Move-in Day

We moved uncommon son #2 into his dorm room today. I'm not really sure how I feel about that.

I thought it would be no big deal since I did this five years ago with uncommon son #1. It's a different school, which is farther from home. The drive to Lubbock makes the drive to Abilene seem like a short commute. He has some health concerns that I wish he didn't have to worry about while he's being all collegiate. He wants to have a degree that requires 7 years of college. All that adds up to more apprehension than I was expecting.

He's also got a definite plan and is where he wants to be. He seems pretty well adjusted to the idea of us leaving him tomorrow. His roommate has been a friend of his since birth. (That may or may not be a good thing. I hope the friendship survives such close quarters.) His adviser at college followed the exact same degree plan as he is pursuing. But there's still a small tugging at my heart.

I guess it doesn't matter how many times you take your kids to college. Their still your kids and it's still a big change.

RAIN

This looks like it's going to be a good soaking rain. I knew it would get here, I just didn't know when.

The sentence in the middle comes to mind when drought turns to rain, but the whole paragraph is so good I that I had to include it all:

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect."

Dropping the Dish

I'm seriously thinking about stopping my satellite service. I've been a fan of Dish Network since digital satellite television supplied through the 18" dish antenna first became available (wow I'm old).

Uncommon son #1 recently moved into his own rent house and I helped him connect a television antenna. He didn't want to spend money on satellite or cable television that he would rarely be home to watch. He is a school teacher and a coach. I was amazed by the number of channels available for free. Somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty.

With two uncommon sons still at home, and one starting college, the chances of my sitting around watching the tube (wow I'm old again) for hours in the evening or on the weekend are pretty small. Truthfully, paying nearly $100 for television service for the last three to four years has been a bit of a waste. We dropped our subscription by one level about a year ago and I haven't even missed the channels we dropped. I noticed for about the first two months that some of my 'regular' shows were missing, but quickly adjusted.

I like to watch the news. I don't care much for sports except for playoffs, which are almost always on the free network channels. And more shows are available on Netflix or similar Internet subscription services every month. I think I would rather have $100 in my piggy bank each month than keep paying for 100 channels I don't watch.

Olympic Highlight

This is probably my favorite Olympic moment so far:

Oldie but Goodie

August Singing Night Devotional

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

"Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
~ Matthew 25:34-45 NLT ~

Be aware of people around you who need to know that someone cares. Then show them how much God cares for them.

Uncommon AUP

This picture has been on the social networks today. Great parenting. I think I will start instituting a similar policy at the uncommon house.

I also recently moved my oldest uncommon kid into his own rent house. We hooked up a television antenna for him because he's a football coach and will have no time for television any time soon. I had no idea how many channels were on the digital waves. I am seriously considering buying an antenna and dumping the Dish. I spend most of my television time watching either local channels or things that are on Netflix. But I actually don;t spend much time watching television.

30th Olympiad

Yay 'Merica!

You would think only Japan and Germany would be competing against us and every one else would just let us win.

Phishing for Gold

I've had phone calls recently from phone-a-friends looking for computer help; specifically, email help. It seems they received emails asking them to verify their passwords, and one click plus a few keystrokes later, their email accounts were sending messages to everyone they had ever contacted saying that they were needing money.

This is one of the forms of Internet chaos known as phishing (sounds like fishing). People are trolling through the Internet looking for account passwords and personal information hoping someone will be careless enough to just give it to them.

REMEMBER: NO LEGITIMATE PERSON WILL EVER ASK YOU FOR AN ACCOUNT NAME OR PASSWORD IN AN EMAIL MESSAGE!

You account passwords are as sensitive as your bank account numbers. Literally.

Now, please email me your name and password to log in to your email account so I can clean it up for you. (Just checking to see if you're paying attention.

Ain't nothing but a good time

I don't see many movies, so when I do see one, I may as well review it. I went to see Rock of Ages on a whim at 10:05pm. I'm usually in bed by 10:05pm.

I'm not a big Tom Cruise fan. I think he's weird. His role in this movie didn't seem to be much of a stretch from his off-screen personality. That's probably why I didn't mind watching him in this movie too much. I was prepared for his presence to ruin the movie for me, but it didn't. I think they probably picked the right guy for the role.

This movie is a musical with not one original song. I new the words to every 80's rock song that was sung (and there were many). Overall it was a good movie. It had all of the stuff you would expect: 80's rock-n-roll sex, drinking, excess, and bad clothes, along with the anti-rock-n-roll protesters. The only real disappointment was that the songs were all covered by the actors, and I really wanted to hear the originals.

