperatures (the lying thermometer said 36 degrees, but it sure felt much colder). However, I was able to take some solace in the success of the Braves as the folks around me did nothing but rip into them (of course, they took it out on their own team, too as Jamie Moyer, a veteran pitcher very important in their world series victory last year, gave up a home run in the first inning and the guy behind me said he didn't want to be crude but he wished that Moyer had died in the offseason - and NOBODY said anything about this...). The best moment I think was when they were dog cussing Chipper Jones (as they had been doing all night) and he promptly crushed a HR to left center field, doing nothing to slow down their talk.

All in all, it was fun to visit the park and eat in the restaurant named after Harry Kalas (the legendary announcer that has done a lot of work for NFL Films and does NFL games on the radio in addition to his work with the Phillies) and I always love a baseball game.

Lot of catching up to do...

Okay, it has been a while but things have been hopping in my life recently, forgive me. First of all... after a week of not being able to work out two weeks ago due to travel, weather, errands, etc., I did not lose any weight that week. So... after another week of travel and no exercise, I was happy to have lost a pound this past week. More importantly, I am now able to wear a size of pants that I could not get on, much less wear back in January. Now, they are a little snug, but I have full range of motion and they are not stretched at all, much less stretched to the point of ripping seams.

So... I'm excited. I also was able to make it through Easter dinner today with friends without succumbing to temptation. First there was macaroni and cheese (a personal favorite). Of course this was much easier to resist as the hostess provided a separate dish with whole wheat pasta, which was really good. Then there was the bread, really great rolls, and also some great looking potato dishes. And to top it off... dessert included banana pudding (one of my all time favorites) and this incredible chocolate cake (with the texture of cheesecake, ooh, I need a tissue, my mouth's watering). Now, I understand that having one piece wouldn't have blown my diet, but I am also realistic to the complete lack of self control I have when it comes to food, especially dessert foods. That one piece would have led to two and then to me stopping on the way home for mint oreos or peanut butter m&ms or ice cream or something because, "hey, I've already gone off the diet today." But, I made it and I was able earlier in the week to go to two MLB games without getting junk food. Again, probably could have made up for it in other places, but this time I wanted to try to get away from associating fun with bad food. Maybe I am going overboard, but I would rather err on the side of caution rather than fall back onto the path of diabetes, heart disease and possible stroke (all things that run in my family at a high rate and that can be curtailed with being healthy).

I knew it...

One goal I forgot about as it has been 3 months before I can begin to accomplish it.

Going to minor league ballparks - I have some friends that will be wanting to join me on various trips and am even more excited about that. I love baseball games alone, good time to think about the game and think about life. As much as I love that, going with friends can be even better as you can talk through these things instead of just thinking.

In addition to minor league games around the Carolinas, I plan on going to some major league and minor league games around the country as I travel for work. Next week, I will be in Philadelphia for some work 30 minutes away in Wilmington, DE. The Phillies have a game on Tuesday night and I intend to ride over and go to the game. I am excited to see a game in this new ballpark (I saw one in old Veterans' Stadium when visiting my uncle one time). I will take pictures and post some here. Very excited about the opportunities I will have to visit different parks as my company appears to be sending me to a lot of different areas.

New Year's goals update...

Happy April, now 3 months into the new year, I wanted to review my goals for this year.

I can't remember the order, but bear with me:

1. Weight loss - I wanted to lose 32 pounds this year. As of Sunday, March 29, I have lost 30 pounds already this year. I am excited about this progress and will be setting a new goal when I lose this last two pounds. I could tell today while working on a roof and climbing ladders and up and over roof dividers and on top of parapet walls that I had a much easier time getting around than just two months ago on the same roof. This makes me very happy and encourages me to continue.

2. Running a 5K - This goal has been shelved for the time if not forever. I went through a lot of steps to end my issues with shin splints. I went to an orthopedist, physical therapy, bought special custom made orthotics and nice running shoes. None of this helped at all. I have turned to other forms of exercise, instead. Swimming, elliptical machines, spinning and longer walks on nice days are now how I get my exercise.

3. Hiking 12 hikes - Also shelved for the above stated reason.

4. Reading the Bible - So far, I am still on track and up to date with the Bible reading schedule I chose.

5. Reading Calvin's Institutes - I added this one a few weeks in. I have a reading schedule for this, too. So far, I am up to date on this reading, as well.

