Musings by Bob

How a Body is Made

2011-01-27T12:09:00.003-05:00

Many years ago, sitting through an AP Biology class in High School, I saw the Creator in every turn of the page. I still think it’s a paradox how some people could turn the pages of a Biology textbox and see no God, while others (like myself) see nothing but God. Biology became one of my favorite subjects.

This post gets down into the nitty gritty details of some fascinating Biology about how your body was made. But before we start, let’s pause to review a small glossary of terms…

Gene
Genes make up the blueprint of your body. There are genes that provide detailed instructions for how your cells should replicate, and genes that define what eye or hair color you have. It would take you almost 10 years to read all of your genes, out loud, without stopping. In a nutshell, your genes contain the portions of DNA needed by your cells to live.
DNA
DNA is what genes are made of. You might think of DNA has the whole library (containing books of every detail about you), while a gene is one book in the library. But DNA is also a bit more than that: part of your DNA makes up your genes (the blueprint of your body); the rest of your DNA is involved in how your genes are expressed.

DNA looks a twisted ladder. The ladder is made up of 4 chemical bases abbreviated as A, T, G, and C. These four bases are paired in different combinations to make the code that represents you. Put another way, the alphabet of your body has only 4 characters, A, T, G and C.
Chromosome
In the nucleus of each cell, the DNA molecule is packaged up nice and neat in what is called a chromosome. Normally you can’t see a chromosome even under a microscope, but when a cell begins to divide the DNA in the chromosome packs tight enough to become visible under a microscope. If you could pull and tug on a chromosome until it was stretched out, it would be about 3 inches long. A human zygote will contain 23 chromosomes from the mother, and 23 from the father, which together make 46.

A chromosome looks like this.
Egg (Ovum)
The human egg cell is one of the largest cells in the human body. It’s so big, you can see it without a microscope (but you might have to squint)! The egg contains 23 chromosomes from the mother, waiting to be paired with 23 chromosomes from the father to produce a zygote with 46 chromosomes. The egg doesn’t move, it just sits around waiting for sperm to come by; it’s been described by some scientists as an "inert globule of organic matter”. It’s waiting on a spermatozoon to bring it life.
Sperm
A sperm cell (spermatozoon) contains 23 chromosomes from the father. A spermatozoon has a long, whip-like tail that propels it to an egg cell by an amazingly complex series of chemical processes. A sperm cell has no intelligence of its own to guide it to its goal, but is directed completely by outside forces.

Overwhelming Odds

A single male or female can produce up to 8 million different combinations of chromosomes. Out of around 300 million sperm, only about 1% (about 3 million) actually find their way into the uterus. And if they make it that far, the 3 million still have to swim to one of the fallopian tubes, where hopefully an egg is already making its way down to meet them. If not, they wait, and wait, for up to three days. If an egg shows up and fertilization occurs, there are 70 trillion possible chromosomal combinations that can result from the sperm and egg uniting.

Already, it should be apparent that it’s a miracle that you were every born. But let’s take a closer look at your odds.

If you go back just 10 generations (250 years), the chance of you ever being born at all is at most…

1 in 600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

I don’t even know what number that is, but it means that 250 years ago no one would have made any wagers on you ever being born, no matter who you are or what your ancestry.

But wait, it gets even more amazing! The above calculation only takes into account the father’s lineage; your father, his father, his father, and so on. The mother’s contribution isn’t accounted for. Also unaccounted for are men and women that died as a result of disease, war or famine, which in some generations was around 50% of humanity. Or men and women who died from natural causes, children who died before the age of reproduction, or fetuses or fertilized eggs that died and were naturally aborted. All of your ancestors have something amazing in common: they survived long enough to reproduce part of the genes you now have.

So, in the past, the predicted likelihood of your ever being born would be essentially zero. Think about that.

This is a part of His way. This is the way that He manifests Himself to us, manifests the Eternal Word, God, Jehovah made flesh. Like in Saint John 1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the... In the beginning was Elohim, and Elohim was... became the Word, and the Word was Elohim. And the Word was made Elohim." See? It's the same thing, just unfolding. Like the attribute, see, it is in God. A attribute is your thought. God in the beginning, the Eternal, He wasn't even a God. He was the Eternal. He wasn't even God; God is an object of worship, or something. See? So He wasn't even that. He was Elohim, the Eternal. But in Him was thoughts He wanted to become material. And what did He do? Then He spoke a Word, and the Word was materialized. That's the whole picture, from Genesis to Revelations. Is nothing wrong. It's Elohim materializing so He can be touched, feel. And in the Millennium, there is Elohim sitting on the Throne, see, that's right, with all of His subjects around Him, that He predestinated before the foundation of the world. Like a man building chimes or making chimes, the molder. Each bell has got to ring different from the other. The same materials, but so much iron, so much steel, so much brass, to make it give the "ting." That's the way God did. He bred this one to that one, to this one to that one, to this one to that one, till He got exactly what He wanted. That's how He come down. God unveiled Himself in a Pillar of Fire down through the prophets, then into the Son of God, which, He was God. See, it's the same God bringing out exactly, from perfection to perfection, from glory unto glory. That's the way the Church goes.
The Unveiling of God – 64-0614M

Run Fast, Run Well

Sperm are not “normal” cells, and so are covered with a glycoprotein that acts like a sign-post to the immune system. The sign reads: “Do not attack!” The glycoprotein sign will be read (and honored) by literally any body, anywhere; no one’s immune system will attack when they see this glycoprotein. Satan saw this cool trick and decided to copy it and use it, and so we find some cancerous and bacterial cells, some parasitic worms, and HIV-infected white blood cells using the same glycoprotein to keep the immune system from attacking. What a nasty trick!

As the sperm get closer to the egg, a combination of calcium ions, hormones (progesterone), and other chemical processes cause the sperm to enter hyperactivity, which means they swim faster and harder. The race is on. It’s literally a matter of life and death, because if you don’t finish you die.

Sealed In

To get into the inner-most chamber of the egg, a spermatozoa has to break through two layers: the jelly coat, and the vitelline layer. Just beyond the vitelline layer are the cortical granules, which are the gatekeepers to the inner chamber. Once a spermatozoa reaches the cortical granules, they release enzymes that cause the space between the jelly coat and the vitelline layer to become depolarized, closing the door. The front runner is sealed in, all others are sealed out, and the sperm and the egg have become one.

The seal has a mark on it, shows ownership. When you are bought by the Blood of Jesus Christ and sealed by the Holy Ghost, you no longer belong to the world or anything pertaining to the world. You are owned by God. And another thing is: a seal is a security. Seal means you are secured. Now, you that don't believe in eternal security, I don't know, but now... But a seal signifies security to its destination. Woe unto that guy that would try to break that seal. And the Holy Spirit Seal cannot be broken. You all have heard me say that people said, “The devil made me do this.” No, no, the devil didn't do it. You just wasn't sealed in, so then (You see?), 'cause when you're sealed in, he's sealed out. See?
63-0317E

Once fertilization occurs, the egg is not an egg anymore, because it’s been fertilized. That’s right, it’s literally not an egg anymore, because now its chromosomes have doubled; its been completely changed from what it used to be. It’s still a single cell (not for long, though), and might still look like an egg on the outside, but now it’s called a zygote, and is now capable of reproducing itself by cellular division.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mark 16:15

Over the next few weeks the zygote will divide into two cells. Then those cells divide into 4, then 8, until there is a mass of millions of identical cells. Cells that, until now, had never really been given anything purposeful to do besides making copies of themselves. But then comes gastrulation.

Positioning

At this point, the zygote is made up of millions of roughly identical cells, all stuck together in a ball the size of a pinhead (called the blastula). But all at once, the cells begin to form into three groups. The ectoderm, which will become the skin, nails, hair, and nervous system. The mesoderm, which becomes muscle tissue, blood and blood vessels, and bone and connective tissue. And the endoderm, which becomes the digestive and respiratory systems. The cells that form each are not necessarily the cells you would think would form that group. For example, many of the cells that form the skin may at first be nowhere near the outside of the blastula. Likewise, many of the cells that will form the internal organs may start out on the outside.

During gastrulation the chromosomes in any particular cell will begin to selectively activate or deactivate, just like someone is switching on or off a light switch. This is necessary for each cell to become part of a toenail, an eyelash, or part of the heart, and switches the cell from being just another cell, to part of the body. After gastrulation, each cell has been given a very specific purpose.

That's pulling His Bride out, now. He's creating His Bride. Justification under Luther; sanctification under Wesley; and so forth, you see. He, the evolution of the Spirit being given more and more, 'cause the Body is building, coming to the Head, which is Christ, the Body of Christ.
65-1125

Once each cell takes its place in the body, it’s only a matter of time before the complete body comes fully into view.

The Davidic Cipher

2010-07-22T08:42:00.001-05:00

And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
Samuel I 16:23

We can read the songs David sang, and add our own tunes to the words, but we don’t know the music David himself played.

Or do we? Dennis McCorkle thinks the answer to hearing the Psalms lies in Hebrew cantillation symbols, small symbols that appear in certain books of the Bible to guide the chanting of the text during public worship.

I’ll spare you the details; you can find out more at www.musicofthebible.com.

Here’s a recording of Yakov singing Psalm 23 using the Davidic Cipher. Imagine that you’re eavesdropping on a little shepherd playing his harp and singing to a king.

The Found Umbrella

2010-01-20T14:23:00.001-05:00

That chokes you, I know. But--but that's true. If you believe, all things are possible. You're afraid to take God, friends. You're scared. Now, I might've left that knife laying on the dresser where I changed clothes awhile ago. But just as sure if that knife is on the dresser right now, if I believe it with all my heart, it'll be in my pocket. That chokes you. But God is able to put it there if you believe it.

I came out of the door, and it was raining. It was pouring, in fact. I looked down at my laptop bag where I always kept my little black collapsible umbrella, and noticed in dismay that it was missing.

I’ve learned from experience that losing my umbrella is a very bad thing. More than once, I’ve emerged from the depths of the Midtown train station to find torrential sheets of rain blocking the way between me and my office building (a 10 minute walk away). And more than once the security guard as outright laughed at me as I came running into the parking garage, totally out of breath, looking like a drowned rat. “You’re gonna need a new shirt, Mister!”

Not fun. So I prayed a quick prayer to find my umbrella. As I turned my head in the garage, there behind me on the wall hung my wife’s pink umbrella. At that particular moment I couldn’t have cared less that it was pink; it was an umbrella, and if I dawdled much longer I would miss the bus, so I grabbed it and away I ran.

Once I got to work I took my laptop out of my bag, installed it in its docking station, and got to work. Later on, I looked at the pink umbrella and thought how grateful I was for not having to run through the rain. The last time that had happened it had taken me until noon to dry out. And that was in the summer. Suddenly it occurred to me that I had asked God to help me find my umbrella, not my wife’s pink one. “Well,” I thought to myself. “I know I’ll find it sooner or later because I asked Him.”

And then just as clear as a bell something said, “Look in your bag.”

My bag was sitting on the floor where I had left it after I had removed my laptop from it just a few hours before. Laptop bags usually have a very snug and very padded compartment to protect your equipment, and as you can see from the picture, when my laptop is in the bag, there isn’t any room for anything larger than a pencil.

So I grabbed my laptop bag and looked inside in the compartment where my laptop usually resides, and there, to my infinite surprise, was my umbrella!

Just for “fun”, I tried to put my laptop back in the bag with my umbrella in there too, and it wouldn’t fit. There was no way to get the umbrella and my laptop in the bag at the same time (the laptop stuck out at least an inch too far to zip the bag; see the last picture on this page). Of course, that’s beside the fact that I would never have tried to put my umbrella in there with my laptop.

How did it get there? I can’t say, all I know is it wasn’t there before.

An Unexpected Help

2009-10-12T09:07:00.001-05:00

As the sun rolled a burning path across the sky, a man lay in a ditch by the roadside, groaning in agony. A few flies had begun to buzz about. Once all was quiet and he knew his attackers had left, he tried to slowly roll over. Something wet was under his hand, and as he looked down at the patch of desert underneath he saw a slowly widening pool of blood. He had seen firsthand why this shortcut from Jerusalem to Jericho was aptly called The Way of Blood because of the highwaymen that traveled it.

He groaned again, and as a cool breeze swept by he realized with horror and shame that his clothes had been taken. They had taken everything from him: his money, his dignity, and now his life was seeping out into the dust.

But surely help would come. He coughed out a gasping prayer to Jehovah to have mercy, and almost immediately heard footsteps.

Footsteps! He lifted his head from the dirt just only enough to see the familiar trappings of a priest walking swiftly down the road from Jerusalem. His voice creaked in his throat as he tried to voice his thanks, but the noise soon became one of despair and disbelief as the priest moved to the other side of the road, disgusted by the poor man’s condition. Too much blood. Too much inconvenience. He had somewhere important he needed to be, and he most certainly couldn’t arrive at his destination with his priestly garments soiled.

As the sound of the priest’s footsteps were carried away by the wind, the man lay there choking and gasping, the sun baking his open wounds and bare skin.

After much time, at last there came to his ears the sound of more footsteps. He looked and, through his blurred vision, made out the form of a Levite he had recently seen in Jerusalem. In exhaustion and silent jubilation, his head fell back against the ground as he heard the Levite approaching where he lay. Thank you God. The feet halted for a moment, and he heard the Levite gag. The footsteps moved away and the Levite gagged again, and spat on the ground. And then, as if in a nightmare, the feet began to move further away down the road.

I am lost, lost. God has deserted me. True men of God that serve Him in the Temple have hide their face from me.

The deafening silence of the desert around him ate at him. Nose crushed against the grainy sand, he began to wish death would come quickly. A cloud covered the sun for a moment and in his grief and desperation he called out to God again. His head fell into the sand, and everything went black.

When his eyes next opened he was astounded to discover he was no longer lying naked by the roadside, but in a comfortable bed. A cool breeze through an open window replaced the burning sun. His blood no longer soaked into thirsty sands; his wounds were gently wrapped in fine bandages. And a man was mixing oil and wine into a poultice.

“You should thank God you were found and brought here when you were.”

At the sight of the man a jolt of surprise went through him, and his mind began to trace over the stories he had heard. He remembered how it was written that, since the time when the King of Assyria brought men from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim to live in Samaria to replace the Israelites that had been removed, that they had never feared the Lord as true Israelites (II Kings 17:34). And that, only 200 years prior, the Samaritans renounced any connection and kinship with the Jews to save themselves from Antiochus IV Epiphanes’ declaration that he was the god Zeus; that all who refused to worship him must die. This had caused a great rift between the Jews and the faithless Samaritans. Half-breeds with pagan ancestry from the land of Assyria.

