Category Archives: Blog Babble

William in Kanji

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I was fooling around today and found a couple of sites that will translate given names into Japanese kanji.  One site said that the name William can be written in kanji like this:

生伊利安夢

Supposedly this means the following:  life – noble, king – clever, advantageous – peaceful – dream.  I guess this means I spend my life peacefully dreaming that I am a clever king.

Another site said this:

6m 3m129m181m

The first kanji in your name means Be, the second means Will, the third means Reason and the fourth means Safe.  I take this to me the following:  “Will is reasonably safe.”  Or maybe: “Be safe and reasonable, Will.”

The funniest of all (I could not copy their image since they wanted $10 for it!) told me this:

The kanji used to write your name mean:
Having    Ideas    Reason    Asian    Warrior       
(You are a mighty Asian warrior who has many great ideas and understands the ways of reason.)

Perhaps it would better read:  “I have the idea that I am a mighty Asian warrior who understands the ways of reason.”

Anyway, it was a fun way to kill about 20 minutes.

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Pastors and Blogging

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In the past, some have wondered why I, as a pastor, blog.  This post is an attempt to answer that question.   The reasons are many, but allow me to list a few.

1. Over the almost four years I have blogged, my blogs have been viewed over 300,000 times.  Blogging allows me to reach a wide range of people, many of whom never attend church.  Some may come to read a personal reflection, a funny post, a movie review, or to view a photograph, but more than a few of these visitors stick around and read some of my writings on faith as well.  Blogging allows me to share my faith.

2. Besides being a committed follower of Jesus, I am a person with a wide range of interests and hobbies.  I am an amatuer photographer and potter.  I am also a voracious reader, lover of all types of music, and an avid film buff.  Blogging allows me to share my interests with others.  And very often I am able to find connections between these more cultural interestd and my own faith.  I am reminded of a phrase John Wesley used:  ”plundering the Egyptians.” As Rich Tuttle writes on his blog (and I hope he doesn’t mind my pasting most of his post here:

One of the coolest concepts in Methodism is “plundering the Egyptians.”

The day Moses set the Israelites free, an ironic twist took place. The Israelites had the audacity to ask the Egyptians for jewelry and clothing…and the Egyptians obliged (Exodus 12:35-36). The last part of verse 36 is great: “so they (the Israelites) plundered the Egyptians.”

The father of Methodism, John Wesley, used this phrase as way to express the importance of using the best of what culture has to offer to grow in knowledge and faith. Wesley made himself aware of current events, recent scholarship, scientific discovery, medical breakthroughs, new technology and pop culture by reading, listening and being available. He thought it was essential to know what was going on around him so that he could grow in knowledge of God’s truth. Scripture was always primary and essential for Wesley and that’s why he was not afraid of “contamination” by the cultural “texts” in which he engagned. Wesley gleaned everything he could from the best of the culture around him because he believed God could speak in more than one way. Wesley “plundered the Egyptians” without fear, because he did not have to question the source of ultimate and timeless truth.

As a Methodist, I will proudly carry on Wesley’s practice of “plundering the Egyptians,” not just for the sake of relevance, but because I believe God can and does speak through the cultural “texts” of today.

3.  During my time blogging I have met many wonderful people and have developed more than a few friendships that would have never been possible without this particular form of communication.  While my friends and I may disagree on various issues and even faith (and who has friends that see eye to ey with them anyway),  my blog has allowed us to dialogue with one another and develop a sense of comaraderie that I value greatly.

Now I realize that not every visitor to my blogs will appreciate everything I write or post.  But as a Christian and a blogger, I have a few guidelines for myself.

  • Never break confidentiality when writing a post.  Nothiing ever told to me in confidence will ever be shared on my blogs.
  • I will try and expect any commenters on my blog to try to maintain a civil and courteous level of discourse.  This is especially true when dealing with more controversial issues.  While we may not agree on everything, we can certainly be civil in our disagreements.
  • While my blog reflects who I am in a larger context (after all it is about faith, culture, technology, photography and life), I always hope that my own faith in Christ is ultimately is visible in what I write.  This is not to say that every post will be religious in nature, but that when taken as a whole, it will be apparant that my blogs are written by someone with a deep commitment to my faith in Jesus.

So there you have it.  A few reasons why I blog and some guidelines for my own blogging.

To everyone who visits this blog, or one of my other blogs, I say “Welcome, and I hope you will find something of value here . . . perhaps something to deepen your own faith, or something to make you ponder an issue or concern, or maybe a little something to make you smile. “

Will

My Car Model – The Second Most Ticketed on the Road

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2005-2007 Scion tC photographed in USA.

Image via Wikipedia

From Lifehacker (see link below)

ISO Quality Planning, a company specializing in helping insurance companies identify risk, has compiled a list of the most heavily ticketed vehicles on the road, and lead feet everywhere can check it out.

The group analyzed traffic data on 1.7 million drivers and established the probability of a driver of a given line of vehicles being ticketed. The Hummer and Scion tC dominated the list, receiving 463% and 460% over the average, respectively. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Jaguar XJ sedan and the Chevrolet Suburban attracted a mere 11% and 16% of expected tickets. Given that both the Hummer and the Jaguar are high-cost vehicles, it flips the idea that a huge price tag automatically means more police attention.

Gee . . . 460%.  Behind only the Hummers.  Well, at least for me, I have not received a ticket in my Scion (knock on wood) during the one year I have owned it.

