tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63367352011-04-21T17:30:49.575-04:00nathan as sysiphus. my endless quest to find god in meaning, meaning in life, life in psychology, psychology in community, and community in(with) god. and to find the perfect cup of coffee.nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.comBlogger1211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1140839231002187262006-02-24T22:45:00.000-05:002006-02-24T22:47:11.013-05:00

I'm moving, and no longer using Blogger. Please check out my new place at http://nathan.cottonwoodcreek.net.And update links, etc. Thanks.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1140410495056423932006-02-19T23:41:00.000-05:002006-02-19T23:41:35.113-05:00

Daniel and I drove to a gravel pit to take photos (and play with his new camera.) His battery died after 4 shots, but I managed a few shots. Click any thumbnail to see the intermediate sized photo.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1140393828293341992006-02-19T18:30:00.000-05:002006-02-19T19:03:48.306-05:00

I've had the Tower of Power in the living room for a while now, sitting between the right speaker and the subwoofer. For my birthday I got a Airport Express, and since then it has been behind the tower, with a network cable running around the living room to the router. Yesterday I drilled a hole in the floor, then climbed under the house and moved a network cable. Then I moved the cable modem

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1140239588800834002006-02-18T00:06:00.000-05:002006-02-18T00:13:08.813-05:00

Ever since I got back into running sound seriously about 4 years ago (during my stint at Vanguard) I have not really played my guitars much. Even after I got my Washburn out and restrung it a month ago, I have only played it twice. Tonight after the (lightly attended) movie, Steve and I started talking guitars, so I had to pull them out and show him. He played around on the Washburn while I

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1140061506437261282006-02-15T22:42:00.000-05:002006-02-16T20:23:24.410-05:00

Every so often I compare my photos to my previous photos and see how far I have come. But if I compare my photos to those of some random economist...

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1139935747273178922006-02-14T10:29:00.000-05:002006-02-14T11:49:07.333-05:00

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1139926842864063432006-02-14T09:17:00.000-05:002006-02-14T09:20:42.880-05:00

After I got out of the shower this morning, I found conversation hearts surrounding my coffee cup.Then I went into the bedroom and found a few more.And by my backpack, which had already had a packed lunch put in it, I found more.And in the car, more.She is a hopeless romantic. Which is part of why I love her.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1139867261587770552006-02-13T16:46:00.000-05:002006-02-13T16:47:41.596-05:00

Joel Maust's blog just made me uncomfortable. And that is a good thing.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1139631528270399042006-02-10T23:11:00.000-05:002006-02-10T23:18:48.280-05:00

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1139605794233429422006-02-10T16:09:00.000-05:002006-02-10T16:09:54.303-05:00

There is a kid of about 14 that started karate at about the same time we did. He has not been into it at all; pairing up with him was always an exercise in frustration. But last night he was just on. He was paying attention, focused, learning, and really trying the katas. I paired up with him once, and was surprised to find him highly in-tune, even checking with me where his punches had landed

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1139435164417199852006-02-10T09:46:00.000-05:002006-02-10T17:01:05.423-05:00

I had this conversation with someone over email recently. After reading my blog this individual, out of love for me, expressed some concern over some of my, uh, mental tangents here. A few emails really helped clarify things, and I realized that the explanations offered could help others understand this blog (and my mind) a bit better as well. I chopped a few things out for clarity, and

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1139374816967371592006-02-08T00:01:00.000-05:002006-02-08T00:00:43.730-05:00

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1139191329577798262006-02-05T20:49:00.000-05:002006-02-05T21:02:09.590-05:00

On the first attempt of installing SUSE, it hung halfway through. On the second attempt, it succeeded. Then I made the mistake of updating the installation... and the nVidia drivers update killed X. And that's when I learned that Yast has no good way of un-updating packages without getting into X. On the 3rd install, it hung halfway through. Jamaica me crazy.So I'm burning the Gentoo ISO as

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1139120657913411352006-02-04T22:51:00.000-05:002006-02-05T20:48:50.583-05:00

There is always a slight terror involved in admitting publicly that you are different. Should I stay quiet, letting people like me for what they know I appreciate, or take the chance and express my preferences, knowing they may dislike me for it, or appreciate my honesty?I'm one who generally likes strong flavors, rich, meaningful experiences. Blandness is not my forté. I drink espresso

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1139004236341595642006-02-03T16:48:00.000-05:002006-02-04T11:38:08.706-05:00

Why is it that whenever I get into contemplating "IT" (that mashup of faith, life, theology, psychology, church, philosophy) I keep going back to U2 lyrics?I was listening to Discothèque today and was completely blown away by it. In the midst of all the happy dance beats, blippy non-guitar-like guitar noises, and the video dressed like the Village People inside a gigantic lemon-shaped disco

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1138978801006649172006-02-03T09:52:00.000-05:002006-02-03T10:00:01.090-05:00

I recently ran across a website called ChatFU, where you can put a conversation into a text box (each hard return indicates a change in who is talking) and have it automatically generate a cartoon from it. There are a lot of different cartoon templates, and it chooses at random. We've been having a lot of fun with writing down our conversations with people calling for tech support, and for no

