Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Fall on your knees
Merry Christmas everyone!
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
So to honor him
This is the second installment of Sounds of the Season and it features Josh Groban's beautiful version of Little Drummer Boy.
Many lines in this song struck me while listening to it.
"I am a poor boy too"
We must remember that Jesus humbled Himself and became man to save us and that we must become poor in order to inherit the Kingdom of God.
"I have no gifts to bring"
How often in our own lives do we feel like our gifts and talents do not measure up to those around us, as the little drummer boy must have felt among the kings who brought their finest gifts.
"Shall I play for you"
The drummer boy realizes that all he has to offer is the gift of his music and so he offers that as his gift. Sometimes, it is important to recognize that God wants all of us, however meek and lowly.
"So to honor him"
This little drummer boy gave all he had for the glory of Christ. Let us remember that all we do must give God glory first and He will return the glory in His time.
"Then He smiled at me"
I pray that the Lord is able to smile at me if I have given Him all my talents and gifts, just as He did to the drummer boy who did the same.
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Many lines in this song struck me while listening to it.
"I am a poor boy too"
We must remember that Jesus humbled Himself and became man to save us and that we must become poor in order to inherit the Kingdom of God.
"I have no gifts to bring"
How often in our own lives do we feel like our gifts and talents do not measure up to those around us, as the little drummer boy must have felt among the kings who brought their finest gifts.
"Shall I play for you"
The drummer boy realizes that all he has to offer is the gift of his music and so he offers that as his gift. Sometimes, it is important to recognize that God wants all of us, however meek and lowly.
"So to honor him"
This little drummer boy gave all he had for the glory of Christ. Let us remember that all we do must give God glory first and He will return the glory in His time.
"Then He smiled at me"
I pray that the Lord is able to smile at me if I have given Him all my talents and gifts, just as He did to the drummer boy who did the same.
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Monday, December 22, 2008
If Santa Did Exist
Today I crush all the little one's dreams of a jolly old Santa Claus coming and delivering joy to all the children of the world. Call me a grinch, but you know you will laugh.....
Scientists have tried to answer the question, "Does Santa come with flying reindeer to deliver presents at Christmas?" This is what they have found:
1. No known species of reindeer can fly, but there are 300,000 species of living organims yet to be classified. Although most of these are insects and bacteria, this does not rule out flying reindeer.
2. According to the Population Refeence Bureau, 378 million people celebrate Christmas worldwide. With an average of 3.5 children per home, that's 91.8 million homes for Santa to visit.
3. Thanks to different time zones, Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, assuming he travels east to west. This works out to 822.6 visits per second. That means for each celebrating household with at least one good child in it, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, place presents under the tree, eat the cookies and return to the sleigh.
4. Assuming that all 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed throughout the earth, the total trip time will be 75.5 million miles. That means Santa's sleigh must move at 650 miles per second, 3000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth (the Ulysses space probe) moves at 27.4 miles per second.
5. Assuming that each child get nothing more than a medium-sized Lego set (weighing 2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying a payload of 321,300 tons, not counting jolly ol' Saint Nick himself.
6. A standard reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even if flying reindeer might pull 10 times more than a normal reindeer, Santa would need 214,200 reindeer to pull the sleigh. The reindeer, payload, Santa and sleigh would therefore weigh more than 353,430 tons. This is four times the weight of the Q.E. II cruise ship.
7. This 353,430 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates tremendous air resistance, heating the reindeer in the same manner as a spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer would therefore absorb 14.3 quintillion joule of energy, per second, each.
8. The lead reindeer, as a result will burst into flames, exposing the reindeer behind them and creating massive sonic booms in their wakes. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 0.00426 seconds. Santa will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500 times greater than gravity. Assuming that Santa weighs 250 pounds (a modest estimate for sure), he would be pinned to the back of the sleigh by 4,375,000 pounds of centrifugal force.
In conclusion, if Santa did exist, he's dead by now.
Scientists have tried to answer the question, "Does Santa come with flying reindeer to deliver presents at Christmas?" This is what they have found:
1. No known species of reindeer can fly, but there are 300,000 species of living organims yet to be classified. Although most of these are insects and bacteria, this does not rule out flying reindeer.
2. According to the Population Refeence Bureau, 378 million people celebrate Christmas worldwide. With an average of 3.5 children per home, that's 91.8 million homes for Santa to visit.
3. Thanks to different time zones, Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, assuming he travels east to west. This works out to 822.6 visits per second. That means for each celebrating household with at least one good child in it, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, place presents under the tree, eat the cookies and return to the sleigh.
4. Assuming that all 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed throughout the earth, the total trip time will be 75.5 million miles. That means Santa's sleigh must move at 650 miles per second, 3000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth (the Ulysses space probe) moves at 27.4 miles per second.
5. Assuming that each child get nothing more than a medium-sized Lego set (weighing 2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying a payload of 321,300 tons, not counting jolly ol' Saint Nick himself.
6. A standard reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even if flying reindeer might pull 10 times more than a normal reindeer, Santa would need 214,200 reindeer to pull the sleigh. The reindeer, payload, Santa and sleigh would therefore weigh more than 353,430 tons. This is four times the weight of the Q.E. II cruise ship.
7. This 353,430 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates tremendous air resistance, heating the reindeer in the same manner as a spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer would therefore absorb 14.3 quintillion joule of energy, per second, each.
