A New Beginning

I've put on a few pounds recently. After losing 50 pounds three years ago, I've let 25-30 of them creep back onto my frame. It's time to do something about that. I got back up on the Gazelle Freestyle Elite tonight for thirty minutes.

I need to get rid of the excess baggage.

Here's the new "BEFORE" pic:

Reason #7143 why I love Apple

I got my iMac back after only 2 days. It's better than new.

I am oh, so very happy.

Links

Until I get my computer back, any link I post here will not be properly formatted.  It's rather frustrating.

Computer Woes

First, the bad news. My iMac G5 died a few days ago. I took it to the Genius Bar at the nearest Apple Store today. It didn't take long for the guy to come back with the even worse news. The logic board and the power supply had both gone bad.

More bad news. I didn't purchase the extended Apple Care Plan when I bought the computer in 2005, so the warranty expired over a year ago.

But then, there's good news.

It turns out that the logic board/power supply problem was a known issue with my model, so even though I'm not under Warranty, Apple is still going to replace the parts at no charge. Otherwise, it would have cost me about $800.

It's Birthday time

calvinatorette IV is three years old today. My, how time flies.

The Rest of the Republican Field and all the Democrats Tremble in Fear

Chuck Norris Endorses Mike Huckabee for President

Pics from Brighton Beach

I have posted a couple of pictures of the set from my latest show Brighton Beach Memoirs over at my theatre blog.

Computer Issues

We had lost internet access at home a few days ago. We were sure it was a problem with our ISP, but it turns out our Ethernet port was dead. Unlike some computers, the iMac does not have a swapable ethernet card. To replace it would require replacing the entire logic board. Instead, I decided to get an Apple Airport Express base. Once I opened it up and plugged it in, we had internet access in about 30 seconds. Also, if we ever invest in newer computers for the calvinatorettes or Macbooks for me or Mrs. Calvinator, we can access the internet on all of them through the wireless hub.

For those who haven't seen

Here's a picture of my newish tattoo.

I got it in celebration of my 39th Birthday.



Creideamh = Faith
Grá = Love
Dóchas = Hope

UPDATE: In response to my brother's suggestion, I will reveal that the tattoo is on my upper left arm and shoulder area.

Weight Update

I have somehow managed to drop 8.5 pounds in the past 6 weeks or so.  I haven't been doing anything out of the ordinary.  In fact, I think I've probably eaten worse than usual.

Whatever the cause, I'll take it. 

Living in a Van Down By the River

Just because you can never watch this too many times:

Come to the Beach

I Directed Brighton Beach Memoirs for Kaufman County Civic Theatre. We opened Friday, have a matinee tomorrow at 2pm, and run for two more weekends. You can leave a comment here and let me know you're coming (I'm also running the light board—It is community theatre after all), or you can call the theatre at 972-563-8991 and leave a voicemail for reservations.

Tickets are $12 ($10 for Senior Citizens).

If you come, I'll go have a drink with you after the show. Terrell has a really great place to get a Margarita! If you're under 21, you can always come along and get a Dr Pepper. ;)

The show is rated PG-13 for language and some adult discussions.

Please come. I think you'll like it.

My Car is Mine

We made the final payment on my '02 Olds Intrigue late last month. The Title arrived in the mail today. After five years, and over 100,000 miles, I own the sucker free and clear. It hasn't been the most trouble-free car in the world, but overall, it hasn't been too bad. It will be nice not to have that $300+ car payment every month.

Something to Ponder

Does buying a Sport Bike turn people stupid, or do only stupid people buy Sport Bikes?

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

I awoke at 3:20 a.m. this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, so I went ahead and got out of bed at 4:00, got ready, and came on in to work.  I got to the office at 6:15.  Still dark.

I figure that I'll be "crashing" by 10:00 this morning, but for right now, I seem to be doing okay.

It is, however, already time for a 20 oz. Diet Dr Pepper. 

Here I Am Again, Fellas

Up way too late when I have to be in Court in the morning (I can't think of those words without thinking of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. Speaking of Neil Simon, I'm directing Brighton Beach Memoirs at KCCT. Rehearsals don't start until August 27th. Thankfully, I have been able to cast the entire show. Now, I want to make sure we promote the heck out of it because its a great show that I think people will enjoy, and it would be a shame if we only average audiences of 20.

If I were a Simpson

I finally got around to getting my very own Simpsons character based on a picture of me. You can do yours here.

So, without further ado . . .

TADA!
























Okay, so that was a little more ado.

Toddler Logic

Tonight after dinner, I had a Philly Swirl, Reduced Fat Sugar-Free Fudge & Chocolate bar. My daughters asked if they could have one, but we don't let them have things with artificial sweeteners, so I said, "They're only for grown-ups. Calvinatorette IV, our almost 3 year old, said "Can I be a grown-up?"

Worst Blogger Ever

That'd be me. I think of things I want to say, and then when I get to the computer, I forget them.

My Wife

My wife is the greatest!  Obviously there are details that prompted this, but those really aren't all that important.  The bottom line is that my wife treats me far better than I deserve.

mea culpa

Since I was chastised by my mom for not trumpeting my wife's efforts, I'll do it now.

My wife was asked to create a "Cookie Bowl" for my nephew's groom's cake.

She toiled several frustrating hours, but the final result was remarkable.

Let Them Eat Cake

A good friend of mine has a business of creating cakes for all types of occasions. Check out some of his work Renaissance Productions.

He doesn't ship cakes, but if you have an event in the D/FW area, he is well worth the money. The cakes not only look good, but they taste delicious as well.

Thoughts on the Federal Vision flap

I'm still working through some of my ideas relating to the Federal Vision, but the first thing that keeps poppoing into my mind is that the primary difference between Presbyterians and Baptists is not who we baptize, but why we baptize who we baptize.

Bowling for Dollars

Not for me.

