Derrrrrr....
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Kinda the Point?
Derrrrrr....
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Nice Evening
Did not get any chores tonight, but had a really nice evening. Started by watching Ben while Lori and Rachel were at dance practice. Ben's had a rough couple of days, but he seemed to mostly enjoy himself with me. Then they came home. Ben went to bed. Lori made bacon, I made pancakes, Rachel supervised. Made regular pancakes, green pancakes, blue pancakes, red pancakes, purple pancakes and chocolate chip pancakes. Then there was a lot of thunder and so we listened to the heavy rain. And then down here to do some Wii Fit. I've been slowly seeing progress.
The Shape of Dumb
Ladies and gentlemen... my I present - my office. The thickness of the walls are exaggerated, but the ones in light blue are the ones up against the window. So, yes, when I'm sitting at my desk I don't have a good view out the window. (There's storage all along the wall by the windows.) The big long desk to my left has several testing laptops no one uses and a small server. The round table, while useful, needs to be moved constantly in order to access the whiteboard or the cabinets.
I'm currently contemplating how I might rework to take advantage of the space better and to make it harder for people to invade my personal space which happens way too frequently. (I'm at the computer and they come stand behind me.) I'll probably raise some surfaces and reorient my view so I can see out the window more. All depends on whether or not they can swap out the walls along the window for a slightly different configuration that would let me put my nice corner unit (they don't offer those anymore) over by the windows.
I'm currently contemplating how I might rework to take advantage of the space better and to make it harder for people to invade my personal space which happens way too frequently. (I'm at the computer and they come stand behind me.) I'll probably raise some surfaces and reorient my view so I can see out the window more. All depends on whether or not they can swap out the walls along the window for a slightly different configuration that would let me put my nice corner unit (they don't offer those anymore) over by the windows.
$
Post-College Employment (not counting temp/hourly)
Positions: 4
Positions that were held by others before me: 1
Bosses/Supervisors with four letter names: 11
Bosses Named Jeff or Rich: 2 each (plus a Rikk)
Number of companies where there was someone named David in my group: 4 (6 total)
When I started:
- Novell Groupwise - 1**
- Eudora - 1**
- Lotus Notes - 1
- AOL* - 1**
* rest of org used Lotus Notes
** using Outlook when I left
Number of places where I almost lost my email address because someone higher up thought it was cool and was thinking of taking it: 1 (james@wb.com)
Fields:
- Internet Startup, Entertainment - 1
- Major Hollywood Studio - 1
- Mid-side Church - 1
- Large Non-Profit - 1
Companies that have been around 50 years: 3
Companies where I was the first employee hired: 1
Biggest Indian Gift: Accidentally issued 750 shares of AOL by Warner Bros. (Returned as requested before realizing we were running low on Charmin.)
Number of teams I've overseen: 2
Largest: 7
Number of work locations: 13
Actual offices: 2
Non-shared office: 1
From my apartment: 1
Unemployed: 11 months
- but in which I received a paycheck from a former employer: 9
Contractor for a future employer: 22 months
Time salaried:
UltimateTV - 24 months (hourly for 1-1/2 years before that)
Warner Bros. - 41 (after 3 months contractor)
Lake Avenue Church - 39 (after 8 months as an unpaid volunteer and 15 as a contractor)
World Vision - 32 (after 5 months as a temp)
Positions: 4
Positions that were held by others before me: 1
Bosses/Supervisors with four letter names: 11
Bosses Named Jeff or Rich: 2 each (plus a Rikk)
Number of companies where there was someone named David in my group: 4 (6 total)
When I started:
- Novell Groupwise - 1**
- Eudora - 1**
- Lotus Notes - 1
- AOL* - 1**
* rest of org used Lotus Notes
** using Outlook when I left
Number of places where I almost lost my email address because someone higher up thought it was cool and was thinking of taking it: 1 (james@wb.com)
Fields:
- Internet Startup, Entertainment - 1
- Major Hollywood Studio - 1
- Mid-side Church - 1
- Large Non-Profit - 1
Companies that have been around 50 years: 3
Companies where I was the first employee hired: 1
Biggest Indian Gift: Accidentally issued 750 shares of AOL by Warner Bros. (Returned as requested before realizing we were running low on Charmin.)
Number of teams I've overseen: 2
Largest: 7
Number of work locations: 13
Actual offices: 2
Non-shared office: 1
From my apartment: 1
Unemployed: 11 months
- but in which I received a paycheck from a former employer: 9
Contractor for a future employer: 22 months
Time salaried:
UltimateTV - 24 months (hourly for 1-1/2 years before that)
Warner Bros. - 41 (after 3 months contractor)
Lake Avenue Church - 39 (after 8 months as an unpaid volunteer and 15 as a contractor)
World Vision - 32 (after 5 months as a temp)
Monday, April 27, 2009
The Three Day Rule
According to "How I Met Your Mother," you need to wait three days before calling a girl -- and that this is a rule handed down from Jesus. The theory was well thought out... if Jesus had only been dead one day, some people might not know it. And I'm paraphrasing here, but he might go up to someone and they're like
"Yo, Jesus. What up?"