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1138859364202662732006-02-02T00:51:00.000-05:002006-02-02T00:49:24.216-05:00

Tonight was a weird one. After a day at work without Johann to bounce ePops off, I came home expecting to turn around and head to Ann Arbor with a friend. But Christy was not feeling well, so we stayed home. And I worked in at least 3 different head spaces all night. I did a little laundry, and a few dishes. But mostly I was splitting my time between woodworking and doing a network (internet)

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1138853439667576592006-02-01T22:52:00.000-05:002006-02-02T11:49:13.126-05:00

Christy and I have always tried to name our computers well. We look for a good name that is a name, reflects the computer, and has a bit of humor as well. Our first 'main' computer was called Goliath; big, powerful, boxy. We've never out and out replaced it, but eventually he became upgraded enough to warrant calling him a new name. At that time he was in a small, plain, grey case, and yet

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1138763935681565252006-01-31T22:17:00.000-05:002006-01-31T23:09:47.630-05:00

My rational side wants to tell you how all quizes like this are bunk. My exressive side wants to explain how this is so completely me. You scored as Philosophy. You should be a Philosophy major! Like the Philosopher, you are contemplative and you enjoy thinking about the purpose for humanity's existence.Mathematics100%Philosophy100%Psychology100%Theater100%English83%Journalism83%Anthropology83%

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1138762652414207142006-01-31T21:03:00.000-05:002006-01-31T21:58:21.610-05:00

What it is about power that makes us more aggressive?I drive this GTP. 3.8 liters of supercharged goodness, so she can move pretty quick for a sedan. Also very very front heavy, so it understeers like a chubby baby walking around. But she's mine and I love her. One of the features it has is a "performance shift" button on the shifter, which displays on the driver information center when it is

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1138578932193024922006-01-29T18:49:00.000-05:002006-01-29T18:55:32.193-05:00

Friday I came home early from work with food poisoning, and stayed home while Christy went to visit some friends. While she was out and I was sleeping, I got a call from my Realtor. She called, in essence, to let me know that the deal on the Ganson house fell through.No Victorian with a huge garage and a huge potential. No quick place for John and Brandy (and kids.) No potential big gains for

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1138577969316386892006-01-29T18:27:00.000-05:002006-01-29T20:30:38.416-05:00

I used to think that my dogs treat Christy and I as the alpha dogs because we trained them so well. But today while we were cleaning, I have a new theory. I think we are the alpha dogs because we can weekly defeat, and are not even fearful of, the most vicious of predators ever created: the vacuum.We picked up the Sunday paper today, which is not common for us. I found out that the Superbowl

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1138226168114505532006-01-26T01:26:00.000-05:002006-01-26T01:28:03.886-05:00

This post is inspired by an article I read today called As soft-core sensibility spreads, critics warn of effects....Not too long ago, pornography was a furtive profession, its products created and consumed in the shadows. But it has steadily elbowed its way into the limelight, with an impact that can be measured not just by the Internet-fed ubiquity of pornography itself but by the way aspects

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1138159682717010742006-01-24T22:10:00.000-05:002006-01-24T22:28:02.776-05:00

I roasted the first batch of this tonight, and then experimented with taking pictures. The roasting went well.If the Sumatra is the dirty beans, the Yemen is the freak beans. The smell while roasting was complex and completely unique: sweet, bitter, fruity, straw-like, and more. The chaff started coming off dark brown before the beans had turned from their greenish yellow to tan. And there

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1137986867787586602006-01-22T22:06:00.000-05:002006-01-22T22:27:47.800-05:00

Pondering my writing style recently has had me going back in my memory to figure out how I got this way. And the more I dig, the more I realize I have always been wordy. Though my mom says I called her "mother" rather than "mom" from about the time I could speak, I don't remember a bit of that. The earliest memory I have of anything related is from 3rd grade.3rd grade was not a great time for

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1137985402431824772006-01-22T18:57:00.000-05:002006-01-22T22:03:22.443-05:00

Christy and I have been debating what to do about church. We no longer feel called to be at the weekend services (outside my sound role) for a variety of reasons. But we do think that the Westwinds community is where we should be. What we don't really understand is how to be a part of that community without attending services. One of the problems of the modern church is that it is all but

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1137903322874986532006-01-21T23:06:00.000-05:002006-01-21T23:15:22.876-05:00

Grandma turned 92 today, and the family gathered in Lansing tonight to celebrate. At Olive Garden. Well, it's worth going there for family.But on the way through Okemos, we happened by the Traveler's Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum. I couldn't quite believe that we really drove by it. A name like that only exists in bad drama or off-kilter comedy movies. Yet there it sat. We

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1137899364894605602006-01-21T21:55:00.000-05:002006-01-21T22:09:24.903-05:00

