I'm puzzled. I can't see my comment links in my posts. When I've checked others' blogs, it appears that their comments from YACCS are working fine?
And then I notice that I have a Javascript "Error on Page". It seems that part of the code to run the comments is bad. Need more investigation.
Update: I went to YACCS and copied and repasted the code into my template. Appears to be working now.
Jen, who recently signed my guestmap, posted some questions related to married people who struggle with infidelity. I do not consider myself to be an expert on marriage - I've only been married for 7 years - but since I do have a little bit of experience, I'll share what I believe. Here goes:
First of all, my wife and I are committed followers of Jesus Christ. We consider our individual relationships with God as paramount to any other relationship. Secondly, our relationship with each other is more important than family, friends, etc. Since our wedding day, we both have taken our vows seriously. The gushy emotions we felt during the first year of marriage have not persisted. It is the love we each have for God and for each other that has kept us together.
because they have a good return for their work:
10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
-- Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV)
Here is another way to look at it: God, my wife, and I are at each corner of a triangle. He does not move. As Jennie (my wife's name) and I move closer to God, we get closer to each other by default. So the key to having a healthy marriage is for each person to stay close to God.
This relates to the subject of infidelity. Early in our marriage I used to believe that I wouldn't struggle with lust. After all, I'm married now! I was naive. As I mentioned before, the gushy feelings we had have not always been there, but our commitment to each other has. I have found that when I am not close to God, I tend to be open toward stuggles with lust. Remember the triangle: If we move away from God, we also move away from each other.
Keeping a healthy marriage is hard work! One should not think it any other way. It involves daily renewing our vows. It also involves a lot of grace and forgiveness - from God and from each other. Having other spiritually mature couples in our lives has also been important. But most important of all, is our commitment to God.
If you are interested in learning more about getting a better relationship with God, I can help. Feel free to contact me and leave a way that I can reply.
"A child has been sharing milk from a bowl with a group of "holy" rats at an Indian temple."
In related news, a young boy was spotted sharing his fried chicken with a couple of raccoons in our neighborhood.
(just kidding!)
Darwin Awards posthumously commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it in really stupid ways.
Here are the 2001 recipients:
Darwin Awards
Think Before You Leap
Intersecting Darwins
Crystal Daze
Honorable Mentions (tiny division of Darwin Awards)
Sobriety Test
Tied to His Work
"He who hesitates... lives!"
July 2001, Idaho | His brakes failed while driving down a steep mountain road, so Marco bailed out on his eight passengers and leapt from his Dodge van. Too bad Marco didn't alert the others to the problem before he took flight so precipitously. Another passenger pulled the hand brake, bringing the vehicle to a stop a short distance away. Marco struck his head on the pavement and died at the scene. No one else was injured.
South Idaho Press
"Two wrongs do make a right!"
April 2001, Tennessee | One day before the US tax filing deadline, a Memphis Darwin Award winner trying to beat a train drove around the crossing gates -- only to be struck by an oncoming vehicle whose driver had the same mad plan. The driver of the first vehicle was killed, making this monumental stupidity the first instance we have witnessed of a Darwin Award winner crashing into an Honorable Mention. The accident happened to one side of the tracks, so the train passed by unimpeded.
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"Darwin and Newton share a laugh."
Mexico is home to two hot caverns containing the largest natural crystals known to man. "Walking into either of these caves is like stepping into a (sweltering) gigantic geode," described one awed observer. Some of the translucent selenite crystals are over 20 feet long. The newly-discovered caverns, 1200 feet below Chihuahua, carry a curse for those who seek to plunder their riches. A man recently tried to steal one of the magnificent crystals from the roof, and might have succeeded... if he hadn't stood directly beneath it while chopping it free. He was crushed by the stalactite as it heeded the call of gravity.
Reference: Discovery (Channel) News
May 2001 | In a poorly judged attempt to convince his wife he was sober enough to drive, a 29-year-old husband pulled up to a State Police barracks in his pickup truck, parked illegally, and demanded a sobriety check. He failed the Breathalyzer test and was taken into custody. "Basically," an amused Sergeant Paul Slevinski explained, "his wife won the argument."
Southampton Press
January 2001, Florida | A 24-year-old construction worker tied himself to a piece of scaffolding for safety while working on the 4th floor of the county jail annex. Forgetting he was attached to the metal, he tossed it to the ground, and was carried along for the ride. He landed on the scaffolding, which pierced both legs. He was treated for his injuries at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, and hopefully counseled on the use of his most important safety tool: his brain.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A List Apart - for people who make websites. From new ALA contributing writer Jeremy Wright:
"The latest theory of Time Management I heard has actually caused me to stop and think about how I run my entire life. This kind of thing doesn’t happen very often, and no I don’t mean thinking, cheeky readers! The theory that was recently taught in a Leadership course I’m enduring is called the Pickle Jar Theory."
