Just another day…

Ever have one of those days when you do what you do just cuz ya hafta?

Yup, today was one of those days. I dunno why. It just was.

Thank goodness it is just about over.

Watching for the results

Nan and I are hunkered in for the evening watching for the results of the national election.

I have to admit, this is the most that I have ever followed an election.

Maybe I am feeling that I need to be more involved in my government and the way that this country is run. I am not running for election, that is for sure. But I really am concerned about my country.

Breakin’ Dad in…

I am not a huge ice skater. I did a fair amount as a kid, but have always had wide feet and skates and ice skates and rollerblads have generally hurt to wear.

Yesterday after church, we went to Kitchener to hang out with Dad McGrath and Phil for a while. We went downtown in Kitchener to the icerink in front of City Hall. The boys and Nan and Phil all skated. I did not. Trouble is the boys had an absolute blast! Well, not really trouble. That is good. The boys would like to skate more often. Here comes my issue. I have these skates that are practically new but very uncomfortable.

I would like to spend time with the boys skating. That would be fun. Right now, it ain’t gonna happen. Not until these skates are broken in right.

So, for all of you skating types out there, I need to hear from you. I have heard that there are good ways and bad ways to break in skates so you don’t look like you are dying while on the ice.

Let me know what is the best way will ya?
Thanks.

Just a big kid!

This Christmas we went to some friends of ours and their son-in-law (is that a real word?) got these cool toys called Mag Warriors. They are knights with mythical powers and cool weapons.
They come apart easily because some of their joints are magnetic, hence the name MAG warriors.

My boys were quite taken with them. In fact, I was quite taken with as well. So, with some of their Christmas gift money, the boys purchased one each at the local WalMart.
Today, I got the remaining 2 warriors for myself. They are cool!
I said to Nan at lunch, that maybe sometime I can get a dragon sculpture or something of the sort for my office. Then I can pose them all together in gory scene of dragon slaying mayhem.

This is Paladar. (my personal favourite…)

This is Battle Scorch.

They are both very cool, non?
Thanks goes out to the very cool and hip Jared (sp?) for hooking us up..

Woo hoo! Come close to me that I might smite thee villain!

Soulful

I like to listen to Nina Simone.
I don’t have many of her songs but her voice is smooth and soulful.

I am not sure where I even heard her first, but I think she truly epitomizes the jazz style that I enjoy.

Need to freshen up?

I like reading My utmost for His Highest

Straight laced, yes, but certainly to the point. I kinda need that. Like a two by four to the forehead. That is what I need most days.

Sometimes we are fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?

Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins— it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living— a continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication that something in our lives is out of step with God. We say to ourselves, “I have to do this thing or it will never get done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Do we feel fresh this very moment or are we stale, frantically searching our minds for something to do? Freshness is not the result of obedience; it comes from the Holy Spirit. Obedience keeps us “in the light as He is in the light . . .” ( 1 John 1:7 ).

Jealously guard your relationship with God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one just as We are one”-with nothing in between ( John 17:22 ). Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don’t pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself? If you are depending on something else as your source of freshness and strength, you will not realize when His power is gone.

Being born of the Spirit means much more than we usually think. It gives us new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything through the never-ending supply of the life of God.

I sometimes wonder how jealous I am of my relationship with God and Christ.

Growing up and having heartbreak

The boys came home from school today and had a couple of people stay in the backyard with them. They all wanted to play in the snow. They were having a great time and then it happened….

Someone got their feelings hurt. We are not entirely sure what happened, but the one young fella promptly packed up and said he was going home and not coming back here again… I heard all of this through the back door.

I remember when this happened as a kid. You and your volatile little friends were playing with your adventure people (by Fisher Price) or your star wars actions figures, or your Big Jims and someone got their feelings hurt. Words were spoken, and people stomped away in anger and frustration.

The result is still the same. Young people with hurt feelings.

In this case, my two sons came in the back door looking almost bewildered. We talked about it and figured out that there is little to do other than apologize for any hurtful things said if there was. It seems that it was the two visitors that had the squabble anyways.

The boys and Nan went to the boy’s house to no avail. He did not want to talk. Oh boy, I hate it when my kids’ feelings are crushed. I am sure it will work out though. That is the other thing that I remember from when I was young. Something like this would happen and the next week, I would be back under the maple tree playing with that guy.

I hope this works out too.

Dare I say it?

I have been doing a fair amount of reading on the net lately. I read a good number of blogs. A lot of people out there who are “web-oriented” use Mac computers. I have never been a huge proponent of them. But I am wearing down.
Look at this.

That is stunning. I can’t believe that I just said that.

The first thing you’ll notice about the new 17-inch PowerBook G4 is its drop-dead gorgeous display, the largest ever in a notebook — and now 46% brighter and with 36% more pixels than its predecessor. Featuring a powerful 1.67GHz PowerPC G4 processor, a 5400-rpm 120GB hard drive, an 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support and up to 2GB of RAM, the top gun of notebook computers has it all.

Yup, that is nice.
If only I could scrounge up $3700..

Straining the brain..

I have been playing sudoku on my handheld a lot lately. It is great exercise for my brain.
For those of you who haven’t seen it, it is a math puzzle of a 9 x 9 grid. The player has to place the numbers 1 through 9 in each row and column, but also in each grid of 3 x3.

The kicker is that you cannot have more than one of a number on any row or column.

Sound interesting?
I love it.
That being said, I have not moved beyond the beginner level on my handheld

On site and waiting…

I am at a client’s today completing their year end receipting.

It is not going well. The process choked halfway through. We are gonna have to kick everyone off and let my system “go it alone”.

Blech!!!

Somedays, technology bytes.