Abs is 3 today!
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Forced conversion
Catez over at allthings2all recently posted on his blog about the release of two Fox News reporters by terrorists in Gaza. As you may have heard, the two reporters "converted" to Islam as part of the agreement to release them. This got me and Catez thinking about what we would do if faced with the same situation. Check out the post here.
I'm not going to debate whether Wiig and Centanni made a bad decision for themselves, because I don't know whether either of them is a Christian. I started wondering what I would do in the same situation, and whether it would be wrong to falsely claim that I had converted to Islam to escape death. I agree with Catez that the ability to stand up and say, "NO" would only be possible through the Holy Spirit. The early Christians faced the same dilemma in the Coliseum though - renounce your faith and bow to Caesar and go free, or be torn apart by lions. Whether or not those early believers would have truly abandoned their faith in their hearts had they capitulated could be a matter of debate, but there was no debate in their minds over whether bowing to Caesar was a sin. I am afraid that publicly declaring one's conversion to Islam, forced or not, to escape terrorists would be a sin for a believer as well.
I'm not going to debate whether Wiig and Centanni made a bad decision for themselves, because I don't know whether either of them is a Christian. I started wondering what I would do in the same situation, and whether it would be wrong to falsely claim that I had converted to Islam to escape death. I agree with Catez that the ability to stand up and say, "NO" would only be possible through the Holy Spirit. The early Christians faced the same dilemma in the Coliseum though - renounce your faith and bow to Caesar and go free, or be torn apart by lions. Whether or not those early believers would have truly abandoned their faith in their hearts had they capitulated could be a matter of debate, but there was no debate in their minds over whether bowing to Caesar was a sin. I am afraid that publicly declaring one's conversion to Islam, forced or not, to escape terrorists would be a sin for a believer as well.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
My Favorite Albums - Number 6
Free-For-All - Michael Penn (1992)
This album was released at about the same time that I was starting as a freshman in college. My brother had bought Penn's debut album March back in 1989 on the basis of the minor radio/MTV hit "No Myth." I liked the original album moderately, but it wasn't necessarily something I listened to very much. I didn't even have a copy of it, and we always copied each others tapes at the time if we wanted a copy to listen to ourselves. Anyway, my brother had bought the new tape and offered to let me take it back with me to school (2.5 hours away) and listen to it. I still remember that because I listened to the album over and over again on the way back to Tuscaloosa. With only ten songs and a running time of slightly under 40 minutes, that's nearly four times through. It was so interesting, different, and enjoyable, I didn't want to stop listening to it.
This album features some fine acoustic guitar playing, lyrical complexity, dark themes, and catchy, singable tunes. At the time of his debut, Michael Penn seemed poised to take the mantle of poet singer from the likes of Bob Dylan. However, the grunge revolution led by groups like Nirvana changed the music world by the time this album came around, and Penn's career has never reached the popular heights of his first release. Free-For-All is an example then of what might have been, and is perhaps Penn's finest effort.
My favorite track on the album is "Long Way Down (Look What the Cat Drug In)," which features a pure, clean acoustic guitar that sounds like Penn is in the room with you and a biting, cynical lyric about the girl he loves who is returning from a night on the town without him. There are other acoustic gems in "Coal" and "By the Book" with fast-paced rockers like "Free Time" and "Seen the Doctor" to liven the pace. This album is highly underrated, and gets better with every hearing. And it looks like Amazon has it for 1 cent, so how can you beat that?
This album was released at about the same time that I was starting as a freshman in college. My brother had bought Penn's debut album March back in 1989 on the basis of the minor radio/MTV hit "No Myth." I liked the original album moderately, but it wasn't necessarily something I listened to very much. I didn't even have a copy of it, and we always copied each others tapes at the time if we wanted a copy to listen to ourselves. Anyway, my brother had bought the new tape and offered to let me take it back with me to school (2.5 hours away) and listen to it. I still remember that because I listened to the album over and over again on the way back to Tuscaloosa. With only ten songs and a running time of slightly under 40 minutes, that's nearly four times through. It was so interesting, different, and enjoyable, I didn't want to stop listening to it.
This album features some fine acoustic guitar playing, lyrical complexity, dark themes, and catchy, singable tunes. At the time of his debut, Michael Penn seemed poised to take the mantle of poet singer from the likes of Bob Dylan. However, the grunge revolution led by groups like Nirvana changed the music world by the time this album came around, and Penn's career has never reached the popular heights of his first release. Free-For-All is an example then of what might have been, and is perhaps Penn's finest effort.
My favorite track on the album is "Long Way Down (Look What the Cat Drug In)," which features a pure, clean acoustic guitar that sounds like Penn is in the room with you and a biting, cynical lyric about the girl he loves who is returning from a night on the town without him. There are other acoustic gems in "Coal" and "By the Book" with fast-paced rockers like "Free Time" and "Seen the Doctor" to liven the pace. This album is highly underrated, and gets better with every hearing. And it looks like Amazon has it for 1 cent, so how can you beat that?
"Painter of Light" in trouble
Apparently Thomas Kinkade's greatest crime may not be painting cheesy, overpriced works of art.
The Article
The Article
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
The Church Search
I am 32 years old. I have been a member of seven churches in my life - one briefly as a young child and new Christian, one for the next 11 years until I went to college, two during college, another after LJ and I married and moved, the sixth when we attempted to help plant a church, and the seventh and final one after the church plant failed. Our family left that church a little more than a year ago after some serious consideration and prayer when our problems with the pastor's leadership style finally came to a head (the pastor has since left that church). We have been without a church home for a year and have visited 20 churches in that time, four of them at least twice. We live in Alabama in a county of 160,000 people. In this county, there are over 100 Southern Baptist churches alone! So why is it so hard to find the right place?
I guess part of the problem is that we have high expectations. LJ and I expect the people to be friendly, the worship to be vibrant and glorifying to God, and the prayer to be fervent. We homeschool our children, so we'd like to find other homeschooling parents. We believe in evangelism, so we want to see Christians who are enthusiastic about reaching others. And we long for Christian fellowship, so we'd like to make friends that share at least some of our interests. We originally thought we'd like to find a place that had not had a major split at some point due to infighting, but had to rule that out because we couldn't find any. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we want to locate a pastor that preaches the Bible, not a verse or two and a couple of good stories. We've had all the purpose-driven, seeker-sensitive nonsense we could stomach.
It's amazing to me how so many churches that we've visited have been cookie-cutter images of each other. Oh sure, the buildings are different and the styles of dress may vary some, but when you look beyond the surface you find the same repetitive "praise music," the same cold, disinterested parishoners, the same three points and a poem feel-good sermons, and the same feeling of a wasted hour (or two) when you walk away.
What is the purpose of a church? The second chapter of Acts says that the early church was "continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Acts 11:26-30 indicates that the church is designed for teaching and for providing relief to other Christians in need. In Romans, Paul reminds the church to be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Does this sound like your church?
To my shame, I have gone to church for years with people I have barely known, some of whom I couldn't name if my life depended on it. LJ and I tried to conduct a Precept Bible study in our last church. The pastor would only allow it to happen on Sunday nights during the worship services. By the time the study concluded, only two or three other members were even attending the meetings, and none of them had gotten anywhere near completing the study. We visited one church for four or five months at a stretch during our search (by far the most time we've given a church - we had family there). Not once did a member of that church visit us (there was one "formal" church visit), or invite our family to visit them. Not once were we ever asked to go to lunch at someone's home or even to meet at a restaurant. Not once were we ever called to see how we were doing or just to talk. Not once was LJ or I ever invited to do anything with anyone outside the church building. At another church we visited, my Bible was stolen right off the pew next to me. Is this what the writer of Hebrews warned us not to give up doing?
