06/30/2004 - WORKING MY WAY BACK...

what a day yesterday was! it seemed that everything was working against me... i got to work and my pc was fried - it would not boot up for anything! i took it to the tech department personally and they agreed to squeeze me in and take a look at it but they felt i needed a new hard drive. turns out i only needed a re-image but i was not able to save my settings or my download files so i have to reconfigure and reload software and that could take upwards of two weeks just to get it back to semi-normalcy. then, when i left the office early because my all-day meeting ended at 3pm - i got to my truck and it would not start! i called a friend for a jump and that got me going. i went straight to walmart because my batter is about 18 months old but has a three year warranty. i parked the truck near the auto department and turned it off. i cranked it again to see if it would start - nothing! the battery was dead! after dealing with some knucklehead who told me i couldn't park where i was (i explained that i had a dead battery - he didn't seem to understand that a battery was required to start and move my truck!) i went inside walmart and got a new battery. i reconnected and was on my way. today i'm starting the reconfigure and load of my pc... in the meantime i'm taking a break to post this.

in my immediate world - we are having a whole lot of rain! we are one inch short of breaking a 1929 record i heard someone say. all i know is that it is muggy and wet outside. not what i expect in june in texas!

well - back to reconfiguring... take good care of your friends, family, loved ones and your neighbors....

06/28/2004 - OFF TO A GOOD START!

it's monday, and rainy (stormy actually!) but a good day so far. uncovered a few financial discrepancies but got most of those handled already...

the weekend was good. mm's play was a huge success and she really nailed her songs sunday afternoon! everyone in the audience just went wild. now that the production is over it's time for her to find a job!

it is a sad thing that as we (our nation) ponders the meaning of freedom, leading up to july 4, that we find another of our armed forces personnel, Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun, captive in the hands of terrorist muslim murderers. also, a Pakistani driver identified only as Amjad is also being held captive. chances are they will both be viciously beheaded before we even light our first firecracker. i pray for them, their families and friends and for our countries. we are all hurting... please pray for and care for each other a little more each day.

06/25/2004 - FRIDAY FINALLY!

friday is good! although it just started raining. spent a few hours in a user group meeting this morning BORING!

opening night for mm's play this morning was great. great show! great fun!

as for michael moore and the movie "fahrenheit 9/11" which opens today. everyone it seems, is either overwhelmingly supportive or vehemently against this man and this movie. i read a quote in an interview saying that what michael shows us in this, and in his other books and movies, is technically factual, but presented in a way that is intentionally and wildly misleading. so basically, he lies by taking the truth out of context... way out of context in my opinion! but why keep attacking this man and this movie in the media? what does that serve except to generate the type of free publicity that michael is no-doubt after in the first place. you cannot expect that someone so controversial would for one second try to avoid controversy. those who disagree with him should not continue to feed him. my advice - if you don't want him to be successful with his "mis-truths" say your piece in a kind and loving manner, then go home, read a different book. go to a different movie. don't lend significance where it is not warranted.

this was sent to me by my dad - i like it enough to share it...

I sat in a movie theater watching "Schindler's List," asking myself, "Why didn't the Jews fight back?"

Now I know why.

I sat in a movie theater, watching "Pearl Harbor" and asked myself, "Why weren't we prepared?"

Now I know why.

Civilized people cannot fathom, much less predict, the actions of evil people.

On September 11, dozens of capable airplane passengers allowed themselves to be overpowered by a handful of poorly armed terrorists because they did not comprehend the depth of hatred that motivated their captors.

On September 11, thousands of innocent people were murdered because too many Americans naively reject the reality that some nations are dedicated to the dominance of others. Many political pundits, pacifists and media personnel want us to forget the carnage. They say we must focus on the bravery of the rescuers and ignore the cowardice of the killers. They implore us to understand the motivation of the perpetrators. Major television stations have announced they will assist the healing process by not replaying devastating footage of the planes crashing into the TwinTowers.

I will not be manipulated.