I am enjoying and benefiting greatly from both of these readings and very glad I have decided to do them. I look forward to each day's readings.

I believe these are the goals I set forth. If not, I will be adding further updates. Thanks for following along with my progress as I seek to reap the benefits of caring for the life that God has given me as I seek to give it back to him.

BAM!!!!!

That may be a little premature, but I'm excited. When I weighed this morning... I was at a whopping 252 pounds. For some that may seem big, but for me, that brings my total weight loss for the year to... 30 POUNDS! I think that is pretty good considering that most of the month of January I spent "trying to cut back" without a real diet plan and lost only 5 pounds the whole month. Anyway, I started the year at one size pants and they were very snug (prompting my desire to lose weight in the first place). This morning, I tried on a pair of pants a size smaller... and they were snug, but I could get them on and could have worn them if I had to.

My goal for the year (the whole year) was 32 pounds. I am not resetting that goal until I reach it, but then I will be adding a Phase 2 to the Alex Montgomery Reclamation Project. The Phase 2 goal will be 20 pounds. This will get me to 230 which is a weight I was at about 4 years ago. I think this will be a weight I will be happy with and that I can sustain with a reasonable diet and exercise.

We shall see. Also, I understand at some point I will hit the proverbial plateau or wall (depending on what terminology you want to use) and am prepared for that and will focus on overall conditioning during that time until weight loss resumes, as well as re-evaluating diet to make sure I am eating enough to keep metabolism up and also to make sure I am eating the right foods.

Presidential address...

I will not watch the presidential address tonight. I have no desire to hear that man talk about taking over businesses (even ones that didn't take a bailout, not that it matters) or limiting the pay of executives (what in the wide world of sports does this have to do with the economy, sounds like simple class warfare and envy to me). He wants to let the treasury secretary take over businesses he deems need taking over with little oversight (him and 2/3 of the federal reserve board), none from congress (again, not that I trust those people, anyway).

Guess communism worked so well in Russia and Eastern Europe we should give it a chance here.

Sorry for the missed update.

I know you missed my weight loss update last week, and for that, I apologize.

Not much time for much detail, but I wanted to let you all know... I was at 257 last week and now I am at 255. That brings me to a total of 27 pounds lost for the year and only 5 pounds from my original goal. Once I reach that goal, I will be setting a new goal. Perhaps I'll shoot for another 20 pounds to get me to 230, which is where I was when I moved to Charlotte about 3 years ago (wow, I put on a lot of weight in a short time).

Please endure my little rant...

I try to keep things lighthearted here and leave the major theological and political fare for some friends that I believe do a much better job of discussing those things in print.  However, I just need to get this off my chest.

I do not like a big federal government.  Not at all.  There are a lot of areas in which I disagree with Thomas Jefferson (one major one being his deism and lack of respect for the Word of God), however, I totally agree with him on his fear of a large centralized government. I believe that any government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have (I think that was Jefferson, but I may be mistaken).  One of the few roles of government that I see is to provide for the common defense.  This means a strong military that is well equipped and well trained to act as a deterrent to any sane country in the world thinking of attacking us or our representatives around the world as well as to defeat any countries swiftly and completely that are foolish enough to threaten our country, our representatives or our friends.

I think involved in this is also care for these people that sacrifice to serve in our military, and their families.  We have a veterans' care network.  I do not know how many of you are familiar with the Veterans Affairs network of hospitals, but I have recently become more familiar with them than I care to be through work for my company.  They are some of the least efficient, poorly organized outfits I have ever been associated with.  Perhaps the most glaring example of this I have seen was this week in Atlanta where the lack of organization left us fending for ourselves in trying to organize the work.  Even worse (we were getting paid to be there) is the ordeal that veterans have to go through there to get parked.  Due to what can only be called complete lack of planning, additions have been made to the building to the extent that parking is severely limited now.  Patients and visitors must use the complimentary valet parking system to park and go in to visit patients or to get in for their appointments.  We would arrive at 7:30 in the morning and there would already be a long line of people waiting to drop their car off to be parked and this line grew steadily until shortly after lunch (then people were waiting 10-20 minutes to leave because it took that long to get their cars back).  It was sad and angering (though, sadly, not surprising) to see how inept this government run program was in treating veterans, it's primary function.

