Set It Off

SIO Comment Archives

2007-01-02T19:09:00.000-05:00

Welcome to ancient SIO history! Please be advised that this is no longer the active location of Set It Off, but rather only a means by which to read the old comments without the painstaking if not completely impossible effort of getting Haloscan comments transferred to Wordpress. Enjoy and check out SIO if you got here via the randomizer button.

Patience

2005-04-04T18:50:00.000-04:00

I have once again switched servers, so the link is down temporarily pending the new DNS resolution! We have almost arrived, people. The new link will be:

http://sio.jameswlanning.com/

Please update all bookmarks, page links, and Cool-o-meters accordingly. If it says "coming soon" yet, that means the DNS has not yet resolved, but will shortly (I hope).

SIO has moved!

2005-04-04T13:44:00.000-04:00

Well the domain resolved quickly (it can sometimes take up to 2 days), so SIO has officially moved! Please adjust all your bookmarks, pagelinks, and Cool-o-meters to www.jameswlanning.com. Please keep up to date at your local bookseller for my upcoming title, "I Kissed Blogger and Haloscan Goodbye". Huzzah!

Big Changes Ahead

2005-04-04T03:55:00.000-04:00

Just to give you all a heads-up on what's going on, I'm working on porting SIO to a new server and a new format. Why? Mainly because I don't want to have to depend on Blogger for my archives/posting and Haloscan for my comments (hundreds of which have already been lost forever). I was going to be moving this eventually anyway, and I'd like to get this web log into MySQL as soon as possible. As soon as I can get the domain name registered (jameswlanning.com), I will not be posting here any longer. In the meantime I will post some odds and ends, but SIO is in a slightly dormant state until I get the DNS resolved. Smell the excitement!

God vs. Man

2005-04-02T17:41:00.000-05:00

Today saw the passing of Pope John Paul II, doubtless one of the domiant global figures of the 20th Century. From what I've read about him, he was a remarkable individual in terms of strength and character, as well as knowledge and piety.

Many in Reformed circles believe the office of the Pope to be *the* Antichrist of the Bible. As I've stated in earlier posts, I do not believe this is true. There are serveral things we can say about it from the Bible, however. It is a position of great idolatry, in that the Pope claims to be inerrant. He is the leader of a theology that worships beings other than God, and believes in salvation by good works. And those are just the most glaring of many ideas and practices that have no basis in Scripture whatsoever.

It's been an ongoing debate in my household if Roman Catholic people are unbelievers, or just christians in great error. I believe many Roman Catholics to be true believers, quite possibly the late Pope as well. My philosophy in this area is one of unity over minutia; if I can find a man with a genuine faith in the saving work of Jesus, I'm not going to cast him out into the darkness for not being a Calvinist. This is part of the balancing act that was mentioned before; and as we all know, balance is the key to life.

Moving Forward

2005-04-02T05:44:00.000-05:00

Realizing that SIO's former music setup was somewhat ghetto, I am pleased to announce that we have installed a new music player! You no doubt have already noticed it, as it has been placed in a more easily-accessible location on the sidebar. This one uses Flash rather than a raw embedded javascript, so it is not only more universal but way cooler-looking. It also plays continuously, rather than just one song per page load. Some other changes with the new technology: it's not random, so it will whatever is on autoplay first, then proceed down the playlist.

Even better news: I have discovered that I have 500mb of space at my disposal for songs. This means I am now taking requests for the SIO playlist (all requests subject to the minute scrutiny of the SIO Library Control System). Sadly this means we must do away with the Music Randomizer button. It will be missed. In the meantime, enjoy the music, and let's have some requests. If they're good enough, I'll make them autoplay.

Journal Excerpts

2005-04-01T18:36:00.000-05:00

Thursday, July 1, 2004
Berlin, DEU

"I felt like being a toughguy today and grabbed a piece of bread away from a street pigeon. I felt bad about that. Street pigeons have a rough life." James

Report from Lanning Labs

2005-03-31T15:28:00.000-05:00

Many long-time readers of SIO will remember that last september I switched my email service from Hotmail to Google's new service, Gmail (which is still in beta, for some reason). I promised back then to give a report on the service, and I am happy to say that I've used it long enough to offer some insight on the matter.

Now, as I figure it, most of us use email. Probably free email, or email that is somehow related to a website with paid hosting. There are still those AOL types out there, but if you ask me AOL is now a dinosaur. Anyways, for those of you in the free web email scene, Gmail is your best bet. It's fast, clean, simple, and yet complex. Its organizational capability is unmatched. Multiple replies get stacked together as conversations, and your sent email is also included. You don't put email into folders, you put labels on them which you use to sort stuff out. A star can also be put on important mail so it doesn't get lost in the pile. You never have to delete anything because you've got a gigabyte of space (recently Yahoo upgraded their offer from like 2 meg to 1 gig... I wonder why?). The address book is great, and you never actually have to open it because it shows you all the choices you have while you're typing.

So there you have it. Switch now. Oh, and if anybody needs an invite let me know. I have fifty invites to give out, or somesuch. Technology is moving forward. Are you being left behind? Oh, and for those who haven't noticed, I've changed SIO's site tracking service. I'm quite satisfied with the results. On an aesthetic note, this is now 2 posts in the same day. I think that is a record.

The Ultimate Price

2005-03-31T14:42:00.001-05:00

Wounded teen says shooter asked students if they believed in God. What would your answer be? This is what it all really comes down to, folks. There are christians in many parts of the world who face this kind of threat every day.

Brevity is the Order of the Day

2005-03-30T22:58:00.000-05:00

Casual dating. It's just no good.

Make Us Free

2005-03-28T17:31:00.000-05:00

Over breakfast at Mr. Burger, a friend explained to me how he felt about Reformed churches. "They're too concerned about doctrine!" he lamented. His position is basically this: the only thing we need to know as christians is what Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount. All this other stuff like Calvinism is way too boring and just divides the church. This is not the first time I've had a discussion with a "No Creed but Christ" type. To them, Systematic Theology is a dinosaur which snuffs out love and peace. The more ism-s you use when talking to them, the more disgusted they will become. Calvinism is something akin to National Socialism. I believe this is an infantile view of Christianity, and one which will never result in becoming more sanctified.

You cannot separate faith from knowledge. We are called in scripture to add knowledge to our faith (II Peter 1:5). In II Corinthians 8:7 we are encouraged to abound in all faith, utterance, knowledge, and love. I've recently been dealing with another group of people who can't seem to build their theology beyond the crucifixion of Christ. They might as well just cut John 3:16 out of the Bible, tape it on their refrigerators, and simply throw the rest away. Don't read this the wrong way: the saving work of Jesus Christ is the absolute foundation of Christianity; it has to be. However, the Bible tells us that our faith must grow.

Paul says this in his letter to the Hebrews, chapter 5:12-13: "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe."

The “first principles” spoken of here are the basics: the saving work of Jesus Christ and his authority over our lives as our Lord. The “new birth” analogy is so strong throughout the New Testament, and it is no less applicable here. Even as an infant becomes a child and eventually an adult as exemplified by food that is required for nourishment, so must we as Christians progress from the simplicities of the faith to the complexities.

The Corinthians were in this position when Paul wrote his first letter to them, and we read these words in chapter 3:2: "I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able."

The Christian life has two parts: Justification and Sanctification. Justification is the act of salvation that God performs in our lives for the sake of His only begotten Son. Sanctification is the process by which we as Christians become more holy; become more like Jesus, the only example of perfect holiness. It’s progressive; we must never be satisfied with how holy we have become. We must continue the march toward perfection.

So how do we become more sanctified? In John 17 is recorded a prayer which Jesus offered on behalf of his disciples. In it he prays, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” So we see that the study of Scripture is the key to progressing in our faith. It is our calling as Christians to search it within and without, and not to just stop at John 3:16 or the Sermon on the Mount and call it good. The real challenge for us as fallen human beings is to take what we learn, especially regarding unity and love among the brethren, and apply it.

SIO Health Awareness Notice

2005-03-28T12:33:00.000-05:00

The globally-aware staff of SIO would like once again to update everybody on the status of the dreaded Avian Flu, which is now threatening North Korea, a nation which has already been plagued by famine and other resource shortages. Futher bulletins as events warrant.

Crackling

2005-03-25T20:47:00.000-05:00

Here's something that's always bothered me somewhat about entertainment venues. First off, let me say that I like music. I even like loud rock music - not all of it, but enough to qualify for a place in the "likes loud rock music" category. When I go to a place to relax with friends and have a beer or what have you, I like to have some music in the background. The trouble is lots of places play their music so ridiculously loud as to negate all pretense of conversation or enjoyment of what's going on. This leads me to avoid most places altogether. If I were in charge of this music, I would recognize the fact that it is just simply bad business to play music so loud and I would cease and desist from it entirely. I also should say that earlier this week I mistakenly walked into the phenomenon known as Karaoke. Picture a guy in his late fourties trying to sing Axel Rose. It was that bad. Worse, probably. I can't remember.

Dudzcom

2005-03-15T01:00:00.001-05:00

So there was this guy and he was walking along one day and it was a really nice day and there was sun and stuff and he was walking and things were fun and he was happy and he was walking and whistling a tune and things were good and it was sunny and he was walking and he saw a ball point pen on the ground and thought 'well that's just my luck because I am in need of a ball point pen' and he was about to pick up the ball point pen on a sunny day and then the ball point pen ate him.

The Tough Questions

2005-03-12T23:59:00.000-05:00

Answer me this. Why do guys have nipple hair? I mean, let's be honest here, folks. It just doesn't make any sense, physiologically or grammatically. If you didn't want to think about that today, try this on for size. You may notice that I've not commented at all on the Michael Jackson... thing. Well, that's for a reason. You see, I really couldn't give a crap about Michael Jackson.

As a matter of fact, when it comes to things that really matter, I would say that Wubble would have to be at the top of my list. Don't know what that is, do you? Naturally. Speaking of caribbean cruises, I really want to do one of those some day. A really long one. The one problem is my parents made me watch A Night to Remember too many times as a child and I'm simply scarred for life.

Insert Important Issue Here

2005-03-07T19:25:00.000-05:00

Spring break is upon us; and for the third year I am not going anywhere. I got up today around noon or so and bummed about the house. That's probably how things are going to be going up until about Friday when my sister is getting married or somesuch, I'm not really sure. I think I'm a groomsman, too. I'll have to check on that.

