A's, Calc, Good Teachers, Headsets swelling

Okay...so...I haven't posted in a while. Not anything deep, anyway.

I got my grades back from ENG 101 and Trigometry. I recieved A's in both classes. So Praise the Lord on that!!!!

Next semester I am taking Calculus 1 and ENG Comp 102. It's a little awkward in higher math classes like Trig, Pre-Calc, and Calc, cause I am a highschool student taking 4th and sometimes 5th semester math classes. So like all my fellow students in Trig were 3rd semester. My Math partner was 29 years old...the age range is so big in a community college though.

My teachers were just absolutely wonderful!! I hope next semesters' teachers are just as good. From what my sister says (who got her LPN degree at the same college), the teachers at this college are the best...too bad I'm transferring out next semester...

Christmas was great...we stayed at home and lounged around all day for once. I got a bluetooth headset for my cell phone as a gift. It's pretty sweet. :)

I've not been feeling too swell for the past week or so. Well, I'm sure it's been longer then that, but I just have this short term memory loss problem, so I wouldn't remember. :p

ttfn,
Siah

Something to read...although it's not magnifique.

Somehow school caught up to me, and slapped me in the face...

This is finals week. I took my english final this morning. If my grading skills are accurate...I should have to only get a 65% or higher to get an A in the class. I'm half way confident that I did better then that.

Trig finals are on Thursday. Then I'll be done with this semester!!

Here are some goofy things, since I don't feel like writing seriously.

If life gives you lemons, make grape juice. Then stand by and laugh as the world watches and wonders how you did it.

A Women's heart should be so lost in God that a man has to seek Him in order to find it.

Barack Obama sounds so much like: Iraq Will Bomb Ya.

Opera: When a guy gets stabbed in the back, and instead of bleeding, he sings.

Caution, water on road during rain.

I'm not random, you just can't think as fast as me.

These are all from things I found on Facebook. The second to the last one was a signpost.

Anyways...

Shopping Freaks and Thanksgiving Break...

I hope all of my readers had a most enjoyable Thanksgiving and found much for which to be thankful. On a side note, one of my pet peeves is people calling "Thanksgiving Day" "Turkey Day." ARGH. But I digress...I'm feeling wordy and important today...not sure why, but I'll hang loose and roll with it. Shaka shaka..

I've just posted for the first real time on my In Deus Ego Fides blog. Feel free to check it out. Be forwarned, it's a lengthy post, seeing as how it's one of my english papers. But I think it's a rather easy read, and it flows decently. You shouldn't have too much trouble understanding it.

I played frisbee on Friday for the first time since my accident. Actually, I did a little bit more then that. I hadn't had much physical activity since the accident. I was trying to hurry up and heal. Well, I was feeling pretty good. I had been for several days. So on Black Friday...I gave myself a workout.

First off, I went shopping. For those of you who don't know, I enjoy shopping. Anyways, I needed a winter coat, having not had one for 2 years since I was growing too much. But I've stopped growing now, and so was eager to get an actual heavy jacket instead of putting on 42 layers every morning. I had my eye on a coat at Macy's...But JC Penny's opened first, so I decided to look through their coats first. Arriving at 4:20AM, I found shoppers already coming out with their purchases. Freaks. Just kidding...Penny's opened at 4AM, and I'm sure many of those people had been standing in line for a good long while. Anyways, I couldn't find a jacket that I liked AND could afford, so I left Penny's and headed to Macy's...about a 1.5 minute drive, since they are in the same mall complex...speaking of complexes, I thought only girls' had those, but apparently Malls and Apartments have them too...

Got to Macy's 15 minutes before it opened...Stood in line...Freezing...now I'm a freak....The store was giving out free packets of Craisins and Cranberry energy drinks..that was quite enjoyable...I knew exactly what coat I was looking for, so I was able to find it quickly. After trying on a couple of different sizes, I paid and left. I got a $280 jacket for $50, which I thought was quite the deal.

On a side note: I heard it said that on Black Friday, females shop like men. You aren't Christmas shopping, you are Christmas getting. You know before you walk into that store exactly what you are wanting, having picked everything out the night before in the shopping ads...your main goal is to get into that store, find the item(s) you are looking for, pay, and get out as quickly as possible. Just like a guy shops. Welcome to a Man's Life. Freaks.

Anyways...back to my overwhelming day. After shopping, I headed out to one of my friend's house...we played some basketball in the morning, and then went to shoot skeet...still not a good idea cause of my accident, but I did it nonetheless...After shooting, we played frisbee for 3 hours at our normal place. Then our whole group went for dinner at friend's house...we played capture-the-flag in the dark...By the time I got home and went to bed, I'd been up for 20 hours straight with only 4 hours of sleep the night before. Plus I had done a lot more physical activity then I had for the previous two weeks put together...needless to say, I don't feel quite as good as I would like...

My apologies to anyone who dislikes the word "freak"...I mean it in the nicest way possible, and it was the only word I could come up with the really got what I meant across...if anyone has a nicer word, suggest away...

Okay...back to getting all my college applications finished up and a rough draft thrown together for tomorrow's English Class...boohoo, I'll miss you, Thanksgiving Break!!!

Christianity? vs. Intolerance?

I'm going to post a rather long piece tonight. Most of you know that I am a Christian. My life goal is to spread the Gospel of Christ to whomever I come in contact with. I prefer to establish some sort of relationship with the person before sharing that Gospel.

One of my friends, who reads this blog, wrote what I thought to be an interesting piece on Christianity, Atheism, Worldviews, and Intolerance. I will post it here, then post my reply, then her reply to my reply. Everything is verbatim, with the slight exception of some sensitive material which she asked me not to post, and is reproduced with her explicit permission.

_____________________________________________________________________

A friend sent this to me. Watch it, then I'd like to say a few words. I welcome your thoughts and opinions. But please, hear me out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piuoGb-Nhfw&feature=related.

I received an amusing anecdote this evening. The plot was obvious and I knew the punchline, but I laughed nonetheless. My gut reaction was 'What was the professor's name? The student's name? Sorry, but this is only a witnessing tool, not a true event.' But that's all right, a thing like this doesn't have to be true, it doesn't even have to be just a witnessing tool.

The video says it's intended to make you think. It did make me think. Think about how people don't stand up against views they feel are wrong. Which inevitably lead to me thinking about why a person feels their view is the “right” view. And about people who feel their view is the ONLY “right” view.

Stubborn judging of right and wrong is what creates tragic malice between men. It manifests in prejudice, hate crimes and wars. It's bigger than religion and non-religion, it is everything man can have an opinion about. Race, sexuality, creed, philosophy, which was the better Enterprise captain on Star Trek. It is an inability to imagine the Other, an inflexibility of the heart and mind. It is easy to cling to what you know, to shout it until you believe it, but that won't enhance your heart. What is infinitely harder, and truly character building is to sacrifice just one of your views; even for a moment, to imagine the other side of an argument.

Seemingly Irrelevant Example:
I love Picard, I would follow him to the edge of the time and space. But there are merits to Kirk, though it's hard to imagine what they are most days, and harder to begin admit them. But there are merits, and it's that small gesture of trying that makes the difference. To prove this example isn't the shot in the foot it feels like.... Kirk was a better independent thinker than Picard. Picard let his crew do a lot of the problem solving, but Kirk would come up with a tenacious plan on his own and go at it gung-ho. Resisting the urge to delete that last line.... this doesn't mean I'm a traitor, just...accepting...Picard likes open mindedness!..... okay, I can live with this. Moving on.

Weak people, like the professor, feel vindicated and "right" and faithful, because they were loudest. (I would argue the professor's atheism is equally a faith because he must convince himself of his views and beliefs just as diligently as someone who worships a god. But the intollerance of this particular video is a discussion for a later time.) Whereas people like the student who take a quiet, but sure stand are the most convincing and most touching. Insecure people shout. Strong people act.

Sadly, the student in the story botched that profound and rare moment of quiet faith by becoming the professor. By pushing Jesus on his fellow students just as the professor had pushed Atheism on them.

So, no one in the story grew for the events that happened. No one tried to imagine the other side of the argument. The twenty years worth of students were too cowardly to go against what is being shouted at them. The professor didn't learn, because when faced with opposition he ran instead of being open to growth. And the stubborn student learned nothing because he became the professor. Sad yes, but remember, it's a witnessing tool. You aren't supposed to notice the hypocrisy. The good news is we can learn from these fictional character's mistakes and do our best to grow.

I want to thank the person that sent me this video, and all the other witnessing e-mails she has sent me in the past. It has sparked many a wonderful evening of thought for me. There is so much more to read in them than Jesus or Satan. Faithful and Unfaithful. Right and Wrong.

So to wrap up, you now have three options, though really there are only two.
1 - Pretend you never read this.
2 - Shout at me.
3 - Or Think.

Next time you feel inclined to fall back on shouting to prove your point, try your hardest to imagine the other point of view. It doesn't make you weak or unfaithful, it makes you thoughtful and wise.

-------------------------INTERLUDE, FOLLOWED BY MY RESPONSE-----------------------
Good post...

I totally agree with some of what you have said. For all the times I have talked to you and sat text to you, I have never once "witnessed" to you. I have only tried to live my life different then the lives you may see at other places. Whether or not I have succeeded only God knows.

