Through the Reverse Peephole

Hmmmm

2011-06-12T18:39:00.000-04:00

So, as I was telling friends yesterday about my latest failed date, one mentioned I should blog about it...

I'm not sure how I feel about that...

1. Does anybody really want to hear my stories?

2. Couldn't it be seen as a pathetic cry for attention through passive aggressive means and a woe is me, pity my type thing?

3. On the other hand... I do feel better when I laugh at the ridiculous things that happen on my dates...

4. Putting it in print could help others avoid my misfortune, lol.

5. Isn't there a TV show about a guy trying to find his wife? So... maybe people would like to read of my misfortunes in dating... or the good things too... and maybe other things like how I fell through the ceiling on a jobsite while inspecting the underside of the roof deck... anything can be funny and entertaining if delivered the right way... right?

So... I'll do it.

Stay tuned for stories of my dating mishaps... tales from the crypt (where romance goes to die) as I like to think of it.

Confirmation hearings

2010-05-12T10:18:00.000-04:00

is there anything uglier than supreme court confirmation hearings? no sooner is a person nominated than the party that didn't nominate them goes digging and throwing out allegations, some true and some not true, to see what sticks and what makes the person look the worst.

i understand the importance of making sure the person is competent to be a supreme court justice, but it just seems that their knowledge of the constitution and how it should be applied is more important than some of the petty things that get brought up.

Listening skills.

2010-05-03T08:48:00.000-04:00

"Due to budgetary cutbacks in this tough economy, we have to make the tough decision to spend less and so we have to make the following cutbacks and eliminate the following programs/job positions..." does not equal "We hate the following programs/job positions and the people that benefit from them/are employed in them and are cutting them and keeping the money for ourselves..."

Groundhog Day

2010-02-03T21:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Groundhog Day. In case you happened to not know, this is the day when the tradition holds that if the groundhog comes out of his burrow on February 2 and sees his shadow, he returns to his burrow and there will be 6 more weeks of winter. If he doesn't see his shadow, there will be an early spring. The official groundhog is supposed to be Punxsutawny Phil up in Pensylvania. However, there are many groundhogs all over the country. This year, Phil saw his shadow, so there should be 6 more weeks of winter. Well, the groundhog in Lilburn, GA, General Beauregard Lee didn't see his shadow forecasting an early spring. Now, putting aside the fact that a groundhog seeing his shadow as a predictor of weather makes about as much sense as a watery tart distributing cutlery to the masses does as a basis for a system of government, I'll go with the groundhog from Atlanta as I live a whole lot closer to Atlanta than I do Pennsylvania.

Had a cow poop on my truck today... as I went to pass a cow trailer, I saw a cow rear end sticking out ahead of me. It pooped and I thought I missed it, but it apparently splattered off the road onto the truck. I had to wash it off when I stopped to get gas. What a way to start the day. But, that was the worst thing that happened to me today and really, it is more funny than bad. Just think about it... A COW POOPED ON MY TRUCK ON THE INTERSTATE!!! That is funny.

I did run tonight. Tried to run Monday, as well, but after slipping on the ice (maybe more than once, ahem), I went back inside and did burpees.

Keep on truckin'

2010-01-27T19:36:00.000-05:00

Exercise is continuing on... on week 3 of the running program. Still swimming 3 days a week in the mornings.

Not much else going on right now, work, exercise, church, that's about it.

Well, see you later.

Training...

2010-01-22T18:59:00.000-05:00

Just got back from running. Normally I try to run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, but with the rain yesterday and a bunch of other things going on, I didn't. So, I swam this morning and ran this afternoon. Now I will run on Sunday and be back on my regular schedule for running and swimming next week.

Run today went better than last time as I felt a twinge of cramping in my legs which are normally the precursor to shin splints for me. Today - nothing, and I felt I could have gone farther but not going to push it.

I did see a girl of about 10 or 11 walking a great dane, or I should say I saw a great dane walking a girl of about 10 or 11. The mom was about 20 feet behind them and laughing. It made me smile.

The valleys...

2010-01-22T07:36:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a rough day. In no particular order, neither in terms of chronology nor magnitude:

A lot of things came together at work to make it a long, hectic day. I won't go into detail, because frankly, even I'm bored by the details of it. But it involved a lot of tedious work and uncomfortable confrontation (which is necessary, but still not fun).

When I got home, I got a phone call from a person whom I love dearly and will always love dearly... they were trying to encourage me not to go into youth ministry. I am not going into detail, but it was a very discouraging call that was not in line with another conversation we had recently. I trust they were trying to look out for what was best for me, but the way they did it wasn't encouraging at all. I believe they think I am jumping into this on a whim and seeking to just go have fun and not work. I have tried to convince them this decision was a long time in the making and not an easy one and not one I believe I could have made any other way.

And I went to the going away party for dear friends, the Hunts, who are leaving to go to Prague as missionaries. The Hunts are incredible. Not because of anything about them, not because of their oldest son Sam and his cool hair, not because of their youngest son Foard and his awesome name but because God poured out blessings through them and onto those around them. God has used them to make me a better person.

And I learned that a girl I knew at church (I didn't know her extremely well, but everybody that I knew that did loved her and she seemed a wonderful personand what I did know of her confirmed that) had been involved in a car wreck and died last night. It is a time of mourning to lose a sister in Christ and a time of rejoicing that she is in Heaven now and experiencing complete joy and peace with the Father. All I have heard about the wreck is another vehicle crossed the center line and hit her car head on. I do not know what caused the vehicle to cross the center line, but I lift the driver up in prayer now with Aimee's family and friends. I was in a car wreck in 2001 where I had a seizure and left the interstate. I spent 2 weeks in the hospital and the greatest comfort to my soul in that whole time and even now is that nobody else was involved. I pray that God would comfort this driver and, if they do not know Him, that He would use this to draw them to himself. And then what an incredible display of His providence if He uses the death of this daughter of a missionary family to draw another soul to Him.