I think I am getting better at photos; when the sun came out on the melting snow today, I actually managed to capture 3 photos I thought were worth keeping.Out of 19.In other news, I have finally started using Photoshop LE (which came with the camera) to start tweaking the photos a bit. Thanks for the ideas Daniel!So far I'm pretty much just level adjusting, primarily in RGB but getting into

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1137797248686849002006-01-20T17:42:00.000-05:002006-01-20T17:47:28.700-05:00

When you are listening to Portishead while driving, and in the middle of It Could Be Sweet, you look up and realize the rearview mirror is pointing at the seat portion of the back seat. And moves a little lower every time that note plays. Yea, that one.However, it makes for some damn good therapy.Oh, and to Geoff Barrow, I didn't know that a Leslie could go that slow. I think the car was

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1137793343559498402006-01-20T14:37:00.000-05:002006-01-20T16:42:23.633-05:00

There are 4 people here at work. There are 2 people logged on to the phones at all. One of them has been in not ready for 15 minutes. That leaves me to pick up these 2 calls that have been on hold for over 3 minutes, if I can ever get this "VIP" to stop telling me about her grandkids so I can hang up.I want to smack them, then hit them with a blunt object and then poison them. I want to tell

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1137783743166330442006-01-20T13:45:00.000-05:002006-01-20T14:02:23.283-05:00

I was writing an email to my mother-in-law today, and realized I rely far too heavily on parenthetical expressions (as if!) Since then I've been reflecting on some of the things I have written recently (blog, email, call tickets) (dang it, I just did again!) and have come to realize I am relying way, way too heavily on commas. I'm also prone to never fail to use a possible conjunction, or

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1137468886340444942006-01-16T22:20:00.000-05:002006-01-16T22:34:46.353-05:00

Most of the time, I like life as a landlord. I forget that I have other houses until I get a check, I deposit the check and pay my mortgage. Sometimes I remember that I actually have risk involved, and there is work from time to time, but all in all life is good.Things are starting to ramp up again on the house I am buying. Michele (my mortgage gal) will drop off papers tomorrow; I will fill

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1137357764671722672006-01-15T15:38:00.000-05:002006-01-15T15:42:44.740-05:00

You would think that roughing up my fingers with 60 grit sandpaper would teach me a lesson. Or maybe you would think that bumping my ring finger on a stationary pullsaw would get my attention.But you would be wrong. No, it takes me actually pulling the saw into my thumb and bleeding on the scrap wood to catch on.I respect power tools. I treat a table saw as if its primary function is to kill

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1137293080386330692006-01-14T21:42:00.000-05:002006-01-14T21:44:40.396-05:00

So I'm experimenting with photos. I saw icicles reflecting moonlight and wondered if I could actually capture them. This is worth clicking to get the larger version.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1137278440287595602006-01-14T17:39:00.000-05:002006-01-14T17:40:40.296-05:00

if you have a piece that requires hand sanding with 60 grit, and you cannot avoid holding the grit side of the sandpaper, wear gloves. Trust me on this one.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1137267556605136692006-01-14T14:32:00.000-05:002006-01-14T14:39:16.620-05:00

Christy and I spoke with Randy of Westwinds this morning for breakfast. We told him of our struggles with churchdom, and with our impulse to join the Revolution. He understands. Here's the complication: he wants Westwinds to move more in the direction of faith that we are. But people like us, who are the most likely to leave, are the very ones he wants leading. And if we do stay (even on the

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1136864844316771732006-01-09T20:00:00.000-05:002006-01-09T22:47:24.366-05:00

What happens when you compare the lives of a poor man in Kentucky and a doctor in Congo? You get this article. The two men make similar amounts, but live in different places with different needs, and the doctor has more family to provide for. There are a lot of mental exercises, many attempts to quantify the incomparable nature of these two. But this much stood out to me: the welfare man in

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1136779331674939292006-01-08T21:57:00.000-05:002006-01-08T23:02:11.743-05:00

Not Daniel. The roasting gear.Daniel came over and we played dueling popperies. His is newer, with a clearer top, no crack in the butter tray, and a prettier font. Mine is faster. But that may be because it appears to blow less air through, which also could make for a less consistent roast. But it was still fun to roast together, compare stashes (what you can see on the floor is just my

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1136490787142332922006-01-05T02:51:00.000-05:002006-01-05T14:54:01.206-05:00

Faith pollster/researcher George Barna recently published the top religious trends of 2005. You can read the article, but there they are in a nutshell:Trends Related to Churchesmost local churches essentially ignore three critical spiritual dimensions: ministry to children, ministry to families and prayer.congregations are rapidly incorporating new technologies into their activities.the slow

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1135747427716477932005-12-28T00:21:00.000-05:002006-01-04T21:16:36.103-05:00

Today was a good day. After a slow start and me skipping breakfast, we headed off to meet an old friend of mine for an early lunch. Our early lunch included lunch and margaritas at Amanda's Fonda (I won't disagree with Bill that they are the best Mexican place in town) followed by espresso at his place (two double-shots of the best I've had in quite some time) followed by a few hours at Glen

