These times

There are times for cool heads, reservation of judgement and slow decisions.  These are those  times.

Blazin?

I wonder if Buffalo Wild Wings changed their recipe because it seems likentonight the Blazin wasn't as Blazin as it has been in the past. Oh well. Good times were still had by all.

The moon rocks...

Today I was as close to moon rocks as you can get without actually touching them, about one centimeters. You may have already heard about it on the news but these moon rocks were harvested during the Apollo 11 mission (the first man on the moon, one small step... etc).  They have also been lost for awhile and were found in a National Guard storage locker.  As it turns out there are actually a lot of moon rocks that are missing. After  Apollo 11 (&17) rocks were given to ever state in the US and every country in the world as a goodwill gesture symbilizing how we are all in this thing together and that as a human race we had accomplished the unimaginable.  Pretty nice.  Unfortunately soon after the gifts were distributed a booming black market moon rock business was established. The problem was/is so bad that there is actually an organization, led by the foremost expert in stolen moon rock recovery, dedicated to tracking down the missing rocks. They have even performed a sting operation in Columbia where they used $5 million of Ross Perot's money (funny huh?) to use in an exchange with a Moon rock thief. The rocks I was witness to today weighed about a half gram and were worth about $5-10 million! They are now in the custody of the Minnesota history society and will enter into their collection along side a rock from Apollo 17.

These times

There are times for long underwear and there are times for tights. These are those times.

Contagious

He startled awake fearing his drifts of slumber would pile up onto an unbroken nightsworth. Having duties above he climbed treads heavenword ascending toward the sky,briefly, until roof and lack of stair slowed his ascent. He left his greetings with the elevated inhabitants before meeting them again as the earth cycled back toward the sun.

Soon his summed snooze subsided and crawled under a blanket waiting for it to return. It won't be long now.

Built locally from globally sourced parts

If there was ever a system the was highly under emphasized in general discussions of anatomy it is the lymphatic system.  When kids in elementary school learn basic anatomy they learn about the heart and lungs and skin and skeletal. I don't ever remember hearing about the lymphatic system in any discussions of anatomy in elementary, middle or high school. 
It's probably because the lymph system is a bit weird to understand. I think this stems from its cobbled assembly and varied functionality. The system relies on other organs to supply many of its components yet still has its own distinct pieces a well. In a way it's kind of like a Toyota Tundra: Built locally from globally sourced parts.

With great power comes great responsibility

True dat... True dat.

If you're looking for some good cgi water check out How to Train Your Dragon

Update from the commish

As some of you know one of my least favorite phrases during this time of year is "In my other league..." however I had a chance to read an update from that "other league" and now you do too. Pretty funny stuff.

League Manager's Note

And then there was 'huh'? A couple 13-14 Thanksgiving Playoff Scenarios

This week many of us will find ourselves breaking from our usual routines and spending time being thankful for friends and family, new and old, near and far... then we'll forget all that and dig in to a deep dish of "what the heck is gonna happen???" So many potential playoff matchups, so much cranberry sauce shaped like a can, and it all starts on Thursday!!! HOT WOW! I'm going to drop you in directly to Journeyman Jonny's mailbag, where he breaks down the several possible scenarios for the next two weeks: 

*Jon needs 1 win OR 1 loss from any of Joe, Ted, or Tom *Ted needs 1 win OR A loss from both Jon and Tom *Tom needs 2 wins or 1 win+2 losses for Jon and Ted OR 1 loss from Joe *Joe needs 2 wins and a loss from Ted and Tom OR 2 wins and 2 losses from Jon *Amy needs to win out (Heidi wk 12 Tom wk 13) + Tom lose to Jon in wk 12 + Ted lose out (Mike wk 12 aavandy wk 13) + Joe lose out (Vandy wk 12, Eiad wk 13) + Eiad to lose to Andy in wk 12 + Mike losing to Heidi wk 13 This results in a 7-6 record for Amy and 6-7's for Eiad, Joe, Heidi and Mike *Mike needs to win out with the following wk 12 results: Heidi beats Amy, Jon beats Tom, Andy beats Eiad, Vndy beats Joe. In wk 13 he'll need Eiad to beat Joe, Heidi to beat Mike and Amy to beat Heidi. Once again this results in 7-6 for MVM and 6-7's for Joe, Heidi, Eiad, and Amy *Eiad needs to win out with Joe, Mike and Tom losing out, and a wk 12 loss for Heidi 7-6 for E, 6-7's for A, H, M, and J *Finally Heidi simply needs to win out (Amy in wk12 Mike in wk13), have Tom lose out (Jon wk12, Amy wk13), Joe lose out (Vandy wk12, Eiad wk13), have Ted beat Mike in wk12, and finally if Andy beats Eiad in wk12 , and then loses to Jon in wk13 we'll have 5 players with 6-7 records and assuming Heidi holds on to her point league she'll own the final tiebreaker.