For Big Brothers/Big Sisters. If you would like to donate, you can click the link below and sponsor my pathetic attempts to knock down pins with a 16 pound ball (or maybe a 14 pound ball).

Sponsorship Page

UPDATE: I edited the sponsorship link, and hopefully it will work this time.

July 4th

If you are in the vicinity of Terrell tomorrow, please come to the park for the July 4th celebration.  I will be doing some narration along with the North East Texas Symphony Orchestra, and I will be leading the crowd in a sing-along during one of the numbers.  The orchestra is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m.  Let's hope the rain clears out and allows us to perform.

Fireworks are at about 9:15 p.m., weather permitting. 

Back on the Weight Loss Wagon

I decided that I have to make another stab at shedding my excess baggage.  Long time readers will know that I lost 50 pounds a couple of years ago.  Sadly, I've managed to put 28 of those back.  So, I started last Monday, June 25th with a plan to slim down.  I have started bringing a gallon of water with me to work each day, and I drink all of it before I go home.  I have also committed to cutting way down on the snacking during the day.  One of my weaknesses has been the candy jar on the desk of a co-worker.  I found myself grabbing a handful of M&Ms entirely too often.  Like I did in 2004-05, I am still going to eat what I want.  Just less of it.

I am not going to post weekly reports (unless I change my mind), but I will try to keep y'all updated as things progress.  Since last Monday, I have lost 3 pounds.  It probably would have been more, but I ate a lot when my wife and I went out for our 9th Anniversary last week.

Church Things

After worship service yesterday,  I asked the Pastor his opinion of the recent PCA General Assembly vote on the Federal Vision Report.  I was very happy to hear his response.  He said that at best, the vote was premature.  He said that he has read the Federal Vision gang, and knows a few of them personally.  He said that the study committee (and other FV critics) are seeing things in the FV writings that he doesn't see.  He went even further to say that he suspects the FV critics are seeing things that aren't there.

It makes the 25-30 minute drive worth it.

Testing Blogging via e-mail

I just noticed the option to upload blog posts via e-mail, so I'm testing it out.

Rough times ahead

My wife is sick. That sentence, my friends, should strike fear into the hearts of husbands everywhere.

It's not that Jody is unduly grouchy when she's sick. Quite the contrary. She does her best to keep going like she's fine. I'm certainly hoping that this is nothing more than a couple of days' worth of sore throat and headaches.

American Idol

I've followed American Idol more this season than I have in a long time. Tonight's show featured the final three, Blake, Jordin, & Melinda. There's very little doubt that Melinda is the best singer out of the group, but I just find her to be boring, boring, boring. I'm cheering for Jordin to win it all, and I'm hoping that she and Blake make it to the Final.

I Can Relate to This

The Outdoorswoman

My soon to be six year old daughter, Hannah, picked up a tick from somewhere. I grew up in the country and had to remove innumerable ticks from our dogs and cats while I was growing up, so it seemed like no big deal to me. My wife, however, was pretty much freaking out when she called me at work today. I assured her that the presence of a tick on our daughter's head was in no way an indication of her abilities as a mother.

When I got home, Hannah appeared to be fine, but in a short time, she was lying on the love seat looking flushed. She complained of a headache. I took her temperature, which read 101.5°.

Right now, Jody is on the way to the Emergency Room with Hannah, and I am taking care of daughters 1, 3, & 4.

I'm sure Hannah is going to be just fine, but please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Remember Jody, too.

Babel On

We watched Babel last week. I find it very difficult to believe that Jennifer Hudson gave a better performance in Dreamgirls than Rinko Kikuchi gave in Babel.

The movie overall was pretty good. Not as good as The Departed, The Prestige, or The Illusionist, but a good film. I thought the character of Chieko deserved a movie of her own.

Birthday

Yesterday was my oldest daughter's 8th Birthday. She's growing up.

The Evil Empire Falls

The Duke Blue Devils lost their First Round game in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament 79-77 to theVirginia Commonwealth Rams. Despite the fact that it busted my tourney bracket, I can never feel bad when Duke loses.

Hogwarts & Narnia will wait

I picked up Eragon from the library. So far, so good. It's not the greatest book I've ever read, but it's probably the best book I've ever read that was written by a fifteen year old.

Daylight Saving Time

I use my iPod™ as my alarm clock.

Guess which was the only clock I forgot to "spring forward" Saturday night?

I Think It's About Time

I think I may re-read all six of the current Harry Potter books again. It may be too soon since Deathly Hallows doesn't come out until July 21st. Of course, I can always read them again in July.

I also need to re-read The Chronicles of Narnia. It has been a long time since I read them.

The Fires of Mortor?

Saw this over at The Thinklings. Had me laughing aloud.

Run Away

I went this morning and got my tickets to see Monty Python's SPAMalot at Dallas Summer Musicals.



Local radio station 98.7 KLUV was onsite at the DSm Box Office with show-related games to play. I pinned the limb on the Black Knight and won an Official SPAMalot cap.

My wife and I will be going to see the show. It will be the first time she has gone with me to see a professional production.

The Infamous Gatorade Debate

There has been an ongoing debate about the color of Lemon-Lime Gatorade over at The Thinklings. According to WikiPedia, the color is "Lime," so I'm putting the color "Lime" against various background colors.

This is a test of the color Lime against a green background.

This is a test of the color Lime against a yellow background.

This is a test of the color Lime against a "web lime" background.

This is a test of the color Lime against a lime green background.

Comics on the Web

I like comic strips. Back when I read the paper almost everyday, the Comics was always the first section I'd go to, and I read most of them. Now, I read most of the comics I want to read online. An internet friend posted a link to a great site for comics. The Comic Slurper allows you to select multiple comics that will all appear on one page.

One comic that doesn't appear on the list, but hopefully will soon because I submitted it for consideration, is Casey and Scotty, which is back from hiatus. Make sure you check that one out.

