Coded Thoughts

There's no place like Home

2007-08-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

I read through many blogs everyday, many of them seem to be a rehash of others, some are pure marketing fluff. There are a few however, that have some good information and so I trudge through looking for a glimmer. I found one such posting on Vitamin.

I currently run a website for the state organization of my church, a website that many, many people have told me looks great and much improved from it's previous edition. Needless to say, I hate it. It's not very original, it's crammed full of stuff, theres no flow, and on and on. I work on this site as a donation of time, purely volunteer and while I welcome help from others members of the church, no one has yet stepped up. This could be good and bad. Bad because I, like most people in this world, am extremely busy and haven't been able to devote the time to this site that it deserves or needs, I am just barely treading water. Good in that although I have a vision for the site, I don't think I could adequately share the vision with someone else enough for them to anything other than tread with me.

I came upon an article yesterday on Vitamin named 'Home Sweet Home'. The article describes what the NEW homepage should be. One particular point I liked was that homepages typically represent less than 40% of entry ways into the website. The popularity of search engines and RSS feeds(blogs particularly) have enabled visitors to go directly to the content they are interested in and bypass homepages altogether. This has led me to become even more disappointed in my website. I am not sure if the site could hold up to use like that. From the installation of Google Analytics I can see the numbers: 63% of my visitors enter through the homepage. Do I have enough information elsewhere?

The other thought I received from this article was that a site should be designed from the detail pages inward, culminating in the design of the homepage. The homepage should be a gateway to the information inside, not the last page a visitor sees. I cannot compare my site to this, of the 63% that enter the homepage, 45% leave from the same page, never entering the site. Another detail is that of the 37% entering through other pages, a staggering 85% of those exit from the page they entered, never seeing the rest of the site. Am I giving them the information they were looking for, or boring them to sleep.

I have some more work to do. Maybe I will document my progress here, at least I will be able to look back on it and see if I wasted my time or not. It's a continual learning process.

Ciao

An Event Apart: Day Two

2007-06-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

Wow!

There is way too much to share here. I can't say how much this stuff has inspired me.

I heard the term 'designed by a webmaster', and it was like taking a blow to the chest. I looked back on what I would have called 'some of my best work' and wretched. it was designed by a webmaster. The content was there, it was very functional and I would say usable. It did not however, look like something I 'wanted' to use. There was no user engagement.

Khoi Vinh talked about using grid layouts for the website, and it made so much sense. Clean, efficient and it allowed the web page to tell you where to click, how to use it.

Mike Davidson began the revolt, or helped to continue it. Encouraging everyone to set the standards for web usage and design instead of waiting for a bloated bureaucracy to tell you what to do. I was ready to burn my shorts in solidarity.

It was hard to sit in this conference and listen, so many ideas that I just wanted to start immediately working on.

The folks at A List Apart including Jeffrey Zeldman and Eric Meyer are truely inspiring and I thank them whole-heartedly for bringing these minds together.

Stay tuned, I have more to share

An Event Apart: Day One

2007-06-21T23:02:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of An Event Apart in Seattle. All in all a good day. The speakers are engaging and interesting, with a good mix of humor and information.

The group at A List Apart, starting with Jeremy Zeldman and Eric Meyer proclaim the site is for Website Builders. To be honest I didn't catch the subtle nuance of the phrase. The event however cleared that up. Instead of targeting the developers or designers out here, the range of topics engage the entire experience of a website or web application. From the details of typography to the thoughts technology and enabling web visitors, the speakers shared their insightful experiences in creating websites.

Here are a couple of the speakers and the topics given.

Secrets of the CSS Jedi - Eric Meyer
Eric started us off with a discussion on CSS browser defaults and how to minimize the differences in browsers for the pages. He also shared with us those items that are not only difficult to change, but not worth the worry either.

Writing the User Interface - Jeffrey Zeldman
Here we received advice on how to not overburden visitors with too much info, as well as how to be sure the information or instructions provided are not only concise but clear and easily understood. He also provided that any percentage of customer baser is worth consideration, maybe you can't accommodate for one reason or the other, but you still need to give it thought.

Designing You Way Out of a Paper Bag - Jason Santa Maria
Jason schooled us in the finer details of the site design process, providing examples of wireframes, graybox diagrams and multiple proofs. He maintained that while the client is the final say, they came to the designer for a reason, for expertise, and you should not be afraid to showcase your ideas and thought processes and give the client their monies worth.

Are You Experienced - Andy Budd
Perhaps to me the most insightful discussion was that given by Andy Budd. Andy talked about designing a user experience. He provided examples of how most sites are given to designing around the user or the business or the technology. The experience should take all that into account but should not be defined by that alone, that a graceful combination can provide the website visitor with a fun, engaging and helpful website.

And now on to Day Two ...

Change of Format

2007-06-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

When I first started this blog, it was to post simply random thoughts, or at least that is what I told myself. I also told myself that I could work on my rapidly decaying (some may say non-existent) writing skills.

