If they're both up to it, I'd love to hear what my cousin Ken and friend Kenny think of Mike Huckabee. They had an interesting discussion about Mitt Romney earlier, and I'm going to milk these guys for opinions on as many candidates as they'll give me.
Remember, Nevada voters - the presidential caucus process happens in mid-January this year. That's just a month away.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Entropy
Life takes work. If we want to sit back and go with the flow, chaos will follow as night follows day. If we are not striving to go forward, we will go backward. This lesson was driven home to me in the past month as I grew sick of the state of the apartment I share with a friend of mine.
We've lived together amicably for years, in part because we're both generally carefree people. But two carefree bachelors is not a recipe for an apartment you'd care to show your mother... or anyone else, for that matter. It took rather a lot to get us to clean, and even that was usually to address a given problem, like your shoes coming off your feet when they stick to the kitchen floor.
I was talking about the layout of my apartment with a friend about a month ago, who said something to the effect of "I'd like to see it sometime." I demurred, speaking of what happens when two bachelors are living together but the frank truth is that the thought horrified me. I've had people see the apartment in an un-dressed-up state, and it actually shocked them. And I was ashamed of it.
With that thought in my head for some time, I decided I no longer wanted to be ashamed of the place I lived. I started with the living room - using a carpet cleaner we've had lying dormant in our laundry room to suck some of the dirt out of the carpet, picking up the various knick-knacks that had accumulated in the corners, and tidying up. I took out several loads of trash, over a hundred pounds of years-old newspapers, piled my roommate's stuff in the hall, and banished mine to my room. I cleared off a table in our entryway, originally meant as a place for keys and such, but which followed the rule of every flat surface in the house (it accumulates junk). When the guys came over that Friday, that alone made a significant impact.
Following that, I hit my bathroom and the laundry room. Though my bathroom is attached to my room and my roommate's is probably "meant" to serve as the guest bathroom, I had decided to only deal with the things I either exclusively used, or which I shared with him. And I wanted a clean bathroom for any guests to use. This meant cleaning beard trimmings from the counter, banishing unopened mail to my bedroom, emptying still more trash, putting away various chargers scattered on the sink, cleaning the mirrors, and scraping some old candle wax off the counter. The laundry room involved... still more trash, namely old boxes of detergent, lint, bottles, and more. I organized the shelf above the washer and dryer, took everything littering the top of the dryer to a better home, and scrubbed what I think was an old soap spill that had gotten wet and re-dried off the floor.
The next weekend I moved on to my room. I got started on my laundry, which had served as an improvised carpet in my room so long the color of the carpet was noticeably different from other parts of the apartment. I took out several more loads of trash, and picked up everything off the floor. This is still a work in progress, as it's the repository for anything that I have to clean up from the other rooms. But the floor is clean, my laundry is all (1) on my body, (2) in my hamper, (3) folded in my dresser, or (4) hanging in the closet.
The kitchen got done this last weekend. The sink and counters were scrubbed, and I followed up on some work my roommate had done on the microwave and stove. It isn't perfect, but it's vastly improved.
For perhaps the first time in years, I could vacuum the whole living room, my side of the hallway, and my room with less than 5 minutes tidying up (as I did on Sunday). I can walk around without stepping on anything. And I could have people over without apologizing for the state of the apartment (well, except for the pile of my roommate's stuff in the hall... but there are extenuating circumstances in his life right now).
But it takes work. Every day when I come home, instead of collapsing, I have to tidy up. re-folding blankets that have been used. Putting away food that was taken out. Putting the TV remote back on the coffee table. But I know that if I don't spend those 10 minutes tidying up, they will build into a month-long all-encompassing monster that devours a month's worth of days off.
