Bullet points for a Monday #2

[As always, I am grateful to Daniel for this very useful format.]

  • Addie didn’t sleep well last night. She’s getting a tight-ish cough, stuffy nose, ick. No fun.
  • There’s been an owl somewhere near our bedroom window for the past few nights. That rascal hooted nearly all night.
  • Read Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in one long take last night. Chilling and bleak. Images that stick in your head.
  • Result of all of the above: sleepy this morning. Very sleepy.
  • It also may have something to do with all the CiCi’s Pizza I ate yesterday. I think I ate a piece too much.
  • A long-ish day at work today.
  • Tonight we’re going to see David Wilcox in concert here in CR. We’re going with some new friends of ours. Should be fun. Hope I stay awake.

No Excuses

I hit the scale last Saturday after a fairly physically strenuous day of outdoor work (OK, strenuous for me at least), a time when usually the scale is nice to me (hey, I know how to work the system), and I was not happy at what I saw. It wasn’t Garfield’s “one at a time, please”, but it was a few pounds higher than I thought it would be, and a solid 7 or so pounds higher than it was when I was at my low point back in February or so. Eesh. I haven’t been just totally letting myself go, I guess, but I have been snacking too much lately and well, we do all enjoy dessert.

So I declared this week to be “No Excuses” week for me when it came to exercise - I needed to do something every day. With the gym only 1 mile down the road I don’t really have much excuse anyway; in general, my natural laziness + staying up too late at night = not getting up to work out in the morning. So this week there hasn’t been anything compelling to stay up and watch on TV (World Series starts tonight, though… uh oh), I haven’t been involved in a really engrossing book (my other late-night weakness), and so it’s been better.

  • Monday: 2 miles on the treadmill.
  • Tuesday: 1 mile on the treadmill, some weights. I have only recently discovered the bench press, and it’s frightening how little I can press. Something to work on.
  • Wednesday: 2 more miles on the treadmill, with a better time than on Monday.

My other good accountability tool in this is an online calorie tracker. I’ve been using The Daily Plate off an on for a while now… this week it’s back on. It lets you enter your height/weight/age and a weight loss goal, and then gives you a calorie-per-day target. It has calorie info for pretty much anything you’d eat, so you can just look it up, indicate how much you ate, and it gives you a nice nutritional summary.

So that’s my big push for this week. It feels good, too. Hopefully the scale will be a little friendlier to me next time I get on. Then the challenge is continuing. I think long-term it’s unrealistic to think I will hit the gym every morning every week, but if I could hit it 3 times a week plus play basketball one night? Well, that will be a big help.

Most any update is better than none...

Bullet points for the weekend:

  • Church plant plans are moving right along. Looking like the start date might be the beginning of the year.
  • Tonight will be my first night all week of just coming home from work and being home. Too many evening activities makes for a long week.
  • Major weekend activity: tree trimming and collecting brush. Hiawatha picks up brush starting Monday.
  • Waiting to hear whether or not I get a freelance website development job. Hoping I do.
  • You know you’re short on sleep when the Diet Pepsi doesn’t really help things any.
  • The new Iron and Wine album (The Shepherd’s Dog) is really good.
  • The new Radiohead album is good as well. I don’t usually dig Radiohead, but the new album is quite accessible.
  • Meebo (my browser-based chat client of choice) just released a Firefox plugin that’s actually pretty good. Not perfect yet, but beats having to keep extra FF windows open.

That was pretty random. Sorry.

Convergence: Death of a PDA, Expiration of a Cell Contract

I’ve carried a PDA pretty much everywhere with me for the past several years; I think I’ve been through three different Palm models. My current one is a Palm Tungsten E2. I don’t use too many features on it, really; my primary uses are the calendar and a few games. The calendar is the biggie for me - I need something to keep all my work meetings and outside meetings lined up. The past few weeks my PDA has had trouble holding a charge. It doesn’t matter whether I charge it via USB or from the wall charger; within 10 minutes or so it complains about the battery being low and starts disabling functions. I’m assuming it’s nearing the end of its life - I’ve had it just over two years now.

Second upcoming event: our cell phone contract is just about up. I haven’t completely decided yet, but I’m thinking we’ll abandon US Cellular in favor of Verizon, for a number of reasons. With the new contract comes the opportunity to purchase a new phone at a reduced price. So I have a convergence here which might allow me to start consolidating electronic gadgetry. So I want to explore my options.