8. The lead reindeer, as a result will burst into flames, exposing the reindeer behind them and creating massive sonic booms in their wakes. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 0.00426 seconds. Santa will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500 times greater than gravity. Assuming that Santa weighs 250 pounds (a modest estimate for sure), he would be pinned to the back of the sleigh by 4,375,000 pounds of centrifugal force.
In conclusion, if Santa did exist, he's dead by now.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Sounds of the Season Pt. 1
This year I will feature several Christmas songs on my blog. These will not be poppy Santa songs (lol, I typed Satan instead of Santa the first time......) but rather classic Christmas tunes that have solid messages or just an everlasting quality to them.
The first in this series is "Go Tell It On The Mountain" by Big Daddy Weave. While not my all-time favorite Christmas song, I heard this version on the radio the other day and it really caught my ear. Very nice voice quality, and stuck to the original song in tempo and lyrics.
Enjoy!
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
The first in this series is "Go Tell It On The Mountain" by Big Daddy Weave. While not my all-time favorite Christmas song, I heard this version on the radio the other day and it really caught my ear. Very nice voice quality, and stuck to the original song in tempo and lyrics.
Enjoy!
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Oh Tannenbaum!
This Christmas marks an exciting time for Diana and I. Not only is it our first Christmas as a married couple, but it is also the first time that we will celebrate Christmas with a real live (well, live at one time) tree!
This is the tree just after getting it screwed into the stand. Notice that the branches are still bunched up from being tied for so long. A few tamps on the ground and a couple days later, the tree was ready to decorate.
The other conundrum that we ran into this Christmas is that we both wanted to have an angel tree topper, rather than the star that we had been using for so long (a homemade aluminum foil star). We also did not have a "First Christmas" ornament. Fortunately, a trip to the southern christmas show in Charlotte and another trip to Garden Ridge satisfied both desires!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPxCHi4mLYA
Merry Christmas!......more Christmas madness to come, but my wife is bumping me with her pregnant belly.....
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
For as long as we both could remember, our families had real trees at Christmas time. When Diana moved into the condo several years ago, she was not able to manage a Christmas tree (physically and financially) so a friend of her family bought her a 5 foot artificial tree that she and I would cheerfully decorate every year. While it certainly put us in the Christmas mood, there is nothing quite like a real tree at Christmas.
I remember years ago when my brother and I were little we would help Dad hoist the tree onto the top of the van and tie it down, then carry it off the van into the garage where we would trim the bottom and get it ready for the stand. I always liked using the bow saw to lop off the end of the tree! I hope that that memory is one that I will be able to pass on to my children.
This Christmas, Diana and I purchased a tree from the Knights of Columbus at our parish (it is a yearly fundraiser, they get the trees from a local farm that grows and cuts them!) We got the tree last weekend and I had the privledge to prepare it for the house.
Well, 2 jigsaw blades, a circular saw, a hammer, a screwdriver, and 45 minutes was all it took to cut about 6 boughs and 3 inches off the end of the tree to get it ready for the stand. I think I need a bow saw haha!
Fortunately it was light enough that I could carry it up the stairs and maneuver it into the tree stand that we inherited from Diana's parents with no problems.
This is the tree just after getting it screwed into the stand. Notice that the branches are still bunched up from being tied for so long. A few tamps on the ground and a couple days later, the tree was ready to decorate.
The other conundrum that we ran into this Christmas is that we both wanted to have an angel tree topper, rather than the star that we had been using for so long (a homemade aluminum foil star). We also did not have a "First Christmas" ornament. Fortunately, a trip to the southern christmas show in Charlotte and another trip to Garden Ridge satisfied both desires!
The smell of fresh cut pine tree now infuses our home everytime we walk through the door. We are so blessed to have this little comfort in our home this year!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPxCHi4mLYA
Merry Christmas!......more Christmas madness to come, but my wife is bumping me with her pregnant belly.....
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Pro-life or pro-......choice?
I was watching a video that highlights Senator Obama's intentions concerning the abortion debate today and I got to thinking.
Isn't it interesting that the two sides of this debate are pro-life and pro-choice?
I recognize why the word choice is used, because pro-abortionists believe that women should have the choice of whether or not to have an abortion, but it is kind of a misnomer for those of us who CHOOSE to have the baby.
It seems to me that if you want to accurately describe the position so often held by the pro-choice camp, one should use the word that is the opposite of life: death. It would accurately describe the intentions of the group and would end this euphemistic attitude that we as a country seem to be adopting toward this subject.
Regardless of the circumstances, abortion ends human life. Abortion results in death. Those that support abortion should be described as pro-death.
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Isn't it interesting that the two sides of this debate are pro-life and pro-choice?
I recognize why the word choice is used, because pro-abortionists believe that women should have the choice of whether or not to have an abortion, but it is kind of a misnomer for those of us who CHOOSE to have the baby.
It seems to me that if you want to accurately describe the position so often held by the pro-choice camp, one should use the word that is the opposite of life: death. It would accurately describe the intentions of the group and would end this euphemistic attitude that we as a country seem to be adopting toward this subject.
Regardless of the circumstances, abortion ends human life. Abortion results in death. Those that support abortion should be described as pro-death.
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Church Militant or Church Belligerent?
I recently came across an article with the same title that can be found here.
It is a very well written article that asks the question: do we fight for the truth because it is the the truth or because we want to win battles?
I fear that I myself often fall into the many pitfalls associated with the Chruch Belligerent and must pray for the grace to avoid them in the future.