Anyway, all of our veterans deserve far better than the standard of care they are given, but I won't go into all the garbage our government spends OUR money on instead of what it should.

Rant over, please carry on.

Thoughts from the VA...

Been at the VA hospital in Atlanta here for a few days.  Couple of thoughts and observations from my time...

1.   I am still amazed at how many doctors and nurses smoke.  Seems that they of all people would know the effects.  I understand that all people have weaknesses and issues, etc. and even the best pastors still sin, to make a comparison, but it just seems that people working in the health profession would not have that vice.  I have never smoked a lot, though I have smoked cigarettes in the past, but watching loved ones die of cancer was enough to make sure I never smoked again.

2.  Why do people with death wishes that choose to light a cigarette with an open flame and smoke a lit cigarette WHILE HOOKED UP TO OXYGEN insist on coming to sit next to me?  Sheesh, you may want to die but I have no desire to die in a fiery explosion right now so please take your ignition source and your tank of highly flammable pure oxygen and mosey on over somewhere else.

3.  The parking situation is so bad at this hospital right now that we have to arrive on campus before 7:30 to find a contractor parking space.  Due to daylight savings time, this means we are sitting there in the dark for thirty minutes or so waiting to start work.

4.  But don't pity us, pity the poor vets that come there for appointments, they have to drive onto the campus and wait in a line that winds around the employee lot to get their car valet parked.  By 7:30 the line appears to be over an hour long.  Apparently through poor planning or no planning, the hospital grew much faster than parking availability.  I'm generally a patient person, but I have to believe if I had to go for an appointment to that place, I'd start working up a good temper about a full day beforehand if not earlier and probably wouldn't let it go for a day or two afterwards.  That or tell the doc when he says I have to come in, "No thanks, I'll just die."

1 pound and other happenings...

I have to switch to weighing on Sunday for the next two weeks as I will be out of town the next two Mondays and not have access to my scale I have been using.  I weighed this morning and it shows I had gained a pound... I'm not too upset right now as last week, I checked on Sunday and had gained a pound from the previous Monday and then weighed Monday to discover that I had lost four pounds by then for a 3 pounds loss for the week.  Body weight fluctuates during the week and even during the day, so I really want to make sure I only weigh at same time on same day of week...  so I'll call it a one pound gain this week and move on from there and focus on finding ways to exercise this week while at the hotel in Atlanta.  Good news is that I will be out in the field and doing a lot of walking all day long.

Also, went to my niece's softball tournament yesterday, and she got into the first game, getting a great hit right over the third base bag (and had the girl on second been paying attention would have had an RBI).  She played first and got one out but it was a routine grounder to second and she made a routine throw to first that was right to her chest.  But, seeing the first basemen for other team drop routine throws, hey, she made a good play.  The second game was cut short by time.  Her team was up 11-2 but they only played 3 innings so no subs got in.  Bottom line, she is infinitely better than she was a few short years ago and she is continuing to get better.

Side note:  My 10 year old nephew was at a game across town and had a triple (he's about as fast as his nephew so he had to hit it a LONG way, or he had a double and an error and his mom didn't know the difference), so that was great.  The 11 year old nephew played at 3 but I was already on the way back to Charlotte by then.

Take a good look at me... I'm wasting away...

I thought I had lost weight this week as I went back to a smaller belt... then on Sunday, wore a pair of pants that had been too tight to even put on a few weeks ago (and they fit well).  Stepped on the scale this morning and saw that I had lost...

3 more pounds, bringing my total for 2009 to 21 pounds.  I still have 11 pounds to my original goal and then will probably set another goal.  I am happy with my progress so far and I think I shall celebrate tonight with a good long swim at the Y (now that I can fit into my bathing suit again).

As for my other goals... the reading plans of the Bible and Calvin's Institutes are going great.  I have fallen behind at times, but have been able to catch up and currently am on pace and am being refreshed and learning and seeing new insights and being provoked to thought through this.  The hiking has been put off for a while as I tried once and the extended walking cause issues with shin splints and ankle pain.  The running has been replaced by other forms of exercise, so I am disappointed I won't be running a 5K this year, but maybe I can do something else (get a bike??).  And as for the minor league baseball tour... have gotten great feedback from folks and looking forward to sharing this with them.  And I got to go to Clemson for a game against UNC-Charlotte and it as a beautiful day and a great game between two good teams.  Loved it.

