Thursday, July 31, 2008
you know you want it
we saw this on the side of a trailer in the wal-mart parking lot here in brenham. "beef - it's what's for dessert."
Sunday, July 27, 2008
childhood seduction
here's a video of my neice, layla, trying to flirt with gabriele's godson, harrison.
Layla at Andy's Wedding
apparently harry bear was so entranced he didn't know how to respond.
Layla at Andy's Wedding
apparently harry bear was so entranced he didn't know how to respond.
Monday, July 21, 2008
i'm a nazbeen
for any of you who may not already know, i was raised in the church of the nazarene (CotN) for most of my life, and in fact, a look into my lineage reveals a long-standing heritage with the CotN for several generations. and, being the good little nazarene that i was, i began my college career by majoring in religion & theology at southern nazarene university. of course, i graduated with a degree in psychology, and have long joked that "once i found god, i became a psych major." i suppose there is a great amount of truth in that joke...
anyway, in facebook world i am a faithful member of a group called "Nazbeens." to quote the group page, it's "a group for facebook members who grew up in the Nazarene faith and have since left it (often due to ignorance or lack of gravitas in the church)." there's all kinds church- and denomination-related dry humor there, as well as interesting stories of how we all became nazbeens. we have 61 members, including several faculty members (past & present) and multiple individuals who are currently in the mission field.
as i was deciding what to post here, i came across a blog post by a good friend of mine, Dr. T. Scott Daniels. in one way or another, scott has had a significant impact on the development of my conceptualization of christ and the church. and in his post, i think he is quite accurate in his view of what we nazbeens have experienced. for simplicity, i have quoted his post here, in SNU crimson storm technicolor:
anyway, in facebook world i am a faithful member of a group called "Nazbeens." to quote the group page, it's "a group for facebook members who grew up in the Nazarene faith and have since left it (often due to ignorance or lack of gravitas in the church)." there's all kinds church- and denomination-related dry humor there, as well as interesting stories of how we all became nazbeens. we have 61 members, including several faculty members (past & present) and multiple individuals who are currently in the mission field.
as i was deciding what to post here, i came across a blog post by a good friend of mine, Dr. T. Scott Daniels. in one way or another, scott has had a significant impact on the development of my conceptualization of christ and the church. and in his post, i think he is quite accurate in his view of what we nazbeens have experienced. for simplicity, i have quoted his post here, in SNU crimson storm technicolor:
The Naz-beens: Funny and Depressing
A former student of mine sent me the following link today - http://www.cafepress.com/nazbeens
It is a link for the "Coterie of the Nazbeens" - translated as an organization for "those who grew up in the Nazarene faith and have since left it (often due to ignorance or a lack of gravitas in the church)." The site offers a line of apparel, housewares, and buttons for all Nazbeens (I assume it is pronounced like Has-Beens).
I cracked up at the marvelous creativity it takes to come up with this stuff. At the same time I continue to weep over the drain of intelligence, commitment, and passion for transformation that is taking place as we lose a generation or more.
I believe we are losing them because we have given them a non-fundamentalist heritage of intelligent wrestling with the questions of faith and a passion to see the poor and broken transformed by the universal grace of God - but we have stopped living out that heritage ourselves. So although many of our young people have left the church to pursue secularism or sensualism, I believe many more have left as a faithful response to the gospel we have given them.
Although this may sound strange, I am proud of those who have left as a response to Christian faithfulness. I wish all of you were still here in the denomination fighting it out and helping her to re-tradition herself, but I understand why the desire to pursue God's call would lead you elsewhere. Keep the passionate faith of Christ embodied in Wesley and Bresee alive. As soon as the rest of us quit majoring in the minors we'll come and join you.
canadian gambling
i'm not a big gambler (well, except for poker...and the occasional lottery ticket...and march madness brackets), but i am diligent in following through with the surveys listed on receipts at places like walgreens, walmart, target, chili's, taco bell, etc. i figure, hey, if i'm gonna give them my money, i might as well try to win some of it back, ya know?
anyway, i just filled one out for chili's, and upon reading the sweepstakes rules, i came across the following line:
If a potential winner is a Canadian resident, such person must correctly answer a mathematical skill-testing question prior to awarding of prize.
weird, huh? those crazy canucks make their citizens pony up some math skills before they can win money. here's the link if you want to read the rest.
anyway, i just filled one out for chili's, and upon reading the sweepstakes rules, i came across the following line:
If a potential winner is a Canadian resident, such person must correctly answer a mathematical skill-testing question prior to awarding of prize.
weird, huh? those crazy canucks make their citizens pony up some math skills before they can win money. here's the link if you want to read the rest.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
marriage manifesto [repost]
i thought it appropriate to repost something i wrote over a year ago, before i started dating my wife.
