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T h u r s d a y , M a r c h 3 0 t h
9:18PM | Things That Come With Spring
hese past two weeks I have been introduced to Indian food, having gone to three different Indian restaurants a total of four times. I've tasted such dishes as vegetable samosa, fried idlies, onion pakodas, masala dosai, tandoori chicken, various tasty rices (such as lemon rice), naan, chicken saagwala, anda curry, and mutton rogan ghosh. First I tried Spice and Curry, then Suchi, and today I lunched at The Tower Vegetarian Restaurant. I am by no means vegetarian, but as vegetarianism is common among Hindu Indians all-veg meals are common Indian cuisine. Indian food is, in general, not as spicy as some would boast and others would surmise - though the chiken marsala, butter chicken, and other chicken dishes can get rather hot. I was favorably impressed with this assortment of new tastes, but can't really say I have a favorite among these three Indian restaurants so far (and there are more around here).
One of my favorite times of year is coming up, the vernal equinox. A loss of one hour of sleep is a worthy price to pay for the blessing of daylight hours extending into the late evening. With the warmer weather (right now it is like a mild version of a desert: hot in the day and chilly at night) 20 or so of us at work have begun playing basketball during lunch on Wednesdays at the park just down the street from the office. By the end of the second game, I was doing more walking than running, losing my chief asset: quickness. What I hope to gain from this weekly exercise is increased endurance, helping revive my leg strength and running endurance, and learning to move better with the ball since I have always been more of a catch-and-shoot kind of player.
Other exciting things coming up are topped off by the advent of the baseball season. Spring training will be giving way to Opening Day and meaningful games in a week's time, and in addition to closely following Major League action and managing my fantasy baseball team, I hope to catch several games for the local Triple-A Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Devil Rays affiliate) where top prospect Delmon Young will start the season, and the Carolina Mudcats (Double-A Florida Marlins affiliate). Marquee players and top prospects such as Dontrelle Willis, B.J. Upton, and Delmon Young have passed through or are passing through these venues on their way to the big leagues.
5:30PM | Effectiveness Of Prayer
n a study of heart patients, to determine whether those who are prayed for by strangers fare better, scientists have concluded that God does not really help those who are prayed for any more than those who are not prayed for. Praying does not affect these patients, and if anything only makes things worse, as more of the patients who were prayed for developed other complications. So scientists have not only put God to the test, but they presume that he can be studied like a lab rat.
W e d n e s d a y , M a r c h 2 9 t h
8:52AM | Sermon Audio
ellow congregant Shelley Duchemin has posted the audio file of Doug Wilson's sermon preached at our church this past Sunday to the Christ Church NC website's sermons page. The sermon is entitled "Reformation and Backbone". It was good to hear Doug preach again.
T u e s d a y , M a r c h 2 8 t h
10:09PM | Does This Count?
s you can undoubtedly see, I haven't had much to blog about lately (and I've been busy), and since the same remains true at this moment, I will post something easy that is not really a blog entry, and yet is: another small playlist sampling the music that I am listening to, and that I think you should give a listen to and learn to like. Here is my first interactive animated 3D object for the web... simple, but it's kind of like getting my first paycheck. Also, read about the college student who spent 41 straight hours wandering around in a Wal-Mart as part of self-inflicted project.
Song/Artist
1. Put It Off - Pulse Ultra
2. Cold (But I'm Still Here) - Evans Blue
3. Closer - Burn Season
4. Save Me - Shinedown
5. This Is A Call - Thousand Foot Krutch
6. Paper Thin Hymn - Anberlie
7. Bohemian Like You - The Dandy warhols
8. Bat Country - Avenged Sevenfold
9. Butterflies And Hurricanes - Muse
10. In Church - M83
11. To Love Somebody - Bronski Beat & Jimmy Somerville
12. Longing - Karsh Kale
13. So Cold The Night - The Communards
S u n d a y , M a r c h 2 6 t h
10:36PM | Returning Fire
oug Wilson was in town this weekend, and preached here on Sunday. One of the things he said was that the devil does not attack everyone to cause them to sin, but oftentimes he leaves them alone and they will still sin anyway: perhaps they have already fallen to a particular secret sin and are not really resisting: why bother attacking them because they are already double-minded or at risk of falling away. Doug said that Satan knows how to return fire, and that when we are resisting temptation as we should, it is then that the devil attacks us. Are you facing trials, mockery, hatred, false accusations, or persecution?
W e d n e s d a y , M a r c h 2 2 n d
9:52AM | Persecution
n Afghan man is facing execution for converting from Islam to Christianity, a capital crime in Afghanistan. However, the Afghan government appears to be trying desperately to find a way to put away the trial due to the negative attention it is causing.
M o n d a y , M a r c h 2 0 t h
8:31PM | Running, Laughing, Animating
will not say that "one day I will run in a marathon if it's the last thing I do" because it just might be the last thing I do. So it was for two runners in the Los Angeles Marathon: one died from a heart attack 3 miles into the 26.2 mile race, and the other died less than three miles from the finish. I'd be one to die only three miles into the race.