The article identifies a few of these pitfalls as such:
1. Prizing principles over persons - "the person succumbs to the temptation to win arguments instead of hearts".
2. Losing the supernatural outlook - "worldly elements and factions exist in the Church.....they are not the only, nor even the most important, aspect of the Church".
3. Making our preferences mandatory for others, or requiring of others what the Church does not - "we mandate what the Church does not, or forbid what the Church permits".
4. Giving free rein to our critical faculty - "If we refuse to trust anyone, then we set ourselves up as our own personal magisterium".
There are many other good points about this subject in the article, which is a very good read.
Lord, give us the grace to fight for your truth and humble our hearts to your Love, let it always shine forth in our thoughts, words, and actions.
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
It is a very well written article that asks the question: do we fight for the truth because it is the the truth or because we want to win battles?
I fear that I myself often fall into the many pitfalls associated with the Chruch Belligerent and must pray for the grace to avoid them in the future.
The article identifies a few of these pitfalls as such:
1. Prizing principles over persons - "the person succumbs to the temptation to win arguments instead of hearts".
2. Losing the supernatural outlook - "worldly elements and factions exist in the Church.....they are not the only, nor even the most important, aspect of the Church".
3. Making our preferences mandatory for others, or requiring of others what the Church does not - "we mandate what the Church does not, or forbid what the Church permits".
4. Giving free rein to our critical faculty - "If we refuse to trust anyone, then we set ourselves up as our own personal magisterium".
There are many other good points about this subject in the article, which is a very good read.
Lord, give us the grace to fight for your truth and humble our hearts to your Love, let it always shine forth in our thoughts, words, and actions.
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Beautiful new pro-life ad
The Knights of Columbus have began running a new pro-life radio ad encouraging people to "vote pro-life".
I don't know how to embed the audio so if you do, please educate me! Here is the link to the official press release from the Knights' website with the mp3
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
I don't know how to embed the audio so if you do, please educate me! Here is the link to the official press release from the Knights' website with the mp3
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Abortion debate on facebook
I have successfully done a pretty good job of staying away from many internet message board debates, as they tend to get nasty really quickly and generally are not productive.
That being said, a friend on Facebook from the Catholic student group at UNCG posted a message and tagged all the members of the group to read it. Since I had attended several meetings while I was a grad student there. The message was basically a response to Nancy Pelosi's comments recently regarding abortion and the general topic of abortion as it pertains to this year's presidential election.
I will save you all the gritty details, but it progressed to comments about abstinence not being effective because people do not have the willpower to fight sexual urges, etc. A friend responded with one of the most eloquent responses I have read in a while. It speaks not only to the abortion debate but also to anything that people struggle with in life and it really drove home many good points. I have copied the salient portion for your reading pleasure.
"The fact is that people DO have the will power. God would not have created us to not do something and then not give all of us the power not to do it. God created each of us with the will power to follow His law if we so choose to. Saying that people don't have the will power makes it seem as though you don't think God has given us all the power to follow His laws, making Him seem like quite an unjust and unfair God. God has given us all the strength we need to follow what He asks. So please don't tell me people don't have the will power, they sure do have it. They have just decided to suppress it and take the easy way out. Life is hard, and it requires sacrifice and a whole hell of a lot of will power...but people don't want to accept that anymore. I am tired of this nation catering to evil because they just don't think people can handle sacrifice. People live up to the expectations you assign them. If you tell people they won't survive abstinence, then they won't."
How true, how true. The family unit is under attack because people are too selfish and proud to humble themselves before our Lord and allow Him to take control of their life. It is times like this that I truly worry about our society and the values that we embrace.
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
That being said, a friend on Facebook from the Catholic student group at UNCG posted a message and tagged all the members of the group to read it. Since I had attended several meetings while I was a grad student there. The message was basically a response to Nancy Pelosi's comments recently regarding abortion and the general topic of abortion as it pertains to this year's presidential election.
I will save you all the gritty details, but it progressed to comments about abstinence not being effective because people do not have the willpower to fight sexual urges, etc. A friend responded with one of the most eloquent responses I have read in a while. It speaks not only to the abortion debate but also to anything that people struggle with in life and it really drove home many good points. I have copied the salient portion for your reading pleasure.
"The fact is that people DO have the will power. God would not have created us to not do something and then not give all of us the power not to do it. God created each of us with the will power to follow His law if we so choose to. Saying that people don't have the will power makes it seem as though you don't think God has given us all the power to follow His laws, making Him seem like quite an unjust and unfair God. God has given us all the strength we need to follow what He asks. So please don't tell me people don't have the will power, they sure do have it. They have just decided to suppress it and take the easy way out. Life is hard, and it requires sacrifice and a whole hell of a lot of will power...but people don't want to accept that anymore. I am tired of this nation catering to evil because they just don't think people can handle sacrifice. People live up to the expectations you assign them. If you tell people they won't survive abstinence, then they won't."
How true, how true. The family unit is under attack because people are too selfish and proud to humble themselves before our Lord and allow Him to take control of their life. It is times like this that I truly worry about our society and the values that we embrace.
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Dear young people
The following is an excerpt from the Papal address at World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto. The first portion of it was used in a song by Fr. Stan Fortuna called Cell 91, which is a tribute to Pope John Paul II (pretty rockin song if youve heard it or can find it, I havent been able to track it down online).
When I heard the song for the first time, the quote really struck me and has stuck in my head for about 6 years or so. It addresses the role of young people in Christian living and it really drives home the concept of the humble life and abandoning pop culture, which seems to be ever deprivating these days.
