Friday, August 11, 2006
Saturday, August 05, 2006
all teh peoples love the music
It's been a long time since a new song has gone up so this post is dimply to point out that there is one now. It's a few years old and I've liked it for some time, but I thought I'd share it with you all now.
Not much for discussion here so I'll ponder this:
What do you think of luck? Can a person be inherently lucky or unlucky, and how would you define such a thing?
Not much for discussion here so I'll ponder this:
What do you think of luck? Can a person be inherently lucky or unlucky, and how would you define such a thing?
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Elephants vs. Donkeys
Disclaimer:
I am not a supporter of the George W. Bush presidency. I did not vote for the man. I’m also not a supporter of the war in Iraq, which was not justly waged.
Democrats like to assure me that they are indeed quite different than Republicans. They do this by pointing out all of the terrible things that the current administration does and letting me know, “This would never happen if Gore/Kerry were in office!”
It is my belief, however, that Democrats and Republicans are quite similar in that they are both decidedly pro-government. And while both parties claim to believe in keeping Government’s power in check neither has much of a track record of doing so.
For the past year we’ve heard the Left heralding the horrible methods used by the Bush administration in detaining enemy combatants in Guantanamo. They’ve told us that the Bush administration has over stepped it’s power in the unlawful detainment of these prisoners without the right to due process. And while President Bush has defended these actions as being legal due to the fact that the detainees were not American citizens, Democrats have been quick to point out that human rights are inalienable to all men, American’s or not.
One would think that their valiant defense of human rights was based on their own beliefs and not on their political allegiance, and for many of the rank-and-file I’m sure this is the case. However, it’s also maybe assumed that the unspoken assertion is that a Democrat would not dare to commit such a grievous act of human rights abuse and that if Gore/Kerry were in office things would most certainly be different!
There is one man though, who seems to believe different. Brandt Goldstein is a lawyer and the author of Storming the Court, a non-fiction examination of a 1992 court ruling that is eerily similar to our present situation. Late last year Goldstein wrote an article showing the parallels between past and present. You can read it here. An excerpt:
A smidgen of history: Our first Guantanamo detention camp was established in the late stages of the George H.W. Bush presidency. The detainees there weren't terror suspects, but 300 innocent Haitian refugees seeking safe haven from the military regime that ousted Haiti's democratically elected leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in September 1991. These refugees—brought to Guantanamo after the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted their vessels on the high seas between Haiti and Cuba—faced a terrible predicament. In interviews with U.S. immigration officials, they'd all proved a legitimate fear of political persecution were they to be returned to Haiti. Under U.S. policy, they should have been promptly flown to the American mainland (as were a number of other Haitians). But then this small group of men, women, and children also tested positive for HIV. Fear of AIDS was still extreme at that time, and the Bush administration refused to let these hapless refugees into the country. So, instead they were detained in a remote corner of Guantanamo with no prospect of release.
As we all remember Clinton took office shortly after, but he also refused to release the detainees. The case was finally brought before a judge by a group of law students.
The Clinton White House justified this atrocious conduct in terms that sound strikingly familiar today. Justice Department attorneys maintained that foreigners held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay have absolutely no legal rights, whether under the Constitution, federal statutes, or international law. According to this logic, the Clinton White House was free to treat the detainees however it pleased. (There was some plagiarism here. The Clinton folks took this argument from the Bush administration lawyers who'd first defended the camp.)
Now I am a fan of perspective and I understand the methods currently being used by the President in Guantanamo are not on the same level as what Clinton used and defended. However, using the principles of perspective we can also say that Clinton was not facing the same choices as Bush. Therefore we can look at the decision Clinton was faced with, whether or not to allow unwanted refugees in the United States. In addition, we can look at the reason he detained the refugees: Fear. Which is the same rational Bush used to defend his own unlawful detainment of prisoners.
And we can ask ourselves this; if a democrat were in office (presumably Gore, Clinton’s own VP) would things have played out differently in Guantanamo?
History answers a resounding, “No.”
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Go again
These guys are unstoppable. Their music pretty much sucks, (lol eric) but these videos are too much awesome.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Crystal said I need to post something
I was just mowing my lawn and I got stung by a wasp on the top of my toe. The one next to my big toe on my right foot.
It hurts.
Still.
It's also hot out. And in for that matter. Sucks not having A/C.
I have to go finish mowing the lawn.
k, thnx, bye
It hurts.
Still.
It's also hot out. And in for that matter. Sucks not having A/C.
I have to go finish mowing the lawn.
k, thnx, bye
Monday, July 17, 2006
Answers
Crystal's Answers:
No.
I don't know. I think maybe because I don't talk unless I feel like I have something interesting to say. People seem to equate being silent to not having a good time, and take me not having a good time as not liking them. I think this would be a better question to ask people who don't think I like them.
I think I'm pretty much the same at work as I am at home, but I would imagine a lot of people feel that way.
I guess Romans. It's the easiest book to understand as Paul lays out a very logical argument.
Yes.
The idea of marrying a person again, or renewing your vows, makes no sense to me. When you get married, you make a promise to love and support that person until death does you in. Such a promise is permanent and binding by definition. To renew or remarry signifies that the first was only temporary or inadequate at best. The only logical reason to remarry a person would be if they were to first divorce for some reason and then fall back in love. I've seen this happen, it's a sweet thing. Very romantic. So a better question would be, will you divorce me?
The older I get the more I dislike movies in general. They're mostly all formula driven, unimaginative, brainless adventures. Furthermore the amount I like a movie really depends on the current mood I'm in, so it's very difficult to pin down 3 movies that I would consider my absolute favorites. To answer your question I'll just list my favorite 3 movies from the past few years in no order and with a short explanation of my love for them.