He would never associate with a Samaritan (John 4:9). Why, “you’re a Samaritan” had become the worst form of insult. A multi-barbed attack which implied the target was both a half-breed and an infidel.

And now a Samaritan was tending to his wounds.

You Are What You Eat

2009-01-07T17:06:00.001-05:00

Did you know that for every eight ounces of golden raisins you eat, you also eat about 10 or more whole insects?

Or that, for every pound of spices you eat, a milligram of rat and/or mice poo goes down with it?

Yum!

There are 10 or more maggot eggs in every 500 grams of canned tomatoes!

A kilo of wheat can contain as much as 9 milligrams of rat stank!

Double Yum!

How do I know this? ‘Cause the FDA has lovingly put together a little booklet with all these wonderful details, which you can peruse here: Food Defect Action Levels.

Bon Appétit!

I Stood Up

2008-12-24T13:57:00.001-05:00

“Monica, she has a stinky”, I mouthed to my wife. She took Zoe from me, fumbled around in her bag for her various accoutrements, and hurried off to the nursery.

At just the moment when my wife rose to exit, the song leader began a new song. I was tired or something, and for some reason I thought we had been invited to stand for this song.

And so, I stood up.

Which would have been fine, except for the small fact that nobody else stood up with me.

I couldn’t find the song in the songbook, so it took a while for me to realize that I was a lone citadel standing on a great windswept plain. I looked up and found the song leader was looking back, quizzically. Someone behind me let loose a titter.

And so, I sat down.

And then I decided to try something new. I thought it would be fun to see if I could burrow under the floor boards. The heat of a thousand suns slowly made its way up my neck to engulf my head.

And I felt like I was back in school again.

The Story of Cliff Young

2008-12-20T17:24:00.001-05:00

If you're interested in an inspiring story, here's one you should check out.

A Good Wife

2008-11-10T08:06:00.001-05:00

What a woman!

Gas Relief Coming

2008-09-30T12:38:00.001-05:00

You gotta love these headlines. Anyway.

QT announced that all of their Atlanta stations should have gas by tomorrow. Woohoo!

Gas, Sweet Gas

2008-09-30T08:05:00.001-05:00

Bro. Trevor and his family are staying with us this week while he attends a training class in Atlanta. We've been riding the bus/train into the city to save on gas, because the gas situation in Atlanta is still pretty horrible. A brother from church pointed me to a gas station last Sunday that had no lines(!!), which was a great blessing, but that afternoon we drove by again and that station, as well as the two across the street, had all run out of gas.

When we got off the bus yesterday evening we passed a gas station that had gas! My "commuter" car was almost empty, so we jumped in line and sat there for a few minutes before we realized this was going to take a while. And we were hungry, so we decided to head on to the house, where the ladies had cooked up some good eatin'.

Once my belly was full I decided to head back out, and Bro Trevor graciously decided to accompany me. The line was a couple of cars shorter, but still fairly long, so we pulled in and waited.

And waited.

An hour later, the attendant came out of the store and was heard to say that the station had only 70 gallons left. In the whole station! There were still a couple of cars in front of us (there was also another long line of cars into the station from the opposite direction), and the few pumps that were still operational were moving very slowly.

After another 10 or 15 minutes we made it to the pump. I jumped out, swiped my credit card, and got the pump started; drop after precious drop of the sweet nectar dripped into my car. I got 12 gallons by some miracle. My car wasn't technically "full", but I figured I could last on that for another month of trips to the bus stop, so I stopped the pump.

It took an hour and a half to get gas.

Look at the Pretty Colors

2008-09-29T15:14:00.001-05:00

Sept. 29th, 2008

VGR Launches Streaming Audio

2008-09-26T22:25:00.001-05:00

The Voice of God Recording's new web site has a lot to offer, including streaming video, and notably streaming audio of all of their high quality recordings of Bro. Branham's sermons.

And most exciting of all is that now anyone in the world can download every sermon that's included in the seed library (see screenshot)!

From the VGR web site...

We consider it a great honor to make these sermons available online at the same quality as you would receive if you ordered them from VGR. These sermons are not intended to replace The Table, but if you do not have access to the CDs and you have an internet connection, you will now be able to hear the Voice no matter where you are.

812 degrees

2008-09-26T19:32:00.001-05:00

A few months ago firefighters in a section of Los Padres National Forest responded to reports of a blaze; someone had reported smoke arising from the brush.

But when they arrived, they discovered the brush wasn't smoking... the ground was. In spots it was quite hot enough to melt shoes or boots, and instruments measured a temperature reading, a foot below ground level, of 812 degrees!

Umm... you can cook a turkey at only 165 degrees. So, yeah... that right there is what I would call hot.

So where is this mysterious occurrence located, you might enquire?

Just down the road from this little place called Los Angeles.

Here weeee ggooooooo!!

2008-09-26T07:27:00.001-05:00

Let's recap...

China has instructed their banks to stop lending to US banks.

The US economy bailout talks are going nowhere.

250,000 in the Houston area are still without running water after Hurricane Ike.

A severe gasoline shortage is causing panic across the Southeast, in particular Atlanta and Nashville, where people have resorted to following tanker trucks around in the hopes they can score some gas before anyone else.

Washington Mutual was forced to auction itself, and snatched up last night by JP Morgan for $1.9 billion, a super steal. The deal was announced after markets closed for obvious reasons.

Possibly the worst candidate ever is running for a (Vice) Presidential slot. And it's a woman. A woman that's open to war with Russia.

Martial Law may already be upon us, and except for a rumor that President Bush plans to halt the Nov. elections around the first week in Oct to seize power due to the troubled economy...

...all of this is happening now.

Better hang on to something.

What did they say?

2008-09-24T11:52:00.001-05:00

A new service from Google, InQuotes, allows you to compare recent quotations from political figures on a variety of topics.

Check it out.

Martial Law has Arrived!

2008-09-24T06:40:00.001-05:00

Ok, maybe the title is a little sensationalist, but see for yourself. Times, they are a'changin'!

If you don't have the bandwidth to watch the video, you can read the article.

Roll 'em Girls

2008-09-19T07:23:00.001-05:00

My bro-in-law, Willy, sent this link to a recording of the infamous song.

And this fellow with his wine bottle up, drinking, having a big time, he said, "Just a minute. All you all, listen to me. Turn your radios on now." The vulgar, dirty, filthy things that's permitted, uncensored programs... When did it start? Look back through the history. It started back there in the days of Clara Bow. And with this scheming, ungodly Texan, went out there and made these women's underneath clothes that made them look sexy... And this begin the first vulgar song, they let pass, was about the ladies rolling down their stockings and showing their pretty knees. They've got by with that. And now it's uncensored: they can say and do what they want to. The devil's took the thing without firing a shot. That's right. What do you think them Hollywood prostitutes in hell today would do if they could return? They'd make it different. But their influence upon the world, has set the world in a flame of corruption.
- William Branham

I took a few minutes to transcribe the lyrics, which I think you'll find quite surprising. But first, some historical perspective.

In 1925 Tennessee schoolteacher John Scopes was arrested for violating state law by teaching the theory of evolution. William Jennings Bryan, an attorney for the state, famously defended the Bible on the stand, but was targeted by the media (in particular by writer H.L. Mencken) as an example of Southern ignorance and stupidity. Five days after the trial Bryan died in his sleep.

American History in Song has this to say about the trial...

During the trial, young women arrived at the courthouse with a new slogan and a song, called Roll 'Em Down, Girls, Roll 'Em. The women rolled their hose down below their knees in defiance of old-fashioned ideas. The song by Bobby Heath, Micky Marr, and Archie Fletcher had some bold lyrics.

And here are those lyrics (as best I could tell)...

Listen girls, listen girls
I've a word for you
Just because you're up to date
And do the things you do
Don't let anyone tell you
That you don't act nice
For you're as sweet as grandma was
So take my advice

Roll 'em girls, roll 'em
Go ahead and roll 'em
Roll 'em down and show your pretty knees.
Roll 'em girls, roll 'em, everybody roll 'em
Roll 'em high or low just as you please.

Don't let people tell you that it's shocking
Paint your own Sweetie's picture
On your stocking
Laugh at ma, laugh at pa,
Give them all the haha.
Roll 'em girlies, roll 'em, roll your own!

Roll 'em girls, roll 'em
Go ahead and roll 'em
Roll 'em down and please the traffic cop.
Roll 'em girls, roll 'em, everybody roll 'em
When you cross the street the traffic stops.
Even grouchy traffic cops get jolly
When they see you step into a trolly.
Red lights on, red lights off,
Cops are only human.
Roll 'em girlies, roll 'em, roll your own.

Listen girls, listen girls, when you bobbed your hair,
You were criticized a lot, but still you didn't care!
When you shortened your dresses,
You gave us some shocks,
But we never thought that soon,
you'd be wearing socks!

Roll 'em girls, roll 'em
Go ahead and roll 'em
In the winter, summer, spring or fall.
Roll 'em girls, roll 'em, everybody roll 'em
Anywhere or time or place at all.
Young girls, old girls, sweethearts, wives and mothers,
Young maids, old maids, even our grandmothers.
High or low, rain or snow,
Girlies must be stylish.
Roll 'em girlies, roll 'em, roll your own.

Roll 'em girls, roll 'em
Go ahead and roll 'em
Roll 'em where you think they look the best.
Roll 'em girls, roll 'em, everybody roll 'em
Roll 'em north and south and east and west!
Nowadays you girlies have your freedom
Don't wear things if you don't think ya need 'em.
Laugh at ma, laugh at pa,
Give them all the haha.
Roll 'em girlies, roll 'em, roll your own.

Spice up your meals with Heinz!

2008-09-18T06:35:00.001-05:00

They sure don't make ads like this anymore...

Sarah Palin Ready for War with Russia

2008-09-12T07:12:00.001-05:00

When asked if Georgia joined NATO, whether the United States should go to war if the country was again invaded by Russia, Palin responded: "Perhaps so. I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you're going to be expected to be called upon and help."

"And we've got to keep an eye on Russia. For Russia to have exerted such pressure in terms of invading a smaller democratic country, unprovoked, is unacceptable," she said.

Link: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/Story?id=5778018&page=2

Your Personal Info

2008-09-05T22:05:00.001-05:00

Please, please, I beg you, don't plaster your personally identifying information all over your Facebook account. Or wherever.

Like your home address, home phone, cell phone, employer. All information that a nasty could do nasty things with.

What could somebody do with that info, you say?

Type your phone number into Google, press enter, and see what comes back.

No phone number? Try your name, along with your city and state.

Dude... Google gives back a map to my house! Along with a satellite photograph!

And that's just with Google. With other "services" available on the 'Net, it's insanely easy to find out all kinds of information on complete strangers.

Please don't make it easier for people to find out where you live, and work, and bank, and so on. Keep your private details private.

The Little Mermaid

2008-09-05T07:14:00.001-05:00

Did you know the original story of Cinderella involved the evil step-sisters bloodily hacking off parts of their feet to get them into the glass slipper?

Or that another popular fairy tale, the name of which escapes me, involves the main character's head getting lopped off in combat? But then the little forest creatures helpfully and quickly reattach it... but backwards. So they have to take it off again, turn it around, and reattach it. It's all good in the end!

Who wrote this weird stuff anyway? Methinks fairy tales are not for kids.

Take The Little Mermaid, for instance. In the original story, the Little Mermaid doesn't get the prince. And... she dies!

But it's ok, 'cause she gets a soul for her good deeds, and gets to go to heaven. This really isn't a story about a little mermaid's quest for true love at all, but her quest for life after death. And how very highly valuable and precious that is.

Along with lots of stuff to traumatize small children. Imagine little Mary Sue lying awake all night worrying about the mermaids and mer-men that won't go to heaven when they die. Because Mer-people don't have souls.

Mary Sue: Why don't they have souls, Mommy?

Mommy: Because Hans Christian Handersen didn't want them to.

Mary Sue: But why didn't he want them to, Mommy?

...ad infinitum...

Here's what the The Little Mermaid has to say about souls...

"Yes," the old lady said, "they too must die, and their lifetimes are even shorter than ours. We can live to be three hundred years old, but when we perish we turn into mere foam on the sea, and haven't even a grave down here among our dear ones. We have no immortal soul, no life hereafter. We are like the green seaweed - once cut down, it never grows again. Human beings, on the contrary, have a soul which lives forever, long after their bodies have turned to clay. It rises through thin air, up to the shining stars. Just as we rise through the water to see the lands on earth, so men rise up to beautiful places unknown, which we shall never see."

"Why weren't we given an immortal soul?" the little mermaid sadly asked. "I would gladly give up my three hundred years if I could be a human being only for a day, and later share in that heavenly realm."

"You must not think about that," said the old lady. "We fare much more happily and are much better off than the folk up there."

"Then I must also die and float as foam upon the sea, not hearing the music of the waves, and seeing neither the beautiful flowers nor the red sun! Can't I do anything at all to win an immortal soul?"

"No," her grandmother answered, "not unless a human being loved you so much that you meant more to him than his father and mother. If his every thought and his whole heart cleaved to you so that he would let a priest join his right hand to yours and would promise to be faithful here and throughout all eternity, then his soul would dwell in your body, and you would share in the happiness of mankind. He would give you a soul and yet keep his own. But that can never come to pass. The very thing that is your greatest beauty here in the sea - your fish tail - would be considered ugly on land. They have such poor taste that to be thought beautiful there you have to have two awkward props which they call legs."

You can read the whole story in about 15 minutes, if you click here.

Reaction to California Homeschool Ruling

2008-08-13T07:08:00.001-05:00

After the recent victory in California, a few senior officials shared their opinions...

This is a victory for California’s students, parents and education community. This decision confirms the right every California child has to a quality education and the right parents have to decide what is best for their children. I hope the ruling settles this matter for parents and homeschooled children once and for all in California, but assure them that we, as elected officials, will continue to defend parents’ rights.
Gov. Schwarzenegger

I am pleased that the courts have clarified the right of California parents to homeschool their children. I have respected the right of parents to make educational decisions they feel are in the best interest of their children. I recognize and understand the consternation that the earlier court ruling caused for many parents and associations involved in homeschooling. It is my hope that today’s ruling will allay many of those fears and resolve much of the confusion.
Jack o'Connell
State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Questions

2008-08-08T20:51:00.001-05:00

Broadly speaking, it's been my observation that the more you learn, the more questions you have. Peculiarly, I believe the inverse is also true: that the less you know, the fewer questions you have.