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1135666875976741922005-12-26T23:53:00.000-05:002005-12-27T02:01:15.976-05:00

We came to Colorado Springs for Christmas. We're staying with Christy's parents.And the weather is changing.And Christy's fibromyalgia flared up. Flared up worse than I have seen in a year. Worse than I have seen since we lived here. I love this state, and so many things about it. But there is nothing here that can overcome its ability to incapacitate Christy with pain. Nothing.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1135644728675183812005-12-26T17:56:00.000-05:002005-12-27T01:52:11.666-05:00

I've always fought against the constraints of American Protestantism. I realized that certain traditions that I was raised in do nothing to assist in my religious growth and actually constrain my spiritual growth. I have since been involved in several other strains of protestant faith, from a liturgical quasi-Free Methodist church to a megachurch to a post-modernist influenced church to a

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1134699315999183522005-12-15T21:02:00.000-05:002005-12-15T21:25:29.076-05:00

...that we should let christmas get secularized by this modern movement to eradicate religious symbolism from it. right? maybe not right. i've wondered for a while about how much it really is about faith. now i read that it may not have been a christian holiday here for all that long anyways:The Puritans considered Christmas un-Christian, and hoped to keep it out of America. They could not find

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1134682706995007302005-12-15T15:28:00.000-05:002005-12-15T16:38:27.056-05:00

I saw a link to a blog entry about some guys in San Francisco that, from noon to 2, filled the meter on a parking space, and filled the parking space with sod, a tree, and a park bench. Brilliant.So I was looking around more on that blog (which is a brilliant intersection of architectural observation and rampant insane speculation) and ran across a link to this blog. I don't even know what to

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1134016937790322092005-12-07T23:27:00.000-05:002005-12-08T19:39:35.856-05:00

Would you take a chance on this house? Let me back up a bit.I have a coworker who is moving from 90 minutes away from work to in town. He is bringing his family with him, and needs 3-4 bedrooms in the place he moves to. Oh, and he just went through bankruptcy, so his credit is shot. So buying a place is out. But he's a great guy, and I trust him, and I rent houses, so I've been looking for a 4/2

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1134015514484486472005-12-07T23:25:00.000-05:002005-12-07T23:26:09.446-05:00

The mudroom may be connected to the house, but it is unheated and uninsulated and surrounded by garage and the outdoors. So it's no surprise that when it gets to 11° outside, it is only about 15° in the mudroom. So I started by plugging in the roaster and leaving it running for 3 minutes while I gathered everything else. And it still took forever. The first batch (Kenya) never did reach 2nd crack

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1133820193288386412005-12-05T16:35:00.000-05:002005-12-05T17:03:13.350-05:00

Christy and I got a real tree for Christmas this year. We've always gotten an actual evergreen made of wood rather than plastic, but this year we upped the ante. This year, it still has roots. We hooked up with my brother-in-law to get this Colorado Blue Spruce from his (well, becoming his) landscaping place for a discount. It stands about 5 feet high, or 6.5 feet with the root ball. So here it

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1133414015524464602005-12-01T00:10:00.000-05:002005-12-01T00:13:35.533-05:00

I don't know why I didn't post these when I took them, perhaps I was simply distracted.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1133233326671635332005-11-28T22:01:00.000-05:002005-11-28T22:02:06.683-05:00

Shortly before we left Colorado, our best friends there moved to Tulsa. They had our Colorado numbers, and said they would call us when they got Tulsa numbers. By the time they got Tulsa numbers, we had switched to Michigan numbers. I've tried to find them before, but have not been able to.Tonight, they found us. Luila remembered our cottonwoodcreek.net domain and emailed us. We've already

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1132892419332557832005-11-24T23:20:00.000-05:002005-11-24T23:20:19.343-05:00

We had 17 people from 4 generations and 2 family trees at dinner. More turkey than we could eat, great food, every traditional dish. The food was delicious. The family time was awesome; neither my maternal nor paternal families that ever, ever fight. We laughed the day away.Between the conversations on football games happening, football games past and future, and fantasy football (none of

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1132802408600507572005-11-23T22:19:00.000-05:002005-11-23T22:20:08.723-05:00

Processing on a friend's comments...There are some things that are morally wrong. Though some may believe me to be a total moral relativist due to my postmodern mores, and though I hold that a great many things can be either right or wrong based on the situation, I believe that certain things are always wrong. Always sin.So here's the rub. The hard right-wing side of our current political

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1132754457365457492005-11-23T08:56:00.000-05:002005-11-23T20:54:17.126-05:00

Not that this has to do with anything....This morning I headed out the door 10 minutes early, as it is the first snow to actually stick on the ground. I already had the car running. As I put my foot in the car, I noticed that I was still wearing slippers. I had forgotten to put on shoes.Of course, at that point I wondered what else I forgot. So back in the house I went, checked my clothes,

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1132551436919365442005-11-21T00:36:00.000-05:002005-11-22T23:22:34.660-05:00