In a word, reciprocal. I want a marriage that is an equal yoking of two individuals, each who give 100% effort and contribution to the relationship. I want to be able to talk to the other person on the same level about things that are important to each of us. I want to use language that is fluid and fluent to each of us, that we can both say exactly what we feel and mean and can convey that to the other person with minimal distortion. I want a relationship built on the cornerstone of empathy, on giving the other person the benefit of the doubt before passing judgment on their motives or their action. Where both people strive to understand the other person and not simply press to be understood. I want to listen to my spouse's concerns and hopes and dreams - and for her to listen to mine as well. To really hear what I'm saying, picking up on and understanding the underlying emotions that fuel my fire in life. I want equality in purpose and drive. I want to not feel like we are competing for justice or love or time. I want openness and honesty and trust from both sides, so that each person feels completely, 100% able to say what they feel about a situation - to express their deepest fears w/o ridicule, to be transparent and vulnerable without fearing the other person will fail to acknowledge (or worse, trample upon) their heart. I want passion in the relationship, in making daily efforts to understand the other person and what goes in to making them who they are. A passionate, deep-seated current of love that runs through the relationship, saturating it at every level. A passion that joins both people together at the heart, filling them each so that they feel they cannot contain the emotion in their own body, and that it flows out through the way they interact with one another - and with the world. That the fierce love and appreciation of one another as individuals and as members of humanity so impacts them that they cannot help but respond to one another - and to the world - with reciprocal love. I want a love that is truly the opposite and total abdication of power and control. A love where neither person feels the need to have control in the relationship, that there's no need to hold back. A love that is not perceived to be constantly at stake, a love that does not have to be earned through actions. A love that permeates and persists despite the ups and downs we each have internally. A love that exists in the relationship because it exists in each individual. I want freedom - not freedom from the relationship, but freedom within the relationship. Freedom for both people to express who they are without judgment, freedom to embrace time apart with the same fervor as time together, for it is in the presence of each that the other has value. I want to feel cherished, to feel that I have value as an individual, as a person, as a member of the community of humanity. I want to feel like my desires and dreams in life, however far-flung or ludicrous or ill-formed at the moment, are valuable and worthwhile. I want to laugh and have fun in life with my spouse, to easily see and dwell on how funny life is, even in the tiniest of moments. I want to laugh at the differences between people - not simply at humorous things, but a sort of heh-oh-wow-look-at-that-how-interesting-I-can't-help-but-be-wonderfully-amazed-at-the-world-and-it-makes-me-so-happy kind of laugh, where my face smiles at the subtle differences because my heart is smiling on the inside. I want a marriage where both people strive everyday to be happy and to make the other person happy. I want a marriage where both people find fuel and vigor for life everywhere, where pain and suffering and happiness and joy and angst and confusion are all ingredients that we need to survive, and each are tasty in their own way. I want a marriage where both people strive to reduce chaos in the world. Where our shared values for what is good and right in the world directly translates to what is good and right for us at home. Where messes and annoyances are understood to be part of life, but are viewed as temporary things that each person seeks to remedy as soon as they are able; not where messes and annoyances are just tangible manifestations of the emotional condition of both people. I want peace - emotionally, physically, spiritually. I want a marriage where neither person cares about being right, where right and wrong don't really even matter, but where it is the discussion of everything that is the enjoyment. Where both people are able to look at every side of something and find truth there. Where "your way" and "my way" are truly, truly able to melt together and become "our way." A marriage where everything is reciprocal, that each gives all they can without fear or guilt or shame, and where even if they do feel those things, that its safe to talk about it, without judgment or criticism. Where excuses and defenses aren't needed, and thus aren't used. Reciprocity. Partners. Benefit of the doubt. Love. Freedom. Abdication of power. No control. Love. Laughter. Fun. Dreams. Concerns. Peace. Life.