"I was dead."
"What?"
"I died. But I came back to live."
"Yeah, whatever, dude."
And one day would be Saturday and everyone's busy. But by waiting until Sunday, everyone's already in church, so everyone's sitting there and they're kinda sad. And he busts in from the back of the church and cheers everyone up because he's alive again.
And that, according to Barney, is why you must wait three days to call a girl.
"Yo, Jesus. What up?"
"I was dead."
"What?"
"I died. But I came back to live."
"Yeah, whatever, dude."
And one day would be Saturday and everyone's busy. But by waiting until Sunday, everyone's already in church, so everyone's sitting there and they're kinda sad. And he busts in from the back of the church and cheers everyone up because he's alive again.
And that, according to Barney, is why you must wait three days to call a girl.
The Bang Problem
The "Big Bang" has always puzzled me. It's pretty well accepted now by the scientific community that at one point, there was nothing. And then "bang" the universe blinked into existence.
And I've heard Stephen Hawking explain how that's possible. Granted, I didn't fully understand, but what I did, I didn't really buy.
To my brain, how can something not exist and then exist? To me, the "big bang" did nothing to suggest to me that God didn't exist.
For me, it did exactly the opposite. I feel the most alive when I bring order out of chaos, whether it's boiling down 45-minute algebra lectures in high school into 30-second explanations that were clearer to my classmates (and I hate math) or taking on a new project and collecting information and working to make sense of it -- or if it's walking into a messy kitchen, cranking up iTunes and cleaning the kitchen -- I thrive on that stuff. I bring order out of chaos. I am a fixer, a solver, a creator.
In church yesterday I was totally able to relate to the idea that The Big Bang is a clue that points to the existence of something or someone who exists outside of our idea of time -- the creator of everything our minds can comprehend (and probably far more).
God. My creator.
And I've heard Stephen Hawking explain how that's possible. Granted, I didn't fully understand, but what I did, I didn't really buy.
To my brain, how can something not exist and then exist? To me, the "big bang" did nothing to suggest to me that God didn't exist.
For me, it did exactly the opposite. I feel the most alive when I bring order out of chaos, whether it's boiling down 45-minute algebra lectures in high school into 30-second explanations that were clearer to my classmates (and I hate math) or taking on a new project and collecting information and working to make sense of it -- or if it's walking into a messy kitchen, cranking up iTunes and cleaning the kitchen -- I thrive on that stuff. I bring order out of chaos. I am a fixer, a solver, a creator.
In church yesterday I was totally able to relate to the idea that The Big Bang is a clue that points to the existence of something or someone who exists outside of our idea of time -- the creator of everything our minds can comprehend (and probably far more).
God. My creator.
Deserved To Die
It's actually quite surprising to me how much I've covered General Motors over the years, or maybe as a foo...er, stock holder, maybe not. My favorite is November's Simple Math. In it, I posited that I could run GM and do no worse than the then-current leadership. I know it's a simplistic idea, but I still stand by it.
Today GM announced the latest band-aid for the self-inflicted razor slices in their wrists... more layoffs, the ending of Pontiac and the attempt to close a bunch of dealerships.
Layoffs - have to be done. In a good situation, it would be the necessarey side-effect of a reorg that eliminated lines of business a company was getting out of, the employees the company couldn't or wouldn't find other positions for. In bad situations, it's the common and often necessary reaction of a company that let itself get bloated in better times.
Closing dealerships - this is the one I understand the least. Here's a group of people who want to sell your product. But now you're not selling that product any more. So GM's going to have to come up with cash to buy out those that they can and endure lawsuits that stretch on for years and years from those that won't accept a buy-out. Worse yet, GM could be charged in some states with illegal "restriction of trade" by longer producing certain cars or lines or by lowering the volume of cars it produces.
The dealer model seems screwy. I've tried to think how this would work in other industries and I'm getting stuck. Is it like different Taco Bell franchises? One can only sell tacos and another nachos? And at the end of the day they're too close together to let the nachos guy start selling tacos because they're no longer producing nachos? I guess it would be like a grocery store that sells Post Raisin Bran while the one down the street sells Post Grape Nuts and another Kellogg's Golden Grahams and another General Food's Cheerios. (I don't know cereal brands, those might not all be right.) As a child (and high school and college student and newly graduated college student) I dreamt of owning a dealership. But I would sell all kinds of cars. I would help people find out what kind of car they were looking for, and then I would show them choices from a number of brands. It would be this massive place, this massive concrete structure with tiered parking garage so that lots of cars could be shown in natural light, but the rest would be stored under cover. (I would try to have less inventory on hand and more order-on-demand with free delivery.) People would drive long distances for the experience. (Yes, long-distances stink for coming back for maintenance/service.)