Life Preserver

"Drowning Man" from Charlie Peacock's album The Secret of Time played on my iPod today. If you are a Christian and can hear this song and not feel convicted for not sharing the Gospel as often as you should, I would suggest that you might need to do a little soul-searching.

Everytime I hear this lyric, I know that I make lame excuses for not sharing the Truth with everyone I meet.

You don't ask a drowning man
If he wants to be saved
When you know he's sinking down
Down beneath the crashing waves

Betrayal wears two faces
Both easy to explain
One is what you say and do
To bring another human pain
When you refuse to act
Though you know the good to do
When you refuse to speak what's right
You've worn the face of number two

©1990 EMI Blackwood Music Inc./Andi Beat Goes On Music/Sparrow Song (a div. of The Sparrow Corp.)

One of those Days

I had to go to the Post Office to get something in the mail this morning. First, I thought it opened at 8:00, but it didn't open until 8:30. Thankfully, I had only gotten there at about 8:25. Then, after waiting for them to open up the window area, I asked if they had any Flat Rate Priority Mail boxes. I needed to mail some folio-sized books. They had the more squared boxes, but not the ones I needed, so I was going to have to go to another P.O. The most logical choice was the Dallas Main Post Office on Interstate 30 just west of downtown Dallas.

I-30 was shut down right before the downtown canyon, thus causing delay and diverting me out of the way.

At work, we are unable to locate a file on a case that is set for Announcement today. The defense Attorney is coming up to see me, but he probably won't be willing to work out a deal because I can't show him our evidence.

I'm your Handyman

I just spent the evening putting up curtains and a valance. We had bought other curtains from the JCPenney catalog, but they weren't what we thought they would be. Jody loaded up the girls Wednesday and met me at the JCPenney store at Town East Mall, and we shopped for new curtains. We finally found some that both of us liked, so we bought the curtain panels, but not the valance panels. We wanted to make sure we liked them before spending the rest of the money.

We hung the curtains on the rod I had hung for the previous set, and Jody said she wanted the valances. I went back to JCPenney Thursday to pick them up. Today, I dropped by Lowe's and got a rod for the curtains because we needed to use the one I hung before for the valance After wrangling with the level, the ladder, and the drill, I finally got it all up. We're gonna paint the wall to match the yellow in the curtains. Most folks probably would have painted before hanging curtains, but that would have been too easy.

The Taxman Cometh

My 2006 Tax Return is in the mail. Thanks to the four calvinatorettes and the Child Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax credit, we'll be getting a refund large enough to pay off my current car.

After I get that one paid off, I'm really wanting to replace it. Watch this space for further news on that front.

Marathon Reading Sessions

Word came out this week that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released at Midnight on July 21, 2007. Melissa, John & Sue from PotterCast issued this week's Blog Challenge in Episode #75, which was released Sunday. This week's challenge is for listeners to predict how long it will take them to read Deathly Hallows in its entirety.

I believe it is reasonable to assume that Deathly Hallows will be somewhere in the neighborhood of the length of books 4, 5, & 6. So, extrapolating from my experience with those books, I should be able to come up with a fairly accurate guess as to how long it will take me to read the ultimate entry in the Harry Potter series. When I bought Half-Blood Prince right at Midnight when it came out, I took it straight home and read for about an hour before going to sleep. When I woke up Saturday morning, I embarked on an all-day reading session, taking breaks only to eat, help take care of my four daughters, and take care of other necessary functions. I read past midnight, finally finishing at around 1:30 a.m. Clock time from purchase to completion was 25 1/2 hours, but actual reading time was less than twelve.

This time around, my daughters are all older, so I shouldn't have to take as many breaks to help with them. Meals don't have to take a long time, and reading can actually be accomplished during some of the other "necessary business," so there's no reason to believe that I couldn't finish the final book in about nine or ten hours if I could go uninterrupted. HOWEVER, there's a chance I might be in production for a musical with Garland Summer Musicals at the release date. In fact, I may be performing in Opening Night of Thoroughly Modern Millie on the evening of July 20th. If that's the case, I'll be more tired on the 21st, and I'll have to be back at the theatre by 7:00 p.m. for the 8 o'clock curtain. That would mean if I wasn't finished by about 6 p.m., I would have to put the book down for the night's performance. I've never been the type who can read something unrelated to the current show in the middle of a performance.

Also complicating matters is that if I am in that show, I won't be able to pick up my copy as early as I might have otherwise.

So, what does this all mean? I'm not sure, but if forced to guess, I'd say that I will probably get Deathly Hallows finished before I have to leave the house for the theatre. Hey, the forced deadline might even make me read faster.

My prediction is that I will have the book finished no later than 6:00 p.m. on July 21, 2007. Total reading time will be no more than ten hours. It would be fun to be at the performance that night and torture any fellow HP fans by telling them I have already finished and teasing them that I might spoil the ending for them. I'd never actually do that, but it would be funny to see how many people go screaming out of the green room with their fingers in their ears.

Hillary and Oil

I actually had somebody tell me this week that Hillary Clinton is not a Liberal, but a Moderate. I scoffed, but this person really believed it.

Just in case there's anybody else out there who has bought into Hillary's recent "move to the center," check out this blog entry over at TheVanguard.org.

Make sure you watch the clip of Hillary's speech. The clip is only about 30 seconds, but it speaks volumes.

Looking for a Quick Way to Lose Weight?

No, I'm not talking about any miracle pills or radical diets. From yesterday morning to this morning, I lost 2.5 pounds. How did I accomplish this amazing feat, you ask. As I mentioned here, and my wife blogged about here and here, all four Calvinatorettes have been sick in the past week.

I could feel my body trying to fight it off for a few days, but Thursday shortly after lunch, I realized that succumbing was inevitable. I came home from work and laid in bed for a while, but eventually I did get sick. I had one other bout about three hours later. After that, I didn't have to make any more urgent trips to the bathroom, but I couldn't sleep well. I had a fever and body aches. I was a little delirious.

