Whoo Boy. Looks like I picked a bad week to skip lunch for Lent! It seems every day this week I've had a late flight that would make me miss dinner which meant I would be flying in a hypoglycemic state.
Not a good idea with paying passengers on board. Thank God for "Balance Bars". Lots of protein!
So maybe I need to give up something else? I don't know. I do know that I have been praying more now that I'm thinking about it more. I do know that letting it growl a little longer instead of satisfying the desire has focused my attention on what I think about most...my stomach! I don't know if the last two years of dieting and keeping off the 30 pounds I lost has made me crave some of the old foods I...well...craved or if it is just the stress but I swear, if someone plopped down a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, hot from the store, I'd eat every last one of them and woe to the person who tried to stop me...you'd pull back a bloody stump!
I'll try something else to fast from next week. Maybe my weekly frou-frou coffee.
In other news...I'm being tempted to jump the Microsoft ship and go to Linspire. Linspire
Check out Chris Whitehead's blog from the sidebar...he's the one who's been tempting me with Linspire.
That's all for today...
Eric
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
Shades of Catholicism....
...or if my Baptist friends could see me now!
About a year ago I catechised myself. That is, I went through the Westminister Shorter Catechism. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It reminded what I truly believe about the Bible and what I truly think is man's interpretation of the Bible and what I remember my Baptist upbringing alluding to the catechism as being "too Catholic"! Ha!
One of the funnies things I heard was Mike Warnke's tape on being raised Baptist then going to a Catholic foster home. (I know...Warnke's a fraud but he was still funny!) He poked fun not only at Catholics but anal-retentive Baptists. For so long I looked down at Catholics, seeing them as fallen so far away from what Christ wanted for the church. From what Paul and Peter and James told us how Christians should live.
I'm finding that some of the things Catholics do aren't Mary-worshipping-mumbo-jumbo. I'm finding some fun in the Christian Year. I'm discovering new ways to see God in His word and His creation. I'm beginning to think that stain glass windows are the bomb! (Can you still say 'the bomb' or is that so 20th Century??)
Anyways, one of the things I'm am embarking on is going to be Lent. Giving up something for 40 days? No. Not just giving up something for 40 days. I'm going to use this time of Lent, between Ash Wednesday and Easter, to make some sacrifices to help me focus more on Christ. For me, I'm skipping lunch. I know, that's a standard thing but lately, I've been eating more, craving more food, wanting more and more to eat. I've put back on 7 pounds in the last 7 weeks. I don't like it.
But the fast is going to be more than a weight loss program. I intend, when the growlies start, to, at first, pray. A quick prayer for whatever pops into the old head. I hope to move on to reading a Psalm. My St. James Daily Devotional Guide for the Christian Year (http://www.touchstonemag.com/frpat.html) has two readings from Psalms every day. I usually read the morning one but forgo the evening Psalm. I intend to read that evening Psalm when the growlies come.
So that's my plan. Maybe God and I will re-connect on a different level. Maybe He can cut through some of my anger. Maybe He can cut through some of my despair. Maybe He's the light at the end of the tunnel instead of the train I think is coming down the tracks, aiming right for me.
That's my plan...and you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men...I think James had something to say about that!
Eric
About a year ago I catechised myself. That is, I went through the Westminister Shorter Catechism. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It reminded what I truly believe about the Bible and what I truly think is man's interpretation of the Bible and what I remember my Baptist upbringing alluding to the catechism as being "too Catholic"! Ha!
One of the funnies things I heard was Mike Warnke's tape on being raised Baptist then going to a Catholic foster home. (I know...Warnke's a fraud but he was still funny!) He poked fun not only at Catholics but anal-retentive Baptists. For so long I looked down at Catholics, seeing them as fallen so far away from what Christ wanted for the church. From what Paul and Peter and James told us how Christians should live.
I'm finding that some of the things Catholics do aren't Mary-worshipping-mumbo-jumbo. I'm finding some fun in the Christian Year. I'm discovering new ways to see God in His word and His creation. I'm beginning to think that stain glass windows are the bomb! (Can you still say 'the bomb' or is that so 20th Century??)