Good Night and Good Luck
Edward R. Murrow was a great American. Joseph McCarthy, like almost every Senator today and probably several of his contemporaries, was a power-hungry politician. It’s true that parallels can be drawn between McCarthy’s methods of accusation and the current administrations methods, but I believe Clooney when he says he didn’t make the film with that in mind. I think if you go in looking for that you’re missing out on a lot of other things about this movie that are quite beautiful and relevant. Namely our society’s appetite for escapism, the power of friendship, and maybe most importantly the lost art of civil discussion.
The Aviator
To look at Howard Hughes as simply a millionaire playboy is selling him awfully short. He was a genius, an inventor, a Capitalist, and he fought crooked politicians. Pretty much my kind of guy. Except for the whole OCD/womanizing thing. Not into that, actually, btw. Still a fascinating man and a great movie.
Million Dollar Baby
First and foremost a great sports movie with all the things that make you like sports. A well written script funny and emotional. 3 magnificent performances. And it was made by a Libertarian. Hands down best movie of 2004. Maybe the best movie of the decade.
There was nothing new about it. It was a re-application of the same old ideas. It wasn't well written or filmed. With the exception of Kevin Spacey it wasn't well acted. Also it was about 45 minutes too long and the last half hour dragged very slowly. A better question would be why would anyone like it?
I know you’re trying to get me to list specific people here, but I’m not going to. See below.
The people I admire and respect the most are those who know what they believe and why the believe it. Those who are not easily persuaded by the wind of public opinion. People who are intelligent, yet patient with those who don't posses the same level of understanding. People who work hard. People who don't expect other people to help them, but appreciate it when they do. People who don't try and sell themselves with their ideas OR looks. People who are content with their surroundings. There's probably more, but those seem to be the important ones.
Usually people who fit the description above.
Joh 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh 14:21
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Joh 14:23 - Show Context
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Sarah's Answers:
About 6’3” and really kinda smelly.
He didn't know the name Twink, but he knew the picture I drew wasn't the doll he maimed.
There's two things I look for in music.
The first is creativity. Usually music that can't easily be categorized as a specific genre. The artists who create this music are usually carried by an independent label because larger labels tend to demand albums that are sure fire hits. Music that is focus group tested and re-produced or re-recorded to fit what people want to hear. I want to hear music that an artist wants to make, not music that 14 year girls want to hear.
Secondly, I like emotion. Whether it's as happy as the Polyphonic Spree or curl up in the fetal position depressing as Okkervil River I need to feel something. Is this conducive to indie music? Maybe a little, as these are artists that have forsaken the chase of the "big contract," preferring rather to create music that they believe in.
Just as much as I like those things in music though, I hate the RIAA. They overprice their music in the face of declining demand, and seek to fix the supply of creativity through unconstitutional copyright laws. I'll listen to RIAA artists if they intrigue me, but I don't go out of my way to find them.
So yes, I likey me indie music.
Sadddie's Answers:
No can say. Maybe lazy? Maybe stupid? Prolly lazy.
Sammy's Answers:
I think they ask you that to be polite. If this really annoys you I suggest answering all there questions with questions. I know this really annoys Crystal so I think it will probably work on other people.
Eric's Answers:
The best shoes in the world are Nikes, because Nike employees people all around the world instead of just in the United States. Through this they are doing there part to end global poverty. More than the G8 will ever do with their silly rock star ideas.
One answer to that is that they are operated by gears, which are circular. Plus there is the fact that the hours, minutes, and seconds of the day, like a circle, start and end at the same point. The other answer is this:
Where’s the circle Eric? Where’s the circle?
Wipes/hr.
(The amount of wipes to remove the sweat from you forehead per hour.)
What, are you kidding? You have an ingrown toenail and you’re gonna walk to Canada? You can hardly make it to your car at the end of the day. Canada, pfft.
Plus you’re lazy, so you got that whole thing going against you.
To understand the answer to this question first we must understand what the Internet is. Jon Stewart explains:
Yes, people want the Government to regulate things. Why? I don’t know.
But I digress, the Internet was not invented by one person but rather many people have contributed to its current state. The idea of “packet switching”, which is one of the main components of the Internet, dates back to 1961. And the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) was invented in 1972. Al Gore, or any other politician for that matter, wasn’t involved in any of these inventions. Politicians are very rarely involved in inventing anything; they’re just there to regulate other people’s inventions that they know nothing about.
Hence the Internet is a series of tubes.
What the crap is this question? I ask for good questions and this is what you give me? Does this blog look like the dating show? Am I suppose to say, “I would be a hammer so we could bang on the dance floor ALL NITE LONG!!!!”
I expected better from you.
Better.
Yes Eric, you can steal the question idea. It’s not exactly mine anyway.
Steph's Answers:
Like all men your husband Mark has lungs.
Just below these lungs is a muscle called the diaphragm that makes him breathe. When Mark sneezes the diaphragm expands at such a rate that it causes his lungs to expel air at a rate of about 100mph. This can be caused my any foreign particles that may enter his nose such as dust, pollen, cat dander, or even cold air. Since this is a scientific process involving the nervous system and the lungs there is no reason to believe that the socks play any part in the equation. However, given the numerous possible irritants that could cause the sneeze, my recommendation for ending the sneezing problem quickly and efficiently is the removal of Mark’s lungs.
Jack and Sarah's Answers:
Really these questions should be answered by a theoretical physicist, like Eric's neighbor. If I had to take a stab at it I'd say that if you were to travel inside of one, you'd find Laurence Fishburne in a bad movie about weird space things.
Scott will you buy me that pool I want?
No.
Why do most people think you don't like them?