It doesn't seem to be doing any of the above. I am finding myself not making the time to write, and it seems that when I do, I just want to complain.

So, the train is off of the rails.

I am turning this into a technical blog. Yeah I know, another technical blog. I want to use it to expose what I have learned and allow me to coordinate that with what others have learned, mostly in website design. Not the graphical aspects but the design of the sites themselves including usability, typography, data collection and data sharing.

Thanks for reading so far and I hope something I say in the future will be found interesting.

What is up with our legal system?

2007-06-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Apparently Paris Hilton is really upset. What good is all that money if you can't buy your way out of jail time?

I remember years ( and years, and years ) ago when OJ Simpson was found innocent in a court of law for the murder of Nicole Smith. I was not concerned at the time about guilt or innocence, the jury found him innocent. I was in for a lesson. After being found innocent in a criminal court, Smith's family was not only allowed to have him tried again in civil court but they won. Apparently he was slightly guilty for her death and the criminal court just missed the evidence. At first I thought this was double jeopardy, something our Constitution is supposed to prevent. But no, since a civil suit is only about money, its allowed. So even thought he was found innocent of the murder, just because he was a suspect and that was enough to get Smith's family a whole bunch of money. I certainly hope that made up for the grief and loss. It's old news, often debated, but old. It did make me slightly wonder about our justice system that it could itself ignore its own rulings.

In Paris' case, I heard the comment of a legal professional that letting Paris go back home instead of serving her time, undermined the purposes and goals of the system. What do I know, several people also stated that the Sheriff' department has the right to override the judge in it's determination of where a convicted criminal can serve their time. To them the judge only offers suggestions. Call me crazy, but a drunk, doped up porn star potential murderer(*) should serve out the time they are given, especially if they were given parole and already proved they couldn't do that right. On the other hand, based on past civil suits, i could sue her just for making me nervous about being on the same road as her, mental anguish I assure you.

* In case you are concerned about my choice of words, make no mistake, they were chosen. Anyone who drinks and drives or dopes and drives is simply a murderer in search of a victim.

I say most of this to get to another point.

In the Seattle Times last week there was an article about a kid who was tried with a group of other kids for a 'Columbine-style' incident at a school here in the Northwest. (Article) He was found innocent while others were convicted. Those convicted are back in school. He is not, the school district has expelled him and will not allow him to return until he admits that he did wrong, even though a jury has acquitted him of the crime. He's innocent, but they want an admission. Does anybody see the logic in this, please tell me.

Here children is another lesson about our justice system. In the US you are innocent until proven guilty (by everyone but the press), if acquitted you can always sue them for something else, or at the least just ignore the reality of the situation in favor of a reality where you get to decide instead.

I love this country, but some of the people that live here are just looney.

Drive to your vacation destination

2007-03-30T12:56:00.001-07:00

Some people like to drive to their vacation destination, I myself find it relaxing. I flew down to Atlanta last year and drove back. My family and I went through Yellowstone and saw Old Faithful. It was fun.

I thought about my next vacation and came upon these driving instructions. In just under 32 days I could be in Dublin, Ireland.

Google Maps: From Seattle to Dublin

Better practice my breathing.

Don't believe every bumper you read.

2007-03-19T07:26:00.000-07:00

I find it absolutely amazing the people that misquote their Sunday School lessons. If amazed there, I am completely aghast at those who would try to quote sections of the Bible having never read it.

I was walking through downtown the other day and saw a bumper sticker that at first made me pause for thought, then it just ticked me off. The bumper sticker stated "The last time we listened to a Bush we wandered in the desert for 40 years". Now I know this sticker was supposed to be a political statement, but the statement is wrong and the person using it as an example should get the facts straight.

Listening to the "bush" started on on the path to the promised land. There was nothing bad happening there and no disagreements about it outside of some impatience. Here we have a leader, someone who stood up to the current government and said "We'll be leaving now". Nobody wanted to stay in slavery, for that fact no one was compelled to leave if they wanted to stay. The trouble started when they got to the promised land. If they had listened to the "bush" their troubles would have been over. Then sent in the 'spies' to scope out the land, and the majority of spies came back with all kinds on exaggerated reports of conditions and developments in the promised land. They now started second guessing the leadership that had gotten them this far, simply refusing to go forward with the plans they were all for not more than a couple of weeks earlier.

Get your facts straight. I doubt the people writing the original bumper sticker would want to correct it, but here are some more accurate versions of the sticker they might want to consider:

"The last time we didn't listen to the Bush, we wandered in the desert for 40 years"
"The last time we had bad intelligence, we wandered in the desert for 40 years"

I don't think they give the same political message as the original, but do you want to get a reputation for twisting the truth to get your point across?

Coffee with a view, eew!

2007-01-23T08:03:00.000-08:00

Coffee is somewhat of a cultural thi9ng here in the Pacific Northwest, home to such companies as Tullys, Starbucks and Seattle's Best (now owned by Starbucks). Although it's busting out everywhere else. When I vacationed outside of Atlanta last year, I found a Starbucks to go to, though not as easy as I do here in Seattle. Here, you can have two Starbucks in the same building, on opposite corners one would server 4th avenue, while the other served 3rd. Both would have lines in the morning and be busy all day long.