For example, if you don't know anything about quantum physics, you have only one question on that topic: what is it?

The answer to that question brings the realization that there's a whole new branch of knowledge you previously had no idea even existed. And so now you have many more questions.

In my way of thinking, God being infinite and eternal, there will always be at least one unanswered question about Him. The revelation of the answer to that question will only give rise to more unanswered questions, ad infinitum.

So when I'm relaxing on a hillside staring at the clouds rolling by, I like to imagine myself sitting among thousands upon thousands of saints, as the prophets and apostles of old take turns unfolding the riches of God down through the endless ages.

Who do we want to hear next? Paul? Elijah? John the Baptist? It really doesn't matter... it's not like we're pressed for time.

And we sit, and stand, and sing and shout, and never get tired. And never grow old.

And never run out of questions.

Homeschooling Wins in California

2008-08-08T20:43:00.001-05:00

Earlier today, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District ruled that “California statutes permit home schooling as a species of private school education.”

This means that this same three judge panel reversed their earlier opinion of last February which, had that opinion remained in effect, would have made California the only state to outlaw homeschooling.

“It is unusual for an appellate court to grant a petition for rehearing as this court did in March, but it is truly remarkable for a court to completely reverse its own earlier opinion. We thank you for your prayers and give God the glory for this great victory.”
Mike Farris
Chairman
Home School Legal Defense Association

Indeed.

How Lightning Works

2008-08-08T08:47:00.001-05:00

Check out this slow-motion video of lightning. You can see how the burst of energy searches for the best path to the ground, and once it finds it, sticks to exactly that path for several milliseconds. The last few seconds of this video are not a single still frame - it's the bolt holding to the path it found.

A bolt of lightning is powerful enough to generate x-rays, and heats the surrounding air hotter than the surface of the sun. Hot air expands: when this super hot air collapses after the bolt leaves the premises it creates the deep rumble of thunder.

No, it's not really the devil beating his wife.

How My Computer Works (RAM vs Disk)

2008-08-07T20:13:00.001-05:00

After years of working with office workers and watching family members and other folke use computers, I've come to the conclusion that most people think their computer is powered by "magic".

You sit down in front of a little box, press the power button, and the screen in front of you suddenly turns into something interactive. But what's going on inside the thing?

There are elves running on a little treadmill, that's what happening! Which explains why the thing always seems like its running slow. Ba-da-boom.

Two of the most oft-misunderstood components of a computer are Random Access Memory (RAM) and (hard) drive space. Allow me to 'splain it all to ya.

Drive space is like a filing cabinet. Like a filing cabinet, you can store lots of things in it, called, predictably, files.

The mainmost problem with filing cabinets (and hard drives) is that they are slow. If you realize you need a particular file, you have to get up out of your chair, walk over to the filing cabinet, and either try to remember which drawer the file was in, or use an index (A-B, B-E, etc) on the front of each drawer to help you find what you're looking for. Then you have to walk back to your desk carrying the file with you.

RAM is like your desk. If your desk isn't big enough, you won't be able to look at several documents at the same time without spreading some out on the floor. But a computer can't spread files "on the floor". If you're trying to open a really big file, or lots of files/applications at the same time, things will start to get real slow real quick.

The reason things get slow when you don't have enough RAM is that your computer has to keep going back to your hard drive (like walking to the file cabinet) over and over. It can only spread a few things out on its "desktop" (RAM) at a time, so it has to swap files from memory to disk over and over until it finishes what you asked it to do. All this back and forth can get very slow, and is usually accompanied by that chunk-a-chunk noise your hard drive makes when its thrashing.

When do I need more RAM?

The more RAM you have, the less your computer has to go back and forth to the hard drive. My personal rule of thumb - you need as much RAM as you can get.

If you don't know the difference between a 32-bit and 64-bit system, you're probably running a 32-bit OS. Which means the maximum amount of memory your system will recognize is 4GB. If you buy more than that you're wasting your money, because anything more than that will simply be ignored. If you're interested, this limitation is imposed by 32-bit versions of Windows to keep poorly written device drivers from crashing your PC when they're handed large memory addresses.

I'm sure you really wanted to know that. Anyway.

Since RAM is (almost) as cheap as dirt these days (about $32 per GB), I would recommend max'ing out at 4GB. To avoid wasting your money, have a friend help you choose memory that's compatible with your system, or buy it maxed out from the get-go (if you're buying a new computer).

Premium memory (with premium pricing) is available with faster access times, but that's mostly a marketing gimmick. Trust me, you won't be able to notice if your memory is a few nanoseconds faster or not. Unlike a hard drive, RAM has no moving parts, so its going to be fast by nature.

When do I need more disk space?

That depends on how much music, pictures, videos, and so forth you have. For the best performance, consider investing in a hard drive with a high RPM (rotations per minute), which is a way of measuring how fast your hard drive can get to a file. 7,000 RPMs is the norm, but a 10,000 RPM drive would be blazing fast, and would really give your computer a speed boost.

Your hard drive will always be the slowest component in your computer. Buying more hard drive space will not improve performance (it will just give you more room for pics). Buying a faster hard drive will. The faster the drive, the less time it will take to find those files and "walk" them to memory. But be careful - fast hard drives are not cheap, and unless you like to edit home movies or do photo retouching you'll probably be just as happy with a 7,000 RPM drive.

Technorati Tags: Computer,RAM,Hard drive,Disk

Why I Hate Fishing - Pt. 2

2008-07-28T14:19:00.001-05:00

What a beautiful day! Sitting on the front porch of my friend's home in Arkansas, watching a dozen or so hummingbird's fight over the feeder hanging just two feet away. I was there visiting with Ben and another Bro. from Texas - four of us in all.

It was nice and relaxing until somebody decided that relaxing wasn't good enough. We must go fishing.

But where?

Across the way was a cow pasture. And in that cow pasture was a small bowl where a small lake of stanky water had pooled. And around that cow pasture pond, even lining the edges thereof, and contributing to its contents, was a veritable minefield of cow patties. A plethora, even.

The fishermen, having spotted said water, ran to get their fishing gear, and were off, with me tagging along as the observer.

My first observation was that our approach was going to be a bit precarious. At every step or two there was a 2 or 3 foot wide cow pie, many quite fresh and still shakily coming to terms with the pull of gravity. As I carefully made my way past each obstacle, I was somewhat disheartened to look ahead to the goal of my labors, still ever so far away across the field.

Allow me to describe our destination, quite reservedly, as a giant cow toilet. A cow toilet decorated in the style one might call retro cow, by a random configuration of cow pies, strewn haphazardly and obviously without much planning over the countryside. I imagined the last rainfall washing hundreds, perhaps thousands of these gloriously enormous pancakes of defecation down into the nasty bog in which we were about to fish.

Alas, I was even more disheartened when I was able to observe the true nature of our little fishin' hole's nastiness close up and personal. The entire perimeter thereof was made up of 5 to 10 feet of black sludge that any fish would have to be pulled, scraped and dragged through before it came into reach.

Many questions came to mind, such as...

Y'all gonna keep any fish you catch?

and also...

Are there any fish alive in there?

In the droll half-eyed, detached way that all fishermen seem to be able to turn on when things get "unpleasant", they responded with a question of their own...

You gonna fish?

Um... no, I thought I would just watch. The sun was burning hot. It's always burning hot when you go fishing (unless it's sleeting, raining, snowing, or the wind is bending the trees horizontal), which many fishermen (I am convinced) believe heightens the level of enjoyment somehow. And of course there wasn't a tree around for miles. Maybe a cow would let me rest in its shadow. Unfortunately they had all gone over the next hill.

It didn't take long before Ben had a bite. My neck lay like a side of bacon roasting in the sun as I stood by watching carefully. As far as I was concerned, anything could happen. He pulled the fish slowly towards him, closer and closer to the black sludge, until it began to drag through, pulling its gills, mouth, and other essentials through the quagmire. By the time he got the fish up to him a thick layer of gunk hung like a sail from his line.

But he, being a true fisherman, was undeterred. He reached into the fish's mouth, worked his way around all the cow feces, removed the hook, and let it go! Whew. At least he wasn't going to eat it. On second thought, nobody had brought an ice filled cooler along, so I guess that was a given. But you never know with fishermen.

There was no place to sit without sitting on a large, wet, pancake shaped pile of yuck, so I stood there for a couple of hours while they had their share of fishing. It was quite miserable, indeed a refined state of misery I could only describe as fishin' out of a cow toilet while the sun baked away the outer layer of your skin and then not havin' nuthin' to show for it when you went home.

But any good fisherman would call it, simply, "good fishin'".

P.S. The saga is far from over.

Faces

2008-07-25T14:33:00.001-05:00

Picasa is all nifty and stuff, but the word on the street is that this coming Sept. Microsoft will be releasing an update to their Windows Live Photo Gallery that will recognize your friends. And automatically tag your pictures with their names.

So imagine this. After tagging one or two pictures of family members, friends, and acquaintances, Photo Gallery will take it from there, and you'll be able to search, for example, for all pictures of "Zachary" and "Esther" taken during Christmas 2005.

Or pictures of just Monica.

And who is that guy in the back whose name we all forgot? If he was ever tagged before, Windows Live Photo Gallery will remind you.

Pretty cool, huh?

Why I Hate Fishing - Pt.1

2008-07-08T08:34:00.001-05:00

I hate fishing.
- Myself

I have oft quoted the above quotation, through suffering and sunburn, on many a disastrous fishing excursion. I never really liked fishing to begin with - why spoil a beautiful sunset or a nice waterfall with work when you can just relax and enjoy nature?

But maybe I delve into all that stuff later. At any rate, I have decided to chronicle, in no particular order, some of my "life-events" that led me from a somewhat dislike of fishing, to a severe, "don't even ask me to go" dislike. The most recent event occurred this past Saturday/Sunday, which I will share with you now. I must give you fair warning that this story doesn't involve me actually fishing. But how can it be a fishing story if I didn't do any fishing? Read on...

It all began late at night, when all the kiddies were safely in bed, the house was quiet, and I decided to steal a few minutes online to check my email and "piddle about" before turning in. At the precise moment that I thought to myself, "I am tired. It is time for bed now", the phone began to ring.

Normally at that time of night I just let it ring, but for some inexplicable reason I decided I would at least go see what ye olde caller-id had to say for itself, so I scurried downstairs to check. A name I didn't recognize appeared in the display. I most definitely do not take calls from strangers at night, except this time, for no particular reason, I answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Bob! [Expression of joy and relief.] It's Ben!"

Ben is my brother, you see, but that is not why he was happy. I was immediately wary given the tone in his voice: he obviously was in need of some form of rescue. I listened intently, and the first thing that became clear was that Ben wanted me to call a taxi. After even more concentration, I was able to deduce that he and some other brothers from church had kayaked down the Hooch, and when they got to car #2, realized they had left the car keys in car #1. They were able to borrow some nice gentleman's cell phone who just happened to be there at 10:00 at night, showing his girlfriend where he had jumped off the bridge.

"Where are you?"

"[Such and such, close to yadda yadda blah.]"

"Um... I think I can drive over there and pick you up."

Google Maps said they were only 13 miles away, so hey, I would just run over and give them a ride, and be back before 11:00! Easy as pie! Right! Right?

Except... they had been fishing. In fact, they had caught some actual fish, which they still had in their actual possession. Had I paused to reflect on the situation, I might not have naively and hastily rushed out the door without taking the following fishing disaster rescue related items:

Flashlight
Water
Bungee cords, or at least a good bit of rope
Plastic bags, or any container into which lots of nasty can be placed. The exact type of nasty is rarely known in advance, but rest assured that there will be some.
Cell Phone
Brain, or at least half of one

If you like to fish, you should probably just keep this stuff in your vehicle at all times. This might be difficult, because as the experienced fisher-person knows, you will lose 4 out of 6 of these items after each expedition, so a bit of work is involved to make sure these necessaries are always handy. Of course, one of these items can be considered missing as soon as you embark. Exactly which one I will leave as an exercise for the reader to discover.

Aside from these rescue essentials, I recommend the following additional necessaries for any fishing trip:

Money, to pay all the fines you will get from park rangers
Life jacket, which you will forget to wear, hence all those fines
Change of clothes, for when you fall in the ice cold water coming out of the bottom of the Dam (haha)

I was thinking about none of these as I drove slowly down the haunted looking dirt road leading to the rescue spot. The woods echoed with that crazy screeching sound cicadas make just after dusk, that is very likely nature's way of saying "umm... you really should be home in bed now". My headlights barely made a dent in the darkness before me, and I began to think crazy thoughts like, "This would sho 'nuff be a bad place to have a flat tire!" As I rounded a bend my headlights covered a few figures up ahead that lurched eerily out of the gloom toward my car. A shudder rippled down my spine.

"Fishermen", I thought warily to myself. I'd better be on my guard, or I'd find myself reaping the "rewards" of this night for days after.

I rolled down my window and they all looked in. Nobody spoke, so, having forgotten item #6 (naturally), I said the first thing that came to mind.

"Y'all look hongry."

I don't think anybody for miles around thought that was funny.

Ben jumped in the car and we went searching for his truck, which would contain the keys to the other car. This would have been exceedingly simple, except for the teeny-tiny-eensy-weensy fact that Ben forgot where he parked. So we drove all over North Georgia looking for something vaguely resembling the place where he had left his truck.

Finally, we found it. But the gate was locked, illuminated quite directly by a big light. We plotted and schemed, and decided to "just" run down the road to the truck, grab the keys, and then at least we would have access to the other vehicle until the next morning. I didn't know how far we would have to walk through the night, but I was ready to get this over with.

I stepped out of the car just as a police cruiser rolled by, shining his spot light directly on my little round head. We were clearly parked in a very odd location, but thankfully he didn't turn around. We darted like concentration camp escapees through the lights into the shadows, and began a quick, easy jog down the mountainside, through the darkness.

It was quite dark, except for the occasional crack of lightning. We had already seen a couple of deer, rabbits, and my mind naturally began playing a special on North Georgia Wildlife Disasters, starring yours truly, alongside a supporting cast of coyotes and bobcats. We ran a mile or so, all downhill, and finally I could see light up ahead. Still we ran, until the road came out of the trees and took a turn in front of a huge dirt construction - there was probably a lake at the top. A bat swooped down over my head, and I could see a few more swooping around above. I felt like I had run for my whole life. And it was all downhill.

