Hello friends!

This livejournal is now deprecated in favor of my new website: A Foolish Manifesto
It's obviously not all done; it's really painful to work on it when I have such a high latency.  Satellite internet is a blessing and a curse.  Anyway, update your nonsense and whatnots and life will be cheese-dreams.

Station.

Current Music: Blind Melon - Change

I just got finished reading a chapter of a book that I am reading for a class that I am taking online.  The class is called Life and Teachings of Christ.  It's basically a course in the gospels, the events behind the gospels, and all that jazz.  The book I am referring to is called The Jesus I Never Knew by Yancey.  It's pop literature, so at first I was turned off by it.  Furthermore it's kinda sappy, again, a strike against it.  The good thing about it is that it tends to shake me out of my complacent accepting beliefs.  It helps to show some things that we either tacitly accept or forget about and stuff like that.  Anyway, the thing that really jumped out at me tonight was treatment of the poor and the sick and all of those people.

For a long time now I have encapsulated the exhortations in two major commands.  #1: Love God.  #2: Love people.  And you could also include #3: as Love Christians because Jesus called that a new commandment, but I won't go into that here.  Either way, I have always know that we are supposed to love other people, which includes giving to the poor and helping people and stuff.  And loving God generally involves doing what He says and praying with Him and stuff like that.

What was refocussed for me when I read that chapter was how Jesus said that when you love the sick you are loving Him.  Now, this is great because for those of us who are greatful for what God has given us it gives us a way to give back to God in a way.  The really interesting thing to me is that it gives us a way to fulfill BOTH of those commands at the same time.  Love other people and through them love Jesus.  We fulfill all the law and the prophets by doing that.  That makes me really excited for some reason.  It also helps me to be more motivated at work since we are helping people and the program I am writing will indirectly help those people.

So there is this kid here were I am staying and his name is Nate.  He's 16 years old.  He tells me things like, "You're just a college student; you'll learn."  And "it helps when you learn how the world works at a young age."

The first quotation came when I told him that I vote Apathetic and that I think for the next election I will vote either for myself or my friend Darry.  I think politics are dumb and statistically thinking if I really believe that right now I will probably believe it for the rest of my life (I read that statistic in my class that I had in high school about that kind of thing.)

The second came when he said that you could do anything with enough money and I disagreed.  He then said something like, "ideas come from the right amount of money."  Again I disagreed.

See, the difference here is that I am very much an idealist and to some extent a pragmatist.  I think that things should work a certain way and when I do things I do them the practical way, to an extent.  I think that politics are silly and I think that people too far to the left AND the right are also silly.  I also think that focusing too much on money or even how you can manipulate people is foolish.

I just wanted to throw that out there, because arguing with Nate is like arguing with a nine year old.  It's just a waste of time.

"Ya, I voted for my friend Art [fREW]. I really like his stance on Robots, and the Harrison Stearns Policy is going to revolutionize the way we look at segregation in the 21st century."

--Theoretical Quote from yabbo

These are thoughts that have gone through my head today for one reason of another.  I do not claim to be original in all or even most of these thoughts.  I just wanted to share.

This looks like a job for SCIENCE.  (Also, wouldn't that be a great tattoo?)

Seize the Day

Buffalo = Hackers

Help files are subtle propaganda the government uses to convince us that everything about us is stored in a huge database and that we should be OK WITH THAT.

Tags: thoughts
Current Location: honduras
Current Mood: weird
Current Music: Shades - Echolyn

So, as before, I initially walked into my house. Something was different. It smelled different. I wasn't sure what it was, so I decided to investigate. The first thing that I noticed was that there were a whole bunch of really old Jews chilling out in the front room. They kept trying to tell me what was up, but I couldn't pay attention because of the smell of old libraries.


So I went into the hallway after that, just to see where this smell was coming from. In the hallway I saw Peter and Paul, and they were telling me what was up. Ozzy Osbourne was there and he kept interrupting them!