I actually remember hearing this illustration at a FranklinCovey seminar, but, since I haven't put it into practice, I am glad to be reminded of it once again.
I stopped by Kristiv's weird existence this afternoon, and I think I may have found someone I already know:
"My friend Hannes, the one who's getting married in Ohio later this summer, sent me an email explaining the American etiquette of wedding presents."
I don't know many Hanneses in my life - only one. She's Estonian and lives in Cleveland, Ohio. I'll have to contact her to find out if she's the one mentioned in Kristiv's weblog.
I mentioned last week that I had something to announce and wanted to wait until this week to do it. Now it's official: I no longer have a job with the company I've been working for the past three and a half years. Maybe it's a little weird - but I don't feel quite as bad as I did some weeks ago. Perhaps the anxiety of not knowing what was going to happen was worse than finding out.
Yes, my friends, another installment in, what promises to be a long running series here in the Miami Valley. "[In Ohio, Cleveland and Dayton] have called an ozone action day for Sunday, June 23rd 2002.
From the Dayton Daily News:
"DAYTON | Ah, the good old days.
"It only seems like forever since mild pleasant weather has graced the Miami Valley. But if ever there was a time to be nostalgic, it is now, amid the suffocating heat that has been baking the area these past few days and which is expected to hang around for several more days."
Disclaimer: Please do not read this if you have a delicate stomach or are eating or have just eaten:
Two weeks ago we got a four-month old puppy. He's part Chocolate Lab and part Collie. We are struggling with killing this dog - over housebreaking. OK, I'm not serious about killing the dog - I'd never do that. But I am letting it upset me. We also bought a cage, in which he sleeps. The idea behind having Jake (the dog's name) sleep in the cage is based upon the dog's natural instinct not to relieve himself where he sleeps. We also put him in the cage whenever we go out of the house to go grocery shopping or whatever.
Yet when we're at home, we let him out and take him outside to relieve himself. When he's inside, we need to make sure that he isn't unsupervised. He's been known to pee and poop from time to time.
Case in point: Not even 10 minutes ago, we had just finished dinner, and I'm sitting here typing at the computer when I smell dog poop. I noticed that Jake had somehow gotten downstairs. I sent him back upstairs and looked around to see where the dog had been, and, sure enough, he left a poop pile on the carpet! I ran upstairs to get the pooper scooper and came back downstairs. As I approached to poop, the smell got to me. I felt it coming. So I ran to the garbage can and threw up.
Tasha, the deaf woman who, with her 10 month old son, lives in this area of the house, took the pooper scooper and went to pick it up. Then she started gagging. I knew what was coming for her, and of course, that prompted the gag reflex in me. So I ran to the stationary tub and threw up two more times. Then Tasha came running to the downstairs bathroom, which is located next to the stationary tubs, and vomited. Hearing her vomiting again prompted the gag reflex in me again, and I threw up two more times.
Keisha, our four-year old daughter, just attempted to come downstairs. I told her to stay upstairs. She isn't wearing her hearing aids, so she said, "What?" and I heard her begin the descent. "Stay upstairs, Keisha!"
Then I yelled, just to make sure she heard me, "STAY UPSTAIRS, KEISHA!!!" (I'm such a sensitive dad, aren't I?)
Then she went running, crying to her mom. "Daddy's mad at me, Mommy!"
Soon afterward, Tasha came downstairs, with a t-shirt tied around her mouth and nose (I wish I had the camera), and heroically used the pooper scooper to clean up the mess. Immediately, she put it, pooper scooper and all, in a plastic bag. At first I told her that we needed to keep the pooper scooper (I'm having fun typing that, by the way), but then I realized that it was better over all, at least for the short term, to have the mess out of the house.
Later, Tasha came back down with some Lysol (TM, just in case it's needed, you know) cleaner and cleaned up the area.
Well, I think I need to go soon. I need to floss my teeth, if you know what I mean.
This afternoon my four year old daughter Keisha and I were making a birthday card on the computer for one of her friends. We had to wait for the computer to boot up, so I used this opportunity to kid around with her. Below is how our conversation went:
D: The computer is waking up.
K: NO!!! The computer's not waking up!
