A moment from Jeremiah

Who I am:

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? - Jeremiah 17:9

What I plead for:

Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. - Jeremiah 17:14

What I dream of:

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. - Jeremiah 17:7-8

Not yet a merry Christmas

I'll admit, I'm kind of envious right now of all the folks who are already on vacation, bundled up at home with their families, or out travelling, without a care in the world.

Me, I'm just struggling to get through to the weekend. It oughta be fun to head up to Reno/Tahoe with the family for a day, but I can't even look that far ahead since work is still so busy with our Friday deadline. Just about everyone and their mother is on vacation next week, so I might be able to relax a little bit at the office, but that too seems rather far away. Plus, the fact that a bunch of people are already on vacation is making work really difficult when the people you need to talk to aren't there.

For some, the Christmas/New Year's holidays are their favorite because of the extended time off, family, gifts, Christmas music, and the whole shebang. For others, it's the most stressful time because of the expectations associated with gift buying and having to force a "holiday cheer" since everyone else is... plus deadlines!

I don't want to be a Scrooge. I'm trying to keep focused on the miraculous gift of the Incarnation, the sobering wonder (there's a paradox for ya) of the Gospel, and hopefully in a few days I'll be back to my merry, sardonic self.

Side note... if you want to hear some brilliantly written, original Christmas music, check out Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God. If I were a songwriter, these would be the types of songs I'd want to write - stories put with melodies, teachable, and memorable.

Incarnation

by Paul Harvey

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy..." (Luke 2:10, NIV)

You know the Christmas story, the story of God born as a man in a manger and all that, escapes some moderns. Mostly I think because they seek complex answers to their questions and this one is so utterly simple.

So, for the cynic, and the skeptic, and the unconvinced, I submit a modern parable.

The man to whom I'm going to introduce you was not a scrooge. He was a kind, decent, mostly good man, generous to his family, upright with his dealings with other men, but he just didn't believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas time.

It just didn't make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise.

He just couldn't swallow the Jesus story about God coming to earth as a man. He told his wife, "I'm truly sorry to distress you, but I'm not going to church with you this Christmas Eve." He said he'd feel like a hypocrite, that he'd much rather stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so, he stayed home and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier, and then went back to his fireside chair, and began to read his newspaper.

Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound, then another, and then another, sort of a thump or a thud.

At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds, huddled miserably in the snow.

They'd been caught in the storm, and in a desperate search for shelter had tried to fly through his large landscape window.

Well, he couldn't let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter if he could direct the birds to it.

Hurriedly, he put on a coat and galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the door wide and turned on a light.

But the birds did not come in.

He figured food would entice them in, so he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow lighted wide-open doorway of the stable.

But, to his dismay, the birds ignored the breadcrumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow.

He tried catching them; he tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them, waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction except into the warm, lighted barn.

And then he realized that they were afraid of him. He resigned himself, "To them, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me, that I'm not trying to hurt them, to help them. But how?"

Because any move that he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not be led or shooed, because they feared him.

"If only I could be a bird," he thought to himself, "And mingle with them, and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe, warm barn."

"But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand."

At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind, and he stood there listening to the bells, listening to the bells heralding the glad tidings of Our Savior's birth, and he sank to his knees in the snow.

Okay, now you can say it's cold

Something that I do, that I'm guessing probably annoys my friends, is something I picked up from a coworker friend of mine who grew up in the American Midwest. Basically, the premise goes: it's never cold in California, it's just "cool" or "chilly". So whenever one of my born-and-raised-in-California friends starts complaining about the "freezing" 52 degree weather, I almost reflexively now say "chilly, not freezing". On the one hand, I'm trying to remind all of us not to take the blessing of great weather (relatively) in CA for granted; on the other, sometimes I am teasing and probably crossing the line into being a jerk/annoyance. I really need to pick my spots better.

Anyway, with a low of 31 degrees expected tonight... okay. Now it's freezing.

Just did the switch to blogger beta... so far I'm annoyed that it doesn't pick up html formatting in the Blogger Profile that I use to update the "Current Listening/Reading/Watching" section over on the right, squishing everything into one long unreadable paragraph. I'll have to play more with templates and plugins. Any helpful suggestions from more experienced beta bloggers?

Looks like I'll have to rely on Tim Rattay or Alex Smith to carry my fantasy football team to victory and glory in the final this upcoming Sunday (week 16). I'm sure my opponent is quaking in his boots at the thought of a present or past 49er QB putting up big numbers.

Song lyric of the week: "Well I know that falling down ain't graceful, but I thank the Lord that falling's full of grace." (Andrew Peterson, "The Chasing Song")

Sickbed update

Haven't shaved in two days, got my hood on over my head... I must look like the Unabomber right now. Should I keep the stubble?

On the plus side, after 9 hrs of sleep last night, I feel like I'm on the upswing now after bottoming out yesterday with the trifecta of cough, runny nose, and congestion. Now, I'm just coughing periodically.

Looks like it's going to be miserable weather this weekend. On the plus side, I'll be heading to Tahoe for Christmas with my family for a night, so maybe we'll have some okay snow.

I noticed last night that my default position for falling asleep is strikingly similar to the position they put corpses into in coffins - flat on back, with hands folded across the chest. What can I say, it's the most relaxed for me.

What position do you fall asleep in?

Ruminations from a sickbed

Only in my line of work can I spend almost all day in bed and still be just about as productive as I would have been in my cube. Yay for modern technology. One day when Cisco's TelePresence(c) becomes commonplace tech, we won't ever have to meet anyone in person anymore to do work.

Random thoughts...

- I bought a pack of BreatheRight strips (the band-aid look-alikes that go across the bridge of the nose) to help curb any snoring I might do when sharing a room with someone on trips. For their intended purpose though, they're quite the lifesaver in opening up congested nasal passages when you're sick, allowing you to breathe much easier. Without one I might not have gotten much sleep last night.

- Achtung Baby is just a solid album from beginning to end.

- Made the fantasy football playoffs in the only league I'm in, which was quite gratifying since football isn't really my sport. Got a first-round bye too, which should hopefully give Colston (my best GM move of the year) some time to rehab and get back to producing big #s from the TE position.

- Watched "An Inconvenient Truth" with Shally last night. Quite thought-provoking and did a good job sketching the immediacy and severity of the environmental problem facing all of us, particularly in the US. Thing is, in this country we've made comfort to be the ultimate king and goal, and anything that makes us change our comfort level is hard to do. Will write more about this in a separate post.

- While waiting for a test to run this morning, I watched this video and was doomed for the rest of the day. Stupid jingle getting stuck in my head. Not only that, but what did I have for lunch? "Chicken noodle soup with a... smoothie on the side." I dare you to watch the video. I double dare ya.

- In Hawaii, the topic of conversation swung to how many of my blog posts can become monolithic treatises to wade through (like some concert reviews, etc.). Mike P suggested that I (or someone else) set up a parallel site with a 1-sentence synopsis of my posts - for example, a few screens of text could be condensed down to "I was tired." Maybe I'll try going through a day posting no more than 3 sentences at a time or something.

- Check out this NY Times article for a bunch of free services available for the cell phone, including free Google searches/directory assistance, free international calls, customizable voice mails, and price comparisons.

Amusing "creative" writing assignment

From here. Gary's parts look like something I would write...

