Blogs are amazing. Some blogs clue you in to ever so helpful information as to what type of food the blogger ate today and whether or not they walked their dog. You might also get stunning insights into their favorite color as well if you are lucky and check back often. Other blogs are much deeper and tap into spiritual, philosophical or even political musings. And then you come upon a blog ever so rare as to wonder what the person behind the keyboard is actually like. I encounted one of the blogs last week and have been going back regularly ever since.
The name of the blog? DOS. Now some of you may have never heard of DOS, and thats ok. Our wonderful friend, who we will call Marvin henceforth (I hate to genderize a person but I think it is pretty safe to assume that this writer is a male), has provided us a wonderful synopsis of DOS as his first post. And the posts just get better and better from there.
The question that comes to my mind is whether Marvin is pulling our leg, or is he really and truly this cool? This is a guy I'd like to go out with on a Friday night, as I'm sure a majority of my female readers would too and perhaps fight me for that very right. I mean, it is hard to keep up with M-Dawg because he always informing us of some new and unheard of feature in DOS. Simply incredible!
That's it for today. I just wanted to pay tribute to a truly awe inspiring blog. I am not nearly as worthy of my piece of internet real estate as Marvin has proven himself to be in just a week's worth of writing. Keep up the good work my comrade!
10.31.2005
10.29.2005
Three Days and then let the Greetings Ring!
Less then three days away till November 1st. I think we all know what that means! Actually, I don't think that most of you do besides a few of my closest friends who have had to share in Christmas music bliss nearly a month longer then they'd like. You see, on November 1st, its Christmas season! Or at least in my mind it is!
For years I've struggled come the end of October to hold off to listening to my favorite genre of music. I believe it happened sometime in college that my roommates finally agreed upon November 1st being an acceptable day to start listening to Christmas music. And so each year I eagerly await the moment where I can blast Noel and We Three Kings from my computer. Just this morning I had to restrain from the urge of queuing up iTunes and blasting away a little Mannheim Steamroller.
One of the reasons I love Christmas music is because of a very special band, Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Before I came into contact with TSO I was of the illusion that Christmas music had to be very sweet and melodic. Boy was I ever wrong! Noel sounds amazing to the tune of several rock guitars! Wow! This year, for the second year in a row, I will be attending their holiday concert and I am prepared to jam the holidays into existence once more!
So Merry Christmas everyone! And don't listen to those naysayers who would lead you to believe that we must wait till after Thanksgiving. Its just not right!
For years I've struggled come the end of October to hold off to listening to my favorite genre of music. I believe it happened sometime in college that my roommates finally agreed upon November 1st being an acceptable day to start listening to Christmas music. And so each year I eagerly await the moment where I can blast Noel and We Three Kings from my computer. Just this morning I had to restrain from the urge of queuing up iTunes and blasting away a little Mannheim Steamroller.
One of the reasons I love Christmas music is because of a very special band, Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Before I came into contact with TSO I was of the illusion that Christmas music had to be very sweet and melodic. Boy was I ever wrong! Noel sounds amazing to the tune of several rock guitars! Wow! This year, for the second year in a row, I will be attending their holiday concert and I am prepared to jam the holidays into existence once more!
So Merry Christmas everyone! And don't listen to those naysayers who would lead you to believe that we must wait till after Thanksgiving. Its just not right!
10.22.2005
Say No to Castes
I like people. I also like people who like people.
My friend Peter and I always like to talk about group dynamics. We love to watch people and how they interact, and especially the groups we interact daily in. Needless to say this created endless conversations while we were in Japan in relation to our fellow AETs and also in our relation to the Japanese, and the Japanese amongst themselves.
Friday night was an interesting study into groups. Eight of us found ourselves at Pei Wei for an evening of good eating and good entertainment (Dum-Dum Head and Chairman Mao). The thing that made the evening interesting though was that the group consisted of eight people who normally don't hang out together. We came from multiple walks in our church. Sure we shared the same faith, and we were all middle-class single twenty-somethings, but beyond that we were as diverse as it comes: athletic and non-athletic, engineers to waiters, popular and unpopular, beautiful and average looking.
As I was going over the night in my head as I laid in bed, I cannot imagine the night without any one of those people. The uniqueness of the group was what made the evening work, and without any one of those people, it would not have been as enjoyable. Add another person, and the whole situation could have been quite different. Subtract a person and again the evening would have turned out differently.
I'm not sure I really have a point tonight. But I do enjoy being in a group with no agendas, no social jockeying, just plain enjoyment of one another's company. That's why I like people. That's why I like people who like people.
My friend Peter and I always like to talk about group dynamics. We love to watch people and how they interact, and especially the groups we interact daily in. Needless to say this created endless conversations while we were in Japan in relation to our fellow AETs and also in our relation to the Japanese, and the Japanese amongst themselves.