I stayed home from work today and got some extra rest and sleep. It appears that this was nothing more than a 24 hour virus because I'm feeling tremendously better tonight.

The Sun'll Come Out Today

Once again, I find myself unable to get to sleep. I have Court in the morning, but I just haven't gotten the least bit sleepy. I've been surfing the web. I Googled my best friend, Rod Martin and spent a lot of time sifting through 21 pages of results. If you Google my name, you get almost 80 pages, but very few of the links are about me. Most of them are about the former President of the Fort Worth Cats minor league baseball team or some guy who is in a Beatles tribute band.

I also found some info about a church I may visit soon. It's closer to us now than our previous church was before we moved, so it's worth the consideration if the church is good. I like the folks at the church we currently attend, but I feel like a fish out of water because we're not really Lutherans.

What a weekend

On Friday night, Jody and I sat down to watch The Lake House. Not too long after it started, our older daughter, Erin, started vomiting. We were able to watch the entire movie, but it wound up taking us over three hours to finish it. The movie isn't too bad, either.

Erin was sick and laid on the couch most of the day Saturday. On Sunday, daughter number two, Hannah, was complaining of a sore throat. Jody decided to take her into the Doctor, whose office happens to be open on Sundays. Looks like the poor girl may have strep throat.

Hopefully, Jody and I will avoid coming down with anything that will knock us out of commission.

Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?

I took the on-line qualifying test for Jeopardy! Wednesday night. I have chronicled past attempts to get on that show here and here.

They won't tell how high a score is required to pass the test anymore, but when I tested back in 2002, we were explicitly told the passing score is 35 out of 50. On Wednesday's test, I scored 38. All this really means is that IF they come to Dallas or Houston this year, and IF my name is selected from a random drawing of all the folks who passed the test and selected one of those cities, I can appear in person, take another test, and IF I pass that one, and IF I do a good job in the mock game, and IF they like me enough, I MIGHT get called to be on the show.

So, do me a favor, and don't ask me when I'm gonna be on "Jeopardy!"

What Exactly is TheVanguard.org?

I've had a link to TheVanguard Blog on my sidebar since the early days of this blog. TheVanguard.org is the brainchild of Rod Martin, who happens to have been Best Man at my wedding and who remains my best friend despite the miles that separate us.

A couple of days ago, Human Events published a feature article entitled The Next MoveOn.org?" written by Stephanie Dube, a freelance writer from Dallas and creator of The Write Idea. Dube profiles Rod, giving a brief biographical background and professional pedigree. She goes on to explain the purpose of TheVanguard.org and mentions some of the others involved. Most of whom you've heard of, even if you have never heard of Rod Martin before:

Launched as an organization last March, TheVanguard.org already has a top-drawer cast, including Silicon Valley heavy-hitters like Eric Jackson (a former PayPal colleague of Martin’s, where he was head of marketing) and Gil Amelio (former CEO of two Fortune 500 companies, including Apple Computer), among others.

But it is far from an all-California show. Americans for Tax Reform founder Grover Norquist is on its board too, as are Club for Growth founder (and current Wall Street Journal editorial board member) Stephen Moore, famed actress Jane Russell, direct-mail pioneer Walt Longyear, “compassionate conservatism” guru Marvin Olasky, even Reagan Doctrine-architect Jack Wheeler. Martin refuses to confirm or deny rumors that Jerome Corsi—co-author of 2004’s “Unfit for Command,” which irreparably damaged John Kerry’s presidential hopes—has signed on for a similar effort against Hillary.

The diversity of issues represented by this group is not accidental. “The scope and immediacy of the internet makes bringing people together a lot easier,” Martin explains. “The conservative movement is far too fractured. Libertarians attack Christians, pro-gunners snipe at pro-lifers, border security folks question outreach to conservative Hispanics. It’s not what you’d call conducive to victory.

“The left has always been better at coalition building, and MoveOn is the latest means by which they’re better. But the internet is a great leveler: we can do this too. And we must.”

Early indications are that they will. After less than a year of “beta tests” which included efforts to extend the Bush tax cuts and derail a United Nations gun ban conference (it ended in deadlock), the group’s web traffic exceeds that of many of the most noteworthy political groups in America. While still far short of the exalted ranks of MoveOn, DailyKos or WorldNetDaily, web rankings generated by Alexa.com show TheVanguard.org beating such established organizations as the National Rifle Association, National Right to Life, the Club for Growth, the Minuteman Project and People for the American Way. Martin notes with a combination of surprise and glee that this is before the full site “goes live,” and before the group executes its marketing plan.

Conservatives owe it to themselves to check out TheVanguard.org. My prediction is that before too long, Rod Martin will be one of the most well-known people in America.

The Rainmaker at KCCT

Here's one picture of the set from KCCT's The Rainmaker. I have posted more and bigger ones over at MY THEATRE BLOG.

A Great Movie

I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but I never saw The Godfather until last week. This film instantly made it to my Top 10 favorite movies of all-time. It's not perfect, but it's close. Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and Robert Duvall give amazing performances. Others were great as well.

If you're like me, and you've just never gotten around to seeing this one, do yourself a favor and catch it as soon as possible.

9.5/10

Get Your Labels Here

I have decided that I have too many Labels for my posts, and I haven't even gone back and labeled all the archives. Thus, I am going to edit them and only keep broad categories.

Snakes on a Plane

I got the movie on DVD from Blockbuster last night and watched it before going to bed. The language is pretty harsh, and the movie definitely earned its "R" rating. It has its moments, but overall this movie just couldn't match up to the pre-release internet hype.

Eden & The Ten Commandments

Yesterday evening during Sunday School (our Church meets in the evenings) it dawned on me that I could find a violation of eight of the Ten Commandments in the story of the Fall in the Garden of Eden. The only two I can't connect are the Second Commandment, prohibiting the making and worshipping of graven images, and the Fouth Commandment, requiring the observance of the Sabbath. I suspect that I'm missing something and that all Ten are broken.

