Call To Action Regarding National Debt in 2009
There was a two page advertisement from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in the New York Times regarding a call to action to address the growing national debt. With election talks about tax cuts, party rhetoric, and whats going to become of Gov. Palin’s pregnant daughter the nation slips farther and farther down tubes leaving behind a trail of I.O.U’s.
Do a small part to address the problem – read the article and take action.
Call of Duty Lan Party
Interesting facts:
- Qman, AvengerAce, Dungboy, MajCamper, Unknown Soldier, and Lord Servant were in attendance.
- Qman owened with the German Kar rifle
- AvengerAce was on the underdog team most of the time
- Dungboy had the best system on the LAN
- MajCamper is a master at wartime insults spoken in jest (so I hope, if not, he is a real pig f….. :D )
- Unknown Soldier made a great target, and even managed to smoke a few baddies
- Lord Servant is too humble to talk about himself ;-)
Thanks to everyone for coming. Unknown Soldier, I salute you – you gave it a shot!
Windsurfing in a large puddle
Well, Sunday Lake in Wakefield, MI is more than just a large puddle but I had to have a sensational subject. I went windsurfing today on a spontaneous moment because the wind was blowing rather fiercely and it was too nice of a day to pass up. I didn’t want to go alone but the harder I tried to find someone the more alone I became. So against better judgment I went by myself.
The lake was too small to generate any sizable waves but the wind was blowing fiercely. It was awesome because it was almost too windy to up haul the mast! My arms got tired in a hurry and I wished I had borrowed the harness to help support the sail. I hardly took the dagger board up because some of the wind gusts really pushed me off balance. I never thought of wind surfing as a high speed sport but there were a couple times where I was thrown hard off the board.
Note to self: Having the sail lower on the mast makes it easier to up haul.
After a couple trips back and forth across the lake I took a break, cooked some bratwurst, and had a short nap. The wind was so fierce cooking over the open fire was like forging metal in a blast furnace.
After a respite I headed out again. The wind was starting to become erratic with more lulls between the gusts. It gave me a chance to practice sailing with the wind. It was easier without the large waves of Lake Superior but the strong wind made it hard to control the sail when headed away from the wind. If the breeze was just right I could catch the wind and sail well but any sort of a gusty or strong wind made it very difficult.
When the wind blows, does it ever get lonely?
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8 NIV
In my mind the blowing wind has a negative connotation. The blowing wind scatters, stirs up, destroys, and disrupts where it passes by. Yet the wind can be a helpful and important force, spreading seeds, changing the landscape, and cooling sun parched land. The wind is an interesting metaphor for someone born of the Spirit. Jesus used analogies in a challenging way to try and related Spiritual things to earthly things.
When I was out windsurfing the verse above came to mind. Is the wind synonymous with being lonely? Usually when two winds meet a storm brews and the winds are chaotic. So if the day is nice and the wind is blowing does that mean the wind is, in a sense, alone?
I’m not going to change my theology based on physical characteristics of the wind but at the time because of where the wind was blowing, what was in my heart, and that verse the question arose.
Comments welcome.
Wave after wave after wave after wave….
This weekend afforded me the chance to go wind surfing. The wind was adequate but the waves were even higher than last time. Considering I didn’t want the waves to be any bigger than the last time I went this was going to be interesting. Windsurfing turned out well and helped build my dexterity on the board in rough water. I found that sailing with the wind was easier with the mast slid forward on the board but the waves caused me to sink when I went over a swell. Windsurfing in large swells with mediocre wind is doubly hard.
I finally have some pictures to show for the tired arms and achy back.
These were actually from the following day before the board was dismantled for the weekend. The waves weren’t quite as big and the lake was starting to settle down.