Recommendations?

Anyone have any new favorite Christmas music from the past year or three? Thanks.

Challenge Revisited Update

Here's a little update on the Challenge questions from the other day.

For the Easy question, Dave is right, it is Donald Rumsfield. 2 pts. for him.

For the Intermediate question, Jason is right, despite crying foul. 5 pts. for him.

For the Hardquestion, Mike is right on who it is, so he'll get some points. The question for the moment is this: can anyone do better with an answer. If so, there are more points to be had in doing so.

Snippet

Here's two lines of poesy I've not yet figured out what to do with. Rather than just add it to my scrap heap of half written poems, I thought I'd post it. Hey, I needed something to post tonight.

Have walked the dark wood paneled rooms, smoke filled,
Have seen the wing backed chairs against the wall.

asisaid Challenge Remix

OK, so the last asisaid Challenge ended in a fizzle. Kevin was way ahead, but didn't actually want to win and I got busy and didn't have time to assemble new questions. Flip was the second highest in score, and she is no longer reading blogs, as far as I know. So, here's your chance to start and make a name for yourself as an amazing Challenge question answerer.

Here's why you'll want to participate: prizes! The winner will get a new, really nice hosting account prepaid for six months from my company, and either a free domain name for one year (registered via Dotster.com) or a $10 iTunes Store gift card. No purchase necessary, purchase will not increase chances of winning, void where prohibited.

Let's start off with two questions. The rules are simple: (1) I must either know you from elsewhere or you must be a regular commenter on asisaid as of today to participate. (2) You are on your honor not to use Google or other online search tools to come up with answers to these questions. The questions are meant to be a challenge, but Google, et al., make a challenge not much of one. No Google, no Live Search, no Yahoo, no Amazon. (3) I reserve the right to remove a participant at my sole discretion. Got it? OK, let's get started.

The winner will be the person who accumulates 250 points or has the most points when I decide to end the challenge.

Easy Question (2pts)
What notable government figure of recent times was ten days short of setting a record as the longest lasting occupant of his or her office?

Intermediate Question (5 pts)
What notable issue of Christian doctrine did St. Nicholas participate in a major debate about and where was the debate?

Hard Question (20 pts)
Who wrote the following quote and what work does it belong to? And, for 2 extra points, what is the title of that part of the work? For 3 more bonus points, tell the background about the work.

April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

Happy challenging!

A Bunch of Questions

Well, I've not even gotten so far as to read the asisaid comments today (I was busy working on OFB, among other things), but I am trying to post all the way through December, so here's a little something I had already filled out but not posted. It is a set of questions from Mark.

1.In two words, explain what ended your last relationship?
Eh, to answer that question one would first have to have had a relationship. As of right now, N/A, in other words.

2. When was the last time you shaved your legs?
N/A once again.

3. What were you doing this morning at 8am?
Catching up on some sleep, given that I had no pressing things occurring today.

4. What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
Talking on the phone to a client.

5. Are you any good at math?
I can do quite well at it, I just don't enjoy doing it.

6. Your prom night?
Well, I was home schooled, so unless I took myself out… and, anyway, see question 1.

7. Do you have any famous relatives?
Yes, as a matter of fact, I have one relatively well known one.

8. Have you ever taken out a loan to pay for school?
So far, I've been fortunate enough to avoid that.

9. Do you know the words to your MySpace song?
Huh? I'm not sure what a MySpace song is, but then again I'm not on MySpace. It looks too messy and I simply haven't figured out why I'd want to join. I am on Facebook, Linked-in and Okrut, although I only actively go on Facebook. I haven't updated Okrut in a couple of years, I think.

10. Last thing received in the mail?
A free iPod nano case from Morphie for joining “the Mob” about nine months ago. I haven't opened it yet. The Mob was some kind of promotion where the first 5,000 people got a “Relo base case” free.

11. How many different beverages have you drank today?
I've had a variety today. I had some water, then a Snapple peach tea (“made from the best stuff on earth,” of course), then some more water, then a bunch of iced tea, then a Starbucks Venti Iced Latte.

12. Do you ever leave messages on people's answering machines?
Yes. Sometimes I prefer the answering machine, I'm ashamed to admit.

13. First concert?
Ah, I saw a Michael W. Smith mini-concert/performance at a Billy Graham crusade, perhaps that would count as the first. If not, a Stephen Curtis Chapman concert a few years ago.

14. Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?
Nope.