I don't know. I think maybe because I don't talk unless I feel like I have something interesting to say. People seem to equate being silent to not having a good time, and take me not having a good time as not liking them. I think this would be a better question to ask people who don't think I like them.
What are you really like at work?
I think I'm pretty much the same at work as I am at home, but I would imagine a lot of people feel that way.
What is your favorite book/s of the Bible? Why?
I guess Romans. It's the easiest book to understand as Paul lays out a very logical argument.
Do you think I'm cute???
Yes.
Will you marry me again?
The idea of marrying a person again, or renewing your vows, makes no sense to me. When you get married, you make a promise to love and support that person until death does you in. Such a promise is permanent and binding by definition. To renew or remarry signifies that the first was only temporary or inadequate at best. The only logical reason to remarry a person would be if they were to first divorce for some reason and then fall back in love. I've seen this happen, it's a sweet thing. Very romantic. So a better question would be, will you divorce me?
What are your top 3 favorite movies and why?
The older I get the more I dislike movies in general. They're mostly all formula driven, unimaginative, brainless adventures. Furthermore the amount I like a movie really depends on the current mood I'm in, so it's very difficult to pin down 3 movies that I would consider my absolute favorites. To answer your question I'll just list my favorite 3 movies from the past few years in no order and with a short explanation of my love for them.
Good Night and Good Luck
Edward R. Murrow was a great American. Joseph McCarthy, like almost every Senator today and probably several of his contemporaries, was a power-hungry politician. It’s true that parallels can be drawn between McCarthy’s methods of accusation and the current administrations methods, but I believe Clooney when he says he didn’t make the film with that in mind. I think if you go in looking for that you’re missing out on a lot of other things about this movie that are quite beautiful and relevant. Namely our society’s appetite for escapism, the power of friendship, and maybe most importantly the lost art of civil discussion.
The Aviator
To look at Howard Hughes as simply a millionaire playboy is selling him awfully short. He was a genius, an inventor, a Capitalist, and he fought crooked politicians. Pretty much my kind of guy. Except for the whole OCD/womanizing thing. Not into that, actually, btw. Still a fascinating man and a great movie.
Million Dollar Baby
First and foremost a great sports movie with all the things that make you like sports. A well written script funny and emotional. 3 magnificent performances. And it was made by a Libertarian. Hands down best movie of 2004. Maybe the best movie of the decade.
Why didn't you like Superman?
There was nothing new about it. It was a re-application of the same old ideas. It wasn't well written or filmed. With the exception of Kevin Spacey it wasn't well acted. Also it was about 45 minutes too long and the last half hour dragged very slowly. A better question would be why would anyone like it?
Who are the people you admire and respect the most?
I know you’re trying to get me to list specific people here, but I’m not going to. See below.
What is it that makes you admire and respect people?
The people I admire and respect the most are those who know what they believe and why the believe it. Those who are not easily persuaded by the wind of public opinion. People who are intelligent, yet patient with those who don't posses the same level of understanding. People who work hard. People who don't expect other people to help them, but appreciate it when they do. People who don't try and sell themselves with their ideas OR looks. People who are content with their surroundings. There's probably more, but those seem to be the important ones.
Who are your greatest influences in life? Or mentors? Why?
Usually people who fit the description above.
What does it look like to love God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and all of your strength, and all of your mind?
Joh 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh 14:21
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Joh 14:23 - Show Context
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Sarah's Answers:
What is Eric really like at work?
About 6’3” and really kinda smelly.
Did he really know that starbrites name was Twink?
He didn't know the name Twink, but he knew the picture I drew wasn't the doll he maimed.
Do you like Indie music a lot?
There's two things I look for in music.
The first is creativity. Usually music that can't easily be categorized as a specific genre. The artists who create this music are usually carried by an independent label because larger labels tend to demand albums that are sure fire hits. Music that is focus group tested and re-produced or re-recorded to fit what people want to hear. I want to hear music that an artist wants to make, not music that 14 year girls want to hear.
Secondly, I like emotion. Whether it's as happy as the Polyphonic Spree or curl up in the fetal position depressing as Okkervil River I need to feel something. Is this conducive to indie music? Maybe a little, as these are artists that have forsaken the chase of the "big contract," preferring rather to create music that they believe in.
Just as much as I like those things in music though, I hate the RIAA. They overprice their music in the face of declining demand, and seek to fix the supply of creativity through unconstitutional copyright laws. I'll listen to RIAA artists if they intrigue me, but I don't go out of my way to find them.
So yes, I likey me indie music.
Sadddie's Answers:
Why do people revert back to caveman language?
Example:
Long time, No see
No can do
see what I mean by this? We've come such a long way in our communication skills, why destroy centuries of progress?
No can say. Maybe lazy? Maybe stupid? Prolly lazy.
Sammy's Answers:
Oh yeah, and why do people always say, "can I ask you a question?" My response is, "You just did, now go away."
I think they ask you that to be polite. If this really annoys you I suggest answering all there questions with questions. I know this really annoys Crystal so I think it will probably work on other people.
Eric's Answers:
What is the best shoe in the world?
The best shoes in the world are Nikes, because Nike employees people all around the world instead of just in the United States. Through this they are doing there part to end global poverty. More than the G8 will ever do with their silly rock star ideas.
Why is a clock circular?
One answer to that is that they are operated by gears, which are circular. Plus there is the fact that the hours, minutes, and seconds of the day, like a circle, start and end at the same point. The other answer is this:
Where’s the circle Eric? Where’s the circle?
How is heat index measured?
Wipes/hr.
(The amount of wipes to remove the sweat from you forehead per hour.)
How long, in minutes, would it take me to walk from my house to Quebec, Canada?
