A Quiet Sunday Evening

Howdy folks,

I'm sitting in my living room next to my wife, I'm listening to the Leafs play the Rangers... we're down 4-2, and we need this one. She's reading a book. And, I'm thinking, yeah... life is good.

Of course, I remember that tomorrow is, in fact, Monday, which means I have to be at work for 7:30 for our weekly sales meeting. And, I've got to go switch the laundry over, cause we haven't really gotten much done. And if I wanted to be really smart, I'd probably make my lunch tonight.

But I guess what underlies all that is that life is good. It's not easy... but it's good. Marriage is good. Very good. It's a big learning experience, but there's no one else I'd rather learn with than my wife.

So, that's not a lot by way of update, but it's a little. God is very good to me, and I thought I'd share that.

It's a great feeling

Hey guys, by way of update, the best feeling in the world is taking all your resumes off monster, hotjobs, and beyond.com. It just feels great. Yep, I'm employed. If you're ever in West Virginia and in need of a bank account, give me a call. More to come.

Diversionary Tactics

Hello friends. I wanted to let you, the three people who still check this, in on a new venture. You can find my reflections on writing at the Maple Mountain Story Club. Even better, you'll find my friend (and brother-by-marriage) Samuel's thoughts there too. We've just gotten started, but I think you'll find it to be fun to read. Hopefully we'll have some good dialogue on writing, art, and faith. And hey, it's free!

What are you waiting for, come visit the Maple Mountain Story Club!

Valentines Day

I have not always been a big fan of this day. I've had an on-off relationship with it. At times I've not liked the principle of it, as though we need a day to force us to appreciate our significant others. It seemed fake to me. Of course, then there were the times when I hated it for being a day focused on exclusive relationships: as a bitter, single man, I didn't like that the whole world... or North America, anyway, stopped to emphasize our lack for a whole day.

Now I'm married. I love my wife, and try to make sure that I show her that every day. So, Valentines Day approached, and I thought a little bit about it. And you know, I decided to do something for her, in the spirit of the day. There's nothing wrong with a tradition of making especially sure, this one day of the year, that your loved one knows they are your loved one.

So, single folks, you're fine. You don't need a relationship, and that's cool.

Dating folks, do something for your SO. I mean, why not? Sure it's not spontaneous, it's expected, whatever... there's nothing wrong with the tradition of celebrating people's birthdays, similarly, there's nothing wrong with celebrating your relationship on this day.

Married folks... men especially, why not go out of your way to show your wife that you love her? I mean... we men, we don't always do so well at the emotional side of things. So, take this day and make it clear to your wife how important she is to you.

And Valentines Day Abstainers, I get it. I can see where you're coming from. But, try not to post/shout any tirades about it unless you're really going to stick to your guns. Cause, otherwise, you may have to post/shout a retraction... maybe not next year, or the year after that, but eventually.

running water

So, I just washed dishes in my kitchen sink. And I was pretty excited about it... I mean, I was almost celebratory. If I had champanade, I would've drank some! It's been a week... yes, a full week, since we had water running and draining in our kitchen. And, it's one of those luxuries you never think about.

See, our kitchen is in our basement, and our house is built on a hill, so underneath the kitchen is just a big gap. You can actually crawl up in there (it is bricked in and it has a door on it, but... you know). And, it's not exactly insulated in there. At all. So, when it got down to -18 celcius last week, boom, everything froze. Well, actually, the drain froze first. Then, when I couldn't leave the water dripping from the tap, the water froze too. Yesterday it warmed up, and all of the sudden I heard my hot water heater kick in fiercely. I hoped that it meant that my pipes were open again, but it turned out that it just meant that my hot water pipe had split. Big time... Anyway, the landlord -- and he's a good one -- sent the plumber, who promptly had things back up and running.

It is funny, though, the things that we take for granted. I watched a video where Mr. Cuthill recorded Matt and Ruth show how they heat water. It involved a fire and a big metal container. Folks, we are blessed.

