Time to post

It sure has been stormy. My “alarm” yesterday morning was the outdoor weather warning system (interestingly enough, it seems they've given up on having a voice go along with the siren — that was really impressive when they did that for six months or so). Anyway, the storm produced tornadic-like “spin” not too far from here, but nothing touched down that I know of.

The Weather Channel guys where probably disappointed, they had positioned someone in East St. Louis so that the arch would be a backdrop to their broadcast. I guess maybe they thought it would be exciting to watch the arch get vacuumed up by the storm. Maybe not. Whatever the case, they claimed they got a photo of the arch being struck by lightning. I'm not sure if it really was, it looked to me like the lightning was actually behind the arch, but if it did hit, the TWC reporter assured us that it wasn't a completely unusual event.

You know, that makes me wonder… how long before we see “embedded” meteorologists? It might be fun to watch the report of a meteorologist from within the cyclone. With the reporters all set for a natural edition of “shock and awe” in St. Louis, an embedded reporter would have fit in fine. Or, then again, maybe not.

At any rate, I ought to quit blogging now as I can tell my humor may go off the deep end of quite soon now, if it hasn't already. Tim, out.

Am I Snobby, Dear Chap?

From the Snob Quiz: “You haven't quite cut that snob mustard, Tim. Being 50% snob doesn't make you properly stuck up but nor does it condemn you to burn in middle-class hell. Unless you want to hang in snob limbo forever, brush up on those P's and Q's, buy yourself some fruit knives and start lying about your education quick. “

50% Snob is probably pretty good. Snobby enough to fit in with snobs and not too snobby to fit with anti-snobs. Hehehe…

[Thanks to Kevin.]

Calm Before the Storm After the Storm Before the Calm

I'm not quite sure what to do. This week has been a frantic mess trying to take care of several deadlines, desperate clients, and various other matters that I fell behind on last week. And now I'm done.

I can see the tidal wave that will probably be next week already on the horizon, but it is still too distant to worry about. So, I sit here enjoying a few minutes of peace and blogging. I must say I am very appreciative of this time today.

In other news, I sold off some of Asisaid.com to allow market pressure to play with the price a bit. Christopher already noticed this and bought some shares. Thanks Christopher!

Now if Blogshares would just correctly calculate incoming/outgoing links so that my blog wouldn't seem to be on the edge of being overvalued…

Ah, and other good news. MandrakeSoft shipped me a Mandrake Linux boxed set for review at Open for Business. Much to my surprise, they didn't ship the PowerPack edition I expected (7 CD's, $69). Instead, they sent me the ProPack (8 CD's, 1 DVD, $199). I had been wanting to have the opportunity to give that edition a review, but knowing Mandrake's current financial problems, I wasn't expecting to receive that. Thanks, Mandrake!

(The free Download Edition, which I am currently running, has been excellent so far in its 9.1 iteration, so I am sure the ProPack — which just has “more stuff” — ought to be quite good too. I highly recommend downloading a copy and then joining MandrakeClub if you like it.)

Sigh

I was so busy today, I didn't even have a chance to check my BlogShares performance or read my Blogroll. Maybe tomorrow…

A World Away

I don't generally attend the small group, but I decided to come to the group meeting because of the occasion. It worked out well, I was able to serve as the photographer, while the group went on about with their normal meeting after a delicious BBQ. It was a nice evening, although it was filled with an aura of melancholy feeling.

The member who is leaving had been here for a one-year project at the Danforth Plant Science Center (which is located next to our church and is sponsored by Monsanto, whose world headquarters is just across the street), and during that time she joined our church, participated in prayer groups, joined the aforementioned small group, and even helped with our stewardship drive in November (demonstrating the traditional tithing method of her culture during one of our services). I didn't know her very well, but it was still really saddening to come to the realization that as she pulled out of the driveway afterwards that I'd probably never get the opportunity to talk to her again.