First of all, here's the new bench:Second, here's a referencable picture:I realized that the mudroom build in the edge of my garage would be a great place to leave my roasting setup, well, set up. So here's the essential ingredients:1) The Poppery II. (Still un-modded by the way. I have considered it, but for now am following Christy's advice: Since we like the coffee it roasts, don't mess with

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1132177318036242502005-11-16T16:32:00.000-05:002005-11-16T16:41:58.100-05:00

I thought Autumn would bring me more free time, not less. But between starting Reel Scrutiny, and helping Allison and Paul update Grandma's house (and subsequently move in) we were getting pretty busy. Christy was doing string ensemble rehearsals too. So I figured once we got Paul and Allison in, we'd have a little less to do, and settle down. And we did, for a week.But I'm still looking at the

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1131769299504214732005-11-11T22:56:00.000-05:002005-11-11T23:21:39.546-05:00

I grew up just a little too late to appreciate the music Depeche Mode was making while I was a teenager; their pre-techno hyper-synth sound clashed too hard with my grunge-ready ears. And while I heard they were still making music, I figured they were doing the unfortunate keep-making-music-till-no-one-buys-it schtick. In the meantime I developed an appreciation for electronica, hip-hop, and many

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1131400550837355632005-11-07T16:43:00.000-05:002005-11-07T16:55:50.883-05:00

Ran across this on The Guardian:Seems there is a new breed in town, borne out of a growing discontent with the overconsumption lifestyle that is best displayed in the United States. (One could even argue we are already self-parodying the over-consumption lifestyle.) From the article:a New Puritan does not binge drink, smoke, buy big brands, take cheap flights, eat junk food, have multiple sexual

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1130797001348948362005-10-31T15:59:00.000-05:002005-10-31T17:16:41.453-05:00

I ran across goodplasticsurgery.com and its sister site awfulplasticsurgery.com. (Warning: both sites contain some pictures that fall mildly to the not-work-safe side of things.) The former site is picture 'proof' of the well-done surgeries, and the latter is the, well, awful ones. While the webmaster often fawns over the 'good' ones, and generally is sympathetic to the whole beauty industry,

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1130353944520078332005-10-26T14:58:00.000-04:002005-10-26T15:12:24.603-04:00

When I got the bad news about the job I didn't get, I felt pretty lousy. But after a few days, I was feeling fine again, and was pretty happy with myself for rebounding so well. Until last night.Last night the depression hit me hard. I had that all-out worthlessness feeling, and a sense that I will never achieve more in my life than working low-level help desk as a contractor at a pathetic excuse

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1130122645056589402005-10-23T22:52:00.000-04:002005-10-23T22:57:25.063-04:00

Tonight we had our innaugural Reel Scrutiny. It was awkward, and not as well-attended as hoped, but these things are to be expected as you start up a new group. But the wierd thing was this:I wanted popcorn, but didn't want to wait for 3-4 bags of microwave popcorn. So I bought some regular old popping corn, and cleaned out the Poppery II. Kind of a wierd use for it, yes, but it actually does

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1129752100536174832005-10-19T16:00:00.000-04:002005-10-19T16:01:40.540-04:00

Christy and I are starting a movie watcher's small group through our church. I tossed together a quick website last night in Notepad, reelscrutiny.com

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1129746670759750332005-10-19T14:14:00.000-04:002005-10-19T15:26:02.766-04:00

Well, I've roasted twice since I last posted. The biggest thing I have learned in these roasts is that ambient temperature makes a huge difference in how long it takes to roast.Salvador SGH Santa Ritaair temp: 45F4:15: begin 1st crack (4:00 second round)6:15: end 1st crack (5:15 second round)7:00: end roastfinal result: full city roastGuatemala Exceptional Cupair temp: 45F3:45: begin 1st crack5:

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1129743985266746102005-10-19T11:46:00.000-04:002005-10-19T13:47:35.713-04:00

It took me a while to write about last weeks visit from Christy's parents, partly because I needed time to let my emotions simmer down, and partially because I needed to process with a few people what really happened.First, it should be noted that even though Christy and I have been romantically attached for 10 years, and married for 7.5 years, they have never once come to Michigan before. Even

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1129514163668159692005-10-16T20:22:00.000-04:002005-10-16T21:56:03.726-04:00

The next house may have presented itself.Last Wednesday, during a rather rough dinner with my family and Christy's family, my mom mentioned that her friend's son is in the foreclosure process on a house near Ackerson Lake, and we may want to see about getting it while there is a deal to be had. We said we'd love to look into it.Thursday evening we got a call from my mom's friend, asking if we'd

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1129508500367700042005-10-16T20:08:00.000-04:002005-10-16T20:21:40.430-04:00

I knew it had been a bad week when not hearing back about a new job seemed a trivial thing. It does not seem so trivial after this email:Subject: [company] System Administrator position decisionFrom: [hiring manager]Date: Sun, October 16, 2005 1:43 pmTo: nathan.randallPriority: NormalNathan,It has been a longer road to a decision than we had anticipated because of the

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1129252812383812132005-10-12T21:15:00.000-04:002005-10-13T21:20:12.390-04:00