Desired operations:

  • Basic cell phone operation
  • A usable calendar that allows for easy entry and reference. My employer uses an antiquated Lotus Notes system for email and calendar, so I’m not counting on the ability to sync things up.

Heck, I think that’s basically it. So what are my options?

Geof was the first to respond to my tweet on this topic. His words: “this is God’s way of getting you to buy an iPhone.” Geof was an iPhone early-adopter and has had nothing but good to say about it. And I will admit that I’ve drooled over the iPhone a time or two. Who can’t love its wonderful touch-screen interface and Apple styling?

I have a few issues with the iPhone option, though. I’m not crazy about the price, but hey, if I’m replacing a PDA, the iPhone isn’t really any more expensive. Does the iPhone even have a calendar feature? Surely it must. But I don’t really want to use it to replace my iPod - I want my iPod to be able to hold my entire music collection, and they don’t make a 40 GB iPhone yet. :-)

The other issue, which will be an issue for all web-enabled phones, is that I don’t really need full connectivity all the time. Goodness knows I check my email often enough as it is, I certainly don’t need another way that I can be distracted. And the data plans that come hand-in-hand with these smartphones end up adding $30 - $40 per month to your cell plan. For the type of plan we’d have, that’s almost a 50% increase, which is too much.

There are other cell/PDA combos out there; you can get a Palm Treo, any one of several models of Blackberry, and some “smartphones” that the cell providers offer. But again, I don’t want/need the data plan. I just want something that’ll give me phone capability and help keep me organized.

So what’s a guy to do?

Oklahoma City

Business has brought me this week to Oklahoma City, square in the middle of the Sooner state. I’ve been to the Tulsa area many times (my grandparents having lived in Collinsville for twenty years), but while I’ve driven through OKC on I-35 a multitude of times, I don’t recall ever having stopped; certainly I’ve never stayed here overnight. So it’s like visiting a new place, which I really enjoy - a chance for observations, to learn a new city.

My first impression of OKC was at the airport. I like the OKC airport. It appears to be fairly new, is large, open, airy, and bright. It’s a fair bit larger than my home port of Cedar Rapids, but not immense; twenty-some gates and a three-story parking garage. It was only a short walk through the terminal to the Hertz desk to pick up my key, then a short stroll to the parking structure to my car (a Toyota Corolla, very nice). The Hertz #1 Club Gold, letting me skip the paperwork and head straight to the car, is worth every penny.

Shortly after leaving the airport, I ran into the seemingly inevitable road construction. In this case, the construction is on Meridian Ave, the main drag that heads north out of the airport and up to I-44 and my hotel. This trimmed a four-lane highway down to two rather narrow lanes, and made the waits at traffic lights frustratingly long. Still, the trusty Never-Lost GPS system in the car got me within visual distance of the hotel before announcing “You have arrived.”, and I could handle it from there.

My next impression of OKC came from the hotel that the Federal Aviation Administration selected for our training this week: the Clarion Meridian Hotel and Convention Center. The hotel seems to be a microcosm of the city as a whole, trying to move forward from the dusty, tired, and worn trappings of the old oil and ranch business into the technology of the twenty-first century. The hotel dates to probably the 1970’s. It was originally all exterior-entry rooms, but some time later in an attempt to upgrade an additional hallway was built outside the room doors, allowing for climate-controlled access to the hotel lobby from the rooms. The room itself has had fresh paint and sports two 25-inch televisions with local cable, but it’s still obviously a remodel and the layout just isn’t quite right.

Driving through the city the past couple of nights I have seen the same contrasts; on one side, dusty, dated businesses feeling like the older southwest of the 70’s and 80’s; on the other side, a trendy, new city whose Dell Computer campus gives you another reason to compare it to Austin, TX. My restaurant choices thus far have been limited to the “new” side of things; I ate at a “grill and brewhouse” on the north side of town tonight that was very tasty. I might still be tempted to try an older steakhouse tomorrow night… I guess I’ll see what sounds good when my class has wrapped up.

The instructor at our class today told us he’s lived in Oklahoma for most of his life. He described OKC as “a great place to live, and an OK place to visit.” Now, when the Oklahoma tourism folks originally created the “Oklahoma is OK” slogan, I’m guessing they weren’t intending the suggestion of mediocrity that our instructor gave us, but after being here two days I’m thinking he’s closer to the truth. In many ways, the situation that OKC finds itself in reminds me of my home state of Iowa; a good, solid midwestern state, a good place to raise a family, a place struggling to find its way beyond its agricultural roots into technological opportunities. Not a super-exciting place to visit, but that’s OK. It’s a lot less hassle than the more exotic destinations, too. For this traveler, this week, Oklahoma is, indeed, OK.