18. Do you like the ocean?
It is OK, but I'm just as happy by a nice lake.

19. Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different kinds of popcorn for Christmas?
Yes, I love them. Especially mixing the buttered and carmel popcorn. I have a two-flavor tin at the moment.

20. Have you ever been to a planetarium?
No, which is rather unfortunate. I need to go to the James S. McDonnell Planetarium at the St. Louis Science Center sometime.

22. Something you are excited about?
Getting started on my master's degree.

23. What is your favorite flavor of JELLO?
I'm not sure. Can I say JELL-O salad?

24. Are any of your great-grandparents still alive?
No, I, like Mark, am down to only one grandparent and no great grandparents. I had two great grandparents still alive when I was born; the last one died about ten years ago.

25. Describe your key chain?
It has a Radio Shack/Leatherman multi-purpose tool with pliers and screwdrivers, a bunch of keys (only about half of which fit anything still around) and a remote entry thingy.

26. Where do you keep your change? In a container on the frig.
In a little plastic container in my dresser. The container was intended to hold American cheese slices.

27. When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people?
April, in an organized way; sometime last week in a less organized fashion.

28. What kind of winter coat do you have?
I have a leather jacket, a nice top coat to go with my suit and a big, fluffy winter coat for when its really cold.

29. What do you think of the person you copied this from?
Mark's a good guy and brother in Christ. He has trouble in the Apple department, though.

30. Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed?
Open.

None of the Pomp, All of the Circumstance

Well, I “walked” at the Lindenwood's commencement back in May (see All of the Pomp, Most of the Circumstance), and could have graduated, but I needed four more classes to complete my second major (English) and minor (Philosophy). With those classes done and my last final turned in tonight, I walked off the campus with my BA complete.

It is amazing I am done. After four and a half years, and 141 credit hours, it is complete. And quietly so: I handed in my essay at 8:03 p.m. after two and a half hours of exam time along with a friend of mine who also was finishing up this semester. My professor, Dr. Canale, upon realizing her class had served to “graduate” us, shook our hands and congratulated us.

I get to pick up my diploma from Academic Services after January 1.

.5 More...

As long as I'm giving a play by play countdown (which is only really useful in as much as it allows all of you out in blogville to know I'm still alive despite my quiteness): I turned in my last paper today. It was a small little project I wrote in dramatic form.

That was 40% of the final exam for the class tomorrow. The remaining 60% will actually occur tomorrow. Let's see if I can survive that!

Assuming I do, I have some work to do. I've delayed some publishing on OFB for lack of time, and a few other web projects have been sorely needing some TLC. Hopefully in the coming days. Oh, and church is getting ready to move its offices over into the new renovated area, which means I need to get wi-fi and such configured to cover as much space as possible using three routers — hopefully before Christmas.

One More...

I have just one final left, and 40% of it is an out-of-class essay I've pretty much wrapped up. Today I did most of the other business necessary to graduate. One last little bit, after which normal programming here on asisaid should return.

Thus Spake the Philosopher

Here's something rather pithy I found in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.

It is to be noted that nothing that is past is an object of choice, e.g. no one chooses to have sacked Troy; for no one deliberates about the past, but about what is future and capable of being otherwise, while what is past is not capable of not having taken place; hence Agathon is right in saying
For this alone is lacking even to God,
To make undone things thathave once been done.

I think Aristotle makes an incorrect claim about God here, in as much as I will affirm the traditional Christian notion that God is the creator of, and hence above, time. In that context, it is really irrelevant to speak in terms of what has already occurred when referring to God. Thoughts?

TQ: Miscellaneous

From Mark, as always:

1. What Firefox extensions do you use?
I don't normally use Firefox, but when I do, the Google toolbar is the main one. I used one to put little close buttons on each tab too until Firefox 2.0 “fixed” that for me.

2. What family/Friends tradition do you most look forward to regarding Christmas/ etc all holidays?

I'm not sure I have one favorite tradition. I always enjoy going to the Christmas Eve (candle light) service with my family and then sitting around the Christmas tree in the quiet of expectation.

3. What is your favorite tea to drink and how do you take it?

A plain, somewhat strongish tea with ice. Lipton is just fine.

4. What is your opinion on Mod_rewrite?

A site without mod_rewrite is, well, a site without mod_rewrite. I love mod_rewrite. I think it is an indispensable part of the web developer's toolkit.

5. Do you think this site has the right idea? Sorta like what these guys are doing in my state.

For the most part yes. I say, Merry Christmas, if that is what you mean.