Short and sweet addition: 4 new photos in my Autumn collection.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1128534792085846742005-10-05T11:04:00.000-04:002005-10-05T13:53:12.133-04:00

I've never been much of a sports fan. I have played sports a bit, but am generally quite non-competitive. And while I can appreciate a good play in most sports, I really could care less who wins.And sports fanatics have always seemed just a little scary to me.A few years ago I was reading a Christian author talking about immodesty, and how it's appropriate in the bedroom but not in public. He

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1128489235621025042005-10-05T01:02:00.000-04:002005-10-05T01:13:55.626-04:00

Autumn does not arrive immediately.She turns slowly, as nightfall.As the days cool and warm, and cool again,you start to notice the flowers fading,a red leaf in the bushes,an orange at the edge of forests.And as you realize you need to mow the lawn,you notice it has leaves speckling its surface.And soon the redyelloworangepurplebrownwill replace the green.But today I stood at the edge of winter's

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1128023010024726132005-09-29T15:27:00.000-04:002005-09-29T15:43:30.060-04:00

Over on Edge (a non-stop brain storm of sorts) I ran across an article by Nassim Taleb called The Opiates of the Middle Classes. In it he postulates that Modernism's quest for truth in science has traded the non-thinking belief in religion for the non-thinking belief in "science". It feels somehow refreshing to me to hear someone non-religious point out that not believing in God is not an

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1127853184479943092005-09-27T16:29:00.000-04:002005-09-27T16:33:04.483-04:00

Apparently not. Now that everyone has calmed down, the real reports are coming out. People mostly behaved themselves, except for the rumor-mongering. And when the rumors are spread as truth by media and top politicians, things get complicated in a hurry.Why is it so hard to ask for evidence? It is rampant everywhere, in media, politics, faith; everywhere.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1127852088635380712005-09-27T15:06:00.000-04:002005-09-27T16:14:48.686-04:00

Is this real? The BBC is reporting that World of Warcraft has been infected by a plague. Not a computer virus, a plague, and it is killing playable characters. Apparently it is given off by a bad guy, and is supposed to only affect nearby players. But someone figured out how to infect a virtual pet (as a carrier,) and then they used it as a bioweapon by releasing it in an Orc city. And, not

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1127607650174400362005-09-24T21:20:00.000-04:002005-09-24T21:18:32.220-04:00

Two glasses of wine with frozen pizza and honeycrisp apples at dinner while listening to Johnny Cash. I went outside and threw Bijou's Thing and Cimmy's Jolly until they could no longer run. Rather than go inside, I laid down on the trampoline, with my feet hanging off and my head downhill. Suddenly the panting of the two dogs fell into unison, and I saw God winking at me from the clouds. And I

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1127611047418914792005-09-24T21:15:00.000-04:002005-10-20T10:00:33.083-04:00

It is strange enough for me to review an album, but here I am to review a 3 year old album. Friday my coworker Johann the Viking brought this in. I had wanted to pick it up 3 years ago, but at the time I was only buying albums that Christy and I would both like. I have never done myself such a disservice as a fan. I waited until Saturday afternoon to finally put this in.Before I even listened I

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1127442646099982802005-09-22T22:30:00.000-04:002005-09-22T22:34:09.296-04:00

I ran 3 more varieties in the Poppery today, 1/2 C each, to get an idea of the flavor I will get from each. Ambient temperature was about 70.Here's the rundown:Guatemalan Exceptional Cup3:30: begin 1st crack5:00: end 1st frack6:30: begin 2nd crack6:30: end roastfinal result: Full City RoastPanama washed SHB3:30: begin 1st crack5:00: end 1st frack6:00: begin 2nd crack6:30: end roastfinal result:

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1127357826390506732005-09-21T22:54:00.000-04:002005-09-21T22:57:06.390-04:00

I don't want to be known as a Christian. I want to be known as a follower of Christ. A drinking, cursing, passionate, relational, broken, life-living, bubble free, genuine, struggling, philosophising, questioning, confused, loving, apolitical, solid follower of Christ.Don't call me a Christian. Call me a former ex-Christian.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1127182564595092392005-09-19T22:11:00.000-04:002005-09-19T22:16:52.200-04:00

When I was 5 (and even 15) I thought church political activism was a good thing. By the time I was 18, well, nothing church was good (not sure if anything has changed there....) By the time I was 20, I really didn't like the idea of religio-political activism (for any political party.) By the time I was 25, I had gone a step further; church patriotism started to bother me.I think it started post-

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1127178600748929182005-09-19T21:02:00.000-04:002005-09-19T21:10:00.763-04:00

Over the weekend I played soundguy at Westwinds. Saturday I took home a carafe with the promise of returning it in the morning with fresh-roasted coffee. I wanted to roast enough to fill the carafe, take in some extra grounds for the coffee girls, and have some left over for my week. But I wanted to use the Poppery.So I got a clock with a second hand and went to work. I did four batches of 1/