The dealership model always seemed to address a lack of confidence in the cars created. If your cars were that good, let them sit alongside another manufacturer's. This is the perfect time to blow away the dealership model in states that will allow it. Do a deal with Westfield and do mall-parking-lot showrooms, build-to-order, delivery at your home or work (because that's fun!) and hassle-free service (again, pickup and delivery and delivery of a loaner, locate the service where it makes sense or contract out to local repair shops.)
Goodbye, Pontiac. I've wanted Pontiac dead since they launched the Aztek. Pontiac was supposed to be the sports car division, but it always got the short end of the stick with uninspiring and unmemorable cars which Chevy kept the Corvette and the Camaro. Pontiac had the Firebird (right?) and Trans Am but they were either allowed to wither or poorly marketed. Pontiac had a twin to the Saturn Sky but darned if anyone remembered that uninspiring, poor quality car. GM had been trying to hold onto the Pontiac brand as a specialty brand but finally caved in and said they will close it. Really? What does it take to really keep a brand going? The dealership network issue notwithstanding, all you need is the brand name itself and a bin full of the metal tags that say "Pontiac" - make it a subbrand of Chevrolet "Find the Pontiac Excitment at your local GM Dealership."
But what of Hummer? Why keep Cadillac? Merge it with Buick. Get rid of Saab. What of GMC, Open, Vauxhall, Holden, and GM Daewoo? Or perhaps some of those are already gone and just not covered well in this country? Or maybe the U.S. Government doesn't care about cars not sold here?
Will GM survive? Who knows. If they do, I hope they'll make a commitment to making affordable, quality cars people want. And to not ever be stupid and arrogant again.
Today GM announced the latest band-aid for the self-inflicted razor slices in their wrists... more layoffs, the ending of Pontiac and the attempt to close a bunch of dealerships.
Layoffs - have to be done. In a good situation, it would be the necessarey side-effect of a reorg that eliminated lines of business a company was getting out of, the employees the company couldn't or wouldn't find other positions for. In bad situations, it's the common and often necessary reaction of a company that let itself get bloated in better times.
Closing dealerships - this is the one I understand the least. Here's a group of people who want to sell your product. But now you're not selling that product any more. So GM's going to have to come up with cash to buy out those that they can and endure lawsuits that stretch on for years and years from those that won't accept a buy-out. Worse yet, GM could be charged in some states with illegal "restriction of trade" by longer producing certain cars or lines or by lowering the volume of cars it produces.
The dealer model seems screwy. I've tried to think how this would work in other industries and I'm getting stuck. Is it like different Taco Bell franchises? One can only sell tacos and another nachos? And at the end of the day they're too close together to let the nachos guy start selling tacos because they're no longer producing nachos? I guess it would be like a grocery store that sells Post Raisin Bran while the one down the street sells Post Grape Nuts and another Kellogg's Golden Grahams and another General Food's Cheerios. (I don't know cereal brands, those might not all be right.) As a child (and high school and college student and newly graduated college student) I dreamt of owning a dealership. But I would sell all kinds of cars. I would help people find out what kind of car they were looking for, and then I would show them choices from a number of brands. It would be this massive place, this massive concrete structure with tiered parking garage so that lots of cars could be shown in natural light, but the rest would be stored under cover. (I would try to have less inventory on hand and more order-on-demand with free delivery.) People would drive long distances for the experience. (Yes, long-distances stink for coming back for maintenance/service.)
The dealership model always seemed to address a lack of confidence in the cars created. If your cars were that good, let them sit alongside another manufacturer's. This is the perfect time to blow away the dealership model in states that will allow it. Do a deal with Westfield and do mall-parking-lot showrooms, build-to-order, delivery at your home or work (because that's fun!) and hassle-free service (again, pickup and delivery and delivery of a loaner, locate the service where it makes sense or contract out to local repair shops.)
But what of Hummer? Why keep Cadillac? Merge it with Buick. Get rid of Saab. What of GMC, Open, Vauxhall, Holden, and GM Daewoo? Or perhaps some of those are already gone and just not covered well in this country? Or maybe the U.S. Government doesn't care about cars not sold here?
Will GM survive? Who knows. If they do, I hope they'll make a commitment to making affordable, quality cars people want. And to not ever be stupid and arrogant again.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Mine
Lately, when faced with the prospect that mommy or daddy are upset with her, she gets really sad and says that she thought that because we were upset with her that she wasn't going to be our daughter anymore. That really upset Lori when she'd do that. And I'd heard her say it before, but never to me.