I will not pretend to understand.

I will not forget.

I will not forget the liberal media who abused freedom of the press to kick our country when it was vulnerable and hurting.

I will not forget that CBS anchor Dan Rather preceded President Bush's address to the nation with the snide remark, "No matter how you feel about him, he is still our president."

I will not forget that ABC TV anchor Peter Jennings questioned President Bush's motives for not returning immediately to Washington, DC and commented, "We're all pretty skeptical and cynical about Washington."

And I will not forget that ABC's Mark Halperin warned if reporters weren't informed of every little detail of this war, they aren't "likely -- nor should they be expected -- to show deference."

I will not isolate myself from my fellow Americans by pretending an attack on the USS Cole in Yemen was not an attack on the United States of America.

I will not forget the Clinton administration equipped Islamic terrorists and their supporters with the world's most sophisticated telecommunications equipment and encryption technology, thereby compromising America's ability to trace terrorist radio, cell phone, land lines, faxes and modem communications.

I will not be appeased with pointless, quick retaliatory strikes like those perfected by the previous administration.

I will not be comforted by "feel-good, do nothing" regulations like the silly, "Have your bags been under your control?" question at the airport.

I will not be influenced by so called,"antiwar demonstrators" who exploit the right of __expression to chant anti-American obscenities.

I will not forget the moral victory handed the North Vietnamese by American war protesters who reviled and spat upon the returning soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines.

I will not be softened by the wishful thinking of pacifists who chose reassurance over reality.

I will embrace the wise words of Prime Minister Tony Blair who told the Labor Party conference, "They have no moral inhibition on the slaughter of the innocent. If they could have murdered not 7,000 but 70,000, does anyone doubt they would have done so and rejoiced in it?

There is no compromise possible with such people, no meeting of minds, no point of understanding with such terror. Just a choice: defeat it or be defeated by it. And defeat it we must!"

I will force myself to:

-hear the weeping
-feel the helplessness
-imagine the terror
-sense the panic
-smell the burning flesh
- experience the loss
- remember the hatred.

I sat in a movie theater, watching "Private Ryan" and asked myself, "Where did they find the courage?"

Now I know.

We have no choice. Living without liberty is not living.

-- Ed Evans, MGySgt., USMC (Ret.)
Not as lean, Not as mean, But still a Marine.

not much else to say because it is now 2pm on a friday and i need to get outta here.

please continue to love and to pray for each other. have a great weekend!

06/24/2004 - WHEW...WHIRLWIND DAY!

well - the day is really only half-done and granted, there is so much more to do... i went to the title company today for closing on the sale of our church. although it has been a long time coming and is the best thing for us, there is something bittersweet about letting go of a building that holds many, many memories for so many friends and family members. but being free from debt and having some start-over money in the pocket is a very liberating thing. it will allow our congregation to focus on things that matter - helping people - rather than on where the next dollar will be coming from. hallelujah!

tonight is also opening night for my daughter's play! yippee!

i spent some time this morning reviewing other blogs that discussed the iraq war and in particular the beheadings of Nick Berg, Paul Johnson and Kim Sun-Il. as i went through the blog dialogue i noticed once more that very very few people who post really spend much energy speaking up for these victims. instead, the continue to use their deaths as platforms for their own agendas - whether that is the democratic party, the republicans or some other ideal in which they strongly believe. folks - what is really important here? these people are dead! God grant them peace and grant peace and comfort to the family and friends they have left behind. the further i read in these other blogs, the more personal attacks on posters i noticed, and the name calling and use of words like "fucktard" - i mean, are we supposed to take this seriously? was this posted by an actual adult? who talks like that? how is that helping a hurting world, and a hurting America? i pray that somehow, we can work toward focusing on loving one another - in spite of differences, in spite of opinions, in spite of things that we "think" keep us apart. that is my prayer today for all mankind. please, love one another.