What, are you kidding? You have an ingrown toenail and you’re gonna walk to Canada? You can hardly make it to your car at the end of the day. Canada, pfft.
Plus you’re lazy, so you got that whole thing going against you.
Did Al Gore invent the internet?
To understand the answer to this question first we must understand what the Internet is. Jon Stewart explains:
Yes, people want the Government to regulate things. Why? I don’t know.
But I digress, the Internet was not invented by one person but rather many people have contributed to its current state. The idea of “packet switching”, which is one of the main components of the Internet, dates back to 1961. And the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) was invented in 1972. Al Gore, or any other politician for that matter, wasn’t involved in any of these inventions. Politicians are very rarely involved in inventing anything; they’re just there to regulate other people’s inventions that they know nothing about.
Hence the Internet is a series of tubes.
If you could be a power tool, what would you be and why?
What the crap is this question? I ask for good questions and this is what you give me? Does this blog look like the dating show? Am I suppose to say, “I would be a hammer so we could bang on the dance floor ALL NITE LONG!!!!”
I expected better from you.
Better.
Who is that john stossels mustache guy anyway?
Yes Eric, you can steal the question idea. It’s not exactly mine anyway.
Steph's Answers:
Why does Mark continue to sneeze in the morning (regardless of tempature) until he puts on socks.
Like all men your husband Mark has lungs.
Just below these lungs is a muscle called the diaphragm that makes him breathe. When Mark sneezes the diaphragm expands at such a rate that it causes his lungs to expel air at a rate of about 100mph. This can be caused my any foreign particles that may enter his nose such as dust, pollen, cat dander, or even cold air. Since this is a scientific process involving the nervous system and the lungs there is no reason to believe that the socks play any part in the equation. However, given the numerous possible irritants that could cause the sneeze, my recommendation for ending the sneezing problem quickly and efficiently is the removal of Mark’s lungs.
Jack and Sarah's Answers:
Are black holes a rip or tear in the space time continuum. And, what happens if you travel into a black hole?
Really these questions should be answered by a theoretical physicist, like Eric's neighbor. If I had to take a stab at it I'd say that if you were to travel inside of one, you'd find Laurence Fishburne in a bad movie about weird space things.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Computers and a game, but not a computer game
I'm going to need to get a new computer. The one we have now, which I built about four years ago is starting to drive me nuts. I started looking at Dell and Gateway's websites and it's clear to me that I can still build my own system for much cheaper than what those companies offer, and get a much higher powered system. However, as we all know, much has changed in the world of computers over the past 4 years. When I built this one I spent a lot of time reading and trying to figure out which components were best for me. I pretty much have to start over a read about all those components again because everything is very different. What's amazing is how much everything has dropped in price. I bought a 100 GB hard drive then for $180 bucks and now I can get a 250 GB hard drive for 85 bucks. Yeah. And where I got my 512MB RAM back then for about $150 bucks, now I can get a whopping 2GB RAM for about $120. And the 1.8Ghz processor that I have now was 180 as well and now I can get a 3.0 Pentium D for the same price. I remember when I was shopping for parts for this computer the highest they made the chips was 2.4 ghz, and that was for about 600 bucks!
Ah, computer talk, you know I love it.
Anyway I've decided my next post will be in the form of answers. Answers to what? Well your comments of course. Comment to this post with any question you have and I will answer it in my next post. Can be a question about anything like, "What's your favorite color?", or "How can you call yourself a Christian when your clearly a greedy Libertarian?!?!!?!" Or my personal favorite, "HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT?"
Anything goes, post as anonymous if you're scared to ask for yourself. Let's just get it all out in the open.
mmmmm-k?
Ah, computer talk, you know I love it.
Anyway I've decided my next post will be in the form of answers. Answers to what? Well your comments of course. Comment to this post with any question you have and I will answer it in my next post. Can be a question about anything like, "What's your favorite color?", or "How can you call yourself a Christian when your clearly a greedy Libertarian?!?!!?!" Or my personal favorite, "HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT?"
Anything goes, post as anonymous if you're scared to ask for yourself. Let's just get it all out in the open.
mmmmm-k?
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
More John Stossel
What can I say? I like the man.
Here he does everything he can to show why America needs education reform and why "throwing money at the problem" is not only NOT the solution, but part of the problem. Also a great examination of unions in general and their inherent problems.
It's about 45 minutes long but very thought provoking and I highly recommend watching.
Here he does everything he can to show why America needs education reform and why "throwing money at the problem" is not only NOT the solution, but part of the problem. Also a great examination of unions in general and their inherent problems.
It's about 45 minutes long but very thought provoking and I highly recommend watching.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
A Convenient Lie
Fellow Libertarian John Stossel has written an article exposing what he believes are some of the lies Gore tells in his propaganda film An Inconvenient Truth. It's worth checking out if you're into that kind of thing. Otherwise maybe just ignore it or whatever. I've noticed political posts don't garner much discussion on this blog and really I'm fine with that but I'll still post stuff like this when it interests me.
geddit?
geddit?
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
The Best Fireworks Display of Power Ever!
On the 4th of July everypeoples love fireworks!
Hi, I'm Kim!
Hi Kim!
I have big fieworks!
You can see them from far away!
Yay! I ruv fireworks!
Oh No!
Oh nos!
Oh well!
Bollocks!
Oh darn!
Wait....what?
I hate Jews!
lol I mean... Yay! I love fireworks too!
DO YOU WANT TO PLAY A GAME?
Monday, June 26, 2006
Emily update
Hello!
So things with the Tomato scores didn't really take off this round so we'll probably just put that whole project on hold for now. Truth is it takes up a bit of time and I don't really have an abundance of it at the moment. Plus I'm really kinda blog lazy right now.