Until last night.
I had her sit in her little chair for awhile and we talked about how that was rude but also just plain silly.
And then inspiration hit. I instructed her to stay put and went and found her birth certificate. I showed her where it said 'Certificate of Live Birth' and 'State of California' and she brightened up and said "That's me!". She liked the colors of the embossing on the paper and seemed impressed by the notary impression. So I showed her where on the paper that it listed her name and my name and Lori's name. And I told her that this was proof from the state of California that she was our daughter and always would be.
Then we went and used Google Maps to look at the hospital where she was born, our old church and our old house, using street view to look at them. Then I plotted one more point to show how far away our house is now and she pointed at the dots and said "We went from here to here on an airplane."
Don't know if this will end the "not your daughter nonsense" but did turn that annoyance into a nice learning and bonding experience.
Until last night.
I had her sit in her little chair for awhile and we talked about how that was rude but also just plain silly.
And then inspiration hit. I instructed her to stay put and went and found her birth certificate. I showed her where it said 'Certificate of Live Birth' and 'State of California' and she brightened up and said "That's me!". She liked the colors of the embossing on the paper and seemed impressed by the notary impression. So I showed her where on the paper that it listed her name and my name and Lori's name. And I told her that this was proof from the state of California that she was our daughter and always would be.
Then we went and used Google Maps to look at the hospital where she was born, our old church and our old house, using street view to look at them. Then I plotted one more point to show how far away our house is now and she pointed at the dots and said "We went from here to here on an airplane."
Don't know if this will end the "not your daughter nonsense" but did turn that annoyance into a nice learning and bonding experience.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
I Want
Things I'd like to do right now:
I'm not necessarily feeling destructive, just a little frustrated/stressed and those would be good stress relief. It's been a rough day. Of all the things up there, I will at least be able to delete the voicemail without listening to it, and I will probably end up listening to Motley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart" during the drive home which will not be fast at all since I've committed to not speeding anymore and it won't be super-loud since I think I blew the Infinity speakers in the car years ago (why do they always put in amps that exceed speaker capacity? Like they want you to blow them.). But I have no Starbucks cards on me, no old printers to smash, don't know anyone who has a tank or a flamethrower and my desk? Yeah... hmmm... flamethower... desk... flamethrower... desk... tank... desk... ha. That would be funny.
Anyhow... I should probably sign-out and go home... someone from work just called my Google Voice number and Lori picked it up at home and accidentally hung up on them. I should leave before they come down here to find me.
- Drive really, really fast. Like 90.
- Reenact the scene where Peter, Michael, and Samir are in the field
- Fill a microwave full of aluminum foil and set the timer for 20 minutes
- Fill a microwave full of marshmallows and set the timer for 20 minutes
- Fill a microwave full of Christmas lights and set the timer for 2 minutes
- Throw something through a window just to see all the pieces fall down
- Tell someone "no" to a request, without any softening words, without deferring to someone else
- Watch a tank blow something up
- Listen to really loud music (or at least hear a better version of one of my favorite songs than the one that's playing now)
- Use a flamethrower on the weeds in my yard
- Disassemble a car into a dumpster (that is, no requirement to rebuild)
- Go to Starbucks
- Clean off my desk
- Delete the voicemail on my phone without listening to it
I'm not necessarily feeling destructive, just a little frustrated/stressed and those would be good stress relief. It's been a rough day. Of all the things up there, I will at least be able to delete the voicemail without listening to it, and I will probably end up listening to Motley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart" during the drive home which will not be fast at all since I've committed to not speeding anymore and it won't be super-loud since I think I blew the Infinity speakers in the car years ago (why do they always put in amps that exceed speaker capacity? Like they want you to blow them.). But I have no Starbucks cards on me, no old printers to smash, don't know anyone who has a tank or a flamethrower and my desk? Yeah... hmmm... flamethower... desk... flamethrower... desk... tank... desk... ha. That would be funny.
Anyhow... I should probably sign-out and go home... someone from work just called my Google Voice number and Lori picked it up at home and accidentally hung up on them. I should leave before they come down here to find me.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Building Muscle
So if you're a friend on Facebook, you've probably been unable to escape the fact we bought a Wii Fit the Friday before last. You're probably like "Wii get.." Oops, that is, "We get it already."
We had been working to get a used treadmill from friends in our small group, and we still may. But Lori suggested we get it and I started thinking about it. I knew I probably wasn't going to get my XBOX360, and if I did, I would never get all the use out of it to make sense. What's more, Microsoft would try to get me on the hook for a monthly charge.
So started looking into it. Except for some that I'd given to charity, I still had a nice chunk of Christmas money. And Lori had "loaned" her Christmas money to her mom. Figured why not get something we could all enjoy.