Jerry Seinfeld was in town giving a live performance at a comedy club. My employer was raffling off tickets to four winners, and unfortunately I was not one of the joyful recipients. I would love to see Seinfeld in person. Maybe next time.
Right now in my advanced internet multimedia class, I am learning something that very much interests me, even if it is too deep to grasp in a few sittings. This class has me modeling, rendering, adding visual effects to, and animating 3D objects. I probably would not endure the monotony and excruciating detail of 3D modelling for a movie production, were I ever to attain such a skill level, but I hope to utilize 3D in more modest projects optimized for the web.
T h u r s d a y , M a r c h 1 6 t h
7:16PM | Sports Info
f you to watch college basketball's March Madness live, but do not have cable or are stuck at work, CBS Sportsline is providing free online video of all NCAA tournament games. Don't be discouraged when you register and launch the video player... a lot of people are trying to access the website so you may have to wait a couple minutes. When I first logged on, I was person #170 in line to access the games, but within five minutes an opening was found for me. I am watching the Gonazaga vs. Xavier game and the United States vs. Mexico World Baseball Classic game at the same time over my computer, and both are coming in crisp and clear, even full screen for the baseball game.
The fantasy baseball league that I am participating in for the fourth straight year held its draft last Saturday. While I did not travel down to Monroe for the draft this year, it was still fun. This is a 12-team head-to-head keeper league: nine tier-based keepers heading into the draft, and sixteen more players drafted to round out the roster at 25 players.
S u n d a y , M a r c h 1 2 t h
12:00PM | Warring Season
he year seems to have given spring a pass and jumped straight from winter into summer. I am liking it: plenty of sunshine, open windows, mild nights, and not many bugs yet.
Speaking of bugs, I engaged in my first major creepy-critter slaying of the year. In this ongoing war, I have the advantage of possessing two powerful artifacts: the Impregnable Shoe and the Dustpan of Valor, the latter of which I prefer because with it I can in two or three (or four or five, depending on the ruggedness of the critter) fluid motions smash, scoop, and dump. With the Dustpan of Valor, I have a reusable weapon - unlike when I use a tissue, which cannot be reused and should be saved for other engagements such as purging the nose of its transient residents.
It is another beautiful day, so I will now avail myself of its enchantments.
S a t u r d a y , M a r c h 1 1 t h
11:41AM | More Than A Season
ent, the forty days (excluding Sundays) leading up to Easter, marks a participation in Christ's forty days of fasting and resisting temptation in the wilderness (Mat. 4:1-11) and a purification leading up to the Sunday especially set aside for celebration of Christ's resurrection. While Jesus was tested throughout his forty days in the wilderness, it is important also to note that this testing continued at the conclusion of those forty days (Mat. 4:2-3), and this testing continued throughout the Messiah's life (e.g. Gethsemane, see also Heb. 2:18). Likewise, when we give up something for Lent for our physical or spiritual well-being or purification, we should be ready to make the same commitment throughout the year. The forty days of Lent are not intended to be just a special time of abstinence, and after forty days you are done. Rather, it is intended to be a period of training and preparation to apply the same discipline to your life beyond those forty days. Like New Year's and its resolutions, Lent should also put us in remembrance of these things and what we want to purge from our lives or add to our lives. As such, I think when choosing something to abstain from for Lent, it should be something that either was sinful or something that without which you will be healthier or a more productive member of the Kingdom. Or, alternatively, the addition of something to your life that will enrich its worshipful or healthy quality.
T h u r s d a y , M a r c h 9 t h
10:15PM | Forgiven
do not always easily "forgive and forget", and one of the hardest aspects of Christian faith, for me, is to believe that God really does. Considering the seeming magnitude and innumerable quantity of my offenses against God, and my willful disobedience of what I know He requires, and all this given back in return for the undeserved, condescending mercies and blessings that He showers upon me... I have a hard time grasping what should be a wonderful and joyous truth, and, compounding my sin, sometimes I doubt that He forgives and forgets. But when one of God's people repents, the Lord forgives, punishes, and cleanses - the sin is not held to our account.
One of the most resonant Scripture proofs of God's complete forgiveness is the record of what happens after David married Bathsheba, and his first child by her dies. Because David committed adultery, had Bathsheba's husband murdered to cover up his sin, and took Bathsheba for himself, God announced His judgment through Nathan the prophet, declaring that the son born of Bathsheba would die. David's merciless and compounded sin greatly displeased the Lord (2 Samuel 11:27). When Nathan spoke to David, David repented (2 Samuel 12:13). After David repented and the Lord punished David through the death of his son, the Lord then did something remarkable: He continued the Davidic line through Bathsheba, rather than one of David's other wives, so that Bathsheba's next son, Solomon, was not only a direct ancestor of Jesus (Matthew 1:6ff), but he was especially loved by the Lord (2 Sam. 2:25) and endowed with greater wisdom than any man had ever had. David would still suffer the repercussions of his sin of adultery (e.g. Amnon and Absalom), but God blessed David with the great blessing of a son who would be a rise ruler, build an earthly house for the Lord, and continue the line leading up to the Messiah's birth. Praise the Lord!