"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places." - Hab. 3:17-19

Week 2

2010-01-19T19:27:00.000-05:00

Once again, I went and ran this evening after work. I bought a new watch the other day (yesterday being that other day) and it made a ton of difference in seeing it at night. It has been a while since I bought a watch so maybe this is old news but it is new to me so deal with it. The cool feature was that on the old watch (Timex Ironman), the face would light up and the numbers would stay black when you mashed the Indiglo button but this one, the face goes black and the numbers turn green. I thought that was pretty cool, well, interesting at least.

I found a website - The Art of Manliness - that looks pretty interesting. And by found, I mean somebody told me about it. There are different articles on what it means to be a man or articles of advice for men. I haven't looked at it all, so I am sure there are things I'll disagree with, but one thing I like is that they don't present one ideal man and every man should be like that. One of the articles, which of course I can't find now, broke it down into five categories - warrior, adventurer, lone wolf, gentleman and family man - and listed strengths and weaknesses of each and talked about none of these was the perfect man and gave examples of each type. I like this website right now because today's culture loves to portray men as bumbling fools that wouldn't survive without their wives or as immature sex fiends that care about nothing but their own pleasure. It is difficult to find a good role model in media that exhibits what it means to be a man in the Biblical calling of men. Difficult, not impossible. This website does not talk about the primary role of the man as spiritual leader, but it does point to some important characteristics and calls men to be leaders and not to abdicate responsibility in life and in their families due to laziness or fear. And it has some funny stuff and good grooming and fashion tips.

Monday, Monday...

2010-01-18T18:46:00.000-05:00

I've often been told that when you do something enough times, it becomes a habit... maybe so as this morning, after two weeks of getting up at 5:09 to go swim and fighting it each morning and trying to find an excuse to get out of it, I woke up this morning and was in the truck on the way to the pool before even thinking of an excuse to not go. Interesting.

I did stop by a bike store on the way home from work. Ummm, I hope a crazy person broke into their store and put the prices on the bikes. Yikes. I will not be able to afford a bike from there as the lowest priced road bike was still way more than I intended to spend. I'll keep looking.

I really don't have any funny stories from the pool this morning. I'm either too sleepy to notice my surroundings in the morning or everybody is too sleepy to do something funny or some combination of both. Anyway, I got there, put in my half mile, went home and made breakfast and went to work.

"Balmy" weather

2010-01-16T16:40:00.000-05:00

Never ceases to humor me how people, myself included, react differently to weather changes in different seasons. For instance, today was overcast and 50 after a run of weather where it didn't get above 40 for a few weeks. And people were out and about walking and exercising, while the same type of day in September would send most indoors and possibly for a blanket.

Just something I noticed as I was out "running" today. Once again, according to the training schedule, I ran 1 minute and walked 90 seconds for 20 minutes. Because I didn't have anything to do this afternoon, I decided to walk farther afterward. So, I ended up on a walk of about 50 minutes after my 20 minute period of running/walking. Everything went well and no pain in my legs, so next week begins week 2 of the 9 week training period to work up to a 5k run.

I did get back in time to swim yesterday, so that is good. 3 swims and 2 runs this week, I can live with that.

I also looked at some bikes on amazon.com... but i have no idea what I need or want. It might be a little while before I buy a bike as I have to spend a good bit of money this month on getting my bathtub relined (previous owner at some point lined the tub and it is chipping so I have no choice but to have it redone as I prepare to get this place on the market).

One bonus of taking the extra walk after the run today... got to see the Dyers and Hunts at the park as they finished up a picnic. Had I been sooner I could have seen them with the ducks they brought for the bread (yes, I meant to say it that way as that is how it was explained to me and it makes perfect sense). And unrelated to that... I did get to see a couple rescue their lab puppy after it fell into the Freedom Park pond after it leaned over to far to smell the debris at the edge of the pond. It looked so cute as they got it out and it tried to calm down from the shock.

Moving right along

2010-01-13T20:36:00.000-05:00

so i swam this morning... nothing funny happened, so not much to say here

i have run into a snag with running tomorrow and swimming friday... i will be out of town from tomorrow morning until friday evening with work and visiting my mom as she rehabs from her knee replacement surgery. i thought i could swim friday evening but there is a swim meet, so that is out. if i run saturday morning... that gives me two days of swimming and two days of running this week and for me, 4 days of exercise out of 6 ain't bad. so i will keep plugging along.

The run...

2010-01-12T22:34:00.000-05:00

So... in order to try everything to avoid shin splints... (I feel I use the "..." too much, agreed?) I began the couch to 5k running plan back over at week 1, day 1 today. This involves running for 1 minute and then walking for 1.5 minutes over the course of 20 minutes. Now, I am not sure what is the most annoying aspect of this, so I will list some of the annoying aspects here:

1. Having to check my watch over and over to determine when to walk and when to run.
2. Being barely able to see the watch as it was dark and the indiglo feature is getting weak.
3. The cold wind filling my lungs and making it painful to breathe.
4. Having the cardiovascular conditioning from swimming to do much more but holding back so as not to hurt my legs, which, for some reason, are very sensitive to overwork.

Anyway, I did it and didn't have any problems, other than the pants I bought for cold weather running - the ones that actually heat up when they get wet (like from my sweat) - hit a little snag, my legs didn't start sweating until after I got back to my place and was out of the cold. Soooo, that didn't work how I hoped it would.

Observation of the night:

A little boy, probably about 5 or 6, was walking with his dad and I could tell he was coming down from a pretty emotional time as he was gasping for air as kids do after they have been sobbing (I know I did). As I am running by them (hunched over my watch trying to see the time as I was about to switch from run to walk), I hear him say, "... and he was angry toward me..." and that is all I caught but thought it was funny to hear a very small child talk in that manner.