"This isn't it."

The words didn't register. There was a parking area just up ahead. His truck was there. It had to be. We needed to just go a little farther and surely he would remember.

"Man, this isn't it."

I could detect a bit of panic in his voice, and through the blood pounding in my temples it started to dawn on me that maybe he really did know, for sure, that this wasn't it.

So we started running back. At this time I would like to reservedly describe the gradation as "a mite steeper" than it had seemed on the way down. After a few steps I was wishing I hadn't been sipping so heavily on that monster PowerAde right before we got out of the car. I was still getting over a minor cold bug, and a few minutes of slogging up the hill caused my head to feel like a giant PowerAde bottle. I coughed and gagged and sputtered like an engine that won't crank, and began to care less about being mauled by a rabid coyote and more about getting to the top of that nasty road, hopefully without running into a cop beaming his searchlight all over the place.

We finally made it, collapsed into the car, and decided to go enlist the help of Bro. Jeremy and Bro. Daniel. We had gone about an hour, so imagine at this time, if you would, their plight of sitting alone on a log, deep in the woods, guarding the kayaks as deer and other wildlife frolicked in the night around them. Watching the second hands on their watches tick away, wondering where in the world we were.

They were sitting there side by side as I tore down the road and pulled up next to their log. I rolled down the window and took a strange, macabre delight in their expressions as they realized we were both in one car, not two. The truck was obviously nowhere to be found. I laughed a silly laugh and stated the obvious:

"We couldn't find it!"

They stared blankly at us. Then Jeremy spoke, "You're joking. You're joking."

"No man, we really couldn't find it."

Finally Ben decided to speak up.

"I forgot where I parked the truck!"

Jeremy had to repeat "you're joking" a few more times before it finally sunk in. It was really a sad moment for us all.

So we all piled into the car and went hunting for the truck, which we found shortly thereafter. It appears that Ben was deep in conversation when he parked the truck right next to the biggest (and only) dam in North Georgia. The dam that holds back Lake Lanier.

Anyway.

The gate was locked, as we had arrived an hour too late (they lock up at 10:00). I sat in the car with Daniel while Ben and Jeremy started walking down the road (which I would later discover went to the bottom of the dam, a very very long way away) to get the keys from Ben's truck. Daniel was knocked out, fast asleep. He probably doesn't remember anything that happened after we picked them up at "the log".

A bit later Ben's truck came roaring up the road, stopping at the (locked) gate. More discussion was made. The trailer was unhitched and concealed, and I learn that we would be leaving the trailer near the gate in the bushes, and returning with the other car to tow it (and later the kayaks) back to my house. The truck left again, back down the mountain. Daniel was still comatose in the back seat, and I was alone again.

I decided now would be a good time to go to the bathroom, so I snuck away into the darkness. Just as I'm getting fixed, up roars a Park Ranger in a little unmarked car. He squeals to a halt next to my car, jumps out, and starts yelling past the locked gate and down the dirt road, "You had better get back to your car RIGHT NOW or it WILL BE TOWED!!"

He apparently thought the car was unoccupied. I was making my way out of the darkness and around the rear of my car just as the word "TOWED!" escaped his lips, and he snapped his head around. I think I scared the living daylights out of him. I just smiled and made a little wave with my hand.

He snapped his head back around towards the direction of the dirt road, never to look at me again, and said, loudly, "You had better call to your friends RIGHT NOW and tell them to GET BACK TO THEIR VEHICLE RIGHT NOW!"

Believe it or not, I yelled, "Beeyun! Come back to the car!", before I said, "Um... they're actually walking back up the road right now."

"Well their car has BEEN TOWED! This gate is LOCKED AT EXACTLY 10:00 PM EVERY NIGHT and ALL CARS ARE TOWED!"

"Their car wasn't towed."

"Oh... oh... I SEE. Did they have a truck with a trailer?"

"Yes."

"OK, I'M STARTING TO SEE [sputter], TO UNDERSTAND, TO GET A BETTER PICTURE IDEA OF WHAT IS GOING ON HERE! I'M STARTING TO SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING! Well they better be glad they had a trailer or it WOULD HAVE BEEN TOWED! And THEY CAN COME BACK TOMORROW MORNING at 8:00 AM IF THEY WANT TO GET IT!"

"Ok. You know, they kayaked down the river and left their keys..."

"I SEE, WELL THEY CAN COME BACK TOMORROW..."

"Yes, well, it's just been a bad day for us today."

"NOT AS BAD AS THOSE EIGHTY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WE PULLED OFF THE LAKE TODAY! AND ONE OF THEM WAS DRIVING HIS BOSSES' MERCEDES BENZ! IT WAS PRETTY BAD FOR THEM!"

"Wow, yeah, that is pretty bad."

He pulled his head back in his car and pulled away. He had never looked directly at me the entire time he was rambling, which freaked me out a little. In retrospect, I probably scared the living daylights out of him when I suddenly manifested out of the darkness. I leaned on the hood of the car and reflected for a bit. Wow, eighty illegal aliens arrested on the lake in one day. By this guy. Just wow.

In another hour or so we had driven back to the other car, then driven that back to the dam, pulled the trailer out of the bushes and hooked it up (I didn't have a hitch on my car), and then driven back to the kayaks. It took another 40 minutes or so to load them up, get everything tied down, and be on our way to my house, where we arrived around 2:30 in the morning. Ben spent the night.

But Jeremy and Daniel did not - they had to be at their church the next morning (in Alabama). Bro. Jeremy's family was staying at Ben's house an hour away, so onward they rode through the night until they pulled up in the driveway and realized that they didn't have a cell phone to call and alert the ladies to let them inside. So they slept in the car another two hours, and then drove the family on to church. I suspect Bro. Jeremy got zero (0) hours of sleep.

I know that was hard. I, myself, got a grand total of 4 hours of sleep and was having trouble keeping my eyes from crossing the next morning in church. And I could see Ben's head bobbing across the way.

Yesterday I was so sore from that crazy midnight run up and down the mountain that I could barely bend my legs. But hey, we survived, and hopefully there was some character building in there somewhere.

But if you think this story alone is why I don't like fishing, boy are you mistaken. And boy have I got some stories for you. But those most wait for another day.

Because you Love Him

2008-06-30T20:07:00.001-05:00

Oh, there's so much of this legalism today, the "touch not, taste not." You don't do things legally. I didn't come to this church tonight legally. I feel tired; I--I--I've been nervous; I'm upset; I'm wondering about something that's out before me; my heart's burning, even as such as much till my heart's a-fluttering. I got a cramp, pain, right at this minute, just shooting back and forth, up and down through here; weak, nervous, trembly; catch a hold here and squeeze; got my toes squeezed up in my shoes. I felt anything but come down here. Why did I come, then? Because I love God. Live or die, I must stand here for Him. It's not because I have to. He wouldn't care about whether I did or not. I'd--If I'd die I'd go to heaven anyhow. But I'm coming because I love Him. You serve God because you love Him, not because you just got to do it. Because you love Him enough...

William Branham
Questions and Answers 62-0527

Israel Practices Bombing Iran

2008-06-25T21:57:00.003-05:00

Summary: Israel recently practiced airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. The practice runs were designed to send Iran a clear signal that if you play with nuclear weapons, you must pay the consequences.

5 minute guide to Algorithms and Bugs

2008-06-24T07:55:00.001-05:00

This post is going to be a little different, and maybe a few posts after it also.

I'm going to introduce you, dear reader, to the wonderful world of computer programming! But in easily digestible bite-size bits that will make you want to run out and write your own operating system! Or something.

So let's get started by taking a look at a sample algorithm for chicken pot pie:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

"No kidding, that's an algorithm?", you say. Yep, indeedy! An algorithm is just a formula for getting something done, and that's really all a computer program is - a set of steps for your computer to follow.

So what if we accidentally left out the crucial final step that says, "Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes..."? In the kitchen, that would be called "plain gross", but in software we would call that a "bug". In 1947, the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator at Harvard University started acting up, so computer scientist Grace Hopper cracked the lid and discovered, to her surprise, a moth trapped inside.

And ever since, any problems in software algorithms are called "bugs".

Kaylee's Golden Gift

2008-06-23T19:51:00.001-05:00

"Look at the doggy!"

There we sat, my wife and I with our four kiddies, and my parents, the esteemed Mimi and Poppy, waiting for the trained animal show to begin at Sea World. Kaylee loves doggies, as do many other people, apparently, 'cause the place was packed. I was starting to worry that they wouldn't have room for everyone.

Kaylee was standing up in Monica's lap, and Zoe in mine, when for some reason we swapped babies. As people continued to rush forward like cattle, seating themselves all around us, I caught the clear, unmistakable smell of diaper du' jour.

"Girlfriend, you is rurnt!", I thought to myself, but I didn't say anything. The show was about to start, and I figured she could wait another 30 minutes or so, particularly since I didn't see a bathroom anywhere. Or any obvious exits.

The show began, and all kinds of trained animals cavorted about the stage, pulling banners to reveal funny writings, ducking into doors, riding cars, and the trainers were nowhere to be seen! Sea World has a knack for putting on great animal shows.

The rest of the show might well have been titled, Christian-romance-novel-like, as "Gentle comes the Breeze". Or maybe, "Diaper comes Softly." Or even "Dancing on the Wind".

Yes, dear reader, I had just begun to feel as though the smell in Kaylee's diaper had taken a seat next to me, when a squirrel ran out on stage. The crowd ooo'd and aaah'd. There was a row of females behind me that had been going gaga over every dog and cat, and now they erupted in a chorus of preciousness and ohhowsweetness. Between that nonsense and Kaylee's little golden gift, I was doing a lot of eye-rolling.

But then a trainer stepped out on stage and said, "Um... that squirrel isn't actually part of the show". And then they (meaning everybody) proceeded to try to catch the thing as it ran all over the building.

"Oh great", I thought. "This means Kaylee has to last another 10 minutes longer". The audience was screaming and participating in the squirrel hunt as I became more and more concerned that those around us may become "aware" of Kaylee's little gift.

And that's when I glanced at Monica, and understood by her dilated pupils and expanded nostrils that... she knew. Knowing that Monica is a woman of action, I must admit a certain level of apprehension. I tensed, readying myself for what I knew she was about to do.

Bob, hand her here. I'm going to change her.

Zoe went to Mimi. Kaylee went to Monica. Off came the diaper amidst screams before and behind as the squirrel capered about. Once, someone pointed out that the squirrel was under Mimi's feet. She screamed in terror, in the manner to which she is accustomed (family joke).

And then, through all that chaos, Kaylee's gift was unleased, and the smell of unbridled gold wafted its way into my nostrils. I tried to quiet the feeling of panic that crept over me.

Someone's going to smell that and throw us out of the joint!

Haha, you say! You frolic and play with words, you funny man. T'weren't really that bad!

Ahh, but it t'were. It t'were indeed. Little Kaylee had begotten the foulest smell that ever sailed the seven seas, or at least that had ever sat through an extended sitting of an animal show.

Monica must have been thinking the same thing (that it was bad, and that she should hurry). She was about to win a world record for diaper changing. In her haste, she whipped the diaper off containing its heinous cargo, and having nowhere to put it, but needing to carry on with the cleaning process, she placed it in what must have seemed the most convenient location at the time.

My lap.

Yes, dear reader, an open and unwrapped (and very full) diaper was placed directly in my lap as Monica frantically labored on and Kaylee cooed and sighed. And I? What could I do but begin, with zombie-like composure, to fold the vile thing into that infamous little triangle shape.

But wait! You're supposed to do that after all the wipes are safely inside. Which they weren't! Silly me! What with that squirrel and all the hullabaloo, I just wasn't paying attention!

It took only another second to realize that fact as a dirty baby wipe was tossed, as was the diaper before it, directly into my lap. The manner in which it was tossed into my lap was not unlike the manner it which it might have been tossed had my lap been a garbage receptacle.

I gagged. My tongue fell out of my mouth for a moment before I could will it back inside. The smell coming from my lap was simply incredible, and now that the diaper was sealed I didn't know what to do with it. It has to go somewhere, I thought to myself, so I decided that somewhere it must go, and so I folded the wipe poop-side-in, placed it gingerly on top of the diaper, and tried to stow the whole shebang under my seat. At the very least it would make the squirrel steer clear of our legs.

Wow, glad that little problem's solved! Where there's a will, there's a way! Right?

Kapow. Another wipe landed in my lap, almost as dirty as the first! How naive of me... one wipe is never enough! In retrospect, it's a good thing I wasn't changing Kaylee or the whole place would have been swimming in used wipes, but that's another story. At any rate, there was a good deal more retching, heaving and whatnot as the whole process was repeated. They still hadn't found that nasty squirrel and the crowd was going wild while it climbed the walls around the auditorium. I was barely paying attention: I was too busy hoping nobody had noticed that the animal show had a new sewage treatment plant on aisle 15.

And now, Kaylee was back in my arms, all clean and ready to see more doggies. Someone had captured the squirrel, and it was on its way out the door.

That's when I heard Monica say...

"Now I need to change Zoe."

P.S. - It wasn't really gold. It was something else.

Prayer Warrior

2008-04-29T13:09:00.001-05:00

A man dressed in black stood at the end of the long stretch of road that sliced the small western town in half. A well-worn vest draped across his shoulders rustled gently in the stifling hot wind, and his eyes squinted against the glare of the desert sun. He was tall, wide, and cast a great intimidating shadow behind him down the road, which was quiet now, and empty. All the doors were closed, except for one, a few buildings down, that hung on its last hinge and slammed suddenly every now and then when a gust of wind escaped out of the desert. It was hot. Stifling hot.

A drop of sweat ran to the tip of his nose and hung there, but he paid it no mind as his eyes lifted under the brim of his hat, and looked, as a chinking sound filled the air. Down the street walked a small man dressed in shabby clothes, with a gleam in his eye, a spring in his step, and a white hat with a wide brim that left his eyes in deep shadow. His spurs jingled as he strode to the center of the street, and from under the hat his words filled the shimmering air.

"You know I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

The black hat tilted back as its owner laughed.

"Go ahead, boy. Ask me to leave. But then what if I don't? What you gonna do if I don't leave? Maybe I like it here. Maybe I like it here just fine."

And there they stood in the silence, fingers hovering just over their gun handles swung low to each side. They watched, and waited. Then black hat broke the silence.