Anyways, one of the things I'm am embarking on is going to be Lent. Giving up something for 40 days? No. Not just giving up something for 40 days. I'm going to use this time of Lent, between Ash Wednesday and Easter, to make some sacrifices to help me focus more on Christ. For me, I'm skipping lunch. I know, that's a standard thing but lately, I've been eating more, craving more food, wanting more and more to eat. I've put back on 7 pounds in the last 7 weeks. I don't like it.
But the fast is going to be more than a weight loss program. I intend, when the growlies start, to, at first, pray. A quick prayer for whatever pops into the old head. I hope to move on to reading a Psalm. My St. James Daily Devotional Guide for the Christian Year (http://www.touchstonemag.com/frpat.html) has two readings from Psalms every day. I usually read the morning one but forgo the evening Psalm. I intend to read that evening Psalm when the growlies come.
So that's my plan. Maybe God and I will re-connect on a different level. Maybe He can cut through some of my anger. Maybe He can cut through some of my despair. Maybe He's the light at the end of the tunnel instead of the train I think is coming down the tracks, aiming right for me.
That's my plan...and you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men...I think James had something to say about that!
Eric
Friday, February 24, 2006
Take NBC out of The Olympics!
The Winter Olympics....
I used to love the Winter Olympics; much more than I liked the Summer Games. I think it has to do with the fact that when I was 10, my family lived in England and we got the chance to travel to Innsbruck, Austria just after the winter games had been held there. We got to see the ski jump, the ice rinks, bobsled track among other things. We saw where Franz Klammer went like a bat-out-of-hell in the men's downhill, looking like he was out of control, arms flailing, only to win the gold medal. Being there was made what we saw on television more real.
And I looked forward to watching the games on TV. From Lake Placid to Salt Lake City. But something happened along the way. The games were still good but the coverage began to take on a life of its own. No longer were announcers willing to let the athletes actions speak for themselves, no, we had to hear every nauseating tidbit of inane and arcane information about not only the athlete but the snow, who made the poles, what the fabric of their uniforms was made of, how Chinese and Russian judges were biased, how the Jamaican bobsled team got to the games (great story but I've heard it already and seen the movie with John Candy. No need to rehash it every four years!)
It seems almost as if the talking heads don't hear themselves in their earbuds then the games have no meaning. Come on! If I wanted to hear Katie Couric or Matt Lauer blather on I'd watch "The Today Show" instead of "CBS This Morning"! What I want to see is, during the time I'm awake (ie: before 11pm!), the highlights of the day. If I want to see curling on MSNBC (which I did on Thursday sitting at SkyTrek in Modesto!), I'll Tivo it or take the necessary arrangements to record it.
I guess what bugs me the most is the games have become more about NBC's coverage than of the games themselves. Who cares who announces? Who cares that Katie Couric got taught to ski by Pikabo Street? I want to see Bode Miller! I want to see Sarah what's-her-name! I want to see the US Curling Team for crying out loud!
I really wish FoxSports would get a crack at the games sometime in the future. That'll the ultimate in network over-indulgence!
Eric
I used to love the Winter Olympics; much more than I liked the Summer Games. I think it has to do with the fact that when I was 10, my family lived in England and we got the chance to travel to Innsbruck, Austria just after the winter games had been held there. We got to see the ski jump, the ice rinks, bobsled track among other things. We saw where Franz Klammer went like a bat-out-of-hell in the men's downhill, looking like he was out of control, arms flailing, only to win the gold medal. Being there was made what we saw on television more real.
And I looked forward to watching the games on TV. From Lake Placid to Salt Lake City. But something happened along the way. The games were still good but the coverage began to take on a life of its own. No longer were announcers willing to let the athletes actions speak for themselves, no, we had to hear every nauseating tidbit of inane and arcane information about not only the athlete but the snow, who made the poles, what the fabric of their uniforms was made of, how Chinese and Russian judges were biased, how the Jamaican bobsled team got to the games (great story but I've heard it already and seen the movie with John Candy. No need to rehash it every four years!)