However it doesn't stop there, here we also have many little coffee stops, you can't drive 2 blocks without seeing a drive-thru coffee stand. Although I guess from now on I better be careful where I stop with the family for coffee. A recent article in the Times has served notice that some people are expecting and getting a little more than coffee in the morning as an eyeopener. A few coffee stands have taken to serving their drinks in their underclothes. I will accept the title of old fashioned here, maybe even a prude, but I want my coffee barista to be fully clothed when they serve me my drink. Heaven help us!

The demise of twenty-four

2007-01-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

Is 24 doomed? Maybe I see something different than everyone else in the show I enjoy so much. In the wake of 911 and the days that followed, I enjoyed seeing the representation of someone acting on patriotism, ready to do what was necessary to keep me and my family safe. Now in reality, I hope the things that go on in the show are substantially fictitious, I would have trouble sleeping if they weren't, as would anyone living in Southern California. It seemed to me the show drew on my desire to believe at least in the basic tenets of the show. Are those days of needing reassurance over with the convening of the 110th congress, perhaps we should renew the Monroe doctrine.

I believe in our right to privacy, but I also believe there are times when such rights should be subject to the safety of others. Personal experience of mine, outside of television viewing experience, has lead me to believe that there are in fact circumstances where time is an issue and the red tape we as Americans both love and hate only gets in the way. Those lengths of tape are there to protect us in 'normal' circumstances, it is however the exceptions that concern me.

If my children or a family member were in danger or anyone for that fact, I want the government to have the right to do whatever is unnecessary to prevent or minimize that danger, not have to sit and watch as people die, buildings collapse or cars explode waiting for a judge to finish his breakfast before he/she deigns to answer his phone.

I am talking in extremes, but it's the extreme I am worried about. Or should we just assume that in a Jack Bauer moment, the law we are being so paranoid about will simply be cast aside anyway in favor of the greater good?

Anyway, let's get about the business at hand, Senator. How much travel money do you REALLY think you need?

Have a safe day!

I guess you can make me

2007-01-03T08:54:00.000-08:00

Why is it that I could care less about something until someone says I can't do it or that it's no longer available. I know basically what trans-fats are, and I know that they are bad. I am somewhat amazed by a society that would take to outlawing them because they are bad for your health. Starbucks has just announced that they will remove all items from the menu which contain trans-fats. Now, in the back of my mind I know this should be OK. I am part of the growing number of Americans that are overweight (I dare not use the term obese as it scares me), and can only benefit from eating healthy. Yet somehow I find it disturbing that some items are being forced off of my menu. Why is that?

Why do we gravitate towards things that are naturally bad for us? I could understand the desire for danger, but if I was wanting to tempt fate, I could find quicker ways then eating unhealthy. "Here, take that Death, I'll show you I'm not scared" while shoving another donut in my pie hole just doesn't show the defiance I was craving.

At least they are not yet illegal here in Seattle. I still think that New York will soon have fat dealers, ready to give you your trans-fat fix for a price, in some side alley of a major borough. Some one opening their coat to a collection of baked goods in little zip-lock baggies. Or maybe not.

Good-bye trans-fats, my mind will miss you, but for the good of the body this has to happen. We are no longer right for each other.

Now if we could just convince someone that cigarettes and alcohol are bad for your health.

Later ...

Blessings in the New Year

2007-01-01T15:18:00.000-08:00

Like my friend Jess, I also crawled into bed at about after only 20 minutes of the new year had passed. Ideas of blogging long faded (along with the knowledge that I can simply timestamp my blog for midnight, if I wanted). Normally I am a night owl, staying up until I have only 5 or 6 hours left to sleep. I thought I would try something new and not push myself to the limit on the first day of the new year.

During church yesterday, my Pastor asked two questions: 1) How many people made new year's resolutions last year?, and 2) How many people kept them? Of the 100 people in the congregation during that Sunday School session, 3 people raised hands to the first question and none to the second.

I guess that's why I don't make resolutions, I've yet to follow through. If I am to start, the first resolution should be to keep my resolutions, or at the least make a whole bunch of resolutions and play the percentages. Math has to be used all through your life to be sure it doesn't go stale.

So here I sit, looking (again) at code wondering where to dive in, watching the now traditional Twilight Zone marathon on SciFi, trying to think of some resolutions. Mind you all resolutions are good, but I think we know ahead of times which ones we make actually have a chance.

Jess made a good start:

Get to know God and his path for me, better and better each day. The one requires a conscious effort but I think the effort is well worth it.
Spend more time with my family. My wife Tiffany and I have four kids: Kat(13), Toph(11), Kassidy(4) and Caeden(2). Unfortunately I am a work-a-holic. I tell myself that to give my family the things I believe they deserve, I have to work harder. I need to strive more to giving them the time they deserve as well.
I need to complete my Bible reading. For three years straight I have tried my church's Bible-in-a-year program. In fact I maintain some web features to help people go through it, and yet I always find myself "too busy" to complete it. Yet I have time to read 10 or more novels in a year. I need to straighten the priority there.
I need to write something. This is the hard one, and therefore pretty high up on the list of things. Like many others, I continually have stories running through my head yet I never put them to paper. I need to try harder.
Most Important, keep the above resolutions.