"I know you. I heard about that time in Lorado when you left that family to die. I heard all about your faults, and boy you got a lot of 'em. And I know 'em all. You think you're so fancy now you got that badge on yer chest. But I know you... you're still the same. You ain't changed."

The man in the white hat puckered his lips out like he didn't like what he was hearing, made a sound in his throat, and then grunted something almost inaudible. Something in a soft tone that sounded like, "I've changed a bit."

And then the white hat bobbed slightly as he took a slow, deliberate step. He began to walk forward, straight for the man in the black hat, who seemed a little perplexed. Back hat's foot took a small impulsive step backward. He wasn't quite sure what to think.

They had always run before, or quivered in the dust begging. Or dying. But on he came, closer and closer. Soon it would be madness to draw iron. Both would die, couldn't he see? Fifteen feet away. No chance. No chance at all. Now ten. Ten feet of madness. Fear crept across his dark eyes, and his mind raced for an option. Either this man with the white hat was amazingly good with a six-shooter, or he was mad.

And now he was nose to nose with a mad man. They stood there, silently, in the middle of the street. A tumbleweed rolled past, and somewhere far off a coyote howled. The sun was so hot.

Like a flash of lightning, the man with the black hat, and the dark, well-worn vest, with two pearl-handled six-shooters hanging by his side to be called into action to kill and destroy, had a gun pressed into his belly. He stood there in awe, staring into the eyes of this man he thought he knew, this man who he had watched all his life for any sign of weakness, whose mouth now formed the words,

"Allow me to introduce you to my friend, 'Mark 16:17-18'."

No. No, this can't be. His eyes roved in shock from the white hat down the man's chest and stopped at the bright, silver badge, gleaming almost white in the sunlight, and wavered there until his eyes focused and read the single word engraved on its surface: Faith.

And with another flash a second gun was pressed against his gut.

"And this here's my n'other friend. Name's 'James 5:15'. Be perlite and say howdy!"

The black hat tilted up as he looked into two gleaming bright eyes, encircled almost completely with deep wrinkles, adorned with gray and black bushy eyebrows.

Black hat stared in shock. "You... you can't be the same man." His eyes roved down to where white hat's buckskin leggings sagged oddly at the knees. "What's your name?"

White hat's eyes looked hard, uncompromising. "My name," he said, "is Prayer Warrior. That's Mister Prayer Warrior to you."

"Now move".

This Hurts

2008-04-25T16:49:00.002-05:00

Several years ago, I bought a set of John Wesley's writings for several hundred dollars. And now you can get the whole seven volume set for $39.99!

Comments on over 4,000 subjects, hundreds of personal letters, sermons, and on and on, for $39.99. You'll notice the retail price is $400. I don't think I paid that much, but I sure didn't pay $39.99.

Ah, well. If you've got a couple of 20's to spare, this would make a great addition to your bookshelf.

The Pope Drops By

2008-04-14T14:27:00.001-05:00

The first visit ever to the White House, by a Pope, was during Pres. Jimmy Carter's tenure. This week the Pope will make his second visit, to unprecedented fanfare.

This will be the first time President Bush has ever met a visiting world leader, in person, at the airport. The crowd at the White House will be the largest ever, larger even than the crowd of 7,000 that welcomed Queen Elizabeth II last spring. Later that evening festivities and a high profile meal will be held in the Pope's honor.

But according to a correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter,

"I think it's nice they're going to meet. They have a lot of things to talk about. But the notion that the world operates by the big guys getting together and cutting a deal is wrong."

Sooo... n'kay. And alrighty.

Georgia Law Exempts Homeschoolers from Jury Duty

2008-03-27T09:16:00.002-05:00

This may be interesting to those of you also living in Georgia, and homeschooling - as of 2006 the primary homeschooling parent (or tutor, if you've hired one) can be excused or deferred from jury duty during the time of teaching. Yeah this is two years' old, but I thought it was worth pointing out anyway.

Read more...

Another thing to be aware of, if you're homeschooling in GA and plan to send your kids to college, is that homeschoolers currently can't get the HOPE scholarship until after attending at least a semester of college (30 semester or 45 quarter hours), and maintaining a 3.0 GPA.

California Homeschool Ruling

2008-03-27T09:03:00.003-05:00

This past Monday, March 25, the California Court of Appeal granted a motion for rehearing in the 'In re Rachel L.' case, which recently was all over the news for purporting to ban all homeschooling in the state unless the parents held a teaching license qualifying them to teach in California public schools.

The effect of granting a motion to rehear the case is that the prior opinion (that homeschooling in California is illegal) "ain't no good anymore". So to clarify - it is still legal to homeschool in California. That's not to say that it won't be declared illegal as a result of this new hearing, or subsequent hearings, but this time around a lot of good folk, like the Home School Legal Defense Association, will be ready.

What kind of backdrop is that?

2008-03-25T15:03:00.004-05:00

Click here to see it.

What I really want to know is... who thought that would look nice in the den? Er... throne room?

Easter Flood Warnings

2008-03-20T16:16:00.002-05:00

Jefferonsville, IN is under a flood warning through Easter weekend, until Monday night. The forecast for Clark County predicts flooding up to 57.3 feet by Friday morning. According to the forecast, at 58 feet portions of IN 111 will be flooded (see below map).

View Larger Map

Also see below forecast snippet (I believe MCALPINE LOWER refers to "The Falls", also known as the McAlpine Locks and Dam, which appear in the above map as the land mass in the middle of the Ohio River):

1142 AM EDT THU MAR 20 2008
...FLOOD WARNING EXTENDED UNTIL LATE SUNDAY NIGHT...THE FLOOD WARNING
CONTINUES FOR
THE OHIO RIVER AT MCALPINE LOWER.
* UNTIL LATE SUNDAY NIGHT.
* AT 11:00 AM THURSDAY THE STAGE WAS 55.9 FEET.
* MINOR FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 55.0 FEET.
* FORECAST...THE RIVER WILL CONTINUE RISING TO NEAR 57.3 FEET BY
FRIDAY MORNING. THE RIVER WILL FALL BELOW FLOOD STAGE SUNDAY
EVENING.
* IMPACT...AT 58.0 FEET...IN 111 IS FLOODED UPSTREAM OF BRIDGEPORT.
* FLOOD HISTORY...THIS CREST COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 56.7
FEET ON DEC 24 1990.

All of this is interesting, you see, because the Easter Weekend Open House, sponsored every year by Voice of God Recordings, was canceled a couple of months ago.

I'm just sayin', is all.

Hope, Faith and Charity

2008-02-26T18:42:00.006-05:00

Now, hope will agree with the Bible. Hope will say, "It's True." Hope will say, "I believe every bit of It. I believe that that's the Word of God. And I--I--I believe that God will keep His promise." Hope believes all of that. But hope then says, "Now, I believe that God will heal, but look at my condition."

Now, faith don't look at that. Faith comes around, "I don't care nothing about conditions. God said so, and it's mine." You see? Faith's burly. As I once said, "Faith has hair on the chest. When it stands up and pulls its big muscles out, everything else vanishes away." Just takes--flies away. When faith really takes a hold, nothing else stands.

I'm telling you, faith... But you've got to have hope and charity. If you've got real burly faith and no love with it, you've ruin your influence before the people (if you haven't got love mixed with it). See? You seen people, a real burly, what we would say (excuse the expression) a bulldog faith, to grab a hold, but is so rough with it. Then you see when you do that, it doesn't--it hasn't got the kindness here to move with it. So what we need is hope, faith, and charity. Isn't that right? Hope, faith, and charity, together. God help our church to have it like that, the people, to have that combination.

Faith Cometh By Hearing Chicago, IL Saturday 54-0320

Electron Photographed!

2008-02-26T11:12:00.002-05:00

Scientists have just been able to snap the very first photograph of an electron!

Check it out here (warning: not as impressive as you might expect).

The Best (and scariest?) Toy

2008-02-25T10:11:00.003-05:00

I have one of these on my desk at work. Actually, a whole bunch of them, 'cause I keep adding to my collection. It's become very popular with my coworkers - we try to outdo each other's creations. Believe me, it's oodles of fun building pyramids and whatnot.

We got a small set for Zack a while back, but you really need a larger set to get into it, so he laid it aside and never really created anything stupendous. Also, I'm not so sure I want them playing with these until the twins get older. 'Cause if a young babe were to swallow more than one magnet, it could really mess up the internals.

One magnet swallowed could maybe pass right on through the digestive tract. But when two magnets are swallowed, one might go around a bend in the intestines just ahead of the other one, and then clack - they stick together, pinching the intestines at the bend. Over time the two magnets, stuck together in the gut, can actually rub a whole through the intestines, causing all manner of complications.

And the twins aren't quite talking well enough to say something like, "Mother dear, pardon me but it seems as though those two magnets I swallowed last week are rubbing a whole through my duodenum."

So nope, no little Magnetix magnet balls rolling around the house just yet, thank you very much!

Blocking Out

2008-02-21T11:55:00.002-05:00

My poor wife (and family) have to endure a lot from me. I'm renowned for slipping off into never-never land, thinking about a problem at work or something, while I'm being asked what I think about the spaghetti. Usually they just patiently wait for me to come back, and then repeat their question.

The other night I was sitting there eating my supper and suddenly realized that, for several minutes, Esther had been drawing on my face! With a crayon! She had completed several art projects on my visage by the time I realized said fact.

I know, I know, that's bad on so many levels.

A few minutes later Monica wanted to know what was on my face.

"Oh, Esther was just drawing something."

"Oh... Ok."

Commuting

2008-02-21T11:25:00.002-05:00

Commuting to work in Atlanta is usually pretty uneventful, but not so for the last few days.

A couple of days this week I've hopped on the train and plopped into a vacant seat, only to realize that a homeless person was seated directly in front of me. I feel great empathy for these people, but you cannot imagine the horrible smell that living on the streets produces. It usually takes several minutes of meditation to stifle the automatic gag reflex.

No, seriously - the smell is horrible. Beyond horrible.

But there's usually nowhere else to sit, and everyone else deals with it, so I figure I can too. It's always interesting to watch the faces of the other passengers, especially the women. I watched one lady board the train: she immediately assessed the situation and raised her eyebrows to the ceiling. She was obviously very disgusted, and I tried not to laugh out loud.

But this morning something happened that wasn't funny at all. The traffic was crawling along, inching forward, when a nice looking little car in the "fast" lane slipped out of traffic and began scraping along the concrete barrier. My first thought was that he had fallen asleep in traffic, but it quickly became obvious something was wrong, as a Good Samaritan in the next lane turned on his blinkers and tried to get the other guy to stop. I paused the sermon I was listening to and started praying for the guy.

Before long several cars were on the side of the road, about 100 yards ahead of me, and one guy was climbing on the barrier to try to get to the guy. A cop just happened to be sitting on the opposite side of the road at that exact moment, so he was on the scene in seconds; when I drove by the man's head was flopped back onto his seat. He looked about 35.

Did he just have a heart attack? Or maybe he just needed some insulin? I dunno. I hope he's OK.

The Air Car

2008-02-14T13:31:00.001-05:00

Is this the beginning of the end of the gasoline powered automobile?

Happy Face

2008-02-06T09:58:00.000-05:00

Take a look at this spider and tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor.

Wow!

2008-02-05T14:13:00.000-05:00

And also, YES!

And furthermore, I totally agree!

Well done. Very well done.

No Grip on Reality

2008-02-04T22:44:00.000-05:00

A recent study shows that Britains seem to be losing their grip on reality. In a big way.

23% of study participants thought Winston Churchill was made up.
The same percentage thought Florence Nightingale never actually existed.
47% thought Richard the Lionheart was a myth.

But wait a second... 58% percent thought the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes was... real?

And as bad as this sounds, I'm convinced us Yanks would have scored even worse.

Little Zoe's Big Bad Rash

2008-02-04T13:28:00.001-05:00

Monica just took Zoe to the pediatrician. She's been afflicted with the most horrible rash, and it turns out that wasn't all she had. The rash was a yeast/staph infection combo. Plus she had an ear infection. And roseola. I think roseola is a rash, so I'm not sure if that was part of the rash, or somewhere else, but the doc said that's why she's been having a fever on and off the last few days.

And she's been so happy! She made me laugh this morning bouncing around and being silly.

Thank God for good doctors. They gave her some stuff that should knock all of this out in a few days.

The Plane and the Conveyor

2008-02-04T13:11:00.000-05:00

The infamous plane and the conveyor belt problem has sparked much controversy on the web, especially because it was recently featured on an episode of Myth Busters (warning: youtube link, and all that that implies).

Imagine an airplane on a huge conveyor belt, kept moving at the same forward rate of speed as the airplane. Would it be able to take off?

People get all bent out of shape over whether it would or not. Like on this blog. The problem is that folke (including yours truly) confuse a car (which is propelled forward by sending power to the wheels) with an airplane (which is not powered by its wheels). The wheels on an airplane do nothing but reduce friction.

So, can it take off? Why, yes, it can! Watch the video and see for yourself (believe or not, lots of people on the 'net still argue with the results, right in front of their eyeballs).

The Three Things

2008-02-01T00:05:00.000-05:00

Many years ago, I was reading a question a young lady had written to a certain publication which fielded questions from young people. Her question was, as best I can remember:

I was raised in the Message and taught all my life that it was the truth. But how can I be sure?

Several brothers from various locales were given the opportunity to weigh in, and as I read, their replies all seemed to echo a common theme: they all spoke about having a personal revelation. Which is correctamundo. Howsomever, methinks she really wanted the answer to a different question...

Why do you believe the Message? How are you sure that it is the truth?

I would like, if I may, to have a go at a reply to that question. Gather 'round, and let me tell you about three very big things...

Manifested by the Works of the Spirit

As the children of Israel wandered through the wilderness, God having delivered them out of bondage in Egypt, water gushed forth from a cleft in a rock which followed them on their journey. Manna covered the ground like dew every morning, and every evening a Cloud that led the way became a burning Pillar of Fire that stood watch all night. The children of Israel at the rear of that great caravan traveling through the desert didn't need to wonder which direction they were traveling. All they needed to do was look up to see the Cloud or the Pillar of Fire, always visible among them.

The same God that was in that Pillar of Fire was manifest in the flesh, walked among men, healed the sick, raised the dead, and showed Himself to be the same, visible God as he fed 5 thousand men with five loaves of bread, and calmed a storm by His Word. Then at Pentecost, as a rushing wind swept over 120 praying disciples, God began to unfold His great plan to not only be above us, or with us, but to be visible in us. When the invalid man called out to Peter and John for alms, their reply, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk", showed that God was still the same yesterday, today, and forever. But now instead of in a Pillar of Fire, or a little unassuming man on the shores of Galilee, He walked in His people.