Triathlon training...

2010-01-11T19:02:00.000-05:00

I never knew so many people were up at 5:30 in the morning until I began to train for a triathlon... For a few weeks now (that's right, going back to December), I have been going to the Mecklenburg Aquatic Center (henceforth to be understood as the MAC) to swim on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Recently, while sitting on my couch and eating bacon, I saw highlights of the ironman out in hawaii and saw a guy a little bit smaller than me (but obviously in much better shape) completing the ironman (I don't care what the scrawny little officials say about him being after the final whistle on the marathon and so it not counting, the man covered the entire distance, he completed the ironman) and decided that I can run, swim (I actually enjoy swimming) and I could probably bike if I owned one. So I will be working towards a sprint triathlon this year. Hoping for sometime in late spring to summer, we'll see. I did hit a snag (beyond that whole not owning a bike thing) last week as my first run resulted in pain in my shins (not the sharp pain of shin splints I am so acquainted with, but a dull pain that lasted most of the week after the run) and I had to stop and will start back tomorrow. I intend to return to the "Couch to 5K Running Plan" from this here cool site and will begin afresh with Week 1 tomorrow (after trying to jump to Week 5 last week since my cardiovascular level was up there - but my legs were not ready) and try to run Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

It is my intention to keep you updated on the status of the program here and so, if you are reading this and care... please ask me how it is going if you do not see an update as I could use the accountability to continue to work out.

Also, if you come across a decent road bike for not much money, you can let me know about that, too.

Nobel prize for effort...

2009-10-09T15:34:00.000-04:00

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

2009-10-07T21:07:00.000-04:00

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...

2009-09-22T18:34:00.000-04:00

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

2009-09-17T22:23:00.000-04:00

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

2009-09-17T20:14:00.000-04:00

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?

2009-09-16T21:28:00.000-04:00

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.

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.
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.
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.
The starters did not play in the second half.
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.
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...

2009-09-15T20:46:00.000-04:00

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...

2009-09-14T19:25:00.000-04:00

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

2009-09-13T17:21:00.000-04:00

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

2009-09-13T17:14:00.002-04:00

Week 2

2009-09-11T20:40:00.000-04:00

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...

2009-09-11T20:08:00.000-04:00

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

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.
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).
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...

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.
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.
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.
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...

2009-09-10T07:47:00.002-04:00

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

Clemson vs GT 2009

2009-09-09T19:48:00.012-04:00

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.

2009-09-06T21:18:00.000-04:00

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...

2009-08-31T21:36:00.002-04:00

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?

2009-08-25T21:09:00.002-04:00

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.

2009-06-24T20:35:00.002-04:00

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...

2009-06-08T13:21:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-05-28T16:29:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-05-26T19:47:00.004-04:00

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...

2009-05-25T13:30:00.005-04:00

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?

2009-05-18T10:35:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-05T21:53:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-28T22:09:00.003-04:00

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

2009-04-28T21:45:00.002-04:00

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...

2009-04-26T17:47:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-23T10:03:00.003-04:00

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

2009-04-19T16:21:00.002-04:00

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.

2009-04-16T16:31:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-12T18:31:00.003-04:00

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

2009-04-12T18:13:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-04-12T17:54:00.002-04:00

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...

2009-04-01T21:14:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-04-01T20:55:00.002-04:00

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!!!!!

2009-03-29T14:13:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-03-24T20:03:00.003-04:00

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.

2009-03-22T13:49:00.002-04:00

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...

2009-03-14T16:55:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-03-10T18:12:00.002-04:00

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...

2009-03-08T08:13:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-03-02T07:23:00.006-05:00

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

2009-03-01T19:15:00.002-05:00

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...

2009-02-24T21:28:00.002-05:00

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...

2009-02-23T08:14:00.002-05:00

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

2009-02-23T08:05:00.005-05:00

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!!!???

2009-02-21T20:31:00.005-05:00

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?

2009-02-21T20:27:00.002-05:00

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...

If you don't have money...

2009-02-18T16:08:00.003-05:00

don't buy it. The advice of not spending money you do not have just seems needed in this country right now...

http://consumerist.com/consumer/clips/snl-skit-dont-buy-stuff-you-cant-afford-252491.php

Wow...

2009-02-16T08:13:00.002-05:00

Okay, I have been told more than once the importance, when trying to lose weight, of weighing yourself on the same scale at the same time of day (in the morning before eating anything, if possible) in order to get an accurate assessment of what you weigh due to the body fluctuating in weight throughout the day. The weighing before you eat makes sense, however, I did not truly believe the day of the week thing until this weekend.

I felt like I had lost some weight and was just curious on Friday, so I hopped on the scale when I woke up Friday morning... same weight as I had been the previous Monday. Hmmm. Then, knowing that some friends were tracking my weight loss with me and might ask on Sunday, I weighed Sunday morning and had lost 2 pounds since Friday. Not bad for 6 days, confusing to think I had lost 2 pounds in 2 days, but that gave me 13 pounds for the year and I was happy.

But then I weighed this morning on my regular time and day... and I have lost 5 pounds since January 1. So, from now on... I'm just weighing on Monday mornings. I'm pretty happy today and encouraged to run more and work out more and continue sticking to the diet. Haven't cheated yet and can now have FRUIT.

So, year to date... I am down 16 pounds to 266 and halfway to my goal of 32 pounds for the year. I know that weight loss slows as you lose more weight (especially on South Beach as I can now introduce natural carbs back into my diet), but I suppose I will be re-evaluating my goal if I reach the 32 pound loss mark... maybe go for 10 pounds at a time until I get to a comfortable weight for me and my health and lifestyle.