The Greatest Actress of Our Generation

If you have any doubt about the fact that Meryl Streep is the best actress working in film today, check out her performances in the the following movies from last year:

A Prairie Home Companion

&

The Devil Wears Prada

Funny Video for Music Fans

Was pointed to this one by Philip over at The Thinklings.



It's worth a look.

He has another clip without the guitar here:

6 Minutes at Zanies

The Way the Basketball Bounces

So, Bob Knight has become the all-time leader for coaching wins in Men's College Basketball. I was listening to ESPN Radio today, and the host was asking if Knight has to be considered the greatest Men's College Basketball coach ever. That host, whose name escapes me, concluded that Knight has to be respected for the accomplishment, but that in the host's opinion, Dean Smith is still the best. I am a huge fan of the UNC Tar Heels, but even I can't elevate Smith to Number 1. Here's my Top 5:

5. Adolph Rupp
4. Bob Knight
3. Mike Krzyzewski
2. Dean Smith
1. John Wooden

As much as I depise the Duke Blue Devils, I have to give Coach K the respect he deserves as a great coach. I also believe that before he retires, he will hold the record that Knight just broke.

Safe Passage

I've been out of town for Christmas, and we just got back home last night at about 1:15 am. The trip back from Wyoming was uneventful, but not without stress. If you've been paying attention to the Weather Channel, you should know that there were no good routes from Wyoming to Texas the past few days. We left Casper, WY around 11:00 am MST on Saturday morning. My hope was to make it to Salina, KS that night, but alas, it was not to be. We drove into some wintry weather in Nebraska. But for the snow & ice, we wouldn't have even gone through Nebraska. but Interstate 70 was closed from Denver to over the Kansas state line.

We wound up having to abandon the goal of Salina fairly quickly. My objective kept moving . . . York, NE . . . Kearney, NE . . . and finally, get off the highway intact and get a motel room. We exited at Cozad, NE, and after seeing the "No Vancancy" sign on the door of the Motel 6, I drove down to the Circle S Motel. I could see the chart with the rooms on it as I stood in line and could see that we should be okay. As it turns out, two more folks behind me in line were able to get rooms.

On Sunday, we decided to wait for the sun to come out to give an opportunity for the ice and snow to melt some and give the state a chance to clear the Interstate. We drove off from Cozad at 11:20 am. From Cozad to York, the road was rough, but nothing too terrible, but apparently the night before it had been really bad. In the first 14 miles from the Cozad exit, 14 vehicles had gone off the road the night before. In all before we turned south at York, we saw about 30 cars, SUV's, & 18-wheelers in the ditch or median.

After turning onto US 81, things seemed like they might be fairly good. That is they seemed that way until we hit the Kansas state line. It appeared that very little if anything at all was done by the Kansas Highway Department to clear the highway. I drove on ice & snow almost the entire way to Salina. My neck, shoulders, arms, and hands were all sore from the tension of that trek.

From Salina to home, the roads were finally clear and dry. The total road time over the two days amounted to 22 hours. For such a long and difficult trip, my girls did really well, even when their daddy was growling at them.

Intellectually Inferior Christians

David Sklansky has issued a challenge to Christians. He is willing to wager $50,000 for anyone who can pass a polygraph exam on two tenets of Christianity: 1) that Christ rose from the dead, & 2) that those who do not profess faith is Christ will not enter Heaven. The second part of the wager is that he and the challenger will both take the math portion of either the SAT or the GRE in half the normally allotted time, and whoever scores lower will pay the other $50,000.

His premise is that people who agree with those two basic beliefs of Christianity are less intelligent than those who do not. Of course, all it would really prove if Sklansky won the bet is that Sklansky is better at a math test than the individual challenger. In case you didn't know, Sklansky has written several books about the mathematics of Poker and describes himself as a child math and logics prodigy.

A few quotes from Sklansky in the thread:

Their beliefs make them relatively stupid (or uninterested in learning). Or only relatively stupid people can come to such beliefs. One or the other.

The condescension of otherwise intelligent people toward those of us of faith is annoying and amusing at the same time.

And I really can't even conceive of someone who can legitimately pass that polygraph doing great on the exam. The only way it is conceivable I could lose without getting cheated is if I am rustier than I realize or if I happen to make the occasional careless error that is impossible to fully guard against.

So, if someone gets past the polygraph and then does, in fact, best Sklansky on the test, he'll blame it on the challenger cheating or his own rustiness.

It's a "no win" bet for any challenger because of the parameters of the wager. not to mention that many of us who could probably give him a run for his money on the test are too smart to wager $50,000 on such a proposition.

For the record, I believe the two things he includes in his polygraph portion, and at one time, I think I could have been in the game on the math test. I took both the SAT and the GRE in my school career. I missed one question each on them. On the LSAT, I missed one question in the Logical Reasoning section and aced the Logic Games section.

Even if Sklansky could get a perfect on the test and a challenger, let's say me, only missed one, Sklansky would have won his $50,000, but how can he honestly say the challenger did not do "great on the exam"?

A Plot Full of Intrigue

Okay, so I took my car back to the repair shop again. They had the right valve this time, but after installing it, there was still a problem with the car. Turns out, I need the computer replaced. The guy said he can get the part for about $45, so it'll be back to the shop one more time. I decided to go ahead and have them replace the Fuel Level Sensor as well. I've been driving around for almost a year without a working fuel gauge. It'll be nice not to have to keep my eyes on the trip odometer the entire time I drive. After putting all this work into the car, I'm pretty sure I'll be driving it until it just won't go any more.

Valvular Relief

I took the Intrigue in to have the Check Engine light checked out. Turns out that a valve has gone bad in the system of the SAIP. I guess I should be glad it's not the pump gone bad already.