Appeasement

So, I read this story, and I have to say... have we not learned from history? First, lets think about recent history: how many times have we heard that North Korea would consider getting rid of their nuclear capabilities? It's a bargaining chip! Goodness! And every time we give them our part, they end up finding another reason not to disarm. What's going to change? They've got a good thing going!

But then, if we go back a little bit, we've got the way the international community treated Hitler. Now, I'm not saying Kim Jong Il is Hitler. I'm comparing the international community response: when appeasement was all we went for, we got absolutely nothing, and we gave up everything... you know, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and France. Now, again, I'm not comparing the leader of North Korea to Hitler. But, haven't we learned yet that with certain types of people, negotiation doesn't get us anywhere?

On the other hand, I guess we have to try to negotiate. I guess I'm just not optimistic that someone who has reneged on agreements before will start keeping them now. What's the alternative? I don't know... it's a different world. We can just not deal with them at all. Germany couldn't be shut down that way very effectively, but business is so international today that it could work. Who knows.

Snow in WV

So, it's winter in West Virginia. Normally, it looks about like this outside. You know, light dusting of snow, about eight degrees above zero so that it melts by ten am, and everything is hunky-dory.

Now, the past 24 hours have been slightly different. By slightly different, I mean... Holy Canada Flashback, Batman.

This is what I found when I left my house this morning. Five inches of snow, with a lovely layer of ice on the top. Cleaning it off the car actually gave me a little bit of tennis elbow. Breaking through the ice was a pain, but I refuse to drive around with five inches of snow sitting on top of the car. Not going to do it. Wouldn't be prudent at this juncture.

Anyway, my wife got to work, and now I'm home, looking for work. And hoping my pipes will thaw.

An Update

Hey... yes, it's true... I am Andrew. And I am still alive. It's been an interesting couple of months... actually, more than couple, but you know what I mean.

Let me start with: It's stinking cold. Like, -30 celcius when we woke up. It's up to -22 now, but the high today is only -6. Do you think my pipes downstairs will unfreeze? No? Me neither.

Married life is good. I guess it seems like we're having an incredibly easy first year of marriage. My wife is great, and I fall more in love with her every day. Can't complain about that, right?

And finally, to update, my immigration status has changed... I'm still pending permanent residence, but I am now able to work. I'm pretty excited about that, and we're pursuing some interesting opportunities, so we'll keep you posted on how it goes.

All for now.

Why can't you spell? (part two)

As read on the packaging for my wife's chopsticks last night at dinner...

Welcome to Chinese Restaurant. Please try your Nice Chinese Food With Chopsticks the traditional and typical of Chinese glonous history and cultual.

Learn how to use your chopsticks

Tuk under tnurnb and held firmly

Add second chcostick
hold it as you hold a pencil

Hold tirst chopstick in originai position move the second one up and down Now you can pick up anything:

Productof China

I tell ya, just magical.

Why can't you spell? (part one)

I'm thinking about doing this as a recurring thing. Have you ever been surfing the web, reading news on a reputable site (we're talking CNN, Foxnews, or for sports, Foxsports, ESPN, etc.), and come across a really blatant spelling or word-use error? Happens all the time! Drives me nuts. Of course, I've had my fair share of spelling errors, and I realize that by posting this, I'm opening myself up to criticism, but I feel like I owe it to the world to try to use my powers for awesome.

Today on ESPN.com, I read the following:

"I think [the executive committee was] very comfortable with Jim as a perspective owner and he's going to try and make it work in Pittsburgh, but he's going to need some help in terms of a new building," Bettman added.

Perspective owner. Prospective owner. I guess I can see the similarity, but seriously, the definitions are pretty different. Yeah, seriously.

A boring day

I can't find anything that really sets off a reaction in my brain, so I'm going to give you a few little news stories that I found interesting:

A Canada.com story about Peter Mackay calling people names. Interesting... I don't know if he did it or not, but it just goes to show you that there is some merit to the way the US runs their houses... one speaker at a time + no heckling = no question about what was said.