Bullet Points for a Monday Morning

  • Had a productive weekend; got the lawn mowed, some concrete patching done, led music at church.
  • Miserable weekend as a sports fan: Cubs played terrible and got swept; Huskers got mauled by Mizzou; Hawkeyes ran into a freight train called Penn State. At least the NHL season is new, so Dallas can’t be too far out of it yet.
  • I’m headed to Oklahoma City for training tomorrow. Can’t imagine it’ll be too exciting. Let’s just see if I can get somewhere on time this time. My recent luck with flights hasn’t been good. Flying United this time.
  • Listening to the new album from Iron and Wine. It’s good.
  • I am officially now a Company Designated Engineering Representative (DER) for the FAA. I have only partial approval authority at the moment; it’ll take time and experience to get full approval authority.
  • It’s been a week now of just bringing a bottle of pop to work in the morning rather than filling my mug at the convenience store. It’s going OK. I have decided, though, that Coke Zero is too sweet for me - I like Diet Pepsi better.

The Doctor says: Don't Blink

I haven’t enjoyed a single episode of TV quite so much in a while. I’m a couple weeks behind on Dr. Who, but finally watched the episode called “Blink” tonight. A very, very good episode. [Spoilers ahead, so if you’re going to watch it and want to be surprised, don’t read on.]

First of all, the idea of weeping stone angels as quantum-locked beings who are only alive when no one is looking at them? Awesome. Now, the whole time-travel plot device of having someone send messages to themself in the past is far from new - Phillip K. Dick wrote a short story with that premise, which got adapted into a so-so movie called Paycheck a few years back. But it was really well done here. And the whole final scene where the human has one-up on the Doctor, because she knows what’s gonna happen, and he doesn’t yet? Brilliant. And so well done.

Dr. Who can be really cheesy at times, but this season has done well. And Blink is definitely the best episode to date.

Should this really be our fight?

“Clergy fight same sex marriage”. This headline stared out at me from this morning’s copy of the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The sub-heading (which was used as the title of the online version of the story) gives more detail: “Iowa church leaders planning rally ‘defending marriage’”.

A coalition of church leaders today announced plans for an Oct. 28 prayer rally and other actions to defend traditional marriage in the face of a district judge’s ruling striking down a same-sex marriage ban – a development they warned could convert Iowa into the nation’s “Rainbow Vegas.”

“This is a call to arms,” said Dan Berry of Cornerstone Family Church. “The sleeping giant is being awakened.”

Later in the story, the Rev. Keith Ratliff of Maple Street Missionary Baptist Church in Des Moines said the “…campaign is not geared toward hate or fear of homosexuals, but rather seeks to preserve the longstanding, family-based and Bible-backed tradition of marriage as being a union between a man and a woman.”

The final, colorful quote in the story comes from Chuck Hurley of the Iowa Family Policy Center, who warns that if the same-sex marriage ban is permanently reversed, Iowa will be come “the Rainbow Vegas”.

We have gotten all too familiar with hearing pastors and Christian leaders like these over the past two decades. On a national level, radio hosts like Dr. Dobson, televangelists/presidential candidates such as Pat Robertson, and leaders of movements like the Moral Majority (the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, an OK guy in my book), and later on the Christian Coalition (Ralph Reed, who turned out to be a bit more crooked), urged their listeners or viewers to call their congressman, write their legislator, to stop this piece of legislation, encourage that one, or to decry a recent judicial ruling.

There is a place in the life of a Christian for speaking the truth to our community. In many cases that should and will include involvement in the political arena. At our church this past week we had a petition on the table in the foyer urging Iowa lawmakers to pass a state constitutional amendment in “defense of marriage”, and to urge them to support an amendment to the federal constitution as well. One of our elders, during announcement time in the service, asked folks to consider signing it. Many did. (I didn’t. I’m not so sure that we should change the constitution for something like this.) But I fear for the sake of the Gospel and our churches when what our pastors are known for are leading the “sleeping giant” into the political arena when those rascally judges finally go too far. (Why is the church “sleeping”, anyway? Maybe that’s problem numero uno.)