I do try my best to imagine the other person's view when talking to them about matters of this sort. My post on the Bhuddist fellow I talked to would exemplify this the best....It is hard, but I think necessary. When you come across as being rude and arrogant, it turns people off. Most definitely it does. I know, cause it's happened to me. I always try my best to be humble...but in the midst of all that...I happen to be absolutely positively sure that I know the Truth. Some people say you can't know Truth. Truth is relative. But I beg to differ. In Science, how does one reason through arguments to come to a theory, law, etc?

He looks at what he sees, and he finds the best explanation or answer for it.

So....I look at my life. I look at Creation. I look at what God has done for me, personally, in my life. I look at what God has done for others. Then I look at what "no god" has not done. That is, I look for evidence that there is no God. I look for things that show God isn't. I try to answer all of Life's problems in light of no eternity.

My conclusion? I see Creation, and it screams a Designer. I see my Life, and it shouts out that there is a Master Planner. I see the World, its pains, suffering, and evil...and I still see a God who Loves Mankind, who wants to give them every possible chance to come to Him...I don't see how any problem in the world, like pain, suffering, evil, etc...could be answered without God. So...having decided there is a God...I must decide whether to be for or against Him.

Personally, I don't like the thought of going up against the Creator of the Universe singlehandedly. That would be like trying to defeat the Borg by yourself. It ain't gonna happen. Then I look at the lovingkindness of this God, and realize all that He's done for me, including the sending of His Son to die for all my faults so that I can spend an eternity in Heaven with Him. I decide that if God loves me that much, then the least I can do is Love Him back...and if He has given His life for me, then the least I can do is give my life to Him...

Having decided this wonderful news is true, I long to tell it with the World. I long to shout out what an Amazing God I serve. I try not to be inconsiderate of other people's views when I do this. I realize they may not be appreciative of my thoughts. But I cannot help but share them. The Greatest thing in the world has happened to me...the only thing my overwhelmed heart can do is scream from the mountain top that GOD LOVES ME! and that GOD LOVES YOU.

Now, once I get off the mountain top, I won't scream in your face. But I'll try to live my life as a service to God, telling others of His awesome power, majesty, love, forgiveness and mercy....which is why I'm typing this now. :)


--------------------------INTERLUDE, THEN HER RESPONSE-------------------------------
Very true, you have never once witnessed to me, which I appreciate beyond words. Your behavior speaks of your good character and faith. I greaty respect a person who ponders their faith and lives by it.

I hear you on wanting to share your faith and opinions. We wouldn't be human if we didn't. Heck, I wouldn't have written this note if I didn't want to share my thoughts. I love what you say about arrogance turning people off. That's exactly right, and if a person is turned off they're certainly not going to listen to you, and in all likelihood they're going to turn a deaf ear on a similar message in the future.

I feel the best way to handle yourself when conveying your message is with a "love your neighbor" attitude. It's when people lose that respect that all hope is lost. One of the worst things someone could do would be to criticize everything I do, slander me and my beliefs, and then tell me they said it because they Love me. That wasn't love, to call that love is to blaspheme love.

My biggest issue isn't with what people believe. It's the differences that make us strong. But it's intolerance of letting that person believe. And it breaks my heart.

I think looking at the video and only focusing on the Christian vs. Atheist side of it, while important, is too small and too polarized for a philosophical discussion.


-----------------------THAT IS THE END OF THE RESPONSES.--------------------------

Any feedback and responses to our discussion is welcomed.

School

So..one of the basic trig functions...is SINE...
Sine:
Latin: bay, gap, inlet, fold in clothing. This is actually a mistranslation of a misunderstood word that was mistranslated of a Greek word through Arabic...which is supposed to means 1/2 of the chord of half of the angle.
And if that's not enough, the english word "sign" is pronounced the same as "sine"...when dealing with sines, signs are important...

Prof: It’s abbreviated, but perhaps I should say ‘abrieved’
Me: How do you spell that?
Math Partner: Carefully
Prof: With an A.

My professor was drawing a unit circle (for those who don’t know what that is, just imagine a circle with crosshairs) on the board. I thought he had done a rather splendid job of free-hand sketching, so I spoke up.
Me: Beautiful!!
Prof: Thank you...but what about the unit circle?
We all started busting out laughing...and my math partner’s like "well, that was awkward."

So, I’ve got a math test next Tuesday..and a english paper due next Tuesday as well...woohoo...
I just realized that I’ve only got a total of 7 lecture periods left before the finals...and supposedly, in those 7 periods, we will:

1). Review for, and take Chapter 4 test for Trig
2). Learn and study Chapter 5 of Trig
3). Review for, and take Chapter 5 Test for Trig
4). Review for comprehensive trig final
5). Finish paper 5 for english.
6). Write papers 6 and 7 for english

Yeah, no problem. Anyday..or any of the next few HECTIC weeks...

New blog...read before forming hasty opinions.

I started a new blog. Yes, I am quite aware that I don't keep up with my first one. That is beside the point.



BUT!! I wanted some place to

1). Post about political news and such..

2). Post about some of my english writing.



I'm trying to keep my original specifically for the mundane day to day events that shape my life. I don't want to bore my readers with a bunch of political junk that they really have no interest in reading. ALTHOUGH...you probably should be interested, since it will be mostly important things on which I will talk.



anyway...here's the new blog address. Feel free to stop back and read occasionally!! http://indeusegofides.blogspot.com/

Post-impression update

Here's an update on my condition.

I'm functioning mostly normal today.

So I went to my massage therapist yesterday. She said I most likely have whiplash, causing an inflammation of my neck, of course, and possibly damaged cranial nerves. There are 12 cranial nerves in the head, that attach to the spine. They help control the 5 senses. If those nerves get damaged, or if the muscle is swollen and pushing on them, it can give the 5 senses some trouble. Hence my eye problems. Since I hit Nienna with the side of my head/ear, I possibly could have knocked around some of the inner ear structure, causing imbalance and dizziness...Other then that, the only other thing wrong is the multiple bruised ribs, and a possibly dislocated rib... =)

I'm still pretty sore and my neck hurts quite a bit. I lost the headache after the massage, but this morning I woke up with it again. All in all, I feel better, and looser, but definitely not quite up to speed. I was really kind of disappointed at the timing of this incident. I have not worked out for about a month now. I got kind of sick for a week and a half, and got a little behind on school. I was slowly regaining health and getting caught up on school, trying to get back to a point where I had the time and energy to work out again. I was ALMOST there...I was planning on starting my weight-lifting routine at school on Tuesday. But weightlifting while you have whiplash just isn't the best idea, in my humble opinion. So...I'm back to...maybe getting ahead of school...and getting lots of rest? Hope so. :)

Up a creek with a frisbee and a dislocated rib...

Prof: "If you find yourslef up a creek without a calculator, and feel compelled to rebuild civilization from scratch, of course the first thing you'd do is to figure out exact values of sine and cosine of 15, 30, 45, 60, and 75 degree angles."

Prof: "You should never roll a cannon on stage unless you intend to fire it."

Prof: "that's good enough for a word problem, which is of course the purpose of life."

Prof: "This is an enormous amount of something. But this is an enormouslier amount of something else."

So...I was playing frisbee yesterday...and ran into one of my blog readers. Literally. I ran into her. Or it was the other way around...one of the two. Regardless of that, she left an impression on me that I won't soon forget. I bascially have a mild concussion. I've got a constant headache, my eyes hurt and won't focus super well, my whole left side is sore, the left side of my neck is swollen and tight...other than that, I'm no worse for the wear.

She, on the other hand...had to go the chiropractor and found out her neck, back, and rib were out of place...and she's got a headache...and a bunch of other stuff wrong with her...if she wants to, she's welcome to bemoan her injuries in the comment section.

I'm writing an argument paper on Global Warming: Or the Lack thereof for my english class...fun topic..but I don't really like writing...

Concealing legally, underage.

I've just deteremined, by looking at Missouri's Concealed Carry Firearm Laws, that I can legally carry and conceal a BB/Pellet pistol at any age, and without a permit. Also, I can carry in any Government building, church, airport, national park, etc, unless said location prohibits "weapons". And, depending on the code they specify, I may still be legally allowed to carry.

Why? Cause Missouri's laws apply specifically to "Firearms".

What is a Firearm, you ask? And how does it differ from this BB Pistol I'm talking about?

According to Missouri Revised Statues, Chapter 571 Weapons Offenses Section 571.010 (August 28, 2008), specifically Section 571.010 (8): "'Firearm', any weapon that is designed or adapted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive;"

and Section 571.010 (15) :"'Projectile weapon', any bow, crossbow, pellet gun, slingshot or other weapon that is not a firearm, which is capable of expelling a projectile that could inflict serious physical injury or death by striking or piercing a person;"

Now, see MRS Chapter 571 WO Section 571.107 for a listing of where you may not carry a FIREARM. The Section gives absolutely no mention to "weapons" or "projectiles" or "projectile weapons". Hence I can only assume that a BB or Pellet Pistol is completely legal.

According to Missouri's Law, I cannot conceal and carry a handgun until I am 23. BUT!!
Missouri law requires a person be 23 years old to obtain a Missouri Concealed Carry Endorsement. Missouri also recognizes CCW endorsements from other states. If a Missouri resident opts to obtain a Utah or Florida OOS (out of state) endorsement those states issue at 21 years of age, and Missouri recognizes those endorsements.