Inspiration

At our church, we have a monthly "Singing Night" where all of the younger boys get to take a turn getting up in front of the group that is there and leading them in a song. I usually am the one in charge of helping the boys out who need it and bringing a short inspirational message. For the last few months I've tried to find a good video I can use. Although it gets down to the wire some months, God always provides inspiration for me. Here is this month's video:

I love the end of May

I work at a school. I work 12 months of the year. But I still look forward to the end of school. Most of the students and teachers are gone all summer for a little over two months. There's just a few summer schoolers and custodians around. I get a lot done in the summer.

(Un)concerned citizen

Very nice. Some truck driver takes a corner too fast and comes within a few feet of rolling on your car (Range Rover?). After such a near miss with grim reaper, what do you do first? Check on the driver of the truck with a shattered windshield that's laying on its side? No! Of course you see if your bumper needs replacing!

No Title Necessary

Eduardo Saverin, Singaporian Extraordinaire

AP Photo of Senator Charles Schumer

Facebook co-founder, Eduardo Saverin, has renounce his U.S. citizenship and is now a citizen of Singapore. Singapore has no capital gains tax. This move will potentially save Saverin several million dollars. The real news here, though, is Chuck Schumer's (D-NY) reaction to the move:

"This is a great American success story gone horribly wrong."

"This tax avoidance scheme is outrageous."

Bwahahahaha!!!!! I guess Saverin should have decided to become a Senator to avoid paying his fair share of taxes. Then he could have retired fat and happy on the government teat like Schumer himself! I think Chuck is just mad that he can't be a citizen of another country. He has the burden of having to help write clustered laws that raise taxes on everyone except elected officials while he votes himself pay raises.

It's worth the wait

Trust me on this one. I started to chop it down by nearly a minute and eliminate the car stopped for so long at the light. I didn't. The anticipation is well worth it.

I'm a slow reader . . .

. . . tell me something I don't already know.

Here's the test if you want to try for yourself:

Source: Staples eReader Department

My problems are insignificant

The hemoncology floor of Seattle Children's Hospital

West Virginia is my second favorite state

West Virginia is not the only state that has a direction in its name. There are two North's and two South's. But it's the only state that starts with West, and it's east of the Mississippi River. What a cool state!

Keith Judd for President

But the reason WV is my new second favorite state is because they gave this guy 41% of the vote in the Democratic Presidential primary election. How bad of a President do you have to be to lose a state to this guy. Actually, you don't have to be that bad of a President. You just have to not care about one of the states in the Union. While the President is flushing billions down the solar energy toilet of bankruptcy and developing policies making it illegal to burn coal. WV is the second largest coal producing state.

You have to love a country where a man in prison for extortion can run for President. And you have to love a state that would actually elect him over four more years of hope and change.

Josh Hamilton doing what Josh Hamilton do

Ridiculosity

According to MSNBC, Americans are overweight because of our high fat, high sugar environment. Furthermore, what's needed to fix the problem is a tax on soft drinks and government-built sidewalks, along with offering more healthy choices at fast-food restaurants. I guess two out of three isn't bad. I have a fourth suggestion: quit giving away health care. Force people to be live healthier lives instead of offering up free health care on which they can rely to unclog their arteries and insert lap-bands because their doctor says that's the only way they can eat less.

People in this country don't want to do what it takes to be skinny. Skinny and fat should not even be used when talking about how healthy a person is. I know overweight people who are healthy, and skinny people who are not. I know it's a pretty good indicator, but it's like saying people in church on Sunday will go to heaven and people who are not in church on Sunday won't. You have to know what's going on inside a person too, not just the surface stuff.

I have four sons. When they all were still living at home, they all ate the same food, in about the same quantity. Two are overweight, two and just about right. The one now who eats the most is also the skinniest. There's more to a person's weight than just what they eat. I'm pretty sure that among the things contributing to a fatter society are the Internet, computers, automobiles, wealth, mass-produced fruits and vegetables, and a lack of home-grown gardens. Think about people's lives before and after each of these developments.

I agree with MSNBC, obesity is an environmental problem. But it's a problem of each individual's environment and does not require a governmental fix.

Birth week at the Uncommon house

It seems to be birth week in the Uncommon household this week. My #3 son turned 16 and has a party planned for our barn out back on Saturday night. He's the green one on the right. I'm pretty sure he thinks the morph suit is appealing to the chicks. His Pawpaw is buying him a pickup for his 16th birthday. He also bought one for sons #1 and #2 on their 16th. He's a nice guy like that.

