Windows Sounds

Ever think about taking the various sounds built into the Windows operating system and creating techno out of it? No? This guy did. And if you liked that, you'll like this.

Dubai Tennis

Yes, that is Andre Agassi and Roger Federer hitting some balls on a helipad 700 feet above the city of Dubai. This is nuts.

And We're Back!

For all of you who have been SORELY disappointed that this blog has been down the last couple days... I am right there with you. Not sure what happened. But I republished it today and it seems to be up and running once again.

Which is a GOOD thing. I seem to have become quite attached to this blog. When I thought that I may have perhaps lost it forever, I was upset. I was.

Next Blog

It's a little button in the upper-right corner of this screen. It takes you to a random blog... can be quite the adventure. I like leaving random comments to a stranger I'll never meet, and whose blog I'll most likely never see again.

Desktop

Are you ready for a new background on your desktop? Check these out. Just select the appropriate size, right click and select "Set as my background". (many thanks to Veronica Minor)

Condo Conundrum

So I'm thinking about purchasing a condominium. It's a little scary. The condo that I'm currently looking at would be over a 400% increase in monthly expenditure, as compared to the cheap room I rent right now downstairs at Tom and Barbara Staab's house. Did you know that everything on the market right now is EXTREMELY expensive? Well, it is. It's a seller's market, as they say. And I'm a buyer. I hesitate to jump into such a high monthly mortgage, but at the same time, I hate to continue giving my money to someone else every month for a place to live. It's not buying me anything, I just give it away. I can't think of a better investment to make than a home, yet I continue to hesitate. Will my hesitation cost me the perfect place? Will I let it slip out of my fingers? Yet if I jump out and purchase this condo, would I be taking matters into my own hands and not following the leading of God?

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts..." Col. 3.15

Offers will be reviewed today for the condo I am currently interested in. If it is not snatched up, I will continue to look at it. If there is NOT ONE SINGLE OFFER MADE, I will take it as a sign from God that I'm to go after it, as this is what I've prayed for. I need the sense that this is the place that He has for me.

What????

You haven't looked at the liquid sculpture link yet? What is wrong with you? Did you think I was kidding? You will be seriously impressed. Take a minute and check it out. Here's a teaser:

Comments

I just love comments. If you have a moment, please leave one. I have a way of tracking the hits on this page, and I can see how many visitors come each day to view it. Yesterday there were 35 unique visitors, but not one comment was left. Let me know what you're thinking! It only takes a second. I would sure appreciate it, and I know it's fun for others too.

Liquid Sculpture

Wow, these high-speed photos are just amazing. If you have a couple minutes, check it out.

Bumvertising

Today

Well, I don't have too much to write about today. But I recognize that I haven't added a new post in a few days now, and that is just not good form. How about some more of those trivial daily details that you may or may not care about? Yesterday was my first time ever telecommuting, which was a real pleasure, because I spent the day at CCK with the new class of externs and graduate students. I was able to listen to Marcy, Pastor Norm, and PK and DeeAnne all share their hearts about what this new program is all about. I found myself reinvisioned, and challenged to "live up to what I have already attained." I had some oh-yeah-THAT-is-why-we-do-this moments. After, I played tennis with my brother in Kirkland. It was fun, but he was pooped out (he's been doing drug testing as a side job and perhaps it has been affecting his energy level). He beat me regardless, two of three games.

I sense that many things will be changing soon.

DJ Shadow

Ever heard of DJ Shadow? He is a music artist prone to laying down the filthy funk, beats of epic proportions. Here we have a high school percussion ensemble covering one of his tracks. Good stuff, click on the "final performace" only if you have high-speed access, since it's at 65 meg file. Let it buffer for awhile, and listen all at once.

Swiss Longing

I miss Switzerland today. Scanning through Josh Rodriguez' photos on his blog sparked it off. I am eager to visit in January, yet I know that even a trip to Switzerland will not scratch this itch. It cannot be reached, like a phantom itch on an amputee's arm... that era of my life is gone and done. I miss not only the place, not only the people (and I miss them very much!), but that time of my life. The pressure of reponsibility pushing me into the Lord in ways that I do not have now, providing spiritual leadership, planning events and setting precedents... all of these things I do not find here and now. That was who I was. This is not who I am. I am not actually a computer technician. I am a pastor in training. And this is my desert. I suppose it's normal to miss the jungle.

I'm not one of those car lovers who wears his hat backwards and breaks down the specs on his favorite beast like he's speaking some foreign language fluently. But this bike is pretty awesome... 0-60 in 2.5 seconds. It's not a bike, it's a rocket with wheels! It's got a 20-valve V-10 engine, the same engine that Dodge uses in the Viper. Craziness.