Particularly disgusting to me was the quote from Mr. Hurley of the Iowa Family Policy Center, pulling out the scare tactics to warn good little church people that their beloved, safe hometowns will become a “Rainbow Vegas”. “Ooh! Run away!!! Gay people!!! Be afraid!” I don’t know whether Hurley is a pastor or not, but the IFPC website is pretty plainly espousing Christianity, including on their site a Prayer Request page with a quote from John Bunyan. Mr. Hurley, I see plenty of prayer requests on that page for new donors, success in the courts and the legislature, and politically active people. But where’s the prayer request that these people who you fear so strongly would hear the good news of Jesus Christ and be freed from their bondage to sin? If we’re going to rouse the “sleeping giant” of the church, why are you only rousing them to join the political fight against your adversaries rather than rousing them to minister to and serve those same people?

Our primary command as believers in Jesus Christ is the Great Commission: to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel. We are not to huddle in a spirit of fear, desperately attempting to protect our little enclave against the evil world around us. Christ has already won the victory. It’s over. Instead, we need to go to “those people”, and love them. Serve them. Find out who they are. What makes them tick. Show them the love of Christ in action, so that when we find avenues to share it verbally, they will already understand. We are not to fear “them”, but rather to fear for them, knowing that we, too, were once hopelessly ensnared in sin. Our new righteousness is not our own; we dare not boast in it. Only in Christ.

Change comes from the inside. Pass all the laws you want, legislate your own specific understanding of perfect morality, but if you don’t change the hearts, laws aren’t gonna do any good. (See: The Prohibition.) However, if lives are changed by the power of God, pass or repeal all the laws you want; people living for Christ will make whatever country they live in the kind of country that you probably want it to be. I fear that the siren song of political power has been too attractive to the Church. Let’s stop being distracted by it, and focus instead on loving our neighbor.

$1.05

I have a usual stop on my way to work in the mornings: the Road Ranger convenience store at the corner of Blair’s Ferry and I-380. I have an old 52oz insulated mug that I have a habit of filling up with Diet Pepsi. Yeah, I guess I’m a little bit addicted. Ever since they became Road Ranger, the refills of that mug have been pleasantly inexpensive - I’ve been paying a whole $0.62 for a refill.

This morning, though, there was a change - they’ve upped the price on me to $1.05. I guess that’s $0.99 + sales tax. And suddenly I’m not so excited about it. Something about paying with a dollar and still getting change back was cool with me; something about paying a dollar plus another coin makes it seem much less appealing. Still, I’m not quite sure that just going cold turkey is such a good idea, either. And then there’s the all-too-tempting vending machine at work where a 20 oz bottle of pop costs $1.25. Heck, if I’m gonna do that, I may as well just stop for my $1.05 mug in the morning.

Maybe a better alternative would be to buy a pack of bottled pop from the store, throw it in the fridge, and bring along a bottle in the morning. That’d cut the price down, and hopefully start weaning my caffeine addiction… well, a guy can hope.

Odds and Ends Sep 2007

First off, sorry to any of you who tried to leave comments yesterday. Something with the way the upgraded theme interacts with the spam catcher is leaving something to be desired. I’m working on it, but in the mean time if it disallows a comment of yours, send me an email to let me know, would you? Thanks.

Otherwise, it’s Wednesday. I am looking forward to a couple packages coming later in the week, though. Tomorrow, DHL should be bringing the new shoes I ordered last night. I’ve had my old Converse Chuck Taylor lo-tops for a year now, and have worn them out pretty good. It was time for a new pair. This time I’m living on the wild side - instead of replacing my black ones with another black pair, I’m getting green. That should be fun. :-) I don’t think I’ve ever had a package delivered via DHL before, and I will say now that I’m very impressed with their package tracking on their website - it seems to be more granular and updated more frequently than UPS’s tracking info ever is.

Earlier in the week I got a gift card from work as an “alternative reward”. Cool. Even better is that with that gift card I’m getting a set of Shure E2c headphones. I know several folks that swear by them, and I’ve been thinking about the purchase for a while now. They were on “clearance” at Target last week for $89, but I got ’em off Amazon for $60.

This weekend on Saturday we’re headed to Des Moines overnight - we just needed to get out of town for a day or two. All my business travel has finally added up to enough Hilton rewards points to get us a free hotel room on Saturday night, and I don’t have to lead music on Sunday, so we’re off to visit the zoo, an orchard, and whatever else we find interesting in the big city. Can’t wait.