Middle school basketball

2009-02-13T22:46:00.002-05:00

Went to a middle school basketball game in Gastonia today. No, I wasn't really bored, no I didn't get lost. I have been volunteering with the youth ministry at church for a while now and an 8th grader there plays for this team (and is really pretty good). I believe it is important in ministry, and especially youth ministry, to invest in the lives of the people. I think you can see this clearly in the ministry of Jesus. He does not preach and teach on Saturday and then go do his thing the rest of the week. He is always out in the midst of the people, sharing life with them and ministering to them where they are (but not leaving them there, rather pointing them to God through himself). I had been trying to go to a game for a month but was out of town every week for the whole last month and this was there last game of the season, so, I found myself in Gastonia tonight.

I do not really like basketball. I understand that all sports are influenced by officials, but it just seems like basketball is influenced more than the other major sports. And the rules are open to such a wide interpretation (is traveling even a violation in NBA or college basketball anymore?) and seem to be applied in a very arbitrary manner. I'm not talking about one team getting all the calls, it seems like a player from team A can touch a player from team B one time and it is not called, same thing a few minutes later and it is a foul. Oh well, nobody really cares much what I think about basketball (and I know officials make bad calls in baseball and football, but it seems like players have a better chance of overcoming a bad call there in the same series or at bat), I just wanted to get that out there.

Tonight was not a good night for the good guys, they lost by one when a last second shot missed. The guy I went to watch had an off night as nothing would drop for him (or the rest of his team), it seemed. He had about 12 points (total team offense was around 33 points) but so many shots went in and out. Oh well, some days you eat the bear, some days, the bear... he eats you.

Another good thing about tonight though, was my friend that is the assistant coach got to coach the team as the head coach was out sick. I also think it is important to share in the lives of your friends, but that is often easier than sharing in the lives of a middle schooler.

A-Rod

2009-02-09T21:36:00.003-05:00

I have not been keeping up completely with the A-Rod "steroid" confession (actually only admits to using a "banned substance"), I was at the Y working out and fighting back tears watching "Little People, Big World" (the one where Mike dies). Strong men also cry, Mr. Lebowski, strong men also cry. Anyway, apparently he did the right thing in confessing, then moved into making excuses like he wanted to prove he was worth the ginormous contract Texas gave him (is anybody worth that kind of money?), it was hot in Texas (hotter for him than other players?), it was a different time when many were doing it (a. does that make it right? and b. about 1200 players were tested in 2003 and 104 tested positive - since when did 8% become such a huge number that he "got swept up in it"?), and attacking the reporter who broke the story that he has admitted was true.

Alex... you did the right thing in confessing. Both from a "moral" standpoint (no point heaping lies on top of wrongs, once you've made an error - confess and seek to turn from it and move in the right direction) and from a professional standpoint (American sports fans, right or wrong, are VERY forgiving and will forgive an athlete's indiscretions if they confess). Now, do yourself a favor and stop making accusations and blaming others.

2009 Goals Update

2009-02-09T08:43:00.004-05:00

As you may know, I set some goals for myself at the beginning of the year in an effort to become more healthy. I just want to relist those goals and update you on the progress so far.

1. Read through the Bible this year - so far, so good. I am up to date and enjoying it thoroughly. Concurrently, I am also up to date in my daily reading of Calvin's Institutes. It is good to get back into some deeper theology in my reading.

2. Lose 32 pounds - Well, so far, I have lost 11 pounds this year. I have a renewed sense of purpose as I no longer see this as a vague attempt to "get healthy" but a necessary process to try to avoid some of the health issues related to weight (diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, etc.) that are very prevalent on both sides of my family. Losing weight to live is easier than losing weight to look better...

3. Go on at least 12 hikes - I have been hiking once this year. It was a short hike due to my hiking boots not really fitting anymore because of the orthotics I got to help with my lower leg issues, but it was a hike nonetheless in Uwharrie National Forest. So, I guess you could say I am still on pace for this one.

4. Run a 5K race by the end of the year - I am in training for this. I have started the "Couch to 5K" training plan I found at Cool Running's website, not the movie but a website with articles and advice about running, (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml) . Yesterday was day one of the 2 month plan and things went well with no real lower leg pain. I went to the Harris Y and ran on their dirt track (much better than concrete for running). It isn't much, but it is a start.

5. Visit some minor league ballparks - Obviously, this hasn't started yet since baseball season hasn't started, but I have recruited a travel partner. So, looking good.

Progress...

2009-02-07T16:20:00.002-05:00

Wonderful weather for a February today in Charlotte. Went for a walk in my new shoes (which are now officially mine since I wore them outside and not on the treadmill, meaning I cannot return them as there is definitely sign of wear on them). Ended up walking on the greenway for an hour at a decent pace (would have had to jog to go faster) and didn't end up with shin splints. So that's some progress.

Going to start running on a very modest plan using this "Couch to 5K Training Plan" I have to gradually add running back into my life. The first few weeks, there is not much to it other than about 20 minutes of walking. But, while I can handle more from a cardiovascular standpoint, I want to make sure I take time with getting my muscles back into shape.

Well, it's a start.

2009-02-02T21:59:00.002-05:00

I went to the Y tonight and tried out my new shoes on the treadmill. The verdict... 35 minutes with no shin splints. Even mixed in a 5 minute run (more like a jog). There was some discomfort in my right lower leg, but it never went beyond that and running for the first time in many months will probably lead to that. So, it's not great but it is a start.

Also, to get more serious about this get healthy thing, I started South Beach diet again today. The first two weeks are the worst as they don't allow fruit during this time. Got to make it through this and I know I can handle the next phase. I can't allow myself any cheats as I can't cheat a little, it's all or nothing for me. But, I understand the health issues in my family and the risk of all of them is lessened by losing weight. I don't want diabetes, or high blood pressure or high cholesterol or a heart attack. So, I have my motivation, just have to remember it. I'll keep you posted with weekly updates. I weighed 276 pounds this morning.