Our Uncommon dog, Bella, also had pups this week. 8 Boxer pups, all fawn with a black mask. If you're in the market for one, post a comment. Today is take-the-new-pups-to-the-vet-day. That means I get to leave work early, like now. And Monday is a bad-weather day at school that we didn't use last Winter, so 3.5 day weekend for me! Woo hoo!

Whistle while you work

I think I posted this for the sweet mustache as much as the whistle coming from under it. The two background musicians are fun to watch too.

Larry Bird doing what Larry Bird do

I could watch this video all day (especially if I turn down the sound, although it is appropriate for the era.) I know Bird was a great all-around player, but you just don't see much passing like this in the NBA any more. Pro basketball is now pretty much one isolation play after another. High school players who want to go from good to greatness, watch and learn. When all eyes are on you, pass the ball to where no one is watching. If all eyes are looking for your pass, go score.

Those crazy Googlers

Google is in the news for having these cars that drive around taking pictures also downloading data that's being blasted out of houses and businesses.

There's no way Google is invading anyone's privacy by taking pictures from the streets. These cars can be spotted literally a mile away. That camera rig along with the Google signage on the side of the car make it obvious that they're taking pictures for the Internet. Go search Google's site fr images of "street view" and you'll see lots of people staging crazy scenes in goofy costumes when the cars drive by. I don't think anyone even argues this point any more.

As for the privacy issues about capturing WiFi data, this is really a non-issue also. If your television is set up next to a window and you leave the window open, I can sit on the street and enjoy whatever you're watching. If you're blasting music out of your bedroom window, I can sit on the street and record a song. If you have a WiFi router in your house, learn enough to put a password on it so people on the street or next door won't read your email or see where you're browsing on the Web. No need for a Congressional probe. No need for state attorneys general to waist money on investigating.

Standardized testing humor

I know several teachers who will not think the references to "Jeans Days" are funny. It will hit a little too close to home.

Edit: Well that's a bummer. I'm guessing someone got their little feelings hurt because it was a clip from a movie about Hitler.

Occupy something

It's May 1 and I've heard on television, radio, and Internet news sources that the Occupy people are trying to stage some sort of "99%" protests. Here's some quotes from the Wall Street Journal's web site:

European Pressphoto Agency

• "The organizers see Tuesday's events as the opening of a new era for the anti-corporate movement" {apparently we should all have government jobs and stop working for corporations, because they prefer to make money, not print it.}
• "But organizers on Friday acknowledged the morning rains as an early obstacle." {These people must really believe in their cause, unless it rains. No cause is worth getting wet}
• "'We announce when pickets are leaving, when they're successful, when we need more people,' Mr. Egberts said." {So... apparently the protesters have no real connection to whomever they are picketing. They just really enjoy a good picket line.}
• "The picket signs included slogans like 'Education is a right not a commodity' and 'Expand minds not NYU's campus.'" {Nobody appreciates something they get for free, let's keep education as something you have to earn, not a right. And while we're at it, let's give the protesters this second one. Quit expanding campuses so we can learn in groups of 100 or more. I hate small classes.}

Let's try to keep our upside-down flag-flying to a minimum here. The article I quoted mentions protesting banks, universities, and broadcast corporations. Apparently all of the "organizers" just feel the need to believe in some sort of cause, and don't really care what that cause is. Let me make a few suggestions.

Maybe that good feeling you get when you've kidded yourself into believing that you've accomplished something could be replaced by the good feeling you get for helping people who need your help. Stop picketing and go feed some homeless people. Since you are picketing instead of working, chance are you'll need the same kind treatment some day. Instead of protesting a bank for foreclosing on people who bought houses too big for their paychecks, loan them the money to pay off their house. You paid $700 to fly from Hawaii to New York to join the protest, that money could have helped keep someone in their house for another month.

It makes sense to me

U.S.S.A.

That's not a typo, and this is not an anti-Obama rant. Look around. Socialism has been embedded into this country for decades. Bloomberg reports today that the Social Security trust funds will run out of money sooner than expected. CBS points out that Arizona, as a state, is not allowed to Mexicans from entering our country illegally because that's the federal government's job, and the federal government reserves the right to not do its job.
I work for a public school in the state of Texas. Funding for education has been cut drastically in our state recently. Parents used to have to pay for their children's education. Folks used to not retire, they just worked less hard and families supported each other. The only difference between our country and the USSR of the cold war is that the USSR wouldn't let people just walk across its borders.
Before you get all up in arms while listening to your talk radio show about the way our country is heading (and has been since its inception), make a list of the government money you're willing to do without. No cute picture or wisecracks to go with this post. Just for for thought.