I haven't really lost any weight. I'm still at my resting weight*, but but I can tell I've melted away some fat. That's kind of exciting. I also know that it takes more to feed muscle, so I know there's a loss coming on. (*Don't know if there's such a thing, but I uttered it at a recent physical and the doctor didn't pause, so...)
I've been continuing to get my hour in on the exercise bike each day and trying to walk before and/or after work and/or on my lunch break. And then doing time on the Wii as well.
Gotta say... It's fun and I feel better and this is definitely more habit forming than a treadmill or exercise bike.
In no time at all, Starbucks and Fat Burger won't make me feel guilty at all. (Yeah, I may be exercising, but I'm still enjoying life.)
We had been working to get a used treadmill from friends in our small group, and we still may. But Lori suggested we get it and I started thinking about it. I knew I probably wasn't going to get my XBOX360, and if I did, I would never get all the use out of it to make sense. What's more, Microsoft would try to get me on the hook for a monthly charge.
So started looking into it. Except for some that I'd given to charity, I still had a nice chunk of Christmas money. And Lori had "loaned" her Christmas money to her mom. Figured why not get something we could all enjoy.
I haven't really lost any weight. I'm still at my resting weight*, but but I can tell I've melted away some fat. That's kind of exciting. I also know that it takes more to feed muscle, so I know there's a loss coming on. (*Don't know if there's such a thing, but I uttered it at a recent physical and the doctor didn't pause, so...)
I've been continuing to get my hour in on the exercise bike each day and trying to walk before and/or after work and/or on my lunch break. And then doing time on the Wii as well.
Gotta say... It's fun and I feel better and this is definitely more habit forming than a treadmill or exercise bike.
In no time at all, Starbucks and Fat Burger won't make me feel guilty at all. (Yeah, I may be exercising, but I'm still enjoying life.)
Monday, April 20, 2009
Good Luck, Chuck
I am quite tempted not to watch the final episode of the second season of Chuck. Tonight's episode was really good and had that "wrapping things up" feel to it. Slightly uneven, but a lot of really good stuff.
So to know that next week someone's going to die, not sure I want to go there. I'm tempted to let Lori watch it alone and then if it gets picked up for a third season, then I'll watch it.
At least that's how I'm thinking at the moment.
So to know that next week someone's going to die, not sure I want to go there. I'm tempted to let Lori watch it alone and then if it gets picked up for a third season, then I'll watch it.
At least that's how I'm thinking at the moment.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Well, Excuuuuuuse Me
For some reason, my post complaining about Old Navy from 2006 still gets a lot of traffic. Some of it comes from people who hate the U.S. Navy and some are from people searching for Old Navy or searching for people who hate Old Navy. Someone tonight decided to post an anonymous comment saying that I'm an idiot because that's the design of the store. They then go on to complain about Hollister and Abercrombie, suggesting both are worse. I've never been into either, but just from what I've seen outside, I suspect that I wouldn't disagree with that person. To their credit, they did spell "you're" and "it's" correctly, that's almost enough to get me to post their comment. (They then go downhill, failing to capitalize some proper nouns and offer up what appears to be questions, without final question marks.)
Anyhow, last time I looked, this was my blog, it is a free country, and while yes, I'm sure I've made many a post on there that would cause people to think me an idiot, not quite clear why this one struck a nerve. Are there really Old Navy fanbois and fangrrlz? Did someone just get promoted to manager of their store's Northwest Corner Sweater-Folding Division? Is someone on the corporate public relations team drunk-posting?
I just don't get it. Who gets that bent out of shape about someone complaining about a homogenized box store that would be better suited for selling 2x4's or four-packs of caskets next to cheap Chinese bigscreen TVs?
When did it become bad form for someone to say fluorescent lighting and cement floors might not be the best way to showcase fashion?
Disclaimer: I'm not a big fan of Old Navy fashion, I'm not a big fan of their stores, I'm not a big fan of their commercials where they're just doing voiceovers of mannequins.
And that's ok. So suck it up, anonymous and go post something useful. Elsewhere.
Anyhow, last time I looked, this was my blog, it is a free country, and while yes, I'm sure I've made many a post on there that would cause people to think me an idiot, not quite clear why this one struck a nerve. Are there really Old Navy fanbois and fangrrlz? Did someone just get promoted to manager of their store's Northwest Corner Sweater-Folding Division? Is someone on the corporate public relations team drunk-posting?
I just don't get it. Who gets that bent out of shape about someone complaining about a homogenized box store that would be better suited for selling 2x4's or four-packs of caskets next to cheap Chinese bigscreen TVs?
When did it become bad form for someone to say fluorescent lighting and cement floors might not be the best way to showcase fashion?