Really?... Really?

2009-01-31T12:36:00.005-05:00

Caught this little gem of a sign in the same high school that struggled with the spelling of the word "chicken".

Now, apparently they are inviting the entire nation of Hungary to come and eat chicken biscuits. Well, it is for a good cause, hope they sell a bunch of biscuits.

Again, please forgive the poor quality, but took it in a hurry with my phone.

Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown

2009-01-29T17:58:00.004-05:00

Brown was a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs back in the early 1900s. Really early 1900s. He was a key part of their last World Series title back over ONE HUNDRED years ago in 1908. He got the nickname "Three Finger" due to an accident when he was young that required the amputation of his ring finger and pinkie finger on his throwing hand. Rather than being a hindrance to his baseball career, the loss of these two fingers gave the man an incredible curve ball.

I mention this for two reasons. One, I was watching the second episode of the "Baseball" series by Ken Burns and was reminded that one thing I love about baseball is the incredible history with wonderful stories about quirky people and things like this. I also bring it up because, as a Cardinals fan, it brings me a little joy to think about the Cubs LAST World Series title over ONE HUNDRED years ago. They're not cursed, they've just really stunk for 100 years.

So, if a dog does have fleas between his knees,

2009-01-28T18:05:00.001-05:00

wouldn't they just jump to another location and not be killed when the dog...

well, you know.

Oh yeah.

2009-01-26T18:16:00.004-05:00

An update on my "get healthy" quest. I didn't exercise too much this past week, but I was able to eat more healthily, even going without meat for two whole days before getting a bison burger (on a wheat bun, that's something, right?). After gaining two pounds the week before, I lost a pound this last week, so yay me.

Reason for not exercising, other than walking around a roof all day? The fitness center at the Holiday Inn Express had two treadmills. I almost broke my neck on both of them as every 5 strides or so, the belt would stick and the whole thing would stop before jump starting again to almost shoot me off the back of the machine. The exercise bike? Every connection was lose such that it was too difficult to try to hold it together to be able to focus on actually riding it. And yes, it was too cold at night for me to get out and walk, along with no sidewalks on the side of a somewhat busy road.

The Funk...

2009-01-26T18:05:00.004-05:00

Every so often, I get in a funk. Wouldn't call it depression, but just the Funk. It includes varying degrees of depth and can either come on all at once or gradually. I handle it differently (always including reflection on the great gifts God has given me and prayers of thanksgiving) and generally get the same results. It will run its course and end when it ends and often hangs around longer when I try to cheer myself up or others try to cheer me up as I begin to feel guilty for not being more "chipper" (the mood, not Larry the baseball player from Atlanta or the potato chips at The Philosopher's Stone).

This time it kind of came on gradually over the course of a few days about 3 weeks ago. Because I was out of town and alone much of the time, I was able to hide it when around people, I've become quite good at acting. Anyway, today, as I was working on some detail stuff at work (which I hate, not strongly dislike, I mean hate), I began to recall lines from Office Space and began to laugh at my desk, and just like that, the funk was gone. That's how it goes, quotes from tv shows and movies almost constantly run through my head as I go about my day and people have often caught me laughing to myself. Even while in The Funk, these same clips run through my head and I can smile or laugh at them, but The Funk quickly returns to envelop me. Then, one time, it's over.

So, one more time, you see what is going on in my head. Hope it's not too scary.

P.S. If I ignored, offended or whined to you in the last three weeks... I take full responsibility and apologize.

That state of education in my home state.

2009-01-21T17:30:00.004-05:00

Recently, I have been in a county in SC working on some schools for my work as a roofing consultant. Last week, it was a high school, yesterday - a different high school, and an elementary school today. Most of the work was done outside and on the roof. But in each instance, it was necessary to walk inside and look for signs of water intrusion (cripes, I sound like an engineer now with that instead of just saying "leaks").

While walking the halls of the two high schools, I noticed many signs up for various activities with numerous misspelled words and grammatical errors (things like "your" instead of "you're" and misuse of the tricky "their", "they're", "there" words). An example of misspelled words? Well, it appears that one high school is selling chicken biscuits from Chick-Fil-A on Tuesday and Thursday mornings as a fund raiser. Apparently, there is nobody at the school that knows for sure how to spell "chicken". Or nobody cares. I saw many spellings (and only a few of them spelled "chikin" as the oh so cute cows spell it), including "chiken", "chicen", "chicn", "chickan" and "checkan" (what were they thinking there?). There were a few instances of "chicken", but not many. Are there no English teachers that walk the halls and see these things? It's always funny to find these kinds of mistakes in places of education.

Then today, at the elementary school, we needed access to a third grade room to view the underside of the roof deck. Third grade in SC means you get to study SC history. What a great time. I noticed maps of SC done by the students with the three main regions of the state located and colored on the wall outside the room. Please see image below for an example:

It is hard to make much out of it because it is hard to take a picture of a wall trying to pretend it is a picture of the ceiling. I think the students did a great job of locating the three main regions of the state. Nobody can expect them to know the transition areas between these main regions. And the spelling of "Cloumbia" and "Nort Careline" and "Jorjia" were understandable if they were done with no help from their parents or teacher. My only complaint here is that a mistake in their education has been made. EVERYONE of these students labeled the three regions of SC as "Lowcountry", "Midlands" and "Upcountry". There is no region of SC known as the "Upcountry". Whether it makes sense or not, SC is divided into three main regions - "Lowcountry", "Midlands" and "The Upstate". Since they ALL labeled it this way, that must be what they are being taught. I had to fight the urge to walk in while the students were in class, draw a map of SC on the board and label it correctly. Sigh. I think teachers are incredible and vital to this country, just wondering who told this teacher about the "Upcountry".

