The BirdBrain's Nest

2007-10-21T10:34:00.000-05:00

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 NASB

On second thought...

2007-09-30T19:26:00.000-05:00

Acoustic Kitty

The Holy Observer is back

2007-09-17T21:11:00.000-05:00

The best part is the final answer to "What might be the first thing Paul would say if he were placed in present day America?"

I'm sorry

2007-09-16T15:50:00.000-05:00

Let the Bodies hit the floor.

Random Things

2007-07-30T21:35:00.000-05:00

Here's some random things that have occurred recently (and, yes, half of these deal with work).

My one year anniversary at Goodrich happened last week. I also found an A400M press release so you can see what I'm working on.
At church this past weekend, a coworker visited for the first time. I didn't know he was looking for a church. But it's still cool he came.
Today in the lab, between test, I spent some time arguing with a coworker. We argued about Evolution vs. Creationism/Intelligent Design as well as Mac vs. PC. Neither one of us really budged and I think we both came away thinking the other person was being stubborn.
Also today, I found out that I may have an option to move to another group at work. All the air data projects (what I work on) are going to be in a single group of engineers coming soon. I have the option to move into that group or stay where I am and start working on video projects. It dictates what I work on for at east the next couple years, so it's a important decision.
When I got home today, there was a note in my door asking me to water the newly planted bushes around my house for a couple weeks. I don't mind doing it, but I thought I was paying the association to take care of that for me. Oh well.
I talked to Biener for the first time in a couple years. She's now living in TN and is engaged to be married.
I really enjoyed the music at church last weekend. That sound guy rocks. J/K Seriously though, I enjoyed mixing the cello, violin and upright bass for the first time. They sound great together and I hope to work with them again.
It's getting too hard to see my keyboard outside right now, so I'm going to head inside.

Burgers

2007-07-29T19:47:00.000-05:00

This just in! After trying to pan fry burgers and now grilling, I prefer grilling. Actually, I've known that for awhile.

This post is really an excuse to talk about the grill I got from a moving sale.

Seven years bad luck

2007-07-22T20:45:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning, just after stepping out of the shower, the bathroom mirror fell to the floor. Thankfully I was standing in the one spot that the mirror didn't fall on. DB came over later to help me clean up. Now I have a large blank spot on my wall. The joy of being a home owner.

The Entertainer

2007-07-20T21:15:00.000-05:00

About 9pm tonight, as I was enjoying my patio, I began to hear strains of "The Entertainer." I've heard it, and other similar songs before. In the last couple weeks I've heard them maybe a half dozen times. Always coming from the North-East and at 9pm.

Am I losing my mind?

iPhone

2007-07-11T09:19:00.000-05:00

Will it blend?

A day not working

2007-07-01T21:14:00.000-05:00

Today was my first day off from work in the last couple weeks. We had a project that the customer wanted done pretty much yesterday meaning we had to work long days and weekends. The tests themselves weren't that hard to do. Because these were endurance tests, once the equipment was powered up there wasn't much work to do.

Unfortunately, since I was working so much, my house got messy and I ran out of clean clothes to wear. And since I wanted to relax, doing housework wasn't appealing. At least I don't live with someone who will bug me about ti.

Last night I watched Das Boot. It's a long movie and not everyone will get into it, but it was enjoyable.

Wrong Number

2007-06-30T15:38:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I'm still amazed by the information available on the internet. For example, moments ago I got a call from someone in the 727 area code. Not recognizing the number I let it go to voicemail and simultaneously searched Google for the number. By the time the phone stopped ringing, I knew that from the area code and prefix, they were calling from the Tampa, FL area. Seconds after that, I found a page that listed both the telephone number and a name that the number belongs to. So Mr or Mrs _, please dial carefully next time.

iPhone

2007-06-29T22:20:00.000-05:00

DB and myself visited someone we cannot speak of at his job we cannot speak of that just released the iPhone. It. is. awesome.

Both DB and myself each had 10-15 minutes playing with it. The touch screen works just like it does in the demos. Typing on the screen wasn't as bad as I expected. My typing accuracy increased after just a couple minutes with it. I was even able to post a comment on Ben's blog. Coverflow and scrolling through long lists was fun.

It's even physically smaller than I had expected. It is only a little bigger than the 30/80GB iPods, but would still fit comfortable in a pocket.

What I found to be the most interesting thing about this Apple Store visit was the people. We had taken our leave of Topher and began to browse the other fine hardware product from Apple, when store employees began to approach us to see if we needed help. At this time, the store was now beginning to reach a 1:1 ratio of customers to employees. It became difficult to find different ways to say that I (we) didn't need any help.

The other interesting thing was watching the customers. The curly-haired, messenger-bag-carrying, shorts-and-sandals creative blogger types. The gay guy with a lisp you could hear across the store. My favorite was the walking as they hug boyfriend and girlfriend who barely let go of each other to play with an iPhone.

I'd really like to buy one, but would have a hard time justifying it. Though I am seriously considering getting rid of my cable TV and buying an iPhone. Thoughts?

Theremin

2007-06-28T19:26:00.000-05:00

Classical:

Pop:

Gnarls Barkley - Crazy

Tax Dodgers

2007-06-25T09:25:00.000-05:00

If you dislike taxes, how is not paying them supposed to help your case?