"It is the nature of human beings, and especially youth, to seek the Absolute, the meaning and fullness of life. Dear young people, do not be content with anything less than the highest ideals! Do not let yourselves be dispirited by those who are disillusioned with life and have grown deaf to the deepest and most authentic desires of their heart. You are right to be disappointed with hollow entertainment and passing fads, and with aiming at too little in life. If you have an ardent desire for the Lord you will steer clear of the mediocrity and conformism so widespread in our society."
Could you just imagine being in a crowd of a million young Catholics and hearing a Pope who is especially special to that crowd say these words? How could your life not be different?!
How often are we deaf to the deepest and most authentic desires of our hearts? Better yet, how often do we completely ignore these desires in favor of "hollow entertainment and passing fads"?!?! I believe that our generation, Catholic young adults, really have a great opportunity, no responsibility to uphold orthodoxy and moral living and not allow ourselves to be seduced by the things that we are "supposed" to want or do. Holiness requires us to be different!
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
When I heard the song for the first time, the quote really struck me and has stuck in my head for about 6 years or so. It addresses the role of young people in Christian living and it really drives home the concept of the humble life and abandoning pop culture, which seems to be ever deprivating these days.
"It is the nature of human beings, and especially youth, to seek the Absolute, the meaning and fullness of life. Dear young people, do not be content with anything less than the highest ideals! Do not let yourselves be dispirited by those who are disillusioned with life and have grown deaf to the deepest and most authentic desires of their heart. You are right to be disappointed with hollow entertainment and passing fads, and with aiming at too little in life. If you have an ardent desire for the Lord you will steer clear of the mediocrity and conformism so widespread in our society."
Could you just imagine being in a crowd of a million young Catholics and hearing a Pope who is especially special to that crowd say these words? How could your life not be different?!
How often are we deaf to the deepest and most authentic desires of our hearts? Better yet, how often do we completely ignore these desires in favor of "hollow entertainment and passing fads"?!?! I believe that our generation, Catholic young adults, really have a great opportunity, no responsibility to uphold orthodoxy and moral living and not allow ourselves to be seduced by the things that we are "supposed" to want or do. Holiness requires us to be different!
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Catholic Vote 2008
Found this video roaming around the internet and thought it would be a good share for all ye faithful Catholics to share with your friends and family:
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Favicon
Peep it.
Werd.
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Werd.
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
An amateur discourse on humility
I am a man.
I struggle with things.
Man things.
These struggles have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and I have fought mightily to rid them from my life.
There was a time in my life, in college, that I became apathetic to these things and allowed myself to fall deeper and deeper into my own selfishness and pride, never allowing my heart to be humbled enough to admit that I needed divine help in overcoming these things.
Then I met my future wife. While our relationship did not instantly make things better for me, and while we certainly had our struggles, her presence in my life allowed me to see the good that comes from purity and the value in that virtue.
I praise the Lord that for the past several months, I have been graced with the opportunity for regular confession and a renewed sense of culpability for these sins. One of my best friends and a priest-in-training, has been a great source of strength for me and has kept me accountable many times.
I know that I need humility and a deep sense of self-sacrifice in order to overcome these things completely. I believe God has blessed my wife and I with our bun-in-the-oven, and that this new page in our lives will help accomplish that.
There is an incredible amount of self-sacrifice that I am learning needs to happen in order to take care of a sick wife, maintain a household partially due to said sick wife, and work my first full time position. It is a tremendous responsibility and I am learning everyday how to love God in my work, love my wife at home, and love our child in the womb.
St. Joseph has been a newfound source of strength for me in this time of my life. His model as father, husband, and saint is one that is full of the virtues of purity, true humility, and self-abandonment. Devotion to St. Joseph began for me with the Novena to St. Joseph and I find myself thinking about his example more and more everyday.
Lord God, please grant me a true spirit of humility that I may serve you and serve my family everyday.
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
I struggle with things.
Man things.
These struggles have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and I have fought mightily to rid them from my life.
There was a time in my life, in college, that I became apathetic to these things and allowed myself to fall deeper and deeper into my own selfishness and pride, never allowing my heart to be humbled enough to admit that I needed divine help in overcoming these things.
Then I met my future wife. While our relationship did not instantly make things better for me, and while we certainly had our struggles, her presence in my life allowed me to see the good that comes from purity and the value in that virtue.
I praise the Lord that for the past several months, I have been graced with the opportunity for regular confession and a renewed sense of culpability for these sins. One of my best friends and a priest-in-training, has been a great source of strength for me and has kept me accountable many times.
I know that I need humility and a deep sense of self-sacrifice in order to overcome these things completely. I believe God has blessed my wife and I with our bun-in-the-oven, and that this new page in our lives will help accomplish that.
There is an incredible amount of self-sacrifice that I am learning needs to happen in order to take care of a sick wife, maintain a household partially due to said sick wife, and work my first full time position. It is a tremendous responsibility and I am learning everyday how to love God in my work, love my wife at home, and love our child in the womb.
St. Joseph has been a newfound source of strength for me in this time of my life. His model as father, husband, and saint is one that is full of the virtues of purity, true humility, and self-abandonment. Devotion to St. Joseph began for me with the Novena to St. Joseph and I find myself thinking about his example more and more everyday.
Lord God, please grant me a true spirit of humility that I may serve you and serve my family everyday.
St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Exciting news from the NALMDW
The North American League of Male Dishwashers (NALMDW) has released their first annual preseason rankings and, much to my chigrin, I was snubbed of a Top 5 ranking.