So..that leaves me with multiple years before I can own, carry, and conceal a firearm. Bummer. I guess I'll have to opt for a BB/Pellet Pistol...looking at those...I've got some sweet options.

http://pellet-guns.net/berettapx4stormreconbyberetta.aspx
http://pellet-guns.net/gamopt-80tacticalbygamo.aspx
http://pellet-guns.net/colt1911nickelbycolt.aspx
http://pellet-guns.net/beretta92fsnickelblackgripsbyberetta.aspx
http://pellet-guns.net/berettaxx-tremebyberetta.aspx

I'm liking it.

More in my price range though..
http://pellet-guns.net/berettaeliteiibyberetta.aspx
http://pellet-guns.net/smithandwessonmandpblackbysmithandwesson.aspx
http://pellet-guns.net/crosmanc11tacticalbycrosman.aspx

though after reading some reviews, these guns are better...
http://pellet-guns.net/daisypowerline617xbydaisy.aspx
http://pellet-guns.net/crosmant4optsbycrosman.aspx

and I think this is what I'd get...best for the money I want to spend.
http://pellet-guns.net/crosman1088blackbycrosman.aspx
Or possibly this one..
http://pellet-guns.net/crosman357wbycrosman.aspx

so..yeah. Either of those last two would work. Thanks for sticking with me as I puzzled through the guns...and if you question WHY I'd carry? I personally know someone who was assaulted in a Wal-mart parking lot in the town I live in...he was injured pretty severely. This summer, in a town less then an hour away from my home, 3 people were killed in a church service. Stuff happens, folks. And I'll do whatever it takes to defend my home, property, friends and family. "If all the good guys carried guns, there'd be no hostage situations"...and if you are thinking about all these people in a shoot out equaling lots of deaths? Read "More Guns, Less Crime" by John Lott Jr...

See ya!

Quite Easily Done Sprained Ankle Socialist English Class

Today in Trig, we started learning how to prove and verify trig identities...takes a lot of thought, but I'm getting it. One thing that they used to do in the olden days when they finished a proof like we are doing was to end it with the letters "Q.E.D." Q.E.D. is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "quod erat demonstrandum" which means literally, "that which was to be demonstrated". The phrase is written in its abbreviated form at the end of a mathematical proof or philosophical arguement, to signify that the last statement deduced was the one to be demonstrated, so the proof is complete.

Prof: "It also means 'see, I told you so'..or the letters Q.E.D. stand for 'quite easily done'.."

I was hoping to get the scores back from my latest trig test that I took on Thursday today. But...alas...no scores...oh well..maybe Thursday or next Tuesday..

So...today we were supposed to have a rough draft done for our 4th English Paper. I spent a good deal of time yesterday getting in finished. I walked into class this morning, the teacher asks how many people have their rough draft done. I WAS THE ONLY ONE. So...she promptly POSTPONES the rough draft due date until Thursday. WHAT IN TARNATION does that do for the class? They didn't get the stupid paper done. They should be penalized. Instead they get more time to do the paper, when they had ample time to do the rough draft. It's not even like the actual paper was due. Some of my classmates hadn't even started working on the papers!! Our teacher has scheduled extra time into the semester in case we need more time to finish a paper. That SHOULD be for the actual paper, not a rough draft that you haven't even started. So...While I did my work like I was supposed to, everybody else slacked off. The rest of my class mates use the privilege of that extra time slot, while I suffer, cause I would have used that extra time on a difficult paper later in the semester. I'm not too happy. Oh well, such is life.

Besides that, what does that let the students think? Oh, I can put this stuff off, (whether work or school), cause it doesn't really matter that I actually get it done.

I sprained my ankle yesterday...just some basketball practice in my driveway..and I was done...and I went to kick the ball into the bushes were it "goes"...and I rolled my ankle over the top of it...it was a trick spin kick...should've known better. :p....so now I'm icing it...and it's braced..and I had to forego a lot of my weightlifting today....cause I do a lot with my feet..

A private Math Quoter..

Prof: "Notice there's some repitition here. Notice there's some repitition here."

Prof: "Youbetcha!!!!....that's how you spell/say affirmative."

Prof: "The Earth is FLAT!...locally."

Prof: (while drawing a "right-triangle" with the right angle on the left) "Maybe it's a left-triangle since I drew it over here."

I've been taking actual notes in class now, so not as many great quotes as normal. I've got a test in Trig today..in about 45 minutes actually.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while..been a little busy. :p

I can't wait though for Saturday though!! I'm pumped about the Symphony Concert..and then I got myself and some friends invited to a private Symphony party...;)

Laters...(btw, Maddie..this post is for you. ;)
Si

Steve and Jenny's Wedding!

Steve and Jenny's wedding was today!! Congrats, you two. Jenny looked absolutely stunning, and her hair was breathtaking. Not literally, of course, becuase I'm still breathing..but it looked gorgeous.


Here are some pics...

Like I said...gorgeous hair. And pretty dress, for that matter.

I'm attempting to re-write my English paper now. I wrote a summary on Lance Morrow's "It's Time to Ban Handguns" (TIME 1981) for my last paper. Now I'm doing an analyzation of it. What made it hard was the fact that I have no idea HOW to write an analyzation of an essay. Our rough draft was due on Thursday...so we all brought it in to class...our teacher spent the whole time explaining how to write this kind of paper. Then near the end of class, she asked how many people thought they'd probably have to re-write their paper...everybody raised their hand. I'm not the only one having problems. :p

So...re-writing I am. Gotta keep my grades up. :)

The Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill

So I thought I'd post some quotes from one of my favorite historical figures, Sir Winston Churchill.

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."

"Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb."

"From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put."

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."

"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results."

"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried."

"It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required."

"Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught."

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

There are a terrible lot of lies going around the world, and the worst of it is half of them are true."

When I am abroad, I always make it a rule never to criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home."

"I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter."

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

"The power of man has grown in every sphere, except over himself."

"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."

"There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result."

I gather, young man, that you wish to be a Member of Parliament. The first lesson that you must learn is, when I call for statistics about the rate of infant mortality, what I want is proof that fewer babies died when I was Prime Minister than when anyone else was Prime Minister. That is a political statistic."

"Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into a even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill- designed for the purpose."

"Statistics are like a drunk with a lampost: used more for support than illumination."

"A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen."

So there you go...some of my favorites...I've still got this stinking migraine, so I'm not gonna post anymore..except to ask you to comment on my blog background...what do you think of it? And ask you to vote on my poll regarding Politics to the right of the blog...thanks!

Laters..

Time Traveling Summaries of Handgunning Professors.

More random quotes from my Trig Teacher...

Prof: "I've been told that I write with an accent" (after doing a weird dealy-do with one of his letters...kind of hard to explain, but..)

Prof: "We are getting perilously close to the end of the unit. And as always, at the end of a unit, we have a celebration, also known as a test." (Yah...oh boy!)

Prof: "Let's say I ask you to choose your favorite integer that's at least 20 digits long...Yes, I know that's a nearly impossible request since there are so many wonderful digit combinations."

Prof: "I'm easily side-tracked. I'm always running off on wild tangents...or cotangents."

Prof: "Euclid made a HUGE tactical error when he allowed himself to be born so many centuries early." (For those of you who don't know, Euclid was a mathmatician, lived ca. 300BC, and did a lot of work with proving math formulas and such. In fact, one of his books, "The Elements", is number two on the all-time best selling list, distantly behind the Bible. It has been in continous print since he wrote it, and parts of it are still used today in highschool geometry textbooks.)

Prof: "Croton was on the Ball of the Foot of the Boot of Italy."

In class today, we "time traveled" to several different places, learning about mathematicians like Euclid, Thales of Miletus, Pythagorus, etc...It was actually pretty interesting. I like his approach to teaching, which essentially consists of a lot of stories and history of where mathematical principles came from rather then just an attempt at a rote explanation and memorization of formulas. I like it.

I've got a "blooming" migraine, so I'm gonna stop typing now. Oh, and I turned in another English paper today...it was a summary on the article "It's Time to Ban Handguns" by Lance Morrow, TIME magazine, April 1981. Kind of interesting. I had no idea how to write a summary...so we'll see what happens with that paper...

Another Bluetooth Sermon

Well...I got a new phone, a new wallet, a new driver's license, a new bank account...kind of a new everything. :p

The phone is a Samsung MyShot...it cost 9 bucks with the contract, and I'm pretty happy with it so far. I did some crazy things to get some ringtones on it...Let me preface this by saying that my mom and my sister have the same phone as I do.

For my ringtone, it wasn't too bad. I took a song that I like by Matthew West, called The Motions. I downloaded an audio editing program from off the internet, and used it to edit the song to a 30 second clip of the best-for-a-ringtone sort. Basically the chorus, when he sings it the loudest. So, I get that finished, I put it on my jumpdrive and give it to my bro. He sticks it on his Mp3 Player, which has bluetooth capability.

(Something I forgot to mention, the Samsung MyShot has open Bluetooth. That means that not only can you use the bluetooth technology to connect your phone to a headset, but you can also connect to other bluetooth capable devices, and do file transfers between them.)

So now the ringtone audio clip is on my bro's mp3 player...he then connects the phone and the mp3 player using the bluetooth wireless, and transfers the song from his player to my phone. Now I have it on my phone, and can use it as a ringtone...That's not the craziest thing either.

