Friday, March 31, 2006

torn rotator cuff

no, i didn't tear my rotator cuff. the title is more a silly little way to denote that it's generally a difficult task to rotate people out of the link list. but, steve, you're out. kendall, you in from the bench. but, if you don't produce, you're right back to the bench. steve, it's nothing personal. it's just that kendall has posted 14 times since you last did. now, some people, like myself, may get all nutty and do that in 3 days. but, this has been over a month.

in other news, i took the online test to get on jeopardy last night. hopefully, i'll hear from them soon, when they let me know that i need to come to l.a. and take part in the next stage of the contestant process.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

random thursday morning post

good to see that jill carroll was released from captivity in iraq. now if we can just get the country released...


and, in a study to be released today, turns out alcohol doesn't help your heart. of course, i'm sure this will be followed by another study saying the opposite. you got to love it.

just heard a radio commercial featuring jeremy piven. he was supposed to be a dad driving his kids and they were talking about the air freshener in the car. how do you end up doing that? successful as "that guy" in tons of movie, now has hit it pretty big as a part of the hbo show "entourage", now doing voice work for glade?

i'm about to watch the movie spy game for about the hundredth time. something about this movie keeps bringing me back to it. heather would say that i'm just in love with brad pitt. this is untrue. i do admire his acting credentials, and his ability to end up with some of the hotttest stars world wide, but that's not why i keep watching this movie. i think it may go relate to the assassin/spy conversation held on adam's blog a while back. or, i may just like the movie, think that the catchers mitt that is redford is a good actor, and yes, think brad pitt is good too. although, at one point in this movie, he has some horrendous hair.

looked at some interesting shoes this morning.

justin may really like this one. i did.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

update: iraq = important, me = not so important

here's an interesting quote:

“The Ministry of Defense requests that civilians do not comply with the orders of the army or police on nightly patrols unless they are accompanied by coalition forces working in that area.”

from baghdad burning. read the whole story. that is, if you're interested in the perspective of someone who is actually living through that "situation" there.





ed health update:
saw the dr. today. no, not dr. dre. dr. laramie. nice guy. he wasn't able to really harp on me about my bp, mainly because it was in good order. (stoopid dr.s with their charts that tell history. let it go already. sheesh.) so, he checked out my plugged up ears. yep, there's fluid built up. but, since my cold and post nasal drip are pretty much gone, he didn't prescribe anything for that. he did prescribe me this little nose inhaler steriod and some allegra d. unfortunately, our insurance has decided that it no longer covers things like allegery meds or stuff heartburn stuff. so, they won't pay the preventative cost, but will pay for related surgeries. smooth. so, i couldn't get my allegra covered. but, the good people over @ the medicine shop let me know that i could just substitute and otc allegry med, like the ones now offered by claritin and such. and, i've already got some of that, so that's $ saved. just had to pay for the nose inhaler. so, if i fly off the handle at you, in a fit of anger, we'll just call it 'roid rage.

on a funny/odd side note, heather's dad was in the waiting room when i arrived. both heather's parents, and her maternal grandparents go to this smae doc. i wonder if i recommended him to them? i know scott recommended him to me.

vegas details

yeah, it's quite away off, but the details are set, at least for heather and i.

we're flying out on united,

- Departing Flight on United from Fresno (FAT) on Thu, 06/08/06, 2:40PM
Departs Fresno (FAT) 2:40P, arrives Las Vegas (LAS) 4:05PM
- Returning Flight on United from Las Vegas (LAS) on Sun, 06/11/06, 8:31PM
Departs Las Vegas (LAS) 8:31P, arrives Fresno (FAT) 9:53PM

staying at the riviera hotel, thursday through sunday.

our good friends, the woody's, are staying at the new frontier. when i set up my deal, they didn't give us that as an option. it wouldn't have mattered, there is no way heather would have stayed there. you should have seen how big her eyes got when i told here that the woody's were, and that we could possibly. so, i wasn't sad to hear the options were circus circus or riviera. i choose riviera. it at least sounds classier. and their website is pretty nice.

if you want to schedule a trip of your own, i recommend hotwire for flights and hotel. they've always given me the best deals. they tell you who you're flying, so you could line up the same united flight (that is, if you're leaving from fresno), but they don't tell you what hotel until after purchase. that sorta stinks, but the star ratings usually are pretty accurate.

Monday, March 27, 2006

friday night pics + 2 others


i took this picture to show off me wearing the shirt with roses, sitting next to heather. unfortunately, i didn't do a very good job of lining up the shot.