I know I have opened myself up to ridicule for all spelling and grammatical mistakes, but I found these incidents humorous and wanted to share.

What do I want?

2009-01-20T17:33:00.002-05:00

I didn't see much of the inauguration today, I was at work (resisting the urge to make a sarcastic comment about taxes, etc.). I did happen to see Bush get booed when he was introduced. Way to keep it classy, folks. Of course, watching most politicians, I guess people don't have much for role models if that is where they are looking.

I did start thinking last night about what I would like to see from government.

Leave me alone. I hear politicians saying they are going "to fight for me", etc. Don't. Just let me take care of myself. I think the government which governs best, governs least. Pretty sure I read that from one of our founding fathers or one of the people that they drew upon when framing our government.

1. I want the government to provide for the common defense. That means military and securing our borders. That also means a federal agency for the assisting of local police in major crimes.

2. I also think the federal government should be involved in the infrastructure of the nation, like interstates and dams and bridges. By the way, government keeps taking money from us for these things, but they sure aren't doing the work. There are a lot of issues coming due with the infrastructure in this country, concrete is NOT a permanent material.

3. I want the federal government to quit meddling in the economy. Capitalism works until the government gets in the way with taxes and "relief". I admit I know little about macroeconomics, but I have friends that do and that is where I learn, and I know communism does not work as several major economies have recently failed.

4. I want the federal government out of the charity business. I give my tithe to my church which uses it to help others and I support a few other charities. I know of many other charities that work to serve the full needs of people in need and do a much better job than government programs that I would love to support but cannot because so much of my money is going to government programs that do not work (they do not address the real problem). I am not hard hearted, I cry when I see the effects of sin and brokenness in this country (and the world), but I am tired of supporting programs that do not work.

Anyway, I am for SMALL government. I do not know what that makes me, but I know I am not a Democrat, and I do not recognize my beliefs and values in very many in the Republican party. I guess I am just independent.

Also, I've seen a lot of quotes from folks today about "I am proud to be an American today." I don't know what that means. Am I proud to be an American today? Absolutely. But, I am no prouder today than I was yesterday, last month, six months ago, 6 years ago or 25 years ago. This is a great country with a system of government that is still great (and I believe would be much greater if we would return to the original ideals set forth by the founders). We help a lot of people and countries around the world with seemingly little gratitude. I hear about us helping monsoon victims in Asia but not others helping us after hurricanes or the flooding in the midwest. Maybe it happens and doesn't get reported, I don't know. But, I don't want us to help because people will love us for it or help us in return, I am proud that we do it because we are able and it is the right thing to do.

Setback...

2009-01-18T15:18:00.003-05:00

Well, had a little setback this week in the losing weight category. While out of town for work, I gained 2 pounds. I tried to work out, but there was no fitness room in the hotel. I went for a walk twice, but that was a little difficult as the hotel was on a busy highway and we often worked right until dark. I tried to make decent choices with meals and think I did okay, except for breakfast where I basically had to choose from the menu at Chick-Fil-A. I went with the multi-grain chicken bagel, guess I should have just gone with the large fruit cup and been hungry before lunch time.

Think I am supposed to be going back down there for two other jobs this week. Hope I make better choices and at least not gain any weight.

The price of good spiritual advice...

2009-01-13T18:39:00.002-05:00

How much would you pay for spiritual advice? $50 $75 as much as $100??

No need friends and neighbors!! Down the street here from my hotel in Beaufort, SC, I passed a sign advertising "Spiritul Advisor: $10". That's right, you can get spiritual advice for only $10. What a deal! All you have to do is head south on Hwy 21 towards Hilton Head and turn at the giant inflatable Santa Claus and Frosty lawn decorations. Yes, apparently the neighbors can get spiritual advice for $10, but if the want the Christmas decorations taken down, that's going to be extra. Sorry I have no picture, but I didn't take a camera with me while I was walking and I'm not sure I will be back that way with a camera. If so, the picture will be right here for your education and entertainment.

Seven...

2009-01-11T14:32:00.002-05:00

Seven can be a great number... especially when it is the answer to "How many pounds did you lose last week?". That's right, I lost seven pounds. I thought some of my clothes were getting a little looser (meaning ones that were really tight were getting less tight) and was tempted to weigh earlier, but I know the fluctuations weight can have, so I held off until this morning which is one week from the last time. I went from 282 to 275, so I am happy.

I am trying to do this by changing lifestyle and not severe diet, which is what I am doing so far. Just eating smaller portions and making wiser decisions when I get food (ate at a barbecue place and got green beans and a side salad instead of what I really wanted, fried okra and mac n cheese). Probably most importantly, i exercised in some way four times - 45 minute walk on Sunday, workout on Monday including 30 minutes of cardio, spin class on Tuesday and 45 minute walk on Saturday. Had a very bad headache on Wednesday and was up late Thursday to keep me away on Friday, but 4 times was a good number.

This week will be a challenge as I will be out of town for work and it is very hard for me to eat well when eating in restaurants for every meal. I will try to get some exercise in in the evenings (hopefully the hotel has a workout room or I will be doing some walking).

I understand that you lose more weight right at the beginning of losing weight, so I don't expect to lose 7 pounds each week. Really, I am hoping to not gain weight this week on the road, any weight lost will be gravy.

One more thought from yesterday

2009-01-10T10:27:00.001-05:00

I can't believe I left out my most important issue with the crucifix. It depicts Christ as still on the cross. I believe the Bible teaches us that Christ died on the cross to satisfy the penalty of death for our sins, but he conquered death by rising from the dead to give us eternal life. He is not on the cross anymore. I think the crucifix minimizes this great truth.