Prof. Miller's In-class Assignment for Wednesday
Remember the book "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus"? "Well, today we will experiment with a new form called the 'tandem story'. The process is simple. Each person will pair off with the person sitting to his or her immediate right. As homework tonight, one of you will write the first paragraph of a short story. You will e-mail your partner that paragraph and send another copy to me. The partner will read the first paragraph and then add another paragraph to the story and send it back also sending another copy to me. The first person will then add a third paragraph, and so on back and forth. Remember to re-read what has been written each time in order to keep the story coherent. There is to be absolutely NO talking outside of the e-mails and anything you wish to say must be written in the e-mail. The story is over when both agree a conclusion has been reached."
The following was actually turned in by two of my English students: Rebecca (last name deleted), and Gary (last name deleted).

THE STORY:
(first paragraph by Rebecca) At first, Laurie couldn't decide which kind of tea she wanted. The chamomile, which used to be her favorite for lazy evenings at home, now reminded her too much of Carl, who once said, in happier times, that he liked chamomile. But she felt she must now, at all costs, keep her mind off Carl. His possessiveness was suffocating, and if she thought about him too much her asthma started acting up again. So chamomile was out of the question.

(second paragraph by Gary) Meanwhile, Advance Sergeant Carl Harris, leader of the attack squadron now in orbit over Skylon 4, had more important things to think about than the neuroses of an air-headed asthmatic bimbo named Laurie with whom he had spent one sweaty night over a year ago. "A.S. Harris to Geostation 17,....", he said into his transgalactic communicator. "Polar orbit established. No sign of resistance so far..." But before he could sign off a bluish particle beam flashed out of nowhere and blasted a hole through his ship's cargo bay. The jolt from the direct hit sent him flying out of his seat and across the cockpit.

(Rebecca) He bumped his head and died almost immediately, but not before he felt one last pang of regret for psychically brutalizing the one woman who had ever had feelings for him. Soon afterwards, Earth stopped its pointless hostilities towards the peaceful farmers of Skylon 4. "Congress Passes Law Permanently Abolishing War and Space Travel," Laurie read in her newspaper one morning. The news simultaneously excited her and bored her. She stared out the window, dreaming of her youth, when the days had passed unhurriedly and carefree, with no newspapers to read, no television to distract her from her sense of innocent wonder at all the beautiful things around her. "Why must one lose one's innocence to become a woman?" she pondered wistfully.

(Gary) Little did she know, but she had less than 10 seconds to live. Thousands of miles above the city, the Anu'udrian mothership launched the first of its lithium fusion missiles. The dim-witted wimpy peaceniks who pushed the Unilateral Aerospace Disarmament Treaty through the congress had left Earth a defenseless target for the hostile alien empires who were determined to destroy the human race. Within two hours after the passage of the treaty the Anu'udrian ships were on course for Earth, carrying enough firepower to pulverize the entire planet. With no one to stop them, they swiftly initiated their diabolical plan. The lithium fusion missile entered the atmosphere unimpeded. The President, in his top-secret Mobile submarine headquarters on the ocean floor off the coast of Guam, felt the inconceivably massive explosion, which vaporized poor, stupid, Laurie and 85 million other Americans. The President slammed his fist on the conference table. "We can't allow this! I'm going to veto that treaty! Let's blow 'em out of the sky!"

(Rebecca) This is absurd. I refuse to continue this mockery of literature. My writing partner is a violent, chauvinistic semi-literate adolescent.

(Gary) Yeah? Well, you're a self-centered tedious neurotic whose attempts at writing are the literary equivalent of Valium. "Oh shall I have chamomile tea? Or shall I have some other sort of f*****g TEA??? Oh no, I'm such an air headed bimbo who reads too many Danielle Steele novels."

(Rebecca) @#$(*&.

(Gary) !$#@%%.

(TEACHER) A+ - I really liked this one. Only group to get an A

Wii! (that's just fun to say)

Got the chance to play a Wii a few nights ago for the first time. Aside from the fact that we were playing "Rayman Raving Rabbids" - with creepy, cracked out artwork, characters including bucktoothed psycho rabbits and disgustingly happy worms, and some weird contexts ("Fact: Rabbits don't milk cows. But they can dance!"), playing the Wii was actually quite fun. It's an unassuming form factor that looks like a DVD drive, and the controllers look like remote controls, but the button+motion play style is surprisingly intuitive and easy to pick up for non-gamers, yet challenging enough physically to keep anyone of any skill level entertained. Having the increased play-motions available must have game designers salivating at the chance to think beyond the box of button combinations for gameplay.

Read an interesting article today that said the Xbox360, by virtue of its introduction last year, may have positioned itself to dominate this round of the console wars, simply because they have a lot more product available, from consoles to games, than the dueling Wii and PS3 platforms. In general, it seems that there are 2 primary groups of gamers - serious and casual. In the previous iteration, the serious gamers gravitated towards the PS2 for the wide variety of games, and the casual gamers went to the Gamecube for the fun party games, while the XBox was mostly left out in the cold (with the exception of Halo). Since the Wii has probably cornered the market on casual gamers already, Xbox360 will probably shoehorn out the PS3 from being able to replicate the dominance that the PS2 experienced.

Separate note as we enter into the commercialized Christmas season... good quote from Shaun Groves:

What should you get for the person who has everything? Nothing. So why don't we give them that this Christmas? Seriously. What is it that keeps us from giving nothing to people who have everything...and people who have enough?

Brief Hawaii thoughts

It's been a few days since we flew back from Oahu, and my brain is still on vacation. I guess I left it in paradise, as well as a few square inches of skin off my right knee (from getting pounded into the sand by a monster North Shore wave while we were bodysurfing - we never did get the hang of diving straight into an oncoming wave rather than running away from it). Still, had a blast during my first visit to Hawaii. Chris and Karen have done an excellent job recapping the events of the trip, so I won't bother rewriting the events/activities/food excursions here. Check out their posts at the following links:

Chris' recaps:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5 part 1
Day 5 part 2

Chris' smugmug (all 1143 pictures consolidated by everyone on the trip)

Karen's recap

My highlights, in no particular order:

- powered hang-gliding - as a fan of pilots and flying for years, it was quite the thrill being able to take the controls and fly the thing myself
- bodysurfing - I even saw a turtle!
- the hotel room - gorgeous view from the 25th floor. Marvelous to wake up to, to have as a background while reading the Word, to just sit and look out at a clear blue sky and blue water. I recall sitting on the balcony looking at the skyline and wondering how pristine it must have looked like when the first people to colonize the islands arrived
- North Shore in general - much less developed than Honolulu/Waikiki
- visiting Pearl Harbor - I've been on the USS Missouri in the past when it visited California, but being a military buff, it's always fun for me to see things in real life that I'm reading about in Tom Clancy novels
- high-end Japanese buffet at Makino Chaya's - so painfully full
- Alan Wong's - the priciest meal I've ever had... and I'd have to say it was worth it
- plate lunch from Rainbow Drive-In (Express) - Portuguese sausage with eggs over easy on top of rice... good stuff

It would have been nice to:

- go snorkeling
- go kayaking
- go boogie boarding
- listen to live Hawaiian music with cocktails and a sunset in the background
- spend more time hanging out in the room with folks (we pretty much conked out or did our own thing at nights)

Maybe next time...

A hui hou, Ka Huaka`i Maika`i!

See here for translation.

Countdown...