This is assuming that all the head to head matchups cancel each other out, which may or may not be true. So, pretty crazy, right? I mean I think a solid 2 or 3 parts of that made sense! I tried to prove he was off on a couple of these today and couldn't do it. Pretty nuts. 

One name you didn't see up there is Vander, our first to clinch a spot. He got back to his high scoring ways this week while securing the right to wear to the crown of the Cosa Nostra Division Champ 2012, with all of its attendant duties and privileges. Congratulations to Vander! Alright, bye weeks are over and big games are all over the place, including traditional and bonus Thanksgiving action. A veritable football FEAST (see what I did there?) DON'T MISS IT! 

A Legend is Born

Today marks a great day in history, the day a legend was born. He has been called by many names; scholar, father, commissioner, brother, to name a few. Happy birthday big brother. Thanks for everything!

Predictive text

Predictive text. Predictive behaviour predictive reasoning predictive eight ball predictive medium predictive sequence predictive post predictive shadow predictive past predictive hindsight predictive technology predictive brain predictive passage predictive message.

Free paint

What do you get when you mix together 4 gallons of white paint?

White paint.

What do you get when you mix four different shades of white paint together?

Still white paint.

What do you get when you roll the pain tonta a wall?

White walls. And tons of fun if you ask Tom Sawyer.

Thoughts on convection

Turn the heat off, its extrememly warm up there. Good advice. Hot air rises. Cold air sinks. Convection is what puts the motion in the ocean too (among other things).

It's Easy

It's easy to get cranky when you're short on sleep and have had high doses of physical labor including auditory, and olfactory over stimulation. Be careful if you get into this situation because the next person to get cranky could be you.

God Bless Us Every One

And he did all he said he would do and more.

A good push

Weeks of hiatus were broken with a text and a call and an hour in the gym (garage).  Hours like these make me wonder why I'd ever stop. Tomorrow I'll be reminded. Thankfully there are others driving the cause this time around which should turn the hiatus around into a new habit.

Practice

There is something to be said about practice. Practice the way you play and you'll be ready for when it really matters. In life it's not always clear when practice ends and the game begins so its a good idea to keep practicing.

If

If your nose itches it may or may not mean someone is thinking of you. If your ears are ringing there is a chance you are experiencing hearing loss.

The good

You can't help where you are born. Good or bad. High or low. At what point do you take on responsibility for recognizing your position, good or bad, high or low, and demand something different.  For the better.

How do you know?

You know a device is a piece of junk when the only send receive function for refreshing emails is to turn the device off then back on again then hope emails you know are in your inbox will push into the device only to be disappointed that the most recent messages are 3 weeks old. Awesome. That's how you know.

Observations from the OT

So I was reading Genesis earlier this week and read about Abram and Sarai. They went into Egypt when Abram was 75 years old and he was concerned because Sarai was a beautiful woman and he thought the Egyptians would kill him and take her. So his plan was to tell everyone she was his sister so that he wouldn't be killed and everyone would treat them well.

First I'm guessing that Sarai must have been much younger than Abram if she was considered so beautiful. Second it turns out the plan worked a oittle too well because Pharaoh took her as his wife. I'm not sure if this was their original intention. Then again the OT is pretty weird sometimes. I'm going to have to look into it.

No time like the present

It's funny how you can get off of work early and manage to accomplish everything and nothing in the extra time off.  12:34 rolls around, much has been accomplished and yet much is still left to do. And so, with no time like the present now is the time for some things, and putting off others.

Tired

Awake, asleep, asleep, asleep, sleep.