For my mom and sister...they had songs that they had heard on YouTube that they liked, and wanted as ringtones...That took a little more time.. I found a program online that would convert YouTube videos to any other downloadable format. So I could convert a video to AVI, MP3, MP4, OGG, etc...I took the video, converted it to an MP3 format (essentially stripping the audio from the video, and just using the audio), and then did the same thing I did with the Matthew West song...So now we all have custom ringtones on our phones. :)

Playing Frisbee today...We had some Morman's come over and approach our moms, who were sitting off to the side watching us play. Sam and I immediately ran over when we saw them coming, and talked to them for 30-45 minutes, using our WVA training. Interestingly enough, the two questions they never answered were also the ones upon which their faith was based.
1). Why do we need the Book of Mormon (as opposed to only the Bible)?
2). What makes Joseph Smith so special? (i.e...Mohammed allegedly received visions from Allah...how do we know he wasn't right? Why should we believe a man claiming to recieve visions?)

They skirted both of the questions.

Apparently, when the Apostles and Jesus died, the Christian Church died also...well..it started to fragment, and no one had true Authority like Jesus, or His 12 Disciples. So for hundreds of years, the Church grew farther and farther apart, splitting into many many denominations, and ending up with the thousands of different beliefs and churches that we have today. And apparently, since we have so many different churches, and don't really know which one is the right one, God decided that Mr. Smith needed not to go to Washington, but to go grab some gold tablets, and reveal Another Testament of Jesus Christ to the World (as if the first one wasn't good enough?). (Btw, that paragraph was an summary of what the Mormon Elders told us, not what I believe).

Well, unfortunately...I believe in the Bible that it says that whoever Believes in his Heart, and confesses with his mouth that Jesus is Lord will be saved. You don't have to go believe in a certain method of baptism. You don't have to dress in a suit and tie. You don't have to tithe 11.5% of your net income. There are no rules, no regulations, save that you Confess and Believe. You see, when you base a religion on Morals, or principles that MUST be followed in order to achieve this end, the Salvation of our Souls, eventually someone will get there, and achieve everything. And then you have nothing left save the Pride and Glory of having achieved something great. And that kind of destroys the Faith. The whole basis of our Faith is founded on the fact that Man CANNOT redeem himself, and that he needs a higher power to help him. But God's gift is Free, we can do nothing to earn it. He's offered it to all, and all we need to is accept it, but we cannot earn it. We cannot make God owe us something. He owns everything. It is foolishness and folly to believe that we could ever do something that would either make God give us Salvation, or do something good enough to earn it.

It's a GIFT people. Take it or leave it. But when you take it, don't worry your head about "how should I baptize", "Is it okay to clap and dance in church" or "What REALLY happens to the bread and the wine when it's blessed"...concentrate your thoughts, emotions, feelings, and passion on HIM. Serve HIM. Be ye Holy, as He is Holy.

More later...I'm sermoned out. :p

Good Grades Stolen Weighs Heavily on Phone, Wallet

So...I got a 92% on my first English paper...so I'm tickled about that...



But...I put all my stuff in the locker room at school and went to work out. I spent about 1.25 hours in the weight room, and then came back to the locker room to change...I finished getting dressed, and went to put my phone and wallet in my pockets, and..couldn't find them. I cleaned out the locker, went through all my clothes, went through my backpack...still nothing. So I did it again. And again...



The people at the security office were really nice. I filed a complaint with the school, gave all my info, etc...Then I called the police, and filed a report with them. I called my dad, and he got my phone deactivated. I'm supposed to call the Credit Agencies or whatever, and file a fraud report, so my identity can't get stolen and all...but for some reason the automated machines tell me that they can't put out an alert with the info I've provided...whatever...



So...yeah. That made me 25 minutes late to Math class...The teacher was very understanding, luckily...I think he likes me, knows I work hard, and am always at class on time, and have never skipped...so.....and I got a 100% on the Trig test...so that was sweet....



But even the good grades don't exactly pick up the slack for the disappointment and frustration at losing my phone and wallet...



Laters,,

Strider

Graphs of 6 Question Surgeries

My trig teacher, for the first two weeks of class, always wore navy colored khakis, and a white dress shirt...Tuesday, he came in wearing his navy khakis, and a white dress shirt with STRIPES!

Me: Umm...you shirt has stripes on it...that's really gonna mess with my mind today.

Prof: Well, I don't like to think of them as "stripes"..I prefer to think of them as graphs of parallel lines.

Gotta love my trig teacher..
Okay, so he's telling us about the test (this is Tuesday that he's talking on) we have on Thursday (that's earlier today)...we reviewed for the test during the entire lecture period...and he gave us like 50-60 problems to work out...and told us that we'd have the entire 75 minute class period to work on the test come Thursday....

So I spent hours upon hours studying for this test...I did all the problems he reccomended we do to study for the test, I made flashcards to memorize formulas, etc...I get to class today, he hands us a single sheet of paper with 6 questions on it, and...that was the test. I turned and looked at my classmate, and in total shock said, "THIS is it? I studied for 7 hours for THIS? ...I overstudied"...so, yah, 6 questions, worth a total of 100 points...and I was done in 30 minutes, after quadruple-checking the questions for stupid errors...and...hopefully I made none...I wouldn't mind keeping a perfect score in the class...that'd be pretty tight..

Saw a surgery today...can't tell you a thing about it..but it wasn't too bad...:p

Choir and Orchestra start tomorrow..then the Symphony on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!

Laters..

Prelude in C Sharp Minor

okay, so check out the last song in my playlist. It's Sergei Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C Sharp Minor. It's a little slow at the beginning, though really pretty...but about 2/3 of the way through, it picks up the pace a little bit..it's only 3:48 seconds long, so take the time to listen to the whole thing.

This is the song that I'm playing as a duet with my Piano Teacher in our fall recital...it's...intense. And a little bit difficult...I'm really looking forward to being able to bang it out...it's totally my kind of song.

A Perfect Sextetian Day Care of Frisbee Theory

So, I got a 100% on my first trig quiz. Yipee!!

I played at a wedding this evening with a string sextet. 4 Violins, a Viola (me) and a Cello. Now, really, the instruments didn't play themselves, and I'm not a viola. But those were the instruments used by bipedal humanoids in this wedding. It was an outdoor wedding, and it just about got rained out. It was raining only an hour and a half before the wedding started. But, the rain stopped, the clouds stayed in the sky, and the wedding proceeded. We each got 30 buckaroos, which...really isn't a whole lot compared to what we could make if we played at weddings regurlarly. A String Quartet could charge $800-$1000 for an hour to an hour and a half of music. But hey, I'll take the $30...it's spending money, anyway.

So next week, Orchestra starts full time. I'm pretty stoked. I've got 2 hours of choir, 2 hours of Orchestra, at least one private student, I'm one of the Security Team members, and I'm hoping to be able to teach a theory class. I told the main theory teacher that I didn't want to, but as I think about it more and more, I really can't see myself going the whole year without teaching someone something. I just have to impart the knowledge that God and others have given to me. So...hopefully I can do that..

So, I found out on Tuesday that my English Teacher takes her kid to Day Care in the same building that Orchestra's in, and on the same day. She came by and said hi on Friday...she's not as bad as I first thought...though she does have some quirks and what not...

I'm pretty tired...but stoked (yes, I just used the same word twice in the same blog post..tsk on me) about Frisbee tomorrow! It's been a while since we played, and I can't wait to play again.

Evacuation for a Migraine-Ridden Student

So...no church today for me. As much as I don't really care for our church, I still do like to GO to church...but, this morning, I woke up with a miserable migraine. So...no church, and I slept till 2:30 PM, so that was nice.

And tomorrow is Labor Day, so no live school...I need to catch up a little bit on some school, but it's nice to have a day to just catch up...

Hmm...Gustav is doing some pretty sweet movements out in the Gulf...poor New Orleans. Maybe my dad and I'll go back down to Gulfport and help with cleanup stuff again like we did when Katrina went through..That'd be fun...except the only time we can go is during Christmas break, since I'm in college now...

okay, I just wanted to post again, but I don't really have anything important to say...not that I normally do, but I don't have anything FUN to say..there we go..

laters.

Sandy Chamber Orientational Birthdays.

Yahoo!! I made it into the Chamber Choir!! It really wasn't so bad, and the try-out song we had to sing I had memorized, so...

Next Friday is the Orientation Day for the New Orchestra Year. That's pretty exciting, even though it will bring a lot of changes.

Hmmm...I just realized I'm really tired, sweaty, and sandy. I just got back from playing Volleyball with my college Sunday School class...decent fun, but I'd much rather play frisbee, personally. Anyway, I think this post won't be too long, since I want to go take a shower, and go to bed at a decent hour. It won't happen, but at least I can wish it.

Oh, before I forget, Happy Birthday to one of my good friends, Haylee!! Have a wonderful day tomorrow!

mmm...I've really got nothing else to say, so I'm signing out...ciao.

The Pythagoreans are attacking with Dagmor!!!

Okay, so we won't dwell on my English class, because I pretty muchly don't like it or the teacher, to be honest. Instead...more trig!!!!

Prof: (in describing undefined cotangent terms) "So, the cotangent is out to lunch. That's the technical term for it."

Prof: (after getting sidetracked on a story) "My mind wandered off and rudely left the rest of me behind."