Are you convinced about Bird Flu yet? Are you impressed that it's now called Avian Flu? Millions of southeast asian chickens are losing their lives as we speak in an effort to combat this deadly disease. I have completed the blueprints for a Bird Flu bunker beneath my house. I am also accepting donations to the building fund, and if you want safe haven when this horror hits the continent you'd better stay playing hardball with the Visa.

Bloodless

2005-02-25T00:40:00.000-05:00

We've been talking about war in International Relations class, and that's really my cup of tea. I've elected to do a research paper on technology and how it has effected and will affect war. I'm going to take it beyond the "Revolution in Military Affairs" to the fundamental concepts about war and its implications.

It's not hard to imagine, some time in the future, whole armies of missiles, drones, and attack robots. How would this change our concept of war? Would it make it easier? Would such wars come to a faster conclusion with less lives lost and less collateral damage done? Alternatively, will such armies ever be actually feasible, or simply the stuff of science fiction forever? Would having the power to kill but not be killed be too much of a responsibility to bear? These questions and more will be answered before it's all said and done. Stay tuned.

Think Again

2005-02-21T17:13:00.000-05:00

You thought it was over. You thought it was merely a distant yet fond memory. You were, as usual, completely wrong! SIO yet lives, to the chagrin of small rodents everywhere. While I'm not considering this a new era, I have lots of random, senseless, and egotistical things to say which well doubtless be said at some point. Doesn't that excite you?

There are some people out there that just don't get it. Like the people that get after you if you don't use proper punctuation and stuff like that in internet communications. Naturally, I'm all for what's proper and what's right. However, I do alot of typing on a day-to-day basis. I therefore believe it is my liberty to take shortcuts when engaging in non-essential and conversational typing. If this seems reprehensible to you, it's possible that you are in the same category of people that eat watermelon rinds and pee on the toilet seat with malicious intent. You don't want to be like them, do you?

Charades

2005-01-11T01:06:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed a lack of posts on SIO recently. We've been on something of a sabbatical lately. However, you can always count on at least one post a week, if not more. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

Today's big news was the beginning of the Winter Semester. Among the more interesting-looking classes I've got is Criminal Justice 101. Ah yes, 101. It hearkens back to the grand old year of 2001. 50 young, nervous freshmen all jammed into one tiny little room in Mackinac Hall (back in the day you'd never see more than 30... thanks to our ridiculous governor, GVSU has been forced to increase its class sizes). A boistrous female instructor, 5 years out of grad school and sporting a thick canadian accent with hints of Virginia, assures the class she is everybody's best buddy ol' pal and that we're going to have a hey-diddly-awesome term. After assuring the class we'd be getting out early, she takes 45 minutes to get through the syllabus - something quite new to everybody in the class except me (if I had a dollar for every syllabus I've had to look at, I could buy the freaking school). She then insists on doing the standard name-major-random stuff survey, and then, already 5 minutes overtime, tells everybody to sign the sign-up sheet before leaving. Imagine 50 freshmen in a small room simultaneously trying to pack up their stuff, hand in a paper, and look for the sign-up sheet. I almost saw these words on the whiteboard: Thanks for coming, and you only have 4 minutes to get to your next class which is in the next county (Au Sable county, to be precise). Welcome back, chumps.

Now I'm Free

2004-12-28T13:23:00.000-05:00

The Family has safely returned from visiting the relatives in the True North strong and free, otherwise known as Canada. An interesting note there is that when we visit Canada, we go straight east. All geographical puzzlahs aside, it was a good time. After participating in the fez-tivities (very old-school pun), I came back to find the world in chaos. That's pretty typical.

Today I have a job interview with a video surveillance company for an IS internship. This, folks, is the proverbial it. Further bulletins as events warrant.

Another IT Failure

2004-12-23T01:08:00.000-05:00

So I recently was offered an free upgrade to MusicMatch Jukebox 10, the latest version of my desktop audio player of choice. That's cool, I thought, since I've been using Jukebox since version 3. The library organization of MMJB is unmatched in my opinion and it is great for ripping, burning, and working with external devices. So I install everything and bam, it fails to start. It just quits half a second into the loading screen. At this point I seriously need my music; what am I going to do? I've tried using Media Player and Creative MediaSource Player, but they're so clunky and it's almost impossible to organize a large number of mp3s. Plus there's this weird database issue with Creative's stuff. My next step was to hit up www.winamp.com and get their latest version, WinAmp v5.07.

WinAmp is pretty cool so far. The media library is not nearly as clean-looking as MMJB, but the program as a whole works alot faster and the user interface looks super cool (plus there are hundreds of skins to download). It's also got good randomization ability (key for a library like mine). I haven't tried any ripping/burning, but I noticed it said there was a max of 2x rip speed (which is almost neanderthalic). Anyways, check it out if you haven't already. Thank goodness for Christmas Break, giving people like me time to worry about piddly little things like this.

Tangled in the Falling Vines

2004-12-15T03:10:00.000-05:00

A young person's life is full of uncertainty. Often, that can turn into all-out doubting. I think it's important for young people like me to remember that every aspect of our lives is controlled completely by God. For young adults, this applies more than anything to relationships. That's one special area of life where we tend to feel the strongest desires. My approach to it is to recognize that God knows my desires. He knows what I want, and why. Wanting to find a girlfriend/boyfriend and get married is great, but when you get impatient with God, it becomes coveting. As a christian, I think that desperation is a sign of unwillingness to submit to God's plan. We need to subject our will and desires to His, for that is our calling and the only path of true blessing. In the meantime, don't let love get you down, baby. It's going to be alright.

So what's the deal with Christmas?

2004-12-13T13:50:00.000-05:00

Consider this my official Christmas post. A buddy of mine and I talked about this the other night. A lot of people in my peer group have been born and raised observing and celebrating Christmas. I think it might be a Dutch/European thing. You sing sappy songs, you get a tree, you get gifts, you go to church on Christmas morning, and so on. There's lots of talk out there about how people are taking Jesus out of Christmas, and how it's becoming too commercialized. While that may be true, I think there are deeper issues here.

The Westminster Standards, embodying the doctrines of the historic Presbyterian church, are firmly against the observance of "special days". Why? Because they come directly from the Roman Catholic church, and more importantly they have no warrant in Scripture. In fact, the word "Christmas" comes directly from the Old English Cristes Maesse, which means the Mass of Christ. Thus, I believe there is no Christian or biblical history behind celebrating Christmas. I haven't quite gotten there yet, but I think there may be reason for Reformed Christians to not only set the celebration of Christmas aside, but also speak out about celebrating the day.

To elaborate more on the senselessness of the "Christmas season", let's talk about gift giving. I can't think of anything more fake. If people were truly generous and thinking about others, they would give gifts at any time during the year. When Christmas comes along, people feel obligated to give gifts, more often than not expecting something in return. Next up to bat is Santa Claus (sometimes known as "Satan Claus"). I shouldn't have to say much about this guy. His status as folklore is fine with me, but we have so many idiots these days teaching their kids that he is real. This is simply lying to your children, and the consequence is that a figure of folklore and fiction is blown way out of proper proportion in our culture. Then there's the Christmas tree. What is the point of that? Drag a freaking big plant into your house (unless you go for the boxed-up fake one) and pimp it out with all manner of lights and bobbles and other what-not. Why do you need to glorify this organism in your house? Senseless.

All that being said, we must not undercut the importance of the doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ. Our salvation is completely dependent on God becoming man and living on the Earth. It is the essential first step, as promised at the very first to Adam and Eve in Genesis. We as Christians should not need any special occaision to remember or celebrate this, though. Especially when such a day is to be found nowhere in the Bible. For those in other countries where Christmas is completely foreign, this whole season must seem like much ado about nothing - for in America these days, it truly is.

Flashback: 1995

2004-12-06T13:25:00.000-05:00

(This was the end of greatness.)

Dear Editor:

I will be stopping Calvin and Hobbes at the end of the year. This was not a recent or an easy decision, and I leave with some sadness. My interests have shifted however, and I believe I've done what I can do within the constraints of daily deadlines and small panels. I am eager to work at a more thoughtful pace, with fewer artistic compromises. I have not yet decided on future projects, but my relationship with Universal Press Syndicate will continue.That so many newspapers would carry Calvin and Hobbes is an honor I'll long be proud of, and I've greatly appreciated your support and indulgence over the last decade. Drawing this comic strip has been a privilege and a pleasure, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity.

Sincerely,
Bill Watterson

SIO Health Awareness Notice

2004-12-02T16:53:00.000-05:00

Today we have some shocking research to share with you. Apparently, smoking Marijuana (sometimes referred to as hemp, cannabis, weed, pot, dope, grass, or Mary Jane) is bad for your health. According to a recent study done in England, smoking Marijuana moderately increases your likelihood of developing psychosis later on in life. Here at SIO, we do not encourage substance abuse. Therefore, we recommend that all our readers abstain from smoking Marijuana and underage drinking, as both are equally illegal and unhealthy.

Be Afraid... or Not

2004-11-26T19:45:00.000-05:00

If you've been reading the news lately, it would seem that the world is crashing down around our heads. Or is it? Recently we heard that as much as 43% of the normal seaborne ice was unaccounted for. The cause? Global warming, of course! Or not... we now know the missing ice is due to cyclical arctic winds blowing ice in different places. Still there, doing its ice thing. Now we hear that there's going to be a Bird Flu pandemic which could kill as many as 7 million people! We have options here, natually. We can panic, write angsty music, perform random acts of vandalism, or maybe even realize that this 'news' is nothing more than fear mongering.

Stay with me, people, everything's going to be alright.

Muppets and Psychology

2004-11-23T15:06:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday afternoon around Paige's dinner table we were discussing some rather random topics, mostly involving childhood television shows. Much was said on the topic of Sesame Street and how lame it's gotten lately. Oscar the Grouch is happy now? What's up with that? How did freaking Elmo, with his atrocious grammar, become a superstar when much cooler characters like Frazzle and the yip-yip-yip Aliens are almost unheard of? This is the sort of nonsense up with which we should not put.