Thoughts from a funeral

2009-01-09T17:55:00.000-05:00

Went to a funeral today and noted some interesting things. As a seminary graduate and former minister, it is dangerous going to churches and services as there is sometimes a desire to "critique" things instead of worshipping. I try to remain conscious of this and focus my attention on God, where it should be. This funeral was at a very large Presbyterian church and it was being held in a chapel, not the main sanctuary. We got there early and got a chance to walk around in the sanctuary to look around.

The first thing I noticed was that the sanctuary laid out in the shape of a cross, in the style of many of the old cathedrals. It was also very big with lesser and greater elevated pulpits at the front of the sanctuary.

The second thing I noticed was, "there is a lot of intricate stained glass here". All the windows were detailed stained glass scenes.

Next, "there are what look like carved heads on the railing at the front... sure enough, wonderfully carved heads about the size of a fist sat atop the railing at the front of the church separating the nave from the chancel. There were 12, all looking different, one as a king even. From hearing some older members of the church, they were the 12 apostles.

Next, on the greater pulpit area (complete with a short spiral staircase to ascend into it from behind) are carvings of men. One is Calvin, one looks like Luther, one in robes (maybe Augustine?) and another I think might be Knox (a man I am apparently distantly related to, good Presbyterian to the core here).

I'm thinking at this point, this is great woodwork and art and a great commemoration of some of the heroes of the faith, but I don't think the sanctuary is the place for this. The human heart is an idol making factory and in a place of worship, those things can be a great temptation to violate the first commandment.

Then... SWEET MERCY THAT'S A CRUCIFIX DEPICTED IN THE STAINED GLASS AT THE VERY FRONT OF THE CHURCH!!!!! Never seen one of those in a Protestant church (and this church was built in the 50s as a Presbyterian church, not converted from a Catholic church). But sure enough, a very well groomed European Jesus is hanging from the cross with a crown of thorns placed daintily upon his head. Never mind the gross inaccuracies of the portrayal of the crucifixion, this is something the second commandment talks about. Wow.

The chapel was more of the same only with images of European Jesus from his ministries in the stained glass and no statuaries or "icons" in the chapel. The service was good with great scripture and great hymns (A Mighty Fortress and Amazing Grace). I do wish the preacher had used some of that scripture as the basis for his message instead of the good but lacking Gospel message poem he did use.

Oh well, my aunt was a great woman saved by faith in Christ who is now free from her suffering and in Heaven. God bless you Aunt Cele.

Plugging along...

2009-01-06T22:12:00.000-05:00

Not a whole lot to say but did want to keep you updated on the New Year's goals...

Worked out Monday and went to a cycling class this morning (no fun). I will not be working out tomorrow morning as I have physical therapy for my ankles at 7:30. Back at it Thursday morning, though. I am still on track for the reading through the Bible goal. Six days and so far, so good.

I just added another little goal for myself, too. Reading through Calvin's Institutes this year. It is a great systematic theology written by a great man, John Calvin. I was challenged/inspired to this goal by my friend, Jake Hunt in his blog. I would link to it but I don't really feel like it right now so you can look over there <----- to the left and click on the one that says "Wiser Time".

Enjoy.

Christmas gift cards and thoughts while walking...

2009-01-04T16:00:00.000-05:00

I got a lot of gift cards for Christmas this year. Normally, I am not a big fan of gift cards, but this year, I asked for them because I couldn't think of things I really needed this year for Christmas and was really in between clothes sizes (need to buy bigger sizes but I hope to lose weight instead, we'll see), so I asked for gift cards and iTunes cards. I got some great music (talk about that in a bit), a camera from the Best Buy cards I got from my brother, and this chair from Dick's from a card from my parents. It is a sturdy chair that folds up and should come in handy for overflow seating when I have folks over to watch football or other things, also for going to baseball or softball games for my niece and nephews and for tailgating or maybe camping (thought it is definitely not something to carry for a backpacking trip, maybe car camping or something). I like it and hope it holds up, it did come with a one year guarantee from Field and Stream if it doesn't hold up. Hope it lasts for more than one year though, lol.

Went for a walk this afternoon as part of my physical therapy on my ankles. Got some tightness in my legs, especially the right one, that seemed to threaten me not to try to run. But, hope it will improve. While walking, I listened to my iPod and some of the new songs I got with the aforementioned iTunes gift cards. One song was "Sheep go to Heaven" by Cake. Not sure if you are familiar with it, but I like the strange rhythm and odd beat of it. Anyway, one of the lines is something like "As soon as you're born you start dying, so you might as well get busy having fun." I think this is very true, but the question is, how do we best have fun? Some would say it is through wild partying, some say through getting in tune with nature, some say it is through getting rich and having the best toys. I believe God when he tells us in His Word "I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly" - John 10:10. If we are seeking "fun", the key is to realize that we will never have it so good and so full as when we give our life to God, follow His will and live in the blessings He gives back to us.

Thanks for reading...

New Year's "Goals"

2009-01-03T22:10:00.000-05:00

A friend, Jay Denton, and I have been working out since a few weeks before Christmas and we were talking about how crowded it would be the first Monday of the new year. Right now, nobody is there at 6 in the morning, but we're expecting a big crowd this Monday and for that to last for a few weeks to a couple of months. We'll see. I've made resolutions in the past and none stick. So I didn't make any resolutions last year. Sure enough, nothing really changed. So, this year, I am setting a few goals. Maybe, being goal oriented, thinking of them as goals will help me carry them out.

1. Read through the Bible this year. Got a reading plan, got a group that is reading through it for support and accountability, we'll see how it goes.