2006 is gone. Good and bad, it's now the past. And I will try to make a better future for my family, my friends, and any other person I may encounter. Everyday is new beginning, but also a possible last time or last day to see or talk with someone. Enjoy them and leave behind the impression in them that you did.

I am grateful for many things this year, not least of all:

I have a loving family. We has suffered many hardships this year, though God has made us stronger because not in spite of those hardships.
I have reconnected with friends of the past. Those old friendships have become new friendships. I am not sure where they will lead, but I eager to find the purpose in them.
I have dived further into God then ever before and even though it hasn't been easy, it has been encouraging an keeps me wanting more.

May God bless your new year and you.

Standing in the light

2006-12-29T11:46:00.000-08:00

Patrick's Place contains a good thread today. Why can people be obsessed with finding someone else's faults. Maybe I have become more reflective in my years. I am glad that I am just an average guy, not in the public eye. Looking back in my life I see so many mistakes that they tend to scare me some. If anyone were to start documenting my failures and mistakes, they might be hard pressed to find a stopping point.

Since I am not a public figure, one may simply state, so what? Your mistakes don't matter, you are not making the decisions for a country or a state or a city. They matter to someone. I have a family which I am responsible for, so my decisions matter.

I posted yesterday that I would try and find the good in my life. I think I should extend that to others as well. There have been people in the past that have failed me, politicians, co-workers, family. I do not want to remember someone for what they did wrong, to me or to others. I would rather remember them in a positive light.

As we proceed with our lives, be reflective. History can be a harsh teacher but it can also give us a glimmer of hope, if we only recognize what was done well, what successes we've accomplished. We are the sum total of our successes and failures, I hope that I have a positive balance. I am certainly going to live like I do.

My 3 good things from yesterday:

I learned and put into use a new technology.
My wife and I worked on our next set of family goals.
My eldest son chose to take care of his little brother and did it well.

What 3 good things happened to you yesterday or today.

God Bless.

In with the Good

2006-12-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

Everyday, on my way to work on the bus, I have about 5 or 6 things I plan on blogging that day. If you look at my history, you can see they never make it to the web. Most of the things I want to blog are complaints, rants. I just think, this crud makes me upset so why would I want to upset someone else with it. It's human nature I think. It's like an SNL skit I saw one time. A family sits down to dinner, the Dad tastes the food and exclaims "Oh this tastes horrible!, here you try it." and passes it around the table until everyone agrees "It's horrible". Why do I feel that I should complain about everything to everyone, unless your Dennis Miller, there's no future in it.

So before I start doing it again, I will try and focus on something good. I was talking with my Pastor the other day and he mentioned some process he read about (I think it was a Psychologist) where every day you point out three good things that happened. After a while you start to see relationships between the good things, and hopefully have trouble narrowing it down to three. I guess it's supposed to keep you dwelling on the positive.

I am not big on New Year's resolutions, in fact I can't remember them much less keep them. I think I'll try, in this upcoming year, to dwell more on the positive and to stop spreading the "bad vibes" to anyone who would unknowingly unleash the hounds with a simple "How's your day going?". I want to write more. I've always wanted to write more, I just haven't. If I can't manage a complete turn around. maybe a 5 degree shift will start me in the right direction.

An early Happy New Year to you, my reader, and may the new year bring with it a desire to dwell on what is good in your life.

And ...

Caeden, my two-year-old son, runs into my arms from accross the room, screaming 'Daddy' and wearing a big smile.
My daughter Kassidy told me that she was not alone downstairs while she played, but that God was with her.
I got to go to sleep to the sound of a good rain hitting the windows.

Baby it's cold outside ..

2006-11-28T09:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am a Dean Martin fan, but this is really true. Under normal circumstances, it doesn't really snow much around Seattle. It does up in the passes, but not in Seattle and it's surrounding suburbs.

Now for the strange and bizarre. It started snowing Sunday morning. Off and on it still is, but the strange part is the 3 days on below freezing temperatures. Seattle is surrounded by ice. Cool.

Most of my office is working from home today, in fact so many that we are overloading our VPN services. My boss, the brave man he is (no he doesn't read this) decided to make a brave attempt to go into the office. It just so happens he drives the van pool. I really don't have anything to say near as entertaining as he, so I thought I would share his email into the office this morning. (Names of the nearly-innocent have been changed).

HOW TO GET FRIENDLY WITH A SLIDING SAND TRUCK

A blistery, snow blown winter day. I remember thinking a little snow is fun but a sheet of ice is hell. Winter jacket, hat, gloves and boots. All set. I headed out with full knowledge the traffic was light today. I checked and cross checked several Internet traffic cams. Others fear of snow is an advantage. It keeps the roads a little less hazardous for risk takers. Ready, Steady, Go.