Hyena People

"But what about the hyena people of Nicaragua?"

Well, funny you should ask.

(Click left and right arrows to the side of the photo for slideshow.)

1,000 Visitors!

I'm pleased to announce that this blog has now received over 1,100 hits since first launched two weeks ago. How do I know? I installed a counter down at the very bottom of this page.

9/11

It's been four years to the day. Still can't fully comprehend what happened that day. Scrolling through this list of victims helps me get a grasp on the magnitude of this tragedy.

Evergreen State Fair

Recently I had a chance to go to the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe with my lovely sister and her kids, Amethyst (12) and Aaron (17). We had a great time, bought a lot of junk food, went on some rides (only Aaron was brave enough), and failed miserably at winning any stuffed animals. Well, to be accurate, I failed miserably at winning anything for Amethyst (they make it look easy!). The first time she tried, she won a cool stuffed cobra for herself that she could wrap on her leg. So much for the chivalrous uncle, winning the stuffed animal for his cute li'l niece. All in all, a great day, though a bit hard on the budget.

Second Try

Here... I flattened out some of the peaks and dropped the water level by 100 meters. This is fun!

Terragen

Wow! Here's a free photorealistic landscape generator. Doesn't sound very exciting to you? Well, perhaps you should check out some of the scenes that people have created. That's right, all of these landscapes are purely digital renderings, not photographs.

This is my first try after a few minutes of figuring it out. The water level looks a little high to me...

Personal Touch

Have you ever read bad poetry? You know, that kind of poetry that we all wrote at one point in junior high or high school where we poured out our hearts to the very dregs of our tormented existence, the fall-out from the hurricane force winds of puberty. Poetry like:

The throbbing of my aching heart
Drowned out the sound of my sobs
As I sank to my knees
In the torrential rain
Mourning the loss of you
Mourning the loss of you.

Besides being terrible and horrible and awful, this poetry makes another major mistake: it assumes that people care. I made this mistake myself, plenty of times, and have learned something from the experience. Maybe I have learned too much. Maybe I'm a bit jaded, becoming overly hesitant when it comes to making public, personal posts on my blog. Why would people care about what kind of coffee I drank this morning, the color of my hotel room, the interesting bum that accosted me on the street? Yet I am continually being surprised by the fact that people do care, and the details are important.

Perhaps this points out a larger flaw in my mentality, a persisting question that could potentially deposit me in a place of solitude and independence: Why would people care?

Chess

Do you enjoy playing chess? I don't, not too much. All of the endless possibilities of potential moves is a bit overwhelming, and I always have the distinct feeling that there is a better move that I could be making. Well, here's an online chess tutor that shows you what it's thinking, as it graphically computes all possible future moves. Fascinating to watch, even if you don't like playing chess.

New Nintendo Usage

The King of Nerd Rap

Lost in Translation

This is REALLY fun. Take a moment and try it out.

Downshifting

Hugh Sawyer is an Oxford law graduate. He wears a Gieves & Hawkes suit and works at Sotheby's, London. He also lives in a ditch. He plans to live in his ditch in the woods for a year to prove that we don't need all of the expensive daily comforts we've come to depend on. Here's his blog.

It's a new movement called downshifting. Wanna jump on board? Here's a few starting tips they recommend: cut up a credit card, eliminate three non-essential purchases this week, plant something in the garden you can eat.

The Art of Blogging

I think where people go wrong is that they don't update their blog enough. If I check back on a person's blog in a day, see no new posts, then check again the next day, and see no new posts, then there's not much motivation to check back on the third day. Having said that, I hope to keep this blog updated as much as possible with new links, new ideas, new photos... and you can help also, with new comments. Unless you're a stranger and you want to advertise for your own stupid commercial blog. In that case, keep your comments to yourself. As a matter of fact, go ahead and take your keyboard in your hands, bring it down hard onto your knee, snapping it in half, pick up the individual keys off the floor and flush them down your toilet, one at a time, chanting loudly "I will NOT take advantage of others' blogs to try and make money" repeatedly. Thank you.

BTW, does anybody else have the same problem as me? When this blog first loads, I can't see the text in the top few posts, until I scroll down and then back up. Is it just my browser, or do you have the same issue?

Live Blog from Downtown NO

Blog of current events from a highrise in NO that still has internet access. His last post finally sheds some hope in the darkness, as of noon today (ET). It looks like the troops have finally shown up.

Tragedy

The mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin speaks candidly about his frustration with the current situation in his city on a WWL radio interview. Warning: It's not edited.