It was decided that of all the Sesame Street characters, Grover is most in need of psychiatric help. He's a total basket case. Telly is both overly co-dependent and paranoid. Cookie Monster is obsessive-compulsive, and Oscar is (or was, I suppose) chronically depressed. I'm not going anywhere near Ernie and Bert.

Kermit is king. Long live the King.

End of an Era

2004-11-15T16:45:00.000-05:00

Time like an ever-rolling stream bears all her microphones away. I think that's how the song goes. Either way, here at the tech desk we announce the retirement of my very first microphone. It is shown below on its last day of active duty, and the picture clearly shows its amazing on-off switch!

The Old Microphone, a gift from my old friend and arch-enemy Mark which saw service for nearly a decade, was quite a trooper. Powered by two AA batteries and fitted with a world-shattering on-off switch of great fame, the Old Microphone sat atop the monitor for years, anchored by old chewing gum. Eventually, chewing gum was needed to keep the y-axis rotater from rotating down. While we are all proud of its accomplishments, the growing communications necessities of Lanning Labs required a changing of the guard. We are all grateful to the devoted service provided by the Old Microphone, and trust that its legacy will live on for many years to come.

Philosophy is a Trap

2004-11-11T13:16:00.000-05:00

Last night I went to the campus of Calvin College to hear an address by William Lane Craig on the subject of Apologetics. I had high hopes for this because Apologetics (giving a defense of the faith) has always been a point of interest to me. What I heard made my skin crawl.

Dr. Craig is a very learned man. What he talked about, however, was not Apologetics but rather Philosophy and how great it is. One of his primary points, in fact, was that to really be an Apologist you need to get a doctorate! He actually said, "Get a doctorate." When asked to clarify this in terms of people who really had no reason at all to get a doctorate, he said "Then just get the terminal degree in that field.". I was thrown for a loop by this. He went on to say that the way to really influence culture was through the universities, and that the only way to influence the universities was for all the Christians to get doctorates and to learn all about philosophy and logic. This is ridiculous. The Bible plainly teaches that the best way for Christians to influence culture is to live Christocentric lives and to raise God-fearing families. Learning and education is all well and good, but the Bible puts it in its proper place when it says, "Hath not God made foolish the wisdom (philosophia in Greek) of this world?".

Dr. Craig made only a passing reference to living a Christian life. In fact, he spent about 80 of his 90 minutes expounding the glories of Philosophy and how we need to be into Analytic Philosophy as opposed to Continental Philosophy, dropping names left and right (Kant! Paley! Hume! Butler! blablabla!). The guy quoted maybe two scripture verses the whole time, and one of those was quoted back to me after I asked him how any of this academic stuff was relevant to, say, a new Christian in the Sudan who has no access to anything resembling a doctorate. How is that guy supposed to defend his faith? Or how are we supposed to defend our faith with philosophy and logic when we get asked questions like, "Hey, why don't you ever swear? Why do you work so hard? So why don't you come to the meetings on Sunday?". That is where Apologetics really comes into play. It's not some super-complicated theory of thought, it's being ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15).

Perhaps the most disturbing quote of the night from Dr. Craig was when he said, "God knows all truth". God knows all truth, Dr. Craig? The Bible says that God is truth. The distinction between these two statements is subtle but powerful, and it's more than just different words for the same thing. It's a good example of how thinking, reasoning, and philosophizing can become a god. Dr. Craig was insisting all night long that nothing was beyond our ability to know and prove through logic! Logic is our primary tool to discovering truth in this life, according to him. Well Dr. Craig, the truth is that our pathetic ability to use logic amounts to pure drivel in relation to God, and the only way we can know the truth in this life is to study his revealed will in Scripture while praying that our eyes be opened to it.

Into the Breech

2004-11-10T16:14:00.000-05:00

I'm about to leave to take an examination for which I am woefully underprepared. It feels kinda like that one Seinfeld epidsode where Kramer and Newman are low on gas while driving down the freeway, passing every exit seeing if they can make it to the next one. Dumb, but it's quite a thrill.

Interesting neighbor activities: my street (Paris Ave.), a half-block north of me, is solid liberal democrat territory. Just about every house on that part of the street had (and many still have) John Kerry signs up over the past election season. Well, on one of those houses, the John Kerry sign has mysteriously been replaced with a For Sale sign. This happened about the same time the Drudge Report noted that the Canadian Immigration website experienced a massive spike in hits immediately following the Nov. 2 elections. Mere coincidence, or mass exodus? If you're in the market for some prime Heritage Hill real estate, I might be able to hook you up with some numbers to call.

Musings

2004-11-07T22:20:00.000-05:00

If you've ever wondered why people on escalators walk up/down on them, you're in an elite group I like to call "decent people". What is the point, I ask you, of being on an escalator if you're just going to keep walking on it like it's any old stairway? To save yourself 10 seconds? Just relax! Take advantage of the service the escalator provides. If you're in such a rush, you probably a) have miscalculated your time schedule, b) are avoiding somebody you didn't want to see, or c) have stolen something. Neither of those are acceptable. Expert escalator riders such as myself agree that Rushers (defined above) should all be tied up with duct tape and made to wait patiently in one spot for 5 minutes or so. A small sacrifice in the name of decent people everywhere.

Help is on the way... out the door!

2004-11-03T14:32:00.000-05:00

John Kerry just gave his concession speech, and it was probably the best speech he's ever given. It probably was his last one of any consequence, as well. As everybody anticipated, Bush's re-election hinged on Florida and Ohio. He won them as I expected he would (which reminds me that Steve now owes me money). Bush's victory is an answer to many many prayers on the part of my familiy, friends, church, and myself. I thank God for the outcome, and I am fully satisfied that it is his will for this nation.

The party at Steve's was totally crazy-go-nuts, man! We were completely rocking it out with FOX News, Pepsi, and strange pieces of shrimp wrapped in Italian ham. I think FOX did a great job, and during commercials we'd make forays over to CNN and PMSNBC (a.k.a. MizNBC). Steve was glued to his laptop all night long, checking out county-by-county results and chatting with his lawyer buddies. An hour or so after Ohio was called for Bush, he started doing dramatic readings from liberal web logs - absolutely hilarious!

November Sky

2004-11-02T19:01:00.000-05:00

The dull grey sky hung low over his head as he walked down Logan Street, the dead leaves crunching under his boots. A subtle but cold wind wrapped itself around him on its way through Heritage Hill. His steady pace quickened imperceptibly as he turned the corner onto James Street. A flock of crows, perched on a church building, cackled disdainfully at all passersby, as if to say "Caw! Caw!". The beaten and faded campaign signs made their last stand in silence as he entered Allan Manor. He voted.

Random Fact of the Day

2004-10-29T01:05:00.000-04:00

Two animal rights protesters were protesting at the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn. Suddenly the pigs, all two thousand of them, escaped through a broken fence and stampeded, trampling the two helpless protesters to death.

The Number of a Man

2004-10-25T18:50:00.000-04:00

Recently, I've been revisiting some old ground in my christian walk: Eschatology (the study of Last Things). I had a brief discussion with a friend who has accepted the Premillenial view of these matters. Having studied this pillar of Systematic Theology intensively in the first few years of my christian walk, I made some basic points to her which I will reiterate here.

By way of background, shortly after I became a christian (about the time I was fifteen years old), I became involved with a group of young college students who had all recently been introduced to the Christian faith. Eschatology became a real point of conflict among us (we were virtually all a- and post-millennial, with the exception of one Baptist guy who ended up getting upset and departing from among us). This period of about 3 years gave me the opportunity to iron out what I believe the Bible teaches regarding the Last Things. Eventually, I found that debating the issue was absolutely fruitless and needlessly divisive. This does not detract from its importance to the Christian faith, however. We need to exercise moderation in how we prioritize it in relation to unity, harmony, and love for one another.

With my friend I focused on one of the primary Eschatological characters in scripture: the Beast! I believe the prophecies of the Beast in Revelation and the Man of Sin in 2nd Thessalonians refer to none other than Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, or just Nero for short. If you're interested in finding out why, read The Beast of Revelation Identified by Dr. Ken Gentry and The Mark of the Beast by Richard Anthony. Furthermore, most biblical prophecy has been fulfilled by Rome, focusing on the destruction of Jersusalem in A.D. 70 by Vespasian. This approach to biblical prophecy is known as Preterism, meaning "things that have past".

There exists a school of thought known as Hyper-preterism: the belief that ALL biblical prophecy was fulfilled in A.D. 70, including the Second Advent and the resurrection from the dead. Please be aware that this postition has always been regarded as a Big-H Heresy by Reformed Theology, and also by Paul the Apostle (2 Tim. 2:17-18). I have seen several close personal friends adopt this heretical view and leave the church as a result. Hyper-preterism pulls the christian faith to pieces (for information, refer to A Brief Theologcial Analysis of Hyper-Preterism by Dr. Gentry). However, extremist and orthodox preterists alike agree that Nero was indeed the Beast of Revelation.

These are difficult things to consider. The study of Eschatology can often be as seemingly murky and dark as the prophecies with which it deals. Ultimately, we need to ask ourselves, "How will this affect how I live my christian life today?" Out of it all, we need to discover how God can be glorified through us. There alone can blessing be found.

Goofballs

2004-10-24T23:49:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been noticing how many goofballs there are. Take, for instance, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm. Everybody knows she was elected for two reasons: she's a cute blonde, and Wayne County. And she's been making of lot of Michiganders mad, both dems and GOPers alike. Next up, we have Rob Schneider. I shouldn't have to say anything about that slimeball. Now that I mention that, most of Hollywood is worth adding to the Hall of Goofballitude.

I don't want to be depressing, though. There's good news out there. The sun is shining. The birds are chirping. My spaceheater is working. I also found the book I was looking for all week long. Huzzah!

It's Polltastic

2004-10-19T01:13:00.001-04:00

Yes folks, we've gone poll-crazy here at SIO. Can you count on them? No! Should you put any stock in them at all? No! Will the Red Sox win the Series? No! But I frankly don't care. Polls are fun to look at, much like those cool electric zappy-balls that make lightning when you touch them.