Anyway, today I took Emily for the first stage of her latest scan. As some of you may know it was originally scheduled for last Friday, but due to a difference in opinions between two of the Doctors at Loyola the scan got delayed until today. There's really not all that much to report. We went to Loyola, Emily drank the radioactive iodine solution that she drank in March, and they did a photo scan of her whole body. In between all that there was the typical waiting in the hospital waiting room for hours stuff that bores the mind into submission.
Tomorrow we'll go back and they'll do another photo scan to measure how much of the solution her thyroid cells (cancer) absorbed. Then we'll do the same thing on Thursday to measure how much she expelled from her body. If the Doctor likes what he sees, we may start the treatments on Thursday.
I had a meeting with the head of Nuclear Medicine at the hospital and he told me that he has been doing research over the course of the last three months to find the best way to treat Emily. He said that he as been thinking of her every day since then. I'm sure it's something he tells a lot of his patients, but I will say that he answers his phone every time I call him. And he's the only Doctor I know that does that. I rather like the man and think he's very good at what he does.
Other than that things are normal. Or at least as normal as life is when your 9 year old has cancer. We went camping this past weekend. I hate camping. End of story.
I love you all very much and consider some of you to be my closest and dearest friends. I leave it up to you to figure which of you is which.
KTHNXBYE
P.S. Who ever is anonymous in the last post is the winner of the Tomato Championship this week. Too bad no one will ever know who it was.
P.S.S. Later I'll post a song in the Songs to Love if I have time and Crystal will let me. (We're suppose to watch Munich)
So things with the Tomato scores didn't really take off this round so we'll probably just put that whole project on hold for now. Truth is it takes up a bit of time and I don't really have an abundance of it at the moment. Plus I'm really kinda blog lazy right now.
Anyway, today I took Emily for the first stage of her latest scan. As some of you may know it was originally scheduled for last Friday, but due to a difference in opinions between two of the Doctors at Loyola the scan got delayed until today. There's really not all that much to report. We went to Loyola, Emily drank the radioactive iodine solution that she drank in March, and they did a photo scan of her whole body. In between all that there was the typical waiting in the hospital waiting room for hours stuff that bores the mind into submission.
Tomorrow we'll go back and they'll do another photo scan to measure how much of the solution her thyroid cells (cancer) absorbed. Then we'll do the same thing on Thursday to measure how much she expelled from her body. If the Doctor likes what he sees, we may start the treatments on Thursday.
I had a meeting with the head of Nuclear Medicine at the hospital and he told me that he has been doing research over the course of the last three months to find the best way to treat Emily. He said that he as been thinking of her every day since then. I'm sure it's something he tells a lot of his patients, but I will say that he answers his phone every time I call him. And he's the only Doctor I know that does that. I rather like the man and think he's very good at what he does.
Other than that things are normal. Or at least as normal as life is when your 9 year old has cancer. We went camping this past weekend. I hate camping. End of story.
I love you all very much and consider some of you to be my closest and dearest friends. I leave it up to you to figure which of you is which.
KTHNXBYE
P.S. Who ever is anonymous in the last post is the winner of the Tomato Championship this week. Too bad no one will ever know who it was.
P.S.S. Later I'll post a song in the Songs to Love if I have time and Crystal will let me. (We're suppose to watch Munich)
Monday, June 19, 2006
What's So Inconvenient About It?
Well, Roger Ebert had his go at Al Gore's upcoming bit of propaganda known as An Inconvenient Truth. It's no surprise that Ebert would like such a film as he once referred to the "documentary" (I only refer to it as such because that's what people tell me it is) Fahrenheit 9/11 as "compelling."
Maybe most interesting is this quote from Ebert's review:
The sky is falling! Save us Big Brother!
Scare tactics are certainly nothing new to big government fans. Who can forget the technique that Bush used to drag us into the war in Iraq? I'm sure Gore would have opposed the use of such tactics then, when it was some one on the other side of the aisle but he seems to be rather fond of them now that they support his mission.
Of course he would tell you that it's for the greater good (just as Bush did) and it's something that we all need to worry and panic about, but not everyone is quite as convinced as Mr. Gore would have us all believe.
I'm sure much of the science behind his claims is correct, even if grossly exaggerated. I'm sure humans have contributed to altering the environment. But Al Gore is dead wrong about how he would deal with such a problem. The truth is technological advances brought about by "evil" corporations in their "greedy" quest for profits will result in cleaner, sustainable cars, homes, agriculture, etc. The governments of the world will only continue to impede that progress through excess taxation.
Anyway, I'll go back and update the points from all your last comments when I'm feeling less lazy. The only reason I posted this is I was compelled by an e-mail my aunt sent me and this is pretty much copied right from my reply to her.
Maybe most interesting is this quote from Ebert's review:
Global warming is real.
It is caused by human activity.
Mankind and its governments must begin immediate action to halt and reverse it.
The sky is falling! Save us Big Brother!
Scare tactics are certainly nothing new to big government fans. Who can forget the technique that Bush used to drag us into the war in Iraq? I'm sure Gore would have opposed the use of such tactics then, when it was some one on the other side of the aisle but he seems to be rather fond of them now that they support his mission.
Of course he would tell you that it's for the greater good (just as Bush did) and it's something that we all need to worry and panic about, but not everyone is quite as convinced as Mr. Gore would have us all believe.
I'm sure much of the science behind his claims is correct, even if grossly exaggerated. I'm sure humans have contributed to altering the environment. But Al Gore is dead wrong about how he would deal with such a problem. The truth is technological advances brought about by "evil" corporations in their "greedy" quest for profits will result in cleaner, sustainable cars, homes, agriculture, etc. The governments of the world will only continue to impede that progress through excess taxation.