This probably means I won't be going out and buying a different car afterall.

Cars

Nope, not about the Pixar film. A few years ago, I bought a 2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue that had about 19,000 miles on it. After I drove it for 30,000 miles, the Check Engine light came on. I took it in and had the Secondary Air Intake Pump replaced. About 30,000 miles later, the Check Engine light came on again. Again, it was the Secondary Air Intake Pump (SAIP). That one lasted 2 days before going bad. SAIP #3 survived about 2 weeks before I had to take it in yet again. The Check Engine light came on the very next day after SAIP #4 was installed. Since I knew what the problem was, and knew it really didn't affect my car's performance, I ignored it until I had to get it fixed in order to pass the annual vehicle inspection. So, I took it to a different shop this time and had SAIP #5 installed. I got the car back Wednesday evening. Saturday night, after only 150 miles, the Check Engine light came back on. If it's the SAIP again (and I'm sure it is), I think it's time to get rid of this car. Other than this problem, the car has been pretty good for me. I've had a couple of tires blowout, and my Fuel Level Sensor went out this past year, but the only real issue has been the SAIP.

I wanted to drive this car until it just wouldn't go any more, but I can't put up with replacing the same part over and over and over again.

Luther

Jody and I watched Luther last night. Beautiful movie. I checked up on some of the history today, and there are a few overly dramatized inaccuracies, but for the most part, the story is correct.

Two very interesting points to me were Luther's stating that he had not read the New Testament even though he had been a monk for some time and Cardinal Cajetan saying that the Bible is too complex even for most Priests to understand so providing it in the language of the people would be a bad idea. Those two points illustrate a lot of the reason why Luther (and Calvin and Melancthon, etc.) was deperately needed in the 16th Century.

I'll Pass on the Nachos

My wife got Nacho Libre from Blockbuster, and we watched it last night. Actually, I watched it all. Jody gave out about halfway through. I'm not sure if that had more to do with the muscle relaxant she had taken or the overall stinkitude of the movie. I tend to like Jack Black, but this movie was plain boring.

I lost count of the number of different accents Black used. I can remember hearing more of a Spaniard tone early in the movie. At other times, he did get more of the Mexican accent right (I'm sure there are a variety of Mexican accents, but I'm familiar with a large number of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, and the accent is fairly consistent). At one point, Black has an Italian accent. It was distracting.

If you want to see a good Jack Black movie, check out Orange County or School of Rock.

Put Another Log on the Fire

One of the things I like about our new house (we moved in April) is the fireplace. A family friend doesn't use her fireplace any more, so she offered us some firewood. Yesterday, I borrowed my dad's truck and loaded a little more than a third of a cord, hauled it home, unloaded it, and stacked it neatly. I have to remember to open the flue each time before I light the fire, but it has been nice having a fire in the fireplace. I also appreciate that it has a gas ignitor, which eliminates the struggle of getting the fire blazing.

Rating NFL Players

Adam Schefter writes over at NFL.com that Marvin Harrison is a better Wide Receiver than Terrell Owens. I don't necessarily disagree with his conclusion, but I definitely take issue with his methodology. Schefter argues that Harrison's superior stats mean he's the better receiver. That's way too simplistic of an approach. Harrison has been playing in a completely different system than Owens all these years. Yes, the West Coast offense that Owens had played in before coming to Dallas features the passing game, but it's not primarily known as a deep-threat offense. Also, the nature of the West Coast offense is such that it involves the Running Backs and Tight Ends more in the passing game than the Colts wide-open approach.

Harrison may be the better Receiver, and he's most likely the better person, but just looking at the raw numbers isn't the way to prove it.

Wally World and Jack Daniels

I was in southern Louisiana this week for the funeral of my Aunt Sue. Before I began my trip back yesterday, I headed to the Wal*Mart in Denham Springs, LA to pick up some Diet Dr Pepper, snacks and ice for the drive. When I got back to where the soft drinks were, I wasn't surpised to see beer & wine in the store, but I was somewhat shocked to see bottles of liquor right next to the Doritos™ display. Right there among the variety of goods available at just about any Wal*Mart store in America sat Jack Daniels, Absolut Vodka, Bacardi Rum, and most of the major name liquors. I had no idea that any state allowed liquor sales in regular stores.

The biggest issue I had with it was that it has been so long since I've bought any liquor that I had no idea if the prices were good enough to justify buying some.

The Return of The Calvinator

I've been on sort of an unannounced hiatus from my two blogs. No real reason.

That's all about to change.

I have been amazed that I've still been getting about 120 hits a week on here even though I haven't posted in awhile.

New posts coming Friday both here and on the Theatre blog.

Pretty Unique

Was pointed to a website that tells you how many people in the United States share your name. I don't know if they just use statistical models based on the commonality of the names or if they use some database.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 78 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

At only 78 people, that means my name is only shared by 0.000026% of the population of the U.S.

Insomnia

While I'm waiting to get sleepy, let me make a few recommendations:

Book: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I finished it a couple of days ago. It sort of gets weaker toward the end, but after years of reading fiction, I have come to the conclusion that ending a book might be one of the hardest things out there.

Film: Thank You for Smoking. Rented this one from Blockbuster and thoroughly enjoyed it.

TV: "Heroes". I have really liked the first three episodes of this show. I'll have to catch episode four on NBC's website tomorrow. I had a meeting tonight and forgot to set the VCR.

Music: Altar Boyz Off-Broadway Soundtrack. I purchased this one from iTunes. I appreciate the humor, and quite honestly, some of the lyrics are great.

