Digital Wilderness

It’s time for another reality check on my 2005 goals.

• Find a job
  (details)
• Find a church
  I’m seriously slacking on this. Since I work some Saturdays now, I end up sleeping in on Sunday, so that sure doesn’t help.
• Have daily quiet time
  *sigh* Still have the hardest time making this a habit.
• Eat healthier
  I’ve eaten worse in the past two weeks than I have in the long time. Don’t know what’s causing me to eat like this, but I’ve got to turn it around before it catches up to me.
• Exercise regularly
  Went biking a couple times before the weather turned cold and miserable again. Nothing on a regular basis, though.
• Practice my guitar and sax
  Umm…
• Upgrade my blog software to the latest version
  (details)
• Redesign my website
  New designs and other changes will be done by July 1st.
• Start my book
  I’ll probably get around to this sometime in the fall
• Keep in contact with “long lost” friends
  Still doing well with this, thankfully. It’s been so great to get reaquainted with old friends.
• Spend less time at the computer
  Doing okay with this for the most part. Some days I’ll be on longer than I should, but for the most part, I think I’m at a good place.
• Cut back on TV
  Eh, still not where I want to be. I tend to turn the TV as background noise and I want to cut that out. I really only watch a handful of shows consistently, though, not including Reds’ games.

Well, it seems that I’ve been tagged by Ashlee. Here goes nothing…

I have to pick 5 or more of the following occupations and post my answers here. Then, I tag 3 other people to post their answers on their blog. Got it? Sounds like fun, huh? Here goes….The “questions”:

If I could be a scientist…
If I could be a farmer…
If I could be a musician…
If I could be a doctor…
If I could be a painter…
If I could be a gardener…
If I could be a missionary…
If I could be a chef…
If I could be an architect…
If I could be a linguist…
If I could be a psychologist…
If I could be a librarian…
If I could be an athlete…
If I could be a lawyer…
If I could be an inn-keeper…
If I could be a professor…
If I could be a writer…
If I could be a llama-rider…
If I could be a bonnie pirate…
If I could be an astronaut…
If I could be a world famous blogger…
If I could be a justice on any one court in the world…
If I could be married to any current famous political figure…

If I could be a musician…
…I would do it for the fun, not the money. I would like to be a guitarist in a rock band, one that tours regionally, not nationally, and builds relationships with the fans. I would also love to be part of a marching band/drum corp again (such as DCI). Marching band is one of the things I miss most from my high school days.

If I could be a missionary…
…I would do it by teaching and being a friend. I would use my God-given gifts as part of my ministry, wherever I may be called, whether home or abroad. I would like to minister in Europe or Australia, though, and teach computers and technology.

If I could be a psychologist…
…I would be a Christian counselor focusing on relationships. I would try to help married couples have a healthy marriage and help younger people who are struggling with singleness and dating relationships.

If I could be a writer…
…I would write a novel along the lines of Flabbergasted – good, clean fiction that’s laugh out loud funny and entertaining, a book that’s hard to put down once you’ve started reading it. I would also start an online webzine and publish a couple articles a week.

If I could be a world famous blogger…
…I would have several blogs. One blog would be personal, somewhat along the lines of this site. Other blogs would have a theme, such as books or music, and all posts on that site would be based on that theme. For instance, if I did a music blog, it would feature reviews, new releases, artist interviews, etc. Each blog would be a thriving community, with lots of discussion and feedback on the reviews and such. I would also have a notebook pc/pda/cellphone with contant internet connection so I could blog wherever I am, whenever I had the desire.

Now I get to tag three people… Let’s go with Jeff, Jeremy and Lori. Glenn, I invite you (and anyone else for that matter) to do it as well. Just copy the above quoted section into your blog and post your answers. Looking forward to seeing what you all write!

We are all faces with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

–Charles Swindoll

Having a rough day? Frustrated at people you work with or have to deal with? Feeling like screaming, throwing things, or strangling someone?

Do something about!

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.

It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think and say. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and that is out attitude.

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…

We are in charge of our attitudes.