I have a great fear that God looks down on our tired Sunday rituals and desires to spit our lukewarm Christianity out of his mouth. How I pray that God would direct us to a church where his gospel is preached, his love is proclaimed, and his Spirit is at work. I have begun to despair that there is such a place where we live.
I guess part of the problem is that we have high expectations. LJ and I expect the people to be friendly, the worship to be vibrant and glorifying to God, and the prayer to be fervent. We homeschool our children, so we'd like to find other homeschooling parents. We believe in evangelism, so we want to see Christians who are enthusiastic about reaching others. And we long for Christian fellowship, so we'd like to make friends that share at least some of our interests. We originally thought we'd like to find a place that had not had a major split at some point due to infighting, but had to rule that out because we couldn't find any. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we want to locate a pastor that preaches the Bible, not a verse or two and a couple of good stories. We've had all the purpose-driven, seeker-sensitive nonsense we could stomach.
It's amazing to me how so many churches that we've visited have been cookie-cutter images of each other. Oh sure, the buildings are different and the styles of dress may vary some, but when you look beyond the surface you find the same repetitive "praise music," the same cold, disinterested parishoners, the same three points and a poem feel-good sermons, and the same feeling of a wasted hour (or two) when you walk away.
What is the purpose of a church? The second chapter of Acts says that the early church was "continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Acts 11:26-30 indicates that the church is designed for teaching and for providing relief to other Christians in need. In Romans, Paul reminds the church to be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Does this sound like your church?
To my shame, I have gone to church for years with people I have barely known, some of whom I couldn't name if my life depended on it. LJ and I tried to conduct a Precept Bible study in our last church. The pastor would only allow it to happen on Sunday nights during the worship services. By the time the study concluded, only two or three other members were even attending the meetings, and none of them had gotten anywhere near completing the study. We visited one church for four or five months at a stretch during our search (by far the most time we've given a church - we had family there). Not once did a member of that church visit us (there was one "formal" church visit), or invite our family to visit them. Not once were we ever asked to go to lunch at someone's home or even to meet at a restaurant. Not once were we ever called to see how we were doing or just to talk. Not once was LJ or I ever invited to do anything with anyone outside the church building. At another church we visited, my Bible was stolen right off the pew next to me. Is this what the writer of Hebrews warned us not to give up doing?
I have a great fear that God looks down on our tired Sunday rituals and desires to spit our lukewarm Christianity out of his mouth. How I pray that God would direct us to a church where his gospel is preached, his love is proclaimed, and his Spirit is at work. I have begun to despair that there is such a place where we live.
Why is Christian Music so boring?
What is the deal with Christian music? I know I am probably going to offend some of you out there, but according to my exacting standards for good music (write your own music, play at least one instrument, have talent, and be an innovator), a vast majority of "contemporary Christian" music does not qualify. Pop music today is a vacuous wasteland, so if your musical style apes the pop music of today, like most Christian music, you're already in deep trouble.
Now I realize that pop music, by definition, is the most-purchased music out there. But check out the top 10 artists on the current Billboard Hot 100 list (Fergie, Gnarls Barkley, Nelly Furtado, Sean Paul, The Pussycat Dolls, Cassie, Ciara, Christina Aguilera, Ne-Yo, and Panic! At the Disco) . Are you kidding me? There's only two of these supposed "artists" that I have even heard of, and whether or not they can sing or are even a great singer is beside the point. Will anybody be listening to these songs twenty years from now? Is any one of them doing something interesting with their music? Are any of them virtually interchangable with each other, or a thousand other singers out there? What are Christian artists doing trying to sound like them, or worse, trying to sound like pop music that's 10 (or more) years out of date.
I think musical giftedness is a talent from God. I sing and play a little bit of guitar, and I have written music, but I have no illusions about my talent level. I have heard artists in many churches that greatly exceed my musical abilities, and yet still have no business with a recording contract. So why is one of the most obvious of God's gifts seemingly missing from the pool of his servants? Where are the innovators in Christian music? Where are the artists who are masters of their instruments, who worship God with their amazing talents? Where are the Mozarts and The Beatles? The Beethovens and the Bob Dylans? Where are the bands who are creating music that truly glorifies God rather than sounding like a cheap knockoff of Celine Dion or Nickelback? Is God really pleased with music that couldn't make it among the likes of Josh Turner and Rihanna?
My favorite Christian band - well, the only one I listen to anyway - is Third Day. I like Mac Powell's voice and I think some of their songs are pretty good. But as far as innovation goes, they are probably 30 years behind the rock bands they sound like (Lynnyrd Skynnyrd or the Allman Brothers). What has happened to the talented and interesting performers? Is there nothing new to play or sing?
In my opinion, Christian music should be better than pop music. The singers should have better voices, the instrumentalists should have more prowess. Can it really be the case that none of the most talented musicians in the world are Christians? I hear music on our three local Christian stations that would not have been interesting on Top 40 radio in 1986, much less 2006. And don't even get me into the theology of Christian music. Most of it is either lightweight "Jesus is my girlfriend" type nonsense, or simple and repetitive praise music (or both). When was the last time you heard a confessional song along the lines of Psalm 51 ("Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight")? Or a lament like Psalm 79 ("They have given the dead bodies of Thy servants for food to the birds of the heavens, The flesh of Thy godly ones to the beasts of the earth.") Where are the Christian artists who sing out about our country's struggle against Islamofascists or the moral issues of the day (abortion, crime, poverty, personal debt, etc.) and cry out to God for help? Instead we get man-centered songs that are so innocuous that they can crossover to the pop charts and be inoffensive to everyone (see MercyMe's "I Can Only Imagine" for a recent example). Something is very wrong here.
Now I realize that pop music, by definition, is the most-purchased music out there. But check out the top 10 artists on the current Billboard Hot 100 list (Fergie, Gnarls Barkley, Nelly Furtado, Sean Paul, The Pussycat Dolls, Cassie, Ciara, Christina Aguilera, Ne-Yo, and Panic! At the Disco) . Are you kidding me? There's only two of these supposed "artists" that I have even heard of, and whether or not they can sing or are even a great singer is beside the point. Will anybody be listening to these songs twenty years from now? Is any one of them doing something interesting with their music? Are any of them virtually interchangable with each other, or a thousand other singers out there? What are Christian artists doing trying to sound like them, or worse, trying to sound like pop music that's 10 (or more) years out of date.
I think musical giftedness is a talent from God. I sing and play a little bit of guitar, and I have written music, but I have no illusions about my talent level. I have heard artists in many churches that greatly exceed my musical abilities, and yet still have no business with a recording contract. So why is one of the most obvious of God's gifts seemingly missing from the pool of his servants? Where are the innovators in Christian music? Where are the artists who are masters of their instruments, who worship God with their amazing talents? Where are the Mozarts and The Beatles? The Beethovens and the Bob Dylans? Where are the bands who are creating music that truly glorifies God rather than sounding like a cheap knockoff of Celine Dion or Nickelback? Is God really pleased with music that couldn't make it among the likes of Josh Turner and Rihanna?
My favorite Christian band - well, the only one I listen to anyway - is Third Day. I like Mac Powell's voice and I think some of their songs are pretty good. But as far as innovation goes, they are probably 30 years behind the rock bands they sound like (Lynnyrd Skynnyrd or the Allman Brothers). What has happened to the talented and interesting performers? Is there nothing new to play or sing?