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1126758303483026052005-09-15T16:56:00.000-04:002005-09-15T16:56:57.400-04:00

Between some of the stuff I've been reading on how to learn your own equipment to derive the best roast, and Christy's observation that none of my roasts ever are oily, I decided it was time to experiment. Since I have over 5# of Kenya AA Kiangundo left, and have not generally liked my results with it, I figured it would be a perfect sacrificial lamb.I sat the Poppery II on the garage floor,

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1126663802537762722005-09-14T08:20:00.000-04:002005-09-14T08:20:58.730-04:00

Okay, I'm finally getting to the treasures from grandma's house. These are all objects that I'm going to use soon or take to work, so they had to be photographed first. These 3 jars will probably hold coffee.A little jar that once meant something. Now it is just pretty. I wonder what the chain in the cork connected to.One of these keys may actually fit the dresser I got. One may have fit

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1126662486213020302005-09-13T18:06:00.000-04:002005-09-13T21:48:06.256-04:00

So last Saturday I tried waterskiing for the first time. About 5 tries in I almost got up, then went down and collided with the ski. Hard. In the family jewels. And quit for the day.So last night I tried again. Took about 5 tries, and I was up and staying there. I went down a few times figuring out how to stay up, then went about halfway down the lake before I was worn out.As I climbed into

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1126551293059416142005-09-12T14:04:00.000-04:002005-09-12T14:54:53.136-04:00

I saw a picture of a coffee bean cooler Sweet Maria's and had to try it. I grabbed a throw-away metal window screen when cleaning out grandma's house, removed the metal frame, and had my base. I cut a few 2x4s for the frame, then a few pieces of 3/4" cut into 5x5" triangles secured the corners of the screen to the frame. The rest of the edges of the screen I secured with about thirty 1/4" staples

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1126146568707370072005-09-07T22:38:00.000-04:002005-09-07T22:38:20.746-04:00

Last fall Christy and I organized and led a family effort to clean out my grandma's barn. Christy wants horses, horses need a barn not filled with junk. I want to restore the barn; cleaning it is the first step. This barn is roughly 100 years old, and has been in my family for about 55 years. For the past 30 years it has been all but abandoned, filled with old hay and dead vehicles and rotting

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1126102377858823082005-09-07T10:11:00.000-04:002005-09-07T10:12:57.863-04:00

First of all, you need to know that http://www.freecycle.org is a group of people that share stuff they have with people who want stuff.... all free, all based on geography via Yahoo groups. I joined it a few weeks ago, and left yesterday.Then I got this message from the admin:Sorry to see you go... Was it something we did or didn't do? Please send feedback. This is the only way we can correct

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1126059229481093662005-09-06T22:17:00.000-04:002005-09-11T23:43:02.403-04:00

If all you are thinking of is making popcorn, not much. However, I'm into home roasting. As in coffee. I've been using the (in)famous heat gun/dog bowl method ever since a friend got me hooked. But some prefer the air popcorn popper method. And for those who do, one of the best is the West Bend Poppery II (some prefer the Poppery I.)This past weekend, my family all converged at my grandma's

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1125980340456453442005-09-06T00:16:00.000-04:002005-09-06T00:19:00.460-04:00

I came to this realization about a year ago, and have tossed it around in my head for a while. I was actualy thinking over the weekend that I needed to blog about it, to find a way to actually express it (I process best by "writing".) Then tonight I came across this post about it on badchristian.com than said it far better and more succinctly than I could have.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1125420022588566012005-08-30T12:27:00.000-04:002005-08-30T12:40:22.620-04:00

I ran across this site, which is a discussion of common sense in the sciences. On man (John Horgan) had an article suggesting that, in areas of science that seem to operate outside of common sense and have no empirical data backing up the theories, that the theories should revert back to, well, common sense. There are plenty of responses on the site (it makes for a fascinating read.) However,

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1124478473792862002005-08-19T12:10:00.000-04:002005-08-19T15:07:53.820-04:00

This morning I met for coffee and breakfast with my friend Randy. We've talked before about my spiritual frustrations stemming from ADD issues. This morning we (mostly me) were talking about concepts of turning away from God by not having him be at the forefront of my mind, and rehashed some issues of my having trouble keeping anything at the forefront of my mind. Randy then reminded me that

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1124226070049601512005-08-16T17:01:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:01:10.073-04:00

This one is a bit complex. Let me start out by saying that I do not believe God is male. Likewise, I do not believe God is female, but rather that God is above gender. Or, to put it another way, I do not believe that God has a penis, or any other primary or secondary sexual characteristics, and I believe that God has all the character attributes that we typically attribute as male or female. Yes,

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1123263176131667972005-08-05T13:15:00.000-04:002005-09-09T13:00:57.483-04:00

I missed my 5 year reunion. Maybe that's not accurate; my 5 year reunion missed me. They apparently couldn't find me until after the event had already occurred, so I heard via a friend that they had gathered. Not that I'm a hard person to find; the school may not have had my address, but they had my parent's address, and my sister's and my brother's. Yes, I was living in Colorado, but it would