You've seen our link to electoral-vote.com. Well, there is more out there than that, my friends. The format he's got is great, but I don't want anybody to think that endorsing that site is an endorsement of John Kerry (if you happen to read what he writes from day to day it's pretty pathetic - but at least he's got good polling "standards"). Another Kerrycentric poll site is 2.004k.com. Maybe you don't like the idea of John Kerry winning the election. If that describes you, check out realclearpolitics.com and electionprojection.com. So what can you do with all this data? That's anybody's guess. At least you'll have a good picture of what a U.S. map looks like when some states are colored red and others are colored blue, with some light and dark shades in the mix. Beyond that, you're taking your chances. Life on the edge - SIO style.

Party!

2004-10-18T01:16:00.000-04:00

No plans for Election Night? Come on down to Steve Birn's apartment in beautiful downtown Grand Rapids! Everyone is welcome. That is most definitely where the craziest, wackiest, most grammatical party is going down on November 2. Regardless of Steve's plans to take over our church and turn it into a Jewish synagogue, he's nothing more than a loveable little fuzzball.

Are the presidential elections really as tremendously important as they seem to be? Or are they ridiculously overhyped and blown out of proportion? Sure, it's important, but I really don't think it's going to shatter my world completely if John Kerry is elected. I also don't think that all my problems will be instantly solved when George W. Bush is re-elected. If you're voting third party, you've already come to terms with losing, so what's all this fuss about? One really important issue that I can see is the appointment of U.S. Supreme Court justices. I'd much rather have Bush doing that than Kerry. But aside from that, I think that too many people are pinning all their electoral hopes on the President and not enough on where the vast majority of the government is: the House and Senate. Can you tell me who your senators are? Mine are Levin and Stabenow. Ew.

Extremes

2004-10-15T21:01:00.000-04:00

Rarely is it ever a comfortable temperature in my room. It's on a corner of the house with two big outside walls that are uninsulated. Thusly, in the summer it's buttcrack hot in here, and in the winter it's buttcrack cold. That reminds of how useful the word "buttcrack" is as an adjective. So I've got my trusty spaceheater going. The thing with the spaceheater is that it's quite extreme as well - get too close and you'll burn your toes. Regardless, it's all that stands between me and frozen-footdom.

I was thinking today about the minimum wage issue. John Kerry wants to raise it to seven bucks an hour during his presidency. Seems to me that's a really bad idea; what if employers can't afford that kind of cash, and have to lay off their unskilled labor as a result? I think that mimumum wage should be lower, actually. People should get paid what their work is worth. I realize that we need to keep people from being abused, but I really don't think that scrubbing toilets in a McDonald's is worth seven bones an hour.

The Seeds of Revolution

2004-10-12T13:29:00.000-04:00

Marriage has always been the foundation of society. Lately, we've been discussing "equal partner benefits" in Diversity class, as well as the proposed federal and state constitutional amendments defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. In private discussion, one of my groupmates (we'll call her "Sara") said today, "I'm already loving and committed to my boyfriend, so why should I get married?". My other groupmate ("Angela", for the sake of discussion) said, "I don't think you're right, and I don't want to think about this bull[poopie]". The outcome of these discussions has revealed what many of us already knew to be true: most americans have a highly degraded view of marriage. They see it as pointless and old-fashioned.

Marriage needs to be defended as an institution; an institution that puts responsibility on the shoulders of the man and the woman to stay together. Even this naked and neanderthalic conception of marriage is foreign to today's whiny, snot-nosed, liberal college types. Nevermind what the foundation of marriage should be. Their argument is that people change over time, and they should be able to change partners whenever they want. I say this is destructive, and history agrees with me.

Sara, the more contemplative and open-minded of my group, had this comment. "People back in the fifties, who stayed together alot more, had, like, stronger moral fiber than we have today". Sara couldn't bring herself to admit that we as a nation would do well to return to that strength of character; Angela couldn't be bothered to think about it. Poor mush-brained liberal.

Take it Easy

2004-10-06T02:05:00.000-04:00

Debate season is now fully engaged, and people's political veins have really begun to approach popping level. Tonite was the VP debate, with most people agreeing that VP Cheney held his own and got in a few good shots against Edwards. It was also agreed that Edwards' most potent weapon was the smile that was pasted on his grill the entire time.

Are you anxious about the elections? Do you feel like you're in the dark about what's going to happen on November the Second, 2004? You want to be informed about the elections. You want to see some data and some facts or something. Look no further than the Electoral Vote Predictor, featured for a limited time only in our OwnageLinks™ section. This is easily the most comprehensive compilation of election data, arranged in the now-infamous red state-blue state view. Here you can find past election history for each state, the latest polling data from across the country, and even political humor.

Disclaimer: Third-party candidate (read "little guys") enthusiasts may be disappointed by this website.

Chaos

2004-10-04T19:30:00.000-04:00

A long time ago, a friend of mine made a really cool bumpersticker. It said, in big white letters against a black background, "God's Law or Chaos". There is truth to this statement. All order in this world is ordained by God, and without him there is only disorder and chaos. This inevitably leads to destruction, and these are the trademarks of demonic activity.

I recently saw the M. Knight Shyamalan movied "Signs". An interesting part of the plot is that the lead character, a former clergyman, has renounced God and his existence. In his mind, man is on his own; a creepy line of his is "There's nobody looking out for us." What a hopeless thought. Where this true, life would be perfectly meaningless. There would be no laws. No order. No logic or rationality. The Bible teaches us that it is the goal of Satan and his agents to foster this exact form of denial of God. The results of their work are always destructive, often brutal, and sometimes even catastrophic.

We can see it, among many others, in the form of suicide by despairing individuals, terrorist attacks by worshippers of false gods, and genocide in the Sudan by some of the most brutal men ever born. What's behind all this? It goes deeper than just men. Our enemies are much more powerful than that.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12

Report from the Front

2004-09-29T18:24:00.000-04:00

Things are really beginning to heat up as we are now finishing the first month of the fall semester. Due to the nature of most of my classes, I have managed to dodge much of heat that most other students are feeling at this point. And I'm cool with that.

I have one suggestion for the aspiring college professor, however. Do not use scantron for a 4-question multiple choice quiz. Ever. Especially if the questions require lots of calculation, and uberespecially if you have a partial grading policy. We took such a quiz today in Accounting, and I got a question wrong (yes, it happens folks). So that means I get a 75% on the quiz. One wrong answer and I've got myself a nice big fat C. Lots of kids were complaining about making calculation errors, meaning they understood the question but just hit the wrong button on the calculator and the rest of the income statement was screwed. In fact, in this quiz, each question followed from the other, so goof up on number 1 and you're really really screwed. But the teacher doesn't see what you write. It's a monkey-loving scantron, dang it!

Deep Thoughts in the Early Morning

2004-09-24T01:46:00.000-04:00

Remember back when the zipper on every piece of clothing used to say "YKK" on it? That was weird, man. Like some kind of secret society or something.

I am now officially a registered voter. I'm not officially a member of a party though; they changed the process. Unfortunately it is now even more shady, since you are not allowed to split your vote between parties. Some long-time readers of SIO will recall my thoughs on our nation's electoral system. The fact is I've come to a new conclusion regarding it all. I really can't stick bull-headed to a position when it really isn't supported by anything but my own conjecture. So, I've decided that the morality/impact of me voting or not voting is essentially the same.

Additionally, I have decided that I can support George W. Bush for President. In consideration of his flaws and shortcomings, it is obvious to me that most men could not have done a better job in the office he's held for the last 4 years. No man is perfect, and I believe that Almighty God has prepared President Bush for the office of president and brought him to it for a reason. He is a man I can trust, and who has a saving faith in Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, I have no shame in going to the polls for him. So there you have it.

Change is good (sometimes)

2004-09-23T16:54:00.000-04:00

For those who did not receive my exclusive email regarding my change of email address, I have in fact changed my email address. It is now james.w.lanning@gmail.com. I am evaluating the service and I'll report on it in detail eventually. In the meantime, I'd like to generate some emails to try out the features Gmail offers. This is not to say that I don't receive dozens of emails from all my friends on a daily basis, to which I can rarely respond (except to only the most attractive and/or influential individuals). So, I encourage the sendage of emailitude! You will doubtless reap great benefits in the future, especially as SIO continues to climb in global popularity.

On another techinical note, I noticed that the link to Smack the Penguin died. Due to the overwhelming demand for the official SIO play-while-IMing game by chronic instant messaging types, a new link has been provided.

What is IT, anyways?

2004-09-22T20:44:00.000-04:00

Information Technology has only recently come to the forefront of the technology industry. With rapid and global advances in networking and communications, the exchange of data in one form or another has proliferated at phenomenal rates. The study, maintenance, development, and application of all this can be wrapped up loosely by the term "Information Technology".

Or, you could just call it computer stuff.

Needs No Introduction

2004-09-20T01:07:00.000-04:00

I was having a typically zany conversation with a buddy of mine Sunday night. And things took a turn for the strange.

Note that the gentleman in question remains completely anonymous due to image identity protection provided by myself.

Happy 500th!

2004-09-17T01:58:00.000-04:00

It's been another record-breaking night here at SIO! As you can see, SIO has crested the 500 unique hit plateau. Join with me in celebrating this milestone with a hearty round of "A Pirate's Life for Me". As part of the celebration for this event, I have made available our satisitical tracking information provided by Impressur.com. Just click on the counter! Incidentally, we've also just passed the 3000 mark in total hits. Thanks for reading, and keep your collective sticks on the ice.

Profundificationage Action

2004-09-17T01:01:00.000-04:00

Tonight I want to speak out about the widespread use of the term "homophobe" for any person opposed to homosexuality. It's a lame crack-back which people use to marginalize anybody that has a legitimate complaint about the sexual perverts we call homosexuals. There's nothing about homosexuality that I fear, or even misunderstand. Today we were talking about this in Diversity class, and I had to ask the teacher twice to clarify what she meant by "homophobic remarks":

Me: "What exactly do you mean by homophobic remarks?"
Teacher: "I mean things people say that are homophobic."
Me: "Do you mean people who are afraid of gay people?"
Teacher: "No, I'm talking about homophobic people."
Me: "So you mean people who make derogatory remarks about homosexuals?"
Teacher: "Yes."

As you can see, this misused term has become rather encrusted in the minds of so-called "diversity-aware" types. We really don't have any legitimate arguments against anything that we're opposed to, see, because we're just afraid. I think I will begin referring to gays as "heterophobes" from now on. I mean, why not? They're obviously just afraid of us.

