Nineveh

It is amazing to me how these incredibly wicked people accepted and believed in God so quickly. Perhaps we need to be a bit more forward in our message of salvation at times? People just need to hear the truth....the Holy Spirit clearly can take care of the rest.

Jonah 3:5-10 NASB

Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.  When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered  himself  with sackcloth and sat on the ashes.  He issued a proclamation and it said, "In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water.  "But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands.  "Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish."
  When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do  it.

How powerful is our God!

To witness the events that took place on that day would, in my mind, create such an unshakeable, solid, absolute faith in a almighty God, whom Elijah served, that one would never be tempted to worship the gods of the lands again.

1 Kings 18:34-39 NASB

And he said, "Fill four pitchers with water and pour  it  on the burnt offering and on the wood." And he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time. And he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time.  The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.  At the time of the offering of the  evening  sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word.  "Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and   that  You have turned their heart back again."  Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.  When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God."

They weren't so different back then

Tonight's reading was interesting. Take a gender below at the bit I want to bring to your attention.

2 Samuel 11:4-6 NASB

David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.  The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, "I am pregnant."
  Then David sent to Joab,  saying,  "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David.

David did not concern himself with the matter until Bathsheba told him she was pregnant. It was probably 2 months past by then! David must not have had a very strong conscience....I can't imagine living with that guilt for that long.

First successful blog post in a long time! Woohoo!

Android app check

I'm hoping this app will encourage me to blog more. Test.

pond

pond

pond

So....you think you have it bad at work?

Today was brutal. Last week and the week before had days even worse. heat index's one day were 117 degrees.

Now some people might say "oh ya well the middle east gets up to 120-something everyday!" Well they DO NOT HAVE a heat index there (usually). Dew points are usually low enough they are negligible. Here our dew points have been 70+ degrees, even touching 80 degrees one day.

Then others still "well I worked inside a house without A/C". Or the somewhat common "my car doesn't have a/c" blah blah blah

Check these pictures out. Today only topped out at 94 degrees IIRC which has been faily common as of late. However that is just the official temperature reading taken at the airport. Temperatures at other places in the city will vary.

I took some thermal measurements with a infrared laser thermometer accurate to within +/- 2 degrees.
























Here You can see this piece of cardboard laying on the patio of the construction site we are at. Its sitting in the sun and the temperature is 140.3 degrees F.



















Here is a quick shot of the stone patio itself. Temperature readings were anywhere between 125-140 degrees depending on where you took it. This is what were walking around on all day by the way.



Want to grab that hammer-drill? Better think twice about it as the handle is 137.7 degrees F.



Here's the hottub we helped install early this morning. Shaded all day. That's right...111.9 degrees in the shade on this patio.



Want to use that circular saw? Be prepared to wear a glove or endure some pain. 135.3 degrees F.


So at 111.9 degrees in the shade (where the heat index is measured) with a dew point of 70 (which was our dew point at the time these pictures were taken) gives a heat index value of about 122 degrees. Since the heat index is calculated in the shade, add at least another 10-15 degrees for how it feels when your in direct sunlight. Another thing to think about is that this patio we've been working on has wind breaks on all four sides. Meaning we don't get that nice cool (or hot) breeze.

At this heat level, you sweat so much that you really have to constantly be drinking. I can easily go through a gallon worth of water/gatorade/etc in the afternoon.

This guy

"The police often question him just because they find him interesting. His beard alone has experienced more than a lesser man's entire body. His blood smells like cologne."

"He's been known to cure narcolepsy just by walking into a room. His organ donation card also lists his beard. He's a lover, not a fighter, but he's also a fighter, so don't get any ideas."

"His charm is so contagious, vaccines have been created for it. Years ago, he built a city out of blocks. Today, over six hundred thousand people live and work there. He is the only man to ever ace a Rorschach test. Every time he goes for a swim, dolphins appear. Alien abductors have asked him to probe them. If he were to give you directions, you'd never get lost, and you'd arrive at least 5 minutes early. His legend precedes him, the way lightning precedes thunder."

"His personality is so magnetic, he is unable to carry credit cards. Even his enemies list him as their emergency contact number. He never says something tastes like chicken. Not even chicken."

"People hang on his every word, even the prepositions. He could disarm you with his looks... or his hands. Either way. He can speak French... in Russian."

He is....the most interesting man in the world.

And yet

I wanted 2ft of snow so I could be in harsh weather and be one of the few able to get around,
And yet the landscape is covered in a beautiful blanket of white and everyone can still get around.

I heard something at noodles last night that made me do the "facepalm-fail" thing,
And yet it reminds me that my Grandparents are move loving and caring than I.

I have a long way to grow in, well......essentially all of the fruits of the spirit. How does one go about growing in such a way? How do you become more gentle, more faithful, more peaceful, more loving, more joyful, more kind, more goodness (grammer?), better self control? Its interesting that as I look at the fruits of the spirit, It's Immediately apparent that I will need them all equally.