"becky, i'm going to eat your ear like it's a funion"


adam & eleanor. now, she's from miami. miami proper. but, she didn't regale us with any lines from horatio. "the only thing with jurisdiction here is...the fire"


adam has the frontal view of this photo on his blog right now. two pictures of kendal looking awkward while eating a taco.


today, i filtered through a year's worth of bills that i hadn't put away. sorted and filed.

Sunday, March 26, 2006

oooh, something new

well, not really.

but, tonight i am going to do something that i haven't done in a long time.

i'm going to go paint. for at least an hour.

later.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

the teacher said what?

so, i missed this story in my local media a few weeks ago. a friend mentioned it to me over the last weekend. unfortunately, he had most of the details wrong. granted, he had only heard a news brief, but still. so, i finally got to looking for the story.

i'm all for telling the truth, even when it hurts. for instance, you can speak about whether or not MLK Jr. plagiarized some of his doctoral work. It has been proven. but, the university that granted his doctorate didn't find it significant enough to revoke the doctorate. they attached the proper sources. although, i still find it troubling, but as a student, i know the temptation to not always give enough credit in a paper.

but, if these comments are true, "Dr. Martin Luther King plagiarized his speeches and that is what he should be best remembered for," or
"You colored kids and you dark-skinned kids should be bused to the South Campus because you do not have a work ethic or want to be educated," you need to be removed from the classroom. i don't mean in a golden handshake way, i mean you need to be fired.

and, i've printed a copy of the article from the fresno bee for my friend so he can have the whole truth.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

germany 06 (or 4-1 as the case was today)

this didn't surprise me.

really, the germans are under intense pressure right now. and, the us was going to be playing without several key players.

but, i think this will be a eye opener for any on the team that assumed they'd just walk into victories.

game on u.s.
game on.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

v for vendetta

so, we went to see the movie sunday afternoon. now, i loved it. i eat that sort of film up. i kept thinking, man, i wnat to get this on dvd and watch it over and over and figure out all these different lines and aspects and subtlties of the film.

so, we get out to the car and i ask heather what she thought. "it was kinda boring."

and thus, the difference between us.

high school french

i was reading a comment on nick blog (who's now in my sidebar) and saw a word that i occasionally say.

in fact, i said it the other day around some of my student athletes. they got a laugh out of it. i was referencing another driver on the road.

anyway, back to what i was saying. i read this word in a comment, and it brought me back to high school french class. you see, most of us aren't very mature in high school, let alone now. so, imagine our enjoyment to learn that douche is shower in french. yeah, this is awesome for a high school boy. i'm sure that i told several of the girls in class that they needed a shower.

and people wonder, upon learning that my wife knew me in high school, why she didn't like me at all.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

dates for your calendar

here's some important dates coming up for me, and maybe you.

april 7 - heather's birthday.

april 7&8 - west coast mcc sale - the big ol' menno yard sale.
[apparently, the jay will be here. although, it's not like my friend, who was in my wedding, told me anything. lately.(hmm, i don't know all the details. maybe someone else is really pulling the strings. maybe i'm just the underboss and the godfather lives in co. not ca.)]

ed graduates from seminary - april 30th. 5pm. ceremony is @ first baptist church. you're all welcome to come ya here.

ed (& all of you) goes to vegas - june 9-11.

june 17 - ed y heather's wedding anniversary. 6 years. hey, jay was there.

most of the month of june - the stewart5 will be here in ca. yeah, art, melissa and the kids will be seen by me.

Saturday, March 18, 2006

more than i can handle

that's how i feel. every winter, i seem to get about one cold. or, maybe i get one at the beginning, and one at the end. this year, i think i'm onto my fourth or so. nothing's really changed in the way i do business, so i can't think of any significant contributing factors (like, say, moving into a swamp, or a chimney).

i do know that i have had several occassions where i've gotten very little sleep, been run to near exhaustion, and that the colds seem to happen within short time of this. now, i realize that this is not a cause, but it may be a factor in weakening my immune system or something.

of course, as usual, i started feeling ill, and didn't change a thing. life as usual. but with pills!


update - monday - i'm feeling a bit better. my throat was killing me last night. but, today, just a little stuffed up. back to life.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

ed and new hats


half lighting on face, godfather hat on head.


godfather hat in front of orange crush.


close up of me on the couch in godfather hat. heather later said i looked hasidic in the hat as it was tilted back on my head.




i picked up this little hat by adidas @ a lids in tennessee on sale.


here's me in it

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

wanna read something?

hey, if you've got a little free time and would like to interact, please read this article. the basic subject of the article is faith and politics. i won't give you my impressions yet. don't want to influence your reading. so, check it out, and let's dialogue on our impressions in comment section.