In a word, reciprocal. I want a marriage that is an equal yoking of two individuals, each who give 100% effort and contribution to the relationship. I want to be able to talk to the other person on the same level about things that are important to each of us. I want to use language that is fluid and fluent to each of us, that we can both say exactly what we feel and mean and can convey that to the other person with minimal distortion. I want a relationship built on the cornerstone of empathy, on giving the other person the benefit of the doubt before passing judgment on their motives or their action. Where both people strive to understand the other person and not simply press to be understood. I want to listen to my spouse's concerns and hopes and dreams - and for her to listen to mine as well. To really hear what I'm saying, picking up on and understanding the underlying emotions that fuel my fire in life. I want equality in purpose and drive. I want to not feel like we are competing for justice or love or time. I want openness and honesty and trust from both sides, so that each person feels completely, 100% able to say what they feel about a situation - to express their deepest fears w/o ridicule, to be transparent and vulnerable without fearing the other person will fail to acknowledge (or worse, trample upon) their heart. I want passion in the relationship, in making daily efforts to understand the other person and what goes in to making them who they are. A passionate, deep-seated current of love that runs through the relationship, saturating it at every level. A passion that joins both people together at the heart, filling them each so that they feel they cannot contain the emotion in their own body, and that it flows out through the way they interact with one another - and with the world. That the fierce love and appreciation of one another as individuals and as members of humanity so impacts them that they cannot help but respond to one another - and to the world - with reciprocal love. I want a love that is truly the opposite and total abdication of power and control. A love where neither person feels the need to have control in the relationship, that there's no need to hold back. A love that is not perceived to be constantly at stake, a love that does not have to be earned through actions. A love that permeates and persists despite the ups and downs we each have internally. A love that exists in the relationship because it exists in each individual. I want freedom - not freedom from the relationship, but freedom within the relationship. Freedom for both people to express who they are without judgment, freedom to embrace time apart with the same fervor as time together, for it is in the presence of each that the other has value. I want to feel cherished, to feel that I have value as an individual, as a person, as a member of the community of humanity. I want to feel like my desires and dreams in life, however far-flung or ludicrous or ill-formed at the moment, are valuable and worthwhile. I want to laugh and have fun in life with my spouse, to easily see and dwell on how funny life is, even in the tiniest of moments. I want to laugh at the differences between people - not simply at humorous things, but a sort of heh-oh-wow-look-at-that-how-interesting-I-can't-help-but-be-wonderfully-amazed-at-the-world-and-it-makes-me-so-happy kind of laugh, where my face smiles at the subtle differences because my heart is smiling on the inside. I want a marriage where both people strive everyday to be happy and to make the other person happy. I want a marriage where both people find fuel and vigor for life everywhere, where pain and suffering and happiness and joy and angst and confusion are all ingredients that we need to survive, and each are tasty in their own way. I want a marriage where both people strive to reduce chaos in the world. Where our shared values for what is good and right in the world directly translates to what is good and right for us at home. Where messes and annoyances are understood to be part of life, but are viewed as temporary things that each person seeks to remedy as soon as they are able; not where messes and annoyances are just tangible manifestations of the emotional condition of both people. I want peace - emotionally, physically, spiritually. I want a marriage where neither person cares about being right, where right and wrong don't really even matter, but where it is the discussion of everything that is the enjoyment. Where both people are able to look at every side of something and find truth there. Where "your way" and "my way" are truly, truly able to melt together and become "our way." A marriage where everything is reciprocal, that each gives all they can without fear or guilt or shame, and where even if they do feel those things, that its safe to talk about it, without judgment or criticism. Where excuses and defenses aren't needed, and thus aren't used. Reciprocity. Partners. Benefit of the doubt. Love. Freedom. Abdication of power. No control. Love. Laughter. Fun. Dreams. Concerns. Peace. Life.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
summer in a small town
as promised, here are two photos from local businesses near our home:
Amazing Space (above)
additionally, here are some pictures from our the 4th of july parade we attended yesterday in round top, texas:
it seems my mind has been dwelling on content similar to that of some of my friends.
Amazing Space (above)
(below) is self-explanatory...
additionally, here are some pictures from our the 4th of july parade we attended yesterday in round top, texas:
it seems my mind has been dwelling on content similar to that of some of my friends.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
more than a wall post
a friend of mine recently spoke to me about her hardship after being laid off from work. i wrote her a reply - absurdly lengthy, admittedly - and thought it worthy to post here as well:
thought i should write a bit more than what a simple wall post should contain, so you get a full message this time. :) i apologize for the length in advance. you've got free time, though, right?
job hunting sucks, no doubt about it. back in november, i was in the same spot - working two jobs, as a therapist at a low-income clinic and also as an adjunct prof at my alma mater. my two jobs, combined with gabriele working at two different clinics, was barely making ends meet. so, i started looking for a job, even one i didn't necessarily want. i figured, hey, i'm marketable, and something will pan out here pretty soon.
as christmas approached, several things happened: some clients resolved their problems, some stopped coming due to their own financial considerations, and both gabriele's car and my truck bit the dust in quick succession. she and i pray together every night, and it seemed like our prayers kept becoming "Dear God, please help us out. Send us some money, a job, or at least some sort of hope that things will get better."