Troubles at Home

2007-06-23T14:05:00.000-05:00

So in an effort to add some color to it, I bought matching hand towels and a bathroom rug. They're a dark red color, perhaps crimson, but closer to a Venetian Red and Sangria mix.

Anyways, after washing and drying the rug, I had to do some real laundry. Unfortunately, my undershirts and socks came out -pink- light red. Washing them again didn't change anything.

Travesty.

How can a man wear pink and not get crap for it? Do they revoke your masculinity? Can I ever regain their respect? Would drinking a Bud Light, while belching and watching NASCAR fix things? Do I need to buy a large pickup with loud pipes?

Oh well.

Internet

2007-06-09T10:17:00.000-05:00

I have internet and cable TV at home now.

And I'm blogging this from the street between my place and Ben's. Bwee.

P.S. Ben has internet, too. He should be less cranky.

Decorating

2007-05-02T10:35:00.000-05:00

Since moving into my house, I've done very little decoration (as in none). I think I ought to do a least some. What do people think of this style for my bedroom? If nothing else, it would encourage me to go to sleep so I no longer have to look at it.

Any ideas?

Returning Messages

2007-04-12T11:54:00.000-05:00

I got a message from "Crystal" on Myspace and thought it good for me to be nice and friendly.

Hey handsome!

Thanks for noticing!

I love your pix babe.

Wow, you do? You mean the two that are the same? Thanks.

I was lookin at your profile,

I'm glad you weren't eating it or trying to use it for world peace or anything illegal.

I had to give you a message.

You mean the one you've typed out to me?

You don't have a girlfriend yet right?

I may not be perfect, but did you have to point that out? I've been trying to pick them up at the Apple store or at Radio Shack, but they keep running away mumbling something about washing their hair. Wait a minute, are you offering?

...

That's it? That's your message? Fine then, forget you.
----
As I was typing my response, a friend of "Crystal's" named "SeXXXie" decided to ask for help.

Hey..Just thought I would say whats up..

Um, florescent lights, steel girders, and the roof.

I'm trying to figure out how to add music and video to my page..

I don't like the music or videos on myspace pages, why would I help you then?

I have NO CLUE lol...can u help?

Go to the nearest hardware store and get yourself a clue-by-four.

u got M-S-N or A-I-M? Add me on those, my info is on my page...

N-O T-H-A-N-K-S

I travel a lot and will be in ur area soon so hit me up on M-S-N or A-I-M..

You should take the clue train here, the tracks are just outside my window.

I'm just tryin to meet some new people :) ur myspace page caught my eye... xoxox

I glad that my unmodified, plain-jane page caught your eye. Perhaps the contrast, lack of music, or non-suckiness is what did it. Say hi to "Crystal" for me.

Dinner

2007-04-09T18:55:00.000-05:00

Dinner:
Dinner Accessories:

Satisfaction

2007-03-30T14:59:00.000-05:00

For Lunch I decided to go to Wendy's and get the spicy chicken sandwich, fries, and a frosty. $6.70 Even though the sandwich was pretty good, and the fries and frosty were OK, I didn't feel satisfied when I was done eating. For 23 cents more ($6.93) I could have gotten a barbacoa burrito and chips at Chipotle and felt very satisfied after lunch. Or perhaps I was expecting more from the chicken sandwich for what I paid for it.

My beloved

2007-03-25T22:09:00.000-05:00

My beloved cellphone is gone. She must have heard that Ben's phone escaped last night. Apparently she didn't hear that it was caught moments later.

O cellphone, I long to hear your annoying ring
ye broken alarm clock was something to behold
lest your dropped calls be forgotten
I shall miss you
or not
Why couldn't you wait for the iPhone?

I feel so dirty

2007-03-08T08:08:00.000-06:00

As much as I don't really care for MySpace and almost like Facebook, they both are wonderful when compared to HisHolySpace. Seriously, can we talk about this. Apparently there is no originality left. Not only has someone decided that christians need an alternative to MySpace, but the layout is copied, too.

That site makes me feel so dirty and embarrassed. I'm going to clean up by visiting MySpace for a while.

Spending money is fun

2007-02-27T22:17:00.000-06:00

Monday night Dan, Ben, and myself went to Chris' Job We Shall Not Speak Of. We (or at I) were planning on making an actual purchase that night. Which I did. And I like it.

It looks cool, is super fast (I have yet to max out either processor), and makes me glad to be an Apple citizen. Last night I got around to playing with the Dashboard. So far most of the widgets look gimmicky, but I found and like the Gmail, Wikipedia, and weather widgets. There is a Blogger widget but I'm having trouble getting it to work (It's me being dumb, not them).

Even though Leopard is coming out sometime this spring, the 22-month old Tiger still is pretty awesome. Bwee.

I have only two complaints, and both are about the case, not the hardware or software. First, the black matte finish shows the grease from my fingers, letting you see where the case has been touched. My second complaints is that the keyboard has a tiny gap between the keys and the case letting dust and gunk in. Neither of these will prevent me from enjoying it, though.

As far as software, I'm running Firefox, Growl, Adium, iStumbler, and Quicksilver.