In my opinion, Christian music should be better than pop music. The singers should have better voices, the instrumentalists should have more prowess. Can it really be the case that none of the most talented musicians in the world are Christians? I hear music on our three local Christian stations that would not have been interesting on Top 40 radio in 1986, much less 2006. And don't even get me into the theology of Christian music. Most of it is either lightweight "Jesus is my girlfriend" type nonsense, or simple and repetitive praise music (or both). When was the last time you heard a confessional song along the lines of Psalm 51 ("Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight")? Or a lament like Psalm 79 ("They have given the dead bodies of Thy servants for food to the birds of the heavens, The flesh of Thy godly ones to the beasts of the earth.") Where are the Christian artists who sing out about our country's struggle against Islamofascists or the moral issues of the day (abortion, crime, poverty, personal debt, etc.) and cry out to God for help? Instead we get man-centered songs that are so innocuous that they can crossover to the pop charts and be inoffensive to everyone (see MercyMe's "I Can Only Imagine" for a recent example). Something is very wrong here.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
I just took "The Politics Test"
| You are a (18% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (75% permissive) You are best described as a: You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.
|
Well, I have to say I think this one works. Try it.
Friday, August 25, 2006
PET PEEVE!!! (WARNING--RANT AHEAD)
I work in IT and I've been a user of internet e-mail since 1991, so maybe the novelty of it has worn off. I get between 50-100 e-mails a day, every day. This only refers to the e-mail that passes through the multiple spam and virus filters that we employ to block the folks who are hawking V1@gr@ and porn and low mortgage rates. I realize that there are people out there who get four or five e-mails from their friends in a week's time, and they're happy to get every piece of it, so I realize that not everybody feels about it the way I do. But I have one big e-mail pet peeve. I'll give it to you in a nutshell. If your e-mail looks like this:
I DON'T WANT IT!!! Don't you people have something better to do than forward this crap to me? Half the time whatever is in the e-mail is some urban legend or hoax that has little basis in fact, and the other half of the time it's some sappy shmaltz that I can't believe I wasted two minutes of my life reading. I'm not getting that time back, people!
It's getting to the point when I see an e-mail from certain people that I know, I can just go ahead and delete it without review because I know it is totally worthless. My company gets around one million e-mails a week. We have less than 500 employees. That's over 2000 e-mails a week for the average worker, and you know what? Ninety-eight percent of it literally is garbage. We filter that crap out before it even gets inside the firewall. Junk like this message makes up another half a percent. Okay, you say, half a percent isn't so much. Well, that's 5000 e-mails in a week. If it takes a person thirty seconds during their workday to read those messages, that's 41 person-hours wasted. That's a work week wasted for Pete's sake! And that's just one small company out of thousands. If you are sending these messages (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE), FREAKING STOP IT ALREADY!!! I don't need to get an e-mail to convince me that God loves me, that we should support our soldiers or that illegal immigration is a problem. No one has signed a law prohibiting us from going to church, 9/11 wasn't staged by the government, and there is no secret e-mail program that Bill Gates' is going to pay me $1000 to beta test for him. Viruses ARE a problem, but sending an e-mail to warn me about one is not the best way to handle it, especially since many viruses are spread by e-mail, and most likely we're going to catch those anyway. There's hardly anything you can send me in an e-mail that I haven't already learned somewhere else, unless it's personal, and in that case I'm all ears. I would love to get a personal note telling me how you are doing and asking about my family. But DON'T SEND ME ANY MORE OF THIS CRAP!
I mean it.
[numerous e-mail addresses]
FW: FW: FW: FW: FW: [some stupid crap]
[numerous e-mail addresses]
FW: FW: FW: FW: [some stupid
crap]
[numerous e-mail addresses]
FW: FW: FW: [some stupid
crap]
[numerous e-mail addresses]
FW: FW: [some stupid crap]
[numerous e-mail addresses]
FW: [some stupid crap]
[blah blah blah blah blah]
Please pass this onto your friends even if you don't usually
take time to forward mail...do it this time! If this touched you as much
as it touched me, please forward it on.
I DON'T WANT IT!!! Don't you people have something better to do than forward this crap to me? Half the time whatever is in the e-mail is some urban legend or hoax that has little basis in fact, and the other half of the time it's some sappy shmaltz that I can't believe I wasted two minutes of my life reading. I'm not getting that time back, people!
It's getting to the point when I see an e-mail from certain people that I know, I can just go ahead and delete it without review because I know it is totally worthless. My company gets around one million e-mails a week. We have less than 500 employees. That's over 2000 e-mails a week for the average worker, and you know what? Ninety-eight percent of it literally is garbage. We filter that crap out before it even gets inside the firewall. Junk like this message makes up another half a percent. Okay, you say, half a percent isn't so much. Well, that's 5000 e-mails in a week. If it takes a person thirty seconds during their workday to read those messages, that's 41 person-hours wasted. That's a work week wasted for Pete's sake! And that's just one small company out of thousands. If you are sending these messages (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE), FREAKING STOP IT ALREADY!!! I don't need to get an e-mail to convince me that God loves me, that we should support our soldiers or that illegal immigration is a problem. No one has signed a law prohibiting us from going to church, 9/11 wasn't staged by the government, and there is no secret e-mail program that Bill Gates' is going to pay me $1000 to beta test for him. Viruses ARE a problem, but sending an e-mail to warn me about one is not the best way to handle it, especially since many viruses are spread by e-mail, and most likely we're going to catch those anyway. There's hardly anything you can send me in an e-mail that I haven't already learned somewhere else, unless it's personal, and in that case I'm all ears. I would love to get a personal note telling me how you are doing and asking about my family. But DON'T SEND ME ANY MORE OF THIS CRAP!
I mean it.
Oracle problems
I started out working as a Microsoft SQL Server DBA (database administrator) about six and a half years ago, and even though I'm a manager now, I still do a good bit of work with the company database servers. We have, oh 9-10 SQL Servers, a MySQL server and a couple of Oracle servers (one in production, one development). The production Oracle server is the back-end for our web portal. We're running Oracle Database 8i on the server, which is no longer being supported by Oracle, so I have been working on a project to upgrade this system to Oracle Database 10gR2, which is the current version.
Here's where the problem comes in. The web portal that uses Oracle is no cash cow, and given the fact that no other system in our company runs on Oracle, there's no money available for training. On top of that is the fact that the system works perfectly fine with Oracle 8i, thank you very much, so I've been trying to get this project underway for over a year. Something else always takes precedence. After doing some testing a few months back, we determined that upgrading to 10gR2 wouldn't break our site, so I've been trying to squeeze in some time to upgrade the development server (as a test) and then the production server. Well, this week I finally had a few hours to work through it. Unfortunately, it didn't quite go as planned.
After downloading the latest patches, I ran through the 10gR2 install, but once I got it in place, I realized that the new system would have to have a different database name, which was okay for the dev environment but wouldn't be for production. So I uninstalled the software. Next I tried to run the install and do the upgrade wizard as part of the installation. The upgrade wizard apparently couldn't communicate with the 8i database, even though I could still connect to it with the 8i tools, so I cancelled the 10gR2 installation and deleted all the services and related files from the initial install. I stopped all the 8i services and ran the installation and upgrade again, and after a couple of hours, the upgrade had completed successfully. Great! So then I went ahead and tried to run the latest patchset installation over the upgraded database. For some reason the installation would not replace a particular .dll file. I looked on the Oracle support site and couldn't find any reference to this error, so I cancelled the installation. Bad mistake.
So now the database isn't responding and the services won't start. I ran the patchset installation again, and still got the .dll error, but I ignored it and progressed through the install. Still the services wouldn't start. So I deleted the Oracle 8i folder and rebooted the computer. Then I installed the patchset again and it installed successfully, so I thought, "Now it's going to work!" I rebooted the system, and was able to start the services and mount the database, but it wouldn't open. When I dug into the logs, I realized that the database was looking for some of the custom database files that no longer existed, having been conveniently deleted by yours truly when I dropped the Oracle 8i folder. Now I had an upgraded system that was totally broken with no way to recover. So then I uninstalled all the Oracle software, deleted the files and services and reinstalled Oracle 8i and the patches to bring it up to our current version. So I'm almost ready to start all over again, after I import all of our data from production. Keep in mind that this has taken me a week, and I'm not any closer to getting the upgrade completed than when I started. It's a good thing I don't need Oracle training.
