Thirsty

News by amateurs. Why? Because there are so many more of them, they're everywhere! This guy in particular would probably not like to be called an amateur at anything. He's a Green Beret and is currently employed by a domain name registrar located in the 10th floor of a skyscraper in downtown New Orleans. His job title? "Crisis Manager" He's got an account on LiveJournal that was started just before Katrina blew into town, and he has been posting frequent updates, known as "liveblogging". The best way to experience it is to go all the way back to the oldest entry and read them in chronological order. It may be overwhelming to try to read the comments too, though.. Oh yeah, New Orleans is under full evacuation orders, and this company has yet to experience a service outtage. The Interdictor . See the top of the page for a link to a webcam he has running. I just sat and watched him for like 20 minutes. Oh and he's on IM as "IKilled007...

I thought that was a completely absurd thought about a week ago, that summer is seeping into the past. But I see that it's true, ever so slightly. That's ok though, if the cool days gently arrive, being ever-so-sensitive to our not-so-distant winter/spring anxieties, we may be coaxed into enjoying autumn. I need only remember cool races, a warm tent staked down over a bed of freshly fallen leaves, and invigorating thunder storms! Re: races - tomorrow night I will run in my fourth 5K (3.1 mi) in as many weeks. The first was Race Judicata (search that page for "Shared Marketing", that was our team! We were super happy to bring home a certificate :) The following two weeks I ran first by myself, then with Chris & JoeJohn , at a Cross Country 5K race in the Montrose Bay park, up the infamous hill 2x. This is the Mizuno Cross Country Series put on by Universal Sole , which has been every week in August. I was vacationing at the lake with the family the firs...

Unionized. Coax. I discovered a new word last night while surfing Wikipedia 's page on Perl : Shibboleth . It piqued my interest when it referenced my Hebrew ancestry, but I was thoroughly amused and educated through the entire article as well as the "Talk" page (see the discussion link at the top of any article) that allows Wikipedians to hold a discussion specific to that particular article.

He is my hero.

Today's favorite quote: So let's just legalize everything, because we know that drug use, murder and theft [would] have just gone underground as well...and just look at how dangerous armed robbery is! If we had special robbery programs that allowed for clean, safe robberies, the world would be better off. - by a Christdot.org user on this thread: Tom Delay on 'Justice Sunday' . It's always interesting to watch the evolution of comments discussions. Via this thread I also discovered that according to the reputable FactCheck.org , abortions have not, in fact, increased while Bush has been in office - The Biography of a Bad Statistic . (Reminder: this issue is hugely important to me. Don't mistake this for me calling Bush a perfect guy..)

Does a smile, in it's most generic form, transcend the boundary of every single culture? Is it a universally recognizable expression of joy? (This may seem like a "duh" question, from Captain Obvious, but I find it hugely important in relation to cultural - and maybe, in a tiny way, moral - relativism.) Has the smile permeated all cultures, no matter how isolated they are from one another? If so, why?

On Monday, one of the Catholic patients at the Rehab Institute was talking to me about different churches throughout Chicagoland and recommended that I check out Saint Sabina at 78th and Racine. He said to go to the 11:15AM, bring ear plugs, to be thankful for the little hand fans they put in each pew, and be prepared to be there for 3 or 4 hours. I didn't need the fan, I'm glad I didn't bring ear plugs - though my ears were slightly overwhelmed afterwards, and I looked at the time as I got back in my truck afterwards: 3:05. It was easy to get to, just a coupla mile straight shot off I-94. The neighborhood was relatively run down, up to about a block around the church, where things were in a little better shape. I walked in 20 minutes early to a lot of hustle and bustle of people getting situated and lot of various ministers preparing. Today happened to be their long-anticipated Youth Mass, so there were tons of red shirts everywhere, the active youth. On the far wal...

Matthew 19:3-12 : Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?" Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery." The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husba...

Of the many blogs that I read, one is titled, " Enter the JBoss Matrix - Various JBoss dudes post." It's a group blog which the developers of the Java web application server called JBoss contribute to. This is great. Read these two recent posts: When systems fail and people don't care by Marc Fluery, major boss dude of JBoss When systems fail and people don't care pt II by Andrew C. Oliver, random developer dude That is, if you have some free time to waste. Don't worry it's not geekspeak.

A very young grandfather was interrupted in his thoughts and his walk by his seven year old granddaughter's question. "Papa, do you love me?" "Of course. Why do you ask?" She tugged at his finger. When they walked she held on to one of his fingers , wrapping her little hand tightly. Their walk stopped. "Papa, do you love me?" This time much more emphatic and impatient. He knelt down to look at her, their eyes meeting. She never looked away. Eye on eye. She could see into his soul. Seemed like that since the delivery room. What a day that was! She repeated, " Do you love me? " "Listen to Papa. I do love you. With all my heart. Where is this coming from?" "Becky says I'm gitimate, and I don't have a daddy, and momma got in trouble, and gitimate kids don't get loved." Papa was stunned. " and who is Becky? " " You know, Becky at church. " For a moment, Papa thought he might need to ...

Am I sufficiently refreshed? That remains to be seen. Am I content? Most definitely. :) Today I gave it one last shot at slalom ing and managed to get up for approximately 3 seconds. That's about 2.5 seconds longer than I was ever able to on my previous efforts throughout the week. It's so out of control! Like learning how to walk... on a tightrope. With no arms. Got my first experience of sun poisoning. You apply meagre amounts of sun screen and feel proud of yourself that you managed to avoid shedding more layers of skin than a snake, and what do you get? The next round of games: red splotches in random areas that look more like a rash or allergic reaction than sunburn. Oh well, my 28th floor cave/office will gladly keep me far far away from the sun henceforth. Aside from cooking breakfast one morning, and seeing my sister & brother-in-law off another morning, I made it to morning mass each day with my Dad. Another step in the lifelong adult process of blurr...

My new favorite thing about the family lake cabin at Crooked Lake, Angola, Indiana: an outdoor shower w/ sufficiently high curtains, on the side of the house, w/ both cold and hot water. Aaaaah. (Guess where I am? Guess for how long! Guess what I will be doing all week. Not much blogging!)