Wednesday Reading And Ballpark Village

Ecclesiasticus 10: 6- 11: 28.
James 4: 1-12.

Ballpark village news here.  Looks like it's finally a go.

The truly unbelievable thing, and there's lots of unbelievable about ballpark village, is that the concept of the village is older than this blog.

Tuesday Reading And Eddie Money

Ecclesiasticus 8:1- 10:5.
Proverbs 22:17- 23:17.

So much to like about Geico commercials.  I really like the Eddie Money edition.

I've always been a fan of Mr. Mahoney.  Back in the late 1970s, "Baby Hold On" and "Two Tickets To Paradise" were a couple of my favorites.

I was surprised to learn that the former reached a higher chart position than the latter.  Especially considering over the years "Two Tickets To Paradise" is by far the best remembered.  And the song most associated with him.

I associate him mostly with the early days of MTV.  Back in 1982, he put out two great videos, which showcased his talent in a goofy sort of way.  Shakin' was quite humorous, and it's a great song.

But my favorite video, and all-time favorite Eddie Money song, was the one that follows.  In fact, I would dare to call it my favorite video of all time.

This is soooooo good.



Of course, it doesn't hurt this song's popularity with me that the Cardinals won the World Series that year.

Monday Reading And Accounting

Ecclesiasticus 6:5- 7.
Ephesians 5:15- 6:4.

Exercise accounting:
Squats 2025.  Ahead of schedule.
Push ups 1900.  A little behind, but will be ahead of schedule in 3 days at my present rate, DV.
Pull ups/chin ups 590.  Ahead of schedule.

Sunday Reading And PDSA

Ecclesiasticus 4:1-6:4.
Matthew 5: 38-48.

A piece of quality improvement in healthcare, as well as in business, I guess, is the PDSA Cycle.  The Plan-Do-Study-Act thing has its place in successfully implementing processes to improve health outcomes.

So I'm thinking of implementing such thinking into my gardening this year.

Right now, I'm starting the planning stage.  I'm probably a little behind, seeing as it's the end of January.  But has anybody got any good ideas on what I should put in my garden this year?

I'm about to take my annual trip to buy seeds for the year, and would like some input.  Annuals, perennials, veggies, or anything.

Except for Toxicodendron radicans.  Anyone suggesting that one is banned for a month.

Saturday Reading And Basketball Stuff

Ecclesiasticus 2-3.
James 1: 2-8.

Great confusion in NBA team names.  I can't wrap my head around this one.  Kind of like the date line thing.  (Sorry, I have to go there at least once a year).

And I've always wondered why St. Louis is continually snubbed by the NBA.  Since the Hawks left in 1968, almost 50 years ago, you'd think they'd have a team by now.

Of course, there were the Spirits for a short time, one of the great names in all of sports.

Friday Reading And The Farm

Ecclesiasticus Prologue and 1.
Proverbs 1: 1-7.

Got the winter blahs yet?  Well, this should bring a smile to your face.

That does not automatically translate into championships.  But it doesn't hurt, either.

And, pitchers and catchers report...IN 16 DAYS!

Thursday Reading And Morgan Freeman

Tobit 13-14.
Isaiah 49: 8-18.

Hat tip Jim Rome.  Funniest thing I've seen for awhile:


Uh-oh.

At least George Stephanopoulos didn't call him "Wilt". 

Look on the bright side...at least no one saw it, right?

Wednesday Reading And Blog Updates

Tobit 11-12.
Matthew 6: 19-24.

I updated my blog sidebar.  I eliminated blogs that haven't posted for a year or more.  It's sad of what has become of a once mighty list of fellow bloggers.

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU PEOPLE?  WHERE ARE YOU?

There aren't any new bloggers I am aware of, either.

I'm not happy about some recent changes in some of the blogs I still read, either.  Cranach is now lost in a sea of religious smorgasbordery at that new site.

Some of the feeds I get no longer enable you to read the whole post without visiting the site.  Which means I don't read much of what comes across anymore.

I also eliminated my music in the sidebar, as it no longer worked unless you went to the actual music website.  Which defeated the point of the whole thing being on my blog.

Tuesday Reading

Tobit 8-10.
Luke 10: 17-20.

Did you know 2 brothers are facing off coaching their teams in the Super Bowl?

Did you know it's Ray Lewis last game?

Did you know the media is going to ruin this game talking about the above?

Me too.