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1123165773543016972005-08-04T10:25:00.000-04:002005-08-04T10:29:33.546-04:00

I ran across this beautifully scathing review of megachurches in general. It's sad that non-christians articulate my views on these things so much better than most christians do.I mention all this because megachurches are the latest phenomenon, the hottest trend in the Christian godfearin' biz, arena-scaled piety polished up and bloated out and aimed like a giant homophobic cannon straight at

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1123104631133298962005-08-03T17:28:00.000-04:002005-11-03T11:19:44.796-05:00

So I'm officially on the schedule as a sound guy at Westwinds. Among the toys I get to play with are EAW speakers and a half-way decent mixing console (40C variety).Home at last.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1123079307917674372005-08-03T09:39:00.000-04:002005-08-03T10:28:27.956-04:00

Our current church is great. They are creative, progressive, God-pointig people who are not afraid to try something new to reach people, not afraid to throw away typical trapings of modern christianity to find a way to be closer to God.Except for gender roles.There are women staff members, but no women pastors. And no women elders.A few weeks ago, my wife pointed out a problem I had never

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1122664261747074462005-07-29T15:00:00.000-04:002005-07-29T15:11:01.746-04:00

So I've started using Backpack now too. And I've been spending too much time at work playing with what I can do with the formatting (see my vehicular list for one example) rather than learning Ruby.On the other hand, I am also organizing for the first time in, well, ever. And I am having fun learning Textile (and what parts of it do and do not work in Backpack.) And I've even set it up so my

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1122488414255555622005-07-27T14:17:00.000-04:002005-07-29T15:00:51.300-04:00

Right about the time I'm giving up on tech, I get a call from Tony. He's starting his own company, already has the funding, and wants some help from me. He can code a bit, he runs the server side of stuff, but he's not too good at making things pretty. He knows I'm not a coder; my experience is HTML and images, CSS and modifying a few existing PHP/Perl/whatever web scripts.Tony wants someone who

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1122402567445568892005-07-26T14:18:00.000-04:002005-07-26T14:29:27.453-04:00

I had already heard about Longhorn being renamed Vista and had decided it was stupid enough to not care about thinking about. Then I got this email from my father in law:"bringing clarity to the world so you can focus on what matters to you"What does this describe?I had no idea, so I made a few guesses:Concerta? Religion/Faith? Contact lenses? Viagra?But then he informed me that this is a

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1121974942270822422005-07-21T15:14:00.000-04:002005-07-21T15:42:22.300-04:00

When Wallace Wallington retired, he started to play around with some techniques for moving heavy objects. The difference: no machinery, no wheels, no pulleys. He has figured out how to lift multiple-ton blocks several feet off the ground. And he can move things horizontally as well; he personally moved a pole barn at a rate of 6 ft an hour! He has brilliantly simple methods for all of this, and

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1121734588986502362005-07-18T20:25:00.000-04:002005-07-18T20:56:28.996-04:00

So I started a blog. For a few reasons. Then I blogged. Then I stopped. For 3 months. Now I've started.I've been trying to analyze why I stopped and started again, and it goes back to my job. I hate my job. I like one of my coworkers, appreciate one, and can stand yet another. I have 11 coworkers, and there are 2 supervisors. That's really low ratios. And I don't like what I do. I am

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1121721741258121622005-07-18T17:24:00.000-04:002005-07-18T17:27:08.653-04:00

So it's a catch name, but it's about hacking the mind the same way you hack a computer. It's a link-blog referencing all sorts of interesting psychology science, finding all those funky studies that challenge the way we think about the way we think.I always had a bit of curiosity about how the mind works; my wife unintentionally encourages it. Sites like this remind me that there is way too

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1113266228962992732005-04-11T18:04:00.000-04:002005-04-11T20:37:08.963-04:00

Not long after moving to Michigan, with much trepidation for our church future, Christy and I ran across Westwinds Community Church and quickly found our home. They are edgy, artsy, passionate, and very, very Christian. They will try all sorts of experiments to reach people where they are to bring them to Christ and to grow people's relationships with God.They started a series called "Bondage"

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1112375936630949202005-04-01T11:50:00.000-05:002005-11-23T19:55:34.680-05:00

For the story of how we came to aquire this, see part 1.So we brought all the new toys home... the left and right front speakers, center channel, subwoofer, amp, and DVD changer. The car was approaching full.Once we got home, I started just by moving it into the house. Christy wanted a picture, so I made her pose by it for reference. She was wearing boots with 3" heels at the time...We picked out

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336735.post-1112374172638097972005-04-01T09:39:00.000-05:002005-04-01T11:49:32.643-05:00

When we got our 2003 tax return, Christy and I spent it all on practical things like home and car repair. As we did this we watched her brother get a new guitar amp. We decided then to use our 2004 return for 'toys'.Fast forward to last month. Our tax return turned out to be notably larger than we had originally anticipated, and so we were planning on getting a new sound system for the house.

nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393316920894381797noreply@blogger.com0