Learners

I work all day with teachers. I'm not a teacher, but I have a great appreciation for what teachers do. But I've learned how to separate the good teachers from the not so good teachers: try to teach them something new.

The mediocre to bad teachers will be completely incapable of learning a new concept. The good teachers will absorb and respond and learn anything you try to teach them. It's amazing to observe some refusing to use the same methods that they insist their students use. They just ask for help and get the quick fix rather than try to figure things out for themselves. "I don't know much about computers," or "I just don't understand technology" rings through the hallways almost as much as "I'm not a math person," or "I can't memorize a bunch of dates and names."

Good teachers continue to learn. Excellent teachers look for things to learn. They practice what they preach. They know that short of a mental handicap, anyone can learn any concept. The only factor determining whether you will learn something is how bad you want to know about it.

One student in 4th period math will claim the teacher is not good at his job, while another student in 6th period math will tell you that same teacher is the best one she's ever had. One teacher on one campus will tell you that software you provided is not working properly, while another teacher on another campus will tell you that same software has revolutionized how they differentiate their instruction.

People are funny. Especially when they don't know they're being funny.

Waxing Nostalgic

I'm digitizing my wedding video today. Maybe I'll post it to YouTube when I'm done. I have a feeling that may be the most permanent way to store it.
A few things come to mind as I see bits and pieces flash by on the screen while I work:

• Video recording technology has improved a lot since 1988.
• Most teenagers would probably be amazed to know that we had camcorders in the 1980's.
• The rest of the teenagers who are not amazed probably don't know what a camcorder is.
• I was WAY too young to be getting married.
• I think maybe early 20's is a good time to get married. Definitely not late teens.
• My wife was cute back then. She's pretty now.
• When I see how I was dressed during the rehearsal, Zack Morris comes to mind.
• Neither of our moms looked particularly happy at the rehearsal.
• We had a harp at our wedding. I never noticed until now that a harp is shaped a little like a heart.
• I had no doubt back then that we would still be married in our 40's (almost 24 years now).
• I have no doubt that we'll still be married in our 50's, 60's, etc.
• I credit that fact more to Kristi than to myself.

Good Day

Today is going to be a good day. Not because of anything I will accomplish. Not because of anything I don't have to accomplish. It will be a good day even though I have to deal with people who are difficult. It will be a good day regardless of the circumstance that surrounds me.

Today is going to be a good day because I will make it one. Because...

"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!"

#2 Son is on his way

I spent half of Easter weekend getting my #2 son registered for classes in Lubbock. It looks like he's an official Chaparral now. All I know is that it's a long way from here to Lubbock (and I really don't think it matters where "here" is, it's going to be a long way.

His initial smart money is going to knock down the cost to around $2500 per semester. Not bad. Hopefully he'll get a local scholarship or two that can cover the rest. I like having smart children.

I'm almost certain that he'll be making about one trip home per semester. Did I mention that Lubbock is a long way from here? Paying around $120 for fuel to get home and back means that he'll have plenty of time to stay at school and study instead of coming home for the weekend.

Anyway, I pray for success for him and expect nothing less. I'll have to start retiring my ACU purple clothing from #1 son and start acquiring the royal blue of LCU. My problems are few.

It's Fab 5 Night!

Ever since watching a documentary about Michigan's Fab 5, I watch the NCAA basketball championship game with a different attitude. It's fun to watch the talent of the what are possibly the best 10+ athletes in college sports. It's also disheartening to see how many millions of dollars are made off those kids' talents without them receiving any more than the cost of four years of college.

I think it would be awesome if every championship game featured two teams warming up in plain t-shirts and shoes that are last year's model. Then the winning and losing players both wear the same plain, unmarked, untrademarkable shirts and hats. What would they do, not let the returning players play the next year? Fat chance.

500,000,000

That's a big number. The estimated jackpot for the Mega Millions lottery drawing this coming weekend is now at 1/2billion dollars. I'm not attaching a picture to this post or making it look fancy or pretty because I think the lottery is a sad thing.

