Weather

Okay, so we had seventy degree (Fahrenheit) weather — perfect for shorts — followed by sleet and snow, followed by major snow, followed by warmer weather, followed by rain, thunderstorms and hail, and now tomorrow we will hit sixty again. Logically, it is suppose to snow Tuesday.

Perhaps I'll get the shorts out for Wednesday, then.

Book Meme

The hat tip goes to WTM.

One book that changed my life: Hamlet seems like a good choice, although I could pick many, such as Economics in One Lesson, that also race to my mind. Hamlet, however, was my introduction to Shakespeare and as such one of the key books that firmly entrenched me in literature. Literature without Shakespeare… well, μη γινοιτο! May it never be!

One book that you have read more than once: Hmm… what shall I pick? Let's go with Mere Christianity and leave it at that, eh? Yeah, that sounds good, it is a book worthy of rereading and yet not an entirely obvious choice.

One book you would want on a desert island: WTM was smart in picking a whole series, I guess I should too. Well, how long am I going to be there? Something like his pick of Harry Potter might be good — I've been wanting to find time to read that. But, if I wanted to contemplate something for a long time, years even, perhaps Church Dogmatics, so I could finally master it. Ha!

Two books that made you laugh: The Collect'd Writing of St. Hereticus by Robert McAfee Brown and I Wonder What Noah Did with the Woodpeckers by Tim Wildmon.

One book that made you cry: Thr3e by Ted Dekker and Rumors of Another World by Philip Yancey. Perhaps not so much the books themselves, but the nerves they hit.

One book you wish you'd written: The Oresteia. If I could write like Aeschylus, I'd be happy. Alternately, let's return to Hamlet. Or, the Wasteland (Eliot). Or — why not go big? — how about Summa Theologica or Church Dogmatics?

One book you wish had never been written: I'll echo WTM and his friend who tagged him. Mein Kampf.

Two books you are currently reading: Just two? I'm in seminary for crying out loud! Ok, I'll mention two I'm reading for fun. The Historian, a delightfully exciting novel about Vlad Ţepeş (a.k.a. Vlad the Impaler, a.k.a. Dracula) that my cousin gave me for Christmas and the Merry Wives of Windsor, the return of the ever wondrous villain

One book you've been meaning to read: This World is Not My Home by Dr. Michael Williams. Dr. Williams told me about this book of his on the development of Dispensationalism last semester and my mother bought it for me for Christmas.

Tag five people: Ed, Eduardo, Mark, Christopher, Mike.

Too Often

After finding a good deal on a copy of iLife '08 on eBay that was still sealed in the box, I decided to jump into the newest version of Apple's digital hub. The main point of interest to me was iPhoto '08, with new features such as auto event division and easy thumbing through of thumbnails attached to each event that make it easier to manage the nearly 40,000 photos on my computer. So far, it is doing just that, and as I played with iPhoto '08 tonight I ran into a lot of favorite photos I might not have otherwise.

I saw pictures of friends I haven't seen in years, of family members now with the Lord and favorite places that I'd like to go see again. I also ran into a letter I had written and photographed so as to save a copy in case I was curious what I had written later. It was a letter to one of the aforementioned friends whose photo I had run into, one who was graduating from Lindenwood and moving out-of-state at the time I wrote the letter.

I read that letter for the first time since I had sealed the envelope it went into. That quote I included above stood out, and it is certainly one I don't keep in mind enough. My friend often took the time to yank me out of whatever I was going to work on and just enjoy the moment for a bit. Perhaps I should remember my own observations about myself more often. Time's winged chariot cruelly moves onward ever faster.

Snow Day

Well, disappointingly, my first day of Marriage and Family Counseling class was canceled today due to the snow. My morning classes, which had already met on Tuesday, continued on schedule, as did a required homiletics lecture with Dr. Chapell (although Dr. Chapell reduced his hour and forty five minute lecture down to twenty two minutes). Thanks to Dr. Chapell's speed, I could have slipped out at 1:00, but initially Marriage and Family Counseling was going to be shortened rather than canceled, so I ended up at Covenant until about 2:15. So I gained a couple of hours and avoided rush hour in the snow — thankfully — but still ended up out in the snow.

This all seems terribly unfair. Why? Because there may be a snow day tomorrow, and I don't have any classes schedule tomorrow anyway! It almost seems like I should sign up for some class, just so I could enjoy the snow all the more. Of course, it's good it isn't on a day that I have a bunch of classes too — I really don't like missing classes…

Help me raise $100 (or more) for the Huckabee campaign by giving a Buck for Huck here. Right now we need just $74 to meet the asisaid challenge goal of $100 dollars for the best candidate for president. Won't you join me in supporting Governor Huckabee with a buck for Huck?

Sony's α is going to be an Α soon.

Wow, Sony is really getting serious with their α (alpha) line of Digital SLRs. I've been predicting as much since they first released the A100 a couple of years ago, but if you are in the market for an SLR, check out the really impressive looking new A300 and A350. Both of them sound almost more exciting than the A700, despite the fact that they are in a lower part of Sony's product line. What a nifty sounding live view AF system — really, you should check these guys out.

When I was trying to decide which DSLR system to jump into last year, I had a really hard time resisting Sony's α (alpha) line. I decided when looking at the A700 that the Canon EOS 40D edged it out by a bit due to its better noise control and faster speed (and I've been very happy with my decision), but it's clear Canon and Nikon have some major competition coming from Sony, so do give them a look if you're shopping for a camera.

Question What kind of camera do you “shoot” with? Post your answer below, if you'd like. Right now, I'm dividing my shooting between the Canon, my Sony Cyber-shot H1 (superzoom) and my Apple iPhone (not the best, but I always have it with me). All have their good qualities that help getting the most — and best — pictures possible.