Monday, March 13, 2006

late monday night finale


it was nice to get home, and know that i needed to go to the post office today. i picked up my homburg hat. fits pretty good. if you're around, you'll see it on my head. and , the company i purchased it from used a nice box for shipping. no crush on my hat.

finally, here's a video of a kid dancing in the street at the mardi gras parade. it was funny because this kid kept coming out into the street to dance. i only got a little of it.

soon, i'll upload a video of jay throwing skeet (skeet skeet skeet) and becky shooting it.

y'all skeet skeet skeet

i think these are the last tenn pics

some nice pics. see, there are some pretty places in tennesse.

well, to be honest, i'm sure that the state is more beautiful as the dormant trees and such become alive in the spring.




this was a nice car i followed for a bit.

yet more tenn photos


the town of pigeon forge still has its christmas lights up


if you go, you won't come back. tell ozzie smith to take a picture of einstein's theory of relativity


now, i don't know if this place is still open, but i had to snap a pic.


well, if things don't pick up here in fresno, i may go work at my drug store.

more tenn photos


even near big(ger) cities you have these.


this, and the next were found out a Bible outlet store.


kareoke hymns?


what the hell is a bullfish?


"so, what do you guys do here?"

photos from tenn



elvis museum anyone? no takers? huh.



you sell what?



some people call it a slingblade...



sing it with me, "next stop is the east side (hotel)."


i'm a killin bugs at the motel today.

monday morning update

i was going to share some more photos of the last day of the trip, but i wasn't able to upload any. boo hoo. so, instead i'll share a video of the jay.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

last nationals update



dia matthews took 3rd in the shotput. pretty good toss, one of her better ones of the year. she's ready for the outdoor season to start.



natalie friesen took 4th in the triple jump. lifetime best. new school record. 40'3/4". that's far. the girl that won the triple, set the naia record by like 11".


finally, our women's team finished 8th in the nation. this is one of the highest finishes ever for the school, definately our highest indoor.
1 Missouri Baptist University MBU 172
2 Simon Fraser Univ (Bc) SFU 92
3 Oklahoma Baptist Univ. OBU 82
4 Lindenwood Univ. (Mo) LIND 56
5 Doane College (Ne) DOAN 27
6 Azusa Pacific University APU 26
7 Siena Heights Univ. (Mi) SHU 16
8 Fresno Pacific University FPU 15

at least fourty schools for women. fourty scored a point. not sure how many didn't score any at all.

unfortunately, neither of the men on the trip cracked the scoreboard, but they both did well. just didn't make it into the scoring range.

Friday, March 10, 2006

congrats



the girls on the outsides are two of our weight throwers. karley placed 5th, zenaida placed 6th. both all americans. our third girl finished 9th, a mere 9 cm out of finals.

here's a link to view video of karley's throw


tomorrow, we have 3 in the womens shot put, and 1 in the mens



congrats to natalie friesen, pictured here with coach j.t. thiesen. she finished 5th in long jump, all american. her top mark was 19'3/4". 5 of her 6 jumps were further than her previous career best. nice time to peak. tomorrow she's in the triple jump.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

more tennessee



inside the "mini dome"



trash goes here





mike miles, preparing to enter the military

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Monday, March 06, 2006

to all my east coast homies

hey east coasters, and any that are out that a ways, i'll be in tennessee for a few days. fly into knoxville on tuesday and out on sunday. we'll be in johnson city, tennessee for the naia indoor track nationals. the meet is @ eastern tenn state univ, home of the pirates, or bucaneers or swashbucklers or something.

come on over and visit me!

Sunday, March 05, 2006

snl natalie portman

ah yes. it was a decent episode tonight. some good, some bad, and a few that really made me laugh. i watched it live, and had to surfing to try and find a gem from the show. it wasn't out there yet. i'm sure it will be. they did another one of their produced pieces, with natalie portman rapping. freaking hilarious. i'll let you know when i find a clip on the net.

update: eureka (i found it)! this morning on youtube. wonderfully funny. i recommend, when the video loads, that you pause and let the video load in its entirity, and then play it.


new update
, you can still watch it here. stupid nbc made youtube take it down, but it's hard to stop the internet! and, i downloaded the mp4 of it. i can watch it over and over and over. i'm not obsessive though.