–Charles Swindoll

Sometimes, no matter how young you are, something sticks with you and stays with you as you get older. The Greatest American Hero is one of those things for me. The Greatest American Hero was a television show that first aired in 1981 and starred William Katt, Robert Culp and Connie Sellecca. Unfortunately, the show was canceled in 1983, after only 3 seasons. Having such a short run and with me being so young (I was at the ripe ol’ age of 6 when it ended), I don’t know why I remember it like I do. The things that I remember the most from the show were the red “super suit” and the theme song, Believe it or Not, which was sung by Joey Scarbury.

Here’s a synopsis of the show:

Los Angeles high school teacher Ralph Hinkley encountered an alien spacecraft while on a desert field trip and was presented with a red costume with unique superpowers. The suit looked like a pair of tight
fitting red pajamas with a black cape and bestowed fantastic powers (flight, incredible speed, telekinesis, clairvoyance, invisibility, invulnerability from bullets and super strength) to this blond, mild-mannered high school teacher. The aliens had chosen Hinkley because he matched their profile of someone having the qualities of “moral character, idealism and integrity.” Unfortunately, before Ralph got the hang of the suit’s abilities, he lost the instruction book that came with it. He spent the rest of the series clumsily fighting evil as he tried to unlock the many mysteries of this extraterrestrial costume. Assisting our superhero in the pursuit of the bad guys was Ralph’s attorney girlfriend Pam Davidson who along with FBI agent Bill Maxwell were the only other humans who knew the secret. Bill called Ralph’s suit “The Red Jammies.”

The reason I’m posting about this is because the first two seasons have been released on DVD, with the final season coming out later this year. I know what’s gonna be high on my wish list!

There are rumors The Greatest American Hero is being made into a movie, too.

Interesting, but a little scary too…

Elwood “Woody” Norris pointed a metal frequency emitter at one of perhaps 30 people who had come to see his invention. The emitter — an aluminum square — was hooked up by a wire to a CD player. Norris switched on the CD player.

“There’s no speaker, but when I point this pad at you, you will hear the waterfall,” said the 63-year-old Californian.

And one by one, each person in the audience did, and smiled widely.

Norris’ HyperSonic Sound system has won him an award coveted by inventors — the $500,000 annual Lemelson-MIT Prize. It works by sending a focused beam of sound above the range of human hearing. When it lands on you, it seems like sound is coming from inside your head.

What’s it good for, you ask?

“Imagine your wife wants to watch television and you want to read a book, like the intellectual you are,” he said to the crowd. “Imagine you are a lifeguard or a coach and you want to yell at someone, he’ll be the only one to hear you.”

Read more: Soundless Sound System

Do you like Daylight Saving time? I like it, since we have that extra hour of daylight during the summer months. Well, the House of Representatives has approved a new energy bill which will extend the length of Daylight Saving Time.

The House, in approving a massive energy bill that covers more than 1,000 pages, would extend daylight saving to the first Sunday in March and to the last Sunday in November. It now starts in early April and ends in late October.

Note that only the House has approved this. The Senate and then the President would have to sign off on the bill before it actually takes affect.

Read more: Yahoo! – More Daylight-Saving Time in House Bill

Because I know all of you weren’t getting sleep over this…

CNN is reporting that scientists have solved the problem of unpopped popcorn kernels left in a bag or bowl. The short answer is that unpopped kernels have leaky hulls (seed coats) that prevent the buildup of sufficient pressure to cause the pop.

(From CNN.com via Slashdot)

Congratulations to the NKU Norse Women’s Softball team! They’re undefeated thus far this season, winning 40 games in a row, which ties the NCAA Division II record for the longest winning streak in softball history. They face Southern Indiana today as they try to break the record. Go Norse!

Read more at enquirer.com.

Also, congrats to my high school’s girl’s softball team. They’re ranked #1 in Northern Ketucky, with a 13-2 record, and recently beat the #2 team in the region. The team is undefeated against Northern KY schools, their only two loses coming from Louisville Male and Oldham County

Read more at enquirer.com.

[UPDATE: NKU won their 41st (and 42nd) game in a row on Wed, setting the NCAA Division II record.]

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday, dear Bryan R
Happy Birthday to you