Naturally, they didn't. several weeks later, after borrowing money from our families (even my little sister, which was humbling) and hundreds of anxiety-filled, sleepless nights and tearful prayers of lament, we drove down to this small town in south-central Texas for a job interview. more prayers, and we decided to accept. that led to borrowing more money, being apart for two weeks, a host of other bizarre and unexpected problems, and our eventual arrival here in brenham. i've since received three paychecks, and we have yet to be able to pay all our bills on time. i've sold a ton of stuff on ebay to make ends meet, and we continue to be amazed at the generosity of our friends and family.
and i think that has been the point. i have always been the one in my group of friends who always had it together - i always was able to lend money, to pick up the tab, to buy the first round of drinks. the one who people came to when they needed help, advice, a place to crash, or help working on their car. in the last six months, i have been placed entirely out of my element time and time again, left feeling completely incapable of "fixing" anything in my life - and nearly everything was broken (except my relationships with God and Gabriele, of course).
in two weeks, we will get our first "joint paycheck"...and that will go to pay for our wedding. but then, on august 1st...well, that paycheck will go to pay for our car tags (which are currently 8 months overdue...so we still have our paper tags on). THEN, on september 1st, we can start paying people back. except, i know that no matter how much money i make, i will never be able to pay these people back, because what i have received from them is so much more than money. there's no price for love.
i guess i said all that to say this: things will get better. maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow - though both of those days will undoubtedly have wonderful things within them - but things WILL get better.
in the meantime, i'd also suggest moving to a small town - the people are nicer, the pace of life slower, and when you feel like you don't have anything, you can just look out the window at the beautiful flowers and landscape and realize that in fact, you have much more than you could ever afford.
thought i should write a bit more than what a simple wall post should contain, so you get a full message this time. :) i apologize for the length in advance. you've got free time, though, right?
job hunting sucks, no doubt about it. back in november, i was in the same spot - working two jobs, as a therapist at a low-income clinic and also as an adjunct prof at my alma mater. my two jobs, combined with gabriele working at two different clinics, was barely making ends meet. so, i started looking for a job, even one i didn't necessarily want. i figured, hey, i'm marketable, and something will pan out here pretty soon.
as christmas approached, several things happened: some clients resolved their problems, some stopped coming due to their own financial considerations, and both gabriele's car and my truck bit the dust in quick succession. she and i pray together every night, and it seemed like our prayers kept becoming "Dear God, please help us out. Send us some money, a job, or at least some sort of hope that things will get better."
Naturally, they didn't. several weeks later, after borrowing money from our families (even my little sister, which was humbling) and hundreds of anxiety-filled, sleepless nights and tearful prayers of lament, we drove down to this small town in south-central Texas for a job interview. more prayers, and we decided to accept. that led to borrowing more money, being apart for two weeks, a host of other bizarre and unexpected problems, and our eventual arrival here in brenham. i've since received three paychecks, and we have yet to be able to pay all our bills on time. i've sold a ton of stuff on ebay to make ends meet, and we continue to be amazed at the generosity of our friends and family.
and i think that has been the point. i have always been the one in my group of friends who always had it together - i always was able to lend money, to pick up the tab, to buy the first round of drinks. the one who people came to when they needed help, advice, a place to crash, or help working on their car. in the last six months, i have been placed entirely out of my element time and time again, left feeling completely incapable of "fixing" anything in my life - and nearly everything was broken (except my relationships with God and Gabriele, of course).
in two weeks, we will get our first "joint paycheck"...and that will go to pay for our wedding. but then, on august 1st...well, that paycheck will go to pay for our car tags (which are currently 8 months overdue...so we still have our paper tags on). THEN, on september 1st, we can start paying people back. except, i know that no matter how much money i make, i will never be able to pay these people back, because what i have received from them is so much more than money. there's no price for love.
i guess i said all that to say this: things will get better. maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow - though both of those days will undoubtedly have wonderful things within them - but things WILL get better.
in the meantime, i'd also suggest moving to a small town - the people are nicer, the pace of life slower, and when you feel like you don't have anything, you can just look out the window at the beautiful flowers and landscape and realize that in fact, you have much more than you could ever afford.
