ragamuffinsolo's Xanga

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:24:06 GMT

So as most of you know, we've recently moved to Houston... since moving here, I do a lot more of two things 1.) driving & 2.) walking. Driving is really the bane of all of our common existence in Houston and the common faceless and nameless enemy that we all battle. I have only a 20 minute drive to my office each day, and people respond with "Wow, that's close!" I think in my head "I used to drive 5 minutes. THAT was close." Daily, i threaten drivers that need to be "t-boned". I also used to get frustrated when i had to park somewhere other than the lot next to the student center. Now, i'm happy that i can park on the 7th level of the parking garage instead of the 9th before beginning my 10 minute walk to the office or in the garage next to the student center at rice compared to the football stadium.

We all are having our moments of culture shock here and there with traffic and child care and walking the dog and on and on. At our new apartment, we have to pick up after Bailey does his business or get fined $50. Yesterday while Jen was walking him, he got diarrhea Awesome. Living on the 3rd floor is an adjustment too, but i'm getting more in shape.

I'm loving the students and loving the opportunities and loving not having to drive 84 miles for civilization. Houston is great.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 13:41:37 GMT

this picture says it all. happy b-day livvy.

Random thoughts

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 17:53:48 GMT

So, when I went to NYC last fall, I tried to get show tickets for several shows like the Daily Show, Conan, and the Colbert Report (a show that kind of mocks O'reily and other fox news shows). About a month ago I got an e-mail notice that I'd gotten tickets for the February 14 show. Of course, we just don't have the funds to jet to NYC for one night... though it would be awesome, just not feasable. So I made sure to watch it last week, and who is the guest? The greatest Tour De France champion in all of history, Lance Armstrong. Unbelievable. I was nearly brought to tears to know that I'd missed the show, but also a chance to really meet an all time great. I know some of you think his faith and all that is really messed up, but if you know my love of the tour and my respect for watching him ride for 7 Julys and dominate. Heck, I even went to one of the big parties to celebrate with all of Austin. Alas, that is probably as close as I'll ever get. (you can see some great lance footage including the interview at the link for Colbert and maybe a little tear will trickle down your face as it did mine that day.)

I've also decided to get more serious about losing weight, so I started the South Beach diet a few weeks ago. It's really amazing that you can change your diet and lose weight so drastically. Just actually thinking about what I eat regularly has been the biggest change. This diet was created by a heart doc, so I thought i'd see what other results it has. I know most people reading this have already gotten tired head and moved on, but I've gotten some great results on top of just losing weight. My blood pressure has dropped, and hopefully my cholesterol has dropped too... A few weeks ago I helped out with a state BSM retreat room, and as my reward I got a $50 gift certificate to Pizza Hut. Neat. Give the fat guy trying to lose weight Pizza Hut.

I'm excited about the #3 lady jackets playing basketball this weekend! Olivia and I will be front row with our faces painted!

I'm really also excited about Vanderbilt Basketball. Some great videos on You Tube here. Beaten 4 ranked teams this year. Cinderella? I am painting my face for that one too... Remembering the glory days of the great Will Perdue and C.M. Newton.

Good movies I've seen lately. (I know I'm late on most of these... The Departed (violent and language, but best Leo movie I've seen) United 93 (I've never had my heart race like it did at the end of this movie), and Joyeux Noel (french movie about how 3 armies called a truce during WWI for Christmas... amazing, moving, powerful story about humanity and peace vs. war)

SNOW DAY!

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 17:42:12 GMT

I don't really have anything cool or provacative to say today, but here are some photos of the fam in the fifteen minutes we actually spent in the snow last wednesday. Enjoy!

i love technology... but not as much as you.

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 12:52:26 GMT

thanks for all the musical suggestions. I think I downoaded at least one song from all of the groups that were suggested! most of the suggestions seem really mellow... is this a suggestion that i no longer rock? i downloaded a little franz ferdinand and modest mouse too... i know they're not as unknown or indie, but i've been curious a long time

i am truly addicted to technology, and i've been glued to g4tv this week watching the consumer electronics show. i welcome all of the technology age and the ease that it brings to life. this past weekend we embraced tech in a new way by welcoming a robot into our family. i know that some of the techno-phobes out there are anxiously waiting for these to turn the world into some sort of matrix feeding off of humans or terminator apocalypse in which all of the gadgets in our home will unite against us in an unholy war, but i read an article in wired that will help protect me against a robot revolution. I will ride a bike... no technology to be overridden, carry a metal pipe for self defense... again no tech, wear a flowing coat to disguise my size, and welder's glasses to prevent being laser blinded. All of that is a subject for another day...

For mine and Jen's joint Christmas present, we couldn't really think of anything we really needed... years past was some furniture pieces and a tv. This year we got a roomba for our home. I named ours "rosie" after the robot maid in the Jetsons. With one punch of a button, Rosie can clean a whole room thouroughly in about an hour and get under all of the furniture we can't get a vaccum under. I cannot emphasize enough how great this is for everyone. I had coupons and gift certificates from christmas that made it more affordable, but it is worth every penny for those who hate vaccuming. I love it b/c it frees all of us to do other stuff while she cleans our carpets and potentially plots the robot apocalypse.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 15:08:35 GMT

i have 35 free songs from i-tunes. any suggestions? i'm kind of at a musical crossroads.