Started the engine earlier to get the ride warm and defrosted. Got to plan ahead for these things. I headed off on the regular vanpool route. Darn, need gas. Guess I'll have to plan better next time. Something smells funny and a strange noise. Ah, the emergency brake is frozen closed. It will probably unstick itself by the time I get to the gas station. The route is going to be a little late today.

I was right, the ebrake broke lose but there is something wrong with the fuel gauge now. It isn't registering that I just put forty bucks of gas in. Oh well, I know it is there. Back on the road, windows defrosted but still frozen shut. It is cold out there anyway.

Now for some fun, the gulch by the next rider's house on 192 street. Car in front just lost it. Several in the ditch. Tow trucks are going to make a killing this month. That one is up-side-down. How did they even manage that? I guess anyone can get a license. Time to make my attempt down the little hill and up the big one. I wonder if I should get a run at it. Looks too iced over and the vehicle graveyard says otherwise. I'll go real slow, controlled. Hum, I'm not in control anymore. Better stop. I said stop. Whew. Steering is useless. I can not move without going to the apex of the hill (and a big pile of cars). Guess I'll pull the chains out of the back and see if I can drive over them for steering traction. Nada. These things are worthless on ice. I'm going to slide into that ditched Camry if I try to move again. Time to stay put and give this some thought.

(five minutes later) ...

Sweet, a sander. I didn't know Renton had a sander. All of us who are stuck are going to need to move enough so he can get by the graveyard. I can't move. Guess it has to be the guy in the Civic stuck trying to go up the little hill. No English? Perfect. Maybe one of these other people know Spanish. No? Time to play charades.

(five minutes later) ...

Lucky we had enough chains to make a track so we could push the Civic nearly into the ditch. I think he is going to need a tow truck. Here comes the sand. Awesome.

Huh. There is something you don't see everyday. Sand truck driver hopped out and his rig is rolling away without him. He is pretty good at running on the ice. I think I would break my neck if I tried that. I can't believe he caught it. Ok, here he comes and now he is sideways. All 14 wheels of his sander are sliding sideways down an iced over hill at the Metro Van that is nearly up against the Camry in the ditch. Not good. At least he is still spreading sand as he slides down the hill.

Good recovery. Sander missed the van by an inch. Scoop some sand from the street and pack the van's front tires. Lay down the chains. I'm on the road again. I'm feeling pretty lucky but I think I'll stop while I am ahead. 25 more miles of this isn't going to happen.

Thanks boss, you made my day!

Rainy days and Thursdays

2006-11-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

I made it to work on time today, for the first time in over a week, two weeks maybe. I unload my laptop on my desk and take my jacket off when the head IT guy comes over and asks: "What's that big yellow-orange circle in the sky?" As I turned I noticed it as well, big, impressive and warm. I was in awe, it had been a long time since I had seen that big ball in the sky, and in a field of blue as well.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, at the halfway point of November we have already broke records. The headline reads that this is 'The wettest November on record ... already", and I think I read elsewhere that this has been the second or third wettest month ever. Again, we are only half way through. But today looks better.

Here's a question for my reader out there: When skies are gray and rain falls everywhere, it can be really depressing (Seattle has one of the highest suicide rates in the country this time of year), but when the sky turns clear and blue and the sun shines everywhere, it's a happy time. Why then is someone who is depressed said to be 'blue'? Out here the blue sky marks the end of the rainy season, those days from June to December, and the beginning of all manners of enjoyment.

What tomorrow brings, who knows, I certainly don't. I will open the blinds and enjoy this strange warmth that comes from the sky above, I will embrace change. For now.

Hope you day goes well.

The rise and fall of kings

2006-11-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

I am reading a book series at the moment and really enjoying it. I have had problems in the past with non-fiction, finding it mostly dry. Car chases don't happen that often in real life and thus don't make it into non-fiction that often either. However, I was feeling that I was missing something and so I looked for a way to get into the genre. I found it in 'Historical Fiction'.

The series I am reading is written by Conn Iggulden, and is called the 'Emperor' series and is a piece of historical fiction concerning the life of Gaius Julius Caesar. Starting with his life in his early teens, the series gets personal and shows some of the make-up of the to-be-emperor. Better than that its describes and elaborates on times of the Roman Empire and the politics involved there. It gives a glimpse of how life was at that time, and what the ideal of Republic truly meant. I am currently on book two, Death of Kings, and find this a great read. The author even discusses, at the back of the book, which pieces are historical fact and likewise, which parts are embellishment. I recommend this series to anyone who likes history, with a flair.

The only thing I have yet to figure out is whether Julius Caesar was a good guy or a bad guy. As so often true with history, maybe there is no dividing line here. After all the Romans were the masters of re-writing history in there favor.

Cheers!

This Ain't Your Daddy's Prohibition

2006-11-03T14:03:00.000-08:00

Just when you thought it might be safe for our children at school, the Candyman strikes.