I have flat-out been ticked at Republicans for the past two years. … [But] this country is at a crisis point. Whether or not the Republicans deserve the power they were given, the alternatives are downright frightening."- James Dobson, at a Pennsylvania rally in September. (One of several quotes at CT's quotation marks this week.)

Finally, an MSNBC story about how American political groups are using Google's Ad service to ensure that last minute researchers find negative information about politicians they might otherwise vote for. Man, the internet makes everything easier, even smear campaigns!

A little too convenient?

So, I'm a nerd... I'll admit it. I like to follow trends in technology and all that. But, sometimes I find myself thinking that technology writers may write things the way they hope they are rather than the way they are.

This morning I read an article about how CRT televisions are sliding into oblivion. For those of you who don't know, CRT is the kind of tv you probably grew up with. You know, weighs a ton, is really big even when the screen isn't, that kind of stuff.

Now, interestingly, the following is tucked into the article:

...Video experts say CRT technology still represents the gold standard in picture quality with the deepest blacks and best color accuracy. But the performance of LCD and plasma displays have improved dramatically in just the past two years, making the differences in picture quality insignificant to all but discerning videophiles.

Say what? Now, I've looked at LCD and Plasma TVs lately, on the low end... you know, the ones Walmart sells... the ones that can't handle high level digital signals (1080), and I've thought to myself, self these just don't look all that good. They aren't horrible, but they seem to lack a little clarity in details. And folks, I'm certainly not a discenring videophile. I don't even know what that means.

All that to say, maybe it's just a little early to pronounce the "gold standard in picture quality" dead. Not that I don't drool over LCD tvs... you just have to be careful that what you're buying is actually better than what you've got at home.

Christian Business?

Okay, on a personal note, this morning as I went outside to take my wife to work, it was snowing. This is not acceptable! ... So Cold!

So, Christianity Today had an article about the alleged Kinkadian fraud. I'm actually not interested in exploring whether he perpertrated a fraud or not... I'm just not much for his type of art, perhaps because I don't get most visual art, or perhaps not.

I am interested in some of the issues around the edge. I thought the following quote was interesting:

Still, Christians are eager to support businesses they believe will share God with others, said Stephen Christensen, managing director of the Center for Faith and Business at Concordia University in Irvine, California. "Perhaps we would not do our diligence in counting the cost because the business seems like it would be a good way to advance God's kingdom."

Is that good or bad? I'm not a hundred percent sure... I face confusion on this one almost constantly. I purport to be a capitalist. I believe in a free market. So, do I support a business that purports to be run by Christians (ie, Steve's Window Washing, who hypothetically has John 3:16 on his sign) or do I support a business that is the most cost-effective value for the services I'm looking to receive? Similarly, if I'm starting a business, do I bring more glory to God by having John 3:16 on my sign, or by being the best value for the services I render?

Gotta keep those kids safe

Kids are constantly being regulated in schools. I guess I must've lived in the renaissance of something, cause lately all I do is reminisce, but really... can't kids just play? This article from yahoo talks about schools regulating recess. Here's a quote:

Officials at an elementary school south of Boston have banned kids from playing tag, touch football and any other unsupervised chase game during recess for fear they'll get hurt and hold the school responsible. Recess is "a time when accidents can happen," said Willett Elementary School Principal Gaylene Heppe.

How does that strike you? I guess I think that there are some elements of contact games that are part of life... including the occasional scraped knee. Is tag a dangerous contact sport? Are parents really this litigious? Or are we just taking better safe than sorry to a ridiculous extreme?

Whatever happened to theme songs

Remember how you used to be able to recognize a tv program by it's theme? The A-Team... Full House... Cheers... Mash... Any of the three distinct Boy Meets World themes? (I think it was three... anyone? Bueller? Bueller?) The art of the theme song is no-where near as oft-practiced as it used to be. This article on yahoo talks about the demise of the theme song.