I also started teaching high school Sunday school at church and am loving it.  I am starting to see that this just might be what God has created me to do in His kingdom.

Snow

I think for the first time since I moved back from St. Louis, I am experiencing a "real" snowfall.  This is not a wintry mix of snow flurries and sleet/freezing rain, it is actual heavy snow.  Now, it is only supposed to be 3-5 inches (which is enough to shut things down since we have little snow equipment for the highways), but it is nice.  

I had been planning to go to the grocery store to get normal things like sandwich meat, etc. (I stocked up on milk and bread yesterday though I'm not sure why, just that we are supposed to do that when it snows, I don't argue with the herd mentality).  Thought I could get to the store and back before the snow, but I waited too long.  It was snowing when I left and the only interesting thing about all of this... when I walked into the store, the floor was wet and (as Bon Jovi told us in the 80s...) slippery when wet.  Let's just say things were going along normal and then, "SON OF A..." and I'm on the floor.  Never seen Harris Teeter employees move so fast as when they came over to check on me.  I should have worked it for free groceries or something.

Beautiful Tiger Field...

Last weekend was opening weekend for Clemson baseball and I was able to make it to Clemson for the Saturday game.  It was wonderful, I sat down in the sun with a friend from college and his son (they still live in Clemson along with my friend's wife and their two daughters), and I took in a great baseball game.

Over the years, Clemson continues to make improvements to Beautiful Tiger Field (there is some controversy over the name, but suffice it to say... I'm calling it Beautiful Tiger Field unless something drastic happens) each year.  This year, they have added seats behind the right field and right centerfield fence with plans to add more along the left and left centerfield fence (my one complaint with them is they only do construction right before the season and just after it starts, lol).  Anyway, it's looking great and I wish I remembered my camera before I got halfway there so I could post some pics.  I'll be back down there and bring back some pics.

Hope this wasn't too boring for you. Thanks for hanging in there.

Weight loss update...

This week I was able to add back in fruits and whole grain carbs, bringing the diet to something I could really live and less like a restrictive diet.  I also ramped up the exercise a bit.  After discovering that I will not be able to run for very long without severe shin splints... I did work out 4 times this week and made friends with the elliptical machine again with plans to re-introduce myself to spinning class, swimming (I admit I have to lose a little weight to fit into the bathing suit) and maybe even the occasional session on the rowing machine...

Anyway, I lost 2 pounds this week.  Not sure how much more I would have lost had I not a miscalculation that the wrap at Chick-Fil-A was high in carbs but I needed a quick lunch and got a chicken caesar wrap with ranch dressing and thought it would be fine to eat the wrap too without emptying out the contents.  I checked the nutritional info later and it was not horrible but I would have been better served to just eat the filling.  Doubt it made a huge difference, though.

Anyway, I have now lost a total of 18 pounds for the year.  I cannot really see it in the mirror, but I can feel it in my clothes and can feel it in my wrists and collarbones (when you're fat you find anything that might show signs of weight loss :^) ).  So, halfway to my original goal, we'll keep plugging along.

Do NOT sneak into a Jim Calhoun press conference

and try to badger him into feeling guilty for the mismanagement of the state budget.  This reporter snuck into the press conference after a basketball game on Saturday and badgered the coach about his high salary.  Finally, Calhoun reminded (actually informed as the guy had done no research) him of how much money the basketball team made that was turned over to the state run university.  But I'm sure that for this seemingly liberal, border line socialist reporter, it was not enough.  How dare a man earn the money that he signed a contract to receive while others are spending more than they have and in need?

Maybe the state of Connecticut should do what rational people across the country do... set a budget and do not exceed that budget.  And if they do, then cut back in spending to make up the deficit.

Scandal in baseball!!!???