[10:50:03 AM] Alex: you're on the Hawaii team, no?
[10:50:22 AM] Bob: yup
[10:50:31 AM] Alex: heheh
[10:50:32 AM] Alex: ready?
[10:51:36 AM] Bob: nope
[10:51:39 AM] Bob: well
[10:51:45 AM] Bob: no -> prepared
[10:51:49 AM] Bob: yes -> to go
[10:56:02 AM] Alex: hahahah
[10:56:10 AM] Alex: just bring some underwear and you're set
[10:56:10 AM] Alex: hahaha
[10:56:15 AM] Bob: and a credit card
[10:56:22 AM] Bob: that could totally be a commercial
[10:56:23 AM] Alex: yup. and some cash
[10:56:34 AM] Alex: you can buy all your stuff at the swap meet
[10:56:36 AM] Alex: seriously
[10:56:37 AM] Alex: hahahha
[10:56:38 AM] Bob: "I'm here in Hawaii with nothing but underwear and my Mastercard. Let's see if I can have some fun!"
[10:56:45 AM] Alex: hahahaha
[10:56:51 AM] Alex: dooo eeet....

Debt

Did you vote today? I'm sporting my "I voted Touchscreen!" sticker.

I noticed that there were several propositions that involve selling bonds in order to finance a particular initiative (cleaning up schools or making them safer, environmental research, and the like) and got to thinking... putting aside whether the causes themselves are valid or not, it seemed that the proposal for several of the propositions was to basically go into debt in order to fund the cause .

When, if ever, is it worthwhile to go into debt in order to meet a goal or a need? On the one hand, sometimes you do need to borrow to meet an immediate need. Sometimes, the end is perceived to be worthwhile enough to go into debt for (such as buying a house).

What about on a more personal level? How much can I "borrow" against what I know to be my own finite level of personal resources (energy, time, mental cycles) without being too adversely affected? What types of things should I extend myself in?

The ultimate plus-minus, revisited

About a year and a half ago, I wrote this post about my uncanny ability to jinx my teams when watching them play live - no matter how good (Spurs, Cal) or bad (everyone else) they might be overall, when I watched, they would make dumb mistakes, the other team would play above their real level of ability, and my spirits would be stamped down by the unending bad luck.

Some people don't believe my persecution complex (hello Karen!) but to add more evidence, this past weekend in an otherwise strong 38-24 victory for Cal football over UCLA (boxscore here), the game was on in the other room, but I purposefully stayed away and puttered around on my computer for most of the game... except for a few possessions:

Bruins TD Chris Markey rushed up the middle for 70 yard gain (Justin Medlock made PAT)

Bruins TD Chane Moline rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain (Justin Medlock made PAT)

I did get to see the Cal field goal, so I guess the plus/minus for my viewing time overall was just -11. Sigh. I also watched almost all of the season-opening Tennessee game. I should probably avoid watching the USC game in two Saturdays as well as the Rose Bowl, huh?

Speaking of the USC game... can't wait to get away to Hawaii. Mike P is trying to convince me to spend ~$400 to get scuba-certified. While I like swimming all right, I'm quite afraid of sharks (and death/dismemberment underwater in general), so I'm wondering whether to sign up. It would make for a rather cool story to tell and skill to have.

Wednesday funnies

Couple of chuckles to get you through the middle of the week...

Now that's deadpan
Starting out this post:

Like the marginal American Christians we are, we and our friends and all our marginally Christian offspring walked house to house in our neighborhood last night, paying tribute to the Prince of Darkness and all his minions. Apparently we'll do anything for candy.

Math brilliance





Caption contest
"Um... just keep reading the teleprompter, just keep reading, find razor to shave my mustache off at the commercial..."



He picked who?

Edited to add this little nugget, from Saturday's fantasy draft (only NBA hoopheads will get this one, probably):

[Team Owner A] drafts Shawne Williams (Ind)
[Blindmen] ...
[Team Owner A] oh crap
[Team Owner A] drafts Shelden Williams (Atl)

I used to... but now that I'm older...

I used to be able to play ball for several hours on consecutive days. But now that I'm older, going up the stairs the day after ball puts me in danger of cramping up with every step.

I used to think drinking water was for suckers who couldn't get something that tasted better, like juice. But now that I'm older, I find that I can't afford the calories... and water actually tastes good.

I used to think that sports cars were cool. But now that I'm older, I look at them and can't help but think about how expensive gas would be, and how there aren't enough doors to fit friends or future family members.

I used to think that typing on a keyboard was great. But now that I'm older, I try to avoid typing a whole lot since it aggravates RSI.

I used to think that being a cynic would shield me from disappointment. But now that I'm older, I'm trying to be less cynical because there's a lot more fullness of life in being able to hope.

List to be updated as I think of others. Got any of your own to add? Put them in the comments section.

I look how old?

Back in high school and college, particularly when I parted my hair, people used to often mistake me for being much older than I actually was. In fact it became a running joke, compounded by the fact that I drove a Volvo station wagon for several years... people started calling me "Dad." In fact, I think some of the youth still do. And some of the young adults. Hm...

Anyway, a few key examples of this: 5 years ago, I was being mistaken for being 29 when I was in fact 23; and once after a wedding reception, I leaned back on my Volvo while someone guessed I was 32 (I was in fact 22 at the time). So I'm used to people thinking I'm older than I actually am.

Today, the weird thing is that two separate interviewees (one in the morning, one in the afternoon, both of whom graduated college after I did) thought I looked surprisingly young when I walked into the conference room. This may be because I conducted phone interviews with them beforehand and my voice sounds old? I dunno... anyway, the latter interviewee thought that I was just graduated from college.

Maybe I have reverse-aging syndrome!

On a few wholly different notes...

The NBA is only days away! Both my fantasy drafts are tomorrow and I'm woefully unprepared.

I'm kinda glad Lost is going on hiatus. This season has been a little up and down, and it'll be nice to have a weeknight freed up again.

Back at the beginning of the year, Richard commented here that after moving out, I'd removed an essential obstacle in my being able to be be attractive to any gal. Well, looks like Rich is something of a prophet then... I think that just about every reader of this blog already knows, but as of a few months ago, God's brought a marvelous young woman into my life.

Ultra Cliff's Notes version of the story (if you want more details... you'll have to ask her, heh)... late 2005, Shally began helping out with youth group at Canaan after starting to attend the English service for half a year. In mid-December, one of our youth Fridays had a sharing question asking about any family Christmas traditions we had. I shared mine (getting together with extended family for hot pot), and everyone else went around. Fast forward to Christmas Eve, I logged online around midnight, noticed she was online, and IM'ed her for the first time to wish her a Merry Christmas. In response, she asked how the family hot pot had gone. The fact that she remembered my sharing from a few weeks prior caught my attention, and we began chatting online regularly. In the spring, we helped each other work through grad school applications/decisions, and since I helped review her entry essays, we began getting together in person to discuss revisions and then as thank-you meals. We began dating around the beginning of summer and then became "official" in late July.

This being my first relationship, we've had our share of ups and downs, but I'm thankful that she's been patient and very, very forgiving. This is new territory for me, and it's been quite the ride not just discovering her, but also learning a lot about myself as well. One significant lesson I've learned so far is that while "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is an apt maxim to apply to most human relationships, it's not quite sufficient to effectively care for someone or build closeness, because the way that you do something - perhaps a way you've done your whole life and seems completely sensible - may mean something different to the other person in a way that you didn't mean at all. I need to go beyond my own understanding and get to "Do unto others as they would have you do unto them." I need to learn to speak her language, not just hammer her with my own, and vice versa.

That being said, it's been both a challenge and a fun experience learning about each other, doing fun things together, praying for each other, and seeing little things like being able to anticipate what the other person is going to say or do, and see it happen. We'll see how God leads us as we move forward.

This past Monday, we celebrated 3 months by cooking dinner. Some pics:
Bacon-wrapped steak:

Super-stuffed potatoes (microwave the potatoes, scoop out the flesh, mash with sour cream, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and thyme, restuff potato shells, and broil):

Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus

Going Deeper with God part 1: God as Father and Shepherd

Our community group just started a unit on "Going Deeper with God", looking at the different roles God takes throughout the Bible. I led last night's study, which was the first, looking at how God relates to us as Father and child. Here are the notes, for anyone who's interested. I'll get back into writing some more personal stuff later; things are picking up at both work and ministry-wise.