Here's where the problem comes in. The web portal that uses Oracle is no cash cow, and given the fact that no other system in our company runs on Oracle, there's no money available for training. On top of that is the fact that the system works perfectly fine with Oracle 8i, thank you very much, so I've been trying to get this project underway for over a year. Something else always takes precedence. After doing some testing a few months back, we determined that upgrading to 10gR2 wouldn't break our site, so I've been trying to squeeze in some time to upgrade the development server (as a test) and then the production server. Well, this week I finally had a few hours to work through it. Unfortunately, it didn't quite go as planned.
After downloading the latest patches, I ran through the 10gR2 install, but once I got it in place, I realized that the new system would have to have a different database name, which was okay for the dev environment but wouldn't be for production. So I uninstalled the software. Next I tried to run the install and do the upgrade wizard as part of the installation. The upgrade wizard apparently couldn't communicate with the 8i database, even though I could still connect to it with the 8i tools, so I cancelled the 10gR2 installation and deleted all the services and related files from the initial install. I stopped all the 8i services and ran the installation and upgrade again, and after a couple of hours, the upgrade had completed successfully. Great! So then I went ahead and tried to run the latest patchset installation over the upgraded database. For some reason the installation would not replace a particular .dll file. I looked on the Oracle support site and couldn't find any reference to this error, so I cancelled the installation. Bad mistake.
So now the database isn't responding and the services won't start. I ran the patchset installation again, and still got the .dll error, but I ignored it and progressed through the install. Still the services wouldn't start. So I deleted the Oracle 8i folder and rebooted the computer. Then I installed the patchset again and it installed successfully, so I thought, "Now it's going to work!" I rebooted the system, and was able to start the services and mount the database, but it wouldn't open. When I dug into the logs, I realized that the database was looking for some of the custom database files that no longer existed, having been conveniently deleted by yours truly when I dropped the Oracle 8i folder. Now I had an upgraded system that was totally broken with no way to recover. So then I uninstalled all the Oracle software, deleted the files and services and reinstalled Oracle 8i and the patches to bring it up to our current version. So I'm almost ready to start all over again, after I import all of our data from production. Keep in mind that this has taken me a week, and I'm not any closer to getting the upgrade completed than when I started. It's a good thing I don't need Oracle training.
My Favorite Albums - Number 7
Are You Experienced? - Jimi Hendrix (1967)
There were originally two versions of this album - the U.K. version, which did not include the previously released singles "Hey Joe"/"Stone Free," "Purple Haze"/"51st Anniversary," and "The Wind Cries Mary"/"Highway Chile" - and the U.S. version, released six months later, which had the A-sides of the three singles but dropped "Remember," "Red House," and "Can You See Me." My preferred rendition of the album, only available as the CD format came into being, combines both versions in a 17-track homage to one of the greatest, and probably most-talented, guitar-slingers of all time.
This album is widely regarded as perhaps the best debut album of the rock era, and it's a testament to the artist that many of the tracks sound as fresh today as they did in the Summer of Love. Compared to the other "great" album of 1967, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which is interesting as a snapshot of the times but sounds dated, Are You Experienced? blazed a trail that, whether they know it or not, every rock guitar band since has followed.
Considering the fact that Hendrix's recording career barely lasted four years, and that he was a black American musician in the 1960s that had to move to England to get noticed, his lasting influence and continued commercial success is truly astounding. His amazing instrumental virtuosity and creativity have been rarely duplicated.
There were originally two versions of this album - the U.K. version, which did not include the previously released singles "Hey Joe"/"Stone Free," "Purple Haze"/"51st Anniversary," and "The Wind Cries Mary"/"Highway Chile" - and the U.S. version, released six months later, which had the A-sides of the three singles but dropped "Remember," "Red House," and "Can You See Me." My preferred rendition of the album, only available as the CD format came into being, combines both versions in a 17-track homage to one of the greatest, and probably most-talented, guitar-slingers of all time.
This album is widely regarded as perhaps the best debut album of the rock era, and it's a testament to the artist that many of the tracks sound as fresh today as they did in the Summer of Love. Compared to the other "great" album of 1967, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which is interesting as a snapshot of the times but sounds dated, Are You Experienced? blazed a trail that, whether they know it or not, every rock guitar band since has followed.
Considering the fact that Hendrix's recording career barely lasted four years, and that he was a black American musician in the 1960s that had to move to England to get noticed, his lasting influence and continued commercial success is truly astounding. His amazing instrumental virtuosity and creativity have been rarely duplicated.
My Favorite Albums - Number 8
Odelay - Beck (1996)
Beck Hansen's major label debut, Mellow Gold, and the ubiquitous MTV single "Loser" introduced him to the world, but the quirky nature of his slacker poet lyrics and bizarre instrumentation led many to assume that Beck was a flash-in-the-pan one-hit wonder. Odelay proved them wrong, winning two Grammies, garnering rarely-awarded perfect reviews from Rolling Stone and Spin magazines, and selling over two million records. Beck has been compared to Prince for his instrumental proficiency and to Bob Dylan (think "Subterranean Homesick Blues") for his stream-of-consciousness nonsense lyrics, but the truth is that Beck is unique in that he just really doesn't sound like anyone else. Equally at home with rock and rap, jazz and blues, hip-hop and bossa nova, there is no style of music that is off limits, and no limit to where he will go to explore his musical art. I remember watching Beck at the Grammies singing/rapping his hit "Where It's At" in a powder blue suit and asking myself if he was serious. The truth is that all of Beck's music is serious and none of it is.
What does it mean to have "a devil's haircut in my mind?" My favorite thing about Beck is that you can read as much or as little into his lyrics as you want and still enjoy the music. Odelay is in my opinion the only Beck album that seems to have a blend of musical styles in equal proportion, so you can rock out on "Devil's Haircut" and "Novacane," mellow out on the smooth, quiet tones of "Jack-Ass" and "Ramshackle," or get your groove on with "Where It's At," "The New Pollution" or "Sissyneck."
Then of course, there's my personal favorite "Lord Only Knows," which has the great singalong chorus "Lord only knows it's getting late/Your senses are gone so don't you hesitate/Give yourself a call/Let your bottom dollars fall/Throwing your two-bit cares down the drain." At the time that Odelay came out I was a college student working something like 35 hours a week and my girlfriend and I had just broken up, so I had a lot of two-bit cares. This album helped me take my mind off my problems for a while and just enjoy some really unique music, and it still has a special place in my collection because of that.
Oh, and by the way, my girlfriend and I got back together eventually. We've been married eight years.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
My Favorite Albums - Number 9
Nevermind - Nirvana (1991)
I was the last guy on the Nirvana bandwagon. Well, not really the last guy. I was 17 when this album first came out, and I saw the video for "Smells like Teen Spirit" on MTV and I just didn't get it. I didn't listen to music like this on the radio - although in Montgomery, Alabama, none of the radio stations were playing anything like this anyway. I didn't have a whole lot of teenage "I hate the world and everything in it" angst, and I just couldn't get where they were coming from.
Then, I remember shopping at a music store in a mall somewhere (ah, the days before the Internet), and hearing virtually the entire album on the store sound system. When it got to the intro of "Territorial Pissings" and Krist Novoselic hollers out the line from "Everybody Get Together" and then Kurt Cobain goes into a guitar riff that sounds like the guitar and amp and soundboard are held together with duck tape (and knowing what I know now, it might have been), it all made sense to me. Nirvana was the anti-John Denver. The music of the "Make Love, Not War" era - the 1960s - had devolved into the feel-good but disillusioned 1970s, which had devolved into the lightweight, synthetic 1980s. Nirvana kicked in the door to the 1990s and dethroned Michael Jackson from the top of the pop charts with an attitude that said "the world sucks, and we don't care." Nirvana almost singlehandedly destroyed hair bands like Poison and Cinderella, who suddenly looked woefully out of touch. Here was a band with no gimmick, no makeup, no costume, stringy hair, and out of tune instruments playing a style of music that was raw, angry, and yet melodic and catchy too.