Disclaimer: I'm not a big fan of Old Navy fashion, I'm not a big fan of their stores, I'm not a big fan of their commercials where they're just doing voiceovers of mannequins.
And that's ok. So suck it up, anonymous and go post something useful. Elsewhere.
Applesthetic
Having spent a week with the Nintendo Wii Fit, I now realize the anti-thesis of the Apple aesthetic isn't Microsoft, it's Nintendo. I swear, there's almost nothing consistent from screen to screen. You're left to figure nearly everything out, interface is inconsistent from game-to-game. Even the screens of the Wii (outside of the Fit) are all inconsistent. It's kinda weird. On one hand, it doesn't take you too long to figure things out. On the other hand, if you like familiarity and consistency across the board, it certainly lacks Apple's discipline and rigidity.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Church Theft
Sigh... at it again. This time, the church we've been attending for nearly three years. Yes, intellectual property/copyright violation/theft. Once again, the entertainment industry* is the victim of a church's misunderstanding of homage or parody in an effort to be relevant. (*I know, "oh, boo, hoo.") This is a slight wording change from my 2004 post.
So, the TV show Mythbusters. I've only seen a few episodes, but at its most basic form, in each episode the show takes one or more common myths and tries to either prove or debunk it. At least one guy seems to often wear a white lab coat and goggles. They perform scientific tests and have a lot of fun and the two hosts play off each other like comedians. In the end, the myth is either BUSTED, PLAUSIBLE or CONFIRMED. (I'm relying on Wikipedia for some of the information because, like I've said, I've only seen a few episodes.) They get the myths from their staff as well as fans.
So how might one parody or pay homage to that show? Well, easy. Let's start with people. If the pastor is the straight man, you need the other character, the comedian. Wearing a white labcoat and goggles. Either as interstitial bits between segments in the sermon, or as a pre-sermon sketch. Next, the visuals. You do a little more to make the sermon series TV-like. You come up with a similar sounding "theme" song, maybe even complete with words you teach the congregation. If you have interstitials, you can use it as bumper music. You have to conduct "research" or at least somehow use the Bible teaching in a manner different from straight text-teaching. We're talking about a TV show here, so there might be false-starts, misdirection, or even something that completely doesn't work. So at the end, you need to end up with Myths that are BUSTED, PLAUSIBLE or CONFIRMED.
And if you're really going to play it up, you'd pick Biblical topics that have really scientific applications. Sure, we're talking about faith in the unseen and miracles, so you're not going to scientifically prove how the Red Sea was parted, that Jesus did really die and rise from the dead or disprove the virgin birth (good luck with that - any of them), but in the end, you're going to have myths that are busted. (Biblical teaching doesn't confirm the myth.) You'd make use of hand-held camera to get in close on the action, even if it's to read over the pastor's shoulder as they look closely at what the Bible says about a topic. And if you want to go really over the top, you do the other "church business" (songs, offering, etc.) as "commercials." But that's probably going too far. You do, however, consider changing the "set" of the front of the church, etc.
What don't you do? Add "God's Edition" to the logo and then conduct church as normal. That's not being relevant. That's just theft of someone else's design.
(I could do this much easier for de-constructing/re-constructing "Extreme Makeover: Church Edition" - the ideas are better, there's so much more you could do, with or without a building campaign. I should have done a post after seeing a banner that alone told me that a church was stealing the idea without actually doing anything with it other than replacing "home" with "church" and then conducting church as usual.)
So, the TV show Mythbusters. I've only seen a few episodes, but at its most basic form, in each episode the show takes one or more common myths and tries to either prove or debunk it. At least one guy seems to often wear a white lab coat and goggles. They perform scientific tests and have a lot of fun and the two hosts play off each other like comedians. In the end, the myth is either BUSTED, PLAUSIBLE or CONFIRMED. (I'm relying on Wikipedia for some of the information because, like I've said, I've only seen a few episodes.) They get the myths from their staff as well as fans.
So how might one parody or pay homage to that show? Well, easy. Let's start with people. If the pastor is the straight man, you need the other character, the comedian. Wearing a white labcoat and goggles. Either as interstitial bits between segments in the sermon, or as a pre-sermon sketch. Next, the visuals. You do a little more to make the sermon series TV-like. You come up with a similar sounding "theme" song, maybe even complete with words you teach the congregation. If you have interstitials, you can use it as bumper music. You have to conduct "research" or at least somehow use the Bible teaching in a manner different from straight text-teaching. We're talking about a TV show here, so there might be false-starts, misdirection, or even something that completely doesn't work. So at the end, you need to end up with Myths that are BUSTED, PLAUSIBLE or CONFIRMED.