Friday, June 06, 2008
life in the big city
i have been meaning to post this for several weeks now, though it's a little lacking without pics. i promise to post those as soon as we get a camera that works.
near where we live there are the following stores:
Continental Hairlines
Amazing Space Mini-storage
Blast-n-Cast Taxidermy
fantastic. keep 'em coming, brenhamites.
near where we live there are the following stores:
Continental Hairlines
Amazing Space Mini-storage
Blast-n-Cast Taxidermy
fantastic. keep 'em coming, brenhamites.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
movie disclaimers
saw this article on wired.com today; it's funny, witty, and generally pretty accurate. i, for one, support giant warning labels in movies, provided they are like these. mpaa, take note.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
an ebay story
sooo....money's a little tight around our house lately, and like many good americans, we turned to ebay in our time of need. i sold several computer parts a few weeks ago (hard drives, optical drives, keyboard/mouse combo, etc.), and then today i listed my old laptop on there. actually, i listed it at 5:56pm today...and someone used "buy it now" to buy it at 6:50pm! less than an hour and it's done.
...and the heavens rejoiced!
...and the heavens rejoiced!
Friday, May 16, 2008
herd theory: the mane event?
i ran out of hair "product" this morning...well, i actually ran out of my preferred product about a month ago, and have been using something that gab had since then, but i scraped the bottom of that can today, so i am totally out now. (stop your chuckling, i know i don't have blond hair, but it works.)
anyway, with finances being a little tight 'til payday, i began to entertain ideas for how to cope with the situation, and voiced the option of shaving my head. while shooting that idea down, gabriele made an interesting point - that when men my age decide to shave their head, it seems to be a point-of-no-return decision; once its shaved, they rarely grow it back. she cited a friend and one of her brothers as examples, and it got me thinking...
my friend joe and i have discussed, at length, what i affectionately call "herd theory," and the many possible implications/examples of it in modern day society. aside from the broader sociological implications, we wondered how herd theory might translate into individual decisions. a good example of such decisions that would seem to have some root in evolutionary psychology is physical appearance - in particular, we're talking hair. (not hair.)
fur, manes, hair - they all essentially have the same purposes: temperature control and protection. joe suggested a parallel between a male lion's mane and his own efforts (earlier in life) to form his hair into some sort of protuberance (e.g., the faux-hawk). mane-like parallels could also be drawn with men sporting long locks and even afros. all of these hairstyles - and really, any hairstyle - has plentiful examples of certifiably attractive males (not pictured) to support the theory of pretty hair being the modern-day equivilant of a nice lion mane.
but what if you're bald? bruce willis, tiki barber, michael jordan, patrick stewart, even natalie portman - all are attractive bald people.
i have to go to a meeting now, but please, let me know your thoughts. my entire theory may be in danger here.
[update] just realized this is the 100th post on my blog! congrats, me!
anyway, with finances being a little tight 'til payday, i began to entertain ideas for how to cope with the situation, and voiced the option of shaving my head. while shooting that idea down, gabriele made an interesting point - that when men my age decide to shave their head, it seems to be a point-of-no-return decision; once its shaved, they rarely grow it back. she cited a friend and one of her brothers as examples, and it got me thinking...
my friend joe and i have discussed, at length, what i affectionately call "herd theory," and the many possible implications/examples of it in modern day society. aside from the broader sociological implications, we wondered how herd theory might translate into individual decisions. a good example of such decisions that would seem to have some root in evolutionary psychology is physical appearance - in particular, we're talking hair. (not hair.)
fur, manes, hair - they all essentially have the same purposes: temperature control and protection. joe suggested a parallel between a male lion's mane and his own efforts (earlier in life) to form his hair into some sort of protuberance (e.g., the faux-hawk). mane-like parallels could also be drawn with men sporting long locks and even afros. all of these hairstyles - and really, any hairstyle - has plentiful examples of certifiably attractive males (not pictured) to support the theory of pretty hair being the modern-day equivilant of a nice lion mane.
but what if you're bald? bruce willis, tiki barber, michael jordan, patrick stewart, even natalie portman - all are attractive bald people.
i have to go to a meeting now, but please, let me know your thoughts. my entire theory may be in danger here.
[update] just realized this is the 100th post on my blog! congrats, me!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
deferring customer service
Just called my student loan lender to see about getting my loans deferred for another year, and once again realized how helpful they are with customer service. So helpful, in fact, that I not only emailed the following transcript to a friend, I also decided to post it here:
OSLA: Good morning, OSLA.