Maintaining the place is a daily task, and one that must be addressed or it will only get worse. When I got home tonight, the dishwasher was still full of clean dishes from the day before. because it was full, the dirty dishes were piling up on the counter and in the sink. If I don't take the trash out when it fills up, trash will just get left on the counters. It's the little things that start to pile up, until you find yourself hurling a discarded pizza box into the "trash pile" in the corner of the kitchen that is composed of half-filled bags of trash, empty soda boxes, and things you were too lazy to dispose of properly the days and weeks before (true story).
But because of that little daily effort, I'm no longer ashamed to have people see the apartment. And that is a good feeling.
We've lived together amicably for years, in part because we're both generally carefree people. But two carefree bachelors is not a recipe for an apartment you'd care to show your mother... or anyone else, for that matter. It took rather a lot to get us to clean, and even that was usually to address a given problem, like your shoes coming off your feet when they stick to the kitchen floor.
I was talking about the layout of my apartment with a friend about a month ago, who said something to the effect of "I'd like to see it sometime." I demurred, speaking of what happens when two bachelors are living together but the frank truth is that the thought horrified me. I've had people see the apartment in an un-dressed-up state, and it actually shocked them. And I was ashamed of it.
With that thought in my head for some time, I decided I no longer wanted to be ashamed of the place I lived. I started with the living room - using a carpet cleaner we've had lying dormant in our laundry room to suck some of the dirt out of the carpet, picking up the various knick-knacks that had accumulated in the corners, and tidying up. I took out several loads of trash, over a hundred pounds of years-old newspapers, piled my roommate's stuff in the hall, and banished mine to my room. I cleared off a table in our entryway, originally meant as a place for keys and such, but which followed the rule of every flat surface in the house (it accumulates junk). When the guys came over that Friday, that alone made a significant impact.
Following that, I hit my bathroom and the laundry room. Though my bathroom is attached to my room and my roommate's is probably "meant" to serve as the guest bathroom, I had decided to only deal with the things I either exclusively used, or which I shared with him. And I wanted a clean bathroom for any guests to use. This meant cleaning beard trimmings from the counter, banishing unopened mail to my bedroom, emptying still more trash, putting away various chargers scattered on the sink, cleaning the mirrors, and scraping some old candle wax off the counter. The laundry room involved... still more trash, namely old boxes of detergent, lint, bottles, and more. I organized the shelf above the washer and dryer, took everything littering the top of the dryer to a better home, and scrubbed what I think was an old soap spill that had gotten wet and re-dried off the floor.
The next weekend I moved on to my room. I got started on my laundry, which had served as an improvised carpet in my room so long the color of the carpet was noticeably different from other parts of the apartment. I took out several more loads of trash, and picked up everything off the floor. This is still a work in progress, as it's the repository for anything that I have to clean up from the other rooms. But the floor is clean, my laundry is all (1) on my body, (2) in my hamper, (3) folded in my dresser, or (4) hanging in the closet.
The kitchen got done this last weekend. The sink and counters were scrubbed, and I followed up on some work my roommate had done on the microwave and stove. It isn't perfect, but it's vastly improved.
For perhaps the first time in years, I could vacuum the whole living room, my side of the hallway, and my room with less than 5 minutes tidying up (as I did on Sunday). I can walk around without stepping on anything. And I could have people over without apologizing for the state of the apartment (well, except for the pile of my roommate's stuff in the hall... but there are extenuating circumstances in his life right now).
But it takes work. Every day when I come home, instead of collapsing, I have to tidy up. re-folding blankets that have been used. Putting away food that was taken out. Putting the TV remote back on the coffee table. But I know that if I don't spend those 10 minutes tidying up, they will build into a month-long all-encompassing monster that devours a month's worth of days off.
Maintaining the place is a daily task, and one that must be addressed or it will only get worse. When I got home tonight, the dishwasher was still full of clean dishes from the day before. because it was full, the dirty dishes were piling up on the counter and in the sink. If I don't take the trash out when it fills up, trash will just get left on the counters. It's the little things that start to pile up, until you find yourself hurling a discarded pizza box into the "trash pile" in the corner of the kitchen that is composed of half-filled bags of trash, empty soda boxes, and things you were too lazy to dispose of properly the days and weeks before (true story).