A few things

First I encourage you to check out another post on Cosmos. I consider myself very lucky to have smart and considerate people in my life. http://cosmos.regent-college.edu/2012/10/26/a-pastors-thoughts-on-euthanasia-by-kerry-bender/
Next, the first rehearsal for my church's Christmas show was tonight and once again I will have a role to play. Mark your calendars, shows are on December 14 & 15 @ 7:00.
Finally, I had the great fortune to talk to a few strangers on the bus yesterday and today. It was really neat.

Blah Blah

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Best line I heard today: "I can't wait until tomorrow when the commercials finally start trying to sell me cars again."

Nice is nice

So be nice. It's nice!

When a Solid Isn't a Solid

A solids solidness becomes less absolute when you study it more deeply. This doesn't change what is solid or how solids work in our daily lives but it can help us understand the ways solids work, especially when they do things we don't expect or even acts in contradictory ways than we have always understood them to act.

And so the score remains elusive.

There was a stretch nearly 10 years ago where I approached the number on a regular basis, but then again in those days I was a much more regular player. It’s been a while since I’ve come close again. I think the key is to get more than two games in in a night. The second game is where I really find a rhythm but as the prepaid hour typically expires with the second game the chance for stringing strikes together is eluded.  Tonight I got my chance.  The people I was with were ready to stay after two and I didn’t object. In the 6^th of the 3^rd spares turned to strikes and I rattled off four in a row to bring me within a possible 199. I left the 10^th open and ended with a 197. Still a good effort. The fourth game found the same stroke and with two open frames I marked a 195. The final round brought fatigue but the savvy acquired through the 1^st four helped salvage a 162.

And so the score remains elusive. I’ve never rolled 200 or above. Maybe someday. I’ll just have to keep trying. And play the third game when I get the chance.

Saws

Chop, recipricating, table, circular, jig, hand, coping, miter, hole, key hole, hack, M249, chain, etc

Something for the readers (There and Back Again: An Evolutionist’s Tale)

Turns out the original link doesn't work any more so I'm pasting the whole thing here.  For some reason I feel compelled to leave the dead link here. Hoarder tendencies run deep with this one.  Or maybe the enduring hubris associated with the few articles I've had appear on other sites.
http://cosmos.regent-college.edu/2012/10/30/there-and-back-again-an-evolutionists-tale/

Here is a little something for the readers out there.
There and Back Again: An Evolutionist’s Tale

This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours’ respect, but he gained-well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.

The quotes in this article are taken from J.R Tolkien’s classic tale, The Hobbit.  Tolkien insisted that his Ring stories were not to be read as allegory but I have to agree in with Picasso in that, “Art is the lie that tells the truth.” And I would add, the truth about ourselves.  I recognize that there are limits to the parallels between Bilbo’s journey and my own but there surely is truth and insight amidst the literary  brush strokes of this incredible storyteller.

As they sang the hobbit felt the love of beautiful things made by hands and by cunning and by magic moving through him, a fierce and jealous love, the desire of the hearts of dwarves. Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick. He looked out of the window. The stars were out in a dark sky above the trees. He thought of the jewels of the dwarves shining in dark caverns. Suddenly in the wood beyond The Water a flame leapt up--probably somebody lighting a wood-fire-and he thought of plundering dragons settling on his quiet Hill and kindling it all to flames. He shuddered; and very quickly he was plain Mr. Baggins of Bag-End, Under-Hill, again.

Science was always intriguing to me. Science makes even the smallest of things incredible.  In Bio 101 I heard about the wonders of the biological world from  the depth of the oceans to the tops of mountains and as close as my own backyard. What’s more is that I was seeing all of this within a year of finding faith in Jesus Christ.  I saw science as a passion to pursue, a career path to follow, and a calling to give praise for. And then these two wonderful worlds teetered on the brink of collapse when a professor paraphrased the title from Theodosius Dobzhansky famous essay. “Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution”

He got up trembling. He had less than half a mind to fetch the lamp, and more than half a mind to pretend to, and go and hide behind the beer barrels in the cellar, and not come out again until all the dwarves had gone away. Suddenly he found that the music and the singing had stopped, and they were all looking at him with eyes shining in the dark.