Prof: (while working problems in the text, and deciding to do more then the text asked for) "Let's be trigonometric over-acheievers!"

Prof: (in dismissing the class) "Have a trigonometrical weekend!"

It's funny. The prof gets to class either right on the dot of 10:00, when the class starts, or, like today, he comes in at 10:01. I wasn't exactly expecting a tardy teacher. But oh well. :p

So, today, we were learning about Pythagorean Identities (I won't write them out here, cause I don't want to seem too smart), and he's telling us about the "club" based around a fellow named Pythagoreus Assini (or something to that effect. I'll look it up later and tell you his real name). He was a Greek dude who lived back in the 400 B.C. time period. Real smart, had a bunch of followers. Basically, everybody in his club was very well versed in Music, Math, Science, and Religion. Not much is known about their religious beliefs. Their Science is equally sketchy. Their Music and Math, however, are still with us today.

Math, you know about. The whole Pythagorean Theorem that EVERYBODY learns forwards and backwards in highschool? a(squared) + b(squared) = c(squared). Yah, you know it. Well, that's based on a lot of Pythagoreus's work.

Now, Music. The Pythagoreans developed many of the mathematical functions for describing musical harmonics. Stretch a string tight, and pluck it. It vibrates at x hz. Now grab it exactly in the middle, and pluck either half. Now it vibrates at 2x hz. This is (musically speaking) an octave higher then the full length of the string.

Prof: "So, if y = C, then y/2 = the C an octave above. From C to shining C!!"

You can cut it into any integral fraction (preferably smaller numbers), and a mathematical function will describe it. Well, part of the reason why in one octave we have 12 possible notes (like on a piano), is related to the mathematical functions developed and described by the Pythagoreans.

Prof: "You know what I think of when I hear "Pythagoreans"? Villans on a really stupid Star Trek Episode. You know, like 'Captain, I've never seen anything like it! The Pythagoreans are attacking!'"

Okay, so there's my trig class today, in condensed form. Cliff's Notes, maybe. :p

Choir auditions are tomorrow!! I'm psyched!

Okay, so you know someone is a Lord of the Rings enthusiast when you can ask them "what is Dagmor", and they promptly respond "Beren's Sword"...now...can anyone tell me what "Dagmor" means? In Westernesse, or course.
Or when you ask who said "Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens", and they quickly respond "Gimli!!"

Menger's Principle of Subjective Cellphone Posting

Okay, I know this is a little different, and for those of you out there who don't appreciate the "differences" I bring to the table, there's still time to get out of you browser window.

You still with me? Okay. Now, you are probably wondering what this "different thing" is...some smart people might have already figured it out, but I'm gonna assume that since you are reading my blog, you don't fit in that category. Yes, I just dissed on all my readers. Forgive me.

It's not really all that exciting. But here's what it is..

I posted twice in less then 18 hours.

That's it. That's the different thing I did. Spectacular, wasn't it? And totally not what you were expecting. But you do have to admit, it IS different.

So, exactly a week ago today, I got a cellphone. Unfortunately, the joy at getting a new phone was greatly diminished by a jerk of a sales rep. The fellow basically trashed our phones, calling them "obsolete pieces of junk" and calling us "idiots". If I talk about that guy anymore, I'll lose my salvation. Actually, that's a whole other discussion right there, and one I'd prefer not to go into. Theologians have been discussing that for quite a long time, and I don't see that I could add any insight into the debate. "Losing my salvation" of course, merely means that I would get extremely mad, irate, and think mean horrible thoughts about the jerk, thereby sinning...

Anyway, I'm doing an Economics class in school...and I just learned about Menger's Principle of Subjective Value. Basically it states that "Value is subjective to the person, and changes for each person." So essentially, for any one thing, there can be up to, and exceeding 6 billion different values placed upon that thing. One, and at least one, for each person. Ever heard the saying "One man's trash is another's treasure"?
Apparently our special sales rep hadn't. We LOVE the phones we have...they get great reception, good battery life, etc...we don't text, Facebook, email, or do anything but CALL people from our phones. So why in the world would we want a 200 dollar smart phone? The phones we use, while perhaps seeming obsolete to other people, serve our puposes quite nicely, and cost under $40, with no contract.
To quote my Economics text: "People dislike Menger's Principle of Subjective Value because it is unsettling to think that their way of valuing goods and services is not THE way."

Okay, back to studying. :)

a Rocking Trig Prof

Okay, so I really like my Trig teacher...he's pretty cool...I spent half the class time just writing down his random comments in the margin of my notebook...

Prof: 8 down, infinity to go..

Prof: I'm easily startled. After all, I do write on walls for a living. Well, that's not all I do. I also point at the walls I write on. (speaking of the white board)

Prof: This is the technical manuever known as "the ol' switcharoo"

Prof: "complicated" and "interesting" are just two words synonymous with each other.

Prof: "It turns out that"..."Those are the 4 dangerous words in Math...Big Green Monsters can hide behind those words."

Prof: In case you were wondering, that button on your calculator does NOT mean "iniquity" or "crime". SIN is merely an abbreviation for SINE, a trigonometric function. It's not a sin to hit the button.

yah, so there's some of my prof's famous sayings...they are, of course, much better in real life, but..

So, today...I went to a concert at EU to kick off the new school year. They start tomorrow morning...I'm not going to school there, but I have a really close friend who is...and so 5 of us went to the concert...I set a new record...I stayed for SEVEN WHOLE SECONDS into the first song before I got up and walked out...
1). it was really loud, and I can't stand loud noises being made for no particular reason.
2). It reminded me EXACTLY of a Led Zepplin concert..
3). The Lead Singer introduced the first song as a song he had written about his fiancee, call "your smile" -- I don't know, but personally, at a Christian college, I wouldn't be playing just secular songs on the night before school starts...just seems to set things off on the wrong foot for new students..
4). I live by these two mottos.
a). What Would Jesus Do?
b). Would I feel comfortable with the situation I'm involved in if Jesus was right next to me?
In answer to those questions...
a). I can just see Jesus being introduced as a "man of God, who loves to Rock!!"...yah, not. I'm not sure, but I just can't see Him standing on stage, encouraging all the people in the audience to press in as close as possible to the stage, while loud music is blasted in their ears, and then listen to Him sing about some girl's smile.
b). Personally, I can't sit through something like that. I'm not comfortable with watching what looks like to me to be a LZ concert, and not feel....convicted by it.

I understand that people have different point of views. One of my best friends walked out with me. My other 3 best friends stayed, and loved the concert. I don't have a grudge against them at all. They understand where I'm coming from, and I understand where they are coming from. Well, mostly, anyway. :p...

Universalist Bhuddaism

Okay, okay!! Sorry! I'm posting already....

Okay...so since my last post...I've turned 18 years young. Yipee!! But, you know what? It doesn't really feel a whole ton different then 17. But..oh well.

I'm soooo tired. I've been away from home for 14 hours today. Our first day of Orchestra was today, so I was there from 8:30 till 4:30...then I had to go to a Wedding Rehearsal, where I'm playing in a string quartet. After the Rehearsal, we had a Rehearsal Dinner in the most exclusive restuarant in town. So...that was pretty cool. Especially since I didn't have to pay a penny. :) So, I just got home about 15 minutes ago, and it's 10:40 now. So pretty muchly, I'm bushed...

Okay, Maddie, here's my college situation. I'm dual enrolling at a local community college this fall. I've got two classes. English 101 (Comp) and Trigonometry. My English teacher is okay...I think it'll be a decent class. My trig teacher is...eccentric. Maddie, you'll love this...he names his calculators. His one that he uses for class is "Huey"...cause it's a Hewlett\Packard. His Texas Instruments calculator's name is "Tex"...Anyway's, he's pretty fun. I think that will be a pretty decent class too. Okay...so there's that....

Oh, and here's a story about a couple people I talked to about Religion...

The conversation, as follows, is as near to verbatim as I can recall. Some things are already a little fuzzy in my head, but to my best recollection, all thoughts and ideas are communicated properly.

Chad (just a random person I engaged in conversation) goes to a Free Will Baptist Church...so after we talked about the differences between Calvanism and Armenianism, I asked if he considered himself a Christian...

Chad: yes.
Me: What makes someone a Christian?
Chad: Belief.
Me: Belief? A Muslim Believes...is a Muslim a Christian?
Chad: uhhh..no.
Me: So what makes someone a Christian?
Chad: Belief in God.
Me: Ohhhh...gotcha..so a Muslim IS a Christian...cause they believe in God...
Chad: oh. hmmm...I'm not really sure...

At this point, the Bhuddist fellow sitting on the other side of me joins in the conversation...(I didn't even know he was there, much less listening, much less Bhuddist)...

Bhudda: Oh, it's just a belief in Religion. I'm a religious person. Most people are...See, I follow Bhudda, therefore I'm saved. You follow God...so you're saved. It doesn't matter who you believe in, just as long as you don't go to Hell...It's more like..following an Ideal. Everybody follows the Ideal thats right for them, ya know? And so everybody is going to Heaven, right?

Me: ummm...possibly. But what if you are wrong? What if you live your life believing this Ideal, and you find out when you die that you totally followed the wrong Ideal, and that you are doomed to live at eternity apart from God, in Hell? Okay, now...it's not my job to say "I'm right, you're wrong, I'm going to Heaven, and you're going to Hell"...that's Gods job...but I CAN make you think about what you believe, why you believe it, and if your belief really is logical, or if there is something really quite wrong about it. So, what if you are wrong?