"Everybody Fits"

Somedays, you just can't begin
You feel, outside looking in
It's like, you're the odd man out

Let me, help you
End your doubt

It doesn't matter
If you're different and out of place
It doesn't matter
If there's acne upon your face
It doesn't matter
Take my hand and then
You will see
Everybody fits in God's great

Fam-a-laay

Strangers
Seem to, stop and stare
Wonderin'
Why you're, even there

Feeling
So left out and wrong
I'll show
You that
You belong

It doesn't matter
If you have a gigantic nose
It doesn't matter
If you're born with eleven toes
It doesn't matter
You can trust and
Believe in me
Everybody fits in God's great

Fam-a-laay

In the family of God you'll learn
That there is no such thing as others
All the woman and men on Earth
Can be your
Sisters and your brothers

Sisters and your brothers!

It doesn't matter
If you're wrinkled and old and grey
It doesn't matter
If you face Mecca when you pray
It doesn't matter
Won't you listen and
Here my plea, everbody fits
It doesn't matter
If you're yellow or white or red
It doesn't matter
If you're pregnant and you're unwed
It doesn't matter
'Cause the truth it can
Set you free, everbody fits

Everybody fits!

It doesn't matter
Every murderer on death row
It doesn't matter
Every prostitute that you know
It doesn't matter
Welcome to the
Fraternity, everybody fits in God's great

Fam-a-laay, you and maay
We fit into the fam-a-lay... yeaaah!

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

Don't miss it. Don't even be late.

Today, well actually yesterday since it is after Midnight, I ventured into the world of the State Fair of Texas. I was accompanied on this journey by my wife, our four daughters, my wife's cousin and her husband, and their three children. We only spent four hours there, but it seemed like more. It wasn't bad, really, it just seemed like it was more than 4 hours.

I ate two Fletcher's Corny Dogs and a Funnel Cake. Not too bad when I think about it. I didn't get any deep-fried Oreo's™ like I did last year, but that's mainly because I didn't see the place to get them.

I highly recommend going to the fair on OU/Texas gameday. The only bad time was when we had to buy some more fair coupons, which are required for riding rides or buying food and beverage. We were trying to get some at about the same time that all the football game attenders were arriving at the park. They were all, it seemed, trying to get coupons to buy their lunches and probably a beer or two or twelve before they entered the Cotton Bowl (you can't buy alcohol in the stadium for some inexplicable reason). Once the crowd started making its way into the game, the fair was great. No wait for rides. You could walk the Midway without ever touching another person. It was the most empty I've ever seen the fairgrounds on a day the Fair is open.

After we got home, I was pretty tired, and I almost fell asleep on the living room couch, but when I finally tried to go to sleep in my own bed at 10:30, all of a sudden, I was wide awake. It goes back to my weird sleep patterns.

I'm gonna go back upstairs and read a little to see if it will help put me to sleep. I'm reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. So far, I am really enjoying it.

Celebrity look-alikes

There's a fun website where you can see what celebrities you look like. My brother mentioned this on his AOL Journal once, but I stumbled across it again recently. I decided to upload a pic of two of my friends from Kiss Me, Kate, Tyler & Josh.



According to the My Heritage site, Tyler (left) looks like:

Jesse Metcalfe (61%)
Clark Gable (57%)
Tom Welling (57%)

Actually, there were more, but they were either folks I had never heard of or women. In fact, his top match was Britney Spears, but I thought I wouldn't embarrass him by mentioning it . . . OOPS!

Josh (right) comes back as:

James Van Der Beek (74%)
Ron Howard (67%)
Joe Rogan (67%)
Hal Sparks (62%)
Rob Schneider (60%)
Tom Cruise (59%)

I don't have a recent enough photo of myself to get a good reading.

Waiting with Breath Abated

Along with millions of others, I am anxiously awaiting the release of Book 7 and Movie 5 (Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix) in the Harry Potter franchise. In the meantime, I regularly listen to PotterCast to keep abreast of the latest in Harry Potter news. The recent Broadway FilkCast was right up my alley. As I've posted before, I am a huge fan of Broadway Show Tunes.

If you're a Harry Potter fan, you owe it to yourself to check out PotterCast. I would recommend listening to as many of the past episodes as you can as well. There is a veritable gold mine of information in that more than a year's worth of offerings from Melissa, Sue, & John.

Related to my enjoyment of all things Potter, I took one of those quizzes you can find on the web to tell me which HP Character I am most like.

You scored as Albus Dumbledore. You are very wise, observant, and analyctical. You have a very "well-organized" mind, which makes you function in a calm and fair manner. Though you get angered easily, its rare of you to ever act our of temper. You are constantly seeing the good in people and are naturally forgiving because of it. You're easy to please and a great person to learn from. Albus Dumbledore 78% Oliver Wood 69% Hermione Granger 66% Lord Voldemort 63% Sirius Black 59% Remus Lupin 56% Luna Lovegood 50% Ron Weasley 47% Bellatrix Lestrange 47% Percy Weasley 44% Harry Potter 41% Severus Snape 38% Neville Longbottom 31% Draco Malfoy 9% Harry Potter Character Combatibility Test created with QuizFarm.com

I am pleased with the top slot, but how on earth did I wind up more like Percy Weasley than Harry?

Are We Not Men?

De over at The Thinklings has written:

I’ve been thinking about [I Corinthians 13:11] a lot lately. It’s time I posit my theory of manhood. It’s very simple:

We all need to grow up

Go read the rest of it.

Lost and Found

I previously wrote about losing my good nail clippers during our move to our new house. Today, I found them. They were in the cup holder of my car under a pile of business cards and pens. In 6 months I hadn't cleared out that stack.

I guess they had made it to the new house, but they never made it in the new house.

I'm just glad they're back. I've attached them to my keyring, so I'll always have them with me.

I Should Be in Bed

I routinely get into odd sleep cycles. Some nights, I'll climb into bed before 10pm. I usually wind up waking up between 3 & 4am when I do, but I can usually get back to sleep with little difficulty. Other times, I'll do what I've done tonight—stay up way too late. I've been drowsy for more than an hour, but I just haven't ascended the staircase to get to my bed. I'll be pretty tired in the morning.