Anyway, I'll go back and update the points from all your last comments when I'm feeling less lazy. The only reason I posted this is I was compelled by an e-mail my aunt sent me and this is pretty much copied right from my reply to her.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
The First Ever Tomato Champion
Well the scores for the first round of Tomato points are in and the champion has been named. I know I kind of skipped out over the past few days, but things have been busy for me lately. Here are the final standings:
Sarah: 190 Points
Eric: 164 Points
Sammy: 157 Points
Scott: 138 Points
Sadie: 129 Points
Crystal: 114 Points
Kristen: 110 Points
Steph: 12 Points
Everybody give Sarah a big round of eApplaudes as she is our first ever champion. As promised, each new champion will receive a very special and very valuable prize. This weeks prize for Sarah is recompense for years of suffering and torment from an older sibling. A sibling who is big, tall, and has an oddly shapen head. One who did perform a malicious act many years ago that has left scars to this day.
Sarah, I give you:
Starbrite's Revenge
So the scoring is reset, make sure to stop back next Tuesday for test day and between for quizzes and other opportunities for points.
The new song is actually two songs (lucky for you) by Chicago's own The Detholz! The exclamation point is for emphasis, btw, actually. This is ripped from a live set on WLUW in Chicago in October of 2003. It features an original song by the band and an excellent cover of an old classic.
Enjoy!
Sarah: 190 Points
Eric: 164 Points
Sammy: 157 Points
Scott: 138 Points
Sadie: 129 Points
Crystal: 114 Points
Kristen: 110 Points
Steph: 12 Points
Everybody give Sarah a big round of eApplaudes as she is our first ever champion. As promised, each new champion will receive a very special and very valuable prize. This weeks prize for Sarah is recompense for years of suffering and torment from an older sibling. A sibling who is big, tall, and has an oddly shapen head. One who did perform a malicious act many years ago that has left scars to this day.
Sarah, I give you:
Starbrite's Revenge
So the scoring is reset, make sure to stop back next Tuesday for test day and between for quizzes and other opportunities for points.
The new song is actually two songs (lucky for you) by Chicago's own The Detholz! The exclamation point is for emphasis, btw, actually. This is ripped from a live set on WLUW in Chicago in October of 2003. It features an original song by the band and an excellent cover of an old classic.
Enjoy!
Friday, June 09, 2006
The most important question of all
Luke 10:25-28
Question of the day:
What does it look like to love God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and all of your strength, and all of your mind?
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what
shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he
answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy
neighbour as thyself.
28 And he said unto him, Thou
hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Question of the day:
What does it look like to love God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and all of your strength, and all of your mind?
Thursday, June 08, 2006
nite
Blogger spent the better part of today being lazy, so there isn't much happening around here. The testing went rather well, I'd say. I'd like to thank Saddiey for her final comment. Everyone likes good feedback I suppose, so thanks for the kind words. And for the nice reference on her blog.
I intended to make this a long post, but I'm tired. Do me a favor and go read this post. I'll probably link to this guy soon if he keeps this up.
I intended to make this a long post, but I'm tired. Do me a favor and go read this post. I'll probably link to this guy soon if he keeps this up.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Tomato Points®
Less than a week left until the first Tomato champion is named. From here on out every other Tuesday will be test day. The other Tuesday in between will the new Tomato champ will be named.
Is it just a quiz? No, it's a test.
Your chance to make up ground on the competition by racking up lots of points by answering questions ranging from easy to difficult and other activities to help you earn more points. So without further ado, it's test day:
1) 10 points for every person who completes and posts the results of The World's Smallest Political Quiz.
2) 5 points for every person who lists their top 3 favorite bands that have made at least one album in the last 3 years.
3) Movie quotes, name the movie (7 points each):
A)
"So, did you enjoy your first visit to the nut house?"
"Hey, hey, shh, shh, shh. Come on. Be sensitive to the fact that other people are not comfortable talking about emotional disturbances. Um, you know, I am, I'm fine with that, but... other people. Come on."
B)
"I'm the most dangerous man in this prison. You know why? 'Cause I control the underwear."
C)
"Baseball is what gets inside you. It's what lights you up, you can't deny that."
"It just got too hard."
"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard...is what makes it great."
D)
"Shhhhhhhh! I'm trying to use the phone!"
"Did anybody tell you that this is the private club of the Satan's Helpers?"
"Nobody hipped me to that, dude."
E)
"There are two types of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't."
4) 1 point for each word that you can list using the suffix 'ship.' You may not use any of the examples given by those who commented before you.
5) This one requires the honor system: With out using Google or Internet or any other reference how many of the first 10 amendments to the constitution (A.K.A the bill of rights) can you name? Paraphrasing is fine of course. The first commenter obviously gets the first stab at it but the next person can fill in any they didn't remember or if you think they got one wrong. I'll award 10 points per correct answer. (Possible 100 points!)
You'll find scan-trons and number two pencils under your desk. Good luck!
Is it just a quiz? No, it's a test.
Your chance to make up ground on the competition by racking up lots of points by answering questions ranging from easy to difficult and other activities to help you earn more points. So without further ado, it's test day:
1) 10 points for every person who completes and posts the results of The World's Smallest Political Quiz.
2) 5 points for every person who lists their top 3 favorite bands that have made at least one album in the last 3 years.
3) Movie quotes, name the movie (7 points each):
A)
"So, did you enjoy your first visit to the nut house?"
"Hey, hey, shh, shh, shh. Come on. Be sensitive to the fact that other people are not comfortable talking about emotional disturbances. Um, you know, I am, I'm fine with that, but... other people. Come on."
B)
"I'm the most dangerous man in this prison. You know why? 'Cause I control the underwear."
