What Muppet Am I?

	You are Fozzie! Wokka Wokka! You love to make lame jokes. Your sense of humor might be a bit off, but you're a great friend and can always be counted on..
Take the What Muppet Are You? Quiz!

Journey Into Geekdom, Part 6

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. It's the moment you've been waiting for... the Pinball update. Today at lunch (lunch seems to be a great time to do this), I achieved a new all-time high score...

11,759,750

Truck Accident - JOKE ALERT!

Two trucks loaded with a thousand copies of Roget's Thesaurus collided as they left a New York publishing house last Thursday, according to the Associated Press. Witnesses were stunned, startled, aghast, taken aback, stupefied, amazed, astounded, and unsettled.

got this from a JI via email

One More Angel In Heaven

"Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints. " - Psalm 116:15 (NIV)

I know I'm supposed to be happy when a faithful disciple of Jesus dies because that person is going to heaven, but this article saddens me especially because this woman belonged to our church, and her husband used to as well. Now because of these circumstances, their three children are thrust into the world without there mommy or daddy around. I often struggle with thoughts of what her last moments must have been like. It causes chills to run up and down my spine.

I am grateful for my marriage to Jennie and for having other people involved in our lives to help us. I believe that God is in control and will work this situation out for his glory. Nevertheless, I cannot hide how I feel about the circumstances surrounding my sister-in-Christ's death.

Journey Into Geekdom, Part 5

History is continuing to be made, folks. I know that you wait with baited breath to find out how my Pinball game is going.

Without further ado, today at lunch I increased my high score to...

9,103,500

!!!!!

(I knew you'd be excited)

Keeping Yourself Busy In Prison - JOKE ALERT!

Three convicts were on the way to prison. They were each allowed to take one item with them to help them occupy their time while incarcerated. On the bus, one turned to another and said, "So, what did you bring?"

The second convict pulled out a box of paints and stated that he intended to paint anything he could. He wanted to become the "Grandma Moses of Jail". Then he asked the first, "What did you bring?"

The first convict pulled out a deck of cards and grinned and said, "I brought cards. I can play poker, solitaire, gin, and any number of games."

The third convict was sitting quietly aside, grinning to himself. The other two took notice and asked, "Why are you so smug? What did you bring?"

The guy pulled out a box of tampons and smiled. He said, "I brought these."

The other two were puzzled and asked, "What can you do with those?"

He grinned and pointed to the box and said, "Well according to the box, I can go horseback riding, swimming, roller-skating...."

Emergency Room

Yesterday our family made a trip to the emergency room. It turned out to be a long wait for inconclusive results:

Sunday night Jennie was having abdominal and back pain, which kept her from going to sleep. At about 1:30 AM we drove to the hospital. Jennie was admitted at
1:40 AM. About an hour and a half later Keisha and I were asked to go to her room. We waited. And tried to keep Keisha from getting into everything.

Keisha had a rough time waking up, but after about an hour, she was wide awake, as though it was daytime. So there Jennie and I were, extremely tired, trying to keep Keisha from getting into everything in the examining room.

With the pillow Keisha brought I lay down on the floor and tried to doze off. How crazy. No chance of getting to sleep there. Why the long wait, we wondered. I went to the nurses' station and asked what was taking so long. I found out that they needed to do some tests on Jennie to try to uncover what was wrong.

I asked Jennie if she would mind if Keisha and I went out to get a bite to eat. She said she didn't mind.

So Keisha and I got into the car, trying to dodge the freezing rain, and we drove to the ATM and then to White Castle, the closest 24-hour restaurant. Of course they didn't have the Cinnamon rolls we wanted, so we opted for the Cheese danish and Apple danish. We drove back to the hospital parking lot and ate our food, and then we went back inside the ER. Nothing had changed; Jennie was still waiting, but fortunately, she had gotten a little bit of sleep.

I asked Jennie if she would mind if Keisha and I went back to the car and napped. She said she didn't. I told her that the hospital folks could call us on the cell phone if they needed. So Keisha and I went back to the car and fell asleep. At about 5:30 AM Jennie came out, having been discharged and with a prescription in hand.

It all seemed like a waste of time, to have waited so long for something that might as well been taken care of at the doctor's office. But, I guess it's better to be safe.

Jennie and I were suprised that Keisha still wanted to go to school, having had intermittent sleep during the night. But she insisted. I, on the other hand, chose to stay home and take care of Jennie. This came in handy when I go a phone call to go pick up a friend who had just had outpatient surgery. I was able to let Jennie sleep while I picked our friend up. I also was able to see Keisha off the school bus when it was time for her to come home.