And two thousand years later one of those children stood in India before thousands of Sikhs and Janes who wanted to know if God was still the same. And the little man opened his mouth and issued a challenge:

I saw a woman, and she didn’t have no eyeballs, just slits in her face – total skin. I saw my Daddy pray for her, and I was just a little boy but I saw those eyeballs form in those sockets.
Billy Paul Branham

Gentlemen, of the religions of India, here's a man that the Holy Spirit has called his name and told him who he was, exactly what I wanted to do. Here's a man that I can't even speak his language. He...?... We was born twelve thousand apart or farther, in different nations, different nationalities, different language ... just Holy Spirit has told me who he, where he come from, and what he done. That's more than enough to convince you of it. Now, he's blind. Now, gentleman of the religions of the world, can your religion do anything for this man? ...

Now, if I've told the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, God raised Him up on the third day as a witness, He ascended on high, and said, 'The things that I do, shall you do also. Go into all the world, preach the Gospel; lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Behold, now the world seeth Me no more; yet ye shall see Me, for I will be with you even in you to the end of the world.' If He's raised from the dead, He's absolutely a vindicated exactly the same things He promised to do in the Bible. Come forward now. If there's a doctor here, or anyone who examine the man first.

If any of you gentlemen out there of the religions of India, if your god is a powerful and almighty god, come forth and produce such a miracle for this man.

...

If Jesus Christ will restore the sight to that man according to the Scriptures, as I said, how many here will renounce all other religions, and will accept the living God Who proves Hisself to be here? How many in here?

Yes, Bible days were here again. Here was a man who practiced what we preached.
James Gordon Lindsay

Hands went up everywhere as people screamed, raising their hands toward God. Making a vow to serve Him if He would only prove Himself to be the same God that led the children of Israel through the wilderness. The same God that sat on a hillside two thousand years ago as the multitudes strained to hear every word that echoed from his lips.

And Bro. Branham began to pray.

Dear heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Word, standing here before seventeen total different religions that oppose me... And these poor people are led blind. Let it be known today that You're still the Lord Jesus that raised from the dead. And let them know that we've told the truth, that He is the Son of God, and raised from, and is with us today, doing the same things that He did. And Lord, You promised it in Your Bible. I ask You grant it now."

And when Bro. Branham loosed His hands from the man's eyes, he let out a scream and began running around the platform blessing everyone in sight, even the mayor of the city, and then ran and hugged his children. And God proved that He was still the same God, visible among His people. In His people.

Is this a mystery? This is not a mystery, this is the wonder of God! Is this a matter to dicker over doctrinally? This is a matter to give glory to our God, Who has come in the flesh again in our generation. He has come in the flesh in all of us, but in a particular way in this man who was His prophet for this generation, for He surrounded him with these supernatural signs which were to attract the attention of the world once again by a sign.
T.L. Osborn

Around the world seven times He went with a Message to return the faith of the children back to the Pentecostal Fathers. US Congressman William Upshaw stood on the steps of the United States Capital building and proclaimed to the leaders of the world how, though a wheelchair-bound paraplegic for 59 years, God had restored the use of his legs during one of Bro. Branham's campaigns. The miraculous healing of Florence Nightingale as she lay dying of starvation from stomache cancer. How God raised Kari Holma from the dead before a gathering crowd of onlookers in Kuopio, Finland, and healed King George VI of England of multiple sclerosis.

That ought to be enough to convince anybody. But Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe", and also, "greater [more] works than these shall you do, because I go to the Father."

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Matthew 11:5

And so we are healed of AIDS, of cancer, and even raised from the dead, and many other testimonies too numerous to tell, from lost rings and keys appearing out of thin air to an humble, illiterate heart being taught to read his Bible during a moment of fervent prayer, by the Spirit of God, and on and on through an unending parade of testimonies. God is the still the same God He always was, visible among His people, leading the way.

These things ought to be able to convince anybody. But God knew some would need more proof, so in His grace and mercy He pulled out all the stops to get you and I to believe.

The Pillar of Fire

Midway through Bro. Branham's Houston campaign of 1950, Reverend W. E. Best, who vehemently opposed divine healing, published a challenge in area newspapers to debate with Bro. F. F. Bosworth on the subject of "Divine Healing Through the Atonement." Bro. Bosworth asked and received permission of Bro. Branham to accept the challenge on January 24th, 1950, at the Sam Houston Coliseum. The Houston Press announced the event with the headline, Baptist Cleric to Challenge 'Miracle Man'.

Rev. Branham, you will die like all other mortals, but as long as there is a Christian civilization, your picture will live on.
George J. Lacy

Rev. Best was prepared that the debate would be a great milestone in his career, and had hired professional photographers James Ayers and Ted Kipperman from Douglas Studios in Houston to chronicle the event. That night during the debate, Rev. Best held his fist in Bro. Bosworth's face, striking various menacing poses for his photographers as they took picture after picture.

As the debate began to close, Bro. Branham came forward to say a few words to the sick, the lame, the blind, the needy people who lay under the bright lights of the Coliseum. Hundreds rose to their feet to testify that they had been healed, many from Rev. Best's denomination. As Bro. Branham quietly spoke to the congregation, a light appeared towards the back of the auditorium and swung down over the people, causing a commotion as some (but not all) were able to see it. It came to rest just above Bro. Branham's head, just as one of Rev. Best's photographers (Mr. Ayers) snapped a picture.

Earlier that day Mr. Ayers had quipped to a newspaper reporter for The Houson Chronicle, "Branham puts on a show. Somehow he never gets around to the cripples and the persons who have arthritis. He simply hypnotizes his audience." But that night as he pulled the negatives from the developing fluid in his dark room, he noticed something strange. Every frame that had been taken of Rev. Best was completely blank.

But one picture was not.

The very last picture contained a crystal clear image of the same Pillar of Fire that led the children of Israel through the wilderness. The photograph was soon turned over to George Lacy, considered the greatest authority on questioned documents in the area, and who often did document analysis for the FBI. After a thorough examination he submitted a certified statement which contained his opinion that, "...the negative submitted for examination was not retouched, nor was it a composite or double exposed negative. Further, I am of the definite opinion that the light streak appearing above the head in a halo position was caused by light striking the negative."

Today, a copy of the photograph is permanently on record in the Library of Congress' Hall of Religious Art. It is the only certifiably authentic photograph of a supernatural being ever recorded.

And that ought to be able to convince anybody, but God knew that some would need still more to believe.

He had saved the best for last.

Proved by the Word

In the Bible's pages are written the type of man that God would send in the last day, anointed with the spirit of Elijah, and the state of the world when he would come, and what the world's reaction would be to this last Message.

I've listed some of these scriptures here:

But aside from these scriptures, I know that Bro. Branham's words are true because he preached the same Message that Paul preached. Search the writings of Paul and find anyone else who will stand by everything he put into writing. Most denominations completely ignore I Corinthians 11, in any doctrinal permutation. I Timothy 2:12 is regarded as uninspired, and Galations 1:8-9 doesn't at all fit in with today's modern religious theme of "anything goes".

But that's exactly what Bro. Branham taught.

And both men had these three testimonies that their Message was true: manifested works of the Spirit, the Pillar of Fire, and the Word. If you believe one man, you must believe the other, because they preached the same Message.

I'm resting on that.

And you can too.

Three things: proved by the Word, shown by a picture, manifested by the works of the Spirit, vindicating that It is the Word.
The First Seal 63-0318

More Resources
- Believe the Sign
- Voice of God Recordings

[Note to self: this post was started on 9/27/07, and completed on 2/1/08]

Happy Birthday!

2008-01-25T22:16:00.000-05:00

Today is the very first birthday of two wonderful little ladies, Zoe and Kaylee.

A year ago this morning our pastor and his wife hurried over in the middle of the night (and they don't live exactly next door either - more like an hour away!) to watch Zach and Esther for us while we scrambled for the hospital. We made it with about an hour to spare; possibly the quickest and "easiest" delivery of Monica's distinguished career.

Zach told us the other day how he woke up that morning and saw Nanny (Sister Dale) talking to Esther, and immediately thought, "Momma and Daddy are at the hospital! Hurray! I don't have to go to school!"

God bless Monica's Mom, who stayed with us for a month, and her Dad, who graciously lent his wife to us.

Memories...

So far Zach holds the (immediate) family record for earliest walker; he was walking around at 10 months, and at 12 months got his very first lollipop. Zoe and Kaylee are being a little lazy about walking, which is fine by us. They get into enough trouble as it is. They play with each other more often now, but most especially like to duke it out over a toy. Kaylee is very attentive when Zoe is eating something Kaylee wants.

Kaylee is the big-time talker. She tries to say words she has no hope of pronouncing. Her latest "words" are "sus" for Jesus, and "ssshh" for fish. She likes to point "up", and say it at the same time.

Zoe is apt to point up with both hands when she sees Kaylee pointing up. She's not as talkative as Kaylee, but everyone now and then she'll pop out a perfectly enunciated word just out of the blue. And she likes to point. Since she sucks her index and middle fingers together, she also points with both fingers before popping them back into her mouth. Like she's gonna shoot somebody with those fingers. Put the briefcase down over there. And all the money had better be there, see?

...and more memories.

Time flies, don't it?

A Taste of Heaven

2008-01-24T23:16:00.000-05:00

I know I have a self-imposed ban on youtube videos, but I thought I could make an exception for this one, sent to yours truly by good ol' Bro. Joseph C.

Two million people praising God (in Lagos, Nigeria).

Heaven won't be a quiet place at all.

C'mon Girlfriend

2008-01-22T18:19:00.000-05:00

Hahaha

Christmas Pics

2008-01-18T15:02:00.001-05:00

Monica has posted pictures from our Christmas trip to South Carolina, if'n you're interested.

Some of my 30 second favorites:
this one, and this one, and this, and (haha) this. And especially this.

This one here I like too.

Hurray for Simon and Schuster!

2008-01-17T13:52:00.000-05:00

Simon and Schuster is finally releasing a Level I Comprehensive collection of lessons for the Romanian language! To be released this June! Hurray!

This is great news for me since, my wife being from Romania, I've always had a bit of a hankering to learn the language. Romanian is not exactly a popular language (like French or Spanish), which makes it almost impossible to find any good materials.

The Pimsleur method is by far the best, possibly because you can learn a language without doing too much work. I picked up their Romanian "basic" pack (10 lessons) a few years ago and was very impressed. The idea is to listen to Romanian (or whatever language) speakers every day for 30 minutes, and after a while you start picking it up. Since you learn by listening (and repeating) instead of reading, you supposedly won't develop much, if any, of an accent. I've been told that what little I speak is more or less without an American accent. Although to be honest, I probably would have more of an accent if my (Romanian) wife wasn't there to laugh at me when I said something wrong. Heh.

A while back I thought it might help to listen to one of the Romanian translated recording from VoGR. But there was a bit of a problem - I got into the sermon and wanted the translator to hush up so I could hear the sermon uninterrupted! Even more disconcerting was that the translator sounded just like my brother-in-law! What a second... it was my brother-in-law, Dorel! That was kind of neat and distracting at the same time. Also, he can speak Romanian like a machine-gun; 832 syllables a minute. Or something like that.

So nope, I'm not at all proficient in the language, by any stretch of the imagination, which really becomes evident around my wife's family. They think it's funny to bring up the infamous "tortoise" incident, for some reason. One must be very careful when one says broasca ţestoasă around Romanians! Very careful indeed.

I took 2 years worth of Spanish in High School, and another two years in College; the last two classes were entirely in Spanish, so I feel reasonably qualified, having studied another Latin-based language, to say that Romanian may be one of the most confusing languages (other than English itself) on the planet. One of my Romanian books I have actually says that some of the Romanian vowel sounds cannot be accurately described on paper (in English; I understand there's a whole language-thingy linguists use to describe phonetic sounds on paper, but that's way out of my league).

In other words, to speak it properly, you need an authenticate Romanian to listen to guide you. And laugh at you when you mess up.

So thanks Monica. :-)

Also Sam, Willy, and especially Lavi. Y'all are all very effective laughers.

You too Irina. :-)

And I'm waiting, Simon and Schuster.

Abraham Lincoln

2008-01-17T10:12:00.000-05:00

Several pictures of Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration have just been discovered! Check them out here. You can just make out Lincoln giving his speech in (middle of the) the second picture.

By the way, if you're interested in a good read about everyone's favorite President, grab a copy of The Case of Abraham Lincoln: A Story of Adultery, Murder, and the Making of a Great President and huddle up the fire.

The main plot of the story revolves around a case Abraham Lincoln accepted, as a young lawyer, to defend a young man accused of murder under very strange circumstances. The book also mentions Charles Chiniquy's infamous case, including a photograph of the Chiniquy vs. Spink case settlement that Lincoln penned in his own hand. Also, great stories of the birth of the Republican party, anecdotes from Lincoln's friends, and lots of other interesting stuff.

The more I read about Abraham Lincoln, the more impressed I am. He was truly a remarkable man.

By the way, the story of Lincoln's assassination makes an especially thrilling bedtime story. Particularly the part where Lewis Powell acts like a doctor so that he can get into (sick and bedridden) William Seward's bedroom and do something dastardly with the knife he brought with him. Chaos ensues.

Bet you never heard that story, huh!? History is full of stories that nobody could make up. No matter how hard they tried.

It's Snowing!

2008-01-16T18:03:00.000-05:00

Which is quite remarkable given it's been about 5 or 6 years since we last saw snow in Atlanta.

So I took a screenshot of my Google sidebar weather gadget to record this moment for posterity.

You Yankees probably think this is sad. But hey, whatcha gonna do?

Tearing Things Up

2008-01-15T14:27:00.000-05:00

Last weekend when the family popped into our neighborhood Goodwill store, I made a little purchase inspired by Gever Tulley: a computer keyboard. It cost me $2. I didn't know if it would work or not when we got home, and I didn't care. 'Cause I wasn't going to use it.

We were gonna crack it open and see what was inside.

All the kiddies gathered around as we popped a few keys off, and then went gonzo on every exposed screw we could find. Layer after layer came off, and I was very surprised at what we discovered. I thought I knew how a keyboard worked, but boy was I wrong.

The spongy feel of the keys is caused by a layer of plastic that they keys bounce into when they're pressed. No springs anywhere! Peel that off, and there's a couple more layers of plastic sheets that laminate the circuitry. Nifty-orama.