... on a lighter note, this came to me today - thought i'd share it

cow tracking -
is it just me or does anyone else find it absolutely amazing that the u.s. government can track a cow born in canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she sleeps in the state of washington, and determine exactly what that cow ate. they can also track her calves right to their stalls, and tell you what kind of feed they ate. but they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around in this country, including people that are trying to blow up important structures in the u.s. my solution is to give every illegal alien a cow as soon as they enter the country.

06/23/2004 - BEGINS THE DAY...

day 2 in blogdom... haven't really watched the news, just scanned the net headlines to see that korean's are outraged at the murder of Kim Sun-Il. also noted that the funerals for the four people killed at the ft. worth watergardens this past week will be held in chicago tomorrow. the mayor of ft. worth and some others are flying up for that. i'm still wondering how such a tragedy can happen, and what safety measures will be put into place. i also wonder if there will be some law suits behind this tragedy. it's all such a pity - and so wasteful.

my brain is having a hard time getting going this morning. i'm going to drink my apple-spice tea and see what the calendar looks like today. only three scheduled meetings - but it's the "unscheduled" meetings that alway put a kink in the works. will add more thoughts later... assuming i have some.

... here's a tidbit: word for the day
pen·chant [pénchənt] noun: liking or tendency: a strong liking, taste, or tendency for something
[late 17th century. from french, the present participle of pencher “to incline,” from, ultimately, latin pendere

... i really would like to add a pic to my profile and other pics to my posts but i don't know how. i downloaded "hello" but it won't even allow me to sign-on through the firewall at work. if anyone knows of an easy way to get pics on the blog - please let me know. grazie

06/22/2004 - WELCOME

welcome to bigbadworld! this is my first attempt at a web log - or "blog". it seems that today, with the execution of Kim Sun-Il, the Korean beheaded in iraq today, there is so much to say. i look at comments all across the net, where the lives of Nick Berg, Paul Johnson and now Kim, are "wrapped" in politico-speak, and it makes me ill. this is not about politics. shame on the democrats and the republicans and all others who want to make it about that. shame on those who want to use these horrific deaths to further their own agendas. these men, and many others (women too) are dying for reasons other than politics. they are being hunted, captured, tortured, teased and then publically and brutally murdered. it is open season on foreigners in iraq and seems similar to the climate in nazi-era germany, the citizens of iraq and other muslim-run countries, seem to back these barbaric acts. they seem to have the stomache for it, while they bank on us "ugly Americans" not being able to stomache it! i don't understand their mind-set any more than i understand why we need to point to the white house and say "bush did this - it's his fault!" it takes a boat-load of stupidity to stand behind those words. we are a country at war. terrorist brought that war to our home. they continue to bring it to us and have vowed publicly NOT to stop! who of you accusers and finger-pointers wants to take the job of running this country now? what will you do? roll over and play dead? ignore it? there is so much double-speak in washington and across our country that we don't know who and what to believe. perhaps it is this confusion that drives us to align with a particular political party and just back the mouthpieces there. how sad for us! did you see the Nick Berg beheading video? did it change your life? did it even change your opinion? it tore me apart inside. it made me cry. but it did not make me beleive that we should leave "bad dogs" alone in iraq. we need to prevent this kind of thing from continuing. how is the best way to do that? what would Jesus do? i am not sure. would he sacrifice his life to show people love? yes - he's already done that. but right now the question is what will we do. how do we prevent murderers from roaming, hunting and killing across the middle east and the globe? the same way we do it here in dallas! or your home town! we send out the troops with tazers, and guns, and sticks and tear gas and we find these killers and bring them to justice. how else will be find justice for Nick, Paul, Kim and the next victim, and the next....? running is not the answer. over-reaction is not the answer. but we must act. some of the media would have you believe that if prisoners in abu ghraib were not posed in a sexually suggestive manner, or if they were not made to go naked, or if they were treated as if they were now living at the plaza - that these beheadings would not be happening. do YOU honestly believe that? we are at war - and the murderers need to be stopped - without excuses.