Monday Reading And Losing

Tobit 6:2- 7.
Numbers 36: 6-13.

I did notice Stan Musial died.  That'll be its own post.  But not now.

In case you didn't notice, the Patriots are the worst kind of losers.  And when you are the worst kind of loser, it really and truly makes you a loser.

Yeah, re-read that last sentence.  It does make sense.

   "KnowwhatImean?"

What was with Brady's slide kick?  Where's the NFL's iron rod on that one?

And Belichik's reaction to the loss, just like his Super Bowl loss 5 years ago, tells more about what he's all about than any 3 Super Bowl wins.

All I can say is...you'd never see Stan Musial act that way.

In our world, some people got it, and some people don't.  And some people don't get it, and some people do.  Sometimes it's easy to tell who's who.

Sunday Reading And Accounting

Tobit 4-6: 1.
Luke 12: 22-34.

So far this year I have posted 21 times, including this one.  I am ahead of pace for my goal of 300.

We should be through the actual Apocrypha by April or May.  There are other readings in The Apocrypha, The Lutheran Edition With Notes we could read through.  But I'm thinking of maybe going ahead into the Book Of Concord.

As far as exercise:
Push ups 1300.  I'm behind but at my present rate will be caught up in 10 days more or less.
Pull/chin ups 380.  I'm behind, but at my present rate will be caught up in about 7 days.
Squats 1425.  I'm ahead of schedule.

So I'm not in bad shape so far this year.  Hopefully will avoid all illness.  D.V.

Saturday Reading And Championship Picks

Tobit 2:7-3.
Matthew 22: 23-33.

Last week was ugly picking, going 1-3.

Since no one is giving Atlanta any love, maybe I should go for them tomorrow.  How can you be playing at home in the NFC Championship and be the underdog?

Okay.  Just ask the Bears in 2011 and 1989.  And we know how that turned out.

I'd like to see Atlanta-Baltimore.  But I think we're going to see San Francisco-New England.

I just hope it's not SF.  One championship is enough for them this year.

San Francisco.
New England.

Friday Reading And Blondie, Tuco and Angel Eyes

Tobit 1-2:6.
Deuteronomy 26:1-15.

I went through my favorite YouTube videos and came across this.  If this movie is not the greatest movie ever made, it is certainly in the top 5.

If you haven't seen it, this will make no sense.

But then again, who hasn't seen it?

A great cast, great score, great comic relief and possibly the greatest ending ever.  Guaranteed to raise your pulse.

 

Thursday Reading

Wisdom of Solomon 19.
Exodus 13: 17-22.

We've now finished book number 2 of the Apocrypha. 

I always have trouble reading wisdom literature for some reason.  I'm not sure what that says about me.  But out of the Wisdom of Solomon, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs, I found the Wisdom of Solomon the easiest to read.

I'm surprised how fast we're moving.  Buckle up, we're marching to Tobit next. 

Wednesday Reading And The CFL Bears

Wisdom Of Solomon 17-18.
Exodus 11: 1-10.

Isn't it exciting how the Bears fired Lovie Smith and replaced him with a head coach from the Canadian Football League?  This was the plan?

Oh, that's right, they had no plan to begin with.  Other than being upset about finishing 10-6.  That was their plan.

What a Cubs-like move this was.  A guy who hasn't coached in the NFL in 5 years, because he couldn't previously get a head coaching gig so he went to the CFL, is taking the reins of the Bears?

I hear Bud Grant was also on the Bears radar.  Rumor has it that the Bears are now petitioning the NFL to get Hamilton on their schedule for next fall.

He should work out great, as long as he gets to line up 12 men on his side.  Of course, the Bears will most likely lead the league in 3rd down punts next year.

At least it was the CFL, and not the International Hockey League, that the Bears pulled their coach from.  But give them a little time.  Their next coaching hire won't be too far down the line.

Tuesday Reading And Lance Armstrong

Wisdom of Solomon 15-16.
Leviticus 21: 4-9.

They all do it, they all did it.  

Okay, maybe not everyone.  But I've moved from the point of thinking that dopers are the exception to thinking that those athletes who don't dope are the exception.

And how many times do we have to suffer through the media backlash that inevitably follows?

Dude's a human.  Humans lie.  Dude lied.  You got played.  Get over it.

Monday Reading And Quiet Winter

Wisdom of Solomon 13-14.
Romans 1: 18-32.