This league bases its rankings on both speed of dishwashing as well as quality of washing job and overall impression. There are 5 judges that score the second two elements much like an Olympic diving or gymnastics competition. As such, none of these judges represent the country from which participants are from.
I feel that I should have been ranked higher, considering my depth of experience and admittedly nice job of washing that I do. Unfortunately, the powers to be considered the following 5 male dishwashers to be better than I:
1. Jesus (I guess I can't really argue this one that much, I mean, He is the Son of God after all; although, I am suspicious of how often he actually washed dishes, being the son of the best parents of all time).
2. Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire (I suppose he gets the nod here for the heroic measure........)
3. Vin Diesel as The Pacifier (I don't even think he ever washes a dish either, but rumor is that the French judge gave him a 10.0 because of his good looks......and the one-arm pushups).
4. This guy.
5. Michael Phelps (He's not even a registered member of the League but apparantely after saying that I would smash him in a dishwashing contest, he edged me out by 0.01s) [extra props to you if you laughed because you understand].
God bless all you men who wash dishes for yourself, your wife, or just for your sanity.
This league bases its rankings on both speed of dishwashing as well as quality of washing job and overall impression. There are 5 judges that score the second two elements much like an Olympic diving or gymnastics competition. As such, none of these judges represent the country from which participants are from.
I feel that I should have been ranked higher, considering my depth of experience and admittedly nice job of washing that I do. Unfortunately, the powers to be considered the following 5 male dishwashers to be better than I:
1. Jesus (I guess I can't really argue this one that much, I mean, He is the Son of God after all; although, I am suspicious of how often he actually washed dishes, being the son of the best parents of all time).
2. Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire (I suppose he gets the nod here for the heroic measure........)
3. Vin Diesel as The Pacifier (I don't even think he ever washes a dish either, but rumor is that the French judge gave him a 10.0 because of his good looks......and the one-arm pushups).
4. This guy.
5. Michael Phelps (He's not even a registered member of the League but apparantely after saying that I would smash him in a dishwashing contest, he edged me out by 0.01s) [extra props to you if you laughed because you understand].
God bless all you men who wash dishes for yourself, your wife, or just for your sanity.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
I just sent an email to the moderators over at Catholic-Dads and it has instructed me to post their blogroll, which I am admittedly ignorant about. I am going to post it here not knowing what to expect and if anyone could help a brother out on what to do with this that would be fantastic!
In other news, I hope to be a little more active from here on out. The last few months of my life have been crazy busy with life events to be described in future posts.
Catholic Dads Blogroll:
In other news, I hope to be a little more active from here on out. The last few months of my life have been crazy busy with life events to be described in future posts.
Catholic Dads Blogroll:
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Mid-Week Update
Here is the updated Final Countdown
(1) Group project paper for neural control of human movement. Due tomorrow
(1) Thesis defense presentation. Going down on Tuesday, May 6 1-3pm
(1) Missed class summary paper (read 3 journal articles and summarize). Due tomorrow
(2) Class sessions
(1) Group project presentation
(10 7) Baseball games, best case scenario, all on the road
(1) Graduation to attend
(1) Thesis document to prepare and finalize. Due May 7 before 5pm.
(1) Wedding to help plan (technically doesnt have to happen by May 17)
(1) Job to find (had phone interview with Davidson yesterday, hope to know about a formal interview by the end of the week)
(1) Group project presentation
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(1) Graduation to attend
(1) Thesis document to prepare and finalize. Due May 7 before 5pm.
(1) Wedding to help plan (technically doesnt have to happen by May 17)
(1) Job to find (had phone interview with Davidson yesterday, hope to know about a formal interview by the end of the week)
Thursday, May 1, 2008
The Final Countdown
OK folks, here it is, The Final Countdown
Between now and Sunday May 17, the following needs to happen in my life:
(1) Group project paper for neural control of human movement. Due tomorrow
(1) Thesis defense presentation. Going down on Tuesday, May 6 1-3pm
(1) Missed class summary paper (read 3 journal articles and summarize). Due tomorrow
(2) Class sessions
(1) Group project presentation
(10) Baseball games, best case scenario, all on the road
(1) Graduation to attend
(1) Thesis document to prepare and finalize. Due May 7 before 5pm.
(1) Wedding to help plan (technically doesnt have to happen by May 17)
(1) Job to find (would like to have interview scheduled before May 17)
Thats not bad right?
God bless
Adam
Between now and Sunday May 17, the following needs to happen in my life:
(1) Group project paper for neural control of human movement. Due tomorrow
(1) Thesis defense presentation. Going down on Tuesday, May 6 1-3pm
(1) Missed class summary paper (read 3 journal articles and summarize). Due tomorrow
(2) Class sessions
(1) Group project presentation
(10) Baseball games, best case scenario, all on the road
(1) Graduation to attend
(1) Thesis document to prepare and finalize. Due May 7 before 5pm.
(1) Wedding to help plan (technically doesnt have to happen by May 17)
(1) Job to find (would like to have interview scheduled before May 17)
Thats not bad right?
God bless
Adam
Monday, April 28, 2008
7 Random Things
After being mentioned in good friends David and Frances' blog, I am going to try this whole chain letter/blog thing. I guess the first thing is to link to the person who called you out....er.....I mean, graciously linked you from their blog. So here it is.
The second thing is to post the instructions. So here they are:
1. When tagged, place the name and URL on your blog.
2. Post rules on your blog.
3. Write 7 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Name 7 of your favorite blogs.
5. Send an email/comment on their blog letting them know they have been tagged.
And off we go!