Overall Introduction

In this unit, we will be focusing on how we can go deeper in our relationships with God. We will look at the different roles of God as described in Scripture, and see how these human analogies can be applied in a perfect way to God. The questions we want to then ask are: knowing what we know about God, how does this change the way we: 1) intercede in prayer, 2) listen in prayer, 3) read Scripture, 4) worship corporately, 5) worship independently, 6) witness, 7) work?

Introduction to this Lesson

What do you think characterizes the ideal father-child relationship? Do you have any examples from your own experience of this?

A shepherd is someone who herds, tends, and guards sheep. What do you think characterizes the ideal shepherd?

God as Father

God is the Father of all in the sense of being Creator of all humanity.

God is the Father in his essential attitude toward all mankind, for he loves and has compassion for everyone.

God is the Father of Jesus for in nature they are equal and one

God is the Father of those who, through faith in Christ, have become members of God’s own family.

We are, or have been…

A Rebel: The prodigal son and the waiting father

In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), the son rebels under his father’s headship because he wants the freedom of choosing what he wants to do, without realizing that it is under his father’s house that he has the greatest freedom (being taught responsibility, has partial/eventual ownership of house and property, only obligated to father).

After the son squanders all, hard times come, and he’s working for a man who has no interest in him as a person, he “comes to his senses” (15:17). “When he takes stock of his life he discovers that his is chained to his urges. His passions have so developed within him that he has to satisfy them in any way he can. Yet even when he does so, they are not satisfied (Stedman).” He realizes he has no freedom, his father-given possessions are gone, all he wanted was in his father’s house, and he realized he had lost his sonship (so he would try to go back as a servant). He’s not happy about experimenting with sin/evil and has no justification whatsoever.

The father’s response is to bring the robe (sign of sonship), a ring (sign of authority), and a feast (sign of honor). Why? “It is a picture of the heart of God. The father's agony began when he first realized that he had to let this boy go. He did not want to. He knew what lay ahead, and he knew it was needless. He knew that he could have spared this boy the heartache, the loneliness, the shame and degradation of the far country; that he could have saved him from these black marks upon his soul. Had the boy been patient, and waited a bit, and allowed his father to work out his purposes, he could have brought him into the full enjoyment of the liberty he sought, but without the heartache, without the shame. Yet the father knew he could not do it without the boy's full cooperation, that, when he had reached this stage of development, the boy must cooperate with him in it. He had to wait, and agree to wait, through the fulfillment of the father's plans. But if he would not wait the father could not force him; he could not make him do it. So there came a time when, with his heart breaking, the father gave the boy the money and let him go (Stedman).”

A Child: Adoption and being “born again”

Adopted – we are not naturally part of God’s family, we are naturally part of Adam’s sinful lineage. God legally makes us His sons (adoption) through Jesus’ sacrifice.

Born again – once we are adopted, “We have been made partakers of the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4) Brought from “death to life” (Luke 15:24)

“abba” – Aramaic for “dear father”, first syllables a baby can utter

God doesn’t just love us – he likes us as well and takes delight when we delight (Matthew 19:13-14 – childlike, not childish)

Subsection: God as Shepherd

Excerpt from The Revell Bible Dictionary:

Sheep were a valued economic resource in Israel, known and named individually by the shepherds responsible for their care. To be called one of God’s sheep was to be affirmed as someone truly important to God. Yet sheep are a relatively helpless animal, vulnerable to wild animals and prone to go astray. To call God “my shepherd” casts the Lord as a person who accepts responsibility to care for and protect the believer – one whom the believer can trust as fully as sheep could trust the shepherd who owned and cared for them.

As the Good Shepherd, Jesus “lays down his life for the sheep (Jn 10:11)” Mere hired hands to whom the sheep have no personal value abandon them when the wolf comes. Because Jesus cares for his sheep, and has a personal relationship with each of them, he will lay down his life for the sheep. As a good shepherd Jesus interposed himself between his sheep and deadly danger, and willingly died that the sheep he valued might “have life and have it to the full.”

An Heir: Growing from children to heirs

Romans 8:14-18: “… Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

If we are a son of God, then we are led by the Spirit of God and living in his fullness – entering into full possession of our inheritance rather than having it held for us until we reach our age of majority.

“This picture that he draws comes from the Roman custom of adopting their children. A Roman father, if he had male children, never referred to them as his sons until they were of age. They were his children, but they were not his sons. But, when they became of age (which was about 14 in the Roman system) he took them down to the public forum, and, there, they were publicly adopted by their own father and thereafter regarded as his heirs. They entered into participation in their father's business, and had a share in his inheritance… The true son is one who himself is nothing, but who lives in continual dependence upon an indwelling one within who does everything -- both of them distinct beings, both of them thinking, and feeling, and willing, and acting -- yet one is nothing and the other is all. Any other life than this is living death. (Stedman)”

How do we grow in maturity? By “sharing in Christ’s sufferings so that we may also share in his glory.” Note that this is not suffering due to our own sin, but rather in seeking after God’s purposes and working for his Kingdom.

Application

God, as a Father and Shepherd: loves you, protects you, provides for your needs (Matt 6:25-34), provides good gifts (Matt 7:9-12), plans for you, hears you, claims you and openly acknowledges you as a child, chastens and corrects you to help you grow into maturity, and honors you.

Knowing this…

1) Do you typically address God as “Father” when you pray? Why?

2) In your relationship with God the Father, are you in a state of rebellion, of being a child, or becoming an heir?

3) Do you believe God loves you? Do you believe God likes you (i.e. likes spending time with you, listening to you talk, teaching you, being involved in your successes and failures, etc.)? Are you childlike or childish?

4) Are you maturing in Christ by accomplishing the goals your Father has for you? Do you have to suffer to do this?

This week…

Ask God to sanctify your imagination. Detach yourself for a period of time from outside distractions, like work and other concerns, and address God as “Father.”

- If you are in a state of rebellion, renounce the things that caused you to run away from God. In your mind, picture yourself being welcomed joyfully by God, who reclaims you as a child and as an heir. Thank God for saving you from the sin that caused you to turn away in the first place.

- Address God as a child. Be less formal (“Abba”, “Daddy”). Share with God the things that delighted and frustrated you today. Ask God to share with you the things that delight and frustrate Him, and then sit still and consider the images He places in your mind. Write these down, and consider them as you read Scripture.

- Come to God as an heir. Ask God to bring to mind what needs to be done in His business in your contexts at work, church, with family and friends. As you read Scripture, consider what God has equipped/is equipping you to do in His Kingdom. Seek to transform and apply your passions to His work.

References

http://pbc.org/library/files/html/3520.html

http://pbc.org/library/files/html/0376.html

http://pbc.org/library/files/html/0018.html

The Revell Bible Dictionary

Three decades

30 years ago, my parents were married in Taiwan, and shortly thereafter, made their way across the ocean to begin a new life for my family here in the States. In the three decades since, they've been able to raise a family, build careers, make good friends, help bring many other members of their family over, serve the community, and countless other things that would take multiple blogs to recount.

Mom on top of Half Dome, last week:
I had the chance to live back at home with my folks for 5 years after college. While many "boomerangers", particularly ones of Asian descent, tend to dread moving back in, I've been enormously blessed to have been able to live with them as a transitioning young adult and to have the benefit of their wisdom, care, and guidance. My parents have taught me how to value hard work, but in the proper context of being able to influence and bless others. How to value simplicity in material things and straightforward honesty in relating to people. How to value quality over status. My Dad's taught me how to fix a sink as well as given advice on how to plan my career, and my Mom has helped massage away the pain of RSI while giving me words of encouragement even when I didn't think I needed them (I actually really did).