Here's an article about the Cardinals quiet winter.  I think the reason is Wainwright's looming contract demands are staring them in the face.

Sunday Reading

Wisdom of Solomon 11-12.
Psalm 106: 13-39.

Great comeback by the Seahawks today, terrific game, but ask the Bears about taking the lead with any time left on the clock in Atlanta.

And it seems that every QB I have mentioned so far is out of the playoffs.  Must be a jinx.

Too bad Griffin and Wilson are now both out.  But isn't that Kaepernick fun to watch, too?

Saturday Reading And Divisional Playoffs

Wisdom of Solomon 9-10.
Psalms 106: 1-12.

Last week was a 3-1 week for me for the wildcard round.

Really good games today and tomorrow.  The only one that probably won't be is New England-Houston.

Denver.
Green Bay.
Seattle.
New England.

Friday Reading And Flash Cards

Wisdom of Solomon 7-8.
1 Kings 3: 1-15.

Exercise count so far:
Push ups 600
Pull up/chin ups 160
Squats 750

I was looking around Google maps and got to thinking about state capitals.  I used to be able to name all 50 without any trouble.  I must admit I stumbled a bit and needed help on a couple of them.

It was 5th grade when we had to learn all of them.  The teacher put the states on flash cards.  Then she'd pit the students against one another. 

One student would stand behind one sitting and she'd flash a card with either the state or the capital on it.  Whoever guessed the corresponding capital or state first was the winner and moved on to the next seat over, where the process repeated itself.

I remember making it all around the room one time.  We'd usually go until we had gone through all 50 before quitting. 

I hate to say it, but there were definitely fellow students who you knew you could take a break against and could relax.  Then there were others who you knew would be competitive and might knock you off. 

I remember a particularly embarrassing moment where I had just knocked off one of the "better" kids, my chief rival, and moved on to an "easy" one.  I relaxed too much and blanked on the next card, getting my comeuppance.  I had to take my seat in stunned disbelief. 

The rest of the class found it quite humorous, as I remember.

Thursday Reading And Rehab Addict

Wisdom of Solomon 5-6.
Isaiah 66: 15-24.


Her name's Nicole, and she's addicted to Rehab!  New season of Rehab Addict starting tonight on DIY.

Wednesday Reading

Wisdom Of Solomon 3-4.
2 Samuel 12: 7-25.


Back in the good ol' days.  Dave Dudley was almost as cool as the Fonz.

Tuesday Reading And My Apocryphal Thoughts

Wisdom of Solomon 1-2.
Proverbs 4: 10-19.

One of the things I always wondered about the Apocrypha was why they were excluded from the Bible.  Naturally then, I am hoping that reading these works will give answers to my question.  So far so good.

I thoroughly enjoyed Judith, but could easily identify the reasons why it is not included in the Canon of Scripture.  It has historical inaccuracies.

I'm not even suggesting there was not a Judith who did the things mentioned in the book.  I am just suggesting that the book could not be included due to the inaccuracies in it.

In other news...today's reading from the Wisdom of Solomon, particularly chapter 2, ties in somewhat to a post today on Cranach about atheist churches.

Monday Reading And The BCS

Judith 14-16.
Judges 5.

Until they lose, it's hard to think an SEC team is not going to win the BCS championship.  But it sure would be good for college football if they didn't always win. 

Right now it's like the SEC is the major leagues, and all other conferences the minors.

Not that there's anything wrong with it.

Sunday Reading

Judith 11-13.
Deuteronomy 28: 15-26.
Judges 4: 17-24.

I am no fan of Washington DC, for reasons not to go into here.  From what I've read, the people who live in and around it, the "elites" so to speak to us "commoners", are no bargain, either.

That made Game 5 of the 2012 NLDS that much more delightful.

But it's hard not to root for the Redskins due to RG3.  Seems like a really good kid and the most exciting player in football.

Russell Wilson ain't bad either, though.

It's actually hard not to root for either one.

Good game.

Saturday Reading And My Hatred Of Thursday Night Football

Judith 9-10.
Genesis 34:1-29.

I didn't use my blog this year for my NFL picks.  I instead used ESPN to make my picks and keep score.  It was just much easier that way.  Just point and click. 

And there was no counting. 

In life, I've noticed that given a choice between having to count and not having to count...not counting always wins out.

Anyway, just like in previous years, I found myself forgetting about Thursday Night games.  So I missed out on picking almost all of those games.