Aside from the fact that the album is a milestone in rock music, it is actually an easier listen than you might expect, being the most polished and "produced" of Nirvana's albums. Many of the songs - "In Bloom," "Come as You Are," and "Lithium" come to mind - have a genuine singalong quality. There are even a couple of quieter numbers; the dark "Polly" and the emotive, autobiographical "Something in the Way," where Cobain sings about living underneath a bridge, as he did for a brief stint in Aberdeen, WA.
It's hard to listen to Nirvana today without thinking about the sorry end of Kurt Cobain, who couldn't tame the addictions and self-destructive behavior that brought about his untimely demise at the end of a shotgun in April 1994. But in this album you can hear the voice of a band that changed the music world in its prime.
I was the last guy on the Nirvana bandwagon. Well, not really the last guy. I was 17 when this album first came out, and I saw the video for "Smells like Teen Spirit" on MTV and I just didn't get it. I didn't listen to music like this on the radio - although in Montgomery, Alabama, none of the radio stations were playing anything like this anyway. I didn't have a whole lot of teenage "I hate the world and everything in it" angst, and I just couldn't get where they were coming from.
Then, I remember shopping at a music store in a mall somewhere (ah, the days before the Internet), and hearing virtually the entire album on the store sound system. When it got to the intro of "Territorial Pissings" and Krist Novoselic hollers out the line from "Everybody Get Together" and then Kurt Cobain goes into a guitar riff that sounds like the guitar and amp and soundboard are held together with duck tape (and knowing what I know now, it might have been), it all made sense to me. Nirvana was the anti-John Denver. The music of the "Make Love, Not War" era - the 1960s - had devolved into the feel-good but disillusioned 1970s, which had devolved into the lightweight, synthetic 1980s. Nirvana kicked in the door to the 1990s and dethroned Michael Jackson from the top of the pop charts with an attitude that said "the world sucks, and we don't care." Nirvana almost singlehandedly destroyed hair bands like Poison and Cinderella, who suddenly looked woefully out of touch. Here was a band with no gimmick, no makeup, no costume, stringy hair, and out of tune instruments playing a style of music that was raw, angry, and yet melodic and catchy too.
Aside from the fact that the album is a milestone in rock music, it is actually an easier listen than you might expect, being the most polished and "produced" of Nirvana's albums. Many of the songs - "In Bloom," "Come as You Are," and "Lithium" come to mind - have a genuine singalong quality. There are even a couple of quieter numbers; the dark "Polly" and the emotive, autobiographical "Something in the Way," where Cobain sings about living underneath a bridge, as he did for a brief stint in Aberdeen, WA.
It's hard to listen to Nirvana today without thinking about the sorry end of Kurt Cobain, who couldn't tame the addictions and self-destructive behavior that brought about his untimely demise at the end of a shotgun in April 1994. But in this album you can hear the voice of a band that changed the music world in its prime.
Forbes.com article reposted, sort of
UPDATED:
Forbes.com has re-posted the article, but this time with a rebuttal, in Point/Counterpoint fashion. Cowards.
Forbes.com has re-posted the article, but this time with a rebuttal, in Point/Counterpoint fashion. Cowards.
My Favorite Albums - Number 10
I know what you've been thinking. What ARE Karl's favorite albums of all time? Why is he keeping us in suspense? Can I stand not knowing any longer? Well, rest your heads, my peeps. I have given it 15 solid minutes of thought, and have come up with my favorite albums (or CDs, if you must) of all time.
You know I mentioned that I collected Star Wars action figures, but that isn't the only thing that I have a tendency to accumulate. I have around 600 CDs, along with about 200 or so tapes. My iTunes includes almost 5000 songs, or about 13 days worth of music. So I'm a big music fan. I used to say that I enjoyed all kinds of music except country, but that definition doesn't really fit any more. My favorite types of music are probably classic rock and roll, followed by blues. I like some classic country, some grunge/alternative rock, some folk, some classical and even some rap. Basically, what I don't like is formulaic music. I am much more interested in artists with a unique sound or songwriting ability than I am with what's popular, although to be fair, most of my favorite artists are generally popular. I'm not going to rant about popular music today - if you want to hear a rant, see LJ's blog. But I will say that [insert current pop idol]=[insert current country star]=[insert most rap artists]=[insert any boy "band"]=vomit-inducing bilge. Basically, to be on my list, you need to write your own music, play at least one instrument, have talent, and be an innovator. And even if I don't personally enjoy your music, I will respect you if you fit that criteria.
Now before I get started, I need to lay out the ground rules. Greatest Hits collections, since they are not technically albums, do not count. Certainly, there are a few of them that I would have included otherwise, but I am going with the body of work as the artists (probably) intended. NON SEQUITER ALERT!! Have you ever noticed that I use parentheses a lot? What's up with that?
So basically, this is the list of ten albums I would take with me if I was stranded on a desert island.
Back Home Again - John Denver (1974)
Okay, I know after going through everything I said above, you're going to look at this and think, "What?!" I hear you. I should have mentioned one other thing when spelling out my musical tastes - there are some people who are grandfathered in. When I was a little boy, John Denver was my favorite musician. Of course, that was because my parents had several of his LPs. The first album that I ever owned was John Denver's Greatest Hits, and since it has sold over 10 million copies since it was first released, I'm not the only one out there. So if you are John Denver, Neil Diamond, or Hall and Oates, you are allowed to linger with those who more accurately fit my musical preferences, even though if I was just hearing you for the first time today I probably wouldn't be interested. I actually saw John Denver in concert twice, once in around 1977 (I was almost four), and once in 1997, just a few months before he died. You know, you can't afford to take a four-year-old to a concert any more. LJ and I are going to see Eric Clapton in October with a couple of folks from work, and the four tickets totalled nearly $400! But I digress...
Back Home Again was the album that made John Denver a superstar. Sure, he had already hit it big with "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Rocky Mountain High." And the aforementioned Greatest Hits album had been released the previous year. But this album was the Academy of Country Music's 1974 Album of the Year, and arguably features more of his best and most well-known songs than any other. There isn't a bad one in the bunch. The beauty and purity of "Annie's Song" has made it a popular wedding song for decades. The autobiographical nature of songs like "Matthew," "On the Road," "This Old Guitar," and "Back Home Again," make one feel as if they are looking in to Denver's life - how he feels and what is important to him. The album is light-hearted and yet poignant and personal. And of course, there's the kneeslappers like "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and "Grandma's Feather Bed," both written by members of Denver's band, to make you stomp your feet.
Critics of Denver dismiss him as naive and lightweight; a product of the sixties that never moved beyond the flower-child optimism. However, Denver went through family relocation, death (his favorite uncle and father), divorce, alcoholism, and drug addiction during his life and career, which easily could have turned him into a jaded cynic. He certainly knew that life wasn't always rosy and that peace and love didn't cure all ills. But he chose to write and sing music that was positive, optimistic and sometimes downright funny, because that's what he wanted his music to be. Although it's on the list for nostalgic reasons, Back Home Again is a master work by an artist the likes of which we will probably never see again.