• Only the government can run a lottery, for some reason they lawmakers have decided that a lottery drawing is too dangerous for the general public to manage.
• People's lives will be ruined by winning all or part of that huge payout. Somebody poor enough (relatively speaking) for the lottery to look like an attractive option has no business trying to manage that kind of money.
• The winner(s) will never see anywhere close to the total jackpot amount. After all of the partial winners who got all but one or two numbers right, about half will actually be paid, then about half of the amount actually paid will be taxed at more than 50%.
• I would still like to buy a ticket. The prospect of getting something for practically nothing is always inviting.
• I think it would be really cool to give large amounts of money to people who could really use it; people swimming in medical debts and other such problems. I like to think I would actually be a good enough person to really do that with half of my winnings.

Heroes

I had to look up that word at Dictionary.com to make sure it's spelled right. I wasn't sure about the e in the plural, and I didn't want to go all Dan Quayle.

The move The Hunger Games is opening the weekend and my wife and a couple of my children are bent on seeing it. I think I will like it too. The reason I think this is because it's about a hero (heroine in this case if you don't consider that a chauvinistic term), and everybody likes a hero. Songs have been written, stories have been told, and movies have been made about heroes since the beginning of human communication.

We want a hero that we can look up to. We want to be a hero that others can admire. The real-life heroes that are offered up to us leave us wanting more. Politicians, athletes, singers, and actors all fall short of our expectations of a hero.

If you want to find a real hero who you can aspire to be, look in the books of the Bible. Start with Hebrews chapter 11, which tells about a stutterer* who led a nation to freedom, a murdering adulterer who had a heart like God's, a womanizer who defended God's people, a prostitute who helped God's spies, a liar who received God's promise that he would be the father of a huge nation.

Of course, the real hero is found in the four books about Jesus' life. Learn to love like he loved. Learn to care like he cared. Learn to pray like he prayed. Learn to speak like he spoke. But most of all, learn to live by God's agenda, not your own. That's the stuff of which real heroes are made.

Spring Break!

I always try to add a picture to each of my posts because I think it looks better and more interesting. I noticed that most of the blogs that I read do that and decided that it must be a good idea. I searched Google images for "spring break." Oops! That was a bad idea. I changed the search to "broken spring." Much better.

I'm ready for a break. This is one of the times during the year that I'm reminded how much I like working for a school. Once you accept the fact that your kids will qualify for reduced-price lunches at school because you don't make much money, it's really a nice place to work.

I need to work on the house/lawn next week. That's actually pretty relaxing stuff for me.I'll fix what I can and the rest will stay broken. No worries. The weekend is going to be chilly and rainy, but next week looks like it will be beautiful weather.

I'm also looking forward to some great projects at school when we get back from Spring Break: a new technologically connected training room, testing out the use of Apple TV's in the classrooms, getting our wireless infrastructure rolling. Good times.

If you haven't browsed around the YouTube lately, go have a look at these:

• Eric Whitacre's virtual choir song1, song2, and promotion for song3. Why not audition?
• Vijay Kumar's TED speech about robots that fly and cooperate.
• Angry Birds Space advertisement from the Space Station.

Archie knows...

Free Pancakes!

Today is National Pancake Day and the International House of Pancakes (wasn't it Seinfeld who found the humor in their name?) is giving away free pancakes!

In exchange for the pancakes, they ask that you make a charitable donation. Look for other food vendors to offer free food for charity in the future according to the article on TIME's web site.

Funny

I copied this from another blog I read. I know it's not his original art work, so I won;t give him the credit. If I knew who the originator was, I would give them the credit. I know that's Garfield, who was created by Jim Davis.

Regardless, it's funny.

Dogs are cool

Slow

I like it when things are nice and slow in my life. That doesn't happen very often between church, school where I live, and school where I work. It seems like I have at least three meetings per week scheduled on a fairly regular basis. Lately, though, the meetings and responsibilities aren't so bad.

I'm about to send my #2 son off to college (looks like LCU is the destination). My #3 son is learning to drive, and #4 son is struggling through Junior High. My #1 son is learning some life lessons in college and working on grad school. I get to ride to and from work every day with my wife. Life is good overall. It's probably no less busy than it has been in the past, but I trust God to work it all out like it needs be.

There are others I know whose world is a mess right now. I feel for them. I wish I could do something to fix it for them. Telling them "I'll pray for you," seems like no help at all. It's amazing how fragile our situation can be at any given time. I hope I remember to always look around and enjoy being in the moment.

FAFSA

I finished my #1 son's and #2 son's FAFSA applications today. WOOHOO! The only thing more fun than filling out a FAFSA application is filling out 2 FAFSA applications.