Maybe just appropriate for the Halloween season, maybe just plain apropos. The Seattle Times ran a article yesterday on a specific school's policy towards sweets and other unhealthy snacks. Ingraham High School, of Seattle Public Schools, passed a rule banning sweets and unhealthy snacks, The schools have candy and snack machines, they're just full of bran flakes and bottled water. Blech! One student took this as an opportunity to test his entrepreneurial skills, he became the black market source for candy in school. The funny part is that not only is the newspaper protecting his identity, so are the school's teachers. Apparently, they buy on the black market as well and do not want to give up their source.

On the downside, he almost got busted for dealing drugs when trying to sell a '100 Grand' bar, the teacher thought she heard '100 grams'.

On another note: ine benefit of having 4 children, is four candy bags to raid from?

The Changing course of History

2006-10-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Before continuing here, you may want to go over to Patrick's Place and read The Confederacy and Racism.

I myself am a transplanted southerner or what some may call a 'Damn Yankee', that is one that refused to go back home. I moved to Atlanta when my father was stationed to NAS Atlanta in late 1979. I spent my high school year's there and became a bog fan of the Old South. Georgia itself is rich with history. Even the town I call home, 'Powder Springs' was part of the battleground for the battle of Kennesaw Mountain. At the time I moved there, I had not lived anywhere for more than four years at a time, and spending the height of my school years there caused me to call the place home. I began to take pride in my surroundings.

In high school I took a semester long class in Civil War History. This amazed my mother, who having been raised and schooled in New Jersey didn't think there was enough material for a month long class let alone a semester. I enjoyed the class, but having taken the class has caused some very interesting comments in friends with whom I shared this fact.

One question, The state of Georgia recently changed it's flag owning to the idea that the design which had incorporated the confederate battle flag, somehow linked Georgia to it's slave state past. I believe it did link the state to it's confederate past, which is part of it's history. I have heard people say that reminders of the past only bring up bad feelings, that why the flag was changed. Will hiding the past ever remove it? History is not something to be hidden away with a 'Gee, I hope that never happens again!'. I myself take pride in where the great state of Georgia has come since then and would like to think no one looked at that flag and said 'It's just a matter of time before they try slavery again'. I think we are past that.

I live in the state of Washington now, in the Seattle area. For those who don't know, Seattle is in King County. King County was originally named after William Rufus DeVane King in 1852. The government of King County has changed it's mind in 1986 and re-decided that it was named after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , a noble act I agree, but when does it stop. The motion which states that it resets the historical precedence, claims that the change in due to the fact that William Rufus DeVane King was a slave owner and having made his money from the oppression of other human beings is not worthy of the honor of the county's namesake. His being a slave owner does not change why and how the county was named. How much history has been lost because, those now in the majority have rewritten it to become more palatable. George Washington was said to have owned over 300 hundred slaves at the time of his death and made all of his money from plantation farming of tobacco and wheat. When will the name of this state be up for renewal to something we all feel better about?

"Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it". I do not think we are about to repeat the mistake of slavery. But let's not confuse slavery and racism. Though one led to the other, the opposite is not true, Racism, unfortunately, abounds in every nation of this world in one way or another. It's said that in a country such as ours that the statement holds for us as well. No matter how much progress we make in the direction of correction, someone is holding on to hate and self-superiority. Although not as prevalent here in Washington as it may be in the southern states, it's still here. Not more than a couple of years ago we had a cross-burning in a minister's yard. It shocked a whole bunch of people, because the Northwest is such an enlightened area. Well enlightenment may not be enough.

I am proud to be a Georgian and an American. I treasure my history both good and bad. I hope to be a better person than some of my ancestors. God created all people equal, only Man changed that, and he did it for his own selfish purposes.

A Matter of Conscience

2006-09-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

For those who have yet to read, please read a statement of conscience from Whil Wheaton. As we do live in a representative democracy (no snickering please), I enjoy reading the opinion of others. While I do not agree about everything he says, he most certainly has the right to say it. I can remember feeling that way about other issues that I to felt I was not well represented on. I live in a state that opposes many of the viewpoints I hold dear and feel I should speak up when I can.

As far as courage is concerned, I think many people have the wrong idea. You should stand up for what you believe and the members of our government should vote their beliefs. So stands the question, when we elect a government official, do we totally take away his opinion and beliefs in favor of ours. Or do we elect someone in whom we hope would share the sames beliefs as ours. And if the later, do we call someone who would vote opposite our personal opinion, a coward.

If we could elect a non-thinking being to congress (again, no snickering), one that immediately turned around and polled the constituency before voting? Would we feel better? If my memory servers right, and depending on which state you live in, I am fairly sure that a lot of people would feel they were misrepresented by the results of the last presidential election, even if it had turned the other way. You cannot avoid that in a two-party system.

And I am pretty sure you cannot get people to change their beliefs or ideas by calling them cowards. If you can, then they are the ones deserving the boot, not those that stand for what they believe in.