Me: Hi, how are you?
OSLA: Good, what can I do for you?
Me: I need to speak with someone about my account.
OSLA: Sure, what's your social security number?
Me:
OSLA: Okay, Andrew, how can I help?
Me: I need to see about getting it deferred for another year.
OSLA: Okay, are you still at [old address]?
Me: No, I recently moved. My new address is [new address]
OSLA: Okay, you will be getting a letter in the mail confirming the address change. Anything else I can do for you?
Me: Umm...is there anything else I need to do about getting it deferred?
OSLA: Nope, that's it.
Me: You guys are so awesome. Thanks!
OSLA: No problem. Have a great day Mr. Moore.
Seriously, you don't get that good of service at a gentlemen's club.
OSLA: Good morning, OSLA.
Me: Hi, how are you?
OSLA: Good, what can I do for you?
Me: I need to speak with someone about my account.
OSLA: Sure, what's your social security number?
Me:
OSLA: Okay, Andrew, how can I help?
Me: I need to see about getting it deferred for another year.
OSLA: Okay, are you still at [old address]?
Me: No, I recently moved. My new address is [new address]
OSLA: Okay, you will be getting a letter in the mail confirming the address change. Anything else I can do for you?
Me: Umm...is there anything else I need to do about getting it deferred?
OSLA: Nope, that's it.
Me:
OSLA: No problem. Have a great day Mr. Moore.
Seriously, you don't get that good of service at a gentlemen's club.
Friday, May 02, 2008
blogger resurgence
15 minutes til i start my weekend...guess i'll spend it blogging. :P
recently i have experienced a resurgence in my blogging, the strongest since i first began this blog several years ago. at that time, many of my friends had blogs (most of them on xanga), and it was not uncommon to have a post stimulate 30 to 50 comments and essentially becoming a bulletin board of sorts. but then our blogging began to wane...
myspace took over, and facebook to some extent. everyone was on there, always commenting, messaging, posting bulletin surveys, browsing profiles for hours, etc. and then we all withdrew into ourselves, just checking our profiles to see if someone else had messaged, but rarely sending a message ourselves. again a quietness ensued...
and then i moved to brenham, and gab and i decided to start a blog dedicated to track her/our experience with rheumatoid arthritis. in doing so, i realized i should update my profile on blogger to reflect our present location. little did i realize that that action would stimulate a flutter of activity and surprise meetings of other BOBs (born-out-of-brenham, as opposed to those who are born-in-brenham) and the entry into a new group of friends and even a church. tremendous!
along with the active blogging, i have again taken to facebook, increased my instant messaging, and even started twittering. it has been rewarding, and i feel that it has again enabled me to draw closer to many people, whether they live in brenham, okc, or even minnesota or wisconsin.
ah, the power of the interwebs. thank you, al gore.
sweet, only 2 minutes left. another useful aspect of blogging makes itself known.
recently i have experienced a resurgence in my blogging, the strongest since i first began this blog several years ago. at that time, many of my friends had blogs (most of them on xanga), and it was not uncommon to have a post stimulate 30 to 50 comments and essentially becoming a bulletin board of sorts. but then our blogging began to wane...
myspace took over, and facebook to some extent. everyone was on there, always commenting, messaging, posting bulletin surveys, browsing profiles for hours, etc. and then we all withdrew into ourselves, just checking our profiles to see if someone else had messaged, but rarely sending a message ourselves. again a quietness ensued...
and then i moved to brenham, and gab and i decided to start a blog dedicated to track her/our experience with rheumatoid arthritis. in doing so, i realized i should update my profile on blogger to reflect our present location. little did i realize that that action would stimulate a flutter of activity and surprise meetings of other BOBs (born-out-of-brenham, as opposed to those who are born-in-brenham) and the entry into a new group of friends and even a church. tremendous!
along with the active blogging, i have again taken to facebook, increased my instant messaging, and even started twittering. it has been rewarding, and i feel that it has again enabled me to draw closer to many people, whether they live in brenham, okc, or even minnesota or wisconsin.
ah, the power of the interwebs. thank you, al gore.
sweet, only 2 minutes left. another useful aspect of blogging makes itself known.