I got annoyed at Ozzy so I left and went into Tara's room. I saw Eusebus and Origen and they were arguing with the Quaker Oats Guy. He got really mad and to prove a point he bit the head off of a live bat. Totally weirded out, I left.


In the hallway I saw a bunch of midrifs (no other parts) hovering around Fjord and he just kept disagreeing and saying, 'No!'. I didn't want to get into this argument, so I left and went into the hallway.


I then moved from the hallway to Walt's room and saw Calvin and Luther dancing eerily. Albert Einstein was watching them move in big circles around him as he bit the head off of a live bat. I didn't wanna get blood on my shoes like that one time on the buckethead show, so I took off back to the hallway.


Calvin and Luther dressed up in mail man outfits and then followed me into the hallway. That was pretty weird to say the least. But then my Grandpa was there and he kept yelling at me because the house was such a mess with all this blood. It was nuts!


So then I went into the next section of the hallway. Guess who was there! Andy Warhol! What the heck? Says you. I agree. It was crazy. Erika Klann was with him and she did not like his art at all, so she bit the head off of a fake bat. (Note: she probably wouldn't do this in real life. I think she's still a vegetarian, so you know, no biting of bats.)


I wanted to get out of all this biting of bats, so I went into Thomas' room and there were three people there, but they were intertangled with a Neural Network. The three people were Jeff Minnig, talking about source code; Annie Olsen, criticizing everything I do; and last, Dr. J, talking about bands in Austin and History in General. I didn't really feel comfortable with this group of humans, so I went back into the hallway.


Once I got into the hallway I noticed that it smelled terrible. This time there were only two people there. The people were Dr. Hood, talking about church history; and that stupid guy from American Idol criticizing everyone's form.


I hate that one guy, so I went into my mom's room. In there I found a World War I Trench Spike, the number one weapon against zombies. I also saw out the window that someone was building a new cathedral across the street. What?


I figured that the rest of the house was safe now so I went into the hallway and I saw ADOLF HITLER! It was so weird; he was yelling at Dr. Hummel for his Theology and Dr. Solganick for screwing up what he said!


Bizarre! So I left my house completely and went to my Dad's antebellum house. When I first get there I approach the house from the normal parking place and I see a pale, white even, Bert. He kept telling me that he wanted to find out the story of the Man. Coda was following him around and he was nodding vigorously. I decided to leave these nut cases and go to the house.


On the veranda I found Erny, caring around a case containing why the story of the Man couldn't be found. Coda had apparently followed me, and was eating lots of chocolate with Erny.


After seeing this little duo I went into the front room and saw Mrs. Sanders, from OSHS. She kept saying EEP because the Man told her about the end of the universe and all that jazz.


I left her and went into Grandpa's old room on the left. I found a guard (who kept pointing at me saying, "This one! This one!" And I also found a Horsey claiming to be named Richard. They told me that the Man knew about flickr and livejournal and myspace...


I then went to the adjacent bathroom and Carnage (Venom + other bad guy) was sighing and nodding off to sleep. WEIRD. Fjord was noodling till he fell asleep. Apparently Fjord was reading a new bible while he was there?


I then entered my Nana's room (it was mine first!) and there I saw a King who was being made fun of by his subjects! The Quaker Oats guy was offering a bowl of quaker oats to the Quaker Oats guy, who was also fixing our AC?


I left Nana's room (mine!) and went into the main room. In there I saw the Man at home helping people. The Quaker Oats guy was there too, but this time he was flirting with Heath Nunnamacher. Weird. Also, Dr. Anderson was there and he just kept nodding....over and over again...


Then I went to the guest room. In the guest room I saw the Man helping people in other towns near his own. Dr. Anderson but this time he was Ogling Girls! My Uncle Kenny was also there, and he was shouting at me that I needed to come with him to go sailing! Awesome!


