Happy birthday Grandpa Berkompas!!

Got this off the forum too.

Dr. Seuss Explains Why Computers Sometimes Crash
(Read this aloud to get the best effect- it's GREAT!)

If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port, And the bus is interrupted at a very last resort, And the access of the memory makes your floppy disk abort,
Then the socket packet pocket has an error to report.
If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash,

And the double-clicking icon puts your window in the trash,
And your data is corrupted ‘cause the index doesn't hash,
Then your situation's hopeless and your system's gonna crash!
If the label on the cable on the table at your house

Says the network is connected to the button on your mouse,
But your packets want to tunnel to another protocol,
That’s repeatedly rejected by the printer down the hall,
And your screen is all distorted by the side effects of gauss,

So your icons in the window are as savy as a souse;
Then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang,
'Cuz sure as I'm a poet, the sucker's gonna hang!
When the copy of your floppy's getting sloppy in the disk,

And the macro code instructions cause unnecessary risk,
Then you'll have to flash the memory and you'll want to RAM your ROM then
Quickly turn off the computer and be sure to tell your Mom!

That's awsome! :)

Hey Pete, I was browsing AVlux and found a post by "Big Pete." The thread was about weblogs, and he said:

"I would lable this thread *Peer Pressure*... Despite the fact that you all seem to enjoy sporting an internet version of your daily lives, I remain unmoved. (Watch, I'll have to get one sometime for some strange reason and then I'll be really embarrassed.)"

I hate to pick on ya, but I just thought that was funny!

Evolution: What Next?

I was reading some articles on Answers in Genisis (see links) about how some people are trying to get chimpanzees reclassified as humans. They want to call them "Homo troglodytes." The author was theorizing about how they'll have to extend civil rights to apes in the future. Isn't that absurd? These people want to give rights to chimps, and at the same time deny fundemental, God-given rights to unborn infants! It's just another manifestation of mankind's innate sinfulness. Oh, here's the link to that article.

On a happier note, it's raining outside!!

My new email adress is-->speedpicker at gmail dot com (I put the "no spam" clause in my profile address to avoid spam). I'm updating my profile as well. Ya'll have a nice day!

Happy 18th birthday Chelsea!

(If you would like me to wish you happy birthday, just email me and for a small donation I'll post it here :) jk! I'll post whatever birthdays show up on my calendar.

Wow!

Last weekend's debate tournament up in Bellevue went great. I won't bore you with too many details, but Daniel and I scored a 5/1 win/loss record in the preliminary rounds--the best anyone in our family has ever done! We got to semi-finals and just barely lost. The two rounds we lost were with the finalists. D+I got 3rd place team, and I was 3rd place speaker out of 24 people--that one sure took me by surprise! Check out the family blog for Dad's update (w. pictures). The church building we competed in was huge, complete with a "Worship Center," "Youth Center" (w. drums and soundboard ;) and TONS of classrooms--I'll have to post some pics later. Even though it's taxing and nerveracking, debate can be very rewarding.

In case you're wondering, we didn't qualify for Nationals, but hope to in a few weeks.

Ah, Spring

Yesterday was officially the first day of spring. Unfortunately the second day isn't nearly as nice. Christopher and I made the most of the fair weather and went on a run to state land last night at about 7:30-8:30. I'm a very very bad runner, but hopefully practice will force me to improve. Pete, I know what you mean about hydration packs. Having the water was great, but the thing was really clumsy--definitely better for biking and hiking. It would be so cool to participate in a triathalon (they hold one in Battleground), except, they'd better do swimming first, cuz after a run I'd probably drown:)(swimming in Battleground lake anytime would probably make me drown--it's more than a hundred feet deep!)

Google Eats Abbreviations For Lunch

I'm researching for debate and I compiled a list of terms and abbreviations that I wanted to look up. When wikipedia didn't give me any results, I tried Google. It came up with some interesting results for "LVCC."