2. Lose 32 pounds. Seems odd, but I currently weigh 282 and want to get to 250 by December 31. I really just want to be healthy and think that leading a healthier lifestyle, will cause me to lose weight. I'll weigh each Sunday and keep you updated on the weight. I plan on working out 3 times a week before work and adding in some exercise like cycling (class at the Y or maybe buy a bike) and running in there, maybe some swimming, too. Maybe do some flatwater kayaking at the whitewater center some too.

3. Go on at least 12 hikes this year. I figure one time a month is not too much to shoot for. Was going today, but still recovering from a chest cold. Starting small though... Crowders Mountain (kind of a hill near Charlotte) will be the first.

4. Run a 5k race by the end of the year.

5. Visit some minor league ballparks in the area... Asheville, Chattanooga, Durham, Kinston, lot of good ones in the NC/SC/TN area.

I'll try to keep you updated on how it goes this year.

Maturity

2009-01-02T08:53:00.001-05:00

I got to work early and decided to read some message board chatter about the Clemson game yesterday... shocked at the lack of maturity and class shown by some "adults". There was a lot of animosity and name calling and making fun of Cullen Harper because of his play (which was not good), but also because of his looks and his mannerisms. I understand he said some very foolish things when Bowden resigned, but I guess I expected adults to act with more maturity. At a lot of places, fans turn on a player as soon as they outlive their usefulness to the team. Clemson has been different than that, often recognized as a different type of place by those that witness the atmosphere. I guess we are becoming more like everyone else now.

Note: I was very disappointed in Harper's play yesterday and upset with him. I was critical of his play. I hope I was able to restrain myself for personal shots. I wish him the best in his future and thank him for what he has done for Clemson during his time there as a back up and a starter.

Avett Brothers

2009-01-01T09:52:00.000-05:00

As I sit here semi-watching ESPN over hype college football, I have the pleasure of sharing with you some of the scenes from The Avett Brothers' concert I went to last night with five lovely ladies.

Yes, it is a

little blurry,

it's the picture, not them. Apparently I have the shakes... and it took me a while to find the "limit shake" option on my camera.

Auld Lang Syne (I think?) opened the evening... well, about all that can be said of them is that they used TWO recorders at one time. How often do you see a recorder in a band, much less two? You can see one in the woman's hands here, the other is being played by the guy on the far side and not seen here.

Then it was Jason Webley, who played guitar (until he broke it) and an accordion (not at the same time, obviously). He was a very spirited young lad from Seattle that did a lot of dancing/stomping around on a raised platform that amplified the sound such that it was part of the music. Very fun stuff.

Then came the main event and I don't want to try to describe a lot of it as that would just take away from it. I'll just say that the band played guitar, banjo, upright bass, cello, drums and a piano. How could they not be good?

I hate allergies, and physical therapists are not high on my list, either.

2008-12-29T21:28:00.000-05:00

An evening with friends cut short by cat allergies... and the place was spotless. I guess you just can't get rid of dander (whatever it is, my body doesn't like it and I now have a big headache and a minor asthma attack).

My physical therapist, for my ankles, was pretty cool the first time I went. Nice guy, walking me through stretches and exercises to help my ankles. Now he is just being a jerk. Thought my ankles were on fire this morning when I finished. Yikes.

Random...

2008-12-28T15:26:00.000-05:00

Read an article in Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine talking about how there was less and less snow every year, due to global warming. This is just shortly after hearing a scientist talk about increased snow fall across the globe and lower winter temperatures being signs of global warming... I'm confused, are we killing the planet by raising the temperatures, killing the planet by lowering temperatures or witnessing the normal cyclical patterns in global weather that have been recorded in the past?

I would define myself as a conservationalist but not an environmentalist. I am a bigger fan of Aldo Leopold than Al Gore (at least Leopold wrote about nature and preserving it and didn't stage any scenes to try to prove a point he had no proof of, ahem).

Why does ham taste so much better when it is cooked up in a frying pan than just eaten cooked?

Could Miami have mismanaged the end of the game any worse in the Emerald Bowl last night? They played the final two minutes like they thought it was the final two minutes of the third quarter.

And because I have been told I am supposed to care about ACC football teams and their success... the bowl tally is now at 2-2 with Wake beating Navy, FSU beating Wisconsin, UNC losing to WVU and Miami losing to California.

Actual conversation overheard at lunch...

2008-12-27T14:38:00.000-05:00

Man, "What are your plans for this afternoon?"

Woman: "We're going to watch Carolina game." (game is at 1, this is 1:10)

"They have a game?" (yes, they are playing in the bowl game HERE in Charlotte)

"Yes, playing WVU here in town." (point for knowing they who and where they are playing)

"Didn't know that." (that baby blue sweater doesn't make you a fan, you need to actually follow the team or know the schedule at a minimum)

"Yes, not sure why they are playing here in Charlotte (???), but must be playing at Time Warner Arena (???, this is the basketball arena)."

Oh well, I realize this is an isolated incident, but this is the culture of UNC football. Many "fans" don't go to the bowl game when it is in their town. Heck, some of them don't even appear to know when their team is actually playing. I'm thinking Butch Davis is going to be moving on if he has some success there. Football coaches that are successful really like to have great fan support, not folks that don't even know when the team is playing or that leave the football game in droves for the basketball intra-squad scrimmage during a successful season (I saw this gem myself back in the early 90s the last time they had a good coach).

Third time is the charm...

2008-12-27T14:00:00.000-05:00

I've tried blogging twice before and soon quit each time. I think because I tried to write things other people wanted to read. Of course, I have no idea what that is and so I intend to use this to chronicle events in my life and if others want to read it... great. I did use some gift cards to get a camera today, so I'll be adding some photos to this blog and be able to remember my stories a little better. I'd post a photo of said camera but two things are standing in the way... I have to charge the battery and it is going to be interesting to take a picture of a camera with that camera...