I was reading Dave Barry today (note our new link to his N.Y. Daily News column), and I ran across a word which struck me as possibly being the funniest word ever. The word in question is "buttular". If we're going to be going around inventing words, we may as well be inventing words as funny and useful as buttular.

You Can't Trust the Polls

2004-09-14T19:14:00.000-04:00

It's true, ladies and gentlemen; polls have been proven often to be nothing more than fluff and twaddle, yet people today give them an inordinate amount of time and attention. Many people claim that polls are bent in whatever direction the news media decide to bend them, which ends up being mostly to the left. I agree with this, because it's obvious that the news media is dominated by liberals, and I also believe that nothing can be reported without some kind of bias (FOX News junkies, feel free to be deflated at this point).

So we should really just disregard polls entirely, right? Possibly. I do think that polls can serve a purpose in their own right. While they are terribly poor indicators of the true national situation and also what will be the national situation on election day, they do give something of a glimpse at possible trends. They also make lots and lots of political noise, something which is apparently a highly valued thing in the business.

The reason I bring all this up is that today a tiny little survey was taken of my U.S. Diversity class on the presidential candiates. About 65% to 75% of my class of 30 kids supported George Dubya Bush! This completely shocked me, to be honest. I would have expected more around 25% to 35% in favor of W, especially at my school, and especially in that class. I then came home to find that Gallup and USA Today polls confirmed this trend towards supporting the President. Personally, I think that after the debates this election will turn into a complete rout. There aren't enough completely stupid morons out there to elect John Kerry... or are there?

Recordsmash

2004-09-12T01:47:00.000-04:00

I would like to take a moment to thank everybody for the wealth of thought provided by the nearly 40 comments generated by the ring post. At least half of them were substantive, and the rest were at least entertaining. To bring the issue to something of a close, I have decided that, although it's a calculated risk, buying a ring on my own would be a risk worth taking.

Tonite, a good friend and I had a good and lengthy discussion with a young woman about many different things, mostly focusing on predestination, election, and God's sovereignty. She comes from an Arminian background, but she has been thinking about Calvinism and how it relates to the truth of scripture for a couple years now. In the end, my friend and I were simply able to share our own life experience with her without trying to jam it down her throat. And this part of the conversation struck me most; she said "Well, I also think that God is sovereign in all things." Immediately after this, it became apparent to her that "all things" also included Justification. This really exposed the contradictions of the Free Will doctrine, and she discovered it on her own, right there. In general, I find that sharing what I believe with anybody - even other Christians - is a wholly satisfying and uplifting experience.

Breaking News

2004-09-10T19:30:00.000-04:00

This just in: my oldest sister is engaged. Further bulletins as events warrant.

The Endless Persuit of Ownage

2004-09-09T01:45:00.000-04:00

Lanning Labs has been a busy place of late, researching everything from shades of green in hexadecimal to how Zippo lighter fluid and a Zippo can be used to clean dirt off a computer desk. The results have been most satisfying.

Prayer meeting at the Lannings' residence is back in full swing. It's always a great time of singing, reading, praying, and the kicking it 'til all hours of the night (or until Dad kicks everybody out). I had an interesting discussion with Maggie about couples and ring-shopping. She thinks that men should pick a ring out on their own in an effort to surprise the lucky lady. I find this to be foolish. Alternatively, the woman should find one she really wants, or at least give the man guidelines for what she's hoping for. This eliminates all manner of difficulties, not the least of which being the necessity on the man's part for mind-reading. But I hear from my married buddies that mind-reading, as a skill, comes in very handy in a marriage.

Week 1 Endeth

2004-09-06T01:12:00.000-04:00

And what a week it was! Plenty of action in the trenches, with an entire class getting lost somehow between Advanced Software Engineering and WAN Engineering. We're still investigating. Research is being done into how to eat a Korean meal without eating seafood, and Accounting 213 is just as boring as it was last year.

It's really interesting how your attitude changes when you're a senior. I didn't think I would notice the difference, but it's actually quite striking. You feel bigger than everthing. You appear to be supremely disinterested in everything going on around you. You spot freshmen a mile away and disdain them from afar. Yes, it's good to be a senior.

I keep thinking I need to go to work in a couple hours, but this is not so! Regardless, tomorrow I will most likely end up banging on the doors of GVSU Downtown, wondering where everybody is.

Life's little turds

2004-08-29T21:57:00.000-04:00

One thing that I find to be frustrating in life is meeting cool people from faraway places who then return to said places never to be seen again. This happens in my life with unnerving regularity. I suppose I should just be thankful for the good times, but where's the fun in that?

Kidding!

Ever have it when...

2004-08-26T01:05:00.000-04:00

You want to hear a song, but can't remember what it's called, who wrote it, or what the lyrics are? Well, I find myself in that position. Here's what I know: it's a reggae song by a famous artist, and the "hook" of the song goes "DA da da da daaaaaa, DA da da da duhhhhh". I have had my people looking for this song for years, but they have been fruitless in their search. 10 bucks to anybody who can tell me what song this is.

One Hand Clapping

2004-08-24T00:43:00.000-04:00

I had the priviledge this morning of paying the rest of my school tuition for the coming Fall Semester. Having missed the payment deadline of the previous Friday, there was a possibility of all my classes being dropped. This, thankfully, did not happen. Continuing with the story though, I called up the Accounts office and got the obligatory automated message. "We're sorry, but all our operators are currently busy. If you know your party's extension, hit 1 now. Or please hold, and we'll get to your call as soon as possible. During this time, you will hear silence."

At first it occurred to me that this was a paradox. Hear silence? Wouldn't that be the same thing as seeing darkness? How can you hear in the absence of sound, or see in the absence of light? Not possible. If there is only darkness, are we not blind? If there is only silence, are we not deaf? But as I pondered the nature of sensation, it dawned on me that our senses are always active if they have not been explicitly disabled. So long as we have ears and they're connected to our brains, we hear. Signals are being sent from one to the other. Silence is distinct from sound, and our brains recognize it, much like when we see a black surface. Black isn't a color; it's the absence of color. So, I concluded that silence deserves a place in the spectrum of sound.

Silence...

"Hi, this is Tom, how can I help you?"

The new sounds of SIO

2004-08-21T00:26:00.000-04:00

A new technological breakthrough has been achieved here at Lanning Labs. As you doubtless have already discovered, a music player has been added to SIO. Note: this music player is exclusively for users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Netscape users, let not your heart be troubled: my people are working hard on solutions. Personally, I recommend that you switch to the superior product. I guess some people just like underdogs. One more technical note regarding bandwidth. In this day and age, you need broadband internet.

So here's the deal; the player randomly selects a song whenever you decide you want to hear one (HIGHLY recommended for a quality web log experience). If you don't like the song, you can refresh the page and try your luck on a different one. The music control is at the bottom of the sidebar, and I will be slowly adding new songs as the days go by. In the meantime, rock on with your bad selves.

Midnight Snackage Action

2004-08-20T01:28:00.000-04:00

Being the compassionate and kind-hearted guy that I am, I like to give advice. Not to show how much I know, but rather to help my friends, loved ones, and the occaisional perfect stranger along road of life. Like the poor girl who keeps smacking the volleyball straight into the net with her fist. "Just try getting your arms under the ball", I say. Throw in a smile, and it's solid gold. I've been criticized for this many times for being a know-it-all, mostly unjustly as I figure it. Hey, I'm just trying to help a brother/sister out! What's the problem?

Well here's some advice to all you night owls out there, and even the average Joe Schmoe le Go-to-bed-on-time types. Sometimes you're up around 1:30 watching movies or IMing or doing whatever it is you do, and you feel hungry. Perfectly natural. So you hit up the kitchen for something to raise your blood sugar just enough to get you through the next chick flick. At this point, it is probably not a good idea to go for the chips and salsa. Unless you want to have some major pain issues in your digestive tract after an hour or so. This is learned by experience; if you need to slam something in the middle of the night, chips and salsa is not your best bet.

Set It Off

2004-08-17T01:23:00.000-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that there remains only two weeks before the beginning of the great Fall Semester of Grand Valley State University. All the world watches with baited breath the days leading up to this momentous beginning of what is shaping up to be a school year to be remembered for years to come. The next 14 days are packed with preparation, celebration, and disgronification as students across the globe gear up for the spectacularly demanding and ludicrously funny Fall Semester. Best of all, you can trust me to bring you all the action, live from the beautiful city of Grand Rapids. The glory; the passion; the kinda-longhaired flipflop-wearing second-generation hippie wanna-bes: PREPARE YOURSELVES!

In other news, it would appear that Blogger has adopted the use of a new navbar (see top of this page). I am stoked about it; more specifically the "Next Blog" button. They really should have called this button the "Web Log Randomizer", as clicking it loads a random web log. Who knows what excessive boredom, senseless raving, pointless drama, and mindless profanity awaits you! What are you waiting for? Click the button, Max!

Here's to the next great Olympic sport: Women's Beach Volleyball! And don't tell me it's all about the bikinis... it's not all about the bikinis. Ok, so maybe it's all about the bikinis. Whatever. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

Choices

2004-08-14T00:40:00.000-04:00

I listen to talk radio while I work. It beats listening to music radio, for the simple reason that Grand Rapids music radio is just sad. So today Sean Hannity was doing another monologue about the NJ governer, and he was making a very valid point. The fact is that we all have choices in life, and we need to make sure we make the "right" ones. This governer should have chosen not to have an affair because it would be better for his family, his kids, etc. And I agree with this statement. But the governer's statement didn't focus on the fact of his affair; he brought most attention to the fact that he is homosexual. So what'd Mr Hannity have to say about that? "I don't think it's any of my business what people do in their bedrooms." So dude, why is it your business if he decides to have an affair? Fact is, choosing to be gay is just as wrong as choosing to adulterate.

That's the fundamental problem with our country's approach to homosexuality; people are being told to accept the "fact" that being gay is natural. Well folks, here's some news: it's NOT NATURAL. It is a perversion of the natural order. It is a heinous sexual sin, which to a large extent brought fire down on Soddom and Gomorrah. In the governer's case, his gayitude supercedes all the other issues of adultery and goverment corruption. It shows he is a man who has no morals and is fighting against the Most High God, and I'm really not surprised by any of the outrageous stuff we're now learning about his administration in New Jersey.