1. Little Venice Cake Company (ooooohhh...=)
2. Lehigh Valley Canoe Club
3. Las Vegas Convention Center
4. Las Vegas Cigar Company (ha! I was really looking for that one! :) (Jonathan isn't allowed to comment on that...)
5. Las Vegas Computer Company
6. Livermore Valley Camera Club

I'm sure all those sources are really going to enhance the intellectual quality of our debates *lol* Google's great, but don't trust it for everything ;)

Maintaining the Balance

"All too often we fall into the trap of focusing on one virtue to the exclusion of all the others. The sad result is that our virtues practically become vices. Thus, when we emphasize justice without mercy, we develop hard heads and even harder hearts. When we emphasize mercy without justice, we develop soft heads and even softer hears. When we emphasize either one without humility, we develop a kind of spiritual megalomania--thinking that our project, or our focus, or our methodology is the best and only way. We're either so heavenly-minded that we're no earthly good, or so earthly-minded that we're no heavenly good.
.....

Neither detachment nor irrelevance honors God. An ethereal and pious disassociation from the great questions of our day is not Christian single-mindedness; it is gnostic absent-mindedness. To be so heavenly-minded htat we are no earthly good does not only present a poor witness to the transforming power of the Gospel before a watching world, it neglects the pattern of discipleship before the hosts of heaven. The abhorrence of the Gospel by those who control the cultural apparatus in our day is not nearly so frightening as the abhorrence of responsibility by those who inhabit the vast evangelical ghetto. The former is simply evidence of the fallen estate, while the latter bespeaks indifference in the face of grace. That too is shameful.

We are not to be of the world. But neither are we to be out of it. Both extremes malign God's intentions for us and those whom God has placed around us. Both obscure the divine imperative to live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. Both obliterate a biblical worldview. Both impede us from tending the garden of this world and yield it up to the ravages of a howling wilderness.

Our present challenge is... [the same] that has faced every generation of believers since the day of Pentacost: "How long therefore will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him."

The Micah Mandate, Dr. George Grant

Misstatement of the Union

This is an article I ran across while researching for debate. It was put out by the Annenberg Political Fact Check, and covers some of the issues and facts that Bush omitted in his SoU Address. It's pretty interesting.

Snow Day!!

With about 4.5 inches of snow it goes without saying that we had a fun day. With all the little kids' excited jabbering at 6:00, I got up earlier than usual. There were plenty of picture opportunities and I took quite a few--some with a future painting in mind. This evening I remembered a certain place that would probably look cool in the snow, and ran up through the woods in shorts, a t-shirt and my coyboy hat with the camera. Halfway there I realized that, not only was I stupid to venture outside in summer clothes, but I'd forgotten the card for the camera.

There were plenty of snow ball wars, and Daniel and the other kids made a snow castle like the witch's in Narnia. Oh, and we also tried firecrackers, smokebombs and Jumping Jacks inside snow volcanoes--didn't work very well.

Since when have we had snow in March? Pretty unexpected, but definitely a welcome surprise. :)

Some photos:

Running Start

I took the RS placement test at Clark today--got 99 in Reading, 92 in Writing, and missed the math minimum by 2 points with 36 (hey I never was any good at math, especially stuff I've never seen before :) We're still considering when I should go to Clark--it's possible this fall if I don't have too many other classes. And then we have to figure out what kinds of classes I'll need to get the degree I want, which I still have to figure out.

I just ordered about 16 books from the library, on painting, drawing and other cool stuff--that's exciting. I'll post some recomendations another time.

Conservation Message

Ok, I've got to come up with a "Conservation Message" to enter with my painting in the duck stamp competition. Basically, all they want is a short, original quote about conservation and wildlife. I've come up with a couple. Here's my favorite:

"If we don't make an effort to preserve God's Creation, there will be little left for future generations to enjoy. If we go overboard in that effort, future generations will have little enjoyment in what we preserved."

I'm curious how that will fly with the Judges--this quote will be judged in the C-message competition, on both the state and national levels, if I get that far :)

Christianna

She's about 7 months old now, and is definitely the favorite around our house, especially now that she's learned how to sit up.

Prayer

Please pray for Matthew--he's having minor surgery tommorrow to help him breath better through his nose, and for Jeremy who's also having tubes put in his ears. There shouldn't be any discomfort for either of them, just a bit of trepidation (somehow that's the only word that came to mind).

In other news, I'm researching Clark College's Running Start entrance exam. I may be doing that this fall, or next year. Thas'all for now.