Friday night was an interesting study into groups. Eight of us found ourselves at Pei Wei for an evening of good eating and good entertainment (Dum-Dum Head and Chairman Mao). The thing that made the evening interesting though was that the group consisted of eight people who normally don't hang out together. We came from multiple walks in our church. Sure we shared the same faith, and we were all middle-class single twenty-somethings, but beyond that we were as diverse as it comes: athletic and non-athletic, engineers to waiters, popular and unpopular, beautiful and average looking.
As I was going over the night in my head as I laid in bed, I cannot imagine the night without any one of those people. The uniqueness of the group was what made the evening work, and without any one of those people, it would not have been as enjoyable. Add another person, and the whole situation could have been quite different. Subtract a person and again the evening would have turned out differently.
I'm not sure I really have a point tonight. But I do enjoy being in a group with no agendas, no social jockeying, just plain enjoyment of one another's company. That's why I like people. That's why I like people who like people.
10.16.2005
This World is Not My Home
The year 2005 has been a very nomadic year for me. I have lived, or rather stayed, in four places this year. I started out the year at Dimaggio's abode, moved to Japan at the beginning of April, and returned home late July. Now, on the eve of my return into perhaps a more stable life, I find myself at Matt Gambill's place for the time being.
My point being is that I have not been in one place long enough to become completely familiar with my surroundings or settle down. I have more or less learned to be mobile and roll with the punches, however they might fall. Yet, during the course of it all, God has provided for me whether it be with help on air fares, income from Japan, or someone providing me a place to stay until I got back on my feet.
It makes me think of a verse in the Bible that goes "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." What must have it been like to be Jesus? Undoubtedly he had no health insurance, no retirement plan, and no monthly income. Shoot, he perhaps didn't even know where his next meal would come from! But he always knew that his father provided for the birds and the lilies of the ground, so surely God would provide for him.
Jesus knew his time on this earth was short. He knew that this world was not his home and that he was just a passing through, if you will. And I think its important to live like that as well. I'm sure over the next few months and years my material possessions will once again pile up and I may one day have a dresser and bookshelf to put my clothes and books on. And over time I will have more gadgets and trinkets then I need. But I hope that as life stabilizes once again for me, as I save for retirement and have health coverage, as I look towards buying a house, I will remember that this world is not my home.
After all, I'm just a passing through.
My point being is that I have not been in one place long enough to become completely familiar with my surroundings or settle down. I have more or less learned to be mobile and roll with the punches, however they might fall. Yet, during the course of it all, God has provided for me whether it be with help on air fares, income from Japan, or someone providing me a place to stay until I got back on my feet.
It makes me think of a verse in the Bible that goes "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." What must have it been like to be Jesus? Undoubtedly he had no health insurance, no retirement plan, and no monthly income. Shoot, he perhaps didn't even know where his next meal would come from! But he always knew that his father provided for the birds and the lilies of the ground, so surely God would provide for him.
Jesus knew his time on this earth was short. He knew that this world was not his home and that he was just a passing through, if you will. And I think its important to live like that as well. I'm sure over the next few months and years my material possessions will once again pile up and I may one day have a dresser and bookshelf to put my clothes and books on. And over time I will have more gadgets and trinkets then I need. But I hope that as life stabilizes once again for me, as I save for retirement and have health coverage, as I look towards buying a house, I will remember that this world is not my home.
After all, I'm just a passing through.
10.07.2005
History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
So I decided to combine what I thought were two distinct set of words in Google yesterday and see what the all-mighty search engine would spit out. I typed in "Sociology" and "Information Technology." Well lo and behold the coolest degree program in the world came out! There is actually a masters program called the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology! Concatenating those four words together just makes my cranium tingle!
For those nerdy enough to want to read more, here is a Wikipedia article that actually clued me in to what the degree is and where to acquire it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Science_and_Technology
I also am thinking about becoming a member of SHOT (Society for the History of Technology) which entitles me to the scholarly journal, Technology and Culture. That certainly promises to be a great read!
This is totally the program that I've been dreaming of! Now I can study the positive and negative ramifications of the Industrial Revolution, explore the Internet Boom, and find answers to whether or not technology is benefiting the world socially, economically, physically and even spiritually!
Anyways, how great is that? If your a nerd and you know it, clap your hands!
For those nerdy enough to want to read more, here is a Wikipedia article that actually clued me in to what the degree is and where to acquire it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Science_and_Technology
I also am thinking about becoming a member of SHOT (Society for the History of Technology) which entitles me to the scholarly journal, Technology and Culture. That certainly promises to be a great read!