It took me nearly 20 years to learn that it's way better to just put my nose to the federal grindstone and get my federal tax return filed and FAFSA application filled out early. It makes more of the year enjoyable.

Something's in the air

I don't know what sort of microscopic little villains are floating through the air today, but I have blown right through a box of tissues this morning and my eyelids feel like sandpaper on the under side. I thought my older brother was the one with allergy problems. I've said it before: the older I get, the more like him I get.

You're Welcome

I ventured into Blog-land by clicking the Next>> button at the top of one of my favorite blogs. It's amazing how many people force you to listen to embedded music on their blog. I don't do that. You're welcome.

Too much time on my hands

What do you do when you're a Boeing test pilot who has to spend 19 hours in the air on a test flight of a Boeing 787?
Apparently you map out a route that will advertises your jet and the company logo when traced by flight tracking software.

Read more in The Seattle Times

Goofball

Texas Rangers pitcher Derek Holland is a goofball. Too bad more professional athletes are not like him. If they were, I might be more of a professional sports fan.

Sad passing

Fame and the wealth that comes from it must be a really hard thing to keep in perspective. How many people go from the best in their field to a sad and lonely passing?

Whitney Houston was one of the only two people that I enjoyed their making the National Anthem their own. (the other was a guitar solo rendition)

Just sad.

Convention time

I'm off to the annual TCEA convention in Austin. It may be quiet on the blog for the next few days. I'll post if I have time. If I see anything cool and new (not just different) I will post about it, but don't hold your breath.

Ramblings

• Do you ever click on the Next Blog>> link in the menu bar at the top of a Blogspot blog? It's amazing how many blogs have been left abandoned.
• Then again, after reading a few of them, it's not all that amazing how many blogs have been abandoned.
• It would be fun to try to read my blog postings if I never went back and corrected the typos.
• I'm still a hunt-and-pecker. Wait, that doesn't come across very well the way I said it.
• College visit weekend with #2 son was success. He's thinking a smaller school is the way to go now, and he really liked LCU from what I could tell. We'll go to HSU in Abilene in a couple of weeks.
• We also got to spend some time with #1 son in Abilene going to and coming from Lubbock. We took him out to eat for his birthday, which was the previous weekend. I think this is the first year he was not with us on his birthday. I guess at age 23, it's about time for that and it will be rare that he's with us on a birthday in the future. Another milestone of life.
• Abilene is not on the way to Lubbock from my house, but it's not that far out of the way if it means getting to see #1 son.
• Today is the last basketball game of the season for #4 son. I suppose we'll be freezing our baking at track meets for a while now.
• I watched most of the Superbowl. It was really a pretty good game. The commercials were not much to write home about. It looks like many companies are realizing the return on the investment of a $1 million plus per minute advertisement is not worth it.
• There were a shocking number of movie commercials. Maybe there is some corporate connection between NBC and the studios releasing the movies.

Old Spice

Old Spice commercials are funny.

Politics

"I'm not concerned about the very poor," he said. "We have a safety net there. If it needs a repair, I'll fix it. I'm not concerned about the very rich. They're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling."


While this quote may not be something you want to say when you're running for President, It's actually very true. This quote doesn't bother me nearly as much as other things Romney has said and done. And besides, the poor don't vote.

Giorgio loves Sonic

I can so see my #3 son doing this.

Animal Farm

If you've never read Animal Farm, you won't get his cartoon. If you have, you are laughing with a worried look on your face right now; unless, of course, you see Facebook and other such web sites for what they really are: just web sites and not real life.

This was ripped from the Forbes web site.

Vacampationing

I wonder if I could pull off a free vacation every four years? It seems to me that I could declare that I'm running for President and start collecting donations. All I would have to do is say some things in person or in print that would get some demographic group all fired up enough to donate money to my campaign. Then file with the Federal Election Commission like 342 people have done this year.

It seems to me that I could be charming enough to solicit a few thousand dollars. Maybe enough to buy a modest RV, plaster some goofy slogan on it, then travel the country for a few months. I'm not saying that's what this guy in the picture did, but out of 342 people, I'm guessing there are one or two who are just in it for the cash.

I'm thinking Hawaii should get covered pretty heavily on the campaign trail.