Moved In

2007-02-25T22:51:00.000-06:00

All of my stuff has been moved in. Except for the kitchen, everything is still in boxes though. It's going to take some time getting used to my stuff being more than a couple feet apart and on different floors.

One thing that I've never had before is a garage to put my car in. I liked not having to clean the snow off my car this morning.

New house

2007-02-21T19:20:00.000-06:00

I closed on the townhouse today. I keep asking myself "What have I done!" Adventures shall be had.

Good News

2007-02-18T15:18:00.000-06:00

You Are a Mac

You are creative, stylish, and super trendy.
You demand the best - even if it costs an arm and a leg.

Are You a Mac or a PC?

2007-01-29T21:30:00.000-06:00

And the offer is accepted. I close towards the end of February.

I Made an Offer

2007-01-28T15:08:00.000-06:00

Today I made an offer on a townhome in Burnsville. I hear back from the seller in the next day or two. Details to come...

My Dominant Intelligence

2007-01-25T20:33:00.000-06:00

Your Dominant Intelligence is Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

You are great at finding patterns and relationships between things.
Always curious about how things work, you love to set up experiments.
You need for the world to make sense - and are good at making sense of it.
You have a head for numbers and math ... and you can solve almost any logic puzzle.

You would make a great scientist, engineer, computer programmer, researcher, accountant, or mathematician.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

LED Sign Project

2006-11-01T19:31:00.000-06:00

It's taken me 5 and half months to finally post some pictures of my senior design project.

My LED Sign Project.

Podcast #6

2006-10-13T19:50:00.000-05:00

What I do

I'll take two

2006-10-11T20:57:00.000-05:00

It would be a great conversation starter.

Podcast #5

2006-09-27T19:51:00.000-05:00

Computer Fun

Podcast #4

2006-09-22T21:08:00.000-05:00

Power's out

Podcast

2006-09-19T20:28:00.000-05:00

Holocaust

2006-09-11T08:52:00.000-05:00

The dark side of the Rebel victory at Endor.

Vista

2006-08-31T11:14:00.000-05:00

From Durry...

"Crabby" is an awesome description.

Does anyone know where to find this bogdownyourprocessor filter? Google didn't turn anything up. Maybe Adobe is including it in CS3.

A little research tells me that the bogdownyourprocessor filter is an improved version of the filter_that_is_only_used_for_processor_speed_comparisons. The only actual improvement is the smaller name.

BTW, does the CS in CS3 stand for Corporate Suckers? As in "those Corporate Suckers will buy CS3 even if the only improvement over CS2 is the bogdownyourprocessor filter."

CD reviews

2006-08-28T08:49:00.000-05:00

Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
I didn't like this album. It made me want to go and cry in a corner. Must be why they call it emo. A couple songs were interesting on a musical level, but there wasn't much else to hold my attention.

Pink Floyd - The wall, The dark side of the moon, Echos: the best of Pink Floyd
Other than I a few songs that I recognized, I just coundn't get into Pink Floyd.

In conclusion:

Other than the popular singles, I can't get into some bands
Emo, or atleast what is called emo (Fallout Boy, Panic! At the Disco, etc) really should be called pemo (for pop-emo or punk-emo)

We Build Jables

2006-08-13T16:12:00.000-05:00

Check out the Advertising Slogan Generator.

Camping Trip

2006-07-22T12:28:00.000-05:00

I went on a four day camping trip with my family. The first two days we stayed in temperance river state park, with our campsite 50ft from Lake Superior. The second two nights, we stayed at the camping place on Mink Lake with people from Evergreen.

Day 1:
Drive 3 hours to Duluth and visit canal park museum. Drive another hour to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park where we have lunch and visit the lighthouse. The Split Rock Lighthouse is one of the most visited lighthouses in the US, and I have been there around a half dozen times myself.

After Split Rock it was around an hour drive to the state park where we are spending the next two nights. It takes about two hours to set up the sleeping tent and the screen tent. That night it took us about three hours since the site was small and the two tents we have are large and we kept trying to find a way that they would both fit.

That night there was a thunderstorm that woke everyone up. I couldn't tell you what time it happened, but I do know that for awhile the lighting was flashing so often you could have read a book without trouble.

Day 2:
A couple of us visited the museum in Schroeder, MN, a hamlet a mile from the campground. The part of the museum that I was interested in was the history of Taconite Harbor, where ships were loaded with taconite mined on the iron range. Around 1953 Taconite harbor and the companion mining town of Hoyt Lakes, which is about 74 miles inland, were built. In 2001, the mines in Hoyt Lakes and the loading dock at Taconite Harbor closed. What struck me is that all of the massive structures for mining, processing, and transporting iron ore were built and operated by thousands of men, and now little of it being used anymore.

Later we went swimming in Lake Superior. At first it was really cold, but you got used to it after a couple minutes. That night, like most nights, we played cards after supper. The only bugs that were bothering us were flies that would swam around and bite your ankles.

Day 3:
In the morning we packed our tents, went swimming, and took showers before heading up the coast. At lunch we stopped at a picnic area on the shore. The flies were horrible here. The dog's ears got bit so bad they started bleeding. We were only there about 15-20 minutes, compared to usually taking an hour to eat lunch and look around. Also the sky was filled with smoke from a forest fire in the BWCA. It made the sun look orange and gave everything a slightly creepy look.