1. One of my biggest pet peeves is soap/shampoo that does not lather. The biggest culprit in this area is public bathrooms, most notably the one at work. There is nothing worse than soaping up my hands only to feel like I am washing my hands with olive oil that is barely scented like urinal cakes.
2. I love the smell of my toenails after I clip them, especially my big toes. Call me weird, call me gross, but you know you have that one thing you love the smell of that your friends would disown you over.
3. I am scared to death of drowning. Let me clarify. I am scared to death of being drowned, forcefully, mob-movie-cinder-block-shoes-thrown-into-Lake-Michigan-in-December-style. Most would think this is counterintuitive, considering my competitive swimming background, but I guess its the whole concept of such an amazing talent being taken away from me that really geeks me out.
4. I love sunflower seeds. I am working with a college baseball team, and I must say that sunflower seeds, not sunflower kernels, are the sole thing that help me keep my sanity when we get to the stadium 4 hours before game time. There is something therapeutic about throwing about 20 seeds in your mouth, storing them in one cheek squirrel style and slowly working them down like a professional. Nevermind the fact that all the salt works my cheeks and lips raw. Most people would just say, "Adam, why dont you just buy the kernels and save yourself the trouble". I say, I buy them because of the hull, not in spite of it. Some may just never understand. Wow thats alot of typing about sunflower seeds.
5. I have the meanest watch tan this side of the Mississippi. Again, working with two outdoors sports this year meant countless hours in the sun. I like to wear a watch in case I ever need to take a pulse, God forbid, and as such, the perfect outline of my timepiece can be seen on my wrist. I think you can even see the word Timex on there too.
6. This one may shock you. I know that I am tall, 6'9" in fact. And no I didnt play basketball, I swam. And yes, when I dove in, I was pretty much halfway across the pool. If I had a nickel everytime I encountered this EXACT sequence of questions being told to me as if no one ever told me that I was tall, Diana and I would be out of debt last year.
7. I will argue with you for hours about what side of the utensils go into the basket in the dishwasher. I can not for the life of me, understand why you would put the business end of the fork into the basket and not give it the full exposure to the water and soap that it needs. Most people rebut with, and please use your best "dummy" voice when you read this line, "Well what about knives, you dont want to cut yourself on them when you take them out". First, who washes their nice cutlery in the dishwasher? If you do this, you should probably not argue on the best way to wash dishes. Second, who doesnt pay attention to what they are grabbing out of the basket when putting dishes away. I have emptied dishwashers for the better part of 18 years of my life and never once, to my recollection, can I remember putting the silverware away with my eyes closed, or in a situation where I could not see the utensils. Again, if you do this, maybe you just shouldnt put the silverware away.
So now Im supposed to put 7 of my favorite blogs down. I wish I could name 7 blogs, much less choose 7 of my favorites. Sadly, the above linked blog is my only blogger friend so far. Is there like a club or a bar that you can go to to meet blogfriends?
God bless
Adam
ps...This weeks song of the hour is by Monday Morning, a Christian group that plays some softer, worship style songs. The song is called "The Wonder of it All" and has a pretty quality sound to it. Enjoy
The second thing is to post the instructions. So here they are:
1. When tagged, place the name and URL on your blog.
2. Post rules on your blog.
3. Write 7 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Name 7 of your favorite blogs.
5. Send an email/comment on their blog letting them know they have been tagged.
And off we go!
1. One of my biggest pet peeves is soap/shampoo that does not lather. The biggest culprit in this area is public bathrooms, most notably the one at work. There is nothing worse than soaping up my hands only to feel like I am washing my hands with olive oil that is barely scented like urinal cakes.
2. I love the smell of my toenails after I clip them, especially my big toes. Call me weird, call me gross, but you know you have that one thing you love the smell of that your friends would disown you over.
3. I am scared to death of drowning. Let me clarify. I am scared to death of being drowned, forcefully, mob-movie-cinder-block-shoes-thrown-into-Lake-Michigan-in-December-style. Most would think this is counterintuitive, considering my competitive swimming background, but I guess its the whole concept of such an amazing talent being taken away from me that really geeks me out.
4. I love sunflower seeds. I am working with a college baseball team, and I must say that sunflower seeds, not sunflower kernels, are the sole thing that help me keep my sanity when we get to the stadium 4 hours before game time. There is something therapeutic about throwing about 20 seeds in your mouth, storing them in one cheek squirrel style and slowly working them down like a professional. Nevermind the fact that all the salt works my cheeks and lips raw. Most people would just say, "Adam, why dont you just buy the kernels and save yourself the trouble". I say, I buy them because of the hull, not in spite of it. Some may just never understand. Wow thats alot of typing about sunflower seeds.
5. I have the meanest watch tan this side of the Mississippi. Again, working with two outdoors sports this year meant countless hours in the sun. I like to wear a watch in case I ever need to take a pulse, God forbid, and as such, the perfect outline of my timepiece can be seen on my wrist. I think you can even see the word Timex on there too.
6. This one may shock you. I know that I am tall, 6'9" in fact. And no I didnt play basketball, I swam. And yes, when I dove in, I was pretty much halfway across the pool. If I had a nickel everytime I encountered this EXACT sequence of questions being told to me as if no one ever told me that I was tall, Diana and I would be out of debt last year.