Bhudda: Well, then..I'd say it's a good ride, and I did the best I could. Man, you are a philosopher, through and through!! I present my idea, and you tear it to shreds, make me think about what I believe, and then sit there laughing quietly to yourself while I attempt to piece together what's left of my argument and religion. You are amazing!!! I love it!!!

Me: ...so, a good ride, huh?

At this point, Bhudda's girlfriend (or a girl, anyway), came back, and so he catches her up a little on the conversation we just had...Meanwhile, I go back to Chad...

Me: So, Chad...do you memorize Scripture?

Chad: ummm..a little, but not as much as I should, probably.

(at this point, Chad has an appointment he has to go to...which is really legit. Before we ever started talking about God, he mentioned that he had to be somewhere about this time)

Chad: *looks at watch*...oh hey, dude. I've got to run. It was great talking with you.

Me: So...think about what I've said a little, why don't you? Find out what Christianity is, and then you can really claim to be a Christian.

Chad: Yah, I will. Thanks a bunch for talking with me, dude. I appreciate it. See you around?

Me: No problem, man. Yah, I'll be seeing you.

(Bhudda comes back on-scene, getting ready to leave)

Bhudda: Hey, man, are you a freshman?

Me: Yah, I am, how about you?

Bhudda: Me too!! Dude, I've so gotta talk to you again, you make me think so much!!! So..maybe we can talk again another day?

Me: Definitely man. Anytime you got time.

I did leave out a few parts of the conversation, as related to career choices, and classes that were being taken...I included all I could remember about the actual Religion/God/Hell/Heaven etc part...

CyberKnife blisters.

I had a rotation today at the hospital. I got to see the new CyberKnife in action. It's basically a big machine that uses radio waves to take out cancerous tissue in the body. Pretty cool. The hospital employs two full time phyicists and 2-3 neurosurgeons to plan the procedure. It's pretty cool...
Anyway, I basically got a tour of the hospital..which I prolly could have given myself...but we did get to see the CyberKnife...

I was working yesterday, and managed to get a few blisters while pulling wires through some pipe. So my left hand is pretty sore, and my index finger has a patch of skin that....well, I take that back...my index finger no longer has the patch of skin there...it hurts. a lot. I had to skip my viola lesson today cause I couldn't really play.

Grace, this post is for you, since you check my blog so often.

Ventilator for a random person. 4x a day.

Oh, right. Posting. That wonderful writing exercise which I consistently forget. At least I'm consistent, though.

What is going on in my life? Good question. I'm just working most days with my dad.

I just gave a presentation at our local hospital last week on the subject of Genetic Engineering. The group I'm in, Medical Explorers, was having an Open Forum on the topic, and I facilitated it. That was a blast! The only thing was that I had to study my brains out so I knew the topic well enough to explain the basics of the topic, and to be able to keep the discussion moving along. I spent a good 20 hours over 4 days studying the topic.

It's late. Actually, it's only 10 PM, but that's besides the point. I've not been getting much sleep lately, and I'm being kicked off the computer.

I do have one thing to say. It's been on my mind for some time, and I just need to vent.
During the school year, I go to a college sunday school class. It's great, I love it. During the summer, when all the college peeps are gone, I go to my parent's SS class, normally. I've gone a few times to the Senior High SS class this summer though. I'd never gone, and I wanted to see what it was like. Oh. My. Word. Did you know that the new SS classes are designed for teenagers to hang out and talk for 50 minutes, and to maybe get one partially spiritual point, if they weren't talking during the 3 minutes it was presented in? Yah. That's the Senior High SS class. The teacher (a college aged fellow), begins by asking for prayer requests. This stage generally takes about 6 minutes. After all the prayer requests have been given, the teacher asks if anyone wants to pray. After sitting in silence for 30 seconds, I generally raise my hand, after giving others the opportunity. It's not that I don't like to pray, but since I pray every single time I'm in the class, I want others to have the chance.

After a short prayer, the teacher sits and talks about nonsense for like 34 minutes. He just asks people how their week went, and if they have any cool stories. If you want, you can listen to him, and whoever is telling their story. But if it's a boring story, then by all means carry on a pleasant conversation with your neighbour regarding Maroon 5's newest song, or the baseball scores from the last 4 weeks. After all, it's just some boring story. Sometime in the last 10 minutes, the teacher will open up his Bible, find a passage, and start talking about it. If you care to listen to his 3 minute presentation on How you shouldn't date non-Christians, then by all means, listen. But if it doesn't really interest you, then I'm sure your neighbour would be glad to oblige you by talking about what kind of clothes Ann Taylor sells, or how there's a sale at JC Pennys. After hearing the same point pounded at you for 3 minutes, then you are free to discuss whatever you like for the remaining 7 minutes till class is dismissed.

I'm sorry, but isn't SS supposed to be a place where you LEARN? Where spiritual truths are TAUGHT, and then discussed, so that everyone gets it, and is able to apply it in their lives for the next week, and least, if not forever? since when is SS a social gathering place?
Okay. I've vented. Hope you got something out of it. I'm just glad I got it out. I write so much better then I talk.

For the anonymous commenter, who tells me it's time to post again..here you go.
For the random person who randomly checks my blog for no apparent reason....here you go.
For the first time reader, who likes randomness...here you go.
For the person that checks my blog 4 times a day (you know who you are)....I'm NOT posting that many times a day. Get over it.

Apathetic Food

Hmmm...once again, apathy strikes. I haven't posted once this month. Oh well. I'll fix that now, I guess.

I'm in New York right now. On Long Island. My mom's family is from the New England area. Family Vacation!! For nearly 3 weeks. YEHAW!! The best part is...food. All over the place. We go anywhere, anytime, and if there are relatives around...there is food.

We are about to leave (again) to go to yet another relative's house for yet another barbecue...but that's okay, cause...I like FOOD!! :)

Later...and I WILL post more later. I promise. I just won't say when. :)

Mini Metro Monsters

Worldview is only 3 days away!! I'm *so* excited. I'm dying to go. I've been looking forward to this for nearly 10 months.
I was required to read two books for WVA. The Deadliest Monster by J.F. Baldwin, and a book on Servant Leadership, by Randy Sims. Both were really good books. I really liked the Baldwin book especially. It was very well written, used tons of easy to understand logic, and was fun to read. It's basically an introduction to Worldviews. It talks about the stories of two monsters. Frankenstein and Jekkyl & Hyde.

The basic overview of Frankenstein is that he was created "innocent" and "pure", inherently good, with a desire to improve his life, and other's lives. When he eventually becomes "evil" he blames it on the fact that Society corrupted him. He tried to be good, and others shunned him (for various reasons).

The overview of Jekkyl and Hyde: Man cannot save himself. He cannot be "good" no matter how hard he tries. He will always have some part of him that is bad that he cannot overcome on his own. Realizing this is the key to helping him overcome his bad self.

Every single person in the world holds one of these two views.

1). Man is inherently good, can save himself, and needs no higher power.
OR
2). Man is inherently evil, can do nothing to save himself, and needs a higher power to save him from ultimate destruction.

As a Christian, I hold to the 2nd worldview. Non-Christians, even religious ones, adhere to the 1st.

The thing that really stuck out to me in the Frankenstein story was the fact that Society corrupted him. Okay, think of it this way. Man is inherently good. Society is composed of Individuals (who, keep in mind, are inherently good). When a man/monster/ attempts to do good, Society (which is composed of inherently good individuals) shuns him. As a result, this man/monster is "corrupted" and turns "evil" and "bad". As a result of SOCIETY. Which is, as you well know, composed of GOOD humans. How do Good people end up corrupting a Good person?? You put two goods together, and you should NOT get EVIL. Something's not right here, folks. Makes you think, doesn't it. Now, since I'm not very smart, and logic has never been my strong point, I'm sure someone will be glad to point out any mistakes I've made.

So anyway, looking forward to WVA...

And to playing Frisbee tomorrow!! I'm psyched!! I got some new UnderArmour, thanks to Kathy, Rachel, and Colin giving me gift certificates for various reasons. So I can't wait to try that out.

And...I'm trying to get over this cold thing that has decided to settle into my lungs and immediately develop a mini metropolis.

I just finished my Physics class for the year. I got a 99% average in that...and I've got 2 more sections and a test to go in Pre-Calc and I'll be done with that. And with School!!
I went to a New Student Orientation at the local community college on Wednesday. Boring. Didn't really learn a thing. We talked to a lady in Student Services afterwards, and she answered all the questions that I had. So, I'm going there this fall, and taking two classes. After I get done with the Fall and Spring Semesters, I'll transfer out to one of two colleges here in town. One's a private University, and the other's a State University. I'd rather go to the Private one. :)

Beam me up, Scotty!!

Okay, so I'm learning about light and LASER's in my physics class. My teacher mentioned something about slowing light down to...no speed at all. That's right. Einstein said that light couldn't go faster then 186 282 miles/second. He never said anything about slowing it down though. Of course, it's common knowledge that light passing through glass, water, or other substances will slow down, but Physicists at Havard have now discovered a way to STOP light. And then start it again, with the original speed and intensity. Check this site out.