But because of that little daily effort, I'm no longer ashamed to have people see the apartment. And that is a good feeling.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Someday
Someday, we'll have honesty in political speech. Maybe. But it is not this day. In a glourious demonstration of "you can have your cake and eat it, too" speech, check the first two paragraphs in this article:
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- House Democrats on Thursday won passage of a wide-ranging energy bill that would require the first increase in automobile fuel-economy standards in decades. But the package faces a likely presidential veto due to provisions that repeal tax breaks for oil companies and require utilities to produce a large chunk of electric power from renewable sources.
"This legislation is not perfect ... However, when we pass this bill, we will be voting to strengthen our national security, lower energy costs, grow our economy and create new jobs, and begin to reduce global warming," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., ahead of the vote.
Consider:
-Changing Fuel Economy standards (by 2020, no less) won't reduce energy prices, or reduce Global Warming in any meaningful way (the UN says we need to make drastic changes by 2015 to prevent serious climate changes, and a standard in place by 2020 won't become mainsteam until 2030 because of the market in used cars... a market likely to grow once more expensive, efficient autos are the only new versions available).
- Raising taxes on oil companies will make gas more expensive, not "reduce energy prices."
- Requiring utilities to produce a large ammount of power (15%, I think) from renewable sources will make energy much more costly. The reason we don't use much renewable energy now is that... it's expensive. It's significantly more expensive than traditional fuels - especially without tax incentives - because it's less efficient.
-Strengthen National Security?! That statement should be laughed out of the room. When we reduce oil consumption, the losses will occur where drilling oil is expensive - like the U.S. - not where it is cheap, like the Middle East. This means lost jobs, and a larger % of our oil being foreign-based.
I don't have anything against renewable energy - I think it's a good idea. But this is a great example of costly bluster from Congress which will have negative, predictable consequences that no one in favor of the bill would dare to mention: in this case, substantively higher energy prices.
The easiest, clearest, most honest way to reduce global warming and oil consumption, while encouraging reasearch into alternative fuels is to make it (oil and/or energy) expensive. If these bills work at all, it's because they will cause that to happen.
Congress likes limits and mandates, because it requires no owning up to the damage they cause. That is cowardly, and shameful behavior.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- House Democrats on Thursday won passage of a wide-ranging energy bill that would require the first increase in automobile fuel-economy standards in decades. But the package faces a likely presidential veto due to provisions that repeal tax breaks for oil companies and require utilities to produce a large chunk of electric power from renewable sources.
"This legislation is not perfect ... However, when we pass this bill, we will be voting to strengthen our national security, lower energy costs, grow our economy and create new jobs, and begin to reduce global warming," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., ahead of the vote.
Consider:
-Changing Fuel Economy standards (by 2020, no less) won't reduce energy prices, or reduce Global Warming in any meaningful way (the UN says we need to make drastic changes by 2015 to prevent serious climate changes, and a standard in place by 2020 won't become mainsteam until 2030 because of the market in used cars... a market likely to grow once more expensive, efficient autos are the only new versions available).
- Raising taxes on oil companies will make gas more expensive, not "reduce energy prices."
- Requiring utilities to produce a large ammount of power (15%, I think) from renewable sources will make energy much more costly. The reason we don't use much renewable energy now is that... it's expensive. It's significantly more expensive than traditional fuels - especially without tax incentives - because it's less efficient.
-Strengthen National Security?! That statement should be laughed out of the room. When we reduce oil consumption, the losses will occur where drilling oil is expensive - like the U.S. - not where it is cheap, like the Middle East. This means lost jobs, and a larger % of our oil being foreign-based.
I don't have anything against renewable energy - I think it's a good idea. But this is a great example of costly bluster from Congress which will have negative, predictable consequences that no one in favor of the bill would dare to mention: in this case, substantively higher energy prices.