I then went into the little secret room where I found my twenty-first birthday present 17 years early... There I saw the Man following a Lemming. David Eaton was with him and he kept trying to give him oatmeal... After a while David Eaton got bored and decided to just go to EBGames to get a video game.


Then I went into the Christmas room and I saw the Man helping everyone and then loving everyone Passionately. My Uncle Larry was in there and he was trying to give the Man oatmeal as well! OATMEAL?!? My Grandpa laughed heartily and pulled out a computer and rubbed it's belly.


It was a really nice time!  It also hopefully helped me to instantly recover my flying robot disease!

Current Location: honduras
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Smile Like You Mean It - The Killers

Hello friends.

I am currently house-sitting at a different place for four days. It's sad because the view is gorgeous, but my camera is dead (batteries.) I need new ones before I forget how to use my camera.

Anyway, the owners of this home are vegans for health reasons, and guess what, I CAN'T FIND ANY FOOD HERE!!! It's a really nice house. It's like it's from the future! The washer machine is better than the one's I have used in the states. But alas, no simple food. I ate the last of the peanut butter for lunch. There was probably three spoonfuls. I couldn't find any bread to put it on. The soy milk is also good.

I am starting to program some pretty interesting stuff. Today hasn't been super productive; I am learning to use some new libraries and stuff. I'll spare you the boredom.

You may be wondering, "What happened to fREW? His posts are all boring now!" I agree. Hopefully that will be remedied when I have like, a spare minute. I have a test due at the end of the weekend and a paper and 2 quizzes and an abstract and I heard maybe a draft. It's a hassle. It's also 55% over.

Ok friends, I hope this absurdity reaches you well.

Station.

Tags: honduras
Current Music: The Killers - Believe Me Natalie

So the weather right now is the awesomest that it has been since I got here. It feels like it is about to storm big time. It's really windy. I dig.

I just finished a Test that I had in Life and Teachings. I felt like I did well. You all saw what I had to remember. Fortunately I didn't have to remember it in entirety, but basically match dates with people, which was more or less how the mnemonic worked. If someone really wants me to I will post my whole mnemonic list, but it's pretty personalized, so I don't think it would work for anyone but me.

The parrot that is on my shoulder in this picture is my bud. One time I was sitting doing homework and walked in the front door. It was crazy! When I took this picture I saw him sitting on a tree and I called to him and he started climbing down, but then got discouraged, so I came and he hopped onto my finger. Today I was getting my bible from The Pad and he showed up on the couch behind me, so I hung out with him for a while. He does this weird thing with his neck sometimes, it looks like the wave, but just his neck. I think it means that he wants me to feed him. I'll ask Hannah when she gets back.

I wrote the outline for my first update. I hope it doesn't bore people. It won't be like, "We had 17 conversions!" It will be like, "the hospital database won't go down!" Kenton told me that since he has done computer stuff for the hospital the letters he writes have been a little bit less impressive. Oh well.

Station team.