Ramblings

• UIL sports realignment happens Thursday. That's important to Texas High School sports.
• The weather for the last week has been amazing. I'll be in Lubbock this weekend with predicted high 30's & low 40's and rain.
• My #2 son and my wife and I are going to Lubbock for a college visit. He wants to be a physical therapist and athletic trainer.
• I would rather that he go to LCU than Tech because I think the smaller Christian school would be better. But I'm mostly glad he knows what he wants to do and has a plan. That's half of the battle.
• Helping him to finish college is the other half of the battle.
• Keeping him as close as possible to the straight and narrow while in college in another half.
• I'm in another of my paperwork seasons at work and at home. E-Rate time at work, IRS and FAFSA time at home.
• I could not care less about the Superbowl this weekend.
• I dropped my television package from 200 channels to 120 channels. I actually noticed the difference.
• The 120 package may not last long. We really don;t watch that much television.
• Satellite/cable companies are smart. They bundle channels so that you pay the extra money for only one or two channels that you really want to watch. The rest of the channels you don't care about.
• I could live with only the History Channel, TV Land, and one local channel.
• I'm currently read Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. It's pretty good for a self-help book.
• Blake Griffin and Lebron James both had really cool dunks in the past couple of days. Impressive athletes.

Psalm 100

No quote this time. I'm still trying to memorize this Psalm, but I'm awful at memorization. I have noticed, however, that reading it every day and spending time trying to memorize it seems to make my attitude a little better than usual.
I've never really been a big fan of memorization just for the sake of having something memorized. I guess I've always had that attitude, but the Interwebs have helped to further cement it into my own personal dogma. The only things I can think of that I ever memorized because I wanted to are the quadratic formula (which I never use any more) and a handful of Robert Frost poems. But apparently some of this scripture memorizing can really work, just like I've been told.
If I get in too good of a mood, I'll have to go work on memorizing part of the book of Lamentations.

Unfortunate alignment

Web page advertising can sometimes be a funny thing. These two ads were placed next to each other on my Facebook home page. I suppose if I were interested in participating in the top activity, it would be in my best interest to go through the bottom activity first.

Memories...

This commercial brings back some great movie memories. And amazingly, Matthew Broderick looks maybe 5-10 years older. Is that Sarah Jessica Parker loading her CR-V?

Debriefing

When I have a planned, organized training session at school where I'm the instructor and the teachers are the learners, I always get nervous. I don;t mind talking to a crowd of people (not that eight is considered much of a crowd) but I never know if I'm going to bore them with things they already know or bore them with a technical vocabulary that they don't understand or just bore them.

I think yesterday's training was successful. Before we left the school, at least one person had started blogging. Then I get to work this morning to find out that another had created a video using Xtranormal. I guess when 25% of the participants in an evening training class have performed what you taught them before work the next day, then the training was fairly successful.

Technology Class

I'm teaching a technology class tonight for our teachers and community members. We're going to learn about the technology cloud, how to create and edit a web page, and how to create and edit a blog. Fun stuff.

Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar

No one can make you serve customers well.....that's because great service is a choice. Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey.

He handed my friend a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said: Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'

My friend said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'

Wally smiled and said, 'No problem I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice...'

Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.'

Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.'

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'

And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.

'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver, 'have you always served customers like this?'

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day.

He had just written a book called 'You'll See It When You Believe It'. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd..'

'That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'

'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said.

'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

rp/DC

Ramblings

• I wonder if a lot of debris floats pout of a capsized cruise ship?
• Two copy machines were broken (plastic pieces falling through the machine) by coworkers who thought they could unjam really stuck pieces of paper. UGH
• It's trying to rain this afternoon. I like rain.
• I lost my temper in an unflattering way last night. I still feel like a heel.
• Is there a flattering way to lose one's temper?
• I have to go to Tolar for a basketball game tonight. Toler is nowhere near here. But that also means that...
• I get to eat at Babe's in Granbury tonight. My mouth is already watering.
• It bugs me that the above link also made the spaces a part of the link. for some reason computers want to select the spaces on the edges of words when you click and drag. UGH
• I need new tires on the family truckster, and an alignment, and probably some other sort of front-end adjustment.
• That reminds me of my (current) favorite movie lines of all time:
  Clarence Oddbody: "We don't use money where I come from."
  George Bailey: "Well it comes in pretty handy down here, Bub."

Basketball

My brother's kid, from the basketball side of the family, made the paper in Abilene this week. Nice job, Will. Don't let it go to your head.

Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth

Worship the LORD with gladness

come before him with joyful songs

Know that the LORD is God

STAR WARS

This is a perfect example of my statement in yesterday's Ramblings about YouTube.