My emerging faith brought with it assumptions about the truths of the Bible and those assumptions did not harmonize with the claims of evolution.  As an infant Christian I was concerned with the corrupting forces of the world bearing down on my still fresh faith.  I knew this concern well because in previous days my skepticism was aimed at the Church, the born again, the saved.  I feared that in science I would be fighting the atheistic foes that had filled the vacuum left by my recent conversion.  I felt that I would be compelled to choose; science or faith. I feared the journey ahead. And yet something Tookish made me press through the fear (remember the Took’s were Bilbo’s adventurous side of the family) and set out into the unknown.

These parts are none too well known, and are too near the mountains. Travelers seldom come this way now. The old maps are no use: things have changed for the worse and the road is unguarded. They have seldom even heard of the king round here, and the less inquisitive you are as you go along, the less trouble you are likely to find.

In large part through the virtues of keeping my head down and my nose to the grindstone the journey continued into a second year of biology, a second year that can aptly share my favorite chapter heading from the Hobbit: Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire.

My convergence of faith formation and confrontation with evolution was a challenge but by the grace of God I survived the experience, wary but still moving onward. Surviving this challenge only provided a preamble for the fire that was to come.

Against all professor’s recommendations, personal achievements in common sense and fellow travelers’ cautionary tales, I enrolled in the unthinkable:  Four upper level courses with labs, a half credit research class (the Fellowship of the Undergraduate Researchers, if you will) and additional commitments to work in the research lab as a source of income alongside the other jobs I held in order to support my young family.  For all intents and purposes this was an incredibly dumb idea.  There was too much work to do and not enough time.  This was a prescription for burn out, or even worse, a major hit to my GPA.

In hindsight I can recognize that there were two major blessing in taking on this course load. The first is simple but the second was a powerful turning point that relied on the first. In this period I didn’t have much time for anything else but biology, including thinking too much about my science path’s implications for my faith. Sure the concern wasn’t completely gone, but there was always a project to write up or fruit flies to sort and count or lab dishes to clean.  In the tight bonds of my crazy schedule I was given the freedom to almost exclusively think about science.

Don’t get me wrong that was an intense time but by mid semester the sum of the load seemed to be less than the total of its parts.  The semester began to take on a synergistic energy.   The lessons I learned in cell bio spoke to the lessons I learned in invertebrate anatomy and the lectures in in my plant class where echoed in the dissections of comparative vertebrate anatomy.  I was beginning to see that science was more than a set of cool fact but a way to see the world around me.  What’s more is that, aside from being easier than it should have been, this full immersion in science most importantly became a refiners fire, burning away the indoctrinational stink of the politics of evolution, revealing the revelatory nature of its ability to be THE unifying theory of everything in biology.  I was becoming an evolutionist.

Is that The Mountain?” asked Bilbo in a solemn voice, looking at it with round eyes. He had never seen a thing that looked so big before. “Of course not!” said Balin. “That is only the beginning of the Misty Mountains, and we have to get through, or over, or under those somehow, before we can come into Wilderland beyond. And it is a deal of a way even from the other side of them to the Lonely Mountain in the East Where Smaug lies on our treasure.”“O!” said Bilbo, and just at that moment he felt more tired than he ever remembered feeling before. He was thinking once again of his comfortable chair before the fire in his favourite sitting-room in his hobbit-hole, and of the kettle singing. Not for the last time!

True, navigating college was not the end of a long journey, only the first steps in a continuing excursion.  Still questions remained unanswered.

Go back?” he thought. “No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!” So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter. 

And on I went, trotting along, unsure of what end I would meet and meeting joys and challenges on the way. The greatest joys came in finding allies in authors and a friend. This friend, who is also my pastor, came to the same road I was traveling on but from a different starting point. I told him about how science works and he told me about how the Bible works. Through this journey I have not lost my faith but have fortified it, which isn’t to say that nothing has been lost, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Indeed Bilbo found he had lost more than spoons - he had lost his reputation. It is true that for ever after he remained an elf-friend, and had the honour of dwarves, wizards, and all such folk as ever passed that way; but he was no longer quite respectable. He was in fact held by all the hobbits of the neighbourhood to be 'queer'-except by his nephews and nieces on the Took side, but even they were not encouraged in their friendship by their elders. I am sorry to say he did not mind. He was quite content; and the sound of the kettle on his hearth was ever after more musical than it had been even in the quiet days before the Unexpected Party.