My brother and I have been so fortunate as to have such a strong model of a marriage partnership to look up to. Day in and day out, whether we appreciated them or not, we could count on Mom and Dad to lead the family - do some teaching, some planning, some disciplining, some fun outings and good conversation. We could see them work out their differences in arguments peacefully, could see how they would support each other in the various projects and causes that they would volunteer for, and even hear about how they'd work as a team to provide some amateur marriage counseling for their friends. We've been blessed.

The family at L'Ecole restaurant in NYC, 2004:
A few weeks ago on a family hiking trip (my bro was back from NYC), I was walking and talking with my Dad, who was mentioning how he and Mom had to cancel a week-long camping trip to Tuolomne Meadows in Yosemite that they were going to go on for their 30th anniversary (they ended up going to the Valley for three days to hike Half Dome). Since 30 is a nice, big round number, I asked him if he wanted me to plan some party with their friends so that they could celebrate, since they would be in the area. His response was, "Nah, we don't need anything big to celebrate. Every day is a celebration."

Corny? Sure. But with my parents, I know that that kind of sentiment is a sincere one, and I'm grateful for it.


Happy 30th anniversary!

Robocop vs...

I'll have original content soon, I promise! But courtesy of Andrew W, I wanted to draw your attention to these surprisingly well-made fan movies depicting mano a mano clashes between favored fictional super characters, which has been discussed on my blog before. These videos show good old Robocop taking on the Terminator and Neo (from the Matrix):

After these messages...

Will be back (hopefully) shortly with a personal update, but until then, check out some links:

Electric car out-drag races Porsche and Ferrari


"Oops I Did It Again" - in classical music form (courtesy of Andrew N):


People don't take vacations anymore
Check out the articles The Rise of Shrinking-Vacation Syndrome and Please Don’t Make Me Go on Vacation for some interesting facts about how Americans are taking less and less vacation time. For example, a Gallup survey showed that 43% of Americans surveyed had no summer vacation plans, and a separate one showed 60% who were not taking a vacation in the next 6 months. Very few people ever take 2 weeks off at a time, and 1 in 5 people do work on vacation - a number that is steadily rising due to the proliferation of laptops, Blackberrys, and cell phones.

To try and do my part to reverse this no-vacation American trend, I'll be heading to Hawaii for the first time in November (Oahu). Oughta be fun.

Nerd, Geek, or Dork?

This past Sunday after Canaan's Worship in the Park event, Joy made the comment that I was a nerd (I forget the context or what prompted it). In mild self-defense, I claimed that I was a geek, not a nerd, and then challenged her to define it. Well, through the power of the internets, I guess she's off the hook, since this quiz can define it for me!

Pure Nerd 69 % Nerd, 47% Geek, 39% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd. The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful. Congratulations! Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on nerdiness You scored higher than 99% on geekosity You scored higher than 99% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

While I sorta protest... I guess I kinda know in my heart of hearts that I'm somewhat nerdy. After all, at bowling on Tuesday, I attempted to explain to Hanlin that he should use the heaviest bowling ball he can handle by mentioning "F = ma". So... yeah.

Think you're smart?

Growing up in the Silicon Valley, there are a lot of smart people. High school was full of overachievers. Cal was crammed with brilliance. I had a friend in my fellowship at Cal that double-majored in physics and chemical engineering, and is now going for a PhD... that's pretty darn smart.

But all of that's really nothing compared to this guy. For those of you not inclined to read the article, here's the summary:

Dude graduated from the University of Virginia.

With a double major in math and physics.

In one year.

He took 23 units his first semester, 37 his second, and then summer school to fill out the rest of the degree. Now he's in grad school at age 18.

Have you ever wondered how you would raise your kid if it seemed he/she had a genius-level intellect? Apparently this kids' parents wanted him to do more "kid stuff" growing up, but he was too motivated and ended up reading/doing homework during dinner and such.

Thing is, he might not even truly be a genius. Check out the Howstuffworks article to see the difference between being really really smart, and being a genius - basically, a genius needs to be able to be creative and innovative, as well as being really knowledgable in their field. It's also interesting to read about the theories of different types of intelligence:

Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences
* Linguistic
* Logical-mathematic
* Musical
* Bodily-kinesthetic
* Spatial
* Interpersonal
* Intrapersonal

Sternbert's triarchic theory of human intelligence
* Creative intelligence, or the ability to generate new, interesting ideas
* Analytical intelligence, or the ability to examine facts and draw conclusions
* Practical intelligence, or the ability to fit into one's environment

Based on these definitions, you can kind of see what category some famous peoples' genius intelligence would be in - for example, Federer in Bodily-kinesthetic, Gaudi in Spatial, Mozart in Musical, Einstein in Logical-mathematic, etc. Can you see your relative strengths in these defined areas of intelligence?

Interesting movies

Fun flicks from around the web:

The Muppet Matrix
Yay for 3d animation!


Inhuman Korean archery
These archers shoot:
- an apple at 70 meters
- an egg at 70 meters
- a soybean at 30 meters
- an arrow into another arrow



Ready for Lost Season 3?
Here's a baffling and surprising clip about some of the mythos surrounding the Dharma Foundation, pieced together from the various multimedia Lost sites out there (first found at this site):



Finally, here's a fun clip of a guy getting jiggy wit' it on DDR.

Why English Teachers Die Young

Humor break! I've italicized my favorites:

====================

Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year's winners.....

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2.. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie,surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

20. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

21. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

22. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

23. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

24. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

====================

Professionalism, character, and dignity

This past Friday, a few of the NBA stars from my basketball fandom infancy were inducted into the Hall of Fame: Charles Barkley, Dominique Wilkins, and Joe Dumars.

While Barkley and Wilkins put up the big stats and filled up the highlight reels, I was always drawn to Dumars, who was the one "good guy" on the "Bad Boys" Pistons teams. As the defensive stopper and the offensive glue, he was able to play a pivotal role in the team's two championships bridging the Lakers-Celtics era and the Bulls dynasty. More than his play though, I always admired his other qualities - how he willingly stayed out of the limelight, did the dirty work, and stepped up (in often spectacular fashion) when his team needed him. Plus, he rarely complained to refs and never whined about shots, minutes, or his teammates. For his character, the annual Sportsmanship trophy awarded by the NBA was named after him.

In this series of interviews with him, he described what he'd like his legacy to be, and says a few things about giving everything and being remembered for professionalism, character, and dignity that I aspire to:

I was never one consumed with being a professional athlete. I knew I was deeper. I had more depth to me than just, I can run and jump and shoot. I never viewed myself in that context, as that's who I am and that's what I am.

As I got closer to retirement, my mind-set was ready. By the time I played my last game, there were no tears, there were no long, sad good-byes. You know, basically to Grant Hill and Lindsey Hunter and those guys, I said, "You guys have it now. It's all in your lap now."

I've never looked back. I can honestly tell you, I've never missed it. I don't miss playing. I never did when I retired, even the next year. I enjoyed the fact that I'd done it, and I'm done with it.

I've never played basketball again. I never intend to. I'll rebound for Jordan, my son. And I'll shoot a little.

But some guys play, play three-on-three. Oh, no. I'm done.

I don't have anything left in me. I don't have any desire to go out on the basketball court and play.

I gave everything. I don't have anything else to give. I completely exhausted myself with it.