You know I mentioned that I collected Star Wars action figures, but that isn't the only thing that I have a tendency to accumulate. I have around 600 CDs, along with about 200 or so tapes. My iTunes includes almost 5000 songs, or about 13 days worth of music. So I'm a big music fan. I used to say that I enjoyed all kinds of music except country, but that definition doesn't really fit any more. My favorite types of music are probably classic rock and roll, followed by blues. I like some classic country, some grunge/alternative rock, some folk, some classical and even some rap. Basically, what I don't like is formulaic music. I am much more interested in artists with a unique sound or songwriting ability than I am with what's popular, although to be fair, most of my favorite artists are generally popular. I'm not going to rant about popular music today - if you want to hear a rant, see LJ's blog. But I will say that [insert current pop idol]=[insert current country star]=[insert most rap artists]=[insert any boy "band"]=vomit-inducing bilge. Basically, to be on my list, you need to write your own music, play at least one instrument, have talent, and be an innovator. And even if I don't personally enjoy your music, I will respect you if you fit that criteria.
Now before I get started, I need to lay out the ground rules. Greatest Hits collections, since they are not technically albums, do not count. Certainly, there are a few of them that I would have included otherwise, but I am going with the body of work as the artists (probably) intended. NON SEQUITER ALERT!! Have you ever noticed that I use parentheses a lot? What's up with that?
So basically, this is the list of ten albums I would take with me if I was stranded on a desert island.
Back Home Again - John Denver (1974)
Okay, I know after going through everything I said above, you're going to look at this and think, "What?!" I hear you. I should have mentioned one other thing when spelling out my musical tastes - there are some people who are grandfathered in. When I was a little boy, John Denver was my favorite musician. Of course, that was because my parents had several of his LPs. The first album that I ever owned was John Denver's Greatest Hits, and since it has sold over 10 million copies since it was first released, I'm not the only one out there. So if you are John Denver, Neil Diamond, or Hall and Oates, you are allowed to linger with those who more accurately fit my musical preferences, even though if I was just hearing you for the first time today I probably wouldn't be interested. I actually saw John Denver in concert twice, once in around 1977 (I was almost four), and once in 1997, just a few months before he died. You know, you can't afford to take a four-year-old to a concert any more. LJ and I are going to see Eric Clapton in October with a couple of folks from work, and the four tickets totalled nearly $400! But I digress...
Back Home Again was the album that made John Denver a superstar. Sure, he had already hit it big with "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Rocky Mountain High." And the aforementioned Greatest Hits album had been released the previous year. But this album was the Academy of Country Music's 1974 Album of the Year, and arguably features more of his best and most well-known songs than any other. There isn't a bad one in the bunch. The beauty and purity of "Annie's Song" has made it a popular wedding song for decades. The autobiographical nature of songs like "Matthew," "On the Road," "This Old Guitar," and "Back Home Again," make one feel as if they are looking in to Denver's life - how he feels and what is important to him. The album is light-hearted and yet poignant and personal. And of course, there's the kneeslappers like "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and "Grandma's Feather Bed," both written by members of Denver's band, to make you stomp your feet.
Critics of Denver dismiss him as naive and lightweight; a product of the sixties that never moved beyond the flower-child optimism. However, Denver went through family relocation, death (his favorite uncle and father), divorce, alcoholism, and drug addiction during his life and career, which easily could have turned him into a jaded cynic. He certainly knew that life wasn't always rosy and that peace and love didn't cure all ills. But he chose to write and sing music that was positive, optimistic and sometimes downright funny, because that's what he wanted his music to be. Although it's on the list for nostalgic reasons, Back Home Again is a master work by an artist the likes of which we will probably never see again.
Pluto "not a planet"
Well this is especially disappointing. Pluto has been demoted by the International Astronomical Union, and is no longer a planet. Granted, the behavior and size of Pluto worked against it, as well as the fact that scientists discovered another Kuiper Belt object (2003 UB313) that was larger. Still, I always kind of liked Pluto for being remote, mysterious and quite different from the other planets. This definitely takes some of the shine off.
You would think that, given the fact that what is or isn't a planet is a totally arbitrary decision, scientists would have come up with a system that included Pluto, if for no other reason than to honor Clyde Tombaugh's improbable discovery of it in 1932. Isn't is more interesting to add planets to the solar system, as this proposal would have, rather than take them away?
You would think that, given the fact that what is or isn't a planet is a totally arbitrary decision, scientists would have come up with a system that included Pluto, if for no other reason than to honor Clyde Tombaugh's improbable discovery of it in 1932. Isn't is more interesting to add planets to the solar system, as this proposal would have, rather than take them away?
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Pluto's Moons
Well, if you are like me, and interested in astronomy, you might be interested to know that Pluto's two most recently discovered moons have been named. Along with Charon, which is quite large in comparison to Pluto, astronomers have named the two much smaller moons Nix and Hydra. It's amazing to me that so many objects are being discovered in our own solar system all the time. I remember when the Voyager probes flew by Jupiter and Saturn in the late 1970's and rewrote all the astronomy books. Before Voyager, Jupiter supposedly had 16 moons. Now, we know of eight regular moons, and at least six groups of irregular moons. We also learned through Voyager that Saturn wasn't the only planet with rings - Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune had them as well. What an amazing place God created for us. We still know so little about it.
Forbes.com and women with careers
I was going to publish a link to a Forbes.com article posted today about why men shouldn't marry women with careers. However, since (I assume) the article was mentioned on the Rush Limbaugh radio program and Fark.com (there's a combination for you), Forbes.com appears to have removed it from their site. Here is Rush Limbaugh's characterization of the article from his website :
"These are the reasons you should not marry a career woman: One, you're less likely to get married to her. She's not interested in it. Number two, if you do marry, you are more likely to get divorced if you marry a career woman. Number three, she is more likely to cheat on you if you marry a career woman. Number four, you are much less likely to have kids. That would be in my plus column. Number five, if you do have kids, your wife is more likely to be unhappy. Number six, your house will be dirtier. This is in Forbes magazine! This is the subject of a study done in 2005 by two University of Michigan scientists, concluding that if your wife has a job earning more than $15 an hour which is roughly 30 grand a year, she'll do two hours less housework a week. Number seven. If you marry a career woman, you'll be unhappy if she makes more than you do. And number eight, she'll be unhappy if she makes more than you do. And number nine, you're more likely to get sick if you marry a career woman."
Well, I don't know if the study's findings are true or not, but anecdotally, I would have to agree. Proving causality here is a different matter. I think it is likely that women who pursue careers are less interested in settling down with a man or less likely to be committed to one man from the get-go, rather than becoming that way because they pursue careers. They are generally less likely to feel that they need a husband or a child to have a full life. I am thankful nonetheless that LJ stays at home to teach and be there for the kids. I think we, as a family, will all be better off for it.
UPDATED:
Forbes.com has re-posted the article, but this time with a rebuttal, in Point/Counterpoint fashion. Cowards.
"These are the reasons you should not marry a career woman: One, you're less likely to get married to her. She's not interested in it. Number two, if you do marry, you are more likely to get divorced if you marry a career woman. Number three, she is more likely to cheat on you if you marry a career woman. Number four, you are much less likely to have kids. That would be in my plus column. Number five, if you do have kids, your wife is more likely to be unhappy. Number six, your house will be dirtier. This is in Forbes magazine! This is the subject of a study done in 2005 by two University of Michigan scientists, concluding that if your wife has a job earning more than $15 an hour which is roughly 30 grand a year, she'll do two hours less housework a week. Number seven. If you marry a career woman, you'll be unhappy if she makes more than you do. And number eight, she'll be unhappy if she makes more than you do. And number nine, you're more likely to get sick if you marry a career woman."
Well, I don't know if the study's findings are true or not, but anecdotally, I would have to agree. Proving causality here is a different matter. I think it is likely that women who pursue careers are less interested in settling down with a man or less likely to be committed to one man from the get-go, rather than becoming that way because they pursue careers. They are generally less likely to feel that they need a husband or a child to have a full life. I am thankful nonetheless that LJ stays at home to teach and be there for the kids. I think we, as a family, will all be better off for it.