The easiest, clearest, most honest way to reduce global warming and oil consumption, while encouraging reasearch into alternative fuels is to make it (oil and/or energy) expensive. If these bills work at all, it's because they will cause that to happen.
Congress likes limits and mandates, because it requires no owning up to the damage they cause. That is cowardly, and shameful behavior.
A Tale of Two Kenneths
One is a cousin, and strongly conservative. One is a friend from school, and probably would call himself moderate or liberal. Both are lawyers. Both are bright guys. Both have now blogged about Mitt Romney. One loves him. One doesn't. Me? I think I'm somewhere in the middle.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
A Decade Later
I made a choice at one point to not blog about "Dave, the Heartbroke Guy" some time ago, as I was tired of sounding like a broken record. There comes a time when you have to let go of the past, or you get stuck in it forever... and the more I wrote about such things, the more I thought about them. Rather than serving as a release, it rather focused my thinking on such matters.
That said, it was 10 years ago tomorrow that I first was utterly heartbroken over a girl.
Why mention it? Mostly because, though I can vividly recall the pang of loss I felt on December 6, 1997... it doesn't really hurt anymore. I feel the echo of that hurt when I think about it, but I accepted - with time - that things were not as I had wished them.
Doubtless life would have been different without that heartbreak. For the last 10 years I've been on a path I neither imagined nor desired. It hasn't always (or even often) been easy, but it has given me experiences, opportunities, and even joys I would have missed had I been on the path I lost that day.
I admit, I sometimes wish things had been different. But what happened 10 years ago has, in its way, helped make me who I am today. And I think that on the whole, that change has been for the best. You can't be heartbroken without being broken. But out of being broken, though you can't see it at the time, comes the opportunity to be rebuilt better than before.
Sort of like the Bionic Man.
That said, it was 10 years ago tomorrow that I first was utterly heartbroken over a girl.
Why mention it? Mostly because, though I can vividly recall the pang of loss I felt on December 6, 1997... it doesn't really hurt anymore. I feel the echo of that hurt when I think about it, but I accepted - with time - that things were not as I had wished them.
Doubtless life would have been different without that heartbreak. For the last 10 years I've been on a path I neither imagined nor desired. It hasn't always (or even often) been easy, but it has given me experiences, opportunities, and even joys I would have missed had I been on the path I lost that day.
I admit, I sometimes wish things had been different. But what happened 10 years ago has, in its way, helped make me who I am today. And I think that on the whole, that change has been for the best. You can't be heartbroken without being broken. But out of being broken, though you can't see it at the time, comes the opportunity to be rebuilt better than before.
Sort of like the Bionic Man.
Communion
At Coram Deo, we do Communion in a free-form way, leaving it available to those who want to participate toward the end of the worship service. I prefer this, because when Communion is handed out and someone is talking right up until you are supposed to eat and drink, it makes it hard to reflect. I prefer to reflect, and I use the time as an occasion to remember. This is how I do it:
1) The Bread. We generally have either broken wafer crackers or pre-bought "communion bread." I prefer the wafers, because they bear more resemblance to the matza bread it represents. Specifically, it is not a uniform color, and it has small holes in it. As the bread is a representation of Jesus' body, this is an occasion to remember who was "pierced for our transgressions." I use this opportunity to confess as needed, break the piece of craker that I hold, as a reminder that Jesus' body was broken for me, and give thanks that my sins are, in fact, forgiven.
2) The Cup. Grape juice instead of wine. That's us. Jesus said that the cup represents the New Covenant in his blood. The applicable reference here is to Jeremiah 31:31, a promise of a new covenant with Israel, where God "will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it;" along with promises of a new intimacy with God. The cup, for me, is an occasion to remember this, to ask that God would continue to write his law on my heart - namely, to make me like Him from the inside out. The cup represents Jesus' blood - the offering which sealed this contract, and which makes it effective. That is quite an occasion for giving thanks, as well.
Both are an occasion to remember Jesus. I have found this the most effective way for me to do so.
