Category: random thoughts

i hated algebra as a teen and i now hate it as the parent of a teen. algebra is of satan.

this is part of why algebra is so demonic:

the sale price of a radio is 30% below the original price of the radio, but a 7 % sales tax is added to the sale price. betty’s total bill for her radio came to $97.54. what was the original price of the radio Betty bought on sale? (hint: let x be the original price of the radio. write an equation to represent the problem and then solve it.)

the answer is $130.23 but the problem is writing out the equation. oh how i hate algebra.

here’s the list after four weeks in america’s dairyland:

• fishing – i haven’t even gone fishing here yet (because i haven’t obtained my license at this point) and i’m already thrilled by it. just talking to people and reading lets me know that i’m back in fly fishing country.
• seasons – the leaves are already turning nicely and it’s just going to get better.
• small university town – it’s a smaller town where some of our neighbors never lock their doors and yet because of the university we have some cool things come our way. we have tickets to see bill cosby in concert on october 12th (sorry mom & dad – but just because you can’t see him doesn’t mean we can’t).
• fair trade emphasis – fair trade is a big deal around here at the coffee shops and groceries stores and i like it.
• green emphasis – recycling and being good ecological stewards is important within the community. i’m now at the point that if it’s close enough and i’m not pressed for time i ride my bike where i need to go.
• chipmunks – people around here can’t stand them but having been raised in the south i think they (and the black squirrels you can find every now and then) are amazingly cool.
• snow blowers – i’ve never used one but i’m convinced that i’m going to think it’s amazing.
• the packers – can it get any better than the team from green bay? i think not.

SIDE NOTE – i had a wonderful discussion with the intervarsity campus minister today. i’m really enjoying meeting the people involved in campus minister at uwsp and i’ve appreciated their insight. there are some good people around here who really want to see a difference made within the school and community.

SIDE SIDE NOTE – COME ON BAMA!

SIDE SIDE NOTE UPDATE – well it was still a great game.

pam and i consistently talk about whatever we are reading. sometimes that equals deep subjects and sometimes not so deep. last week pam started to re-read “anne of green gables” and she talked so much about the interesting spiritual aspects of the book that i decided i had to read it. here’s the problem. “anne of green gables” is definitely a chick book. that doesn’t completely throw me off. after all if a book or movie is truly good it doesn’t really matter if it is for chicks or not. of course, it does mean that i’ll have to be prepared for some decidedly feminine characteristics. that’s okay though because if the book is truly good then it will be worth it.

unfortunately pam didn’t prepare me for the characteristic of the main character that is now driving me crazy. the main character talks non-stop. i guess it’s a sign of good writing that i can completely picture what anne is like. yet the problem is that i feel worn out by her talking everytime i read a chapter. i actually have to go watch t.v. to get some piece and quite because the book is full of her talking fast and without cease.

SIDE NOTE – i went to student impact tonight and enjoyed it. thanks to everyone that i now know there.

SIDE SIDE NOTE – anyone want to guess who will probably be a police chaplain after next friday? thanks to a comment from al kinnunen i heard that stevens point is looking for a few additional chaplains for the police department. i called them up and i interview friday. woohoo! i think i might even get a badge! score!

this was on lifehacker today and i thought it was interesting. the article is “five signs that your life is on autopilot.” here are the five signs (without description – you’ll have to read the article for them):

1. you know exactly where you will be in 5 years (and it depresses you!).
2. your career is what your parents wanted you to do.
3. you went straight from school to college to work.
4. you did well in school and automatically chose a college course that was the hard to gain acceptance into (eg medicine or law)
5. your interests and/ or hobbies are all the same as from when you were a child.

goodness gracious the l.s.u. tigers look tough.

and so did the south florida bulls.

clint barron has been bragging about johnnies pizza for seven years. first he did it when he was a youth ministry intern and then he did it as my friend. he swears it is the best pizza in the world. since my family and i will be moving in two weeks clint decided that we had to take a trip to taste this manna of all pizza’s. it took two hours of driving one way to get to the restaurant and then another two hours to get back home. this means while the pizza cost $20 the fuel to get there and back cost $30. a complete waste of resources but a fun day.

the pizza was ok.

good news – the inspection came in on our house and there were only minor things in it.
great news – our buyers already knew about the items that were brought up in the inspection report and therefore they are not asking for us to do anything to fix them. this means we don’t have to fix several small things that would just be time stealers. HEY!

the inspection on our house in wisconsin is tomorrow. hopefully all will go well with it tomorrow. if it does the game plan is that after going and spending some time with my parents we will pack for two days, sell our baton rouge house on the 17th, sleep somewhere in baton rouge for the night, travel up to stevens point/plover, close on our new home in plover on the 20th and start moving in.

i’ll probably move my blog this weekend. i think the new domain will be www.stevenspointtapestry.org

clint barron is a freak. he has bragged about johnny’s pizza for six years. earlier this week clint asked if i would be willing to drive two hours to eat some pizza and then drive back. so friday clint and i are going to travel a total of 5 hours (2 hours there, 1 hour to eat, and 2 hours back) so that i can taste this pizza. of course, no matter how good the pizza is i’m going to say that it’s not that great.

i’m back in town after a week in nicaragua and other than being tired things are great. we have a contract on our baton rouge house and will close on it august 17th. meanwhile in wisconsin we will close on 3311 arbor vitae (latin for “tree of life”) on august 20th at which time we will finally have a dwelling in wisconsin.

i was reading an old friend’s blog tonight and i was struck by one statement. the statement was:

i don’t know about you, but the older i get, the more i desire to see the power of GOD expressed in my life and through my life.

what struck me by the statement is how untrue it probably most of the time. i’m not talking about my old friend’s life, i’m sure it is true for him. i mean for myself. sure i can say the statement it’s really following through on it that possesses the problem. the reason for this is that in scripture “the power of GOD being expressed” in someone’s life usually ends up being disruptive to the way those peoples’ lives were going. just look at abraham, gideon, peter, paul, or any combination of other individuals from the bible. when GOD expresses HIMself within one of HIS follower’s lives HE changes everything … people are moved, people sacrifice way too much, they attempt the impossible, they confuse all those around them, and much more. GOD expressing HIMself is not an experience that requires nothing from the one who sees it. instead it requires a response and that response often calls for dramatic changes. i’m not sure that i can always say that i desire to see that happen within my life. i can say though that i desire to desire it.

pam and i stayed at a hampton inn in milwaukee this past weekend and i renewed my love affair with hampton inns. i’m not exactly sure why but i have loved hamptin inns since my junior year in college. i guess it is probably the fact that it was at a hampton inn that i first ran into the wonderful world of the free continental breakfast. ahhhhhh, free donuts. whatever the reason i have had a secret love affair with hampton inns for years. of course, being the son of floyd terrell i have a dominate cheap gene that keeps me from staying at hampton inns very often.

anyway, we stayed at one this past weekend and it reminded me of my great love for them. that love was increased by the fact that the hampton inns have apparently introduced tons of random black and white photos into their corporate culture. everywhere you look within the hotel you see another black and white photo. there are photos on the key cards, photos on the walls, photos on the room number plaques, and photos on the “do not disturb” sign. i loved it. i was please that there was at least one place without random photos on it. i was pleased that there were no photos on the toilet paper. that would have been disturbing.