So I forgot everything I knew and had a Life and Teachings of Christ test, so I went home to find my mind. This is that tale.
In the Front Room of my house Fjord was Noodling with a Babel Fish! What is noodling you ask? It’s where you pretend to be a noodle by keeping your bottom half rigid and your top half all floppy! It’s silly!
I walked into the Hall Way and Fjord was there too... This time he was Speaking Spanish with a Pearl. It was very strange indeed. On the left wall there was a picture of my old friend (and my brother’s enemy?) Cyrus with Fjord Sailing a Viking ship. They arrive at their destination Fjord dons a white gown like those crazies in that one band and starts to preach about Dr. Bronner’s Soap. Rad! Next, still on the left wall, we have a picture of my buddy Darry, all blinged out. Fjord is telling him about an opportunity day and Darry, like everyone else on the planet, thinks that it is a silly name for a test. After that Darry puts in an 8-track tape where Jimmy Hendrix starts singing about Slug Brains! Far Out! On the Right Wall there is a mural that’s all transformy. It starts off with XEXYZ, the first platformer I ever played. Good game. It transforms into XEXYZ 2: AFTERXEXYZ. Admittedly this was never a real game. It then transforms into a picture of Darry’s Son: Darry II. That transforms into AFTERXEXYZ: II; which finally transforms into the ultimate: AFTERXEXYZ: III.
I am totally blown away by my hall way. I remember the time when I had to wash the wall because my little brother wrote on it with permanent marker but I got over it and he got in trouble because of our stupid baby sitter. Some is in big trouble this time!!! So then I go to Tara’s room. Rock is in there this time, he is talking about NorCal with a bowl of (disgusting) grease. It was gross. And the grease thought that NorCal was silly and a poser name for Northern California.
I leave and go back into the hallway, and Rock is out there now, but this time he smells TERRIBLE. All the pictures that were in the room are gone, and there is instead a picture of Ptolemy, the Egyptian ruler guy. He is looking at Rock... I decide to get out of there before there is some serious mummy action.
I go into Walt’s room, and for some reason, the Quaker Oats Guy is in there! He is talking to some totally hot chicks (Sirens to be more accurate, so you know, keep a distance) and he is saying, “I am 95% sure that we can abandon the null hypothesis and--” I leave the room because it is just TOO bizarre.
When I get into the hallway I see the Quaker Oats Guy out there, but this time he is silent. Why is he silent is a reasonable question. Well there is a pretty good answer. HE WAS WATCHING STARGATE!!! With some really really old Jews I might add. One of the Jews is holding a huge hammer I might add. The other one has the hammer merit badge.
I then go into the next section of the hallway and the QOG is there again! This time he is putting a Babel Fish into his ear and showing some Has-been’s (who are moaning) how to do it.
So then I go into my Mom’s room, skipping Thomas’ room because my mind won’t be there for sure. Ozzy Osbourne was in there. He was watching that Movie SLC Punk with some gladiator dude. I sit down to watch and Ozzy (what a jerk) changes the channel. I start to pay more attention to the TV and the TV has a video of someone selling my house!! They are doing one of those walkthrough things... I watch intently:
The salesperson is talking to a guy named Harry Harrison. I already don’t trust the guy.
They are surprised when they walk into the front room and see Harry Harrison’s son, Harry there. He is with my Aunt Annie and Jimi Hendrix Music is playing in the background. Nothing strange at all here!
They continue the tour and go into the infamous hallway. The hallways has transformed into some Arches Laying on the ground. Jimi Hendix Music is playing there and Dr. Anderson is writing on what is left of one of the walls (What’s the deal with writing on those walls anyway?)
They go to Tara’s room and there is antipasta ALL OVER THE FLOOR. Jimi Hendrix is acting like a thug (like always) but this time he is Speaking Spanish... What the heck? Black Santana? With Spaghetti?
When they go back to the hallway it looks fine, but this time my Step Dad Phil is in there and he is actually discussing music with Hendrix. He is showing Jimi a CD.
Then they go into the next part of the Hallway, Harry is freaking out. His grandson, Harry (who is gripping a nailgun) is watching Kevin Tucker shoot a man in a rabbit suite in the face.
They stumble into Thomas’ room, just in time to avoid the gunshot, and see Harry II (who is also gripping a nailgun) watching TV where Ozzy Osbourne is shouting at ME!!!! It is so bizarre that Ozzy who is looking at me while we watch TV of people in my house watching TV of people watching them, Shouts at me! Then they change the channel and see the Quaker Oats guy bite the head off of a bat. They immediately leave the house because it is just too weird.
I also think that this is strange, and, in search of my mind, go into my mom’s bathroom. I take the gladiator dude’s sword, just in case. In mom’s bathroom there are leaves falling from the trees and they are all different colors. In there there is a weird scene. Shiloh Hockman is flirting with Heath Nunnamacher. Weird!
So I go back into mom’s room, and it’s snowing in there! AD, from WI, is talking about CGI’s from movies. Obviously there is no mind in here!
So then I leave into the hallway. I see Gaea wearing boots. She is watching Kevin Tucker read in a park. She is like a spy, except she isn’t real.
I then go into Thomas’ bathroom, hoping that the shenanigans are over. In the bathroom I see Cloud, from FF7, and he is with DA who is speaking French with Cloud. I didn’t know Cloud knew french...
So I leave that and go back into the hallway. The hallway is on FIRE!!! What is the deal with my house?! Not only is it on fire, but Amy Davis is there, and she’s SUPER PREGNANT! What is going on?!
I go into the next part of the hallway and this girl I knew in middle school is there. Her name was Libby and she talked ALL THE TIME. Sheryl Huddleston is with her and they are eating some bacon together. The bacon looks delicious, but I don’t wanna be around Libby any more than I have to be.
I then turn the corner in my hallway and everything is at a right angle, like, orthogonal! Sweet! Sharp and blunt edges beware, we now have the perfect balance! J-Dot walked in with me and I show him the corner where Walt hit his head once and had to get stitches (I think) and tell him how he still has scars from it.
Then I go to the kitchen, still with J-Dot, and Lee is telling us about this Perl Jam album, Vitalogy. He obviously loves the album. Not surprising, it is by Perl Jam after all.
Then we go into the dining room. J-Dot sees his girlfriend a Vespa scooter and get’s so mad that he starts to Glean Grain. I don’t understand those two. I leave to go back to the kitchen.
In the kitchen I see that AO guy Titus trying to flirt with Sarah Kramer who is poking me, saying “Hey, hey, hey.” I ask Sarah why she is in my house with all these crazies and she tells me that she just wanted to say, Hi. She then leaves. Interesting.
I then see Harrison (Harry! What a wookie!) and he is saying that he won’t sell out to the Domination of the government. At this point I remember where my mind is, and all this nonsense that I saw evaporates... My mind was stored with Google!!!