This is totally the program that I've been dreaming of! Now I can study the positive and negative ramifications of the Industrial Revolution, explore the Internet Boom, and find answers to whether or not technology is benefiting the world socially, economically, physically and even spiritually!
Anyways, how great is that? If your a nerd and you know it, clap your hands!
10.06.2005
"Death Be Not Whatever"
Today's title is ripped from an episode of Joan of Arcadia, certainly one of the best television shows I've ever watched. And by the way, I need to take this opportunity to thank my dad for getting discs one and two from the library for me. Thanks dad!
Anyways, this particular episode dealt a lot with the issue of death, an issue that is continually on my mind whether or not I speak about it much. However, it made me realize some pretty cool things that frankly had not crossed my mind until watching this episode. Or perhaps that were there, but the show fleshed out those thoughts into a much more understandable picture. What I realized is that once we die, the events, troubles and concerns of this world are no longer relevant. When we die and go to be with God, we "get it." What I mean by that is we finally understand the mysteries, the things we didn't think were fair, and the heartaches we endured. Being with God illuminates the truth that He was trying to show us all along.
In, Joan of Arcadia God continually appears to her and in this particular episode she was frustrated with Him for all the pain that is in the world. Yet, being in the presence of Him, she began to realize that she did not understand everything and that somehow He does know what He is doing. Perhaps at times we feel so far removed from Him, even in the midst of prayer and reading His word, that if we can just imagine Him talking to us the words spoken in the Bible it might seem more real then perhaps the disembodied persona we sometimes fictiously create. In Joan God is never an apathetic, heartless God, He is simply just someone who is above our comprehension and all we can do is have faith and realize that He knows best.
If none of that made sense, tis ok. But really, if you ever get the chance, watch the show! It may not sit perfectly with your theology but that's ok, it drives home many important lessons in a medium that can connect with you like none other.
Anyways, this particular episode dealt a lot with the issue of death, an issue that is continually on my mind whether or not I speak about it much. However, it made me realize some pretty cool things that frankly had not crossed my mind until watching this episode. Or perhaps that were there, but the show fleshed out those thoughts into a much more understandable picture. What I realized is that once we die, the events, troubles and concerns of this world are no longer relevant. When we die and go to be with God, we "get it." What I mean by that is we finally understand the mysteries, the things we didn't think were fair, and the heartaches we endured. Being with God illuminates the truth that He was trying to show us all along.
In, Joan of Arcadia God continually appears to her and in this particular episode she was frustrated with Him for all the pain that is in the world. Yet, being in the presence of Him, she began to realize that she did not understand everything and that somehow He does know what He is doing. Perhaps at times we feel so far removed from Him, even in the midst of prayer and reading His word, that if we can just imagine Him talking to us the words spoken in the Bible it might seem more real then perhaps the disembodied persona we sometimes fictiously create. In Joan God is never an apathetic, heartless God, He is simply just someone who is above our comprehension and all we can do is have faith and realize that He knows best.
If none of that made sense, tis ok. But really, if you ever get the chance, watch the show! It may not sit perfectly with your theology but that's ok, it drives home many important lessons in a medium that can connect with you like none other.
10.01.2005
Don't Be Evil
Google is revolutionizing the world one step at a time. I love Google! Tonight, finally, I found a person who would test Google Talk with me, and boy is it ever amazing. The clarity of the conversation was better then my cell phone by far, and best of all its free. All it takes is a computer, an internet connection, and a Google account.
The problem is that it hasn't caught on quite yet. The majority of people are still using AIM, MSN, or ICQ. But people, its time to jump and make the switch. Its like being in a bad relationship and not knowing when to get out. If this was not an internet forum, I would gently take you aside and gently console you and then urge you its time to move on.
The huge advantage is that it could revolutionize long distance and international calling. No longer will you need to have either a cell phone or a special international calling plan, just both people have to be on at the same time. This of course in the long run could take out landlines and the telecommunications market as we know it. As my kids in Japan used to say, "Unbelievable!"
On another random note, does FaceBook scare anyone besides me? Maybe I just don't understand it. Just a random thought.
...and the Google revolution continues!
The problem is that it hasn't caught on quite yet. The majority of people are still using AIM, MSN, or ICQ. But people, its time to jump and make the switch. Its like being in a bad relationship and not knowing when to get out. If this was not an internet forum, I would gently take you aside and gently console you and then urge you its time to move on.
The huge advantage is that it could revolutionize long distance and international calling. No longer will you need to have either a cell phone or a special international calling plan, just both people have to be on at the same time. This of course in the long run could take out landlines and the telecommunications market as we know it. As my kids in Japan used to say, "Unbelievable!"
On another random note, does FaceBook scare anyone besides me? Maybe I just don't understand it. Just a random thought.
...and the Google revolution continues!
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