Monday, April 28, 2008
i decided today to give twitter a try. admittedly, when i first read about it a couple of years ago, i thought the idea was batty. but then myspace and facebook rolled out their "status update" spots, and i enjoy reading what my friends are doing/feeling/whatever in those little spots. since twitter serves a similar purpose, just more frequent and easier to do (i.e. from IM, email, SMS, etc.), i'm going to give it a try. and it appears i will be an early adopter amongst my friends.
so, thanks casey, for the subtle invitation. my uber-connected soul thanks/curses/taunts you.
and for the rest of you, you can read my twitter feed in the sidebar, and even follow me, if you'd like.
so, thanks casey, for the subtle invitation. my uber-connected soul thanks/curses/taunts you.
and for the rest of you, you can read my twitter feed in the sidebar, and even follow me, if you'd like.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
the end is near!
umm...wow. okay, i'm not usually one to be interested in end-of-the-world theories, particuarly those involving some sort or religious overtones, but i have to admit that this news report is a bit too close for comfort:
background. the asteroid 99942 Apophis, discovered just recently in 2004, is expected to pass by earth at a distance no closer than 18,300 miles - that is significantly less than the orbits of most geosynchronous satellites. oh, and this is predicted to occur on Friday, April 13th, 2027. yes, you read that right: Friday the 13th.
bad luck. so, this asteroid is going to pass by earth on friday the 13th, but what's the big deal? you said it wouldn't be any closer than that, right? yes, that's correct, for that particular date. however, 7 years later Apophis will again pass by earth. the tricky part is that should Apophis strike any of the hundreds of satellites we have up there, its path will be altered enough that it may hit earth directly. oh, and this is predicted to occur on Sunday, April 13th, 2036 - Easter Sunday. i'm serious.
so, in summary, if we have the most unlucky friday the 13th ever and Apophis hits a satellite, we may all meet our maker on easter sunday seven years later.
but andy, what are the chances of this even happening? well, NASA's Near-Earth Object Program said there's a 1 in 45,000 chance that it could happen. better than the lottery, but still a crap shoot. but wait - while doing his research project, a 13 year old german kid calculated the risk to actually be a 1 in 450 chance. still very small, but waaay too close for comfort.
what are we going to do?! well, NASA is looking at several different plans, and from reading this article, it sounds very much like the discussion in the movie armageddon. they haven't decided to send up a crew of oil field workers, but they have talked about trying to cover the rock in some sort of reflective coating and pray that the solar rays push it away from earth. which is like someone throwing a baseball past you, and while it's going past, you try to throw a water balloon up in the air in front of it. i don't know about you, but my money would be on the oil field guys at that point.
there are a ton of other factors to be considered in this. the asteroid is too close to the sun right now, so we can't even get a good look at it until 2011, and won't be able to get a radar measurement until 2013.
background. the asteroid 99942 Apophis, discovered just recently in 2004, is expected to pass by earth at a distance no closer than 18,300 miles - that is significantly less than the orbits of most geosynchronous satellites. oh, and this is predicted to occur on Friday, April 13th, 2027. yes, you read that right: Friday the 13th.
bad luck. so, this asteroid is going to pass by earth on friday the 13th, but what's the big deal? you said it wouldn't be any closer than that, right? yes, that's correct, for that particular date. however, 7 years later Apophis will again pass by earth. the tricky part is that should Apophis strike any of the hundreds of satellites we have up there, its path will be altered enough that it may hit earth directly. oh, and this is predicted to occur on Sunday, April 13th, 2036 - Easter Sunday. i'm serious.
so, in summary, if we have the most unlucky friday the 13th ever and Apophis hits a satellite, we may all meet our maker on easter sunday seven years later.
but andy, what are the chances of this even happening? well, NASA's Near-Earth Object Program said there's a 1 in 45,000 chance that it could happen. better than the lottery, but still a crap shoot. but wait - while doing his research project, a 13 year old german kid calculated the risk to actually be a 1 in 450 chance. still very small, but waaay too close for comfort.
what are we going to do?! well, NASA is looking at several different plans, and from reading this article, it sounds very much like the discussion in the movie armageddon. they haven't decided to send up a crew of oil field workers, but they have talked about trying to cover the rock in some sort of reflective coating and pray that the solar rays push it away from earth. which is like someone throwing a baseball past you, and while it's going past, you try to throw a water balloon up in the air in front of it. i don't know about you, but my money would be on the oil field guys at that point.
there are a ton of other factors to be considered in this. the asteroid is too close to the sun right now, so we can't even get a good look at it until 2011, and won't be able to get a radar measurement until 2013.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
magic brush
can someone explain to me how these mr. clean "magic eraser" sponge things work? they are truly amazing. makes me want find caked-on spills just so i can clean them up.
\not really, but they are really cool and effective.
\not really, but they are really cool and effective.