After lunch we stopped at a ranger station just outside Grand Marais to find out if the forest fires would threaten camping at Mink Lake. They said that the fire was too far away to bother us, but that the smoke could be a problem. As we drove up the Gun Flint Trail towards Mink Lake, the smoke started clearing. Once at Mink Lake, the sky overhead was clear and one could see the line of smoke in the sky to the south of us.

The camp that we stayed at is very rustic. There is no electricity, pit toilets, and propane to heat water and provide light in the lodge and cabins.

Day 4:
The morning was spent playing card games. That afternoon we went swimming and canoing. After awhile I took the canoe out by myself. Then I sat up on the seat and within a couple seconds the canoe tipped over. In a foot of water. Ouch.

Day 5:
Get up, pack and load the car, and drive 5.5 hours back home.

cough

2006-07-13T15:37:00.000-05:00

I have a job.

Which means updating my wardrobe, and having to "turn your head to the side and cough" at the physical. And get out of bed before 7am. But I start in about week so I have a little bit of time left to enjoy unemployment.

So I go camping again.

Sharing when you don't want to

2006-07-02T09:25:00.000-05:00

It's my birthday today, and I get to share it with:

Vicente Fox
Dave Thomas
Michelle Branch
Lindsay Lohan
Tory Olson
Tim Weber

We'd be an odd bunch if we get together and partied.

I did it

2006-06-30T14:49:00.000-05:00

I did somethign daring.

I shaved it all off.

It's completely bare down there.

It feels weird when I grab it, like I'm missing a part of me.

I'll grow it back someday.

Oh goatee, how I miss thee.

What did you think I was talking about?

MST3K for the masses?

2006-06-14T12:14:00.000-05:00

Peanut Gallery

Weekend

2006-06-05T14:54:00.000-05:00

Drove through Dallas, WI.

I fished for the first times in about 5 years and only caught lily pads.

I got to drive a tractor and tinker with some old "putt-putt" type engines.

Also we went to the service at a traditional Lutheran church. Probably the most interesting thing for me was the large age differences. About half the people were over 50, in their 30's or 40's with kids, or kids themselves. The only people that I recognized as being close to my age were seniors in high school that were being honored during a part of the service.

The other interesting thing was communion. One by one the people in the pews went up to the alter, where they kneeled and were given the bread and wine.

A comment I have is that without someone leading worship, it is very easy to get lost in a hymn.

But organs are cool.

Personal DNA

2006-06-05T13:21:00.000-05:00

No Time

2006-06-02T13:04:00.000-05:00

Since I moved back home after school, it seems like there is more to do. Since every day is spent working on residing the house and garage, as well as my marketing class, I have little time to un pack what stuff I need and put away what I don't need.

Good article for those in serving in a ministry.

And I be gone this weekend in Wisconsin. It'll be OK, I get to play a farmhand.

I'm stupid

2006-06-01T15:09:00.000-05:00

As it turns out, the Beatle's don't have a song called "Lady Elaine" like I thought they did. It actually is called "Penny Lane." For some reason I thought they were referring to Lady Elaine Fairchilde from Mr Rogers Neighborhood. Back to misunderstanding the lyrics of popular songs. My life is brilliant....

Another horrible podcast

2006-06-01T14:19:00.000-05:00

But it has Durry, so it must be good.

How to impact the world for Christ

2006-05-30T15:41:00.000-05:00

What Would Jesus Drive?

My First Podcast

2006-05-22T14:46:00.000-05:00

If you really feel like wasting a couple minutes of your life, listen to my first podcast. DB was my first (captive) guest.

And I posted some of the Tarquin Gotch photos taken at the Durry wedding.

5 Days

2006-05-08T08:59:00.000-05:00

In all of 5 Days, I get to walk the stage and receive my diploma. Then I load up my stuff into a truck and move back to the cities.

It's hard to believe that my many years of schooling are coming to a close.

In other news, I only have two finals this week. In one class that I was supposed to have a final, the teacher asked most of us in the class if we were happy with our current (pre-final) grade. If we were happy with it, we don't have to take the final. I took the B.

Tip

2006-05-02T18:20:00.000-05:00

Tip of the day: don’t EVER try to hold a soldering iron the same way you hold a pencil.

You know...

2006-05-01T18:27:00.000-05:00

You know school sucks when it sounds better to be in a hospital bed watching the Muppets while waiting to go into surgery to get your appendix out.

17 Days

2006-04-26T17:27:00.000-05:00

17 days until I'm done.

This afternoon another roadblock hit the senior design project. I won't go into details except to say that it is very discouraging. I struggle between want to give up and quit or work extra hard and complete it.

But it doesn't really matter, I'll be done in 17 days.

100,000 Miles

2006-04-20T13:38:00.000-05:00

My car now has over 100,000 miles on it. On one hand I want to ditch it and buy something brand new or at least newer. On the other hand, this car is paid for and is serving me just fine. Another fun decision in life.

I bought it in March of 2003 with 72,000 miles on it. Or about 9,000 miles a year. Getting about 22.5MPG and with gas at $2.25/gal averaged over the life of my car, this means I've spent almost $3000 on gas in the last three years!