It seems almost as if the talking heads don't hear themselves in their earbuds then the games have no meaning. Come on! If I wanted to hear Katie Couric or Matt Lauer blather on I'd watch "The Today Show" instead of "CBS This Morning"! What I want to see is, during the time I'm awake (ie: before 11pm!), the highlights of the day. If I want to see curling on MSNBC (which I did on Thursday sitting at SkyTrek in Modesto!), I'll Tivo it or take the necessary arrangements to record it.
I guess what bugs me the most is the games have become more about NBC's coverage than of the games themselves. Who cares who announces? Who cares that Katie Couric got taught to ski by Pikabo Street? I want to see Bode Miller! I want to see Sarah what's-her-name! I want to see the US Curling Team for crying out loud!
I really wish FoxSports would get a crack at the games sometime in the future. That'll the ultimate in network over-indulgence!
Eric
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Friday, February 17, 2006
Cheney's Fury!
I've been a bit blue this week...planes not working...body not working...eh.
But this...(HT to BHT)...this made me laugh!
Cheney's Fury!
Boy...did it make me laugh!
Hey boys and girls...accidents do happen. They are not always conspiracies. Not everybody has to know right away what happened. Stuff happens. Sometimes you loose an Olympic Silver medal. Sometimes you shoot a political contributor. (Hey...he was a lawyer for cryin' out loud...he probably had it coming!) (j/k).
Eric
But this...(HT to BHT)...this made me laugh!
Cheney's Fury!
Boy...did it make me laugh!
Hey boys and girls...accidents do happen. They are not always conspiracies. Not everybody has to know right away what happened. Stuff happens. Sometimes you loose an Olympic Silver medal. Sometimes you shoot a political contributor. (Hey...he was a lawyer for cryin' out loud...he probably had it coming!) (j/k).
Eric
Monday, February 13, 2006
"Gonorhea on Valentines Day (VD)"
"...and you're still lookin' for the perfect lay..." - Larry Norman, "Why Don't You Look Into Jesus (He's Got The Answer)
Tomorrow's Valentine's Day and I still have to get cards for the wife and kids. Why? Cause they got me one that's why. VD doesn't have the same appeal it did when I was dating and courting my wife. Now it's just another day to spend money I don't have. You see, my daughter's bday is Nov 30, son's is Dec. 11, then Xmas, then Sister's bday Dec 29. Dad's is Jan 6 and wife's is Jan 16. By Feb 14...I'm broke!
But I'll still do the card and candy thing because that's what I have to do. The kids will be upset if I don't and the wife, even though she says she doesn't want anything she still likes the card and flowers. Tells her I still love her and don't take her for granted.
Eric
Tomorrow's Valentine's Day and I still have to get cards for the wife and kids. Why? Cause they got me one that's why. VD doesn't have the same appeal it did when I was dating and courting my wife. Now it's just another day to spend money I don't have. You see, my daughter's bday is Nov 30, son's is Dec. 11, then Xmas, then Sister's bday Dec 29. Dad's is Jan 6 and wife's is Jan 16. By Feb 14...I'm broke!
But I'll still do the card and candy thing because that's what I have to do. The kids will be upset if I don't and the wife, even though she says she doesn't want anything she still likes the card and flowers. Tells her I still love her and don't take her for granted.
Eric
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Japanese Name
What's yours? (Buchner probably knows hers...she's livin' the dream in Japan!)
Mine is: 藤原 Fujiwara (wisteria fields) 駿 Shun (fast person)
So...I a field of fast flowers...interesting. You can find yours at: Japanese Name Generator
Now...I don't know how accurate this is but it is interesting. I have had a fascination with things oriental/asian for quite some time. I study a chinese martial art. One of my favorite series is a Japanese Anime; "Cowboy Bebop". My newest favorite series is "Firefly" which includes many chinese words and phrases. So much am I into "Firefly" that I uttered the word "gorram" the other day while I was flying!