To become more kind and loving, I will need more patience and self control. To become more joyful and peaceful I will need more faith. So on this Saturday, I am starting my day by praying that my faith will grow, and that I have more self control over my attitude and how I treat my interpersonal relationships.

Then, just maybe, I'll find the rest of that fruit.

All of my non-blogs

I would say I actually publish about a third of the blogs I write. The other two-thirds get pushed into the following categories:

(my thoughts upon completing it)
-Well....this blog is cool, but its not that cool
-Hmm I think if i post this people will get offended
-If i post this, people will want to argue the subject and I just don't feel like devoting more time to researching my point, and backing up my claims, even though I know I'm right.
-Only a handful of people read this, so this research and topic matter is pointless to post here. It provides information on subjects that those who read this have no interest in. Perhaps better to post elsewhere

What % of blogs do other people not publish?

Why Taleah is so awesome.....

Let me just say I have the most awesome girlfriend.

-She understands when I'm so hungry that I can't even hold a conversation. (it happens a lot lol).

-She understands when I'm super stressed because of school/work/whatever.

-Logical reasoning skills are found in abundance in her. (something I failed to encounter in most girls I've dated)

-She cares about what I care about. I tell her things about cars often and she pays attention and likes learning! (ok sometimes i can ramble a bit and I'm sure that gets boring.....but most of the time she likes to learn about car stuff)

-We share very similar views on a lot of things. Which is pretty great!

-She at least samples the cookies I make, even if I burnt them and they would make good charcoal briquettes.

Just a few of many, but its the little things that count. (even though some of these are big things).

Goodnight :)

about the warnings...

Wind chill advisory
Wind chill warning
Heat advisory
Heat warning
Union College's notice to students that they will get frostbite in 10 minutes

What do all these things have in common?

Let me ask anyone that reads this a question:

-If it were hot outside, and you stepped outside, would you not know that you felt hot, and should be careful about how hard you exerted yourself? Or would you need the government/other institutions to warn you about it first?

-If it were cold (like now) would you not realize this upon stepping outside? At the 10 minute mark would you look down and suddenly say to yourself.."aw crap I'm getting frostbite". Or after 30 seconds of SUBFREEZING EXPOSURE would you not think "gee it sure is cold outside, I should really get inside where its warm".

Thank you American government/institutions/colleges, because the average American was just not loosing common sense at a fast enough rate before.

The best Christmas ever

This Christmas was the best one ever. Let me tell you why.

I love severe weather. Usually its because I love driving and playing in it, which, consequently means most other people don't so i can have the roads to myself. This Christmas, over a 48 hour period, we got over 12 inches of snow with blizzard condition winds. For a good part of a day visibility was below a 1/4 of a mile.

It was so bad in fact, that I actually was blocked on our street by all the snow. I had to call my dad so he could clear a lane with the bobcat so that i could get home. The snow drifts were over 2ft deep!

The storm continued to blast us, and it snowed our road shut. We had to dig a path with the bobcat to get out temporarily, and it would drift shut only a few hours later. Nothing, other than our snowmobile was getting down our streets.

So I was stranded at home. The best place to be stranded! We had food, a warm fireplace, a snowmobile, a bobcat, and each other. I got to spend some quality family time, and enjoy a little R&R. Snowmobiling was one of the most fun activities, followed by hot tubing.

Saturday we ventured out into the City. I'm not going to lie it was awesome! None of the idiot drivers were out. No one with a little car (non AWD type) was out. All the bad drivers were either wisely staying home, or already stuck in a ditch/side street/etc. We got to enjoy driving around looking at all the beautiful drifts and snowy fields without the "man I can't believe I'm stuck behind this clown" or "what a dumb@$$" thoughts.

Today, sadly, I have to report the idiot drivers have returned to Lincoln's streets. People with their FWD/RWD cars that, when the light turns green, and their tires start to spin, only press the gas peddle harder........right. That will sure help you go! People that pull out into traffic, only to realize that they cannot accelerate fast enough to stay ahead of everyone and force everyone else to panic stop. People that do 20 mph in a 40 mph zone when the street is completely plowed and clear, once again, causing a traffic clog.

Overall this was definitely the best Christmas ever! I can't wait until the next storm! I hope it drops even more snow!

on the bandwagon!

So I know I've been to at least 13 of these places. I honestly cant remember whether or not I went to Versailles or not, so i left that out.

Now....PLEASE OH PLEASE LET ME GO TO MORE OF THESE PLACES!

For the ones I've been to:
Most beautiful: Florence
Most boring: Metropolitan museum of art...hands down. Easy decision :D
Most lethal: Amazon rainforest haha

my phone

my phone is trying to sabotage my life True story.

Here's a list of why:
-Sometimes it won't receive calls or texts for hours on end, even when its on. Why? No idea. Honestly. Just now (12:30 AM) I had two texts show up that were sent hours before. Apparently its a long journey for it to get to my phone.