And if you're really going to play it up, you'd pick Biblical topics that have really scientific applications. Sure, we're talking about faith in the unseen and miracles, so you're not going to scientifically prove how the Red Sea was parted, that Jesus did really die and rise from the dead or disprove the virgin birth (good luck with that - any of them), but in the end, you're going to have myths that are busted. (Biblical teaching doesn't confirm the myth.) You'd make use of hand-held camera to get in close on the action, even if it's to read over the pastor's shoulder as they look closely at what the Bible says about a topic. And if you want to go really over the top, you do the other "church business" (songs, offering, etc.) as "commercials." But that's probably going too far. You do, however, consider changing the "set" of the front of the church, etc.
What don't you do? Add "God's Edition" to the logo and then conduct church as normal. That's not being relevant. That's just theft of someone else's design.
(I could do this much easier for de-constructing/re-constructing "Extreme Makeover: Church Edition" - the ideas are better, there's so much more you could do, with or without a building campaign. I should have done a post after seeing a banner that alone told me that a church was stealing the idea without actually doing anything with it other than replacing "home" with "church" and then conducting church as usual.)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Buh say wuh?
Ok, so I know I missed the middle of the season because of scheduling conflicts on the DVR, but I've watched all of the recent episodes and I gotta say... Thoroughly confused by the final episode to the point that I don't even know where to begin... Would someone smarter than me please summarize the important parts of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles final season 2 episode? Because I am so lost. And is it just me or is it harder to tell if/when Weaver is lying than if/when Benjamin Linus is lying? I am sooooo lost.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Pour It On
The rain (and at times tiny hail) today has just been phenomenal. I don't remember when I last saw rain this hard. If you don't count every time it rains in Los Angeles.
When we flipped back to the live TV after watching something on the DVR, good ol' Graham Johnson was saying something about snow somewhere. We turned the TV off and checked Accuweather and fortunately it won't be here. It's far too late in the season for snow.
When we flipped back to the live TV after watching something on the DVR, good ol' Graham Johnson was saying something about snow somewhere. We turned the TV off and checked Accuweather and fortunately it won't be here. It's far too late in the season for snow.
We Hurt
We finally poured ourselves a couple of big glasses of the Kool-Aid and got a Wii and Wii Fit on Saturday. I can tell this morning that I've overdone it, in a little bit of pain in a few places. So this morning instead of immediately hopping on it, I went back to the exercise bike for the usual half-our. Afterwards I'll probably do a little bit of balance or yoga or strength, but definitely no aerobics this morning.
On the flip side, have slept amazingly well the last two nights.
On the flip side, have slept amazingly well the last two nights.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
MoHappy MEaster!
"In Christ Alone"
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music
In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.
Hear it here.
The blog title is inspired by Rachel -- when she did the card for her mom this morning -- first she wrote "Happy Easter" and then added "Mom" in front of it on two lines. Quite cute.
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music
In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.
Hear it here.
The blog title is inspired by Rachel -- when she did the card for her mom this morning -- first she wrote "Happy Easter" and then added "Mom" in front of it on two lines. Quite cute.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Written
I was struck tonight in church with the awesomeness of Pilate's simple "What I have written, I have written."
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me. True.
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me. True.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Urban Decay
Seattle Transit Blog reports that Detroit is going to tear this down:
STB has another photo as well as links to articles about the abandoned houses, including a photo essay of 100 abandoned homes.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Double Standard
Is there a double-standard for pirates? We rail against the Somali pirates, yet we glamorize the pirates of the East Indies. Or is it just the Disney-fied Captain Jack Sparrow pirates of old? For reasons I can't quite figure out, the Somali pirates bug me to no end. And yet, if you were to compare the two, the pirates these days treat their captors really well because they know it leads to bigger payouts. The pirates of old didn't. But I suppose The East Indian Trading Company was The Man, so we cheer because they were fighting The Man. But now I guess the rest of the collective free world is The Man?
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
News: Lackluster Video voices substantial doubt about ability to survive
Loved the first user comment... "Ray Charles could see that coming!" Good, Blockbuster needs to die. Lots of good real estate tied up that doesn't need to be. If only more people read Cringley.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Everything in Moderation, Right?
Yeah, that's enough for today. It's only gone to show to how uncoordinated, inflexible and how out of shape I am. But, I know better. Had I pushed through and gone the rest of the workout, I'd be in pain later and not want to exercise tomorrow.
I think I did 12 minutes. They probably were still in the "warm-up" for all I know. Then I did a little bit of what hopefully counted as a cool down and am now on the exercise bike for a few minutes.
I see there's some "Biggest Loser" choices on the On Demand. I wonder if that would be more my style. Most exercise programs are led by sexy women or buff men who obviously exercise regularly. I hate them.