In between these times, I got some more sleep. In fact, at about 2:30 PM, I told Jennie I was going to take a nap. I woke up at 8 PM.

It was indeed a crazy day.

Groundhog Day - The Movie

This 1993 movie, starring Bill Murray, is one of my all-time favorites. We're watching it right now, at Keisha's request. Instead of the Academy Awards. At least until Keisha goes to bed.

What if you were given one day that you would live over and over?

Local Miami Valley Girl Dies From Being Struck by Hockey Puck

When I heard the news, I couldn't believe it. Perhaps it is because the girl is from the area that it hits close to home (no pun intended).

No More Free Remote FTP

Hmmm...

The updates to my Blogger template don't seem to be going through. FYI, whenever I post something with a headline, I update my Blogger template and republish all the archive pages. For the past few days, the template updates don't appear to be working.

Perhaps this is an early reminder that Geocities is going to halt the practice of allowing free remote FTP's to websites under their domain. Bummer!

Ronald McDonald Comes to Our House, Part 1

Tonight we went through the drive thru at McDonald's, and Keisha saw a picture of Ronald McDonald. This prompted her to say that she wants him to "come to my house." This is what she typically says when she sees someone that she likes. Below is an excerpt of the conversation that followed. By the way, she's four years old.

Daddy: Where would he stay?

Keisha: In my room.

Daddy: Where would he sleep?

Keisha: On my bed. I'd sleep on the floor.

Daddy: Oh. Who's toothbrush would he use?

Keisha: My pink one that I don't use anymore.

Daddy: What food does he like to eat?

Keisha: He like hamburgers.

Daddy: Really? Does he like broccoli?

Keisha: Yeah.

Daddy: Cauliflower?

Keisha: No. He likes broccoli.

Daddy: Peas? Carrots?

Keisha: No. He likes broccoli!

Daddy: What kind of music does he like to listen to?

Keisha: "Jingle Bells"

Daddy: Really? What kind of movies does he like to watch?

Keisha: He'll watch Barney with me. And he can play on the 'puter (computer) with me.

Daddy: Oh. I see.

--- to be continued ---

Journey Into Geekdom, Part 4

Today my new high score in Pinball is 9,002,750!!!

Singing Dreams, Vol. 1

I had a dream last night that I was singing for a group of people at church at a function outside, in a pavillion. While I was singing a certain song, my microphone started to fade out. I asked the sound guys to turn up the volume of my mike, but there was nothing they could do. Something was wrong with the sound system, and they were unable to fix it until the show was over.

So I had to lip-sync the next song, "Shine", by the Newsboys.

Attack of the Clones Going Digital

I don't know whether to be happy about this yet or not. I just read in this Forbes article that George Lucas is going to release Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones only in digital format. According to this article there aren't many theatres with the capability to show them yet. I don't know if there are any in the Dayton area or not.

Having a Birthday

(or Godly Sorrow vs. Worldly Sorrow)

Today I had a birthday. No, not the annual kind to celebrate when I've added another year to my life. More like a rebirth of sorts.

It was forced on me somewhat. I had not been spending my time wisely while at work, and it was showing. I would make excuses for why progress wasn't where it should be, but really I was just horsing around, not getting the work done. I've had an improper work ethic. Today it came to a head when I was given a sharp rebuke from two of my team members. The other one was out today, but he probably could have chimed in just as much. I was presented with an ultimatum, so to speak.

Needless to say, that got my attention.

So, I begin anew, with an improved work ethic. I am also needing to be aware of what's going on around me. Even if others aren't seeing what I'm doing, I know that God sees, and his opinion is what ultimately matters. The true sign of a person's integrity is who they are when no one else is around. I haven't been a man of integrity, that's for sure.

But I can and will keep changing. I really want to do it for God, but I know I'll be tempted to do it to please men.

I have been reminded of this passage about godly sorrow vs. worldly sorrow: 2 Cor. 7:10-11

Journey into Geekdom, Part 3

This morning I surpassed my existing High Score in Pinball. It is now over 8,000,000!!!! Of course, this took many tries. I was able to accomplish this by playing 4-player games, in which I was all four players.

Aren't you so excited?

Drink Water

(or Eight Things to Do with Coca Cola)

This item was sent to me by MJ over a year ago. I cannot verify whether the information here is valid or not:

Interesting facts: Water vs. Coca Cola

* 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half world pop.) In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.

* Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.

* One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a U-Washington study.

* Lack of water: the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

* Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

* A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.

* Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop ladder cancer.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day?

COKE: No wonder it tastes soooo good:

1. In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in two days.

3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and ... Let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a crumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals. Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.

8. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

FYI: -

1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. Its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days.

2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for Highly corrosive materials.

3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years.

Still Want To Drink Up?

Update, 27 March 2003: I've been doing some research on Snopes.com, and I found this out -- The claim that the acids in Coca-Cola not only make it a handy household cleaning product, but harmful to drink as well are false. Check out the Acid Slip page over at Snopes.com. You'll probably want to add Snopes.com to your favorites list, too.

Please accept my apology for spreading false information.

Journey Into Geekdom, Part 2

Update: I just checked my high score on the Pinball game. It's 5,705,250. I've only been able to get this high by being promoted to Ensign and completing some missions. I just now was able to get up over 4,000,000 for the first time in a WEEK!

Aren't you glad you found out? (heh heh)

The Test - JOKE ALERT!

Thanks to my friend JI who emailed this to me:

The CIA had an opening for an assassin. After all of the background checks, interviews, and testing were done there were three finalists:two men and a woman.

For the final test, the CIA agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun. "We must know that you will follow your instructions, no matter what the circumstances. Inside of this room, you will find your wife sitting in a chair. Kill Her!!!"

The man said, "You can't be serious. I could never shoot my wife." The agent said, "Then you're not the right man for this job."

The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about five minutes. Then the man came out with tears in his eyes. "I tried, but I can't kill my wife."

The agent said, "You don't have what it takes. Take your wife and go home."

Finally, it was the woman's turn. She was given the same instructions to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room.

Shots were heard, one shot after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls. After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman.

She wiped the sweat from her brow, and said, "This gun is loaded with blanks. I had to beat him to death with the chair."

Journey Into Geekdom, Part 1

Among many signs that I am venturing further into "geekdom": I've stayed up until past midnight the last two days wrestling with the Pinball game on the laptop computer.

Meeting the President

Last night I had an interesting dream:

It all started when I was on my way to school, and I didn't have a shirt to wear. I was bare-chested. I felt self-conscious, but since I was running a little late, I couldn't go back home to get a shirt. I saw some guys playing basketball and went over to one of them. He suggested I ask one of the guys who was playing if he had an extra shirt. I did.

Then... almost immediately... the scene changed (and so does the tense).

I'm in this meeting facility and have just heard that the President of the United States is on his way to give a speech at this particular facility. I am excited. After some time, I hear a helicopter. I run to the front window and notice some Secret Service men walking toward the building. I also see some important dignitaries getting off the helicopter.

A receiving line begins to form outside in front of the entrance, and I join it. After a little while, the President steps out of the helicopter. But wait a minute! No, it's not George W. Bush, the current US President. It's Ronald Reagan, looking in great health, too!

He proceeds toward the receiving line and greets everyone. He even shakes my hand! I am so blown away to have shaken the hand of the President of the United States.

And then... the dream ends.

The Itch

He sat there on his couch staring off into space. Feeling numb from the congestion in his head, he sat motionless.

Then, all of a sudden, he snapped. His face started to itch all over. He began scratching his face. Repeatedly. It started to sting, and he began to notice blood on his fingernails. His face was in pain, yet still itching badly. So he kept scratching. Eventually he passed out.

Some hours later he awoke. His face felt sore, but it was no longer itching. He examined his hands; they were bloody. He stood up and went to the mirror. His face looked terrible. There were multiple gashes on his face. He went to the bathroom and washed his hands and face.

It looked as though he had lost a fight with a cat. How was he going to explain this to everyone? Would they consider him weird? Unfortunately this was something he could not hide. Even if he covered them with band aids, he would still look strange.

And what of his parents? He wouldn't know what to say. He felt very embarrassed, yet relieved the itch was gone.

That Awful Feeling in My Throat

Stayed home from work today. Jennie, Keisha, and I have been sick. We spent most of the day driving around going to and from doctor's appointments. So not much rest for me today. I might not go into work tomorrow. Depends. Gotta get some rest.

Actually, it's been a little hard to get rest. I feel as though every other second, I have to swallow. "Secretions", if you know what I mean. Doctor said it's a sinus infection for Jennie and me. Began taking antibiotic and some cough medicine.

Take plenty of fluids, I've been advised.

Ok, then. Until next time,
Danimal over and out

Paranoia

Sometimes at night, when I get into my car and I'm alone, I feel a little paranoid. Especially if I'm in a dark area. A couple of things go through my mind:

- Hurry up, get inside the car, and lock the doors so no one else can get in
- What will happen when I start the car? Will the car explode because there's a bomb?

