Thirsty

The past 3 weekends have taken me to 3 of the major museums in Chicago. The first was the Shedd Aquarium with Chuck , that was pretty fun staggering around like old men. The dolphin show was really interesting.. both disappointing and reassuring to know that though their training seems conducive to the typical programmer's "infinite loop", that won't actually happen with them. The following weekend, I met Sean and Don at the Museum of Science and Industry. I perhaps most enjoyed the huge model railroad including Chicago and some other cities as well, and maybe the little TV room they had which let you try to monitor multiple video and audio feeds at once. This weekend I went to the Field Museum with my parents, who were in town and got to see my place for the first time. Don, I got to see the Incan Macchu Pichu exhibit! It was good. I started to realize though how much videos/TV/internet can be just as good as a museum, when I found how much people (myself in...

(The title of the song that I'm listening to as I start this post, by Selah) I was flipping through channels, submitting to a temporary addiction to the WB, when I came across what first looked like a home video. It was a few people having a little stakeout in Central Park @ NYC, with powerful binoculars, and cameras and camcorders attached to them. They were all focused on the ledge of a building on 5th Avenue that was home to a nest of three Redtailed Hawks. They were at just about the age of testing their wings, but the advantages of sugh a high overlooking vantage point were overshadowed by the disadvantages of not having branches reaching high enough to the ledge for safe testing of the wings. The group of birdwatchers stuck around for weeks, arriving before sunrise, and leaving when it got dark, to watch the young hawks flutter around the nest, peering eagerly over the edge but delaying the jump. The male adult hawk would fly around the nest with a dead mouse in his...

Awww.... I missed it. Yesterday was the 26th anniversary of the uprising of what many people call the most powerful man on earth alive today. Others call him the greatest servent on earth alive today. Or how about "anti-christ" or sick, brittle, old man. I prefer "His Holiness".

Amongst all the blogs that I follow is the official Google Blog . Well, not much more than a week ago they unveiled a new (free, of course) service, and I have been surprised to compare it's usefulness with the actual lack of word-of-mouth about it. So, though I usually don't take it upon myself to use this blog to merely pass along news, I feel that many of you will love me more for this. :) Google SMS ! Here's the wrap: Google has escaped the confines of a web browser and an internet connection. You now have the power of Google available from the keypad of your cellphone. What you do... 1. Send a text message to GOOGL (46645) 2. Put something in the message and send it, and you get useful information back: Send : 47978 Receive : Collegeville IN (city of any zip code you specify) Send : 60611 pasta Receive : pasta restaurant listings in that zip code, with name, address, and phone # Send : define existentialism Receive : need I elaborate...? :) S...

Finally did it. Got the marathon under my belt . Much of the run was spent in fear of running out of gas, which only partially materialized. I think more damage has been done with my satisfaction than if I had been dissatisfied, because I now have the itch for running. I've been going over my performance and setting a goal for the next one. Can't wait to try it! (and fail miserably, I'm sure...) In other news, work is keeping me busy, and I'm awaiting the arrival of winter. A co-worker, Young, is intent on getting me to break some limbs via his favorite sport of Snowboarding. Also, on the ever-elusive path of self-improvement (and we all know what self-improvement really is!), I'm battling with demons of organization and cleanliness. Say a prayer for me, and I will you. Anything else? I miss you.

May love be the gardener of your years  Bringing forth from your grounding in God  A harvest of wholeness and peace  A bounty of courage and compassion May your soul tower  with the strength of the cedars  Your heart pound with the power of the sea May joy rise in you like the mountains,  And may it be a blessing you share  With all those you love,  Who this day make merry  That in you The great love of God  Has found a home on earth

I'm afraid that I've been realizing a pretty embarassing fact, the more I study the situation, and study the issues. The situation is that category of stereotyping, the ranging of... priorities and values... from liberal to conservative. Whatever that means. Well it feels like I 1) hold a worldview that seems pretty conservative, and 2) have a natural tendency towards that direction, a bias if you will. It's a pretty scary realization. God: I assert again, and remind myself, that in you is the fullness of truth, of perfection, of absolute love, and that your will for me is the most important thing I could ever do with my life . Mankind: through the grace of Christ, I have a great affection for you as individuals, and long for your well-being. I ache for your happiness. Friends: you actualize the joy I've stumbled upon, and share in my experience of it. Opponents: teach me your ways, and show me where we diverge. Seek understanding and peace.