Anyways...just some fun for the weekend.
Eric
Mine is: 藤原 Fujiwara (wisteria fields) 駿 Shun (fast person)
So...I a field of fast flowers...interesting. You can find yours at: Japanese Name Generator
Now...I don't know how accurate this is but it is interesting. I have had a fascination with things oriental/asian for quite some time. I study a chinese martial art. One of my favorite series is a Japanese Anime; "Cowboy Bebop". My newest favorite series is "Firefly" which includes many chinese words and phrases. So much am I into "Firefly" that I uttered the word "gorram" the other day while I was flying!
Anyways...just some fun for the weekend.
Eric
Sunday, January 29, 2006
A Bit Personal
Don't want to go into much detail but suffice it to say...I'm going to upset the apple cart in my family.
I have to tell my parents that I'm an adult now and I don't appreciate the negative vibes regarding my life and the way my wife and I are raising our kids.
Mom says some hurtful things. I don't think she really means it but I also don't think she understands how hurtful the things she says are.
Pray for me, mom and dad, my siblings and my wife and kids.
This ain't gonna be fun.
Eric
I have to tell my parents that I'm an adult now and I don't appreciate the negative vibes regarding my life and the way my wife and I are raising our kids.
Mom says some hurtful things. I don't think she really means it but I also don't think she understands how hurtful the things she says are.
Pray for me, mom and dad, my siblings and my wife and kids.
This ain't gonna be fun.
Eric
Friday, January 27, 2006
Speeding Up Firefox
I know I said my next post would be a bit personal but I ran across some computer/internet geek stuff! HT to BHT! I was skeptical but tried it anyways and it works. If you're not using Firefox (and why not???) this speeds up loading of web pages.
Try it!
Speed Up FireFox
If you haven't seen it yet, Call for Help is back on G4 Tech TV here in
America. Leo Laporte is back hosting the show along with Amber MacArthur.
Browing the show notes one evening over Christmas I found the following on
how to speed up firefox. I tried the following and it definitely works -
I've noticed a good deal of increased speed after doing this.
Link: G4techTV.ca > Call for Help > Extreme Tips: Speed Up FireFox.
To jump start the speed of Firefox ability to load pages faster, check out
these settings edits.
First, type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. You'll see a
bunch of settings.
Scroll down and look for the following entries:
network.http.pipelining
network.http.proxy.pipelining
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests
Normally the browser will make one request to a Web page at a time.
When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds
up page loading. Next, alter the entries as follows:
Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true" by right clicking on it and choosing
"Toggle".
Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true" Set
"network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30.
This means it will make 30 requests at once.
Lastly right-click anywhere and select New -> Integer. Name it
"nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the
amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives.
If you're using a broadband connection you'll load pages much faster now!
That's all...
Eric
Try it!
Speed Up FireFox
If you haven't seen it yet, Call for Help is back on G4 Tech TV here in
America. Leo Laporte is back hosting the show along with Amber MacArthur.
Browing the show notes one evening over Christmas I found the following on
how to speed up firefox. I tried the following and it definitely works -
I've noticed a good deal of increased speed after doing this.
Link: G4techTV.ca > Call for Help > Extreme Tips: Speed Up FireFox.
To jump start the speed of Firefox ability to load pages faster, check out
these settings edits.
First, type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. You'll see a
bunch of settings.
Scroll down and look for the following entries:
network.http.pipelining
network.http.proxy.pipelining
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests
Normally the browser will make one request to a Web page at a time.
When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds
up page loading. Next, alter the entries as follows:
Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true" by right clicking on it and choosing
"Toggle".
Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true" Set
"network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30.
This means it will make 30 requests at once.
Lastly right-click anywhere and select New -> Integer. Name it
"nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the
amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives.
If you're using a broadband connection you'll load pages much faster now!
That's all...
Eric
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