FE Exam

2006-04-19T08:06:00.000-05:00

This coming Saturday I get to take an 8 hour test called the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam. It's the first step to becoming a registered engineer. If I pass this first test, I can add EIT (Engineer-in-training) to my name. And if I want, in about five years I can take a second test, the Principles of Engineering Exam. Once passed, I become a registered engineer and can add PE (Professional Engineer) after my name.

Jacob Bird PE

I like that.

Quote

2006-04-13T16:45:00.000-05:00

Domesticated Christians are far too willing to abdicate the battle for the soul of the world. Civility focuses our energy in the wrong places. We spend our lives emphasizing our personal development and spiritual well-being. We build churches that become nothing more than hiding places for the faithful while pretending that our actions are for the good of the world. Or we choose political and secular vehicles to try and advance our cultural values, strangely attempting to make unbelieving people act like civilized believers.

From "The Barbarian Way" by Erwin McManus

Test Stupidity

2006-04-12T19:15:00.000-05:00

It's a great feeling to begin a test only to realize that you forgot to study a significant amount of information. And forgot a number of helpful formulas for your formula sheet.

Frustration

2006-04-11T17:19:00.000-05:00

Its' so frustrating to do a couple hours of work, to discover that you may have to start over. The work itself isn't that hard but is tedious.

My senior project is an LED hallway sign that has 8 two-inch high characters. To complete this project, it needs to be mounted on a PCB (printed circuit board), which is custom designed by someone in our group. To make a PCB, software is used to make the circuit diagram of how the circuit is connected. Next, you lay your components out and connect them, but because the PCB has only 2 layers, it takes time to set pieces out so that it will work. Most of the circuit board design to date has been done by my partner with both of us just now getting together and doing the layout portion. Once you start laying out your components, you can't change the circuit diagram. It was discovered that one connection is wrong and another is missing. Since the majority of work has already been done, we don't want to start over unless we absolutely have to.

So now we are waiting until we can talk to someone with more experience.

At least I'm coming home for the weekend.

Injuries in Iraq

2006-04-04T14:38:00.000-05:00

A friend and classmates brother's was injured in Iraq a couple weeks ago. I directly heard about the injuries, the work at trying to get out to D.C., and the frustrating uncertainty of not knowing what going on. This is the closest that the Iraqi war has come to affecting me in any way. Right now I can't think of anyone else serving over there that I know. It's strange to see something that seems far away and almost abstract that has ties to people and happenings around me.

Survival of the Richest

2006-04-01T16:36:00.000-06:00

For some reason I have a weakness for reality shows that are on the WB. Last summer I got caught up in Beauty and the Geek and last night I started watching Survival of the Richest. I don't even know why these shows intrigue me. Maybe the shallowness of people, perhaps it's them making complete fools of themselves, or just that the whole situation is really funny.

Kaps is a pop

2006-03-30T21:42:00.000-06:00

Emma Grace Kapala was born this afternoon.

Yay!

(via email from Dan)

Priorities

2006-03-30T09:19:00.000-06:00

I'm tired of school and because I don't want to repeat any classes, I've changed my priorities for the next couple months to get school done with. So that when I'm done, I'm DONE (with the hard classes). Also, being unemployed has made the job hunt more important. What this means is that I basically will be AWOL 'til mid-May. If you haven't seen me by June, you have my blessing to come and kidnap me.

Interviewing

2006-03-23T15:52:00.000-06:00

I just finished a job interview. Over the phone. I really don't like those types of interviews. And then they ask goofy questions like "What kind of support do you offer your co-workers?" I don't like that kind of question. Or interviews in general.

"Would you like me to press my lips on your forehead?"

I might be right

2006-03-22T08:08:00.000-06:00

Back in April 2005, at the Mac OS X 10.4 release party at the Apple store in the Mall of America, I predicted that OS X 10.5 would be released before longhorn (now called Vista). It's looking like I might be right.

Confession

2006-02-28T20:28:00.000-06:00

I have to confess something.

Something really bad.

It's taken me two days to be able to type it up.

No, it's not something I did with Ben, Aaron, or Mike on Saturday.

It's worse.

It happened during my drive back to school on Sunday afternoon. I was minding my own business, listening to a CD. In the grass to the left on the road, I see something moving about. Then moving onto the road. A squirrel. A common squirrel. Who is now in front on my 3000 pound car. Very close to my car. By the time I realize what it is on the road in front of me, and that it might be a good thing to swerve around, it's too late. THUNK! I immediately look in my rear-view mirror and see a carcass spinning around on the road. Whoops. Actually it was kinda cool to see the body spinning around, as you don't see that sort of thing every day.

The loud noise that it made when it hit my car surprised me. I don't know what noise I expected it to make, but still, it was loud.

Ironically I was listening to David Crowder's "A Collision" at the time.

Conflicting

2006-02-23T22:22:00.000-06:00

I got sick last Sunday and am finally feeling relatively better. In the past couple days I've gotten two strong urges:

Stay home and sleep as much as possible
Get away; I'm sick of staring at these walls while sick

Maybe I should just start living through other people's blogs.

Fanning the Flan 2006: All your tithe are belong to us.

The fever and poor sleep have gotten to me.

Mac-Curious

2006-02-09T20:00:00.000-06:00

“I wish I knew how to quit you!”