Help me raise $100 (or more) for the Huckabee campaign by giving a Buck for Huck here.

Sorry to Go All Political

If you aren't into politics, or at least are tired of my little campaign for the best candidate on the field, Mike Huckabee (sorry, I couldn't resist), I promise to talk about something else later tonight. Bear with me on one more post tonight as I analyze the CNN debate tonight.

UPDATE:Think Huckabee is irrelevant? Check out this quote concerning tonight's debate from Bill Schneider of CNN. The Huckabee campaign is alive, well and energized. Help me raise $100 for the Huckabee campaign by giving a Buck for Huck here.

Who won? Perhaps Ron Paul, but certainly Huckabee came close as well. Both Congressman Paul and Gov. Huckabee are presenting exactly the kind of thoughtful, issue focused remarks people need to hear. Sadly, CNN's Anderson Cooper ignored the two of them most of the time — leading to a lot less interesting debate primarily between Romney and McCain. Quite frankly, I think Romney took the night from McCain after a poor start — of the two, McCain came out looking like a spiteful, dirty campaigner and Romney like the guy trying to defend his own, good record. Given Romney's record of negative campaigning, that's ironic, but McCain brought it on himself. I hope people saw the exchange tonight, saw Huckabee's continuing wistful, lighthearted humor and Rep. Paul's continuing out-of-the-box thinking and maybe will decide to vote for someone other than the two dirty campaigners.

I hope, when they do, they will vote for Gov. Huckabee, a candidate that actually has a chance of winning matched with his helpful, forward-looking vision. If not, sure, tip a vote into Ron Paul's box and at least show the GOP that we like hearing about issues.

Remember, Huckabee has the best pro-life, pro-family record. He will eliminate our messed up tax system. He will bring to Washington a positive message of hope and change. He is a true compassionate conservative, not just one that wears a label claiming that title. Let's get Huckabee over the top.

Help Huckabee

First off, I forgot to mention, but last night, we at Open for Business published our endorsement article for the presidency. It may or may not be what you expect, check it out here.

I've just seen the latest Rasmussen poll and Gov. Huckabee is still leading McCain in Missouri, and Missouri is not the only state where there is hope. Why not contribute to the Huckabee campaign right now? Here's a convenient link. Why not sign up and become a Huckabee Ranger while you are at it?

Even if McCain gets the most delegates, it is important that Huckabee gets as many as possible. If we can help Gov. Huckabee get as many delegates as possible, we will empower him to push for the exciting plans of change he has been talking about. He may still be able to nab the nomination, but what if he does not? Well, more delegates help to push Huckabee towards running mate status as a worst case scenario. A McCain-Huckabee ticket would be incredibly powerful. But, first things first. We need to get Gov. Huckabee as many votes as possible.

Mike Huckabee represents a clear vision for the Republican Party. It is time to get the Grand Old Party back on track. It is time to remind people that we are the party of small government. We are the party that respects life. We are the party that respects people. We are the party that respects liberty. In times of economic trouble, no party is better suited to the job at hand than the party that will apply sensible, conservative solutions. We need to offer those conservative solutions. If the Republicans do not, who will? Certainly not the Democrats.

Just to admit it, on the Democratic side, I'm favoring Sen. Clinton. If we must have a Democrat, I'll take for more years of the Clinton administration. But, the problem is that she isn't offering the solutions the country needs any more than the other Democratic candidates. The time is right for a real conservative (something President Bush, sadly, has not been). Huckabee has conservative values, but he also knows how to engage issues important to Democrats — this will help him in the general election again Clinton, Obama or Edwards. Sen. McCain has this same quality, yes, but Gov. Huckabee has a stronger conservative base that will allow him to do so without causing the core of the Republican party to feel disenfranchised, a risk I feel is very real with McCain.

I like Mike! I hope you do too.

Let's Rally for Mike

Well, it's time to campaign. In my estimation, Gov. Huckabee is the best man for the job of President of the United States. He has a clear conservative record. He has the dignity and respect the office deserves. He has a plan to move forward with innovative ideas that will change the status quo. Friends, this election is a chance to have someone different who will bring real change unlike anything we've seen in the last three administrations. I like Mike. We need to help Mike by supporting him in states like Missouri where he has a shot. This campaign has come so far, and yet the tide seems to be turning against the good governor. He needs vocal support and he needs it now. It is not too late — look at how he made a meteoric rise this past fall — let's help him rise once more.

Join his campaign. Fly his banner on your site. And, most of all, show up on February 5 and vote.

Almost Made It

One goal I continually float before myself as a blogger is that of posting at least a post a day for a month. I've done it a number of times — and gone on even longer stretches — but not in recent times, thanks to the schedule of seminary. Well, I almost made it this month while I was off, but forgot completely about posting yesterday. Oh well. It is kind of a silly goal, I suppose, but I'm still disappointed to have missed it. The helpful part about such a goal is that it forces me to examine life, the universe and everything and come up with something to say by the end of each day. Without that pressure, I'm more inclined to put off writing and have less of an array of topics covered here. As such, I think I will try again in February.

What's Done and What's Not

Well, I doubt I am even going to come close to accomplishing everything I wanted to over Christmas break, but at least I'm starting to catch up with some of the major points. I've been working on some projects that needed to be done for church, cleaned up Open for Business a bit, merged some mailing lists I operate, spent time reading Shakespeare, enjoyed some “off time” playing games and taking pictures… in general, I have less regrets about what I've done over this six week period than I typically do as a vacation ends. I am regretful about a few things that have happened over break, alas, but not things I've gotten done.

I had hoped to write a quiz software program for a project I'll talk more about later, address the dusty Faithtree.com and catch up a bit more on reading, but, hey, one cannot get everything done, right?