At the end of the small group, the one member read a piece of scripture that had come to his mind earlier today. It was hard to maintain composure as he read it:

When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. {37} They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. {38} What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship. (Acts 20:36-38 NIV)

The now departing member brought many things to my church, and while I didn't know her very well, it is still hard to say good bye. I regret not having the opportunity to get to know her better. I regret that her time here was so short.

It is almost like a death has occurred. Not exactly, but like the Ephesians, accompanying her to her car, I realized I would probably never see her again. Being that she is heading back to her country of Nigeria, that I can be pretty sure of.

But, I do hope she realizes how much she has blessed this congregation, and that God blesses her as she returns to the life that she left on hold to do research here in St. Louis.

I'm Mov'in on Up!

Well, now that BlogShares is fully up and running, things seem to be going pretty well. I entered the “non-beta” version with a little over $4k in cash and I past $6k today. Woohoo! Today, a few blogs, tomorrow I shall rule the market!

Seriously, for being completely fake, BlogShares is quite entertaining. I might add that there is only a very limited quantity of asisaid.com shares left at a stunningly good price, so don't forget to get yours before supplies run out…

Update: Oops, sorry, I'm actually fresh out of asisaid.com shares. Put in your buy orders today so I can judge if I need to issue more shares (once I can).

Scientists vs. God

Here is a piece of very serious information concerning scientific experiments with human life.

God is sitting in heaven when a scientist prays to Him. “God, we don't need you anymore. Science has finally figured out a way to create life out of nothing - in other words, we can now do what you did in the beginning.”

“Oh, is that so? Tell Me…” replies God.

“Well,” says the scientist, “we can take dirt and form it into the likeness of you and breath life into it, thus creating man.”

“Well, that's very interesting… Show Me.”

So the scientist bends down to the earth and starts to mold the soil into the shape of a man.

“No, no, no…” interrupts God, “Get your own dirt.”

Patriotism At the Peril of the Nation

The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 was created to protect our country from terrorism, instead many from both sides of the aisle have realized it really could be used to dismantle that which we aim to protect. With new threats that expand on the USA PATRIOT Act being considered right now, everyone should consider the serious nature of the USAPA. As such I have spent some time over the past few months assembling the key facts that should provide a cursory consideration of this serious threat. This post is kind of long, but please find the time to read this piece and consider it.

You might be a liberal if...

[Shamelessly stolen from WIT.]

You think George W. Bush is a bigger threat to world peace than Saddam Hussein…

You think every problem is the direct result of the government not spending enough to solve it…

You think Fox News is a biased network, and Al Jazeera isn't…

You think suicide bombers and other terrorists are “militants”…

The answer to every problem in the Middle East is the end of Israel…

You think Castro is anything other than a petty dictator…

You think a tax cut is bad for, but a tax hike helps the poor…

You think the Dixie Chicks and Tim Robbins should say what they want, but O'reilly, Hannity, and Limbaugh should shut up…

You trust CNN for anything beyond the current temperature…

You think SUVs are supportive of terrorists, but houses with 19 car garages are AOK…

You think wanting the US to win a war is jingoistic…

You think the deaths of soldiers is preferrable to another term of GWB as President…

You liken the Perdue factory to a concentration camp…

You think Clinton was a paragon of ethics…

You think the 2000 election was “stolen”…

You think “choice” applies only to abortion…

You think Mumia is a political prisoner…

You think the word “unilateral” is defined as “without France, Germany, and Russia”…

You think that every misbehaving child has ADD or needs therapy…

You're still convinced there are no infidels in Baghdad…

Sick again.

Well, I've been meaning to say something, but I've been under the weather (I think its the pollen getting to me) and haven't been motivated enough to actually say anything. Uhg… I'm not sure what I'm doing, but I've been bit by some kind of bug four times in only about six months. sigh Anyway, I am still here… I'll probably post something substantial tomorrow. In the mean time, take a look at this.