-It won't let me send texts to Taleah's email account sometimes. IM NOT JOKING. Seriously....today i showed her because it sounds so ridiculous that i wanted to prove it. I can send to my email just fine (or other people's email for that matter), but sometimes the phone says "cannont send to email" when i try to send it to her. If anyone out there doesn't believe this, or thinks "that's ridiculous, he must be doing it wrong" I do not blame you in your feelings. That's exactly what i would think if someone else were to have said this. You'll have to believe me.

-My phone cuts out a lot during calls. Doesnt drop them, just goes silent for very breif moments

-Sometimes when I'm typing a text (not with T9 because T9 sucks) instead of hitting a button 3 times to get one letter, I'll hit it three times real quick and wind up with 3 random letters from that key. Its weird. I can't explain it.

-Sometimes it restarts itself. This one I'm guessing is possibly due to dirty battery connections. I need to clean it. Although my last phone did this all the time, and i know that one wasnt the battery....hmmmm

off the grid

Its warm outside. A hot sunny summer day.

"where will you go?" I say.

"I don't know. Somewhere they can't find me." He says.

"Where would that be? They can probably find you anywhere...." I reply.

"No I'm pretty sure they won't look that hard" He says.

(I wonder if he ever will leave, or is just all talk)

Now its a mostly cloudy day. Windy. Late fall.

The company vehicle is returned. Keys, credit card, and radio all accounted for on the passenger seat. Everything is in order.

The house is sold. (when did that happen?) The new owner says "I have no idea where he went. I closed on this house a couple weeks ago".

Phones are dead. No forwarding number. No two weeks notice. All items purchased, were done so with cash.

Just, simply, gone.

"He finally did it. He did what he always wanted to do. He's finally off the grid." I say to myself.

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
The sun shine warm upon your face
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand

People....

I don't know where to start. Why do so many people I know (acquaintances, not friend....i can't really be friends with people like this) blindly believe whatever they hear about new products on the market? Do they enjoy throwing their money away on useless products? Do they not care they are essentially being scammed?

If it in anyway resembles a pyramid scheme you can be about 99.99% sure that your getting ripped off. Why? Pyramid schemes are NON-sustainable business models. That means the guy at the top realizes he's gonna eventually have to pack up and disappear. Why pack up and disappear when your selling an honest product that has a good customer base?

People are SO STUPID! sorry I have to rant. Why oh why do snake oil salesman continue to thrive? All these car products, nutrition products, anti-aging products, special water, exercise gimmicks....they are BOGUS!

-Octane boosters: More or less useless for this purpose. You'd be better off buying two gallons of 100 octane unleaded and mixing it with your regular gas, for the price of that fancy "octane booster".

-Gas mileage increaesers: Completely a joke. 100% no doubt. Don't buy anything related to this.

-Special high antioxidant drinks with flashy names and vitamins: Eat a healthy diet rich in fruits and veggies and this will do nothing for you. Its sure not worth its price, and your body can only make use of so many antioxidants at once. its like taking emergen-C. 1000mg of vitamin C? Your peeing out 3/4 of that at least. Good job on more money wasted.

-magic magnets making you live longer, not get airsick, ect: Again 100% fake.

-"Magic" water that is absorbed better because of its ionic properties or whatever other claim: If you took general chemistry in college you already know this is ridiculous.

-Get ripped in 10 mins a day for 6 weeks: If you expect to look like the guys/girls in these pictures, then you = fail. Maybe you could get ripped in 6 weeks if you were on powerful steroids and growth hormones (like the people you see in those pictures). Otherwise, getting cut and bulked at the same time? Good luck...


It's come to the point where I won't even argue a point with hardcore fan boys (and girls) of these products. In fact I usually say "good for you. We'll see how this works for you then". Then whaddya know, 3 months later they are not using said product anymore, but don't really feel like admitting its because they know they've been duped.

The point here is this: THINK FOR YOURSELF AND DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOUR SPOON FED. Also taking a basic course in biology, chemistry, physics, and marketing, will help you recognize bogus things.

*This rant made possibile by an acquaintance on facebook claiming how he's venturing into the buisness aspect of essentially being a snake oil salesman. Of course your product is legit.....sad thing is there is plenty of dumb people out there who will believe you*

88

Just got my Mechanics test back, 88%. Class average was a 60%!!! Yikes! High score was a 90%. The one question everyone missed is ridiculous. Its very arbitrary and vague on what it asks. Hopefully we'll get a scale....which *crosses fingers* would put me above a 100! (since he'll likely scale it to a 75 if he does scale...)

Topic change. I saw God today. In the youtube comments of dawg*** (name partially concealed). I think I was ADD for a reason. I think Kutless's "I lift my eyes up" came on pandora for a reason. And I think I need to take my own advice :) Point taken J.C.


peace!

good luck

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