9:59PM | Favorable Profile
he Christian Broadcasting Network's (CBN) 700 Club gushingly features an overview of classical Christian education, presenting Logos School and New St. Andrews College.
HT: Joffre
Saturday, March 25, Pastor Douglas Wilson will be in Cary providing a series of talks on "Loving the Brethren: Living in Community with Fellow Believers". Registration information can be found on Christ Church NC's website.
10:32AM | Tyco Animal
he outskirts of Raleigh are somewhat astir concerning a mystery creature that was spotted and continues to be seen on the Tyco Corporation's campus in Fuquay-Varina. Dubbed the "Tyco Animal", it looks part-deer, part-kangaroo, part-fox - but despite several people weighing in, including vets, biologists, and hunters, there is no positive identification concerning what it is. Similar creatures have been spotted in the southeastern United States, and a similar mystery animal in Maryland was once captured and identified as a hairless Samson Fox.
Personally, this reminds me of last year's incident in Elmendorf, Texas (story and photos here, here, here, and here). A farmer killed a strange hairless fanged animal that was killing his chickens. Cryptozoologists eagerly surmised that this might be a chupacabra, a mythical dog-like creature that stealthily roam sat night and sucks the blood from goats in a vampire fashion. Just like with the Elmendorf animal, I think that it looks like a hairless dog of the jackal family.
I hope someone live-traps this animal, and I'd be interested to find out if it has fangs similar to the Elmendorf creature. Employees at Tyco have posted various photos and video of the Tyco Animal online, some of which show the creature running/leaping like a deer.
W e d n e s d a y , M a r c h 8 t h
8:11PM | Hellos And Farewells
he warm weather is welcome, and with it comes basketball. I started shooting last weekend and was surprised to find that I had my shot back, and will begin playing pickup games at work and elsewhere. There are two plays in basketball that I like about as much as seeing someone dunk, and those are a blocked shot and a solid rebound. That may be because those aren't my specialty, so I admire seeing them well done. If 5'9" (bogus) slam dunk champion Nate Robinson can get up there and throw it down, why shouldn't I be able to?
I really miss Photoshop. Fireworks just doesn't cut it for custom web graphics. Photoshop currently resides on my 8-year old secondary desktop, from which I am unable to transfer it, and upon which it cannot really run anymore because the computer is so slow. Maybe $1200 from next year's bonus check can go to the Adobe design suite, and I can get back to creating graphics and resurrecting latent skills.
Despite the artistic hit I thus endure, I am still designing "stuff" - thanks to work and college classes. At work I have created a handsome website for customers of a certain product of ours, and phase one has been submitted for approval. For school, I am creating Flash-based applications and web multimedia. I tried posting some of that here but: 1)the files are too large for hosting on Geocities and 2)the Geocities ads cause problems. I still need to purchase my own web space, but I am slow at motivating myself to do the simplest things. Like submit my tax returns. My tax returns (both state and federal), were completed online almost a month ago, but I have not felt like printing them out and pressing "Submit". Perhaps I am loathe to touch anything having to do with the IRS after I found out that I owed an additional $800+ for 2004's return.
My tenure in this apartment is the longest in which I've maintained residence in a single place since living on my own, and like all good things it is about to come to an end. I'm going to move somewhere that boasts a fireplace and built-in bookshelves. I'll get on that right now...
S a t u r d a y , M a r c h 4 t h
10:12PM | Forty Days
ince the point of Lent is to do something transforming your life, which involves not only giving up something but also adding something beneficial to your spiritual life, I am celebrating the 40 days of Lent by adding a spiritual study to my life called The 40 Days of Purpose. Just kidding.
Penitential Prayer of St. Augustine of Hippo
O Lord,
The house of my soul is narrow;
enlarge it that you may enter in.
It is ruinous, O repair it!
It displeases Your sight.
I confess it, I know.
But who shall cleanse it,
to whom shall I cry but to you?
Cleanse me from my secret faults, O Lord,
and spare Your servant from strange sins.
T h u r s d a y , M a r c h 2 n d
10:14PM | Shark Spies
f this technology was perfected and implanted into human brains, someone wealthy enough could create an army that would unquestioningly bend to their will.
I'm busy as dammit with work and classwork, but at least it is spring-like outside. Additionally, something to be happy about is the start of spring training, which saw preseason baseball games commence yesterday.
W e d n e s d a y , M a r c h 1 s t
10:32PM | Representing Deutschland
n ESPN tonight, somewhere around the end of the Florida State vs. Duke basketball game and the Sixers/Rockets game, I saw for the first time one of the commercials in the Volkswagen Golf GTI "Un-Pimp Your Ride" series. I thought it was great, so I went to Youtube to view them all. They're really funny. The whole point is to make fun of the "Pimp Your Ride" culture, as you can see for yourself by viewing them through the links below...
VW Un-Pimp Your Ride 1: What Time Is It
VW Un-Pimp Your Ride 2: Drop It Like It's Hot
VW Un-Pimp Your Ride 3: Sucking
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