Ramblings

• The Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year or something like that) starts today.
• It's the Year of the Dragon. I've seen Chinese parades on T.V. I thought every year was the year of the dragon.
• Newt won South Carolina's primary in a landslide. Let the negative campaigning begin!
• Joe Paterno died. For some people I think their emotional state affects their health more than others.
• I attended WinterfesT over the weekend. Excellent as always.
• A guy was there from New York named Anthony Fischetto. He was trying teach us to relax by listening to his recorded voice describing colors. Fail.
• The Supreme court decided that police cannot track you by GPS without your knowing about it or having a warrant. Score one for the Libertarians.
• YouTube now gets one hour of video uploaded every second.
• There are some good videos on the YouTube. There are also lots of bad ones.
• News media are reporting that gas prices will rise even higher this Spring. Therefore, they will.
• Fuel prices are one of the most arbitrary things in our economy.
• Have you ever noticed that most people are all for having rules, as long as they don;t apply to themselves?
• Just when I thought I would get a night with no commitments, a school board meeting was called.
• Rain is predicted for tomorrow. I like rain.

Paterno passed away

As reported by The Onion

Rambling

• Stephen Colbert is funny. But it's intellectual humor, so you probably don't get it.
• Colbert's campaign to vote for him by voting for Herman Cain is a perfect example of the above referenced humor.
• Now that the hoopla over Apple's textbook announcement is over, all of the questions are arising about licensing and fees and all of the legal stuff.
• The weekend is finally approaching. This has been one long short week.
• We celebrate MLK, Jr. Day in January because that's when his birthday occurs. It seems like Black History Month would be January, not February.
• WinterfesT starts today. I like WinterfesT.
• I hate politics, but I get drawn in to a certain extent. I think because I truly appreciate that as a citizen of this country, I get a voice in how it is governed.
• The above statement grows less and less true every generation.
• Make no mistake, Newt Gingrich's rant toward the CNN debate moderator (who would like his name mentioned as much as possible) last night played right into the moderators hands. He wears that chewing out now like a badge.
• Congress put SOPA on the back burner because so many people were against it. Congress will be for or against whatever it takes to get Congress re-elected.
• My political views lean more toward Libertarian than anything else.
• The EU is preparing to battle Iran's developing Nuclear weapons capabilities with economic sanctions. When I read about that kind of thing, I always wonder whether it will be a significant enough event to make it into the history books 50 years from now.
• I should have said whether it will make it onto the iPad textbook reference links 50 years from now.

The ugly side of technology

Do the people in this picture look like animals to you? They do to their boss. Terry Gou, CEO of Foxconn made some interesting comments about his workforce at a recent executive meeting:

Hon Hai has a workforce of over one million worldwide and as human beings are also animals, to manage one million animals gives me a headache.

Before you think that it's just Communist China being Communist China, look around your collection of technology gadgets. How many devices do you have that are sold by Apple, Inc.? Foxconn is the manufacturer of Apple's nifty iDevices. Its employees work for less than $140 per month, and sometimes must work shifts that exceed a 24-hour day. Sweatshop conditions are improved only when employees threaten suicide, according to the Digital Trends web site.

Coffee

Rambling

• A salesman showed up unannounced at my school today. He got here just before lunch time, but I was already gone to lunch. He stayed around until I got done with lunch. I finally met up with him at the High School. I should have been more rude for him showing up on a cold sales call.
• Apple announced today that textbooks will soon be a thing of the past.
• If a school was thinking about buying any kind of tablet besides the iPad, they aren't any more.
• I got a new Dell Latitude ST at school. It'e a tablet that runs Windows 7. It's not as useful as I had hoped. I bet it will be much better with Windows 8.
• SOPA and PIPA seem to be going away.
• Wikipedia went dark (not down) yesterday in protest of SOPA and PIPA. Other than it being on the Internet news sites, I really didn't even notice.
• AT&T is raising the prices of its data plans by $5 per month. Multiply that by the number of data plans they are selling and you get a huge increase in revenue.
• All of those "Occupy" morons will not occupy AT&T because they know all the other phone companies will follow suit and raise their prices. Besides, they were all using their data plans to put their occupy movements on Facebook and Twitter.
• I like to work hard and fast in the mornings then be able to slow down in the afternoons.

Dogs Rule

I know it's digitally enhanced to make the tune and the timing work, but it's still funny. Be sure and watch until the end or you'll miss the greyhound.

Psalm 100

Shout with joy to the LORD all the earth

Worship the LORD with gladness

Come before him, singing with joy