2006 In Review...

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 17:18:45 GMT

The year is still young enough that i think it's appropriate for me to post a best of 2006 blog...

Best family moment: Welcoming Olivia Grace into our lives! April 19 has forever changed mine and Jen's lives for the better

Best tv:

Lost. If you're not watching, what's your excuse? Seasons 1 & 2 are on DVD and the 1st six are on i-tunes for this season.
24. Gets better and better.
The Office. finding it's own niche in the USA version
Veronica Mars. Witty and interesting tv... sometimes cheesy and predictable but so is CSI.

Movies?
Our movie intake this year has been really low! We thought we'd be the couple going to see movies all the time after having a baby, but truthfully we've really sunken low on movie watching! I'm sad to say this, but we've had just as much fun hanging out with baby at home. It won't be long before we get through this screeching stage to taking her to an occassional kid's flick.

Some I liked in no particular order... Nacho Libre, Talledega Nights, Thank You for Smoking, Pirates of the Caribbean 2, the Spiderman 3 trailer...

I know i still need to see Little Miss Sunshine...

agree? disagree?

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:54:00 GMT

I've refrained from posting on fantasy football b/c i know it induces a lot of tired head, but I've really ridden a wave of emotion this year from the bottom to 2nd place in two different leagues. It's my one addiction that I allow myself during the year, and no other sports like baseball, basketball or hockey. Just football...

All of my prognstication and hopes and facepainting were dashed this weekend as i watched all of my quarterbacks tank. I had 2 QB's score a total of 4 points. Ugh. I dreamed all season of a championship only to see it drift away in one weekend of horrible qb's. Maybe next year... Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers, Carson Palmer I hope your playoff ride lasts longer than the one that you gave me last weekend.

in other news, for those who don't have my flickr page bookmarked, i updated with more pics last week!

Friday, December 08, 2006

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 18:00:51 GMT

I wrote this letter to my favorite magazine, Wired, in response to this article. In case you don't want to read the article, it was a story about the "new atheism" that said there is a new strand of agressive atheism that says that religion is bad and atheism will lead us to an ultimate place of peace and tranquility. It was really interesting to me, but it really raised some questions in my mind, thus the letter.

While I appreciate the attempt to remain intellectually honest, I see a lot of intellectual dishonesty happening through the discussion of the atheistic worldview. To assert that all religion is evil and responsible for evil is very easy to do in a post-9/11 world where radical Islam takes the front page and Christianity is attached to a political view instead of a deeply held belief. To also assert that science and logic will lead us to an age of ultimate good and peace is also dishonest, since we have seen what it has brought us in advances of modern technological sciences to more efficiently kill people in warfare. The truth is that religion has been a catalyst for good in society, and without it there would never have been a Gandhi, or Martin Luther King, Jr. or the societal reforms that was motivated not from a scientific, logical point of view but a religious one that taught non-violence and peace brought true change. Imagine if one could live by the "Golden Rule" what kind of true transformation of could happen...

Andrew Dennis
Brownwood, Texas

I got a response back from them a few weeks ago and was pretty excited to think that they might actually publish my letter in the magazine. Instead, I got an e-mail telling me that the response was too overwhelming and that they are publishing everyone's on their website. I was underwhelmed.

There is only one response to my brief letter, and here is is...

Name: David Frank

Well, you really cherry-picked your religious exemplars. Why not James Dobson? Maybe you can explain the Golden Rule to the Orthodox Jews, fundamentalist Christians and Muslims who rioted in Israel recently to drive a gay pride march off the streets of Jerusalem

For some reason, I can't post on wired's site... so here's a response.

Why not James Dobson? Because he has not led a whole country to major societal reforms based on his religion. The truth is that each of the world's religions has a "golden rule" in some form or another. You really cherry picked your example as well. We could go on and on with examples of atheistic and religous worldviews that cause violence and pain. I cannot explain why they rioted in Jerusalem, but I can say that if they practiced a "golden rule" maybe it wouldn't have turned into a riot.

NYC

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 15:45:54 GMT

Here are a few things I learned from visiting New York City...

Staying at a hostel in harlem is safe
I cannot walk beside moving subway trains and look at them b/c I'm drawn to them as if I might walk into it.
You can actually unzip your pants and put your hand down there with only a few giggles from tourists like me and no one will acknowledge it.
If a homeless person asks for $.40 in the Village, and you give him the change you have, don't expect a real joyful "thanks" at the end of it; instead expect a scowl as you cross the street.
If the same homeless person is seen in the subway 30 blocks away and mutters something unintelligible to you and holds up his hand, the proper response is to hold up yours and recieve his high 5.
If you are in a Mediterranean restaurant and the cook asks you 5 times if you had shishkebab and responsds with "it's not ready yet.", what he really means is "We don't have any shishkebab."
If you tell an Indonesian pastor on a train that you have a headache, he will punch you in the shoulder and laugh.
Indonesians like cowboy music and cowboy bands. ... And make sure you visit their homes on an empty stomach.
When sharing your faith in the Hostel, be prepared to have a working knowledge of Cain and Abel, Job, baptist history, and the DaVinci Code.
Know that if you are with me in NYC, that I am a tractor beam for weirdness... so every weird person will want to talk to you too.
If you see the Saw Lady playing her magical, musical saw in the Times Square train station, take a few moments to enjoy the music and her expressions.