1) The Bread. We generally have either broken wafer crackers or pre-bought "communion bread." I prefer the wafers, because they bear more resemblance to the matza bread it represents. Specifically, it is not a uniform color, and it has small holes in it. As the bread is a representation of Jesus' body, this is an occasion to remember who was "pierced for our transgressions." I use this opportunity to confess as needed, break the piece of craker that I hold, as a reminder that Jesus' body was broken for me, and give thanks that my sins are, in fact, forgiven.
2) The Cup. Grape juice instead of wine. That's us. Jesus said that the cup represents the New Covenant in his blood. The applicable reference here is to Jeremiah 31:31, a promise of a new covenant with Israel, where God "will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it;" along with promises of a new intimacy with God. The cup, for me, is an occasion to remember this, to ask that God would continue to write his law on my heart - namely, to make me like Him from the inside out. The cup represents Jesus' blood - the offering which sealed this contract, and which makes it effective. That is quite an occasion for giving thanks, as well.
Both are an occasion to remember Jesus. I have found this the most effective way for me to do so.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
The Golden Compass
Surely you've heard of this upcoming movie. It's a fantasy epic, in the fashion of the Chrinicles of Narnia, but based on books that have a drumbeat of agnosticism and atheism, instead of C.S. Lewis's Christianity. Like with Narnia, the first book was made into a movie, coming out soon.
Here's what I think:
A lot of Christian groups are up in arms about "a deliberate attempt to push atheism and agnosticism on an unsuspecting crowd." The religious beliefs of the author are a primary concern for these groups. But if the "subversive" nature of this is your primary concern, then I can't agree with you.
Not because those motives aren't there on the part of the author (though watered down, he was disgusted by Lewis's overtly Christian Narnia stories). But because the same thing happened in reverse with the Chronicles of Narnia, movie-wise.
I don't believe the studios are pushing a message. I think they're scouring for any epics they can after the success of "The Lord of the Rings" and churning them into movies simply, purely, to make a profit. In recent years, we've had Troy, Narnia, Beowulf, and many others.
If you want to make the argument that there is an agenda, you have to consider the whole body of work. Given Narnia, et al, I don't think you can do that. If your argument is about the means (how dare they try to trick the young), then you can't change your mind just because you agree with the content. You can't call Narnia just a "good story" and then call this movie an insidious plot. Either both were a plot (Disney vs. New Line -- Good vs. Evil... but New Line also made LOTR, so this gets real confusing), or neither was. Personally, I'm inclined to go with #2.
Here's what I think:
A lot of Christian groups are up in arms about "a deliberate attempt to push atheism and agnosticism on an unsuspecting crowd." The religious beliefs of the author are a primary concern for these groups. But if the "subversive" nature of this is your primary concern, then I can't agree with you.
Not because those motives aren't there on the part of the author (though watered down, he was disgusted by Lewis's overtly Christian Narnia stories). But because the same thing happened in reverse with the Chronicles of Narnia, movie-wise.
I don't believe the studios are pushing a message. I think they're scouring for any epics they can after the success of "The Lord of the Rings" and churning them into movies simply, purely, to make a profit. In recent years, we've had Troy, Narnia, Beowulf, and many others.
If you want to make the argument that there is an agenda, you have to consider the whole body of work. Given Narnia, et al, I don't think you can do that. If your argument is about the means (how dare they try to trick the young), then you can't change your mind just because you agree with the content. You can't call Narnia just a "good story" and then call this movie an insidious plot. Either both were a plot (Disney vs. New Line -- Good vs. Evil... but New Line also made LOTR, so this gets real confusing), or neither was. Personally, I'm inclined to go with #2.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Seriously?
With all due respect to my relatives who support the school, BYU is saying some downright false and hypocritical things about Nevada when it comes to football scheduling. Read how the story is spun from the Cougar Perspective, then consider the following:
1) BYU and Nevada played in 2001 and 2002, as a part of a 3-game series (2-for-1, with 2 games in Provo and 1 in Reno).