D: Oh! I see! Well, then the computer is taking a bath.
K: NO!!! The computer doesn't take a bath!
D: Well, the computer needs to go potty...
K: NO!!! You silly! The computer doesn't go potty!
D: Well, the computer has to eat breakfast...
K: NO!
By this time, she started getting into it, and more silliness erupted.
Later this evening, at the dinner table, I mentioned this to my wife Jennie and our friend Tasha, and we continued the silliness:
J: I know! The computer has to wash the dishes!
K: NO!!!
T: The computer is my fiance.
D: The computer needs a spanking.
K: NO!!! The computer goes to McDonald's!
T: The computer and Keisha go to the McDonald's and play in the play area together.
J: The computer needs to go for a walk.
D: The computer needs his diaper changed.
And so on...
Can you add to the silliness? Fill in the blank: The computer...
EPA.gov:"The areas in red below have called an ozone action day for Saturday, June 22nd 2002."
Three in a row!
What a neat way to note that you've been here! Not only that, but you can let me know where you are.
So... once again... please sign my guestmap! Thank you.!
I'd like to find out how to set up a most recently posted list. I've seen this on some other blogs I've read, but I don't know how they are set up. I have a lot of links to past posts, and I am interested in possibly consolidating them or eliminating them altogether. After all, I do have the Google Search gadget up and running.
What do you think? Can you offer any suggestions?
2005 Update: with the newest version of Blogger, this comes prepackaged!
More from the Dayton Daily News:
"Summer [arrived at 9:24 am this morning] with a warning: If you have respiratory problems, stay indoors.
"The Regional Air Pollution Control Agency late Thursday issued for the second consecutive day an 'Ozone Action Day,' or smog alert, for today. Jim Gross, supervisor of monitoring and analysis, said that means there will be elevated ozone concentrations over the valley-trapped combinations of pollutants, mostly from automobile emissions.
"Temperatures will rise to the upper 80s today and near 90 Saturday under mostly sunny skies. Overnight lows will be in the mid- to upper 60s. More clouds late in the weekend should bring a chance of a shower or thunderstorm."
I really didn't feel like mowing the lawn this afternoon anyway. I think I'll wait until evening.
What 5-letter word using all capital letters looks the same upside down?
Hint: Fish do it and some people do it.
Hey! It's a familiar look! That's right. I've spent part of the afternoon copying and pasting code into my new template. A couple things still need to be worked out. For instance, why, when you click on the "bottom of page" link, is it that it does not take you to the bottom? I've check the html for both the top and bottom links, but only the top link works. (sighs in frustration)
6/9/2003 Update: Of course, I've removed the top and bottom links altogether with the current template.
Dayton Daily News | Local News
"...Miser and Wilson 'inflicted various methods of torture using a variety of instruments,' including sledgehammers, fishing poles, razor wire and a dog collar with spikes, Vore said. The victims also had guns pointed to their heads..."
I am shocked that behavior like this actually exists. Torture for the sake of torture. How evil.
Do you have something like this where you live?
From 1290whio.com: "An Ozone Action Day means that weather & heat conditions are such that high concentrations of ground-level ozone (smog) levels are likely. The elderly, children and adults with breathing problems are encouraged to stay indoors especially between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
"Ground-level ozone is formed when bright sunlight mixes with emissions from vehicles and small gasoline-powered engines. These emissions collect in a stagnant air mass and form smog. It's important that everyone takes action to reduce ground-level especially on days when these notices are issued. Residents are encouraged to follow these actions...go there...
From RAPCA.org: "The primary purpose of the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency is to protect the citizens of the Miami Valley from the adverse health and welfare impacts of air pollution. This is accomplished through the enforcement of federal, state, and local air pollution control regulations, and through implementation of the state's industrial permit system. RAPCA personnel strive for technical credibility and accountability in all issues and actions..."
Read All About Ozone and Ozone Action Days...
Note: A while back a friend forwarded this to me. I cannot vouch for its validity and its presentation here is not meant to be authoritative.
When you have an "I hate my job" day try this:
On your way home from work, stop at your pharmacy and go to the thermometer section. You will need to purchase a rectal thermometer made by "Q-tip" Be very sure that you get this brand.
When you get home, lock your doors, draw the drapes and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed during your therapy. Change to very comfortable clothing, such as a sweat suit and lie down on your bed.
Open the package and remove the thermometer. Carefully place it on the bedside table so that it will not become chipped or broken. Take out the written material that accompanies the thermometer and read it. You will notice that in small print there is a statement:
"Every rectal thermometer made by Q-tip is personally tested."