Zach asked me a few hard to answer questions about how this and that worked. I had to answer honestly, "I have no idea." But as Gever would tell you, that's not the point. The point is to show a little mind that these mysterious electronic boxes around the house "are knowable".

We've got our eyes on the VCR that just stopped working [maniacal laughter].

No Spankings for the Devil

2007-12-22T23:40:00.001-05:00

I had to give Esther a little "disciplining" the other day. After the necessaries were completed, I spread my arms wide and she ran into them. And then with tears running down her little face, she asked, "Daddy, why do you always hug me after you give me a spanking?"

"Because I want to make sure you know I still love you."

I picked her up and carried her down the stairs as she continued to pontificate.

"God doesn't love the Devil...", I waited to see what was coming next, "...because He doesn't give the Devil spankings! No he doesn't!"

Hahaha. Makes perfect sense to me!

Like Elijah

2007-12-21T15:22:00.000-05:00

I was wandering through Wal-Mart, playing follow-the-leader with my wife as she tried to shop 'til I dropped, pushing a shopping cart along while Zack skated beside on his Heely's. And then he posed a Bible question.

"Dad, when will get to go to heaven?"

"Well, when we die," I said, looking around for my wife. She has quite a knack for losing herself in a store.

Zack looked up at me and said, "Well, what about if we go up like Elijah?"

I paused and looked at him. "You're right. You're so absolutely right. We'll go to heaven when we go up like Elijah."

He got his hair tussled for that one.

A Strange Incident

2007-12-19T16:12:00.000-05:00

Monica called me earlier today, on the way home from buying groceries, with all four kiddies in tow, and said someone was following her. It was a woman in a gray van, talking on her cell phone. She turned around when Monica made a u-turn, and recklessly swerved in front of cars when Monica changed lanes. When Monica said she looked evil, I knew something strange was going on.

So I told her to either drive to the dump (where there are usually a lot of people) or the police station. She very calmly said she was going to call 911 (even better), and so I hung up the phone and waited. And waited.

Which was very difficult to do. I went and walked up and down the stairwell and prayed.

Meanwhile, the 911 operator told my wife to drive to the police station, and as she pulled in, with the other car right behind her, two police officers emerged and asked to see the pursuer's driver's license. Thankfully Monica didn't have to talk to the woman, but her story (as related by an officer) was that she had noticed Kaylee's car seat was forward facing (technically not legal for another two months, or until Kaylee gained another 5 pounds or so) through our darkly tinted van windows as she drove past, and just about killed herself trying to keep up with Monica while she phoned the police!

Yes, that's right, she was on her cellphone the whole time because she was calling the police! To rat my wife out!

I imagine her conversation may have gone something like: "Yes officer, I'm breaking the speed limit and who knows how many other laws so that I can bring you this late breaking information that a woman is driving around with a child in a forward facing childseat! I promise to not let her escape!"

Grrrrr!

Or maybe she was planning on making a citizen's arrest.

The officers were very nice, helped Monica get Kaylee's car seat turned around, and made sure Zach and Esther were buckled and in their booster seats (they were). Zach and Esther were very good during the whole ordeal; I wish I could have seen their faces as a policeman stuck his head in the car and looked them over. I'm sure all the kiddies will have a story to tell me when I get home tonight.

As Monica was driving home, a gray van passed her going in the opposite direction. It was that woman again, still talking on her cell phone. I suppose she found someone else that needed to be reported to the police.

Blessed Assurance

2007-12-06T10:24:00.000-05:00

A man's last parting words can convey a lot about the final state of his soul. Here is a list of the last words of some of history's most storied people. At that fateful hour, some were courageous and calm, while others were despairing, realizing at the last that they had never found blessed assurance. And now it was too late.

Cardinal Borgia: “I have provided in the course of my life for everything except death, and now, alas, I am to die unprepared.”

Elizabeth the First: “All my possessions for one moment of time.”

Anne Boleyn: “O God, have pity on my soul. O God, have pity on my soul.”

Ludwig van Beethoven: “Too bad, too bad! It’s too late!”

Phillip III, King of France: “What an account I shall have to give to God! How I should like to live otherwise than I have lived.”

Voltaire: Voltaire once said of Jesus, “Curse the wretch!” and, “Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror ...Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion that has ever infected the world.”

He also boasted, “In twenty years Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear.” Years later, Voltaire’s house was used by the Geneva Bible Society to print Bibles.

On his deathbed he screamed out, “I am abandoned by God and man! I will give you half of what I am worth if you will give me six months’ life. Then I shall go to hell; and you will go with me. O Christ! O Jesus Christ!”

Patrick Henry: In his will he wrote: “This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ which will give them one which will make them rich indeed.” And on his deathbed he stated, “Doctor, I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the religion of Christ is to a man about to die...”

John Owen: “I am going to Him whom my soul loveth, or rather who has loved me with an everlasting love, which is the sole ground of all my consolation.”

Martin Luther: “Into Thy hands I commend my spirit! Thou hast redeemed me, O God of truth.”

Daniel Webster: “I still live!”

Shortly before his death Daniel had said, “The great mystery is Jesus Christ—the gospel. What would the condition of any of us be if we had not the hope of immortality? . . . Thank God, the gospel of Jesus Christ brought life and immortality to light.”

David Livingstone: “Build me a hut to die in. I am going home.”

Isaac Watts: “It is a great mercy that I have no manner of fear or dread of death. I could, if God please, lay my head back and die without terror this afternoon.”

Jonathan Edwards: “Trust in God and you shall have nothing to fear.”

Day Maker

2007-12-06T10:21:00.000-05:00

Wow. This little fellow is very impressive. And the audio clip will make your day.

It made mine.

That's a Brave Little Girl

2007-12-06T10:03:00.001-05:00

A 7 year old girl jumped in front of her Mama when a crazed ex-boyfriend started shooting, and was shot 6 times.

What happened next? Click the link to find out.

A Tantalizing Tale

2007-12-04T13:36:00.000-05:00

Plugged In Magazine (from Focus on the Family) has published a great article on how the new movie The Golden Compass is a slick device designed to turn children into atheists.

The ploy is to get children to watch the movie (which has been revised to remove a lot of the atheistic themes that would otherwise turn families off), and then to buy the book, which contains rather concerning prose like this little ditty, spoken by a witch:

"There are churches there, believe me, that cut their children too, as the people of Bolvangar did—not in the same way, but just as horribly. They cut their sexual organs, yes, both boys and girls; they cut them with knives so that they shan't feel. That is what the church does, and every church is the same: control, destroy, obliterate every good feeling."

The book is tailored especially for children with tantalizing plot devices like noble armored polar bears and animal "friends" (called daemons in the book) that accompany characters throughout their lives. But as Philip Pullman, the author of the books on which the movie is based, stated, "My books are about killing God."

The last time I was in Wal-Mart the book was prominently displayed near the checkout lines, along with all the other Christmas gift items.

John Hagee says... WHUT??

2007-12-04T13:30:00.001-05:00

John Hagee's latest book, In Defense of Israel, claims that Jesus was not the Messiah. Click the link to hear him say it (warning: youtube video, and all that that implies and so forth).

Sigh

Readers Rejoice!

2007-11-29T14:20:00.000-05:00

If you like to read, you'll want to check out this new e-book gadget from Amazon. It's a tad pricey now, but the included unlimited wireless access (no service plan) to Wikipedia is worth a lot, methinks.

You know what I'm thinking?

I'm thinking wouldn't it be nifty o'rama to get Message books onto this device.

[Edit:

It turns out you can read Messages on a Kindle, provided you own the Table, or have access to PDF or Word files of the sermons you want to read. Here's how:

Every Kindle comes with it's own email address. Select the files you want to read (in PDF or Word format), and email them as attachments to your Kindle's email address. Voila! The documents (sermons or otherwise) are on your Kindle ready to read. Note that PDF support is currently "experimental", which means some complex PDF's might not convert to Kindle's format perfectly. I'm guessing sermons would convert fine.

more info here ]

Good Stuff

2007-11-27T16:11:00.000-05:00

I highly recommend that you order you this right here, right now.

After hearing my bro-in-law Bro. Matthew rave about the Q&A sermon, I went ahead and listened to the first half on the way to work this morning. Lots of wonderful stuff on here, including a beautiful explanation of the New Birth, a few point blank statements on birth control, a great answer on gifts of the spirit in church, and why we don't... well, you've just got to hear it for yourself! And I haven't even gotten to the second half yet!

Now, go on ahead with your slow self!

Vaccinate... or Go to Jail

2007-11-26T11:29:00.000-05:00

A school district in Maryland is preparing to send parents to jail if they don't get their kids vaccinated.

What is it?

2007-11-14T13:18:00.000-05:00

A gas station attendant in Ohio was surprised to see a blue "ghostly" blob on the surveillance camera. He was even more surprised when, 30 minutes later, it moved.

Whut it is?

Role Models

2007-11-09T16:49:00.000-05:00

Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
Proverbs 10:12

Eagles

You've probably heard the legend of how an eagle, once in its life, endures a moping period when it's feathers fall out and other eagles must bring it food to survive.

So far, I've never been able to confirm that story. Biologists and Native American historians all say this tale is not true, or at least has never been observed in the wild. But it sounds like it could be true, so for this post let's assume it is. Or let's at least assume that: eagle's help each other through the struggles of life.

At any rate, every believer has to go through at least one moping period. And those that help you along seem, to you at least, exactly like that great bird.

Chickens

Chickens are a different story. If one chicken gets a sore on its neck, all the other chickens suffer a bizarre attraction to peck at it until the chicken, well... they kill it. They can't leave the pore thing alone. They're compelled by some bizarreness in their nature to peck at it and peck it at, without any obvious reward. Except maybe enjoyment.

Yep. I think they like it. They take pleasure in others' pain. And if they could speak, they probably couldn't even tell you why.

Red Hots

2007-10-22T22:16:00.001-05:00

Red Hots are the best kind of candy. When they're made, they're...

- All in one accord (they start out as a big melted mass of candy)

- Baptized with fire (cinnamon)

...and then...

- Sent to "all corners of the globe" to bring good cheer

...and when they're left in the heat they...

- Stick together like glue

Just like Christians should.

California Kindergartners to be taught Alternative Lifestyles

2007-10-19T09:21:00.001-05:00

A concerned reader just emailed me this article about a set of four bills Gov. Schwarzenegger just signed.

A conservative group says private schools and home schooling will be the only sanctuary for California parents when two "school sexual indoctrination" laws take effect on Jan. 1.

Click the link for more.

How to Print Your Own Message Books

2007-10-19T09:13:00.000-05:00

Bro. Trevor has posted a most excellent tutorial on how to use The Table software to print booklet style Message books.

Get a Head Start on Black Friday!

2007-10-18T22:43:00.001-05:00

BlackFriday.info collects ads and coupons (secret spy-like) for items that will go on sale on that uber-shopping day of the year, Nov. 19th, months in advance. How do they do it? I don't know! But they do do it! They are doing it!

Git yer list ready!

Bible Map

2007-10-18T16:50:00.000-05:00

This right here is quite nifty. Select a Bible verse, and BibleMap.org will display key geographical locations found in that scripture on a map. Try Genesis Chapter 10.

It's still in beta, so it's a little flaky, but there's lots of potential!

Pictures

2007-10-03T09:57:00.000-05:00

Someone's using Flickr.com to post a lot of great pictures of Bro. Branham I'd never seen before (or maybe I haven't been paying attention).

Like this one...

...and this one.

Supper Time

2007-09-26T19:38:00.000-05:00

And Zoe can't keep her hands to herself...

Manage Your Finances With Mint

2007-09-19T11:24:00.000-05:00

Mint.com has just been announced the winner of the TechCrunch40 Top Company Award. I've been hearing lots of good buzz about this little company. Here's a blurb:

Mint is a personal finance application that lets users track and monitor their financials in one place without the need of routine maintenance or accounting knowledge. Their application tracks bank, credit union and credit card transactions and alerts users to upcoming bills, low balances or unusual spending. Mint’s patent-pending technology automatically categorizes transactions, so users know with precision where they are spending money, what their bank and credit balances are, and how much interest they have earned.

Their application also helps people find ways to save money by constantly searching for deals on credit cards, bank accounts, etc. Mint’s technology also analyzes your finances and makes suggestions all while using the same security systems as top banks.

You can check it out at www.mint.com. Oh, and did I mention it's free?

Gettin' Into Stuff

2007-09-18T11:00:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite pictures of Zoe and Kaylee.

I am Green

2007-09-18T10:46:00.000-05:00

I thought I would try out this "what color crayon are you?" business, just to see what it would spit out. So far, everyone else (for example, Monica) has gotten (I think) fairly accurate results.

Whether you think the results are accurate or not, you've got to agree that this takes silliness to a whole new level.

You Are a Green Crayon

Your world is colored in harmonious, peaceful, natural colors. While some may associate green with money, you are one of the least materialistic people around.
Comfort is important to you. You like to feel as relaxed as possible - and you try to make others feel at ease. You're very happy with who you are, and it certainly shows!

Your color wheel opposite is red. Every time you feel grounded, a red person does their best to shake you.

Bro. Ron Spencer Updates

2007-09-18T09:21:00.000-05:00

For the latest updates on Bro. Ron Spencer, a web site has been setup at http://ronalddeanspencer.com/

The Ultimate Steal

2007-09-17T12:09:00.000-05:00

If you're a college student you can grab a copy of Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 for only $59.95.

That's an incredible deal. I don't know the regular price off the top of my head, but it's several hundred smackers.

Update: The regular price is around $599. So yeah, this is a good deal.

Russia Unveils New Super Bomb

2007-09-12T11:50:00.000-05:00

Russia has successfully tested what it describes as the most powerful non-nuclear bomb. Comparable in its efficiency and capability to a nuclear weapon, it won't impact the environment like a nuclear weapon would.

Bro. Ron Spencer

2007-09-11T15:03:00.000-05:00

Please remember Bro. Ron Spencer in prayer, who was badly burned last night while burning brush. Apparently a tank blew up and and burned Bro. Ron and his son, who pulled him out of the fire.

Hebrews 13:8

Good Things

2007-09-06T17:28:00.000-05:00

God has been good to me lately. It all started when I was in Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago and I got a toothache.

A toothache? That's not good!

