Archive for March, 2007

random ramblings.

Published
by
Dave
on March 29, 2007
in Faith, General, Life, Music and Politics
. 0 Comments

Lots happening in middle America these days. Headed away this weekend to help out with a youth retreat. for those that don’t know, a youth retreat is a weekend for the teenagers at church & their friends to get away from “normal” life and focus on getting to know God and each other better…or at least that’s what we hope for. At first I was almost dreading the idea, but as time goes by I’m looking forward to it more and more. There are 3 other guys my age going and I’m looking forward to spending some time with them.

Jen has been gone for the past 9 days and I have to be up in about 5 hours to pick her up at the airport. I think she had a good time with her family in Washington, but I’m REALLY looking forward to her return. Besides the normal stuff like cooking…I really get lonely in this house by myself. I can’t imagine living my whole life unmarried.

Politics are on the horizon. I go through phases I think…I got so burnt out from the last Presidential election, it’s taken me almost 3 years to recover. I don’t really like any of the candidates so far. I’m hoping that Fred Thompson (yes, the actor) might consider running. I was a big Bush backer back in the day…but it seems like he is just, without going into details- wore out. My political views are changing some too…I’m starting see the world as a bigger place than I once did. I’m still a conservative for sure, but I see both sides of the coin a bit clearer than I did a few years ago.

I’ve picked up yet another hobby in the past couple months- RC cars. Ever since I was a kid I always loved anything that had a remote control. I got a little cheap RC buggy for my birthday when I was probably 10-11 and I ran that thing to death. This past Christmas I asked Jen for a “real” one, like the type you buy at a hobby shop. For lack of better gift options, she bought it for me. Unfortunately it isn’t much fun to stand outside in the cold to run the thing so I had to wait for warmer days and I just recently started playing with it regularly. It’s really a lot of fun. I told my dad it reminds me of the feeling I get when I ride my dirtbike only there’s no threat of getting hurt.

One last thing. If you haven’t heard the new Jars of Clay album, Good Monsters, stop what you’re doing and go to iTunes, Amazon, or to your local shop and pick it up. It’s just one of the best albums I’ve heard in a while. Well, I’ve been addicted to Andrew Osenga’s album The Morning for a while, but it’s a little more of a specialized taste, whereas I think just about anyone will like Good Monsters.

Anyway, that’s it for this edition. I’ve got to get some sleep so I can get up in a few hours. Leave some comments people!

my world vs theirs

Published
by
Dave
on March 16, 2007
in Faith, Life and Technology
. 0 Comments

watertower

I sometimes forget that I live where I do. After spending a couple years at college (one of the most wired schools in the nation) then spending another 2-3 years touring the US, I guess I just assumed that m y town had went through the tech boom just as I had. I assumed that email was a normal way to communicate and websites were a good source for recent information. Sadly, 6 years into the 21st century not a lot has changed from where we were when I left.

This isn’t a new thought or idea, it’s just that a few things have brought it back to my attention of late. For example, a few nights ago I was attempting to find out some High School basketball scores. Checked the high school’s website- nothing there, the local (Cincinnati) news station site- nothing there, the local newspaper site- nope nothing. I would turn on the radio and check i guess…but FM radio? I mean, really…how about an live audio stream? ha! yeah right!

So, i eventually gave up and decided that it wasn’t worth the time or effort to find out. I know that sounds a bit snobbish, but really, it’s time for the community to wake up! There is a big world out there and we need to get a little taste of it. Not just technologically, but socially, theologically, & spiritually!

Just like the technology side of things, I often forget that there are churches in my community that haven’t changed in 30 years…they do the same thing, week after week, and the same people come week after week. There’s no growth, no new faces or new methods, just status quo. Being in my home church, I’ve seen things progress (albeit very slowly) and we’re reaching out into the community like never before. We’re moving, and according to the things i’ve seen and read, we’re not the only ones…unfortunately we’re the only ones doing it here.

Anyway, there isn’t really a point to this post. just a little rant really…

I wish people would WAKE UP.

PS: i know the photo isn’t the greatest- keep in mind it was one of my first shots with *gasp* a FILM camera!

calendars

Published
by
Dave
on March 13, 2007
in design
. 1 Comment

I blogged a couple weeks ago about my fascination with office supplies, although that post was recently lost in the server transfer. Long story short- I like office supplies…particularly pens. Another topic that I haven’t spent much time on thus far is my fascination with good design. I like design so much in fact that it’s likely to become my career in the next few years. Anyway, take one part design, one part office supplies and you have the image below. I don’t know why I like calendars so much, there just something about them…I just like the thought of organization, planning, and actually having something important enough to put in my calendar. So, while browsing around on flickr I found an image of a similar calendar and decided to redesign it a little. It’s an entire year calendar that fits on a business card. (business cards are another fascination that I’ll write about later). It’s pretty ingenious if you ask me. It even tells you which months have how many days (the blue ones have 30, black have 31). Anyway, that’s it for now.
2007 Pocket Calendar

untitled.

Published
by
Dave
on March 6, 2007
in Faith and Life
. 1 Comment

I went to a funeral today. One of the older gentlemen in my church passed away and I was asked to run the sound. My immediate response was that of disdain. I barely knew the guy…and funerals are so depressing. But, I remembered some of the things that I’ve thought about in the past…and about some of the things I’ve read and I was reminded of how important I think it is for us all to mourn with those who are in mourning.

It’s always a lot easier when the person who has passed on was a Christian…and even easier when that person has lived a long and fruitful life. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for those closest to him, but easier than it would have been had either of the above been untrue. It was a nice service…and I was reminded of my past encounters with the gentlemen as a child. He always had a pocket full of candy and if you approached him following any church service he was always happy to give it. I think he found pure joy in making children smile. He was a good man.

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