Wil states that the bill currently in debate would be passed by Republicans and scared Democrats. I am assuming he means that the Republicans aren't scared. In either case he implies that they will follow Bush regardless. That's a terrible assumption, not only would our Democracy be in trouble, but also the very foundations of the Constitution. Two branches of government, or even one of them, taking direct orders from one of the branches seems to be a recipe for disaster. And to think it took only 230 years for our government to collapse, after all that's what we are talking about.

I don't think that Congress is simply playing follow the leader. I get emails from my representative in Congress (I didn't vote him, he does not share my ideals, but he IS my congressman and for that he gets my support AND my opinions) and he's not always the staunchest supporter of the Bush administration.

I think that the members of Congress have their own opinions and ideas, and that they act on them. I beleive if I disagree with my representative, I should let them know, but not by calling them cowards or spineless.

Your representatives are just that, representative of the constituancy. I can disagree with my neighbor, and we disagree, which one of us is the represeted one. Work with them, don't berate them.

As far as my opinion on the whole thing, like they said in 1776, 'Don't tread on me'. My addendum, 'Woe to them who do!'

The Dread Pirate Bubba

2006-09-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

Jess and I were discussing Talk Like a Pirate Day. An interesting day were one interestingly enough, talks like a pirate . I'll let the website fill in the blanks. Anyway, in the discussion we somehow happened to mix Rednecks and Pirates. You may be just now realizing just how well those two go together . To help who have yet to come to that realization, here are the top 10 ways to tell if you are a redneck pirate.

10. If your truck is jacked up four feet from the ground to allow adequate clearance for the rudder.

9. If your gun rack contains a shotgun that shoots shells and monkey's fists

8. You use your peg-leg to hold up the car before you slip in the concrete blocks.

7. You great your friends with the phrase "Ahoy Y'all".

6. Your sister's pirate name is Redbeard.

5. Your truck bed has a hole for the mast.

4. Your pirate flag is the skull and crossbones on a field of stars and bars

3. Whenever you refer to Pirate Jack, you face reverently towards Lynchburg, VA.

2. Your hound dog is perched continually on your shoulder.

1. The sails on your boat are flannel.

Disclaimer: I am niether Jeff Foworthy or Dave Letterman.

I also managed to watch "Wife Swap" last night. I don't like the show as it normally is, but I have to say the idea of swapping a pirate wench with an OCD mom epitomized the stupidness of the show. The show, in celebration of "Talk Like A Pirate Day" appeared to be the most honest episode of the 3 episodes I have seen. What can I say, I am against wife-swapping no matter what the circumstance.

Please remember John Bruce Eagleson

2006-09-11T01:47:00.000-07:00

Today on this fifth anniversary of the tragedy in New York City, we remember John Bruce Eagleson. Bruce, a resident of Middletown, Connecticut was a vice president at The Westfield Group, a company running retail shops at the World Trade Center and was only seven years from retirement. He was attending a meeting on the 17th floor of the second tower when the first aircraft hit and had received a phone call from his oldest son, Kyle, urging him to leave the building right away. In midst of the tragedy, he spent his last moments helping his friends and colleagues evacuate. Of the 11 Westfield employees working there that day, 10 survived thanks to Bruce. Bruce was last seen going back into the tower to get two-way radios to stay in touch with others, just before the building collapsed.

He is survived by his wife, Gail, and his three sons: Kyle, Timothy and Brett. He has left quite an impact on those that around him. Relatives from abroad and co-workers on that day. Different memorial sites have comments from those around the nation, from Marietta, GA to Issaquah, WA. Bruce is remembered as someone who always had a kind word and a smile, and that he liked to laugh. The words I read the most are those like: selfless, concerned and thoughtful

He was avidly concerned with education and a memorial scholarship award was created to help high school students who excel in the arts. He had spent all of his life helping and nurturing others from giving swimming lessons to disabled youth, to coaching sports, to the assistance he had given those in business-related endeavors.

John Bruce Eagleson was a lot of things, what he IS though is missed. Missed by any and everyone whose life he had touched. I would have liked to have known him, and I feel slighted at the fact that I never will.

To read more tributes to the innocent victims of September 11th. Go to the 2,996 Project.

Old made new again

2006-08-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

I have been getting into the old hymns again. I love music, it sets my mood. I especially love the get up and go type. I listen to a lot of Third Day and MercyMe and the newer Praise and Worship stuff by Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and David Crowder. I gravitate toward the stuff with a good beat and fast lyrics. I have commented more than once to my Church Music director that we need to do more of that stuff, to which she replies that we can certainly try.

We have a small worship band: piano, drums, and a bass (If I'm not playing drums that day) so it can be difficult adapting some of these songs to our group. (Have you ever read any of Third Day's sheet music?).