I don't get the fascination with Thursday Night football.  This year, instead of just doing Thursday Night games the last weeks of the season, the NFL decided it was a good idea to have a Thursday Night game every week.  Which meant I left a lot of potential victories on the table.

To be more precise, there were 11 weeks this year that I forgot to make a Thursday Night pick.

That being said, I still ended up winning 159 games.  Last year I won 168 games.  I might have come close had I paid more attention.  Or if ESPN would have texted me to make a pick.  I'll blame it on them.

Despite all that, I still ended up at the 86th percentile.

Unlike last year, I didn't do very well this year against the ESPN Experts.

The thing I don't like about the ESPN method of picking is that it ends at Week 17.  So I'll have to do my playoff picks here.

That's okay.  I need counting practice.

Houston.
Green Bay.
Baltimore.
Washington.

Friday Reading And More Complaints

Judith 7-8.
Esther 4.

Time to register more complaints, this time against the Cardinals front office.

I was sorry to read this article.  In fact, it makes me mad.  Why the Cardinals cannot come up with cash for Berkman is beyond me.

I know he is injury prone.  But COME ON, MAN.

The Cardinals owe Berkman a debt they can never repay.  He is as much responsible for 2011 as David Freese.  Without him coming through, the Cardinals don't win that World Series.

Berkman will never pay for anything in St. Louis the rest of his life.  If an entire city can give it up for him, why can't one ball club?

Who can forget?

Besides the Cardinals?

Thursday Reading And The Thrill Of The Filmstrip

Judith 5-6.
Genesis 12:1-8.

I have no idea why, but today I was thinking about filmstrips.  For the first time in years, maybe decades.

Filmstrips were like a dream to a grade schooler in the 1970s. I remember how much I loved walking into a classroom and seeing the filmstrip projector.  Which meant those darn blasto-lighting fluorescents would soon be off and you could relax.

Or take a nap.  Although that's something I never did personally.

I remembered some filmstrips had text that needed to be read.  So the teacher would go around the room and ask people to read what was on the screen.

This was one of the ways I started to realize I needed glasses.  I remember squinting through one filmstrip in particular, hoping I got all the words right.

One does tend to sound like an idiot when one mistakes a "the" for a "she".  Classmates and teachers tend to think, "that boy ain't right".

I remember in grade school how much fun it was to get to be the one who turned out the lights for the filmstrip.  Or a movie.  I always liked to be "called on" to do that.  It always helped to be sitting close to the light switches.

But the greatest fun of all was to be able to "turn" the filmstrip.  When the projected slide was done, it was your job to advance the strip to the next slide.  The earliest I remember doing this was in 3rd grade, although I might have done it earlier.

Of course, "strip turning" was a big responsibility.  If you lost your place or daydreamed, everyone knew it.  When it came time to advance, and you didn't do it in a timely fashion, everyone yelled at you.  "HEY, TURN IT" was never something one wanted to wake up to.

Then as I grew up a little more I remember we had strips that had audio narration.  Some had narration records that you played, others had cassettes, and the strip was a bunch of pictures on a topic.

I still remember that "BEEP" sound on these recordings that was the signal to advance the strip to the next slide.  Again, while it was fun to get to be the strip turner, it was a lot of responsibility.  You could really get messed up in a hurry.

Sometimes there would be a discrepancy between the slide and the narration, usually at the start of the strip, when there might be a couple of title slides.  Or you could get off track because you couldn't always hear the beep.  You could always tell something was awry.  Usually at that point the teacher would have to intervene, and the fun began while they hunted desperately to catch up to the concurrent slide.

But the worst feeling of all was when you weren't quite sure if you were off or not.  The picture and the narration would sort of fit together, but maybe there was something that just didn't seem right.  So you had to sweat out a few slides until you had concrete evidence whether you were on it or not.

As much fun as filmstrips were, classroom movies remained king of the student's school day.  While a film projector was a great sight to see, the sight of a movie projector was Nirvana.

Filmstrips, as well as films, had to be rewound.  The filmstrip had to be done by hand.  Once it came out of the projector, I remember it being quite warm to the touch.  And you had to start the winding tight enough that it fit into that tiny little filmstrip plastic canister, but not so tight that you bent the strip.

And you couldn't touch the slides, of course, you could only handle it by the edges.

It was quite the art form, I must say.

Rewinding a movie required even higher technical skills.  You had to get the film tucked in the little slit of the center of the reel, and know what buttons to push.  You also had to time it just right at the end and shut it down just as the last few frames went twirling back on the original reel.