I Knew I Could Count on My Brother

He nailed the reference in the previous post. Here's the exchange:

UNCLE BILLY
Well, good morning, Mr. Potter. What's the news?

He grabs the paper from Potter's hand.

UNCLE BILLY(CONT'D)
Well, well, well, Harry Bailey wins Congressional Medal. That couldn't be one of the Bailey boys? You just can't keep those Baileys down, now, can you, Mr. Potter?

POTTER
How does slacker George feel about that?

UNCLE BILLY
Very jealous, very jealous. He only lost three buttons off his vest. Of course, slacker George would have gotten two of those medals if he had gone.

Lost three buttons off [my] vest

Yesterday was Report Card day for Calvinatorettes I & II. Eldest is in Second Grade. Younger is in Kindergarten. Calvinatorette I obtained straight A's and was named Student of the Six Weeks for her class. Calvinatorette II got all top marks (they don't assign letter grades in Kindergarten) and was also named Student of the Six Weeks for her class.

I am glad to see that my girls have adjusted well to the government school. Deciding to enroll them was one of the toughest decisions that my wife and I have made.

Bonus points if you can properly identify the reference in the Post Title.

I Have Been Immortalized

My good friend, Moose, drew me in a cameo over at Casey and Scotty. Even though the voters of Kaufman County didn't make me a Judge, Moose has.




UPDATE: It has been pointed out to me that this strip isn't very funny if you don't know the context, so you can check out the previous strip HERE.

At a Loss for Words

Well gang, I'm not bleeding in a ditch. I've just been busy and distracted. I also haven't had anything I particularly wanted to write about, so I have neglected this place. I'll try to be better.

Getting in Shape Update 76

Last week was not good because of a Wednesday trip to a minor league baseball game. Much better this week. My wife did a great job cleaning up around our exerciser, so maybe I'll finally climb back up on there.



Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Update's Weight = 237.5

Today's Weight = 235.5

Weight Loss in the Past 2 Weeks= 2.0 pounds



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 31.5 pounds

More Prayers Requested

My former Pastor, Tom, has had some heart problems. I just got an e-mail telling me that he had two stints put in a couple of weeks ago. Please keep him, his wife Mary, and his family in your prayers.

Good Advice

There are always at least two sides to every story.

Don't believe everything you hear.

Two wrongs don't make a right.

******************

And one that is one of my dad's favorite sayings:

There's always something you don't know.

K-Bob Still MIA

Happy Birthday Kristi!

Wherever you are.

Getting in Shape Update 75

Ate after dinner too often and snacked a bit too much during the day.



Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Update's Weight = 236.0

Today's Weight = 237.5

Weight Gain in the Past 2 Weeks= 1.5 pounds



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 29.5 pounds

Help a Friend

One of my friend's pets is in contention for Pet of the Week at The Dallas Morning News. I would appreciate if you would go vote for Dori HERE.

Look for the "Vote For This Week's Favorite" Image and click it. Vote for Dori.

Voting ends Thursday August 10th, so don't dawdle.

Oh, Please

Let it rain, and rain, and rain.

Thunder and lightning right now and a few sprinkles.

We need rain . . . desperately.

Six Flags

My oldest three girls, my wife, and I all went to Six Flags over Texas yesterday. A family friend and her daughter went along as well. Long day. HOT. Lots of fun. The girls actually made it all day without any major fits. Somehow, I avoided getting any sunburn despite not having put on any sunblock.

The lines were not bad at all. Made it from queueing up for the Titan to off the ride in 30 minutes. Batman was about the same. My only real complaint of the day is that they charge $15 for parking. Come on, you charge almost $50 to get in the park. Do you really have to tack on the outrageous parking fee?

I was exhausted by the end of the day. Thankfully, my wife let me sleep in this morning.

A Great Feeling

Yesterday, I was out with my three oldest daughters at the Terrell Library end of Summer Reading Carnival. As we were walking, my 5 year old said "You're the greatest dad ever." I don't know what prompted it, but I felt wonderful hearing that.

**************

Thanks to Steph for pointing out my typo.

Getting in Shape Update 74

No commentary this week.



Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 236.5

Today's Weight = 236.0

Weight Loss in the Past Week= 0.5 pound



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 31.0 pounds

Getting in Shape Update 73

Did better not snacking or eating in the evenings after dinner.



Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 238.0

Today's Weight = 236.5

Weight Loss in the Past Week= 1.5 pounds



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 30.5 pounds

Getting in Shape Update 72

Didn't eat all that well. Didn't drink very much water. Still not exercising (and won't be able to until Kiss Me, Kate opens.



Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 238.5

Today's Weight = 238.0

Weight Loss in the Past Week= 0.5 pound



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 29.0 pounds

Nature Abhors a Vacuum

It seems that I always tend to find ways to fill up my "free time." Last night, I did not have rehearsal, but I had a meeting to go to. Tonight, I don't have rehearsal until 9pm, but I have a meeting before that.

Things should lighten up once Kiss Me, Kate closes, but I know that there will still be lots to claim my time and attention. I'm not the kind of person who always needs to be doing "something," but I'm also not the kind who can sit at home every night.

Casey & Scotty is back up

Moose got back from his trip and got the server issue resolved.

the "missing" July 9th strip

The current strip

Server Problems in Andbait

Moose is having some problems with his hosting for Casey & Scotty. I certainly hope that it gets worked out in time for the scheduled return tomorrow.

In the meantime, why don't you show your support for him and Casey by voting for the strip. Really, it takes less than a minute to hit all three sites.

Webbed Comics

Top Comics

BuzzComix

Getting in Shape Update 71

I had feared the worst after eating way too much brisket and too many hot dogs, not to mention the ice cream.



Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Week's Weight = 238.0

Today's Weight = 238.5

Weight Gain in the Past Week= 0.5 pound



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 28.5 pounds