Current Mood: Ready like C-4 that one time...
Current Music: The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song - The Flaming Lips

Man, I have a feeling this is gonna be a Tears for Fears summer...

So obviously I am in Honduras now. The house I am currently staying in is pretty much amazing. I will take pictures and link to them once I get some batteries for my camera (should have gotten those sooner...) I am apparently house-sitting the entire time that I am here. This is the time that all the missionaries go home and visit family and hit churches up for money and all that jazz. I don’t really mind. I have online classes that I need to do anyway, and it’s best if I have time to focus on those. Hannah is the little girl that lives here and I have to feed all of her pets. That means two parrots, a parakeet, two rabbits, a big dog, a fish, and a turtle. One of the parrots hates me and the other one loves me. The one that likes me sits on my shoulder while I do homework. It’s surprising that a bird can be as affectionate like a cat. The rabbits like me too.

The IT stuff I am doing is getting more and more exciting. At first I totally hated it, but I think that was because they just kinda threw me in without training or anything. Also, the guy that I am here to help really appreciates the help, so that’s nice. My current project is configuring a Nagios server. That will be pretty cool once it’s done.

I am currently taking three online classes: Life and Teachings of Christ, History of the Cold War, and Microeconomics. It sounds like a lot, and it is, but I think that it will ease up soon. I am trying to do well at getting stuff turned in early so that I can focus on my MANY other projects that I want to do over the summer. I just finished my final(ish) version of my todo list for the summer. It includes all the books I want to read, the table of contents of the ones that are nonfiction, all the assignments for my online classes, and other things. It’s almost 600 lines long. Awesome.

Ok, well, I am going to go to bed now. If anyone wants to be added to the list of people that automatically get emails when I send out stuff specifically about my Honduras trip let me know and I’ll add you to the list. It should be monthly emails, so you know, not a huge deal.

Station planet.

Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Break it Down Again - Tears for Fears