C)
"Baseball is what gets inside you. It's what lights you up, you can't deny that."
"It just got too hard."
"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard...is what makes it great."
D)
"Shhhhhhhh! I'm trying to use the phone!"
"Did anybody tell you that this is the private club of the Satan's Helpers?"
"Nobody hipped me to that, dude."
E)
"There are two types of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't."
4) 1 point for each word that you can list using the suffix 'ship.' You may not use any of the examples given by those who commented before you.
5) This one requires the honor system: With out using Google or Internet or any other reference how many of the first 10 amendments to the constitution (A.K.A the bill of rights) can you name? Paraphrasing is fine of course. The first commenter obviously gets the first stab at it but the next person can fill in any they didn't remember or if you think they got one wrong. I'll award 10 points per correct answer. (Possible 100 points!)
Special Bonus Question: (click to enlarge)
Social Welfare Assembly Lesson of the Day
What did you learn from today's lesson?
You will be graded and given points based on your answer
Social Welfare Assembly Lesson of the Day
What did you learn from today's lesson?
You will be graded and given points based on your answer
You'll find scan-trons and number two pencils under your desk. Good luck!
Monday, June 05, 2006
Fables of the Deconstruction
Well I found something to do.
Part of finishing the bathroom involves running a drain pipe from one side of the bathroom floor to the pipe chase in the corner on the other side of the bathroom. Since we only have 2x8's for floor joists, instead of the modern 2x10's we've decided to run a soffit in the room below (the home school room) to hide the pipes under the floor. So since we were going to rip a small portion out of the ceiling anyway, I decided to rip down the whole ceiling because it was old and bad. Plus, I really, really, really(!) hate popcorn ceilings.
Unfortunately I have a bit of a garbage phobia because when we first moved into this house the people who we bought it from left a dumpster full of trash and when I put it out to the curb on garbage day the garbage man rejected it. We had to rent a $400 dumpster to get rid of it all and ever since then I've been scared to put too much garbage to the curb. So I'm only going to fill two garbage cans with the plaster remnants each week. Which equals about this much of our ceiling:
Luckily my Sister lives in the same town as me and has volunteered to let me borrow one of her garbage cans so I can drive another can over there for her to put out each week. That outta speed things up. Double luckily, we have free garbage service. Of course there is no such thing as free anything service because I pay for it in our inflated village taxes, but at least it's not by quantity of garbage used.
Okay, so I guess you all want points, you point grubbing greedy leeches! I'll give 30 points to the first person who can correctly guess what movie I'm thinking of every time I think about taking a little bit of plaster (and dirt) to the curb each week to get rid of it. I'll give 15 points to the first person who can tell me what Frank Black's (of Pixies fame) real name is. And 10 points to the first person who can tell what his stage name was before it was changed to Frank Black. And of course there will be bonus points and hand outs along the way for those brave enough to leave comments.
Have at it then!
Part of finishing the bathroom involves running a drain pipe from one side of the bathroom floor to the pipe chase in the corner on the other side of the bathroom. Since we only have 2x8's for floor joists, instead of the modern 2x10's we've decided to run a soffit in the room below (the home school room) to hide the pipes under the floor. So since we were going to rip a small portion out of the ceiling anyway, I decided to rip down the whole ceiling because it was old and bad. Plus, I really, really, really(!) hate popcorn ceilings.
Die popcorn ceiling! Die!
Unfortunately I have a bit of a garbage phobia because when we first moved into this house the people who we bought it from left a dumpster full of trash and when I put it out to the curb on garbage day the garbage man rejected it. We had to rent a $400 dumpster to get rid of it all and ever since then I've been scared to put too much garbage to the curb. So I'm only going to fill two garbage cans with the plaster remnants each week. Which equals about this much of our ceiling:
Eghads! This is going to take a month!
Luckily my Sister lives in the same town as me and has volunteered to let me borrow one of her garbage cans so I can drive another can over there for her to put out each week. That outta speed things up. Double luckily, we have free garbage service. Of course there is no such thing as free anything service because I pay for it in our inflated village taxes, but at least it's not by quantity of garbage used.
Check out those sweet 150 year old 2" thick joists. Whew, that plaster is looking rough though.
Okay, so I guess you all want points, you point grubbing greedy leeches! I'll give 30 points to the first person who can correctly guess what movie I'm thinking of every time I think about taking a little bit of plaster (and dirt) to the curb each week to get rid of it. I'll give 15 points to the first person who can tell me what Frank Black's (of Pixies fame) real name is. And 10 points to the first person who can tell what his stage name was before it was changed to Frank Black. And of course there will be bonus points and hand outs along the way for those brave enough to leave comments.
Have at it then!
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Boredom
Well I see political cartoons don't bode well for comments around here.
Maybe it's because you think I'll deduct points from you if you post a comment with a dissenting opinion. Not so! In case you haven't noticed the points system is all just a joke and I wouldn't actually give people negative points for really disagreeing with me or my political beliefs.
Maybe it’s because you’ve known me long and well enough to recognize my penchant for vigorous debate. Well the fact is that I’ve learned quite a bit about myself over the past 6 months and one of the things I’ve found is that I never really had much respect for people with differing opinions then my own. And I decided quite quickly that this wasn’t the kind of person I wanted to be. In fact, after finding this flaw I’ve made some what of a personal goal to bring differing sides of opinions together and help them learn from each other. Especially Christians. I’m not exactly sure how to do that yet but I’m thinking. But to start I’ll at pledge to do my part to hold all dissenting opinions on this blog with the utmost respect.
Maybe it’s because you only comment on my blog when the proverbial carrot on a stick is waved in front of your nose in the form of Tomato points. Very well then, I’ll award those precious points to anyone seriously commenting on the cartoon, the Libertarian party, or politicians in general on the previous post. Have at it.