And I don't have anything left to do. There's nothing I didn't get to accomplish that I wanted to. I don't have any regrets about my career, like I wish I could have done this or I wish I could have done that. I was fortunate. It all happened. I'm not going back trying to relive anything. There's nothing to relive.

How do I want to be remembered?

Well, I'm not dead.

But a few words: professionalism, character, dignity and winner, because I've been fortunate enough to win a lot in this league, to win everything you can possibly win.

All those things would be how I view what I've been able to accomplish.

But start with character and dignity because that's who I've been, and that's who I'll continue to be.

How Star Wars should have ended
In an effort to extract more money from fans, Lucasfilm just re-released the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD with the original theatrical version (along with the "special" edition). Seeing as how I never got around to buying the various DVD sets that have been released, I might just go and pick it up. But in tribute to the release date, someone created this amusing animated alternate ending to the first movie:

When's the best time to buy stuff?

Most people I know love bargains. Thus, the following article on "The Best Time to Buy Everything" might be of use. Some highlights:

Airplane Tickets
When to buy: On a Wednesday, 21 days (or a couple of days earlier) before your flight.
Why: Airlines make major pricing changes (and run fare sales) every week, typically on Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings. About 21 days out from your flight, you'll see plenty of deals out there as airlines scramble to fill seats. Don't wait much longer, she cautions; prices jump significantly from 14 to seven days ahead of departure.

Cars
When to buy: Weekday mornings in September.
Why: By September, all the next year's models have arrived at the lot, and dealers are desperate to get rid of the current year's leftovers, says Phil Reed, consumer advice editor for Edmunds.com. It's the prime time of year for incentives and sales, not to mention bargaining. "Any car that's been on the lot for a long time loses its value in the eyes of the car salesman," he says.

Heading to the dealership on a weekday morning also helps because there's low foot traffic, meaning you'll have ample time to negotiate and fewer people trying to buy the same car. The more demand, the less willing a salesman is to go down on price, says Reed. (For more, see our column Summer Car Savings.)

Clothing
When to buy: Thursday evenings, six to eight weeks after an item arrives in stores.
Why: After an item lingers in stores a month or more, retailers start dropping its price to get it out the door, says Kathryn Finney, author of "How to Be a Budget Fashionista." These season-end clearances tend to be the same month that designers host fashion weeks (February and September) to preview the next fall or spring collections. So smart buyers can check the catwalk to see if any of this season's trends — say, leggings or military-style jackets — will still be hot next year, and then scoop them up on clearance.

Hitting the mall on a weekday ensures you'll get a good selection. "On the weekend, you'll only get picked-over stuff because the stores don't have time to restock," she says. By Thursday, most of the weekend sales have begun, but everything available is on the floor.

Computers and electronics
When to buy: Just after a new model is launched.
Why: When the latest and greatest of a product is released, you'll often see prices drop on what had previously been the best thing out there, says Tom Merritt, executive editor for CNET, an electronics review web site. Case in point: When Apple released the Nano last September, prices for the now-discontinued Mini dropped 12%, from $199 for a 4GB to about $175. So keep your eyes open for announcements from major manufacturers. Want a little less work? Time your purchases for after big annual technology show like MacWorld (next held Jan. 8-12, 2007) and the International Consumer Electronics Show (next held Jan. 8-11, 2007).

Gas
When to buy: Early morning or late evening on a weekday.
Why: Time your trip based on whether prices are rising or falling, advises Marshall Brain, founder of HowStuffWorks, a consumer guide. Gas stations tend to change their prices between 10 a.m. and noon, so hit the pump in the early morning if gas prices are on the rise. Go later in the day if prices are falling. Tipsters on GasPriceWatch.com reported that on Sept. 3, a WaWa gas station in Lanoka Harbor, N.J., was offering regular gas for $2.85 a gallon. One day later the station's price had dropped to $2.65. In that case, going early would have cost you 20 cents more per gallon.

Try not to buy gas on the weekends, Brain says. Gas prices are often slightly elevated, as stations try to profit from leisure travelers. (For more ways to save, see our column Save on Gas.)

Groceries
When to buy: Sunday evenings.
Why: Store sales tend to run Wednesday through Tuesday, says Teri Gault, founder of The Grocery Game, a consumer savings program. On Sunday, you'll also have the latest round of manufacturer's coupons from your morning paper. "You can maximize your coupons available for that shopping week," she says. Heading to the store close to closing time means you'll have access to sales on fresh items that must be sold by the end of the day, such as meats and baked goods.

Of course, you'll also benefit from in-season items that can be frozen for use later in the year, says Gault. That means turkeys at Thanksgiving and hams at Christmas and Easter. During the spring and summer, buy fresh produce. Peaches bought at $1 per pound now can be kept frozen for smoothies and pies throughout the winter, she says.

What's popular in consumer tech?
In the market for a digital camera or new cell phone? Might be interesting and/or informative to see what the most popular are:

Cell Phones
Digital Cameras - looks like everyone and their mother owns a Canon

He tipped how much?
Fans of "Friends" may remember the episode where Pete Becker (played by Jon Favreau of "Swingers" fame) gives Monica, who's working at a diner, a huge check for a $20,000 tip that turns out to be real. Well, it happened in real life (except with just $10k instead of $20k - what a cheapskate). I know I've raised the question about the custom of tipping in the past... if you're interested in the generally accepted customs, check out HowStuffWorks' explanation. Did you know that tip amounts can increase 3-5 percentage points if the server does things like touch the guest on the shoulder, leave candy with the bill, or squat next to the table when taking an order?

Movie Mistakes

Ever found yourself watching a movie, then doing a double-take and wondering, "Did I just see that?" You may have seen a mistake, like the ones collected in this video:

Little things

For most of the last year and a half that I've been in my current office building, we've had the same receptionist at the front desk every morning. She knew who got in early in the morning, who came in late in the mid-morning, and who took extra-long lunches... and made sure to do no more than flash a smile and a knowing glance in our direction as we made our way up the stairs to our cubes. Last week, she found a new job. When I came into the office this morning, the new person behind the counter called out in a rather obligatory "Good morning. How are you?" fashion, while keeping her eyes glued to her monitor. Something seemed like it was missing.

Sometimes, it's the little things, like eye contact and a smile, that can make a surprising difference in someone's day.

Time-wasters
I think I'm a naturally curious kind of guy, and the internet provides a wealth of information to dabble in. Be forewarned, however - the following news/info links can be strangely addictive, so consider reading them on your breaks only!

Both Digg.com and the New York Times Most Emailed Articles make use of a pretty recent phenomenon on the internet, that of utilizing the common user to essentially vote for and distinguish the more interesting news from the more mundane.

HowStuffWorks.com is a personal favorite.

Finally, Slashdot is an old standby for all the geeks out there.

Anyone have any other favorite resources for interesting stuff on the web?

Getting back in the saddle

I think the last month or so has been one of my least productive posting months of my blogging career. Despite having no shortage of ideas (I have an entire file of interesting articles, quotes, and topics that I want to comment on in one fashion or another), I've just had some massive writer's block lately. So, I'm going to take some of this guy's advice on defeating it by being a little bit less ambitious about my posts. Not everything has to be a few thousand-word long essay or commentary, or extraordinarily thoughtful either. So, I'm going to try and start with shorter posts on a more frequent basis, and see if that gets me going again.

Survival skills
Are you a city boy or a wise woodsman? Take this quiz on cold weather survival. Me? I'm a city boy... or I apparently don't have much knowledge about the human body neither.