Now, close your eyes and repeat out loud five times, "I am so glad I do not work in quality control at the Q-tip Company."
Just wanted to let everyone know who still hasn't already heard, the three major credit bureaus in the US (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) have been allowed, as of July 1, 2001, to release our credit info, mailing addresses, phone numbers..... to anyone who requests it.
If you would like to 'opt out' of this release of info, you can call 1-888-567-868 (1-888-5-OPT-OUT). It only takes a couple of minutes to do, and you can take care of others in your household while making only one call, you'll just need to know their social security numbers. Be sure to listen closely, the first opt out is only for 2 years, but you may want to make sure you wait until they prompt you to press '3' on your keypad to opt out for good.
However, this number is not associated with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which has allowed banks and other financial institutions to sell your private financial information since July 1, 2001. Calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT will not stop your bank, credit union, brokerage company, etc. from selling your information. For that, you must respond individually to the "Privacy Policy" statements you received in the mail or you must call the financial institution or company yourself. Those "Privacy Policy" statements tend to get mixed in with the other "Junk Mail" you receive from your financial institutions.
This link takes you to a list of some credit card companies and financial institutions and their individual 'opt-out' numbers:
http://www.clarkhoward.com/topics/opt_out.html
Let me preface what I'm going to say with this: I do not claim to be a web design expert - my skills for it have not yet matured. As a user, however, I do feel I can comment when I have a bad visit to a web site.
Case in point: The History of Braniff Airways -- Not only do you need to have a super size monitor with a larger than 1024x768 screen resolution, but you get to see a scrolling marquee that at first appears to be a button -- among many other things.
I discovered this website from Vincent Flanders's website called "Examples of Bad Web Design".
There is something that I'd like to say, but I've been asked not to for now. I will probably be able to divulge it next Monday. Until then, happy reading!
Well, I got my links and the comments reinstalled. I don't know if I can handle the way the color works on this, though. YIKES! Note to self: bring back the BlogSnob stuff too.
"Hey! What happened to all the links? What happened to all the comments?" I just updated the Blogger template, and I still need to add the comments and links back in. So fret ye not, gentle reader. Things will be back to normal soon, say in a few days or so. Right how I am late for my date with the bed!
By the way, if you still want to find out how to contact me, etc., check out my home page.
6/9/2003 Update: Updated URL for my homepage.
"NEW YORK - When George Lucas began his original Star Wars trilogy, released in 1977, he had to force real-world materials--latex, stone and cloth--to match the fantastic planets and creatures that filled his imagination. With Star Wars: Episode II--Attack Of The Clones, Lucas was able to dispense with those pedestrian constraints altogether. His special-effects specialists at Industrial Light & Magic had learned to create strange aliens and environments inside their computers."
I loved the movie, especially this part, where we get to see why Yoda is a Jedi Master! This slide show is worth a peek.
It's been a while since I've been able to post anything "substantial" (I used that word, tongue-in-cheek, since there are those who may wonder if *anything* I post here is substantial). So, a brief update is in order (you know, the sometimes obligatory 'sorry I haven't posted in awhile but here's why' message)...
Tomorrow (Friday, 6/14) is my last day at my current consulting assignment. On Monday I get to return to my company's office to be "on the bench", as it is called. Too much to go into here about how all this has happened, but you may be able to get a clue from reading recent posts to Letters to God.
I have not been online very much lately, and when I am, I usually have had just enough time to check email and other stuff. I haven't subscribed to BloggerPro, but I do sometimes email myself a potential post from work. You may find that Letters to God and Quotes Blog have been updated more frequently than this one.
So, I guess that's it for now.
I appreciate those of you who have boldly come to take this "Journey Inside My Mind". Maybe you'll find something here that you can take with you.
Keep in touch!
my Windows 2000 laptop seems to be taking a long time calculating how much space I'll be able to free on its C: drive.
OK. Something doesn't sound right. I just checked out my guestmap found a link that appears to describe the traffic to my guestmap. What I wanna know is, if there are so many visitors to my guestmap, why aren't they signing it? The most obvious conclusion is that, perhaps, since the numbers are so large and my guestmap so recent (May 2002), these numbers reflect the entire guestmap population as a whole, not one single guestmap. Go see what I'm talking about.
Get your own guestmap >>
"Blogger has recently changed their publishing engine and the CDATA tags in the code that Blogrolling used to generate will basically kill your template. This seems to be a side effect of the new system they have. I have updated the code generator to strip these tags out until the new version is finished."