This may be old news, so forgive me if it is, but I just found out that a group of players broke the rules of baseball and also broke the laws of this country.  Evidence was shown to the baseball commissioner, he was convinced of their guilt, but was in a quandary.  He was entrusted with the welfare of the game and the game had just come through a major PR disaster and scandal that threatened the existence of the game at the professional level.  A few intriguing seasons had won fans back and the game was getting back on its feet.  He should have banned these players from the game.  Precedent had been set, but if he did so, would it drive a stake in the heart of the game and kill it forever?  What would you do?  What did he do?  Trust the game to endure while purging himself of the evildoers?  Cover it up and hope nobody would ever find out?  He covered it up.  He felt the damage that would be done to the game with another scandal was worse than allowing these players to remain in the game.

What was this scandal?  Who was this commissioner?  Steroids and Bud Selig??

No, it was throwing games for gamblers and the commissioner was Kennesaw "Mountain" Landis.  In the 1920s, on the heels of the 1919 "Black Sox" scandal, a group of players were caught throwing games to get money from gamblers.  Landis, the man who banned 8 players for life (including Buck Weaver, who had nothing to do with the scandal, and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, who played better than anybody and there is controversy as to whether he was part of the scandal or was duped into signing a confession that he, as an illiterate man, couldn't read and was not allowed to get his wife to read to him) for conspiracy to throw games, covered up this incident because he feared the game couldn't take another hit.

What's my point? Selig intentionally covered up steroids positive tests?  No.  Selig is without blame?  No.  Selig is half the commissioner Landis was?  Certainly not.  My point is that this steroid issue, while wrong and needs to be taken care of, is not the first hit to MLB and its popularity.  At the turn of the century (1900s), brawls in the stands and public drunkenness led many to call for the banning of pro baseball, the aforementioned 1919 issue, the strike of 1981 was going to kill baseball, the strike of 1994 was the end of it and now this is going to be the end of it.  Sure, some people leave after each scandal, but baseball attendance is up each year at ballparks.  People point to empty seats and say nobody is coming and point to full stadiums at NFL games as proof people aren't going to games.  Let's look at that really quick... for the Patriots to sell out every game, they have to sell for 11 games max, counting playoffs. For the Red Sox (same city), there are 92 games possibly played in Fenway.  It's a different animal and half empty seats at a Tuesday evening baseball game can't be compared to a Sunday afternoon football game.  Also, I don't want to try to convert anybody into a baseball fan, if you want me to try that, I need to take you to a game to experience it.  But if you don't like it, that's cool, we're all different people.

Also, while I'm thinking about it... PUT SHOELESS JOE IN THE HALL OF FAME!!!! 

Why do I love baseball?

I was asked this question on Facebook and this is my response.

Some reasons I love baseball...  

1. I fell in love with baseball at a very young age, can remember when our family got cable and we got it for one reason... to watch Atlanta Braves baseball on TBS (which pretty much carried all 162 games back then). I can still hear Pete Van Weiren and Ernie Johnson (Sr. not Jr who now does basketball on TNT I discovered). Skip Caray also worked with another guy I can't remember right now. One pair would do TV the first half of the game and the other radio, then they would switch. We would spend summer days doing yard work or at the ballpark for little league (actually it was Dixie Youth baseball, we creamed the Little League all star team when we played them one year - just my season team not an all star team).  

2. I played organized baseball through high school and coached two years of summer ball while in college and two years of high school ball while in seminary. Wish I were good enough to make a living coaching and look forward to coaching my child's baseball or softball team if that ever happens.  

3. The pace is perfect for relaxing and talking with friends, old and new while not missing the action. Spent the afternoon at a Clemson baseball game today and while we are watching a masterful pitching performance from Clemson's freshman pitcher, we talked about things from the spiritual to the political to family and personal life and of course, a LOT of joking. It was a reunion of sorts as, separated by 2.5 hours and both having busy lives, we hadn't really talked deeply since last season.  

4. Baseball offers so many opportunities for strategy, tension, excitement, jubilation and sadness.  

5. There is no clock in baseball. If you get the lead, you still have to get 27 outs, you can't run out the clock.  

6. It is incredibly hard to play. The skill set required is possibly the toughest in all of sports (not the most physical game nor the one requiring the best athletes, just pure skill to hit a baseball or pitch it such that they can't hit it). I respect that. It has been said that every kid starts off playing baseball, they turn to other sports when they realize they do not have the necessary skill set to succeed in baseball. I know this is not always the case, but I think there is a lot of truth in this.  

I could go on, but I won't, unless you want me to...