World Basketball Championship
So the US ends up with another bronze medal. After having watched just about every televised game, a few comments:
- Argentina/Greece/Spain all play a very aesthetically pleasing brand of offensive basketball, with a lot of ball movement. The US is pretty much just isolating Carmelo, Lebron, or DWade.
- Help defense by the US is sorely lacking. The only competent help defender on the entire team was Battier. If you watched people play off the ball, he was the only US player that was aware of both his man and the ballhandler and positioned himself correctly to close out on either. So in crunch time, who's in the game? Carmelo/Wade/Lebron can dunk from the free throw line, but they can't stop a pick and roll.
- Cut: Antawn, Miller. There's any number of guys that can be added who would be more effective.

How "specialized" is your knowledge?
Can you:
Name 2 of the 7 dwarves? Name 2 of the Supreme Court justices?
Name the hero of JK Rowling's books? Name the prime minister of Great Britain?
Name Homer Simpson's son? Name one of the works of the Greek poet Homer?
Name the planet Superman comes from? Name the planet closest to the Sun?
Name the 3 Stooges? Name the 3 branches of the US government?

See how you did compared to other Americans in this article.

Top Guy Movies

In conversation with Chris and Mike P, we began discussing the list of 50 movies to see before you die, and promptly decided that it clearly did not reflect any kind of a good list of movies, at least for folks of our generation. In particular, where were the legendary guy movies that we grew up with?

A rudimentary Google search led me to the Men's Journal ranking of the 50 Best Guy Movies of All Time. While their list was fairly respectable, I still think it's slanted towards older films from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, while my generation (which is pretty much the same as everyone reading this blog) grew up on films in the 80s and 90s. I did think their list of criteria for a true guy movie was pretty accurate:

- violence trumps sex, war beats peace
- only guys will love the movie, can't be too serious or too sensitive (aka no Meryl Streep)
- can be watched in groups over and over
- great lines of dialogue that can be recited in public and other guys will glance over and nod with understanding
- tend to be about soldiers, athletes, cops, loners in general
- straightforward moral - all that matters is being brave and honorable

With that in mind, I'm going to kick off a list of guy movies, in no particular order or ranking, grouping movies in the same series together. I'll be pulling from movies that I've seen myself first. Keep in mind that while these movies might not be great, they might not even be good - but they will be guy movies. Feel free to add suggestions for the list in the comments section. (The first part of this list is sifted from the Men's Journal list).

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TOP GUY MOVIES

1. Die Hard trilogy - soon to add a fourth installment. These are often on FX, TBS, or TNT, and I almost always invariably stop to watch. It's so incredibly hilarious when the TV censorship/dubbing replaces McClane's trademark "Yippee ki-yay, m***********!" with "Yippee ki-yay, Mister Falcon!"

2. The Terminator and Terminator 2 - Terminator 3 doesn't count. The T-1000 may be one of the coolest villains in action movie history.

3. The Matrix - For the geek circles I run in, this flick has provided tons of quotes that can be used in multiple situations. "I know kung fu." "Whoa."

4. Enter the Dragon - Just adopt a slow, heavy Chinese accent, and say "You killed my family, and you have disgraced a Shao-Win Tempo."

5. Fight Club - One word: brutal.

6. Office Space - "It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that I don't care."

7. The Rock - "What do you want me to do, kill him again?" The shower room scene with the SEALs still gives me chills.

8. Face/Off - One of the first introductions of Hong Kong-stylized filmmaking - lots of slow-mo, trench coats billowing, the gold dragon money clip.

9. Commando - "I like you. You're funny. I'll kill you last."

10. Predator - "I ain't got time to bleed."

11. Lethal Weapon 1-3 - You can't get much more "guy" than relocating your own dislocated shoulder. However, the last line of #4 ("We're not friends, we're family!") is enough to trump Jet Li's coolness and wipe that movie off this list.

12. Desperado - Copious amounts of bullets and blood. Has anyone ever figured out how he hid two large-caliber pistols in his jacket sleeves?

13. Rambo: First Blood - Spawned gun-toting American stereotypes the world over.

14. Men in Black - Will Smith's inclusion on this list is a little iffy b/c his personal charisma is enough to bring in the ladies too. But still, the banter between him and Tommy Lee Jones is great.

15. Top Gun - It must have pleased Cruise greatly to be out-acted by the airplanes.

16. Ferris Bueller's Day Off - "Bueller? Bueller?" It still amuses me to see his buddy Cameron on the bus in "Speed".

17. Above the Law, Hard to Kill, and all the other three-word Seagal movies - there's something about watching a guy with a ponytail breaking people's arms in exquisite detail.

18. Bloodsport - You haven't seen guy movie martial arts until you've seen Bolo breaking a guy's neck and then flexing his pecs.

19. Swingers - "You're so money and you don't even know it."

20. Monty Python and the Holy Grail - "'Tis but a flesh wound!"

21. Robocop - ED-209 was the first live-action mecha.

22. Happy Gilmore - "The price is WRONG, Bob!"

23. Con Air (nominated by Chris) - The Nicolas Cage trilogy is complete.

24. Gladiator (nominated by Chris) - while it might just be too good of a movie for this list, you can't beat the mini-monologue/rant ending with "... and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."

25. Braveheart (nominated by Chris) - "Freeeeeeedoooooommmmm!" The graphic throat slitting scene still makes me cringe.

26. The Godfather 1 and 2 (nominated by Chris) - He actually nominated the entire series, but I understand that only 1 and 2 are really classics.

27. Scarface (nominated by Chris) - "Say hewo to ma leetle fwend!"

28. Rocky (nominated by Chris) - Did you know this won Best Picture and nominated Stallone for Best Actor and Best Screenplay? That's some kind of peak.

29. Goodfellas (nominated by Andrew N) - Gangsta.

30. Casino (nominated by Andrew N) - See #29.

31. The Untouchables (nominated by Andrew N) - Because baseball bats and spaghetti go together.

32. Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and other Kubrick films (nominated by Andrew N)

33. Clint Eastwood's Spaghetti Western trilogy (nominated by Andrew N)

34. Bullit / Fast & Furious 1,2,3 (nominated by Andrew N) - For its shameless car porn.

35. Any James Bond movies NOT starring Roger Moore or Timothy Dalton (nominated by Andrew N)

36. Blues Brothers (nominated by Andrew N) - On a mission from God

37. Transformers: The Movie (nominated by Andrew N) - I can't believe I (Bob) forgot this one! How traumatic was it to see all your favorite Transformers dying?

38. Cool Hand Luke (nominated by AndrewN ) - Since he ate 50 eggs

39. Just about all Akira Kurosawa films with samurai (nominated by Andrew N)

40. Batman (1989) (nominated by Andrew N) - The only Batman movie not loved equally by girls, guys and girly guys

41. Army of Darkness (nominated by Andrew N) - Hail to the king, baby.

42. Tombstone (nominated by Andrew N)

43. The Professional (nominated by Andrew N)

44. Shaolin Soccer (nominated by Hanlin) - -1 vote

45. Iron Monkey (nominated by Hanlin)

46. Kill Bill 1 and 2 (nominated by Hanlin)

47. Snatch (nominated by Andrew W)

48. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (nominated by Andrew W)

49. Saving Private Ryan (nominated by Abe) - -1 vote

50. Black Hawk Down (nominated by Abe)

51. Glory (nominated by Abe) - -1 vote

52. Heat (nominated by Abe)

53. Raging Bull (nominated by Clement

54. Reservoir Dogs (nominated by Clement)

55. Animal House (nominated by Clement)

56. Field of Dreams (nominated by Cal)

57. Nothing to Lose (nominated by Abe) - "Why you gotta drive on the sidewalk man? People gotta walk there!"

58. Speed (nominated by Shally

NOMINATED BUT SHOT DOWN (3 or more votes)
The Princess Bride (nominated by Hanlin) - "Hallo. My name is Inigo MonTOya. You killed my father. Prepware to die."