7. I will argue with you for hours about what side of the utensils go into the basket in the dishwasher. I can not for the life of me, understand why you would put the business end of the fork into the basket and not give it the full exposure to the water and soap that it needs. Most people rebut with, and please use your best "dummy" voice when you read this line, "Well what about knives, you dont want to cut yourself on them when you take them out". First, who washes their nice cutlery in the dishwasher? If you do this, you should probably not argue on the best way to wash dishes. Second, who doesnt pay attention to what they are grabbing out of the basket when putting dishes away. I have emptied dishwashers for the better part of 18 years of my life and never once, to my recollection, can I remember putting the silverware away with my eyes closed, or in a situation where I could not see the utensils. Again, if you do this, maybe you just shouldnt put the silverware away.
So now Im supposed to put 7 of my favorite blogs down. I wish I could name 7 blogs, much less choose 7 of my favorites. Sadly, the above linked blog is my only blogger friend so far. Is there like a club or a bar that you can go to to meet blogfriends?
God bless
Adam
ps...This weeks song of the hour is by Monday Morning, a Christian group that plays some softer, worship style songs. The song is called "The Wonder of it All" and has a pretty quality sound to it. Enjoy
Monday, April 14, 2008
BTGTF
For those who dont know, that stands for "Buy Two Get Three Free". Yes. I said that right. Buy two, get THREE free.
This is a current special Harris Teeter grocery stores are running for VIC customers. Generally I wont splurge and buy 5 of a particular item (save fruit lol), but the two finds I saw today were too good to pass up.
The headliner was BTGTF 12-packs of Pepsi products. Now, having just bought some soda the day before, I was hesitant to get more, but then my fabulous fiance Diana reminded me that I can get them and donate them to the LifeTeen ministry at our church!
The other thing I saw, just as I was getting ready to check out, was BTGTF reduced fat, whole wheat wheat thins, a favorite snack of Diana and I. I bought 5, knowing that they will get eaten. Im going to have to give them to her one at a time though, so she doesnt blaze through them too fast haha.
I feel I need to take an opportunity to rave about the wonders of whole wheat products. Many people dont like stuff made with whole wheat because of the taste, and I can certainly respect that; I personally dont think Ill ever get a taste for whole wheat pasta. On the other hand, I feel that the health benefits from the reduced fat and higher fiber contents of these products is one of the easiest ways to eat healthier. Im talking simple things like making sandwiches out of whole wheat bread instead of white, or eating whole wheat crackers (like above). I think you would be surprised at how much you dont taste of the whole wheat.
I am really trying to eat healthier. For the longest time, I thrived on junk food and just didnt make smart choices about what I ate, but could get away with it because I was so active with swimming. Now that exercise is harder to come buy, I really need to start making better choices, and I figure now is the best time to do that, because come June 14th, or whenever we get back from our honeymoon (Alaska here we come!), I am going to have to eat better if I want home cooked meals (which I do, have you ever eaten anything Diana has cooked!)
God bless you all
Adam
ps. I have several topics for blog posts in my head, but I must get to the library to work on thesis edits, they are due in two days!
pps. song of the hour is "Faith, Love, and Happiness" by Thousand Foot Krutch, a Christian rock band, similar to Falling Up, but a bit harder. Still, great stuff. Ignore the retarded video, its the only thing I could find that links the song lol
This is a current special Harris Teeter grocery stores are running for VIC customers. Generally I wont splurge and buy 5 of a particular item (save fruit lol), but the two finds I saw today were too good to pass up.
The headliner was BTGTF 12-packs of Pepsi products. Now, having just bought some soda the day before, I was hesitant to get more, but then my fabulous fiance Diana reminded me that I can get them and donate them to the LifeTeen ministry at our church!
The other thing I saw, just as I was getting ready to check out, was BTGTF reduced fat, whole wheat wheat thins, a favorite snack of Diana and I. I bought 5, knowing that they will get eaten. Im going to have to give them to her one at a time though, so she doesnt blaze through them too fast haha.
I feel I need to take an opportunity to rave about the wonders of whole wheat products. Many people dont like stuff made with whole wheat because of the taste, and I can certainly respect that; I personally dont think Ill ever get a taste for whole wheat pasta. On the other hand, I feel that the health benefits from the reduced fat and higher fiber contents of these products is one of the easiest ways to eat healthier. Im talking simple things like making sandwiches out of whole wheat bread instead of white, or eating whole wheat crackers (like above). I think you would be surprised at how much you dont taste of the whole wheat.
I am really trying to eat healthier. For the longest time, I thrived on junk food and just didnt make smart choices about what I ate, but could get away with it because I was so active with swimming. Now that exercise is harder to come buy, I really need to start making better choices, and I figure now is the best time to do that, because come June 14th, or whenever we get back from our honeymoon (Alaska here we come!), I am going to have to eat better if I want home cooked meals (which I do, have you ever eaten anything Diana has cooked!)
God bless you all
Adam
ps. I have several topics for blog posts in my head, but I must get to the library to work on thesis edits, they are due in two days!
pps. song of the hour is "Faith, Love, and Happiness" by Thousand Foot Krutch, a Christian rock band, similar to Falling Up, but a bit harder. Still, great stuff. Ignore the retarded video, its the only thing I could find that links the song lol
Friday, April 11, 2008
The Lord always provides
I am sure that there is some very eloquent Bible verse about the Lord providing for the needs of his people, somewhere in the Old Testament perhaps. I am way too excited/lazy to look one up right now, however.
