Just My Random Thoughts

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Government "Logic"

Our gas water heater is dying. It's been on borrowed time for several years so it's no surprise. It sits in a niche in the half bath in the garage.

We cannot replace it with a gas water heater. County laws no longer allow gas water heaters in bath rooms. They have no problem with the gas furnace sitting next to it, but we have to switch to an electric water heater because gas is dangerous.

Tonight I will take my last truly hot shower. Electric just doesn't get the water hot enough for my taste.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Ethiopian Orthodox

Ok. It's been a while. I just haven't had anything to say. Deal with it.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to run A/V for an Ethiopian Orthodox group that had rented the Northlake building. It was an interesting experience.

First off, we were told it would start at 2:30. They actually got going around 3:30 but the people were still coming in at 8. They probably had 350 to 400 attending at their peak.

The women and most of the children sat on the right and the men on the left. Most of the women had their heads covered with scarves.

There were six men that I think were clergy and three more that I believe were laymen. I can't be positive because everything was in Ethiopian and I couldn't even identify books of the Bible in Ethiopian. I did pick out China, Japan, and Alexandria, Virginia when the keynote speaker said them. And he was a good speaker. He even held my attention and those four words were the only ones I knew.

The singing was different. One or two of the clergy would sing (the verse maybe?) then the congregation would sing (possibly the chorus). They had two drums and one other instrument that was played somewhat like a cello, but it didn't sound like a cello. The music was structured somewhat like a chant with more variety in notes. It was VERY repetitious. I jumped the first time the women started ululating but quickly got used to it. Since women outnumbered the men almost 2 to 1, the ululating was pretty loud.

They started with a chorus of sorts, 6 young men facing 6 young women on the stage, all dressed as royalty. As they sang/chanted, 3 men and 3 women walked back and forth across the stage facing each other.

Periodically they would stop singing and one of the clergymen would talk for a few minutes. None of them used any notes and everyone paid attention to them. Then they would sing some more. The keynote speaker started around 6:30 and talked until nearly 9. Then they had what appeared to be an altar call only they raised their hands instead of going forward. When someone raised a hand, an attendant would go to them with pencil and paper and get information.

The final activity was the collection. Two of the choir members came out with colorful umbrellas which they opened and carried upside down as they meandered around the room and people tossed money into the umbrellas.

Once they ended the service the people cleared out quickly, although there were a number of them chatting in the parking lot when I left.

And I know people who complain if the service runs over 60 minutes total.

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Final Book of 2010

Last night I finished reading"Stuff Christians Like" by Jonathon Acuff.

Michael had given it to me for my birthday. A couple places toward the end he got a little deep, but for the most part it was a relaxing, funny romp for those who can laugh at our traditions. If you believe tradition is on the same level as doctrine, or can't distinguish between the two, don't read it.

Friday, October 22, 2010

More Books

I've been reading a lot lately. Since I finished The Fool of God, I've read:

The Jewel of Gresham Green by Lawana Blackwell;

Cattleman’s Courtship by Carolyne Aarsen;

The Secret, The Missing, and The Telling, all by Beverly Lewis.

I've started a couple of others but got bored with them (gotta grab my interest fast or I'm movin' on.)

Tomorrow I hope to go to the library for more.


Thursday, August 12, 2010

Bumper Stickers Seen on Military Bases

When In Doubt, Empty The Magazine

Marine Sniper - You can run, but you'll just die tired!

Machine Gunners - Accuracy By Volume

Except For Ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism and Communism, WAR has Never Solved Anything.

U.S. Marines - Certified Counselors to the 72 Virgins Dating Club.

U.S. Air Force - Travel Agents To Allah

Stop Global Whining

Naval Corollary: Dead Men Don't Testify.

The Marine Corps - When It Absolutely, Positively Has To Be Destroyed Overnight

Death Smiles At Everyone - Marines Smile Back

What Do I Feel When I Kill A Terrorist? A Little Recoil

Marines - Providing Enemies of America an Opportunity To Die For their Country Since 1775

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Anyone Who Threatens It

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

The Fool of God

This was another good book for giving a history lesson without reading like a textbook, although a part of me would like to know where the history stopped and the novel began. If you don't know much about Restoration history, you might want to bone up on the terminology (Old Lights, New Lights, Seceders, etc. before reading it) or you might get bogged down trying to figure that out.

The book was so interesting that I really had trouble putting it down. At times it seemed to fly along. Even when it slowed, it didn't drag. The was enough description to set the scenes without being dull. If I have any complaints, it would be all the names. I had trouble keeping track of who was who, especially if they weren't mentioned for a couple of chapters.

Now to pick my next book.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Reading List

I just finished reading House of Abraham about Lincoln and his relationship with his wife's family. It's a great way to learn about the war between the states without feeling like you're reading a history textbook. Comparing the events of the war to the relationships within the family makes it easier to read and easier to understand. I would definitely recommend it.

Then I started The Fool of God (a novel about the life of Alexander Campbell). Five chapters into it, I'm glad we just finished a study of the restoration movement: it makes it a lot easier to follow the terminology in the book (anti-burghers, seceders, etc.)

Saturday, June 05, 2010

In Memory

We attended a memorial service for a 20-year-old who's battle with cancer is now over. The first thing I did when I got home was stick myself with an insulin pen.

The two activities made me think about a childhood friend and member of my Girl Scout troop who died in the fall of our freshman year of high school. After a lifetime on insulin, two failed kidney transplants, and too many months on dialysis, Debbie's body just couldn't take any more and we laid her to rest. 40 years later, I can still see her face, remember how the troop would gather around to watch her inject herself when we were at camp, and how happy she was to see us when the troop showed up at the hospital one day.

Funny, what we remember.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

From today's AJC Vent

The pollen has been so bad lately, drug dealers are turning meth back into Sudafed.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Libertarians oppose census questions


WASHINGTON - Libertarian Party (LP) Chairman William Redpath released the following statement today regarding the 2010 census:

The Libertarian Party believes that the federal government's current census procedures are unconstitutional, unnecessary, and too expensive. We believe that the census is constitutionally limited to collecting only one piece of information about each residence: the number of persons living in it. We urge Congress to change the census laws to comply with this constitutional limitation.

The U.S. Constitution empowers Congress to provide for a census in order to apportion Representatives correctly. The Constitution does not empower Congress to use a census for any other purpose. There is no need for Congress to collect additional information such as names, races, ages, sexes, or home ownership status. Unfortunately, the federal government wants to use the additional information to fine tune its control over the lives and money of the American people.

The 2010 census is expected to cost over $14 billion. A recent report from the Inspector General of the Department of Commerce indicates that preparations for the 2010 census have already been filled with waste and bloat. A proper census, limited to just a headcount, would be far less expensive.

Many Americans fear that the Census Bureau will not keep their information secret, and might turn personal details over to other government agencies. The Census Bureau promises that they will keep everything confidential, but they have broken that promise in the past. As David Kopel of the libertarian Cato Institute has pointed out, during World War I the Census Bureau handed over lists of names and addresses so the federal government could search for draft resisters. And, shockingly, during World War II, the Census Bureau told the Justice Department which neighborhoods had high concentrations of Japanese-Americans. The federal government then used that information to find Japanese-Americans and imprison them in concentration camps. (emphasis mine - klc)

As Congressman Ron Paul, 1988 Libertarian candidate for President, recently said, "If the federal government really wants to increase compliance with the census, it should abide by the Constitution and limit its inquiry to one simple question: How many people live here?"