2) In 2003 AND 2004, BYU asked Nevada to push back the date for the third game to accomodate their scheduling needs.
3) Beginning in 2005, continuing in 2006, and ending in 2007, Nevada asked to move the 2008 game to accomodate its own schedule. (Nevada was able to secure a 1-for-1 arrangement with Missouri and Texas Tech, but the 2008 Schedule was left with @ UNLV, @ Missouri, and home vs. Texas Tech... so another road game @ BYU was not a good idea in 2008).
4) BYU is now claiming that this was a surprise move, foisted on them at the last minute by the nefarious folks in Reno. That it's a breach of contract, and that they will seek to recover damages. Never mind that earlier postponements by BYU were done with shorter notice with similar effects to Nevada's schedule.
Is this not dishonest and hypocritical behavior?
1) BYU and Nevada played in 2001 and 2002, as a part of a 3-game series (2-for-1, with 2 games in Provo and 1 in Reno).
2) In 2003 AND 2004, BYU asked Nevada to push back the date for the third game to accomodate their scheduling needs.
3) Beginning in 2005, continuing in 2006, and ending in 2007, Nevada asked to move the 2008 game to accomodate its own schedule. (Nevada was able to secure a 1-for-1 arrangement with Missouri and Texas Tech, but the 2008 Schedule was left with @ UNLV, @ Missouri, and home vs. Texas Tech... so another road game @ BYU was not a good idea in 2008).
4) BYU is now claiming that this was a surprise move, foisted on them at the last minute by the nefarious folks in Reno. That it's a breach of contract, and that they will seek to recover damages. Never mind that earlier postponements by BYU were done with shorter notice with similar effects to Nevada's schedule.
Is this not dishonest and hypocritical behavior?
Admit it
You waste time online, playing games, or doing... well, anything but working.
There's a website that tests your vocabulary. For every 3 words you get right, you move up a level and get harder words. For EVERY word you get right, the site uses the advertising revenue to buy 20 grains of rice.
A nifty concept. Check out FreeRice.com
Oh, and my high vocal score is 44. Evidently, it's very tough, and almost impossible, to move above 48. There's 50 levels total.
There's a website that tests your vocabulary. For every 3 words you get right, you move up a level and get harder words. For EVERY word you get right, the site uses the advertising revenue to buy 20 grains of rice.
A nifty concept. Check out FreeRice.com
Oh, and my high vocal score is 44. Evidently, it's very tough, and almost impossible, to move above 48. There's 50 levels total.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
If anyone takes from you...
The good news at the final football game of the season was that we won, and became bowl eligible. The bad news was that a Wolf Pack flag my sister had given me as a birthday present last year was stolen by (presumably) the people sitting behind us. It's a bummer because any time people feel compelled to steal from someone else it's disappointing, and because as a gift from my sister (one she was exceptionally proud of, too) it has sentimental value.
But in the end, it's a thing, and the people that took it are beings made in God's image. What's done is done, and getting upset about it won't get it back. But what's more, I don't want to be angry with those who took it, because it only serves to harm me. "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?" I can choose to regard those who took my possession in love. It won't get it back. It won't be a witness to them, as they were gone by the time we realized the disappearance. But I choose it, because it's better than the alternative. In this case, the practical application is that I forgive them.
My reward? I don't get all bent out of shape inside. I don't get left with nothing but my own bitterness to chew on. And I feel good about it.
But in the end, it's a thing, and the people that took it are beings made in God's image. What's done is done, and getting upset about it won't get it back. But what's more, I don't want to be angry with those who took it, because it only serves to harm me. "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?" I can choose to regard those who took my possession in love. It won't get it back. It won't be a witness to them, as they were gone by the time we realized the disappearance. But I choose it, because it's better than the alternative. In this case, the practical application is that I forgive them.
My reward? I don't get all bent out of shape inside. I don't get left with nothing but my own bitterness to chew on. And I feel good about it.
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