No it weren't. Not a'tall. I had been (shamefully) drinking a lot of soft drinks lately, and I assumed that had finally opened up a big ol' hole in my tooth. My tooth throbbed nonstop, and I started chewing on the left side of my mouth. I popped a piece of candy in my mouth and a stab of pain shot threw every time it got in the way of said tooth.

I had made up my mind before I went to D.C. that I wasn't going to touch the devilvision in the hotel room (don't get me started on why). Once I arrived in my room, I noticed the center-piece: a ginormous flat/wide-screen television screen in all its glory. I had never before been in a hotel room with such a technologically marvelous piece of equipment. I stood staring at it for a few moments, and then laughed.

You tricky devil, you.

When I turned out the lights two little red lights on the television splayed rays across the room, like searching eyes. It was quite eerie, I assure you.

And so, I spent a good bit of time in D.C. listening to sermons on my iPod and praying. One of the things I prayed about was my tooth. But it didn't stop hurting until I had been back home for a few days. And when I say it stopped hurting, I mean it totally stopped hurting. No residual throbbing thingy at all. I chomped on my teeth in different ways with the same result - no pain.

Monica had made me an appointment with our dentist, so I went ahead to see what he would say. When he pulled my x-rays up on the fancy schmancy flat-screen monitor, I was amazed to see a perfectly white tooth. No tooth decay anywhere. My whole mouth, in fact, was free and clear of tooth decay.

And that night, after a week with sick twins, we decided to try to head for the Labor Day meetings in Byron, GA. And got stuck in Atlanta's Labor Day traffic, the worse traffic I've ever seen in my entire life. It was so horrible we decided to turn around and go to the Saturday night services the next day. We spent almost 5 hours in the car that night for nothing.

But I am so glad we got back in the car the next day. Every year we think the next year's services can't get any better, but they always do. An hour before service started people were praising the Lord, worshipping, and singing along to the pre-service music. Some people were there four hours before service to be sure they would get a seat. Before Saturday night's prayer line they played the tape Be Certain of God, which is one of my favorites, and I'm sure is one of yours too. After Saturday night's prayer line people were leaving their canes in the parking lot.

Last night I went to check on the kiddies. They had fallen to sleep listening to a sermon, and Bro. Branham's voice echoed down the hall screaming (paraphrased), "Rise up and take God at His Word! Stand up and show Him that you believe!" I am convinced that you cannot listen to that voice for long and not believe. It compels you to believe.

And that's when good things happen.

Egyptian High Society

2007-08-23T15:57:00.000-05:00

Scientists have done some tricks with computers and stuff to show us what the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti looked like.

This weren't Rameses' wife, by the way, whose name was Nefertari (the movie Ten Commandments changed the spelling to Nefretiri). Nefertiti was the wife of Amenhotep IV, and stepmother of Tutankhamen (King Tut).

So yeah, this is what Eyptian hoity-toities looked like back in the day.

I Didn't Need to See Your Pajamas, Thank You

2007-08-20T12:09:00.000-05:00

It's good to be back in Atlanta.

I spent last week in Washington, D.C. attending Sharepoint training. Actually I was in Reston, VA, 30 minutes to the west, but it's within the Metro area. My plan ticket even says Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C., but Dulles is in Virginia, not D.C.

Anyhoo. The worst part of flying is going through security. And that's for domestic flights; I can't imagine the horror of going through customs. Once aboard my flight to Dulles I couldn't help notice the young family to my left. Because I had to listen to their daughter's music for most of the flight. Over the jet engines. She'll probably be deaf in a few years. I don't know what kind of music that was, but it sounded like someone in severe pain accompanied by guitars and drums. I think she was around eight years old. The girl on the plane, not the person in pain (hey, I made a rhyme!).

On the flight back I noticed a woman pushing a baby stroller talking to some people she was traveling with. She asked someone if her baby looked like "Robert". She didn't think so. Someone asked if she missed "Robert". Yes, but she tried not to think about it, because it made her cry. Her, and and her young approximately 12 year old traveling companion were dressed in what appeared to be pajamas. I won't be more specific, but 'twere skanky. She looked like she were hunting for a "Robert Replacement".

After walking up the steps to the Lincoln memorial, I stood staring off at the Capitol dome far in the distance, watching the barely clad tourists come walking down the National Mall. You can't stand in the Lincoln memorial without thinking reverent thoughts of how the United States began, founded by men who seem a thousand times better than, well... I won't go there. But men with character, who had seen troubles and trials and developed an unshakeable faith in God.

But I digress. I think the D.C. area is one of the nicest cities I've ever traveled to. And I've been to, let's see...

- Des Moines, Iowa
- Chicago, IL
- Newark, NJ (gag)
- New York, NY
- Cincinatti, OH

Maybe I liked D.C. because it was warm. I traveled to Chicago, Newark, New York, and Des Moines in the cold winter months. Des Moines has a nifty walkway between all the downtown buildings (and Chicago does in parts), so you can walk around without going outside, 'cause if you go outside your nose will fall off. And that's if you're lucky. It's that cold.

But back to D.C. The views from Arlington Cemetery were spectacular. Traffic was a breeze even at rush hour (coming East from Reston; compared to Atlanta, anyway). The city was beautiful. The weather was perfect. And I love history, which D.C. has in spades. You could spend a month visiting all the sites, from civil war battlegrounds, memorials and landmarks, to all the (14?) Smithsonian museums (with free admission!).

Maybe another trip is in order, with the kiddies.

But hold the pajamas, if you please.

A Goose That Lays Golden Eggs?

2007-08-04T11:06:00.000-05:00

I was lounging on the couch chatting with my pal, my seven year old son, Zachary, today, about what he was going to do when he finally leaves home. He likes talking about how when he gets his own home he's going to drink all the Mountain Dew he wants, heh heh. Also, he wants a dog (you may recall I don't like dogs for a myriad of reasons).

Zach: I'm going to buy a dog when I get a house.

Me: Oh yeah? Well how about a goat too? Goats are nice.

Zach: Ha, yeah, and some chickens, and piggies, and a goose that lays golden eggs!

Me: Wow, that would be nice to have a goose that lays golden eggs. That would make you rich!

Zach: You don't want to be poor?

Me: Actually, no. I'd rather not be. But if I had a goose that laid golden eggs, I would be rich, because gold is worth a lot of money!

Zach: But if you had a goose that laid golden eggs, maybe you would be greedy!

Me: Hmm... that's entirely possible. That might make me greedy if I had all that gold.

Zach: Then why would you want a goose that lays golden eggs?

Me: You know, that's a good question.

A good question indeed. I dunno, but I thought that was pretty intuitive for a seven year old.

What was Roman Citizenship all about?

2007-08-03T20:57:00.001-05:00

How 'bout a little history lesson for a change?

You'll recall from the book of Acts (Acts 22:25-29, etc) that Paul was a Roman citizen. When Paul claimed his citizenship, the guards acted scared. How come? What does "Roman citizenship" imply, and what rights did it confer?

Let's start off by taking a look at how you could get it.

How do I get it?
Roman citizenship was granted automatically to every child born in a legal marriage of a Roman citizen. You were automatically granted citizenship if you were born to a freed slave, or to a legionary who had been released from military duty. Other ways of acquiring citizenship were by paying for it (for an exhorbitant price), or by doing something extra special for the Roman republic (later empire). As time went on more and more men in the empire were awarded citizenship, until finally, under Constitutio Antoniniana, all free men in the Empire were granted citizenship.

No girls allowed!
I say men, because only men could be full-fledged Roman citizens. Women could own property, but couldn't vote, run for office, and so forth.

What's in it for me?
So what good was citizenship? Well, it was a lot of good. Citizens could vote, own property, and make legal contracts. If you were a citizen you could legally marry another Roman citizen, and your children would automatically become citizens. A citizen could run for office, sue in the courts, appeal court decisions, and retained the right to a trial (to appear in court and defend oneself). Also, Roman citizens were immune from some taxes and stuff like that right there.

But there were a few rights that were important to Paul, in particular with regard to the story in Acts. A Roman citizen had the right not to be subjected to scourging and torture.

And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.
ACTS 22:25

He also could not be sentenced to death except for treason, and even then could not be crucified (which is why Paul died by beheading, rather than crucifixion). And of course every Roman citizen had the right to be tried at Rome, which right Paul asserted.

For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar. Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go.
ACTS 25:11-12

More Info...

Even More Info...

A Little Horror Story

2007-08-03T10:59:00.001-05:00

[This post has been removed. Altogether now - "Oopsadaisie!"]

Alrighty Now!

2007-08-02T11:23:00.000-05:00

I do believe that there's my niece at the top of the (first?) Young Foundations Quiz Results!

You're famous Hannah Rose!

Very Nice

2007-07-31T22:19:00.001-05:00

Wow. Now here's a photographer with some serious talent. A real gift. Check out his web site at WPBranham.com.

By the way, his prints are very reasonably priced, if'n you want something nice to hang on your wall.

Also, nice resume.

:-)

The Day I Stunk Up the Train Station

2007-07-18T20:58:00.000-05:00

Not to fear. This blog isn't about, um... what you think it is. If that's what you're thinking. This is a story of stupidity, a tale of a wrong choice made wronger. Or should I say, stanker. But come closer, gather around, and follow along with me as I relate to you this little diddy.

[Flashback]
It all began on that fateful day many moons ago when my belov-ded said to me, as I was making ready to adieu to my work, "My dear, my love, please taketh upon thyself to carry the trash to yon dump. It doth stinketh. A lot. Verily."

And so I gathered the trash up, tightened it's little tightener thingies into a tight little knot, gagged, heaved, and wretched, kissed my wife and children, tossed the noxious bag into the trunk of my Honda Accord, and was on my merry way to the town dump.

But you see, we had just moved into our new home. And so I did not know when the dump did openeth. I thought the dump would be open for business, surely, by the time I arrived at 7:30 AM.

All together now, "Do you think the dump was open at 7:30 when I arrived?"

No, the dump was not open at 7:30 when I arrived! And so I thought to myself, "If they are not open at 7:30, they will probably not be open until at least 8:00, at which point I will be late for work."

Harken unto my words, dear reader. There are times in life when you come to a crossroads, an intersection, if you will. A place where a choice must be made, for better or worse, and turning back is not an option. At least not in this case, because if I went back home I would also end up being late. And so, dear reader, I made the only choice I could.

I would take my trash with me.

And so on my merry way I went, down to the North Springs MARTA station, whereupon I parked my car in the parking garage, laden with its oderiferous cargo, and ventured forth to board the next southbound train. I quickly forgot my nefarious deed. Until, that is, I stepped off the elevator into the MARTA parking garage that afternoon.

"Wow! What is that smell? This place reeks! Man, somebody needs to call MARTA and do some serious complainin'! And they need to do some splainin'!"

And also, "My goodness!"

Tears formed in my eyes, but through my clouded vision I noticed that the green cloud blanketing the cars on that level, was coming from... my car! My car!

I was, of course, quite incredulous. How in the world would it be possible for a trunk full of trash to stink up the place? I mean - it was only one bag, right? There were only a few little old maggots and fruit flies, and it was leaking just a little bit, not even so's you'd notice, and certainly not enough for this level of stank. I mean, c'mon!

"Be cool," I told myself, trying to be nonchalant as I sauntered to my car through the haze. "Everybody takes their trash to work. Yeah. Yeah! This kinda thing happens all the time!"

It's amazing how fast a trunk full of stank trash can transform a nice little Honda Accord into a hoopty. I was parked on an upper level of the garage, so I had to drive around and around, slowly circling down through the levels, spreading my good cheer behind me like one of those mosquito fogger trucks. Finally I arrived at the automatic gate where you insert your parking ticket to raise the gate. As soon as I pulled up, the cloud that I had been pulling along behind my car caught up with me, and my eyes tried to cross.

Somehow I managed to insert my ticket without breathing, and I sped through the gate in my new stank-nasty hoopty mosquito-fogger mobile. Believe me when I say, that was the last day I stunk up the train station.

Timeline

2007-07-12T13:32:00.000-05:00

Google has a new search feature called "Timeline", which lets you view search results based on time.

Try it with:

Twins

2007-07-10T20:37:00.000-05:00

After 5 months with twins, I think we've come to the conclusion that all you folks out there who think twins would just be the niftiest thing... are right. They are.

We spent July 4th (American Independence Day) with my parents in South Carolina. At one point my Dad and I were sitting on a bench waiting on the women folk to finish perusing the items in a store, and each of us had a twin. I turned mine (Zoe) towards the other one (Kaylee) to see if they would entertain, and boy did they ever! Before long a traffic jam of admirers had formed on the sidewalk, laughing and pointing at the two adorable twins who were trying to get at each other.

Decades ago the prevailing "wisdom" in child rearing was that children's personalities were developed by their environment. So, your daughter would become a tom-boy if all she had to play with were guns and knives, and vice versa. Boy do our twins prove that theory wrong - they were born with distinct personalities. Zoe is Miss Happy - a dainty little petite thing always ready with a smile. Kaylee is a little roly-poly cuddle bug who likes to grab her feet, and was the first to figure out how to roll over. Kaylee yelps and howls when she doesn't like something, in the cutest of possible ways. And Zoe hardly ever goes to bed without a fuss. She especially likes to wake her sister. And believe me when I say it is quite disconcerting to hear two yowling pups going at it at once.

And finally, I'll end this post with the two mainmost things you should never say or ask a parent of twins (all of which have been spoken to either my wife and/or myself).

1) "Twins are easy! I raised a pair myself - piece of cake!"

2) "So, have you figured out which one is the evil twin?"

Don't go there. Just Say No.

Putin Stakes Claim to North Pole

2007-06-28T12:59:00.001-05:00

The Russians have discovered oil at the North Pole, so
now they're telling the world it's part of Russia.

Quote #1:
Some commentators have already observed it is further evidence of growing Russian assertiveness under its authoritarian president.

Quote #2:
A diplomatic source said that Russia was "seeking to secure its grip on oil and gas supplies for decades to come. Putin wants a strong Russia, and Western dependence for oil and gas supplies is a key part of his strategy. He no longer cares if his strategy upsets the West".

Even More of the Usual

2007-06-25T09:21:00.000-05:00

Well, this bit of news seems to be spreading like wildfire: VoGR's new Young Foundations web site has been launched, to which I say: Wowzers!

Someone over there really knows what they're doing. I'm afraid I got a tad giddy when I was looking it over last night.

And you simply must check out the Decisions flash presentation.

And the blog. And get you a Revelations t-shirt.

As I said before, everything VoGR does, they do to perfection. So yep, this is even more of the usual.