UPDATED:
Forbes.com has re-posted the article, but this time with a rebuttal, in Point/Counterpoint fashion. Cowards.
Yellow Jacket super colonies
I cannot let a weird story that features a picture of a giant yellow jacket nest in a 1955 Chevrolet in my hometown go by.
Yellow Jacket Article
Yellow Jacket Article
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Messing with Life
Sunday morning, the pastor of the church we were attending made an interesting statement that has stuck with me. He has been speaking about the Creation and was focusing on Genesis 1:26, where God decides to create man in His image. The pastor then went on to say that the manipulation of life by man is wrong, since God alone is the Creator. I don't disagree with this.
He went on to show in Genesis 3 that God ordains capital punishment for those who murder, because killing a man is a sin against God, in whose image man was created. I hadn't thought about it exactly that way, but again, I don't disagree. He then stated that abortion was a sin because, again, men (or women) are taking life that God has ordained, and ending it. Finally, the kicker. He said that in vitro fertilization was wrong, because man is altering the natural birth process outside of the means God provided for reproduction, and because unwanted fetuses are disposed of, or perhaps used for the purposes of stem-cell research. I hadn't really thought about that. The next logical step I (not the pastor) made in my mind was then to birth control/sterilization. If it is a sin to manipulate the process by which God intended life to be created, would it not then be a sin to pick and choose when or if we will have children?
Now, this hit close to home. LJ and I made the decision after our fourth child, Abigail (Abbey or Abs, as I like to call her), that we were finished having children. The world would say that this was a smart decision (after of course, we are condemned and ridiculed for having four children in the first place). But what does God think about it? LJ and I will both tell you we have had a lot of second thoughts about that decision since the surgery, and while I think we made a decision that is backed by sound financial and mental health arguments, I'm not sure that I can say that it wasn't prideful, arrogant and sinful of us as well.
What do you think?
He went on to show in Genesis 3 that God ordains capital punishment for those who murder, because killing a man is a sin against God, in whose image man was created. I hadn't thought about it exactly that way, but again, I don't disagree. He then stated that abortion was a sin because, again, men (or women) are taking life that God has ordained, and ending it. Finally, the kicker. He said that in vitro fertilization was wrong, because man is altering the natural birth process outside of the means God provided for reproduction, and because unwanted fetuses are disposed of, or perhaps used for the purposes of stem-cell research. I hadn't really thought about that. The next logical step I (not the pastor) made in my mind was then to birth control/sterilization. If it is a sin to manipulate the process by which God intended life to be created, would it not then be a sin to pick and choose when or if we will have children?
Now, this hit close to home. LJ and I made the decision after our fourth child, Abigail (Abbey or Abs, as I like to call her), that we were finished having children. The world would say that this was a smart decision (after of course, we are condemned and ridiculed for having four children in the first place). But what does God think about it? LJ and I will both tell you we have had a lot of second thoughts about that decision since the surgery, and while I think we made a decision that is backed by sound financial and mental health arguments, I'm not sure that I can say that it wasn't prideful, arrogant and sinful of us as well.
What do you think?
Sidebar additions
I have added a few of my favorite books and artists on the sidebar of the blog. I thought about doing a favorite CD/albums list, but it will take more thought to narrow it down. I did split the books into fiction and non-fiction, and I definitely had a hard time digging out my favs. These are the books that I go back to over and over. These books make me laugh, cry (okay, only one of them did that), and think. Sometimes I think about writing my own book, but until then, these are the books I would like to have written.
Ten Most Popular Books of All Time
As an avid reader with a keen interest in statistics, a top ten list of the bestselling books of all time is of great interest to me. This particular list is based on the sales of the individual books, and there are some surprises:
10. In His Steps: "What Would Jesus Do?"
10. In His Steps: "What Would Jesus Do?"
Author: Rev. Charles Monroe Sheldon
Copies sold: 28,500,000
9. Valley of the Dolls
Author: Jacqueline Susann
Copies sold: 30,000,000
8. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
Author: Dr. Benjamin Spock
Copies sold: 39,200,000
7. World Almanac
Author: Who knows?
Copies sold: 40,000,000
6. A Message to Garcia
Author: Elbert Hubbard
Copies sold: 40-50,000,000
5. The McGuffey Readers
Author: William Holmes McGuffey
Copies sold: 60,000,000
4. The Guinness Book of Records
Author: Who knows?
Copies sold: 81,000,000
3. American Spelling Book
Author: Noah Webster
Copies sold: 100,000,000
2. Quotations from the Works of Mao Tse-tung
Author: Mao Tse-tung
Copies sold: 800,000,000
1. The Bible
Author: God
Copies sold: 6,000,000,000
What, no Dr. Phil? I think they made the six billion number up, based on the article, although there's no question the Bible was number 1. I was intrigued by the fact that there was no "great work of literature" on the list (the Bible notwithstanding). Valley of the Dolls?!?
SEE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE: http://soyouwanna.grab.com/site/toptens/books/books.html
Monday, August 21, 2006
Ring of Fire
A burning ring of fire pretty well describes my back pain over the last couple of days. After attending church, and enjoying dinner with one of the families from the church, I lay down late yesterday afternoon in some pain, and by the time I got up I could barely walk again. I got up this morning and tried to get ready for work, but I just couldn't make it, so I've been on strict bed rest most of the day. Hopefully, I will be ready to tackle the stairs at work tomorrow.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Most irritating hobby
I collect Star Wars action figures. And ships. And playsets. LJ is not very fond of this hobby. As a matter of fact she thinks it's a waste of time and money. She's probably right (okay, okay, you ARE right, Leslie!) . But I've been collecting the figures since I was a wee lad, and I have a closet full of them. Well, a closet and a half. Actually, there's also a large toy box full of them at the end of the hall. And that doesn't count the action figures that I have bought for each of the kids. Leslie has bought the kids a few too, as bribes, so I'm not solely to blame. Maybe 98%.
In case you are reading this blog and don't know me already (unlikely as that may be), I have four kids. Two girls and two boys, between the ages of seven and almost three. Since the Star Wars action figures come with lots of small parts that are inappropriate for young children (guns, lightsabers, capes, jetpacks and whatnot), I keep a large plastic bag full of accessories for each child in a can in my bedroom closet. These bags of accessories have been the source of many conflicts in our house, and this week was the worst.
For some reason, my boys, Benjamin and Noah, are drawn to this can of guns and lightsabers like flies to a barbecue. Several times in the past, the boys have sneaked into the room and spirited a few of the choice items out to play with, and of course, they were punished accordingly. Well, it happened again Thursday. The Benj was getting ready for bed and stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans, and lo-and-behold, he pulled out a double bladed Darth Maul lightsaber - accidentally.
"Where did that come from?" I asked naively. Without explanation, The Benj pulls handfuls of accessories from both jeans pockets. I'm talking helmets, guns, hats, capes, jackets, staffs, lightsabers, you name it. I have no idea what he was planning to do with them, as he had WAY too many of them to even realistically use. Well, of course, it was all NoahKrakatoa's fault, since he made The Benj get them out, and forced them into his pockets, no doubt. They both tried to implicate Queen Hannah as well, although she got off with just a warning since she had not taken anything from the can. So LJ blurts out, "That's it! Bring all your Star Wars stuff here. We're taking it away!" Let me tell you, there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth. I gathered up all the action figures, ships, lightsabers and playsets and put them away. I think The Benj refused to even say goodnight to Mommy that night.
Okay, so two days later, the home is still relatively calm. Even without Star Wars figures, the boys have both survived. Now, deep inside, I know that LJ is just waiting for me to slip up so she can take all my figures away and eBay them.
