The Credit Crisis Understood

Aaron Conrad over at his (newly combined!) blog got me on to this. It is a very good visualization of what has happened in the housing industry lately.
And for a business prof, good visuals are always a plus to keep your students awake!
Part 1:

Part 2:

Secret Ambition

This was one of my favorite songs growing up, but it was a high school teacher that introduced the video to me. I love the thought-provoking scenes of the blood dripping on the ground. I am surely glad Christ succeeded in His “secret ambition.”

Goodbye, Coach

Tony Dungy was a champion and a gentleman; a true example for today. I have always been impressed by his passion for those things that are important, for life and for Christ.

See his passion here: http://www.allprodad.com

Happy New Year 2009!

I spent the evening at home with my 3 sick girls, so I had to tone the celebration down a little. I found this old video of me celebrating the 2000 New year. Enjoy!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We Wish you a Merry Christmas

Every year I like to put up this fun link to all those who come across this sillie ol’ Blog…

Ok, I am a guy of traditions. I like my beefstick sandwiches with shrimp and cocktail sauce for Christmas Eve. I buy (and eat) lots of candy at Halloween. My birthday is a sacred holiday of sleep and quiet. I put my pants on one leg at a time, just like those Michigan boys…

Click on the Santa and his reindeer below for some festive holiday cheer from yours truly!

I wish you a Merry Christmas!

What is Advent?

I must say this is about my most favorite time of the year. Steven Curtis Chapman in his song Christmas is all in the heart states “And in my sleeps eyes the spark still glows, Well I guess there’s just some things a kid never outgrows,” Which is so me. I am one of those “strange people” that think about Christmas all year long. I will be in a store in the middle of summer, and find something I want to give to someone at Christmas. (I will say it makes for an interesting time when December comes and I can’t remember everything I have bought throughout the year – maybe I need to Twitter myself every time I get something?)

But this post is more about the celebration of Advent, to which I was introduced by my lovely bride. I had heard of it, but not really sure what it was all about. Well, after a few years of celebrating Advent, I’d like to help out those like me who are in the dark about the wreath and candles that sit in the middle of many tables this time of year.

Advent is a celebration by Christians of the events preceeding the birth of the Christ, Jesus the savior. It is typically celebrated every sunday between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Select Scriptures are read, mostly from the Old Testament, that are prophecies or events that look to the coming of the Messiah. The candles and wreath are symbols best described churchyear.net:

“The candles symbolize the light of Christ coming into the world. The evergreen (of the wreath) symbolizes renewal in Christ, the kind of renewal hoped for by those before Christ’s first coming, and the ultimate renewal we long for in Christ’s second coming. The circular shape symbolizes the completeness of God.”

(See their great website at http://www.churchyear.net/adventwreath.html)

The cool thing about Advent is that there are no set Scriptures to read each year. There are so many that can be used. We typically will use the story of the fall in the Garden of Eden for week 1 since that is where it all started. Some other favorites of ours are Isaiah 53 – the promise of salvation through “His stripes” and Micah 5:2 that Bethlehem was where He would be born. A simple Google search will provide a plethora of sites that have suggested Advent readings for you to use.

I encourage all who consider themselves part of the body of Christ who have not typically observed Advent, do find out more about the celebration, and make it a part of your CHRISTMAS tradition.

Merry Christmas to All!

15 minutes of fame

Recently, I was asked for a quote for an announcement about my new position, and thought it was pretty cool. The scary part was that I didn’t realize it was going into a NEWSPAPER for a circulation of about 60,000. (I guess I thought it would be for a bulletin board posting or something.) Kinda scary. It was for an announcement of new Faculty at MVNU (which I am one of the rookies!).

Since I know you are dying to see what I said, You can read the article here:

http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/ncn/article.jsp?id=10006369

It made me think about other times I have been in the newspaper. I have had 2 other times that I remember getting my picture in the paper. (I need to see if I can find the articles in the paper archives and post them.) The first time, I was in 5th grade and was on the front cover of the Marion (Indiana) sports page, swinging a mean bat. The ironic part is that I think I struck out on that swing…

The other time I was in the paper was when I was 17 and lifegurarding. It was and impressive, no-shirt, showing-the-cannons color shot on the front of the “neighborhood” section of the Fort Wayne (IN) paper.

So does that mean I have gone over my allotted 15 minutes of fame? But more importantly, did I use those times to show Christ to the world? It is that age old question, “when people meet/see/hear me, do they meet/see/hear Christ?” I think it was obvious with this last one that people know I am a Christian, at least I hope it was obvious.

I’m curious of everyone else’s story of their 15 minutes. What’s your story?

Thursday Funnie

Ah, some of the joys of aging gracefully!

This is from newshound Dave Barry’s colonoscopy journal:

… I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy. A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis . Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner. I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn’t really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, quote, ‘HE’S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!’ I left Andy’s office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a product called ‘MoviPrep,’ which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America ’s enemies.

I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous. Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation. In accordance with my instructions, I didn’t eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor. Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons.) Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes – and here I am being kind – like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon. The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, ‘a loose watery bowel movement may result.’ This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground. MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don’t want to be too graphic, here, but: Have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is prettymuch the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet. After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep.

The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, ‘What if I spurt on Andy?’ How do you apologize to a friend for something likethat? Flowers would not be enough.

At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said.Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked. Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep. At first I was ticked off that I hadn’tthought of this is, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.

When everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point. Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand. There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was ‘Dancing Queen’ by ABBA I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, ‘Dancing Queen’ has to be the least appropriate.

‘You want me to turn it up?’ said Andy, from somewhere behind me.

‘Ha ha,’ I said. And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like. I have no idea. Really. I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling ‘Dancing Queen, Feel the beat of the tambourine,’ and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood. Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that It was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Dave Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist for the Miami Herald.

On the subject of Colonoscopies…

Colonoscopies are no joke, but these comments during the exam were

quite humorous…..

A physician claimed that the following are actual

comments made by his patients (predominately male) while he was performing

their colonoscopies:

1. ‘Take it easy, Doc. You’re boldly going where no man has gone before!

2. ‘Find Amelia Earhart yet?’

3. ‘Can you hear me NOW?’

4. ‘Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?’

5. ‘You know, in Arkansas , we’re now legally married.’

6. ‘Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?’

7. ‘You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out…’

8. ‘Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!’

9. ‘If your hand doesn’t fit, you must quit!

10. ‘Hey Doc, let me know if you find my dignity.’

11. ‘You used to be an executive at Enron, didn’t you?’

12. ‘God, now I know why I am not gay.’

And the best one of all.

13. ‘Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head is not up there?’

Children and the Kingdom

Matthew 19:13-15

“Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.”

I have to admit, this is one of those sections of scripture that I have heard MANY times, and I thought I understood what Jesus was saying to his disciples, but yesterday this verse hit me like a ton of bricks. My 2 daughters LOVE to swim; they are truly fish in human body. And any time we tell them to get their bathing suits (”bathing soup” to the 2-year-old) they get so excited!

But yesterday was different. The 4-year-old finally started swimming all by herself. Granted, she was using the good ol’ water wings, but she was jumping in the pool all by herself, swimming all around the pool, and didn’t really need me around to be the safety net. It was amazing to see that all “click” for her.

The lesson on this verse came after out swim time. My 4-year-old was SO EXCITED about the events that transpired at the pool, that she literally had to tell everyone. She kept reminding us all afternoon that she could do it herself. She had to call her grandparents (both sets!), she had to tell her aunt and uncle, and if we would have let her, she would have stood in the road and flagged cars down to fill them in on the excitement…

THAT is how excited we must be about being part of the Kingdom of heaven. We must be exited about the opportunity to be a part of the Family of Christ! If we are truly excited like a child who just learned to swim by herself, and want to tell everyone we can think of about it!

Some of us “grown-ups” need an excited child around us to help remind us what it means to be a child in God’s family. I know I did yesterday!

Help Desk Time!

In honor of my past career on the other end of the Help Desk line, here are a few conversations over heard at a help desk (I think I actually was witness to a couple):

A customer couldn’t get on the Internet:

Helpdesk: “Are you sure you used the right password?”

Customer: “Yes I’m sure. I saw my colleague do it.”

Helpdesk: “Can you tell me what the password was?”

Customer: “Five stars.”

______

Helpdesk: “What kind of computer do you have?”

Customer: “A white one.”

______

Customer: “Hi, this is Rose. I can’t get my diskette out.”

Helpdesk: “Have you tried pushing the button?”

Customer: “Yes, sure, it’s really stuck.”

Helpdesk: “That doesn’t sound good; I’ll make a note.”

Customer: “No… wait a minute… I hadn’t inserted it yet… it’s still on my desk… Sorry…”

______

Helpdesk: “Click on the ‘My Computer’ icon on to the left of the screen.”

Customer: “Your left or my left?”

______

Helpdesk: “Good day. How may I help you?”

Male customer: “Hello, I can’t print.”

Helpdesk: “Would you click on start for me and…”

Customer: “Listen pal; don’t start getting technical on me! I’m not Bill Gates, you know!”

______

Customer: “Hi, good afternoon, this is Martha, I can’t print. Every time I try, it says, ‘Can’t find printer’. I’ve even lifted the printer and placed it in front of the monitor, but the computer still says it can’t find it.”

______

Customer: “I have problems printing in red.”

Helpdesk: “Do you have a color printer?”

Customer: “Aaaah… Thank you.”

______

Customer: “My keyboard is not working anymore.”

Helpdesk: “Are you sure it’s plugged into the computer?”

Customer: “No. I can’t get behind the computer.”

Helpdesk: “Pick up your keyboard and walk 10 paces back.”

Customer: “Okay.”

Helpdesk: “Did the keyboard come with you?”

Customer: “Yes.”

Helpdesk: “That means the keyboard is not plugged in. Is there another keyboard?”

Customer: “Yes, there’s another one here. Ahh, that one works!”

______

Helpdesk: “Your password is the small letter ‘a’ as in apple, a capital letter ‘V’ as in Victor, and the number ‘7′.”

Customer: “Is that ‘7′ in capital letters?”

______

Helpdesk: “What anti-virus program do you use?”

Customer: “Netscape.”

Helpdesk: “That’s not an anti-virus program.”

Customer: “Oh, sorry… Internet Explorer.”

______

Customer: “I have a huge problem. A friend has put a screensaver on my computer, but every time I move the mouse, it disappears!”

______

Helpdesk: “How may I help you?”

Customer: “I’m writing my first e-mail.”

Helpdesk: “Okay, and what seems to be the problem?”

Customer: “Well, I have the letter ‘a’ in the address, but how do I get the circle around it?”

(From our friends a Crosswalk.com)