Maybe it’s because you really couldn’t care less about the Libertarian party or politics so you won’t comment on such things anyway.
Moving on, the reason I’m even fishing for comments is that I’m incredibly bored. I usually have all sorts of home projects to work on to fill my evenings and weekends, but as it is I’m plum out of materials. And more importantly, out of money to buy new ones. There’s all sorts of stuff I need to do of course; such is life when you live in a 150 year old house. My current projects list is as follows:
1) Install closet doors in all three up stair bedrooms.
Why I can’t: Don’t have the doors yet. The ones I want will total $800!
2) Tear down and rebuild main staircase.
Why I can’t: I still have to design the new staircase and order some parts from work.
3) Buy carpeting for the up stairs.
Why I can’t: I don’t want this done until the closet doors are installed and the staircase is redone.
4) Rebuild our front porch steps.
Why I can’t: Need to design steps and buy wood.
5) I’d like to get started on building a central air conditioning system.
Why I can’t: Our house doesn’t have duct work and I don’t know how to do it yet, but I’ll learn soon enough. Can’t be too hard.
That’s kinda the list I’m staring at right now. And that doesn’t even count the gardening work that needs to be done. Ugh!
So the being broke, coupled with the desire to work has put me in a state of anxious melancholy. And every minute sitting here with nothing to work on makes me more anxious to work on something.
So entertain me with your comments!
I’m putting up a somewhat somber toned song to couple with my somewhat somber mood. Pardon the f-bomb in the middle of the song and don’t listen/download if that’s the sort of thing you’re easily offended by.
"I heard of pious men, and I've heard of dirty fiends,
but you don't often hear of us ones in between."
Maybe it's because you think I'll deduct points from you if you post a comment with a dissenting opinion. Not so! In case you haven't noticed the points system is all just a joke and I wouldn't actually give people negative points for really disagreeing with me or my political beliefs.
Maybe it’s because you’ve known me long and well enough to recognize my penchant for vigorous debate. Well the fact is that I’ve learned quite a bit about myself over the past 6 months and one of the things I’ve found is that I never really had much respect for people with differing opinions then my own. And I decided quite quickly that this wasn’t the kind of person I wanted to be. In fact, after finding this flaw I’ve made some what of a personal goal to bring differing sides of opinions together and help them learn from each other. Especially Christians. I’m not exactly sure how to do that yet but I’m thinking. But to start I’ll at pledge to do my part to hold all dissenting opinions on this blog with the utmost respect.
Maybe it’s because you only comment on my blog when the proverbial carrot on a stick is waved in front of your nose in the form of Tomato points. Very well then, I’ll award those precious points to anyone seriously commenting on the cartoon, the Libertarian party, or politicians in general on the previous post. Have at it.
Maybe it’s because you really couldn’t care less about the Libertarian party or politics so you won’t comment on such things anyway.
Moving on, the reason I’m even fishing for comments is that I’m incredibly bored. I usually have all sorts of home projects to work on to fill my evenings and weekends, but as it is I’m plum out of materials. And more importantly, out of money to buy new ones. There’s all sorts of stuff I need to do of course; such is life when you live in a 150 year old house. My current projects list is as follows:
1) Install closet doors in all three up stair bedrooms.
Why I can’t: Don’t have the doors yet. The ones I want will total $800!
2) Tear down and rebuild main staircase.
Why I can’t: I still have to design the new staircase and order some parts from work.
3) Buy carpeting for the up stairs.
Why I can’t: I don’t want this done until the closet doors are installed and the staircase is redone.
4) Rebuild our front porch steps.
Why I can’t: Need to design steps and buy wood.
5) I’d like to get started on building a central air conditioning system.
Why I can’t: Our house doesn’t have duct work and I don’t know how to do it yet, but I’ll learn soon enough. Can’t be too hard.
That’s kinda the list I’m staring at right now. And that doesn’t even count the gardening work that needs to be done. Ugh!
So the being broke, coupled with the desire to work has put me in a state of anxious melancholy. And every minute sitting here with nothing to work on makes me more anxious to work on something.
So entertain me with your comments!
I’m putting up a somewhat somber toned song to couple with my somewhat somber mood. Pardon the f-bomb in the middle of the song and don’t listen/download if that’s the sort of thing you’re easily offended by.
"I heard of pious men, and I've heard of dirty fiends,
but you don't often hear of us ones in between."
Friday, June 02, 2006
Public Service Announcement
For the ten or so people who come to Tomato every day looking for lyrics to Danielson songs via google search, you can find all of the lyrics to Ships here.
Enjoy.
Oh! And look, I found some more MP3's hosted by Danielson:
Good News for the Pus Pickers
Rallying the Dominoes
To download PC users: Right-click and select "save target as." Mac users: Control-click and "save link as." (It's legal when the artists offer them, btw)
and just to make this easier to find in your Google search:
danielson lyrics
did I step on your trumpet lyrics
lyrics danielson
Danielson Famile lyrics
Danielson Family lyrics
P.S. Bonus points for anyone who can tell me how Google figures out which sites to list first in it's search queries.
Enjoy.
Oh! And look, I found some more MP3's hosted by Danielson:
Good News for the Pus Pickers
Rallying the Dominoes
To download PC users: Right-click and select "save target as." Mac users: Control-click and "save link as." (It's legal when the artists offer them, btw)
and just to make this easier to find in your Google search:
danielson lyrics
did I step on your trumpet lyrics
lyrics danielson
Danielson Famile lyrics
Danielson Family lyrics
P.S. Bonus points for anyone who can tell me how Google figures out which sites to list first in it's search queries.
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