Indeed, I am a much better typist than handwriterist. I never received "A's" in handwriting in grade school. I generally prefer typing to writing. Much faster, much more legible.
That said, I do have favorite pens that I enjoy writing with. They are manufactured by the Japanese company Sakura. The fine folks at Sakura are the inventors of gel pens. They have many pen and marker-type products for art-type people. They also have a dedicated fan base that use some of their writing utensils for everyday use.
A few years ago, I accompanied my then-fiancé, now-wife on a trip to Michaels in Champaign. I was wandering the store and happened upon these pens, where I purchased one on a whim. It seemed to write well and looked pretty decent. Sakura has provided my writing utensil of choice ever since.
I'm no calligrapher...
Futalog-wha?
As per this article from the BBC, apparently some science-types in that other hemisphere found some new dinosaur bones. Isn't that great? Obviously, they're calling it the "futalognkosaurus" (pronounced foo-ta-long-
koh-sohr-us). I mean, the really good names are already taken.
The diagram to our right displays the bones that they found, leading to such exclamations as "It's like a whole lost world for us," and "It's among the biggest dinosaur finds and the most complete for a giant dinosaur."
I'm counting six bones over there. Six. That's all it takes to be one of the "most complete for a giant dinosaur?" We really have lowered our standards...back in my day, we had to assemble an entire limb of a paleontological find before we started including it in the upper echelon of completeness for "giant dinosaurs."
One Month Later
Ok, yeah...I know. I've done it again. Here we are, a month since this page was last active. Let's see...in the past month the Cardinals went from sneaking back in to the playoff race to a colossal nose-dive back to third place. Bummer. Illinois football is enjoying its best start since 2001, however. Oskee-Wow-Wow, Illinois!
I've been working, which is good. It's not the type of thing I'd really like to be doing, but God has been gracious to provide for us. Our families have been tremendous blessings to us over the past month, helping meet our needs. We are very, very grateful to them and thankful for them. Most of all, we praise God and thank Him for meeting our needs each and every day. I am reminded of the Israelites and their trek through the forbidding desert after their exodus from Egypt. Each day, the Lord provided manna and quail for the people to eat. He provided enough for the day, with explicit instructions to take only what was needed, rather than trying to stockpile. The people of Israel had to trust God each day to meet their needs.
Our needs are being met on a daily basis, and then some. We are thankful that God has blessed us so much.
So that's how it works...
I like Gmail. It's definitely my favorite free webmail service, hands down. The folks at Google made an informational video showing exactly how my electronic mail is delivered...
Busted
Thanks to Johnny D. for the head's up...obviously my blog here is experiencing some technical difficulties. Something managed to get a little off with my css coding, so it'll need some fixin'. Bear with me, faithful readers! HA! Like I have any of those.
Anyway, I'll try and fix it when I get a little more time.
UPDATE (8/28): Well, I appear to have gotten things worked out. To be honest, I took the long way around, but got lucky in the end. Hopefully it'll stay put this time.
Danger: My (other) middle name
As some of you readers (assuming I have any) know, my wife and I are celebrating our 1st anniversary today. Huzzah! One year of marital bliss...I love her quite a bit. It's true.
As you may also know, the first anniversary is the "paper" anniversary. With this in mind, Chelsea gave me a copy of The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden. It's a pretty nifty publication that she heard about on Dr. Albert Mohler's radio program. It has also been featured in Time magazine, so Chase may know something of it.
The book is chock full of useful information and tips. It includes chapters titled "The Greatest Paper Airplane in the World," "Building a Treehouse," "Spies - Codes and Cyphers," "Girls," "The Ten Commandments," and several chapters of "Understanding Grammar." There's some pretty great stuff in there...I wish I had this book about 12 years ago. Though I have yet to peruse much of it, I've found some pretty valuable passages. Take, for example, this advice about girls:
If you see a girl in need of help -- unable to lift something, for example -- do not taunt her. Approach the object and greet her with a cheerful smile, while surreptitiously testing the weight of the object. If you find you can lift it, go ahead. If you can't, try sitting on it and engaging her in conversation.
When Babies Attack!
I had the privilege of seeing some good friends at the Miners game tonight. Thanks for being my friends...you know who you are.
Apparently, this little girl is on a big high-fivin' kick right now. I'm proud to say that I was on the receiving end of her first high-five-through-the-slot-in-a-box-office-window. It was pretty great.
During the game, our roving camera man got a great shot on the video board of Bekah on papa's lap. Attack of the 20-foot tall Bekah!
Thanks for all of your prayers.
Once upon a time...
...I had a blog. I'm pretty confident that this was it. The site accepted my user name and password, so I'll take that as confirmation. Maybe I'll start posting here more often as baseball season comes to a close. It's been an exhausting last few months, but I've had some great experiences. Hopefully I'll be able to utilize some of these experiences to get a job at some point. Hopefully that some point isn't far from this point.
Apple Inc. has found two more happy converts. We are enjoying our new Macbook. Incentive to blog more frequently? We'll see.
I like me some spring
I do. I'm really enjoying spring. The weather is more to my taste ("not frigid" is a pretty good description of my taste). I can open windows. It's refreshing.
My wife is enjoying the weather as well. Where my thumbs are pasty-pale, however, hers are green. She has done quite the fantastic job at beautifying our quaint (read: minuscule) backyard with myriad growing things. I took a few pictures..
Along with these growing things, I like meat. Consequently, as a result, I recently fired up the grill that Chelsea and I received last year. My parental units came over and a good time was had by all...and good burgers were had by all...but most importantly, good burgers were had by me.