I haven't checked the "Biggest Loser" OnDemand offerings but if I were making an exercise program, I would create a 60-day video series that started with four minutes on day one and use exercise leaders who had obviously never exercised before in their lives. You know, actual fat people. Find some who are good in front of crowds and have a decent fluidity of movement. Slowly increase over time and also include an eating plan that slowly gets more healthy (still eating doughnuts on day one). I'm only guessing at the 60 day thing, but if you could take real fat people and make them skinny and trim over the course of the video series, it would be really compelling to people who were tempted to give up on a plan, but if they could see it in front of their own eyes, that would probably sell a lot of videos.
Who knows? Maybe you only get so far in the first 60 days and the video series continues and you keep selling it 30 days at a time. Maybe there's a business opportunity there.
I think I did 12 minutes. They probably were still in the "warm-up" for all I know. Then I did a little bit of what hopefully counted as a cool down and am now on the exercise bike for a few minutes.
I see there's some "Biggest Loser" choices on the On Demand. I wonder if that would be more my style. Most exercise programs are led by sexy women or buff men who obviously exercise regularly. I hate them.
I haven't checked the "Biggest Loser" OnDemand offerings but if I were making an exercise program, I would create a 60-day video series that started with four minutes on day one and use exercise leaders who had obviously never exercised before in their lives. You know, actual fat people. Find some who are good in front of crowds and have a decent fluidity of movement. Slowly increase over time and also include an eating plan that slowly gets more healthy (still eating doughnuts on day one). I'm only guessing at the 60 day thing, but if you could take real fat people and make them skinny and trim over the course of the video series, it would be really compelling to people who were tempted to give up on a plan, but if they could see it in front of their own eyes, that would probably sell a lot of videos.
Who knows? Maybe you only get so far in the first 60 days and the video series continues and you keep selling it 30 days at a time. Maybe there's a business opportunity there.
Day 1
Ok, first day of latest scheme to lose weight. My biggest problem is that I generally don't stick with any of these long enough to see the results. That and I'm resistant to real change. Ok, aerobic exercise. Legs and feet hurt.
Now to find a routine from the TV's On Demand offerings.
Now to find a routine from the TV's On Demand offerings.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Home Sizes
Just a random thought... when we bought our little home in California, it was 1,200 square feet. It had started life at 900 square feet, but someone built a new 1-1/2 car garage out back and then walled in the attached single car garage to add an extra 300 square foot bedroom. Starting out life, it was a nice size. And, when we bought it, affordable. But we watched the people around us expand the size of their houses, and we looked at all the new homes being built and we realized... soon, there would be no more tiny houses, no little starter homes. By last year, the average new home was 2,800 square feet. That is a lot of area to clean.
But, for the first time, the trend has reversed. The new average home built is 2,300 square feet. Home builders suggest that the larger homes were becoming unaffordable and that it didn't make sense to continue to make larger and larger homes as familes began getting smaller and smaller in size.
While I've never had the opportunity to really develop any of the techniques, I'm a fan of Sarah Susanka
and her "Not So Big" houses books.
But, for the first time, the trend has reversed. The new average home built is 2,300 square feet. Home builders suggest that the larger homes were becoming unaffordable and that it didn't make sense to continue to make larger and larger homes as familes began getting smaller and smaller in size.
While I've never had the opportunity to really develop any of the techniques, I'm a fan of Sarah Susanka
and her "Not So Big" houses books.
Cute TV
Lori and I watched Cupid starring Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall when it aired just after our second anniversary. Was a cute show and we were really bummed when it was cancelled.
When we heard they were going to try again, we were excited but apprehensive. Could someone replace Piven and Marshall? Would refreshing it for the new century make it too edgy for us? Would we still be interested in a romantic show 8 years later?
Turns out, yeah, we were still interested. Just watched the series premiere. Was nice.
Am sure that future episodes will see him putting together same-sex couples. Will just skip those episodes.
When we heard they were going to try again, we were excited but apprehensive. Could someone replace Piven and Marshall? Would refreshing it for the new century make it too edgy for us? Would we still be interested in a romantic show 8 years later?
Turns out, yeah, we were still interested. Just watched the series premiere. Was nice.
Am sure that future episodes will see him putting together same-sex couples. Will just skip those episodes.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Once, Twice, Thrice
Found AskOxford.com tonight. We were wondering if there was anything after Thrice. Apparently not. This site answers this and lots of other fun questions like:
- Apart from 'angry' and 'hungry', what other common English word ends in '-gry'?
- Female cattle are cows, male cattle are bulls. But what is the word for an individual of arbitrary sex here?
- What is the origin of the term 'dressed to the nines'?
- and so on...
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Have You Met Ted?
Seriously, have you met Ted? Better Off Ted is a new show on ABC. A lot of laughs per half hour.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Seriously
The internet is slower than mud tonight. Enough to make one decide to turn it off and go read a book. (Trying to find out if GM has announced what it's going to do with Hummer. They were supposed to announce yesterday.)
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