Links:

Which Cars Draw the Most Tickets? [MSN Money]

Most Ticketed Cars on the Road [Cars]
Jason Fitzpatrick
Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:00:00 GMT

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The Year that Just Won’t End

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From the Associated Press:image

With a brutal economic slowdown, 2008 may feel as if it will never end. Now the world’s timekeepers are making it even longer by adding a leap second to the last day of the year.

Along with the economy, the Earth itself is slowing down, requiring timekeepers to add an extra second to their atomic clocks to keep in sync with Earth’s slightly slowing rotation. So an extra second will be tacked on to Dec. 31 after 6:59:59 p.m. and before 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

That extra second will make 2008—already long with an extra day on Feb. 29—the longest year since 1992.

The decision to add an extra second was made by an international consortium of timekeepers, whose American arm announced it Monday. World commerce and digital technology depend on accurate to-the-second timekeeping, said Geoff Chester, spokesman for the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, responsible for one-third of the world’s atomic clocks.

The longest year since 1992.  I knew it!

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Way too Busy

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I just noticed that is has been some time since I posted anything on my blog, and by now some of you may be wondering if I plan on maintaining this blog or or not.  Rest assured that I plan to, but this last week has been consumed with the ordinary church work common to any pastor, as well as much moving of furniture, cleaning, and painting.

I will post some more later about the specifics of all this, but for now let me say that I am once again on my own in this great big world and in the church parsonage (except for when my lovely daughter Desiree is with me).  This is the case because last Wednesday Jim and Joy Jannotti and their two girls moved to their new home:  the parsonage at Temple UMC, about 10 minutes away.  For the past five years we shared the parsonage which is my home, and we ate almost every supper together during that time. It was nice to be a part of an extended “family” of sorts, and I know my daughter loved the relationship she developed with Kristin and Amy (the Jannotti girls).  So it was sad to see them leave in many and most ways.

I can only think of two things I won’t miss about sharing the parsonage with Jim.  These are:

  • Jim droppings . . . As many of you know, Jim is a part-time rural postal carrier, and one piece of evidence that Jim is around is the plethora of rubber bands that one finds laying around the house and on the driveway outside.  The day will come, though it is not yet here, when this sure sign of Jim’s presence will finally disappear.
  • Jim also has what I would call an aversion to shutting kitchen cabinet doors and turning off lights when he left a room . . . particularly at night.  I have no idea why this is the case; I only know that many were the times when I would go into the kitchen and find the majority of cabinet doors open after Jim had just visited the same.  The was also true when I would venture forth from my room at night after Jim had retired for the evening . . . most times the lights in the rooms he frequented would still be on.  Why?  I have no idea.  It was just one of those things.

Of course, I say this in fun.  I really do miss the Jannotti family.  I miss picking on the girls.  I miss Joy and Jim’s cooking.  And the list of what I miss could go on and on.  I thank the Lord that the Jannottis are only a few miles down the road, and I can visit them whenever I like (providing they let me in, of course).  Also, I am sure that Jim and Joy both have their own lists of things they won’t miss about me . . . lists much longer than the two little points I make above.

But one of the consequences of their move is that I now have the whole parsonage to myself, and this means moving things around.  Every room in the house has changed, and in some cases I have had to move stuff up and down two floors as well.  I have ripped out old carpet (discovering termite damage, which will have to be repaired), cleaned, and started the process of repainting most the rooms.  I have organized all (and I do mean all) of my books into fiction and nonfiction categories, and further, I have shelved them alphabetically.  I will be doing the same with my music and movies over the coming days.  This, along with my regular church work, has all been a time consuming and very tiring process, leaving me little time to post to this blog.

In addition to all this moving stuff, I have also welcomed a new kitten into my home that Desiree wanted.  Her name is Emily and she is about 8 weeks old and very adorable (pictures will be forthcoming).  She is also incredibly irritating . . . wanting to play constantly.  In addition, she does not yet know how to handle her claws, and I bear the marks on my hands and arms to prove this.  Luckily, she does use the litter box, and after a few days of mutual wariness, she and our older cat Melody seem to be getting along.

So, there you have it . . . a few of the reasons this blog has been unusually quiet.  Hopefully the noise level will return to normal soon.

The Question of the Day . . . On Unwanted Facial Hair

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I know that this has been remarked upon before, but I just want to know why it is that since I am now over forty, hair is sprouting out in places I do not want it to . . . nose hair that develops and grows overnight, hair in my ears that tickles, and eyebrows that grow like bamboo.  I guess I shouldn’t complain given that the hair on my head is still there, but still, I have to ask:  why would God do this to us.  And no, none of the pictures below is of yours truly. They are there merely for illustrative purposes.

vince-vaughn-nose-hair-watch

1 Long Ear Hair[2]

long_eyebrows

This Just In!!!!

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From the blog Do You Like to Cook:

December 16. This is a very special day. Mark your calendars people!
For today is the day that all chocoholics in America anticipate and celebrate with glee.
It is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day!

Break out those chocolate bars, grab a pint of your favorite chocolate ice cream, get out and buy a tub of some chocolate sauce. AND GET COVERING!
(If you aren’t in America, I’m sure it is OK to join in the festivities. I won’t tell…)
See article.
Index Rss&itemLink=http%3A%2F%2Fwww Liketocook Com%2F50226711%2Fnational Chocolate Covered Anything Day

National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
Sun, 16 Dec 2007 11:04:17 GMT

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