My Weber may not be all shiny and char-tastic, but it works for me.Madly Hatter
Jabberwocky
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
by Lewis Carroll
Run away or die
I saw a news blurb on this a couple months ago. Apparently, the powers that be decided that the sign indicating dangerous radiation was not explicit enough; wasn't getting the message across. Thus, they upgraded from this:
So remember, always run away from skeletons when being bombarded with radiation.
The word on the street...
(nope, not this one...and definitely not this one)
No, the word on the street is that I need to post more often.
I honestly do wish I could blog with greater frequency. Not having an Internet connection at ye ol' hacienda poses the biggest obstacle to that, though I never seemed to blog much in the past when I did have Internet access. I suppose I'm simply a lazy blogger most of the time.
Is that, in itself, wrong? Of course it's not.
Question number two: am I ever lazy in other ways? Uncomfortable answer: yes.
I've often been prone to laziness in keeping my room (nowadays apartment) clean and orderly. I was always a big procrastinator when it came to school. I don't devote much time studying the Bible. Not as I should. Intellectually, it's a priority. It often doesn't translate into an actual priority. Why?
Why do I ever neglect the one source of absolute truth in this world? Why can I quote from memory more passages from J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert Jordan, more lines from Arrested Development and The Office, and more verses from Nickel Creek and Sufjan Stevens than from the Bible: the one true God's holy inerrant word?
I have no response, and am ashamed.
I know that through Jesus Christ I have been forgiven for my sins. I know that I must turn from my neglect and love the LORD in word and in deed.
I thank God and praise Him for providing me with so many Brothers and Sisters in every stage of my life thus far. They have helped hold me accountable, both directly and indirectly. Loving conviction is truly a blessing, though painful.
I wasn't really planning on writing about anything in particular. I guess conviction just seizes you by the scruff of the neck sometimes...
That time of year...
Yes, indeed, it's that time of year. I love this time of year. It's the baseball time of year. The major league season begins this weekend with my beloved Cardinals taking on the Mets. It's feels a bit different coming off of a World Series win, as that hadn't happened in my lifetime prior to this year (I wonder how many Cubs fans haven't experienced the World Series victory...easy answer = practically none. Certainly single-digit numbers...but this isn't really supposed to be a Cubs-bashing post).
I'm also working in baseball for the first time this year, which is pretty cool. It'd be a lot nicer if I got paid more, but...
Things are really picking up around the office. Things are coming together as the Southern Illinois Miners approach Opening Day of our inaugural season. I'm busy, but it's usually a good busy.
That's all for now.
Go Cards, and go Miners!
MH
Update
This week marks week number two at the new job for me. Last week started off a bit slowly, but picked up in speed as it progressed. Same goes for this week. I like the environment, not so much the hours or pay. Praying things go well...
Hatter
Family Matters
Nope, this has nothing to do with Steve Urkel.
Actually, I just wanted to share something that's going on in my life. My father took my grandmother to the hospital yesterday morning. She passed away earlier today.
We were close, especially when growing up, as she lived just a couple blocks away. I will miss her, but I'm at peace.
She was in a great deal of pain, and had been for some time. In fact, I don't think she's been in constant pain for about a year, to varying degrees. She's comfortable now. She's at peace. The greatest blessing in this matter is knowing that she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior long ago, and had a very real, personal relationship with him for many years. She now gets to spend the rest of eternity praising and glorifying the name of Jesus in His very presence.
Praise God!
In other, less earth-shaking, news, I did not in fact begin work with the Miners this week. Due to technical issues, I will (hopefully) start work there next Monday. I was informed of this change on Sunday afternoon, and was somewhat bummed about it at the time. In the wake of other events this week, I thank God that he gave me the opportunity to be with my family this week.
Isaiah 49:14-16
I've been thinking about this today...
But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.
(Isaiah 49:14-16 ESV)
What greater love, compassion, attention, and care can we witness in the world around us today than that of a mother with her infant? While even some mothers do neglect their children, the LORD has not and will not abandon us; Christ will not abandon the church, his bride. Do we deserve this? Nope. We deserve abandonment. I certainly do.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:9 ESV)
Praise God!
Colossus
Last Thursday, a colossal squid was caught by some New Zealand fishermen. The colossal squid is a different species than the giant squid and, as one might guess, a bit bigger. The largest known invertebrate species, in fact. This one is the largest ever seen. Its weight? About 990 lbs. That's about a half-ton. That's a big squid. Seriously.
Click here for the full story.
New Beginnings
They happen. For everyone. There are many different kinds, of course. The past 6+ months have been full of them for me without doubt. There are more coming down the pike. This new blog is by far the least among them, also without doubt. I've never been much of a blogger, as the few readers of my oft-neglected Xanga site can attest to. Maybe I'll update this shiny, new blog a little more often. Maybe.
On Monday, I will officially set sail into the sea that is professional sports...no, not as an athlete. On Monday I will begin an internship with the Southern Illinois Miners, a minor league baseball team in the independent Frontier League. I'm pretty excited about it. Most that know me also know that I'm a big baseball fan, making this a great opportunity, albeit a low-paying one (cue part time job to help pay the bills). Here's to hoping this "opportunity" turns into "full-time opportunity." That's what my Alice and I are praying for, anyway. We're following this rabbit down this crazy hole, at least for now.
We know that we are where the Lord wants us to be; here in Carbondale, and at Lakeland. We've been blessed with church family that loves God unashamedly and is striving for obedience in making Him known to all peoples. We've been blessed with many new friends, brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Beginnings can be exciting. I'll try to keep you posted on how the party goes.