But Lanning, you say, gay people are born gay! Sure they are. Next thing you're going to tell me is that baseball bat murderers are born as baseball bat murderers. Ever heard of those things called original sin and total depravity? Yeah, I'm thinking that might have something to do with it. News flash: it's wrong, it's always been wrong, and will always be wrong.

Say it ain't so

2004-08-12T23:32:00.000-04:00

Really haven't been thinking much lately. I wonder if that's because I don't have much time to reflect; aside from devotions and driving around, I'm constantly occupied with the routine of life. Since I haven't been getting much sleep, I've been taking lots of Vitamin C (just "C" to those of us who know him) to stay healthy. And I'm really really tired. That's two important lessons right there; stay rested and drink Orange Juice.

Ink Spots. Great band.

Church is not an option

2004-08-08T20:42:00.000-04:00

I've had this discussion with several people. One girl has this father who (at the time) refused to go to church, citing the fact that it was full of hypocrites (bet you haven't heard that one before). I tried to make the point to her that that is not a good enough reason to forsake the body of believers. And it isn't, plain and simple. Her argument is that you don't have to go to church to be a christian. I say, if you really are a christian you will want to be there. Remember the words of Psalm 122: "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD." This guy isn't grumbling about hypocrites. Think there were hypocrites there? Oh heck yea! But that didn't stop the faithful of Israel from making trips (veritable journies, in some cases) to Jerusalem to worship God publicly. Here's what Paul has to say in Hebrews 10:23-25, which I'll print for your added convenience:

"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. "

Let me tell a story (stop me if you've heard this... I hate it when I tell people the same stories, and I do it all the time). So there's this guy who won't go to church, and his pastor visits him to ask why he's staying home. "There's too many hypocrites in the church!" says the man. The pastor thinks it over, and asks the man if he carries money around in his wallet. The man replies in the affirmative, and the pastor asks incredulously, "Why?! There's so much counterfeit money out there!".

I think the only thing that could be worse than leaving the church would be convincing other people to do it, as well. Or going there during the service and slashing tires.

Music Music Everywhere

2004-08-05T00:35:00.000-04:00

Another step in my music ubiquity project, obtaining an mp3 player, is complete. I now have digital access to all my music when I drive (CD), when I am in my room (mp3 library), and when I go anywhere else (mp3 player). While this may seem pretty much ubiquitous to some, my technology people tell me there is still much work to be done.

So it appears that I might end up voting in the presidential election after all. Not that I've had any changes of heart. Lately, my family and I have been talking politics (something we never ever do), so I've gotten a chance to bounce my ideas about voting and democracy off them. Needless to say, the reaction has been less than exuberant. My dad had a good line. "Well I'm happy you feel that way. Now get yourself registered to vote.". Since I believe in the fifth commandment, more than likely I'll be putting my proverbial drop into the ocean on election day. In addition, I'll get to wear one of those cool "I voted." stickers on my shirt.

Countdown

2004-08-03T00:52:00.000-04:00

Well folks, it's down to 27 days until school begins again. I have to say that I am quite ready for it this year. I've been busting it all summer long with almost no down-time, and I always appreciate the switch from physical exertion to mental exertion that school represents. My list of stuff to get for school currently looks like this:

1. New Coat (very important)
2. New Bag (very very important)
3. MP3 player (in the mail from Amazon)
.
.
27. Textbooks

I recently ripped my entire CD collection into my MP3 library, consolidating what once was two separate collections of music into one. I am stoked about this. I believe in centralization of musicitude. At least I voted for it.

Part V: What Price Glory?

2004-07-31T15:32:00.000-04:00

I thought a good way of wrapping up my thoughts on war would be to touch on what some people refer to as "just", or justifiable, war. When I think of it I also think of justifiable homicide, an issue which for many is probably more clear-cut. So what kind of homicide is justifiable? You may not kill a man if he has something you want, or if his dogs poop on your grass. You can't even do it if he slashes your tires or he rear-ends you in the Wal-Mart parking lot. In fact, the only real reason you have for taking his life is if you feel he is a threat to yours or that of other innocents. This applies to car-jackers, rapists, house thieves, muggers, and just plain murderous types.

Carrying it over to war, I consider the two situations of personal threat and national threat to be pretty much equivalent. If the safety of the nation is at risk, war is justifiable. I'm not saying it's the only option; but it needs to have a spot right up there on the list of recourses. If a nation's allies are threatened, the same rules apply. This is why governments need to make wise choices of allies; ones who will be willing to come to their aid in time of need.

Another possible reason for justifiable war which I've been pondering is protecting nations from "evil" nations trying to take them over. Take Korea, for example. Communist North Korea was bullying and threatening to overrun the south. We weren't allied to South Korea, but we deployed anyway to help out. The result was a conflict which claimed many American lives and has yet to be decided. Were we justified in going into Korea, or Vietnam, just because we didn't like Communism? Who's to say that the established goverments of South Korea and Vietnam were any "better" by biblical standards than Communism? Those are the questions that pop up in my mind when I think about those conflicts.

So there you have it; my thoughts on war. There's more, to be sure. But I think it would be nice to get back to regularly scheduled weblogging. I really appreciate and encourage the discussion these thoughts have generated. It's a good way for me to sort some of my thinking out. I also think it's probably a good place to apply a thought-sorting process. Can't get enough of those.

Part IV: Classic Strategery

2004-07-30T00:02:00.000-04:00

Most people would find military reading to be more boring than Fly Fishing with Glen Blackwood. And sometimes, in the midst of Von Clausewitz perhaps, it can be. But it's one of my keen points of interest, so I'm going to share a bit of what I've learned about the mechanics of waging war. Read this, and you won't have to plough through Hart or Tzu or the rest (not to say that it wouldn't be edificatious). There's three things that poop into my head when I think of basic military strategy. So here we go.

Initiative - the concept of being and staying "one step ahead" of the oppostition. This is the basis of what I've talked about before regarding pre-emptive action. In war, you want to be calling the shots: acting rather than reacting. If you knock your enemy hard from the start, he may never recover his balance. The idea of surprise attacks and unpredictabilty all stem from attempting to recover or maintain the initiative during a campaign. We've all heard about the "Blitzkrieg", made famous by the shocking speed of the German armor during the opening campaigns of the Second World War. The primary advantage of this style of attack was keeping the enemy off-balance and always reacting; that's what we call initiative.

Indirect Approach - this is the key to military history. It involves approaching situations in unconventional and unacticipated ways. When France built the Maginot Line, it expected that an attacker would have to overcome it. But what did the Germans do in 1940? Slammed through the Low Countries via the Ardennes forest and took France from the north (see, the French figured that Germany would respect Belgium's neutrality - bad call). That's a pretty good example. Another one is Hannibal's march across the Alps with his elephants to attack the city of Rome; a miracle of logistics which nearly resulted in the capitulation of the Roman capital. The examples of the success of the indirect versus the failure of the direct in military history are endless. For a full exposition of the indirect approach, read Strategy by B. H. Liddell Hart. In fact, read any book by Hart at all.

Intelligence - now we're going back to the beginning of time. Knowing your enemy predicates all military strategy. Basically, military planning is guessing. The more educated your guessing, the more likely it is your planning will go, well, as you planned. This is a pretty intuitive concept, but we're discussing the ABCs here, so that's ok.

That does not cover all, or even most, of the well-established and ancient rules of military planning. But this post is already way too long. For those of you pining to discuss just war, have no fear! As we say auf Deutsch, "es kommt." In the meantime, stick with me and all will be revealed in time.

Part III: Going to the Source

2004-07-26T23:57:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite historical military figures is General William T. Sherman, a senior Army officer who fought for the U.S. in the War between the States. He was a pioneering soldier who knew how war works, and specifically what is the real backbone of a nation's war effort. Thus, history tells us of Sherman's March, a virtually uncontested romp which he lead through the heart of the South destroying a large chunk of its industry, telegraph, and railroad transport capability. I believe this campaign really took the guts out of the Confederate war machine; in fact, it probably took many months, if not years, off the length of the war. It was also the first real implementation of what's come to be known as "total war".

I am a believer in total war. When you fight a nation, you're fighting not only its military but also its production, communication, transportation, and population (to a certain extent). Long gone are the days of battlefield glory in which opposing armies would line up neatly, fight a few battles, and end the war. Back then you didn't have to worry about production because it was much too slow to be a factor. Transportation was the same, and the telegraph hadn't even been invented yet. These days, to realistically expect victory in war, you need to go after the aforementioned national capabilities: and that means hitting cities, and consquently civilians.

Your focus in war must not be, "How can I defeat my enemy's army?". It must be "How can I defeat both his ability and his desire to fight against me?". Sun Tzu once said, "Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting." As a christian, I believe that the ultimate goal of any war must be to end it as quickly as possible, using only the means that are necessary to accomplish the objectives. Are there ethics in war? The answer must be yes; God reigns in all things, and he is the God of war as well as the God of peace. So what should those ethics be? That's another post altogether.

Part II: Action vs. Reaction

2004-07-24T22:53:00.000-04:00

I thought I would expand a bit on the concept of national defense which I touched on in the previous post. The key here is that the threat of harm is just as urgent as the harm itself. In other words, if a nation considers itself to be threatened, it needs to be equally concerned (if not more so) with the danger as with an actual attack. This idea has recently entered the limelight with the release of the report of the 9/11 Commission, which lays out many U.S. Government failures at pre-emptive activity that quite possibly could have prevented the attack of September Eleventh.

In a battlefield situation, striking first and striking hard is not only very cut-and-dry, it's do-or-die. Heh. Anyways, what I mean is you bomb the factory before it produces the tanks; you destroy the Scud site before it launches its missile; you demolish the bridge before the enemy can cross it. This idea of hitting the enemy before he hits you is also essential to national defense. If you know a nation is planning to attack you, you can't sit back and wait for it to happen. You need to do something before the lives of your citizens are at risk.

Does this mean that every threat needs to be dealt with using war? By no means. But steps must be taken to neutralize the threat, or the government is not doing its sworn duty. If the leader of a nation believes that war is the only way to truly bring about safety, then when he acts on that belief by mobilizing the military he is fulfilling the duties of his office.

I also wanted to say something about anti-war types. I'm not going after anybody who opposes any war at all. But I am going after the ones that oppose any war under any circumstance. You know the type. Personally, I love when I can sit down with a person and discuss specific aspects of a conflict to hash out the real motives, objectives, and repercussions entailed. But every now and then you run into some people who are just peace nuts who believe all war is evil (which it is, mind you) and that the government should never take such measures. How they could possibly expect to be protected by their government under such restrictions is beyond me.