In case you are reading this blog and don't know me already (unlikely as that may be), I have four kids. Two girls and two boys, between the ages of seven and almost three. Since the Star Wars action figures come with lots of small parts that are inappropriate for young children (guns, lightsabers, capes, jetpacks and whatnot), I keep a large plastic bag full of accessories for each child in a can in my bedroom closet. These bags of accessories have been the source of many conflicts in our house, and this week was the worst.
For some reason, my boys, Benjamin and Noah, are drawn to this can of guns and lightsabers like flies to a barbecue. Several times in the past, the boys have sneaked into the room and spirited a few of the choice items out to play with, and of course, they were punished accordingly. Well, it happened again Thursday. The Benj was getting ready for bed and stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans, and lo-and-behold, he pulled out a double bladed Darth Maul lightsaber - accidentally.
"Where did that come from?" I asked naively. Without explanation, The Benj pulls handfuls of accessories from both jeans pockets. I'm talking helmets, guns, hats, capes, jackets, staffs, lightsabers, you name it. I have no idea what he was planning to do with them, as he had WAY too many of them to even realistically use. Well, of course, it was all NoahKrakatoa's fault, since he made The Benj get them out, and forced them into his pockets, no doubt. They both tried to implicate Queen Hannah as well, although she got off with just a warning since she had not taken anything from the can. So LJ blurts out, "That's it! Bring all your Star Wars stuff here. We're taking it away!" Let me tell you, there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth. I gathered up all the action figures, ships, lightsabers and playsets and put them away. I think The Benj refused to even say goodnight to Mommy that night.
Okay, so two days later, the home is still relatively calm. Even without Star Wars figures, the boys have both survived. Now, deep inside, I know that LJ is just waiting for me to slip up so she can take all my figures away and eBay them.
You are under surveillance
I have added Site Meter to my blog, so nothing you do will be hidden from me. Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha *hack* ha *cough* *cough*...
The pool and the weird house next door
We have an inflatable pool in the backyard. You know, the kind that you fill up and then by the next day it's half empty and you have to fill it up again? Well, maybe that's just ours. Anyway, three of the four kids are out in the pool and I can hear them screaming from every corner of the house. I guess it's a good thing our neighbors on one side are out of town, and the other house is "empty."
I say "empty" because I'm not really sure if it is. You see the house next door is owned by people who rent it out, and since we moved here in 1999, we have had numerous neighbors - some good, some bad, but all temporary. Given the fact that my wife LJ and I are not really outgoing, this means that we haven't really gotten to know any of them, and never even met a few. Anyway, over the last three or four months, someone has come to mow the grass, and every once in a while there is a car parked in the driveway for a day or two. The garage, when I've seen it open, is full of boxes and junk, and usually has a car there. But there is nothing in the yard to indicate someone lives there. I never see anyone going to the mailbox or milling about in the yard except when the rare vehicle is there (usually cleaning up the yard). The other night though, it appeared that there was a light on inside, although the curtains were drawn and I couldn't tell for sure.
You know how in the interviews with the neighbors of serial killers who finally get caught, there's always someone who says, "He was always so quiet"? Well, I'm thinking we might have one next door now. Or maybe a shut-in. Or possibly no one, although I don't understand the boxes in the garage otherwise.
I guess I should be grateful. The last neighbors were a couple or three college age girls (I guess), who had some kind of hippie commune going on over there. There were usually at least three or four cars parked in the back yard, sometimes as many as eight or ten, along with a purple Firebird that was always parked on the street (I don't know what their problem was with the driveway and garage). I could never figure out how many people were actually living there, but periodically there would be a couple of preteen boys that hung around on the weekends and jumped on their trampoline. There were college girls and boys, and from time to time there were older folks as well. We also would see a 20ish chick with a baby. I know that house is smaller than ours, so I don't have any idea how they all fit in there together, but I sure didn't mind seeing them leave.
Ok, now one of the boys is urinating in a bucket beside the pool. Guess it's time to wrap up.
UPDATED:
OpinionJournal.com's James Taranto echoes me in his August 22 "Best of the Web Today" blog:
I say "empty" because I'm not really sure if it is. You see the house next door is owned by people who rent it out, and since we moved here in 1999, we have had numerous neighbors - some good, some bad, but all temporary. Given the fact that my wife LJ and I are not really outgoing, this means that we haven't really gotten to know any of them, and never even met a few. Anyway, over the last three or four months, someone has come to mow the grass, and every once in a while there is a car parked in the driveway for a day or two. The garage, when I've seen it open, is full of boxes and junk, and usually has a car there. But there is nothing in the yard to indicate someone lives there. I never see anyone going to the mailbox or milling about in the yard except when the rare vehicle is there (usually cleaning up the yard). The other night though, it appeared that there was a light on inside, although the curtains were drawn and I couldn't tell for sure.
You know how in the interviews with the neighbors of serial killers who finally get caught, there's always someone who says, "He was always so quiet"? Well, I'm thinking we might have one next door now. Or maybe a shut-in. Or possibly no one, although I don't understand the boxes in the garage otherwise.
I guess I should be grateful. The last neighbors were a couple or three college age girls (I guess), who had some kind of hippie commune going on over there. There were usually at least three or four cars parked in the back yard, sometimes as many as eight or ten, along with a purple Firebird that was always parked on the street (I don't know what their problem was with the driveway and garage). I could never figure out how many people were actually living there, but periodically there would be a couple of preteen boys that hung around on the weekends and jumped on their trampoline. There were college girls and boys, and from time to time there were older folks as well. We also would see a 20ish chick with a baby. I know that house is smaller than ours, so I don't have any idea how they all fit in there together, but I sure didn't mind seeing them leave.
Ok, now one of the boys is urinating in a bucket beside the pool. Guess it's time to wrap up.
UPDATED:
OpinionJournal.com's James Taranto echoes me in his August 22 "Best of the Web Today" blog:
Never Trust a 'Nice, Quiet Kid'
Cops in Blacksburg, Va., have captured 24-year-old William Morva, an escaped convict who allegedly shot a hospital guard and a sheriff's deputy to death, the Associated Press reports in a dispatch that ends with this observation:
Akio Robrecht, 27, of Blacksburg, said Morva was a couple [of] years behind him in school. Morva "seemed like a nice, quiet kid," he said. "It's kind of hard to believe."
Have you noticed how whenever there's a news story about some crazed (alleged) killer, his neighbors always describe him as "nice" and "quiet"? It really makes us glad the people who live near us are loud jerks.
So I guess there's something to be said for obnoxious neighbors.
Oh my aching back!
Sometime after lunch yesterday, my back started hurting. By the end of the day I was really in pain, and when I woke up this morning I could barely move. I don't know what's worse - being in so much pain that everything is uncomfortable, or not knowing how it started in the first place.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Do you drop church members from the rolls?
Personally, I can see the guy's point, but it seems to me that setting up arbitrary rules for membership expiration raises more problems than it solves. What about invalids? What about debilitating illnesses? What about people who attend on Easter and Christmas and one or two other Sundays? If you're asking the membership to create the inevitable "Membership Committee" and determine who does and doesn't deserve membership aren't you creating a situation where members are pronouncing judgement on someone's faith? Maybe there's a way to deal with this by notifying the members after a certain period of time that they will be moved to an inactive list. Maybe there's some removal if there's no response to this, but it seems that we have to be careful to make sure that efforts to bring members back in to the fold are made in love.
I'm much more concerned with the member who attends every Sunday and flouts his disobedience the other six days of the week.
SEE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE: http://blog.togetherforthegospel.org/2006/08/southern_baptis.html
I'm much more concerned with the member who attends every Sunday and flouts his disobedience the other six days of the week.
SEE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE: http://blog.togetherforthegospel.org/2006/08/southern_baptis.html
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Stuff that you don't care about...
Well, Leslie's incessant blogging has convinced me to at least add some crap up here, although I can't comprehend why anyone would be interested. Heck, I'm not even interested.
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