4 Things

2006-02-02T14:40:00.000-06:00

Four Jobs I've Had in My Life:

Cashier
Security Officer
Meat Stocker
I've only had three jobs at two places

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over, and Have:

Star Wars
The Hunt for Red October
MST3K
anything by Hitchcock

Four Places I Have Lived:

Minneapolis, MN
Carbondale, IL
Bloomington, MN
Mankato, MN

Four TV Shows I Love To Watch:

The Simpsons
Futurama
South Park
Arrested Development

Four Places I Have Been On Vacation:

Estes Park, CO
Myrtle Beach, SC
Alexandria, MN
North Shore (Lake Superior)

Four Websites I Visit Daily:

Four Favorite Foods:

Pizza
Nachos
Swedish Meatballs
Chipotle

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:

In line to get mydiplomaa
At work
In Bed, sleeping
Jobs' secret test lab

Spiritual Bicycle

2006-01-31T09:12:00.000-06:00

On my walk home from school last night I was thinking about an idea that I had 2 and half years ago as I was leaving for School in Mankato. Since I initially wasn't planning on driving home to work, I would have likely been out of contact with friends and family. During that time I planned to become a spiritual giant. I don't know why that term was the one that stuck with me, because all that I was thinking about was that I would read the Bible and pray regularly, and become a well rounded Christian. There probably was some pride in there, too.

The reality: it hasn't happened. At times I was reading almost every day, at other times it was 3-4 times a week, and currently I'm working hard to get back into the habit. Prayer usually has consisted of the couple minutes that I lay in bed before sleep and half-hearted prayers as I walk to or from school.

I've become bored with life, unsettled, unsatisfied, and unexcited about anything unless it temporarily satisfies me or needs to be done to finish school. A result of not reading and praying.
Back to last night. For some reason the phrase "spiritual bicycle" popped into my head. And I liked it. Something to do with the ability to ride a bicycle even if you haven't ridden in years. Yes you can do it, but its not perfect. Say God is 10 times better than lance Armstrong and he wants to go for a ride 100 mile through the beautiful countryside with you. If you haven't built up your endurance or even ridden in a while, you will have difficulty keeping up. God won't get mad or make fun of you, nor will he be able to fully enjoy the ride because he knows that you are struggling to simply keep up. And you won't enjoy it either. Your mind will be too focused on how tired you are, how much your legs hurt, that the sun keeps beating down on you, and that 100 miles is too long of a distance to go to even want to look at your surroundings.

I don't know how this analogy really fits into things, but it just struck me how similar it can be to our relation ship with God. We can always go "bike riding with God", yet it's more enjoyable if we have practiced.

Just as good the second time

2006-01-30T08:28:00.000-06:00

I've seen the movie countless times and already read the book once, but I'm very engrossed into reading The Hunt for Red October. I've had the book in my hand for 3 days and I'm half done with it. Homework and sleep, you two can wait, I've got a good book to read.

Detailed comments on "I like Emergents"

2006-01-19T19:37:00.000-06:00

These are my comments on Mike's "Read this, then let me know what you think of it."

I just read Emergent delusion prior to reading Mike's link. It probably has biased my responses, but I hope you stick with me.

1. Agreed. Too many people, myself included, put on the "everything's OK" face when it comes to sins, public or private.

2. I guess I agree.

3. Actually I'm confused about what he means by 'missional.' I want to say he's referring to sending mission trips, yet the rest of his point doesn't relate to that at all.

4. I couldn't call Schindler's List or a U2 Concert spiritual. The light show at the Trans-Siberian Orchestra was awesome, but there wasn't anything spiritual about it. I could say that they have emotional impact. And that's me regarding 'spiritual' as from God, not as the author is likely meaning spiritual as affecting the soul.

5. It strikes me as such a contradiction. I probably have areas where I hold two opposing views simultaneously, but it is more of a problem of sin than 'courage' to do so. Very post-modern (culture, not the church in this case).

6. He starts to sound like a bitter liberal. Doesn't really matter, neither party is "Right."

7. So if I say "you suck" with the right "tone," it's OK? Is the 'means' by which it is done more important than the end result?

8. I guess I agree. Though there is the implication that big churches hinder people from getting to know one another well.

9. Something about this one bugs me, but I can't put my finger on it. I don't completely disagree with him, there's just too much emphasis on the journey.

10. Grace = Good. Grace, understanding, and acceptance of other religions, so as to put them on a pedestal with yourself = BAD.

A couple things bug me though. 1. There is a, intentional or not, a leaning to the liberal/left side of the political spectrum. 2. There is an assumption that the previous generation had it wrong, and that this new 'emergent' or 'emerging' generation can get it right.

2006-01-17T09:31:00.000-06:00

My month of parole is over. In six months I will have served my sentence in the halls of academia. That means finding a job, a place to live, and paying off school loans. Guess it's time to grow up.

Why I don't blog often

2005-12-08T23:51:00.000-06:00

But, my child, be warned: There is no end of opinions ready to be expressed. Studying them can go on forever and become very exhausting! Ecclesiastes 12:12 (NLT)

I'm going to attempt to explain why I'm not a regular blogger. The above verse strongly resonates with me.