Thoughts on War: Part I

2004-07-22T02:06:00.000-04:00

War, though regrettable, is a necessary fact of human life. It's like Police work or working third shift in the Emergency Room. It breaks the rules of creation. War is right up there with religion and politics as one of the most contentious topics to discuss. The truth is that politics and war are inseperable concepts (and, in fact, religion is often quite prevalent as well). Even if a war is not politically motivated, politics will play a large part in the outcome. Defending or enlarging borders, eliminating threats or simply irritations, money, women, revenge, and many other factors lurk beneath the moving mass of an armed force going forward into battle.

In a world of nations, survival means defending yourself, and this is why war is necessary. Nations must have a standing army with which to protect their citizens. Having powerful allies is not enough, as Austria and Czechoslovakia witnessed in the 1930's. And Hitler was able to take those countries without even starting a war. The nation that allows its military to deteriorate while it's leaders and citizens pontificate on the beauty of peace is in grave danger.

That's what makes me sick about the anti-war crowd. They have absolutely no historical perspective. "We don't like war because it kills people!" They are spitting on a military which exists for the sole purpose of protecting them. I believe this is an affront to the thousands of men and women who have died to protect the place these gutless hippies live and their freedom to do it in. Why, when firefighters are killed in a building collapse, don't they clamor for all fire departments to be dismantled? It's rather obvious from this example that you can't do that, as if you did everything would burn to the ground. But I tell you this: soldiers are even more necessary for the survival of a nation than fire fighters, and yet there are so many people in our nation that hate them.

Love is like a hand grenade

2004-07-19T23:26:00.000-04:00

I thought it would be fruitful to expand a bit on my anthropo-relational theories. First, the idea of getting married quick. The idea there is not to trick somebody into marrying you, and neither does it promote rash decision making. But rather, once you've decided you want to marry somebody, you really ought to get all your hardware on within a year. Naturally, this is directed toward men, as traditionally women are often stuck waiting for indecisive men to get with the program. This is also yet another reason why dating before you're prepared for marriage is foolish. I also think that big long engagements (i.e., anything longer than a year) are pointless.

Second, about knowing the person you are marrying. The truth is that I recommend that people know as much as possible about the person they are marrying. But I still say that if you know less about somebody, you will be more likely to take a big step like that. Unless of course the little that you know is all bad stuff. In which case, if you proceed with the marriage, you might be classified as a masochist.

Third, and I am sorry if I'm bursting anybodys' bubble here, but love is nothing to be counted on. The Bible tells us not to put our confidence in princes; the reasoning behind that is that men change. Love fades and can disappear altogether (and in fact often does). The only thing that will really hold a marriage together is a shared faith in Christ.

Knowing Too Little

2004-07-18T23:39:00.000-04:00

My sister posed a tough question to me this morning. "If you were a guy, would you marry me?", she asked. I mulled it over for a bit and said, "Ah.. no.". She seemed somewhat bummed, so I felt a burden to explain why decision. "The deal is", I said, "I know too much about you. I know all the good things about you, but also the bad stuff. I probably know more about your character and personality than any random husband ever will."

So the main point is, I think getting married has alot to do with disillusionment as to the other person's nature, personality, essence, whatever you want to call it. Not to mention quirks, idiosyncrasies, nervous twitches, etc. The less you know about somebody, the more likely you are to marry them. Or at least you'll have an easier decision about it. And that goes along with my other relational theory, which states that you need to get married within 6 months of dating (a year at the very most). Any longer than that and you run the risk of someone loosing interest. So, get married quick and you've got them hooked.

Time

2004-07-17T02:39:00.000-04:00

That's what Martha Stewart will be doing... in the clink. That's also what I hope Kobe Bryant and Todd Bertuzzi end up doing, among others. I'm not a big fan of famous people who think they're above the law. Our celebrity-minded society lets these people get away with murder (sometimes literally), and it's good to see that popularity won't always let you pass go and collect $200. Martha Stewart is going directly to jail. She will not pass go, she will not collect $200.

I'm signed up to go to a conference held by the Free Reformed church in Selkirk, Ontario (that's in Canada) on the 30th of July. It looks to be an interesting time, with a keynote speaker being R.C. Sproul, Jr. If anybody is interesting in going, email me and I can hook you up with an admission form. That will about do it for my vacation time this year. That's one thing about working through college that I sometimes miss. We used to go to Vermont for a month or so back in the day. Just kick it in the Appalachians. Lots of memories there. Berlin was awesome but it was quite exhausting; so hopefully I can fit in some relaxation time between now and school.

Rapping

2004-07-14T23:16:00.000-04:00

Rap wasn't always like it is today. There was a time when rapping was a term for impromptu speaking. I don't know if people who did this were considered rappers. Neither am I certain why this popped into my head. The only other thing in there tonight was a hypothetical discussion with an arminian about why his concept of "free will" is both unbiblical and irrational based on what we know about God. But rapping was more appealing to talk about because my dad fit the description of a rapper back in the 70s. And if you know my dad, putting him and "rapper" in the same sentence is very entertaining.

Purging the Heat Demons

2004-07-12T23:33:00.000-04:00

Demons come in many shapes and sizes. You have the classic stink demons that used to live in a pair of Terry Klaver's shoes. Eventually they were exorcized by Ted. Then there are the demons of stupidity, observed for centuries before being immortalized by Scott Adams. Not to be overlooked are the intrepidatious heat demons (and their cousins the cold demons), who vacation in my room every summer. There are several ways of dealing with them. Naturally, one is my rickety old fan. It performs admirably in the absence of an air conditioning unit, although my dad keeps goofing with it every day while I am at work. More passive means involve not moving around alot and sleeping naked. Other than that, the best bet is to hope the heat demons take the night off.

One Thing Needful

2004-07-11T22:26:00.000-04:00

I spent this weekend over on the east side of the state (congratulations Katie on graduating high school!). A good time was had by all, and my van did not explode or blow out a tire (which is especially nice because I don't have a spare at the moment). I had the opportunity to attend services at the Southfield R.P. church, which was very encouraging. In the morning Rev. Wise preached on Luke 10:38-42, which records one of the times Lord Jesus talks about the one thing needful in this life. That being the Word of God.

I think it's really the solution to the many contentment issues we suffer from here in the U.S.A. The "gotta have more stuff" mentality that we're all so familiar with comes from forgetting what is important to have and what is not. The important stuff is the message of salvation found in the Gospel, and the wisdom and comfort found in the Word of God. Lord Jesus says in Luke that what we gain from God's Word shall not be taken away from us. This is something that cannot be said for stuff. Stuff is quite easily removed from us, that's why stuff should be low on our list-o-importance. Our beauty fades with age, and even knowledge, education, and memories can be taken away from us by disease or injury. But nothing can touch our souls; God has promised us that. So, our most basic desire should be the feeding and edifying of them.

On a more personal note, it is now officially buttcrack hot in my room.

Leave Israel Alone

2004-07-08T23:22:00.000-04:00

I've followed the tensions between Israel and Palestine for a long time. What I can't stand about the whole deal is all the third-party meddling that's been going on. Israel has been under almost constant terrorist attacks for years now, and any time they show aggression everybody condemns them and tells them to pull back, blah blah blah. I believe that Israel has every right to steamroll the Palestinians off the map. In fact, I think they have a duty to do something at least similar to that. Intense border security and small surgical strikes have done nothing to stem the tide of suicide bombers murdering innocent Israeli citizens, whom the government of Israel is sworn to protect. Palestine needs to get its bottom handed to it, and I hope is happens sooner than later. The death toll is getting higher and higher either way.

Strange Hitler Theory #1

2004-07-07T00:21:00.000-04:00

Nate Eshelman has many funny ideas, not the least of which was his idea of how Hitler became so evil. I completely forget how it came up in the conversation, but that's usually how these things come about. Dr. Eshelman postulates that somewhere out in deep space there is a planet teeming with small, square-shaped furry brown aliens with a tendency towards despicable evilitude. A long time ago our planet was visited by one of these little monsters. It attached itself to the lip of a poor Austrian artist and wanna-be politician, took over his body, and the rest is history.

Who is John Edwards? And while we're on the subject, who is John Kerry? Never heard of either of those guys before this year. Why doesn't the DNC just nominate Cheech & Chong for President and VP? They're at least famous. And from what I hear they probably would be more capable in office.

A Perfect Evening

2004-07-06T01:07:00.000-04:00

Everybody's idea of a perfect evening is a bit different, and tonite I came pretty close. Sat outside with the family in the shadows of the evening sun, eating a meal of salad and steak grilled to perfection. With it we enjoyed a glass of fine Warsteiner beer, imported from Germany. After dinner my Dad and I partook of Partagas mini cigars, Cuban tobacco which I brought home from Berlin. Next came a hot shower, followed by a night strolling around downtown Grand Rapids. The only thing I would add to my perfect evening would be a long walk on the beach with my girlfriend. I guess, seeing as I haven't got a girlfriend, that I would settle for just the walk. I haven't even been to the lakeshore this year yet.

I think it's a shame that beer gets a bad rap here in the US. In the sense that peoples' conception of it is either shirtless fat-bellied rednecks downing Bud Lights by the case while shooting raccoons from off the porch, or college fratties getting trashed and having unprotected pre-marital sex before vomiting and passing out on the pavement. I was able to enjoy several very good beers while in Berlin; the Berliner, Warsteiner, and Freiberger pilsners were excellent, and Stella Artois (a Belgian lager) was served on the flights between London and Berlin. Yes people, you can enjoy beer without getting drunk. I've found that it really enriches the dining experience, and just the experience of life in general.

INDEPENDENCE DAY

2004-07-04T21:44:00.000-04:00

Happy 228th birthday to the United States! I am happy to be back on U.S. soil once again, having arrived back home at 7:30pm last night. The 4th is one of the few holidays that I refuse to travel through. I'll go someplace for Labor Day or Christmas, but I prefer to be at home to celebrate our nation's birthday. Maybe it's just because I've always done it that way. I'm willing to admit it. Unfortunately I will not be getting much sleep tonite, as our neighborhood kids like to blow up endless strings of Black Cats and stay up late shooting Roman Candles at each other.