What a shame... I mean, really, are we in such a hurry? I guess there's just something nostalgic about the whole theme song thing. I remember the thrill of hearing Will Smith start his theme to Fresh Prince every Monday as I sat down with my brothers to watch it with a bowl of chips and a glass of pepsi.

Is it legitimate to be nostalgic about something that was only 12-13 years ago? Am I even old enough to be nostalgic? Who knows... but, bring back the theme songs! ... In West Philadelphia, born and raised... Whatever happened to predictability, the milkman, the paperboy, evening t.v. ... to a place where everyone knows your name... When this boy meets world, boy meets world, travelling down this road the we call life...

A scary survey

this just in from USA today ... it appears that marriage is no longer the majority reason that households exist in the United States of America. I'm sure that if this survey were done in Canada, it'd be even worse. Really makes me wonder what we'll be handing to our kids... There were some things that Communism was good for... it showed that if you want to change things, you start by attacking the nuclear family concept. And, since the end of the cold war, we've taken over their fight by attacking the nuclear family from within.

The only problem is, unlike Communist thought says, the destruction of the nuclear family does not lead to Utopia, another step in evolution, or anything like that... it leads to trouble.

technology nerds unite

For you technophiles out there, Wired News (again, man, they really are just that cool) has a great article on the birth of the Ipod. It was neat, at least to me, to see how products develop. Teamwork really does pay off. At least for Apple Computers, who owns a ridiculously high share of the digital music marketplace. … Lucky!

E-books

So, Wired News, perennially a favourite of Trivial Pursuit (if you've played the 90's edition, you know what I mean), has a review of Sony's new e-book reader hardware. As one with a vested interest in the future of books, I read it over. Keep in mind that this review was done by a fairly technically minded person (I mean, I suppose you'd have to be to work for Wired, right?) Here's the writer's conclusion:

Having used the device for many hours, I found it to be a comfortable, pleasing way to read, after initial hesitance. And it's a sharp-looking, techno-wow device with a durable feel. Its size, its screen, its general "thingness" were all appealing. But I love the feel, heft and smell of books, the tangible touch of the page, seeing their spines on the shelves.

I'd have to say that if this Technology writer was still pining after books, I imagine the rest of us will be too. And that's a good thing for me!

From the Streets of Laredo... or Albuquerque

On Monday I was in Albequerque... if I'm spelling that incorrectly, I apologize. Anyway, we saw some pretty awesome things...


We couldn't decide what was up with this guy... until we realized that he used to have a cigar, and he decided to quit. He hasn't quite broken the hand motion habit yet. But, they're holding out hope.


You never know when you might see a rattle snake.


If this guy was half as good at playing guitar as he is at looking cool, he'd be in Leno's band or something. What a sweet outfit. And, are those aviators?


A rattlesnake museum. I didn't go in, but what a weird idea.




And of course, why come to New Mexico if you aren't going to meet Zorro. Or a life-sized cardboard cutout of him.

It's been fun!

On Legalities

So, apparently the internet posting world is reeling after a Florida woman won 11.3 million dollars in damages (that's a lot of zeros) in a lawsuit about defaming internet posts. I don't get it. It's not that I don't get the award. In my line of work, I've been responsible several times for warning authors about potentially libelous passages in their books. How is it surprising that internet writers should be held to the same standards as "ink" writers?

So, if you blog, or if you write at all, keep in mind that if you post/write unsubstantiated accusations about people, especially people with money, you are liable for your lies under laws pertaining to libel. (That's an alliterative writing warning for you). It's not hard. Just don't say things that aren't provable. Or, in America (Sorry Canada, your libel laws are just too plaintiff friendly) make things clear statements of opinion. There's a vast difference between "I really find myself thinking that FoxNews has a pro-Venezuelan bias" and stating "FoxNews makes millions of dollars from Hugo Chavez." One is opinion, one is libel, and both are ridiculous.

This stuff really isn't that hard.