My Grandma (dad's mom) died this last Tuesday. She was 91 years old. She really was the Matriarch of our whole extended family. Married 66 years to her husband (who passed away last November), she lived a very full life, and is now in Heaven with my Grandpa. I could go on, but I think that this is really the only good tribute to Grandma. Words seem to not be able to convey her spirit.

Prince Caspian comes out on Friday. I can't wait. I'm going Sunday...that's a whole WEEK away. AAHH!! I hope the soundtrack is good. I already want it. :)

The Symphony had their last concert last night. The played a lot of old musicals and pops music. Elvis even came and sang. The concert was called "A Trip down Memory Road." It was a tour of Route 66 and some of the famous places that lie along that road. It was really good...as always. I got invited by the director's wife to a party at an exclusive restuarant after the symphony. Sadly, I had already arranged to go to Steak and Shake with my friends. Oh well. There's always next time.

Back to the study of good ol' Light Amplification of Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Yehaw.

Laters.
J

Mistake!!

I apologize...a few posts back, I made mention of the fact that Luke was one of Jesus' Original Twelve Disciples...that's not the case. In my eagerness to indemnify my role as the psuedo-persona of Luke, I jumped the gun. For those of you I led astray, I'm sorry. For those who were paying no attention, and didn't see what I wrote, shame on you. For those who were paying attention, and didn't bring the fact to life, what's your problem??

Thanks to O for pointing out the problem.

Teenage Mutant...humanoid.

Ach...I'm tired. Always have been. Always will be. I guess I'll learn to live with it. What can I say? I'm a teenager. It's my perrogative to stay up late. Except I break the trend there, cause on a normal school week, I'm up by 6:00, sometimes by 5:00...I suppose I could go to bed earlier...but what would be the fun in that??

I've had two people in the past week ask me the same sort of question. "Why is life so hard sometimes?" My answer, generically:

First, if life was a breeze, how boring would that be?? The thing that makes our lives exciting (beyond the fact that we live to serve our Creator God, and honor Him with everything we do) is the ups and downs of everyday things. The stuggles (fill in your struggles), the fun times (fill in the fun times you've had recently), the heartaches (losing loved ones, or whatever else you can think of that would fit here....like knowing me :D), the joy of serving others, the love we feel in our hearts towards our friends. All of these things make life what it is.

The key is to be content whatever happens, knowing that Christ will give you the strength to press on. Look at what Paul has to say:

Philippians 4:11-1311 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Second, Seek to please God. To do that you must have faith.

Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

I think it was John Wesley* that once said something like this: "If I know that tomorrow will be a long day, and will cause me much anxiety and stress, then I purpose in my heart to rise one hour earlier, to thus spend more time with my Dear Saviour, who gives me the strength to get through the day." Wesley had the right idea. Sure, getting up an hour earlier cuts off an hour of time when you could be sleeping. I mean, if tomorrows a long day, then you go to bed earlier and sleep as long as you can, right?? But sleep wasn't the important thing to Wesley. Yeah, you need sleep, but when it comes to the end of a day, and you are tired, even with sleep, it's gonna be God that keeps you going with a right heart attitude, not your tired, angry self.So, to wrap up, whatever you do, do it to God.
Paul:
Colossians 3:23, 24
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

*I'm really not sure who said this..if any one knows for sure, let me know. And remember, it's an paraphrase of the actual quote.

Okay, now that I've got my preaching in, I'll move on to other things. I wouldn't want my readers to be bored. =)

So..the reason I'm tired...well, this weekend has been a little hectic. On Friday, the orchestra had a performance. We got to play on stage where the city Symphony plays. That was cool. We were playing for an all-town high school orchestra competition. It really wasn't competing against any one else, just against ourselves. Remember what I've said about Federation?? Lots of stress, really important? Let's just say that this performance far exceeded the importance part. This was the biggest performance of our year. It wasn't really stressed as that until the day of, and then everybody found out that this was a really important performance. We did really good. There were 3 judges. The highest score possible was a 1 (that = an A, and a 2 = a B...and so on). Out of the 3 judges, two gave us 1's, and the other gave us a 2+. So we did pretty good.

On Saturday, we worked at a college garage sale. Basically once this specific college here in town gets out for the summer, they go through all the dorms, clean them out, and sell all the clothing, books, and things of that sort that they find in the dorms. Last year, over $11,000 was brought in. And they really don't charge a lot for the stuff. I got some really nice name brand sweaters with the tags still on them for $2 each. The thing is, they bring this stuff by the truck load into the rec center where the sale is gonna be, and dump it on the ground. Books, makeup, purses, jeans and coats all in the pile...Then all of it has to be sorted. Clothes by size, shoes by size and pairs, books by genre and type, etc...I leave that to the ladies. I sorted books for several hours, just cause I like to organize things, but mainly I went to the dorms and helped haul stuff away.

Saturday evening, my two younger sisters and I went to Arts Fest. It's a...you guessed it!! A Festival of ARTS!! Yeah. Anyway, 3 or 4 of the younger orchestras and 2 of the choirs played and sang at one of the performance areas. After we played, we went out to eat at Braums, then came back downtown to hear the city Symphony perform their annual Symphony Under the Stars pop concert. It's a free concert, and really is a blast...but this year, it was really cold once the sun went down.

Today, Monday, I did the exact same thing as I did on Saturday. Except I stayed there all day, instead of just most of the day. And tomorrow, we go back to finish up. Wednesday, the sale opens to the public. If you live close to town, and you know where "town" is, let me know, and I'll get you directions so you can go to the sale.

Okay, I'm typed out, and I want to go to bed. I'm sure you are quite tired of my random ramblings by now. I don't blame you. Until next time, Khuda hafiz.

J

ACT your age, you Graduate.

I got my ACT scores back this last Wednesday. I received a 32 out of a possible 36. I was happy. Elated. Pysched. Exuberant. Shocked. Dumbfounded. Praising the Lord.

The 32 means I'm ranked in the top 1% of students in the State and in the US who took the ACT in April. It also means I can most likely get another $2000 per year if I go to MSU or DU. Plus I'm now eligible for the highest academic scholarship at MSU, which includes room/board/all tuition paid and access to the a special Library and entrance into the Honors Society. But...they only give 40 of those scholarships out per year. I'm actually really hoping to be accepted into Drury. I'd rather go there than MSU. We'll see. I'm going to apply to both schools. In case I don't get the full ride at DU, then I can go to MSU and get all my tuition paid for even if I don't get the Presidential Scholarship (the highest award).



Oh, I'm exhausted. This last weekend was the SHEM Convention. SHEM stands for Southwest Home Education Ministry. Basically, people from all around the country come to sell their respective cirriculums and talk to new homeschoolers about different ways to teach their children. There are speakers that teach on different things, from Creation Vs. Evolution, to the meaning of Classical Education, how to help/teach children with learning disabilities. There was nearly 100 vendors that came to sell and promote their homeschooling tools. The convention started Thursday evening, and went until Saturday evening. To allow the convention to run smoothly, there had to be volunteers, of course. And I love to help at stuff like this, so I volunteered. I knew what it would be like, since I had helped last year.



All Thursday afternoon, vendors came and unloaded vans, trucks, and trailers. And guess who was there to help them unload and set up their booths?? The Pages, those special people that have a heart for service. I'm not boasting here. Yes, I'm one of those people, but I have a deep sense of respect and appreciation for all the other pages and volunteers who made the convention possible. It's not a one or two person job. It takes many, many people to make something like that happen.



Friday evening, after the vendor hall had closed, SHEM hosted its annual homeschool Graduation. 12 young people graduated, including one of my best friends, Sam. The Play His Praises Homeschool Orchestra and the Sing His Praises Homeschool Choir both participated in the graduation. The Orchestra played Pomp and Cirumstance for the graduates as they walked in, and played Fanfare and Frippery No. 2 as they walked out. The Choir sang It Is Well right before the Speaker addressed the audience, and sang a benidiction/prayer/the seven-fold-amen right after the parents had finished giving their young adults their congratulations.



That's a really cool part of the Graduation. You get to hear the parents of each of the graduates come and talk about their child for a couple of minutes. Charging their graduate to keep following the Lord, and to continue in the way they were trained. Often, the parents would read scripture, or relate some time in the graduate's life were they reached an important milestone in their faith.



All that to say, I'm bushed now. I kind of wished I'd had a pedometer while I was at the convention. I would have really liked to know how far I walked. It was several miles, I know. I've never had such sore legs. Oh well. I'll get over it.

Focus, Dude!!

My extended family just left. We had a really fun time while they were here, but I hope it doesn't kill me in the next few weeks as I try to make up school that I've missed while they were here.

We went to the Dixie Stampede, Bass Pro Shops (the obvious stop for any out-of-towners from the East Coast), and went out to the S-'s to shoot the .22. They had never shot a gun before (at least the kids hadn't), so that was a new experience for them. I thought it would have been really funny to let them shoot the .22 and tell them that's about how much kick an average gun has. Then give them a 12-gauge shotgun and let them shoot that. And video how far backwards they fall. :)

I took my cousin Max to the Knight's track meet. I figured that'd be the only chance to introduce him to some of my friends. Poor thing, having to meet of all them. I think he survived, though.