Darn. I guess I need to update the template behind this weblog. Change is inevitable, I guess, except from a vending machine.
2005 Update: Obviously this is no longer an issue.
from Acesonline.org
"Let's say a guy named Roger is attracted to a woman named Elaine. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else."
That's just the beginning of this hilarious illustration! Read more...
So true... The communication between both halves of a woman's brain is like a superhighway, but for men it is more like a dirt path! (I heard that from Jeff Foxworthy.)
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are a technology with a lot of promise, but their often-hyped potential leaves some designers feeling blindsided by the 2x4 known as reality. This article sorts out the differences, and makes a case for educating yourself now in preparation for the future. read more...
There is certainly an over-abundance of anecdotal "religious" chain e-mails clogging up many of our inboxes already, and in my opinion most are either overly sentimental to the point of manipulative, completely fictional (not factual, like the Bible), or downright doctrinally unsound. And of course most include the none-too-subtle hint (threat) near the end that failure to propagate them further indicates a lack of love for Jesus and/or your friends. I love both, and yet I refuse to circulate the vast majority of those which I receive.
By Danit Lidor
"So, you need a Band-Aid (sterile bandage strip) and some aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), because while you were in the park roller-blading (in-line skating) and rocking out to your Walkman (portable stereo device), a Frisbee (plastic flying disk toy) clocked you on the noggin (head).
"International trademark laws are a big headache, too."
(via ClarkHoward.com)
The jury is still out, but one study shows that drinking eight glasses a
day may not be necessary, and may actually be unhealthy for you.
"A recent WSJ article says that the 'eight glass a day' rule comes from the bottled water industry and really holds no water."
"holds no water"... heh heh.
Thursday, June 6, 2002 -- Best-selling author and "Focus on the Family" founder Dr. James Dobson joins Larry to discuss the crisis in the Catholic Church, school prayer, the "hyper-sexuality" in today's popular culture and much more. Plus, he'll take your calls.
[May. 31, 2002]
"I consume, digest, and excrete information for a living. Whether I'm writing science fiction, editorials, columns, or tech books, whether I'm speaking from a podium or yammering down the phone at some poor reporter, my success depends on my ability to cite and connect disparate factoids at just the right moment."
I like this person! His passion for bits of information, etc., inspires me to keep on blogging.
Creativity is more valuable than knowledge. Knowledge is limited, but creativity encircles the earth. -- Albert Einstein
Carol Quinlan writes: "Never let it be said that ADD/ADHD is all negative. Whether you are a parent of an ADHD child or an ADD adult, focusing on the positive attributes is key to our acceptance and celebration of our children and ourselves."
How strange it appeared as I read my own words on blogtoday!
Thanks, Mark, for posting the link.
blogtoday - blogtoday covers blogging related news and issues
6/9/2003 Update: Apparently someone else owns that domain now. I've henceforth removed the reference links to blogtoday.
"Starting March 1, longtime All Things Considered co-host Noah Adams takes a one-year leave of absence to write a book about the Wright Brothers. The book, The Flyers: Orville and Wilbur 1903, will be published in 2003, in time for the 100th anniversary of the brothers' historic first flight. Join NPR News veterans Liane Hansen and John Ydstie as interim hosts from March 18 through June 21."
Then I spent most of Monday asleep. I didn't even go outside yesterday. I barely ate anything: two slices of peanut butter toast, two tacos and a helping of green beans. For the entire day, that's all I ate.
Then I went to bed last night feeling slightly better. But when I woke up this morning, I said, "No way", and I called into work again sick.
Sinus infections wear me out. I think it is mainly the sinus headaches.
Time to draw near to God...
I definitely haven't been myself; that's for sure.
from Kingdom News Network
“...and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).
Roberto Carrillo writes:
Last summer I received a name and phone number for a person who was interested in coming to church. This, of course, happens rather regularly. This particular person, however, was no “regular” individual; He was the lead evangelist of a traditional Church of Christ congregation in New Jersey, a congregation which was one of the fastest-growing congregations among the mainline Churches of Christ.
The congregation had been studying many different DPI publications over the previous year, and had been attempting to imitate our Bible talks, studies and discipling principles. He and the other evangelists and their wives began to visit midweek services. They came with many doubts and fears, having heard much of the gossip and criticism about the International Churches of Christ. more>>
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
by Daniel Johnson, Jr. & Jazzmania Productions
Keeping the 'fun' in dysfunctional
Everything written here is my personal opinion and not that of any employer, past or present.