I just found out that Davidson College, a school about 10 minutes, literally, from my future wife's condo, is hiring an assistant athletic trainer. This is exactly the position that I am searching for, college athletic training somewhere where we would not have to move. This position is absolutely perfect. Don't worry, I have already applied.
Please pray for this opportunity to pan out for Diana and I. We really do not want to have to move away from our friends in Charlotte for some silly job.
Something else I just noticed. Blogger will underline words you misspell in red. It even underlines contractions like won't and don't that you do not put the apostrophes in. I am notorious for doing that and I found that I change it when Blogger tells me its wrong. I guess I just do not like the look of the red line lol. See, well I guess you can't, it underlined "lol".....LOOK it did it again.....grrrrrr.......
God bless
Adam
p.s. song of the hour is "Escalates" by Falling Up, a Christian rock band. Good stuff.
I just found out that Davidson College, a school about 10 minutes, literally, from my future wife's condo, is hiring an assistant athletic trainer. This is exactly the position that I am searching for, college athletic training somewhere where we would not have to move. This position is absolutely perfect. Don't worry, I have already applied.
Please pray for this opportunity to pan out for Diana and I. We really do not want to have to move away from our friends in Charlotte for some silly job.
Something else I just noticed. Blogger will underline words you misspell in red. It even underlines contractions like won't and don't that you do not put the apostrophes in. I am notorious for doing that and I found that I change it when Blogger tells me its wrong. I guess I just do not like the look of the red line lol. See, well I guess you can't, it underlined "lol".....LOOK it did it again.....grrrrrr.......
God bless
Adam
p.s. song of the hour is "Escalates" by Falling Up, a Christian rock band. Good stuff.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Welcome to My Blog
First off I would like to thank you for visiting my site. I hope that this blog will entertain, inform, and inspire those who read the posts within. I invite comments from anyone and everyone.
The title of this blog "A New Paracletes" is a double-entendre. For those of you who dont know what the heck that is, its a type of pun where a word has a double meaning.
Paraclete as it is spelled is a term used as a title for the Holy Spirit as a "mediator" or "one who intercedes". This title can be found in The Divine Praises, a prayer recited typically at the end of a holy hour or during benediction and reposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
A pair of cleats, quite obviously refers to the shoes commonly worn by athletes during competition. This, I thought, was a pretty neat way to incorporate my love of sports and my connection to them through my job as a collegiate athletic trainer.
The purpose of this blog is to share my thoughts on life, both serious and funny. For those who dont know me, I love laughing and making others laugh, so I will try to portray that through my writing. It will often include thoughts on matters of faith, including my upcoming wedding to my beautiful and wonderful fiance, Diana. She got "mad" at me when I told her I was starting this blog, so hopefully I can convince her to get into it once we get married.
Other ideas I had for this blog were having a weekly/monthly post on some aspect of athletic training, whether it be a description of the anatomy of a certain joint or the different aspects of certain injuries, just something that keeps these things in my head and helps me to learn more about them for my personal career growth. Also, I thought of sharing my finds in the realm of Christian/Catholic music. I am big into lesser known bands that produce awesome tracks, so I will be sharing some of those with you as well. Finally, I LOVE the Latin language. There is nothing better than singing Latin chants during Mass on Sunday, although it has been few and far between that I have had the joy of doing so. That being said, I will try to educate you alls on some Latin phrases that I find interesting and/or funny.
Wow thats a long first post. Especially considering it is 2:10am and I should be typing on my thesis. Dont tell anyone.
God bless you all
Adam
The title of this blog "A New Paracletes" is a double-entendre. For those of you who dont know what the heck that is, its a type of pun where a word has a double meaning.
Paraclete as it is spelled is a term used as a title for the Holy Spirit as a "mediator" or "one who intercedes". This title can be found in The Divine Praises, a prayer recited typically at the end of a holy hour or during benediction and reposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
A pair of cleats, quite obviously refers to the shoes commonly worn by athletes during competition. This, I thought, was a pretty neat way to incorporate my love of sports and my connection to them through my job as a collegiate athletic trainer.
The purpose of this blog is to share my thoughts on life, both serious and funny. For those who dont know me, I love laughing and making others laugh, so I will try to portray that through my writing. It will often include thoughts on matters of faith, including my upcoming wedding to my beautiful and wonderful fiance, Diana. She got "mad" at me when I told her I was starting this blog, so hopefully I can convince her to get into it once we get married.
Other ideas I had for this blog were having a weekly/monthly post on some aspect of athletic training, whether it be a description of the anatomy of a certain joint or the different aspects of certain injuries, just something that keeps these things in my head and helps me to learn more about them for my personal career growth. Also, I thought of sharing my finds in the realm of Christian/Catholic music. I am big into lesser known bands that produce awesome tracks, so I will be sharing some of those with you as well. Finally, I LOVE the Latin language. There is nothing better than singing Latin chants during Mass on Sunday, although it has been few and far between that I have had the joy of doing so. That being said, I will try to educate you alls on some Latin phrases that I find interesting and/or funny.
Wow thats a long first post. Especially considering it is 2:10am and I should be typing on my thesis. Dont tell anyone.
God bless you all
Adam
Finally Unlocked!
After about 2 weeks of waiting for my blog to be unlocked (Blogger thought it was a spam blog!), I can finally post. It is pretty late right now and I have some work to do on my thesis document but I wanted to post here so that I do not get locked up again.
A proper introduction and explanation of this blog is forthcoming so tell all your friends!
God bless
Adam
A proper introduction and explanation of this blog is forthcoming so tell all your friends!
God bless
Adam
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