A Pound of Thoughts

Update - 3:07 p.m.: I only have four words to say:  “Mahmoud, you’ve been pwned.” 

I’ve noticed that the blogosphere has been unusually quiet this morning, despite the fact that Iranian President Mahmoud “Iwantajihad” Ahmadinejad is speaking in our good ‘ole U.S. of A. today.  For a run-down on some of the things he said, go over to Fox News.

There’s a big debate going on whether or not we should have granted him access to our country and given him the “right” to speak to us, the American people.  Well, my opinion is dual-sided.

We have an obligation as the host country of the United Nations to give him a visa to access the UN headquarters.  So our hands are pretty much tied there.  However, giving him access to our National Press Club and the students and faculty at Columbia University is a much stickier situation.

I somewhat agree that he is privy to free speech; that is, the right to say what he has to say on our soil.  But, we also have a right to seriously question him, his policies, and his intentions regarding his foreign policy and humanity.  He is the president of a country that harbors terrorists, so therefore we should treat him with a lot more caution and scrutiny than any other foreign president.  Plus, he’s vowed to wipe Israel off the map, which to me is an overt threat to the national security of Israel and, by extension, to our national security.

Plus, he says that the world needs to build a better future “based on peace and security of all humanity,” and he spoke of a world full of love, kindness, beauty and allegiance to God as the ultimate goal.

“No one should prevent love and kindness from flourishing in mankind and turn it into hostility,” the Iranian president said. “Family is the center of love and beauty.”

 If he truly believes this, why is threating Israel?  Why build nuclear weapons?  Why oppress millions of his own constituency?  I’ll tell you why.  He doesn’t believe what he’s saying.  He’s speaking with a forked tongue.  He’s only trying to appeal to the left-wing liberals in this country who take what they see and hear at face value, and don’t look beyond the surface.

 I bet tomorrow we’ll hear of some Dhimmicrats saying, “You see?  Ahmadinejad is not such a bad guy after all.”

 God be with us in these troubling times.

You’ve got to make a conscious choice every day to shed the old - whatever ‘the old’ means for you.

Sarah Ban Breathnach

This couldn’t be more true.  This goes along with Scripture;  Paul said it this way:

I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

–I Corinthians 15:31

What does he mean by this?  Does he mean a physical death?  Well, of course not.  He means that he dies to himself daily.  He allows his wants, his needs, his desires, to become extinct.  He “sheds the old” daily.  Our habits, fears, anxieties, anger, etc. of the current day must “die” before the next day.  It’s a hard thing to do (God knows that I don’t do it), but it’s something that we as Christians must do if we are to be effective for God’s kingdom.

So before you get started today, make sure that you “put off the old man and put on the new”.  (It doesn’t necessarily have to apply to new Christians!)  God bless!

In my weekly watching of Law & Order:  Criminal Intent, I saw a very interesting commercial.  It was for something called TV Big Shot, a web site where you can set up your own virtual network.  You start with a “budget” of $300 million, where you can purchase your own TV shows (from existing shows on the five major networks).  If you have the most points at the end of the season, you win $100,000.

I’ve set up my own network, called the “Dawg Pound Network”, or DPN for short.  Do you think you can run your own network?  If so, go set one up!

Update (4:20 P.M.):  As if one test wasn’t enough, I took it again through another website.  Guess what?  I’m still an ISTJ.

  I got to reading this post over at Kat Coble’s place, and I couldn’t remember what I tested as…Well, I’m officially an ISTJ.  I must say - it fits:

When their skills at maintaining the structures that they believe hold up society fall short of achieving the security they are striving toward, ISTJs become tired and weary. If the stress becomes overwhelming, ISTJs become immobilized and cannot fill the responsibilities that they consider necessary for rightful membership within their community. They become incapacitated by concerns of a bankruptcy. ISTJs may then further increase their attention on the details of the situation that is causing them stress. This sometimes results in accusations by those around them that the ISTJ is becoming over-demanding, irritable, inflexible, and impatient with others.

Fearing the breakdown of a trustworthy system and dreading becoming an outcast, the ISTJ may feel like energy is being drained from their bodies. Fatigue will set in and it will be exacerbated by a loss of sleep and of appetite. Depleted of their resources, ISTJs will be unable to meet many of their obligations or fulfill their duties to their work and to others. Not being able to fulfill this basic need, the ISTJ becomes further stressed and almost incapacitated by listlessness —making it all the more difficult be responsive to others.

Careers:  This lists represent careers and jobs people of your type tend to enjoy doing. The job requirements are similar to the personality tendencies of your personality type. It is important to remember that this is not a list of all the jobs possible. And it is very important to remember that people can, and frequently do, fill jobs that are dissimilar to their personality… this happens all the time…and sometimes works out quite well.

management
accounting
auditing
efficiency expert
engineer
geologist
bank examiners
organization development
electricians
dentists
pharmacist
school principals
school bus drivers
file clerk
stock broker
legal secretary
computer operator
computer programmer
technical writer
chief information officer
police officer
real estate agent

So…What personality are you?

impassible \im-PASS-uh-buhl\, adjective:
1. Incapable of suffering; not subject to harm or pain.
2. Unfeeling or not showing feeling.

Origin:  Impassible is from Late Latin impassibilis, from Latin in-, “not” + Late Latin passibilis, “passible; capable of feeling or suffering” from Latin passus, past participle of pati, “to suffer.” It is related to passion, which originally meant “suffering” but came to apply to any strong feeling or emotion.

Source:  Dictionary.com

Man is the only animal whose desires increase as they are fed; the only animal that is never satisfied.

Henry George
US economist (1839 - 1897)

Today’s word of the day is especially fitting, today being the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.  Our thoughts will be plangent today as we remember those this country - as well as other countries - lost.  My heart and prayers are still with the families who still grieve for their loved ones.  May we never forget, and may we never surrender.

plangent \PLAN-juhnt\, adjective:
1. Beating with a loud or deep sound, as, “the plangent wave.”
2. Expressing sadness; plaintive.

Origin:  Plangent derives from the present participle of Latin plangere, to beat, to strike (noisily), especially to strike the breast, head, etc. as a sign of grief.

Source:  Dictionary.com

How beggarly appear arguments before a defiant deed!

Walt Whitman
US poet (1819 - 1892)

Quote of the Day:
An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.

–Elbert Green Hubbard

Well, the first half of my wife’s Praxis test went well, I take it.  However, she did say that the test admins were very slow and didn’t know what they were doing.  She had to report there at 7:30 this morning.  She said the test didn’t get started until 8:30 as a result of them being newbies.  Murphy’s law.

After the first session, we left for home (which is only 45-50 minutes away from UM) to drop off some stuff from our trip to Gulf Shores.  We were able to relax at home for about an hour and a half. She had to report back to Univ. of Mobile at 2:15.  We got there at 2:25.  We anticipated that the afternoon session would run late based on this morning’s performance.  Hopefully it won’t run too late.

I’m ready to get back to the cottage.  Tonight is my night to cook;  I’m fixing up gourmet hamburgers and Johnsonville brats (pronounced “brahts”).  Yum yum!!

Later on I’ll post a photo of the spread.  It won’t be as big as it was last time, but it’ll be just as delicious!!  Until later…