I have tendency, that if left unchecked, I will try to read too many blog or collect too many magazines or books to read. It's too easy to look at something and say to myself that I should read or subscribe to it. I'm a packrat of reading materials, if you will. And it isn't so much of having things (books, blogs, magazines) to read, its having them go unread. It stresses me out.

Kinda related to that thought, is the one of how much of it is worth reading? Even in a "good" subject, such as Christianity, does reading EVERY book about it make me a better person? And even if that book is good, does it really help me, or is it just another item to fill up my life and time with? Like we all need a couple more of those. The ESV and NASB translations hint at this.

My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Ecclesiastes 12:12 (ESV)

But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body. Ecclesiastes 12:12 (NASB)

Also, part of this thought process stems from a post by Chris. And from his list, I try to fit number 2. Otherwise all I'd do is complain about school.

Plus, I suck at writing. I mean would a real writer use the word "suck" when "I lack the proper written communication skills to effectively convey my thought process through a textual medium" says the same thing?

Thoughts?

This is a relief

2005-12-01T23:51:00.000-06:00

ISTP - "Engineer". Values freedom of action and following interests and impulses. Independent, concise in speech, master of tools. 5.4% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

Choose a band and answer queries with song titles

2005-12-01T23:25:00.000-06:00

From Aaron's Blog

I choose Muse.

1. Are you male or female? The Small Print
2. Describe yourself: Hysteria
3. How do people feel about you: Space Dementia
4. How do you feel about yourself: Ruled by Secrecy
5. How do you feel about ex boyfriends/girlfriends: Unintended
6. Describe current boyfriend/girlfriends/crush: Overdue
7. Describe where you want to be: Falling Down
8. Describe how you love: Stockholm Syndrome
10. What would you ask for if you had just one wish: Thoughts of a Dying Atheist
11. Share a few words of wisdom: Hate this and I'll Love You
12. Now say goodbye: Escape

I've lost my mind

2005-11-16T16:22:00.000-06:00

I think my mind has slowly leaked out. Ofofihfefiehfefiehf

Why, you ask?

Because I'm reading the manual to my new calculator and enjoying it. Especially the Reverse Polish notation. I feel pathetic just saying that.

I have issues right now. Just a couple.

December 15th can't come soon enough.

What do you think?

2005-10-27T22:20:00.000-05:00

Is this idea that far off?

Stupid Hippie Teacher

2005-10-27T15:16:00.000-05:00

The teacher for my Advanced Communications course is well known for teaching until 5 minutes to the hour (classes normally are :00 to :50 of the hour) and everyone has their bag packed and is heading out the door. This has been OK, or at least tolerable, most of the time, but on Thursdays we meet in a different room and at a different time. No problem. Until Stupid Hippie Teacher, who teaches in that room right after, butts in at 5 minutes to and says "Time's up" or something to that effect. He's called the Stupid Hippie Teacher because he looks like you took a hippie straight out of the 1960's (or early 1970's) and aged him 40 years. Plus he teaches astronomy or something like that. And today we had a test in Advanced Comms. So at 5 to the hour, Stupid Hippie Teacher barges in and start asking us to leave, even though only 1 out of 20 students has even finished the test. A couple test-taking students reply, including myself, that we are taking a test. Stupid Hippie Teacher says he doesn't care and by that time his students are flooding the classroom. What a jerk.

Not that I'm bitter.

Cash or Check, it doesn't matter

2005-10-24T14:42:00.000-05:00

My blog is worth $1,693.62.
How much is your blog worth?

I wonder how you actually get the money from them. Hmmm...

Leader Test

2005-10-12T12:43:00.000-05:00

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Why study?

2005-10-06T13:27:00.000-05:00

I've been studying my butt off this week for a test today. When he handed out the test, it's a take home test that's due Monday. I can't tell if I should be happy or sad about it. This is my first take home test. And of course it has to happen on a busy weekend of work and a wedding. Oh well.

And for those of you keeping score, this would be a number one on Chris' list. Maybe later I'll have some deep philosophical thoughts about it.

Poetry

2005-09-14T22:51:00.000-05:00

I recently found this in an old notebook of mine. I'm guessing its about 5 years old.

Thoughts spinning so fast
Spinning so fast they're tearing me up inside
Anger, frustration, people problems, and the like
Is it worth even thinking about?
Often not, but then
Sometimes it's necessary
Not in a enjoyable, fun way
But to remind us of our fragility
And our need for God in our lives

Can I get a little more Guitar in my monitor?

2005-09-07T09:02:00.000-05:00

I get so frustrated with Windows. Azotus's sound card hadn't worked all summer because it needed the right drivers. I had the file with the drivers, but it wouldn't install. Since having sound wasn't a high priority, I decided to forget about it.

Last week my brother went to a garage sale and found a sound card from around 1993 for me to use. So last night, just before performing surgery to add the new sound card, I checked the device manager to remember what it said was wrong with my old one. Now it read "the device is working properly." Seeing that it should be working fine, I connected speakers, and sound came out!!! Now it's working again. I wish I could explain it, but I can't. I guess that's Windows for ya. (I still want a Mac)

Since I could listen to the music I have on my computer, I listened to the DiJohn concert from the last Spring Conference, Inside (from the Lux Gathering 7-30-04) by Ben Tipler, and Dim by Nada. This also means that I can listen to messages I've saved from Noel Heikkinen.