The Berlin trip was an incredible experience. The city itself totally blew me away; I feel like I could live there permantently, if I could find a really cheap apartment and get a work visa. The English Camp went extremely well. The organizers of the Camp were very impressed with how well our group worked with the kids and with each other. Also, we encountered no problems of any kind during actual travelling. This is encouraging to me, and it is most certainly an answer to the many prayers that were offered up on our behalf. Truly our God is a most wonderful, gracious, and merciful God.

Congratulations to Greece on winning the Europemaster 2004 football tournament in a 0-1 match over host Portugal. The game was a matchup of two unlikely underdogs, with Greece entering the tournament as an 80-1 outsider. I was personally rooting for Portugal. I believe they had more difficult quarterfinal matches, including a stunner against England which they won 6-5 after a game-ending shootout. That kind of football will make even the most ignorant of American soccer-haters sit on the edge of their chair and chant "Olé! Olé! Olé!".

Greetings from Berlin!

2004-06-26T11:00:00.000-04:00

I write to you from an internet cafe in the middle of Alexanderplatz, in the center of east Berlin. We've completed our training week, which was very encouraging. The coming week is going to be a very very interesting experience.

I now have close to 90 minutes of film of our wanderings through the city of Berlin and I have to say that I love it. It really is an amazing experience which I will never, ever forget. We've been riding around the city on the various different forms of public transportation (streetcars, busses, subways, etc.) just exploring and taking on the capital city of Germany.

There's been some rough times, as well. I've had some issues with my groupmates, who are all very tight highschool chums that have a hard time letting people into their circle. But in spite of that, I've been making some friends and have been able to support and encourage the team in a unique way.

I really can't say everything I want to. Send me an email and I'll fill you in! :) Anyway time to get back to the hotel. Until next time, stay safe and I love you all.

Happy Trails

2004-06-20T22:28:00.000-04:00

Well folks, this is my last post before I board the plane for England. I will likely be able to post during the trip from the various internet cafes around Berlin.

This evening I went over to 7th Reformed Church (where my group is primarily from) for our commissioning service. It was very nice; text was I Peter 3:15, which was ironic. On my last short-term mission trip (to Mexico), I was in charge of one of the evening devotionals and that is the text I chose to talk about. A very important passage, especially around Grand Rapids where so many young Christians find it hard to talk about their faith. We all need to be ready at any time to open up about our faith to anybody that asks. It's not an option, it's a duty. So I think having that on our minds as a group will be very helpful to us over in Berlin.

"Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke." - Psalm 144:5

The Black Hat retires!

2004-06-19T23:48:00.000-04:00

With a room as small as mine, I cannot normally afford the luxury of having huge bags of luggage lying around. Currently, my suitcase is taking up a full tenth of the airspace available to me in my bedroom. While it is not refrigerator-sized, it's large enough that I've tripped over the blasted thing twice already. But, I have it and my A.L.I.C.E. packed, my hair cut (back to the eastern european refugee style... sorry Maggie, I just can't let it get floppy), and my boots are beautifully polished. I also managed to polish a section of my jeans, which I am not terribly thrilled about.

It is with great sadness that I announce the retirement of my Black Hat from its noble service atop the head of the greatest thinker currently in my room. It was discovered this afternoon that it is now too small. Join with me in giving thanks for the full year of service it provided. It was a constant companion. Never selfish, never moody; always willing to hear your stories and commiserate with them. It will be missed. Despite nasty rumors, some say the Black Hat was the most beautiful thing they have ever seen. Here is a picture of it while on active duty.

Late Shift

2004-06-19T01:31:00.000-04:00

I like my job. Both of them, actually. My first starts at 1pm, and the second one starts whenever I feel like going. Usually 8:30pm, but tonight: 12:00am! So now it's 1:30am and time for a shower. Tomorrow is big: banking, shopping, packing, boot-polishing, and a haircut (in addition to other random assorted things) in preparation for my trip to Berlin.

I've been talking with friends about my political outlook. And I do think that not voting can be construed as apathy or laziness. But I do not go as far as to say that voting is a civic duty. It is part of a political system (one which has major flaws - believe it or not, folks); and that political system does not require its citizens to vote. It's a privilege, to be sure; and the privilege is extended to all. I appreciate that. I am thankful for that. But that doesn't obligate me to vote.

It's alot like the second amendment: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Does having the right to keep and bear arms require me to do so? No; it's a choice of conscience. Personally, if I had the money, I would be bearing arms as we speak (naturally, being a college kid, I am so broke I can no longer pay attention).

Thoughts on Election Season

2004-06-16T23:06:00.000-04:00

Yes that's right, it's coming around again: U.S. presidential elections. I was reminded of it today after hearing a segment of a talk radio show. Ahhh, nothing like a bit of talk radio to get your political veins popping. I used to be big into this kind of stuff. In fact back during the Dole/Kemp race of '96 I was nothing short of a fanatic. But since then I've had only a passing interest in politics, which peaks every four years.

The thinking I've done along these lines has been on the nature of our party system here in the U.S.. Basically you have two choices, R. or D., and you're guaranteed that nobody outside those parties is going to be elected. So most people just say that you need to vote for the better man of the Big Two; now, is that really a choice? I don't think so. This is why I am not registered to vote. I don't like the party system here. I refuse to just climb on board a party and let it do my thinking for me. The "straight party ticket" option on your voting card is the most anti-American thing I've ever seen (well not really, but it does emphasize my point).

Some people might wonder where my sense of patriotism is. "You have been given the freedom to vote, and you're passing it up??" Truth be told, I value the option to abstain as much as I do the option to vote. Abstaining is a much clearer statement of what you think than voting straight party ticket. In the meantime, I pray for the leaders of the country that are doing the job today, whether they are Republican, Democrat, or [insert random party name here].

Gunfire in the Ghetto

2004-06-15T23:49:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to the Detroit Pistons, the new world champions of basketball. Game 5 was almost a constant celebration. After the final buzzer the neighborhood began popping with small-arms fire; if basketball is always like this, sign me up as a Pistons fan!

That's all I got right now.

The Real Enemy

2004-06-14T22:28:00.000-04:00

I was reading in the paper today about the latest Baghdad bombings. Seems that the people of Iraq really didn't learn anything from all that's been going on in their country the last year. Sure, I hear you when you say it's just a few "extremists" that are bombing stuff. But I don't think that's entirely accurate.

I was talking with a good friend about this the other day. We're not fighting an army over there. We're fighting a religion, namely Islam. That's the root of all these problems. The war in Iraq is a spiritual war, and as long as there are Muslims, there will be bombings. History shows that Islam is a religion that was born and raised in bloodshed, and that legacy is being born out in the streets of Baghdad day by day. It's not going to stop, either. Not until the final day when the Great Captain comes to claim his victory.

So here is why I am going to Berlin in about seven days. There's a group of reformed missionaries in the city who have been running an English camp for middle school kids. The idea is if you can just get the kids some exposure to Christians, they can watch and hopefully learn more important things than just English along the way. But anyway, our first week over there will be training, then we're going to be the English teachers for the second week. It's something I've never done, so I am very interested to see how it's all going to work out.

The Everlasting God

2004-06-13T20:22:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is John 8:58, in which Jesus says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you: before Abraham was, I am." The strength of this statement is simply amazing. Recall all the way back to Moses and the burning bush when Moses asked of God his name, that he might tell it to the Israelites in captivity. Almighty God replies, "I AM that I AM: Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.". This was Jesus, son of man and son of God, talking to Moses. It's just another example of how pervasive Jesus is throughout all of scripture; he's everywhere. But nowhere else in scripture does Jesus make a more powerful claim to the throne of Heaven than in John 8.

"Jehovah liveth, and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted."
- Psalm 18:46

Play that funky music, white boy!

2004-06-12T01:30:00.000-04:00

I officially had that song stuck in my head all night and all day today. It's a dangerous song, I'm telling you; makes me kinda wanna disco down and check out the show!

At any rate, tonite I was at a campfire with a local group. I'm all about fire and talking all nite, but something struck me about the group I was with. That being the aversion to substantive conversation that was generally exhibited. It's a pattern I've noticed in my generation of kids; a form of anti-intellectualism that frowns upon serious conversations on any topic. In a woman, this is a big turn-off to me. Truth be told, I find the ability to establish a premise and support it to be incredibly sexy. And you don't find it much. I promised my sister I'd marry the first woman I find that can do it.

Berlin is a mere 9 days away... the excitment builds every day. My last short-term mission trip was an incredible experience and that was only half as long as this trip, so I await it with much anticipation. In the meantime I'm gonna keep dancin' and singin' and movin' to the groovin'!

Ready for Primetime

2004-06-11T01:34:00.000-04:00

This Blogspot has some interesting features. I can goof with the template all I want, and I can email posts in. The FTP issue remains unresolved; I will start sacking people if need be, until we have conquered all obstacles.

Tonite the Pistons won Game 3 of the NBA Championship series. I've never really cared for basketball; I remember going to 2nd and 3rd grade and hearing all about the "Bad Boys", seeing T.V. commercials with that Inner Circle song from Cops playing. Also I was one of the best "Knockout" players during my time at Lamont Christian elementary. Since then I've always believed basketball to be a highly repetitive sport that gets very tense when you play a whole game only to lose at the last second by one point when a guy throws the ball from halfcourt and it magically goes in. But championships always bring out the best in a sport, and I enjoy watching the best in any sport. Even, dare I say, tennis.

Ronald Regan died this past week, and I have to admit I don't remember anything about the man. From what I've read and heard, he was a true christian man who brought dignity, respect, and leadership to his office. I couldn't really ask for more than that.

The Beginning of the End

2004-06-10T20:32:00.000-04:00

Due to overwhelming demand, I have begun work on this web log, Set It Off (or SIO for those with a penchant for trendy acronyms). Many thanks to our sponsor, Blogspot, for their help (note their conspicuous banner ad - I let them do that).

SIO will go live after a few posts and tweaks to the layout. In general I like the work that my people have put into this, but a master's touch is always necessary for perfection.

I am thoroghly confused why it would not let us connect to GVSU's FTP thingie. So I must settle for having a big old banner ad on top of this thing. But have no fear; we have our top people working on it round the clock.

I am also late for work.