Saturday, March 04, 2006

wardrobe oh wardrobe

yeah, so as i mentioned in another recent post, i've been updating my wardrobe. i'm phasing out some of the old, beat up guayaberas, as well as some other shirts. they are being replaced with some newer guayaberas. i've now got 3 of the long sleeve traditional ones, plus the nifty one heather got my for Xmas. tonight, i placed the order for this shirt




i bought the black one, with the roses. it was on clearance from blair.com, where i've been picking up the long sleeve 'beras. $11.99!


i also finally placed my order for:



i can't wait to receive this package from delmonicohatter.com

germany 06

i don't think enough people pay attention to the world game here in the u.s. i wish there was better coverage of matches, both domestic and international, but i'll take what i can get.

i'm glad the coaches of the national side don't have to put up with this. can you imagine getting chewed out by a bunch of politicians because your team lost. granted, germany got whoooped by italy, 4-1, but cut klinsman some slack. it is only a friendly match.

having just said that it's only a friendly, the result does worry me. the u.s. is in the same group as italy. top two teams advance. other recent results from our upcoming group: czech republic tied turkey 2-2; ghana lost to mexico 1-0 (but the match was in texas, so that had to feel like a home game for mexico) and the u.s. beat poland 1-0. italy and the u.s. seem to be the top 2 teams of the group, but man, these other teams are no joke. then again, it is the world cup, every team should be no joke.

Friday, March 03, 2006

religion and state

i saw a headline about the founder of domino's pizza building a town in florida from scratch. early claims said that it would be governed through application of catholic beliefs. he says no, not true. just the university to be built in the town would run like that. the university would bar pornography and birth control. but, the town won't allow topless clubs or adult book stores. they will allow synagogues and baptist churches.

i don't have a problem with this town, assuming they do what they now say they will do. and for a private university to decide what behaviors will be allowed on campus, that's standard accross the u.s., so no problem there either. hey, if you want to build your own little town, to try and create utopia, fine. i'm staying, and will work for it here. not condemning your attempt, just letting you know my intentions.

the second thing i saw today was on the abc national news. it seems that legislators in missouri are proposing some sort of non-binding resolution that recognizes that the founders of the nation believed in a Xian God. opponents are upset, claiming that this is the next step towards making laws that favor Xians. or, that it will recognize Xianity as the official religion of missouri.

now, i haven't read enough on this proposal to make an informed decision, to debate it, or probably to really even comment. as i understand now, this non-binding proposal is a bad idea. really, why even do it? it doesn't make any laws, and it inflames a good number of people. i believe in the Xian God that missouri's legislators are trying to acknowledge. at least, i think i do. but, i don't think that these civil resolutions are what God has intended for us. i would be more impressed if the legislators did more for justice in their state, did more for equality, did more to truly love their neighbors. i'm not saying that they aren't, just questioning the decision to make a proclamation instead of a fair housing law, or ensuring equal protection for all under the law.

friday afternoon fun

well, well, well, another weekend is upon us.

here in fresno, it's going to be a cold and wet one apparently.

here's how my day went: i woke up, and read a paper that i needed to peer read for a classmate. when i finished that, i needed to head out to school. originally, i had planned to ride the bus. but, the bus is slower than riding, and i hadn't ridden the bike much this week. so, i thought i'd ride. i knew a storm was coming in. but, it wasn't raining, and the weatherman assured me that the storm would happen sometime later.

really, i don't mind riding in the rain or cold. and, we've had warm weather of late, so riding in a showers wouldn't be that bad. so, i decided to bike it. shorts and a t-shirt.

then, i found out some thing i hadn't considered. it was windy. really windy. and cold. great. now, i'm riding in a cold headwind. but, i made it out to school and was dry. turned over the paper, checked my email, and went out to track to weigh in the implements for indoor nationals next week. got that done, and prepared to head home.

i knew i'd have a tailwind, so that would be good. and, it's still dry. well, the storm was quickly approaching. within a half block of leaving school, it started raining. that so, i got wet on the ride home. but, it wasn't as cold as it had been.

good times. and we're looking at a lot of rain to come. but, i don't have anywhere else to ride this weekend.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

no title title

congrats to the u.s. mens team, who was victorious, 1-nil, over poland. poland is also world cup bound, and this was a little tune up match for us and them, played in kaiserslauten. the u.s. will play italy during the cup @ this same venue.



chocolate dieties
, now there is an idea.

yesterday, i had my senior seminar presentation. it went well. i'm happy. afterwards, heather and i went and enjoyed a nice meal @ cafe rousseau. i had lamb chops. and a nice wine, black box shiraz.

tonight is art hop. got to get out and see other people's work, then come home and watch survivor and csi.

as for survivor, i might have a longer post in me about this season. the short of it is that this season hasn't been that exciting.

oh, and amazing race debuted the other day. mike wise charlie phoned in his call on the two guys from fla. winning. he wanted to have a witness, so if they win he can say, "hey, remember when i called them winning?" i'm pulling for the black couple. heather is pulling for, well, i forgot who. but, the episode wasn't that good.