Monday, April 07, 2008
new blog!
hey all, gabriele and i are starting a new blog centering on rheumatoid arthritis, both in general and the specific experiences we have with the disease. check it out here:
jointogether4ra.blogspot.com
(i'll still post mindless stuff here, don't worry. don't want to clutter up that blog w/ my weird stuff.)
jointogether4ra.blogspot.com
(i'll still post mindless stuff here, don't worry. don't want to clutter up that blog w/ my weird stuff.)
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
south bound and down, loaded up and truckin'
well, looks like i'm moving after all! finally found a place to live in texas, and plan to be headin' on down there this weekend will all my schtuff and officially move in. btw, check out the events of the past week:
tuesday. no available apartments in brenham. also, a water pipe busted at matt & tasha's, so we had to shower uber-quick before turning off the water to the house. for the night...and most of the next day.
wednesday. plumbers finally arrive after 5pm, so we had water again. still no place to live in brenham.
thursday. still no available housing. argh. also, my mom's car broke down in the pouring rain while i was at work. had a coworker drop me off at walmart, where i wandered for a couple of hours, then walked (in the rain) to starbucks, where i sat reading for until they kicked me out at 11pm, then walked back to walmart until my dad arrived at 12:20am.
friday. had car towed to dealership, and they were able to fix it! (yay!) cost $1200. (boo!) oh, and still nothing available for rent. gabs arrived in town. (yay!)
saturday. still nothing available, but we did call about a skeezy looking rent house. went to dinner with gabs' family.
sunday. upon arriving at chipotle in college station, gabs & i discover that apparently someone failed to stop properly in their parking spot last night at the restaurant, thus smashing our trunk in. still nothing available, but we looked anyway...busted trunk and all.
monday. lady called us about an available apartment! i put down deposit on said apartment! the heavens rejoice!
now, just have to figure out how to afford the U-Haul necessary to get us from okc to brenham. any suggestions?
tuesday. no available apartments in brenham. also, a water pipe busted at matt & tasha's, so we had to shower uber-quick before turning off the water to the house. for the night...and most of the next day.
wednesday. plumbers finally arrive after 5pm, so we had water again. still no place to live in brenham.
thursday. still no available housing. argh. also, my mom's car broke down in the pouring rain while i was at work. had a coworker drop me off at walmart, where i wandered for a couple of hours, then walked (in the rain) to starbucks, where i sat reading for until they kicked me out at 11pm, then walked back to walmart until my dad arrived at 12:20am.
friday. had car towed to dealership, and they were able to fix it! (yay!) cost $1200. (boo!) oh, and still nothing available for rent. gabs arrived in town. (yay!)
saturday. still nothing available, but we did call about a skeezy looking rent house. went to dinner with gabs' family.
sunday. upon arriving at chipotle in college station, gabs & i discover that apparently someone failed to stop properly in their parking spot last night at the restaurant, thus smashing our trunk in.
monday. lady called us about an available apartment! i put down deposit on said apartment! the heavens rejoice!
now, just have to figure out how to afford the U-Haul necessary to get us from okc to brenham. any suggestions?
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
the eyes of texas
my life has been through some significant changes last year, and so far 2008 seems to be equally eventful. for a variety of reasons (and several different offers), gabriele and i have made the decision to move to texas. i have accepted a job as an associate psychologist with the brenham state school (BSS) in brenham, tx, and began work there yesterday. it's a nice facility on a beautiful campus, and from all indications both the location and the job itself will be considerably better than my previous experiences with mental health agencies.
so, aside from sitting on my tush in training classes for 8 hours a day, i am desperately trying to find a place to live in brenham, so if you happen to know anyone with connections here, let me know.
also, on an unrelated note, i was pleased to discover that brenham sells dr. pepper bottled in dublin, tx, which is one of the few locations that still uses imperial pure cane sugar in their recipe. they only deliver within a certain radius of the plant, and it's tasty stuff, so i'm pumped. my dad has already requested i bring him some.
and now, some pics of my drive from bryan/college station to brenham:
so, aside from sitting on my tush in training classes for 8 hours a day, i am desperately trying to find a place to live in brenham, so if you happen to know anyone with connections here, let me know.
also, on an unrelated note, i was pleased to discover that brenham sells dr. pepper bottled in dublin, tx, which is one of the few locations that still uses imperial pure cane sugar in their recipe. they only deliver within a certain radius of the plant, and it's tasty stuff, so i'm pumped. my dad has already requested i bring him some.
and now, some pics of my drive from bryan/college station to brenham:
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
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