Miracle of Birth

I just received pictures of my best friend's new baby girl. BI and his wife JI, along with their daughter LI, were in the pictures with the new baby. It's so cool to see a new person being born into the world. God is definitely awesome.

Procrastination

I was thinking earlier that of all the weaknesses in my character, if I could change my procrastination, I'd be a lot better off:

I've learned recently that one of the characteristics of someone with ADHD is procrastination. As an ADHD adult, I see this a lot in my character. I tend to forego doing the things that are not as interesting to me or don't tend to hold my attention, for those activities that are more interesting and do tend to hold my attention. For instance, I thought about writing this post yesterday evening, but I've waited until right now (2:11 AM EST Thursday, March 7, 2002) to actually post.


I know that I need to work on changing the procrastination in my character. That's the easy part. Actually making the changes is more difficult.

I think I'll work on it later.

Rolling for Groceries

This past Sunday afternoon, I did something I never have done before. I went to Kroger to get some stuff for lunch, and as I walked in the store, I saw a wheelchair next to all the carts. My feet were a bit sore, so I thought, why not? I climbed into the wheelchair and put the basket to hold my groceries down and started off:

Honestly, it felt a little weird. It was so different, going around the store in the wheelchair. For one thing, I had to use my arms to move the wheels. It was also a bit strange as I interacted with other people, especially when they or I had to move out of the way to get where we were going. I was very tempted to ask for sympathy, but I didn't, thankfully.

When I finally paid for my groceries, I wheeled myself out of the store, into the parking lot, and up to my car. Then I got out of the wheelchair and walked it to where the other shopping carts were.

I was glad for the experience because I can better empathize with others who use wheelchairs.

Untitled - A Haiku

Love of life - zesty
Drifting away I'm
Warmed by the sunshine

Now, more than ever
I see all my weaknesses
In my fragile frame

A Good Deed

He fell into a daydream. The long line of cars on the highway looked like spaghetti noodles. One lonely cloud rested in the sky, on this mid-summer night. He drove along with the top down, and the summer breeze blowing his shoulder-length hair back.

He turned on the radio and heard "...a love that drips/ like honey/ sticky sweet...". And just then he spotted a disabled vehicle on the side of the highway. A woman was standing beside it waving a white handkerchief. He immediately pulled over and asked what he could do to help.

Several minutes later, he lowered the hood of her car, opened the door for her to climb back in, and asked her for her phone number.

Delighted that she was no longer held captive, she said "I'll tell you what, handsome follow me to the truck stop at the next exit. We can have lunch together."

He agreed and hopped back into his convertible. He turned his radio on and heard U2 singing "...that was the day before love came to town..." He sped off toward the next exit.

Icy Wind

Last night he drove down Main Street several miles. He made a brief stop at the pony keg for a 12-pack of beer. The winter air was so cold that as he breathed, he could feel the chill in his chest. It felt like the same chill he usually gets from eating ice cream too fast.

Back in the car, he drove several more miles, barely able to see anything. Snow fell horizontally, carried along by the heavy, icy wind. Other than the white flakes pelting his car, he could only see the flashing tailights of the cars ahead of him.

Traffic was at a slow crawl, since most were not used to driving in this weather. After all, this was only the third time this winter that a snow storm like this came there way. He could not help thinking about his vacation last summer, when he fell in love once more...

Understanding Written Communication

I was inspired to write this as a result of a conversation Jennie and I had with our friend DB. She received something in an email from another friend of ours, and what it contained seemed to disturb her.

Written communication can be difficult to understand. Since I read words that have already been spoken, I only have that evidence to go on in order to understand the writer's message. More exists than simply the written text. As a reader, I must consider the following:

What is the main theme?
What are the main points?
What is the writer's tone?
What can I get from the author's choice of words?
What about the writer's style?
What bias do I bring as I read?
What is the mood of the piece?
What mood do I bring as I read?
If I know the writer, how is my relationship with him/her?

I propose that with what an author writes, he or she has put forth a challenge to potential readers:
Understand what I'm writing.

While some may consider that idea obvious, I believe it is important to examine more than simply the text an author has given us. To truly understand an author's message, therefore, we must take an active role as we read.

I Am The Flag

This website is awesome!!! To get the most out of it, turn up your speakers, and click the link above. It has some pretty cool pictures, including an ice sculpture of a fireman holding on to the flag.

See for yourself.

6/8/2003 Update: I updated the link to I Am The Flag.