If it went around too many times at the end of the rewind, the film made this annoyingly loud and frantic whipping noise, and you knew you'd screwed up.  There'd be no more rewinding for awhile in that teacher's class.

Lucky for you it's getting late.  I was about to get started on overheads and opaque projectors.

Wednesday Reading

Judith 3-4.
2 Chronicles 20:1-12.

I'm not sure how it is that Jason Garrett has a job and Lovie Smith doesn't. The former coached a team that finished 8-8, and the latter coached one that was 10-6.  But it be so.

The dysfunction that is the Bears off the field is exemplified in their move Monday to fire Smith.  If Green Bay had won Sunday, Smith would still have a job.

How is it that Lovie's job hung by the thread of the hated Packers gnarly defense?  Green Bay's inability to stop Adrian Peterson cost the coach everything. 

Does it make any sense that a team's decision to fire its coach came down to another team's performance?  Because make no mistake about it, had the Bears made the playoffs Sunday, Smith would still have a job.

Now the Bears have to start all over again with a new coach.  And since new coaches don't win Super Bowls their first year, then it's safe to say next season is already lost.

Nice going, Bears.  If 10-6 wasn't good enough for you, then I guarantee you won't enjoy what you get next season.

Unless of course, you get Ditka.

Tuesday Reading

Judith 1-2.
2 Kings 24:10-17.

I am following the reading guide from The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition With Notes.

And that makes 2 posts already this year!

Only 51 Weeks Until Christmas

That's the new way I'm looking at New Year's Day.

It's traditionally the day for me to set goals for the year.  Resolutions never last, but setting a goal and holding yourself accountable usually does.

This year is no different, except in one regard.  It's always been taken for granted when I've set goals that life in this country will continue on like it always has.  But now I doubt it will.  It's taken me a while, but I think I'm finally over the fact that the country I grew up in, the one that I thought was so great, no longer exists.  Boiled like the proverbial frog.

So, realizing that conditions have changed, and that setting and making goals may not turn out to be so important by year's end, I hang myself out there once again.

This year I have set the goal of reading the Apocrypha.  I have always wanted to do that, but never have.

So last week I ordered The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition With Notes from CPH.

In glancing through the book, it appears to be quite substantial in its detail and completeness.  The introductory chapters are a hundred pages long.  I think. 

You see, my only criticism so far is that the introductory chapters have Roman Numeral page numbers.  C is 100, right?  My Roman Numeral days are way too long ago.

I think we should have the option of opting out of Roman Numerals when we're out of school.  There should be 2 ways to order a book- Roman Numeral and Non-Roman Numeral.

Anyway, there's a nice reading guide at the beginning that includes a daily Bible reading.  The Bible passages are chosen to relate to the Apocryphal reading that day in some way.

Once we're done with that, we'll move on to the Book Of Concord.  We are fortunate to have 2 editions in our house.  We have the Tappert edition and the more recent edition, Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. 

I've read most of Tappert and almost none of the newer edition, so I am really looking forward to that later in the year.

As far as exercise, I will keep my goal at 25,000 push ups and 25,000 squats.  I am adding to that 7500 pull-ups/chin-ups.  I'll need more recovery time between days for the pull-ups, so I won't be able to do as many for the year.

This year will also mark my 50th birthday, so I want to be able to manage 50 push ups or more that day without stopping to rest.  This will, of course, depend on my health at that time.

I am setting a goal of 300 posts for the year on this blog.

Last year was a vast wasteland for this blog.  I just was not inspired to write much.  Which meant I needed the break.

Writing is something I do everyday in my vocation, and I'm not a writer by trade, so sometimes extra writing can seem like a chore.

I also intend to veer this blog back to its original off-kilter-ness, if possible.  It's lost some of its goofiness through the years. 

Hey, give me a break.  Eight years is a long time to stay fresh.

How in the world did Ozzie and Harriet do it?

Well, I guess by doing things like Ozzie's Girls.  But I promise not to do that.

I do want to get back to doing NFL uniform critiques on this blog, something I started in the early days of 2005 and stopped doing because of time constraints.

The one big goal for this year around the house is putting in a patio.  That has to get done. 

I also want to start most of my annuals and vegetables by seed this year.

I guess that's about it.

Besides not screwing up.  But that's not very likely.

That's my new year, Deo Volente.