Lately though i have been looking towards some of the older hymns in a slightly different way. It started when I attended the Christian Musician Summit here in Washington. I got to attend a class held by Scott Wesley Brown and Billy Smiley (of the band WhiteHeart). They got together with 13 other worship leaders (see bottom of this page) to evaluate some of the older hymns and see what it took to bring those songs into modern or blended worship services. Sometimes they had words and no music, so they wrote new music, sometimes they just added a chorus built from one of the later verses and sometimes it just took composing other instruments to go with the piano music that was already there. What I remember hearing was that they were thinking of hooking into this music distribution system built by a fruity computer manufacturer. They would distribute the songs with some of the pieces missing: no lyrics or guitar so you could play along on your gut air to the rest of the accompaniment. A cool idea, and some of the hymns were just beautiful. More info at www.worshiphyms.com.

Then I got a copy of Bart Millard's new CD. You might remember Bart singing (and writing) the song I Can Only Imagine. Anyway, Bart's rendition of Power In the Blood is just cool, a slight swing beat to an old favorite.

As much as I like the newer music, there is something about the old lyrics. It's not sacrilege to add a modern beat to songs like Amazing Grace, but it's a way to bring those words into my life today. Maybe more people will just bop down the street humming or singing Pass Me Not, O' Gentle Saviour and the tune will catch on.

Sometimes its hard enough

2006-08-15T08:54:00.000-07:00

Today's touchy subject – marriage. I hope my foot doesn't quite reach my mouth.

Let me start off by saying that although I have just celebrated 15 years with my wife Tiffany, I am not an expert in MY marriage, let alone qualified to comment on any one else's marriage.

Two friends of mine got married this past weekend and I want to start off wishing them the best of luck. They are a little bit behind the starting line at the get go. They have only been dating for a couple of months, they are mixed race, and they are starting off pregnant. They say they are getting married because they love each other, I say that's a good place to start.

Many friends and relatives have offered their advice, or criticism, to the then betrothed couple. Most of it wasn't encouraging, but they took it in stride and on August 12, 2006 became Mr. & Mrs. I wish them the best.

My point is this: Give them a break!

After 15 years of marriage I have found that my marriage is unique, and so is everyone else's. The only good advice to give is to love each other and make sure that you keep God in the relationship. However, I have seen marriages that do both of those still not make it. Marriage is hard. I am not about to go into what I thought might have broken a marriage up, besides my ignorance, it's also none of my business. Marriage is hard. Did I already say that?

My friends will have a hard time, will it be because of the kid? The mixed race thing? Money? Love? I just don't know, but something I do know is that I will pray for them and I will love them. I hope they find their niche 'cause they look good together and I believe they are good for each other.

To all my married fiends, I'm praying for you. To all my now un-married friends (there are too many in the last year), I pray for you also. Would anyone like to pray with me?

In Memory Of These ...

2006-08-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

I was reading Jess's journal CIW: The Other Invisible, to which she mentioned a project she read on another blog, Patrick's Place. Normally I am not a joiner, I'm just too busy, most of us are. This project kind of touched me, it is called The 2,996 Project and it brings recognition to the innocent lives lost on September 11, 2001.

I am big on trying to give the recognition due to those who put themselves in danger for others. I will loudly thank any soldier who has placed himself in the line of fire, any fireman or policeman who makes a hedge between me and a possible threat. But I never want to forget those who got forced into the position of danger, not knowing that morning was the last they would see.

On September 11, I have the supreme honor of recognizing John Bruce Eagleson who left us that fateful day.

Please take the opportunity to look at The 2,996 Project, if nothing else, follow the blog trails on September 11 and learn about some pretty fantastic people.

God Bless,

A play at last

2006-08-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

It has been forever since I went to a play. My wife and I, when we lived in Atlanta, used to has a subscription to one of the theaters there. Life and Kids and Work put and end to that, I am not even sure when or how it happened, it just stopped.

On Friday, the director of my department at work (shameless plug: WhitePages.com) had some tickets to see a Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at The Paramount here in Seattle. Pretty good seats at that, center, Row R. We both enjoyed the play/musical immensely. I am used to seeing plays that became movies, but not the other way around, so I didn't know what to expect. It was very good, both the acting and the music.

I was somewhat amazed at the language though. I am no goody goody, but I made a personal decision to clean up my language. I no longer speak as I did when I was young, mainly I don't want my kids hearing that stuff from me. I think we have all noticed the words slipping in at the movies and on TV, that only 5 to 10 years ago would have been censored or rated as a warning.

I have myself made the argument that the world out there has sites and sounds that I/we cannot control and you can mentally censor them out as unimportant to the context, or maybe they are important to the context and it's just a situation I wouldn't place myself in, so why worry about it. I guess lately I have become a hypocrite to my former self. I will leave my preachy type ramblings to my other journal, but I now take some offense at things that would just roll off my back earlier in life.

Is it age? Is it wisdom? Am I just being petty? I now find myself turning away from conversations of which I don't approve. I have surrounded myself with music that lifts me up, instead of some of the more depressing stuff about dogs and trains and tractors. I also spend more time around people that feel the same way I do. Is that a cause or and effect?

Anyway, as I said the play was really good, minus an unnecessary profanity here and there, I would recommend it to just about anyone.