Hanlin's reasoning: "i'd think that it's eccentric enough that gals won't really like it. the romantic stuff is too cheezy to take effect on girls. and no, princess bride doesn't have meryl streep in it."

==========

If you want anything struck from the list, vote for it in the comments - 3 votes will take it off!

Team USA thoughts

Warning: Pure basketball post ahead

How much of a hoops junkie am I? Even now, in August and in the middle of the offseason, I'm still regularly reading almost all of the major basketball news outlets for info on Team USA as they get ready to begin the World Championships this Saturday. We've recorded and watched all of the televised exhibition games so far. A few thoughts:

- Before getting into Team USA... here's a priceless quote from Chris Wilcox after signing his free agent contract with the Seattle Sonics:

“There is always going to be somebody who is hating on you. They hated on Jesus, so I can’t say they won’t hate on me.”

- Read former Laker John Celestand's interesting take on why there's more than just pride at stake in how well the US performs internationally. The short form is that for American ballers playing overseas, they ended up losing a lot of money from foreign clubs who no longer regarded American hoopsters with the same respect as they used to when the US lost its aura of invincibility in 2002 and 2004.

- The team's strength is obvious - athleticism up the wazoo. Thus far in the exhibition games, they've been able to physically overmatch almost every opponent by running a full-court press that eventually wore down every team into committing turnovers by the bushel. They're faster, quicker, and can jump higher than any opponent, and they have 12 guys who can do this.

- The weaknesesses on the team that I'm concerned about - #1 is the lack of reliable outside shooting. Joe Johnson (and recently, Brad Miller(!)) may be the only guys I'd expect to hit a wide open jump shot that is set up by a Wade/Lebron penetration or a double team on Brand. This should be less of a problem at the Olympics in two years when potential members of the team will include Kobe, Redd, and Billups, but this month they'll need some non-shooters to step up.

- #2 weakness is the defense. I can remember from both 2002 and 2004 how the US team just got smoked on fundamental but perfectly executed back cuts, screens and rolls, and pick and fades that resulted in wide-open layups and jump shots (see simple pleasure #6). While this year's version is emphasizing the full-court press to get people out of their regular offense, the better and more disciplined teams will still be able to run what they want to - the question is if Lebron, Carmelo, and the other not-terribly-defensively-minded US players can stick their man and not get their heads turned. Doesn't help that much that they just dropped Bowen, but that highlights...

- #3 weakness is rebounding. In the first exhibition game, the exceedingly mediocre big men of Puerto Rico (Santiago and Ramos) were able to make an impact inside because the US just doesn't have that many quality big men who can take up space, challenge shots, and grab boards. The SFs will have to make sure not to leak out on the break too early, but to aid on boxing out and chasing down rebounds. This is probably why Jamison (who was my original choice to be cut) was kept rather than Bowen.

- Carmelo looks like he's unstoppable going one-on-one on the offensive end. I'll propose some lineups below, but he should probably be the featured offensive option when he's in the game. He'll have to learn how to not force the issue into zone defenses however, and he'll have to play some D on his own.

- It would have been nice to give Bowen a shot at gold since he'll probably be too old to compete in two years at the Olympics, but given that his style of defense is typically very physical, it might not have translated well to the international style of play.

- If I were coaching with this roster of 12, I'd make sure everyone gets significant run in order to take advantage of fresh legs and superior athleticism. It seems that Coach K is going with one primary lineup in alternating quarters. Here are a few proposed lineup combinations:

PG: Hinrich
SG: Wade
SF: Anthony
PF: Brand
C: Miller
6th: Battier

I'd start games with this lineup as a defensively sound, halfcourt team. The beginning of games is usually when the opposing team is the most fresh, and so they'd typically have their best players in. Having the defense of Hinrich/Wade/Brand/Battier would help slow and wear down opposing teams' best players. On offense, Carmelo would be the primary outside shooting/slashing threat, with Wade as the penetrator/distributor and Hinrich/Miller spotting up for threes. Brand is also an option in the mid- to low-post while providing a shot-blocking presence that Miller lacks.

PG: Paul
SG: Johnson
SF: James
PF: Bosh
C: Howard
6th: Jamison

This is the lineup I'd bring in starting the second quarter, as they'd either be playing against some tired starters or some second stringers. This team is built to run, run, run. Paul is perhaps ready to take over the Kidd/Nash mantle as the best pure PG in the game, and with the direction of assistant coach D'Antoni (aka the architect of the Suns' fast break), the transition game is triggered by Howard blocking/boarding, James and Bosh filling the lanes, and Johnson spotting up for threes like he used to in Phoenix. Jamison can fill in either as a rebounder/trigger man for the break or to fill one of the lanes.

PG: Wade
SG: Johnson
SF: Anthony
PF: James
C: Brand/Howard

I'd consider using this lineup to finish the half and the game - although LeBron would be a bit undersized at the 4, the matchup problems this lineup would pose could potentially be worth it.

- Among the group of guys that regularly plays ball on Sundays, we sometimes have conversations about which NBA player we would be style- and athleticism-wise if we were all a foot taller or so. Based on my style of play, I've always thought that I'd be a cerain role-playing member of Team USA - and the following quiz confirms it:

Shane Battier
Take Which NBA player are you? today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.

Blogger improvements

Check out today's news on how Blogger Beta will improve your blogging experience. For example:

- dynamic pages - instead of having the rotating "publishing" icon, the new content will be saved to the database, and anyone coming to view the page will get it rendered on the spot. So, much faster publishing
- access control - private, protected, and public posts (a la Xanga)
- labels - categorize your posts (a la Wordpress)
- comment feeds

And a few other things.

It doesn't look like I'm eligible for beta, but if anyone is, try it out and let us know how it is.

10 simple pleasures

Latest sign of age: after a weekend of hoops/softball at both the Canaan Sports Day and the regular Sunday hoops, the back of my left knee is annoyingly stiff every time I try to stand up from a seated position. Usually it's my right knee that gives me problems. This tells me that while I might be thin, I'm not particularly fit, particularly in my leg muscles and joints. I've found myself browsing Craigslist for stationary bikes... might be a worthwhile investment.

Got tagged by Chris to list out ten simple pleasures of mine... so here are a few, in no particular order:

10) falling asleep in a warm bed to the sound of rain, followed closely by
10a) the morning after a rainy night, with a fresh, crisp scent in the air and a perfectly clear view of the mountains ringing the Valley

9) listening to a highly-anticipated album of brand-new music for the first time

8) eating something that I've cooked for myself and realizing that it actually tastes pretty good. Doesn't happen too often...

7) making an obscure reference or quoting from TV shows and movies in the midst of conversation... and having someone recognize the reference. Even better is if they continue to riff on the reference by making their own.

6) performing a fundamentally sound sports maneuver that the opponent can't counter. For example, being on either the passing or receiving end of a perfectly-executed backdoor play on the basketball court is immensely satisfying.

5) reading in bed before falling asleep, usually a novel. Gotta give some time for the body to adjust to the sheets at night...

4) multitasking by exercising at the same time as other things, such as doing pushups/pullups/situps while watching TV or walking a few laps around the block while on the phone

3) being able to process my life and express it in words that I'm satisfied with, whether a blog post or a journal entry. These tend to be long

2) intelligent, stimulating conversation after a good meal with family or friends

1) hearing or seeing that I've influenced or inspired someone in a good way - doing more life reflection, eating healthier, and the like. It's nice to know that you make a difference