I didn't get as much time this week to be in the Bible as I would have liked. I struggle with some things, and if I don't focus on God, then I very quickly get down and depressed. I hate it when that happens, and I end up getting angry at other people too. But hey, at least I realize I am acting like the way I am, and I know what the problem is, and how to fix it. The Devil's sly as anything, and he'll take any opportunity to snatch your heart, thoughts, and mind away from God. And trust me, it doesn't take very long for me to get irritated when I'm not focusing on God.


Nothin' can wash away my sin
Nothin' can wash away my sin
Nothin' can wash away my sin
Nothin' Nothin'
Nothin' but the blood of Jesus

Nothin' can make the devil run
Nothin' can make the devil run
Nothin' can make the devil run
Nothin' Nothin'
Nothin' but the blood of Jesus

Nothin' can bring me peace with God
Nothin' can bring me peace with God
Nothin' can bring me peace with God
Nothin' Nothin'
Nothin' but the blood of Jesus

Nothin' can lead me to your throne
Nothin' can lead me to your throne
Nothin' can lead me to your throne
Nothin' Nothin'
Nothin' but the blood of Jesus

Nothin' can make your people one
Nothin' can make your people one
Nothin' can make your people one
Nothin' Nothin'
Nothin' but the blood of Jesus
~ Chris Rice

Birthdays are Symphonic, and the evil Demon, Stress, is not.

This past week, two of my best friends had their birthdays. Happy Birthday, Josh and Owen!! You're one year closer to Jesus!! :) Oh, and I think this Thursday is Holly's Birthday. Happy Birthday to you too...I can't remember if you read my blog or not, but I think some of your sibs do. And if they don't, they need to. :0

Last year, so of my friends went to a Leadership Camp, called Worldview Academy. It's a camp where you can establish what you believe, based on what the Bible says, and learn about other worldviews. Once you've ascertained what you believe, and you've learned about what other people believe, and the potential problems with their worldviews, then they send you out in teams to talk to people on the college campus that you are living on. You take what you've learned in lectures, and try to get people to really think about what they believe, and why they believe it. All too often, people believe something only because they've been raised that way. And once they are forced to start thinking about why they believe it, questions quickly come to their mind. So this camp is to make sure you aren't a "christian with a biblical worldview" just because you've been raised that way, but to make sure that your faith is really YOUR faith, and not just what your parents have taught to you for years. The nice thing is that the staff there don't just say, "this is what's right and true, believe it or you are wrong." They show you what the Bible says about important issues, and leave it up to you and what you've learned from your parents to come to grips with what you believe.
Now, everything I've just written above is what I've heard about the camp, either through the website, through promo vids from the staff, or from my friends that have gone. So if anything is not accurately portrayed, it's my fault, cause I probably misunderstood something. Once I get back from Worldview, I'll be able to present a much clearer picture of what WVA is about. Anyway, the camp is the first week in June, in Warrensburg. I'm pretty excited about it.

I went to the Symphony Concert this past Saturday with a bunch of my friends. The guest artist was amazing!! His name is David Kim. He is the Concert Master of the Philidelphia Orchestra. He played Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, and oh my word, he was incredible. I would pay a lot of money to hear him again in concert.
The Violin Concerto was three movements long. Now, if you've ever been to the Symphony, you know that you aren't supposed to applaud between movements of a song. Well, after the first movement of the aforementioned concerto, when Kim had really had a chance to show off his skills (which are sweet), Ron (the conductor) ended the movement with a flourish, and turned around. Well, he usually does that only at the end of an entire piece. So everybody started clapping, and ended up giving Kim a standing ovation. Quite possibly, Ron might have meant for that to happen, since the first movement was so good. But the problem was, that the audience proceeded to clap after every movement after that. So they clapped after the 2nd movement of the Tchaikovsky, and then after every movement of the Brahm's 4th Symphony. It aggravated me to NO END. At one point, I thought the audience had been cured, and there was about 5 seconds of silence in between movements of the Brahm's. But then, just as I turned to my friend in silent approval of the...silence, people started clapping again. AARRRGGGHH!! :) oh well.

I've got a test in every subject this week. Plus I have the ACT this Saturday. And I've got family from Connecticut coming on Saturday evening. Stress cometh quickly. I must go back to fending the evil demon off. Farewell, and prayers are appreciated. Later.

Ahhh...Catch up, quick!!

My word. It's been forever since I posted. Sorry.

I think it's funny, though. I get 70-80 hits on my site every week, even when I don't post.

In case you haven't noticed, I got a new play list. It will automatically play the songs when you load up this page. It doesn't have as many songs as my previous player (which I still have on the page) did, but you can see and select any song at any point in time on this new player. Most of the songs are Christian genre, of course, but I do have a couple that aren't. The first two are by a couple of artists I found while searching for music on project playlist. I liked them, so I added them. :) And I happen to really like Josh Groban's voice, so I added a couple of his. Hymn to Red October is from the movie, Hunt for Red October, starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin. An excellent movie that I highly reccomend. The only caution is the language, which really isn't too prevalent.

Okay, on to other things. Unfortunately, I received a 4 in my piano solos. So that means I have 44/45 points I need for my 3rd gold cup in piano. *sobs* But, hey, I like performing, so it'll give me the wonderful opportunity to memorize a full length concerto and perform it next year. Yipee. :/

Our church had a Easter Production that I was involved in. I played the part of one of Jesus' twelve Disciples. Only Peter, James, John, and Judas were actually named, and had speaking or definite action parts, so I don't know which disciple I was supposed to represent. I decided I'd be Luke, who was a doctor, since I also want to be a doctor.

We had two performances, one on Saturday evening before Easter, and one on Easter morning. Our Saturday evening performance had about 250ish people there, which is quite a good turn out, I thought. Sunday morning had 700ish people, so again, not too shabby.

Hilary, I don't know why you sometimes faint when you are nervous and your knees lock. I just know that it happens, and that I didn't want it to happen to me. :) I'll look it up when I have a little more time, and post the answer.

One of my best friend's sister, Rachel, got married this past Saturday to another one of my best friend's brother, Colin. Yeah. Get those families all intermarried, and make it confusing, why don't ya. :) If you want to see pictures, go to my sister's blog. But here's a picture on my blog, just so you can see who it was and what they look like. Jessi's got like 8 pics on her blog, I think.

This Saturday the Symphony performs...I can't wait. It's been too long since the last performance. Like, a whole month.

We have family coming down from Connecticut in 10 days. I don't know if they read my blog or not, so I won't say anything else about them. They are a wonderful family, have 3 great kids, and have never come down to visit us. Hehe...we'll show 'em what it's like around here. Show 'em how real hillbillies live. Van bench on the front porch and all.

Okay, back to school. Post later. :)

Happy Anniversary

So I missed my 1st anniversary of my entry into the blogging world. Oh well. I've been blogging since the 5th of March, 2007...time goes by quick. I think I've posted once every 6 days on average...I'll have to try and increase that this next year.

I performed my choir solo today...I didn't think I did too well, but apparently I did, cause the judge came up to our choir right after we finished, and told our choir director that I had "stolen the show"...I guess that's a good thing. :)

But, I must say, God should get the glory in this case, cause even with my head and sniffles, I was able to sing all my parts, where previously I hadn't been able sing them very well. Praise the Lord. I was soooo incredibly nervous. The only thing I could think about was "don't lock your knees...cause you'll pass out and fall over in a millisecond if you do." So I just be-bopped to the song and really got into it. :-)

So now all I've got to finish out with music is my piano solos tomorrow...that I still don't have memorized...so, instead of blogging, I bid you farewell. Until another time.

The Ultimate Viewpoint

Our world is very interesting. Take for example, a person. We will call this person MaryAnn. From person A's perspective, MaryAnn is a ultra-conservative, elitist, shy kind of a person that is rather socially awkward. From person B's perspective, MaryAnn is neither elitist or shy, definitely not socially awkward, and by no means ultra conservative.

But both people could be telling the truth. Let us assume that both are correct. All the things mentioned DO apply to MaryAnn in every way. They also DO NOT apply to her in any way. Go figure.

"It depends on the situation," you might say. Well, perhaps, but it could also depend on the point of view of the one viewing.

So we've discovered that depending on what sticky situation a viewer is in, the view will change. Interesting....meaning that while short skinny people would call you fat and tall, Tall skinny people would call you short and fat...and while some may say I play the piano well, when looked at from the viewpoint of Chopin's abilities, I am a lowly beginner. So we also see that one does not have to adopt the view from their own sticky situation, but can also adopt the view of an entirely different persona, even one which is not even alive.

Also, if viewpoints depend on the situation, then are inherent character traits and vices really non-exsistent?? Since viewed from one way, they exist, and viewed from another, seem to disappear, then perhaps evil and good do not exist.

Ah, but we must factor in the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omnicient, God. Relativity finds it's stable base in the all-knowing viewpoint of the One who can be in every sticky situation and adopt all viewpoints at all times. So while the world viewed from our any human eye could potentially be classed as neither good nor evil, with no absolutely correct viewpoint, we discover that one must attempt to adopt the viewpoint of God, a nearly impossible feat, since one cannot know everything, see everything, and be everywhere at once.

But of course, this God knows that, and has provided a textbook outlining His viewpoint, providing a stable base from which to relate the rest of the world to. Even human eyes, viewing the world from this God-given text, will start to see the world through God's eyes, and will begin to change their own viewpoint to match that of this God. When viewed from an eternal perspective, their own sticky situation becomes negligable, and one can focus on what really matters.

The Cross of Christ.