(The post title is a quote from Suarez at the beginning of one of the Nada recordings. I believe that on this track Nada consisted of Chris on drums, Suarez on guitar, Dave on bass and vocals, and Ben on vocals.)

Maybe not so bad

2005-08-29T12:17:00.000-05:00

All my junk is moved into my apartment. But that's as far as most of it has gone. It will be a good week or two before most of it is put away and my place looks neat.

Something amusing is that one of the teachers that I strongly dislike is teaching a Monday-Wednesday-Friday class and is OK with moving the Friday class time to Thursday. He usually isn't very nice about things like that. If it does happen, it means that I won't have any Friday classes.

Adventures of iGuy

2005-08-26T15:48:00.000-05:00

Follow the chronicles of iGuy the iPod character.

Kinda Funny

2005-08-24T20:43:00.000-05:00

Poll Questions

Fall is almost here

2005-08-20T22:16:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how fast the summer has gone. I've worked in the meat department for almost two months and enjoyed almost every moment of it. School starts in a week, so life will get hectic with sleeping, finding ways to avoid homework, and cramming in work on the weekends.

Within a year I should (hopefully) be done with school. Part of me is happy that I will get to get on with my life as an adult. The other part of me can't believe that I'm almost done with school, and wishes I would keep staying in the world of academia.

Then there is the career issue. It's amazing how much this can seem to define a person. I won't deal with this until spring sometime.

One less thing to worry about....

2005-08-10T21:29:00.000-05:00

Your Brain is 40.00% Female, 60.00% Male

You have a total boy brain

Logical and detailed, you tend to look at the facts

And while your emotions do sway you sometimes...

You never like to get feelings too involved

What Gender Is Your Brain?

A Month

2005-07-23T22:56:00.000-05:00

It has been one month since my last post.

That is all.

Get back to your lives, citizens. Nothing to see here folks.

I'm serious.

This post has no point at all.

Maybe I'm a fool

2005-06-23T22:30:00.000-05:00

I think today was probably the hottest day that we will have for a while. And since it was my day off from work, I decided it would be good to do something other than watch TV or play on the computer. The Lux Truck has been needing a cleaning for some time, so today was the day. I spent 13 hours unloading, organizing, and repacking everything on there. And I'm not even done. Only a couple more hours will be needed to finish.

Actually the temperature wasn't that bad. During the day it was 80* F when I started, peaked around 95* F midafternoon, and was at 80* F when I was done for the night. Not overworking yourself, frequent breaks, and the lack of humidity made it bearable.

Midafternoon I spent some time wading in our inflable pool. After awhile I got into a squirt gun fight with my siblings. During the ensuing melee, my eight-year-old brother refills his gun in the pool and shouts "Don't shoot me, I'm just a citizen reloading my gun!" So I shot at him anyways.

New Job

2005-06-16T08:10:00.000-05:00

I have a new job I start in two days. Actually it's at the same store, but new department. I'm now going to be a "meat stocker". Meaning I'll stock the shelves with various meats, their derivatives, and meat paraphernalia. Should be fun. Or at least a good change.

Thinking

2005-06-14T15:24:00.000-05:00

The past week and a half I've been in a geography class in which the teacher has regularly talked about the earth being really old. It got me thinking.

Why wouldn't God create the Earth with features that make it look very old. If he made the Earth, He would also be able to as he pleases.
It seems that some people cling to Evolution so that their responsibility on Earth is reduced to being a passive observer rather than an active participant that God has called us to be.

Do these make any sense? I agree that these thoughts are incomplete. I'm looking for a way to explain them better. If you have questions, I would be glad to expand on them via the computer or in real life.

Funny

2005-06-08T15:33:00.000-05:00

Please read, as it is quite funny.

And I just got out

2005-06-06T09:28:00.000-05:00

I don't know if I'm crazy or not, but I want to finish my degree (Bachlor of Science in Electrical Engineering) in a resonable amount of time. To accomplish that it seemed best that I take a summer class. Not wanting to burn myself out on schoolwork before my senior year this fall, the class I'm taking now is only two weeks long. And 4 and a half hours a day. That may sound awful, but it's OK, its just a US geography class. That should be easy, right?

2005-06-03T22:57:00.000-05:00

I've been rolling around in my head this idea that the whole point of the Old Testament is that savaltion by works doesn't really work. That we need to have (almost) blind faith for salvation. Thus Jesus needed to come.

Discuss

On This Day In...

2005-05-17T22:07:00.000-05:00

1792 - The New York Stock Exchange is formed.
1846 - The saxophone is patented by Adolphe Sax.
1936 - Dennis Hopper, actor, director, is born.
1955 - Bill Paxton, actor, is born.
1956 - Bob Saget, actor, is born.
1965 - Trent Reznor, singer, songwriter ("Nine Inch Nails"), is born.
1973 - Watergate scandal: Hearings begin in the United States Senate.
1987 - Sarah Whitson, Singer, soon-to-be Cedarville University student, is born.
1992 - Lawrence Welk, American musician, passes away.
1995 - After 18 years as the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac takes office as President of France.
2004 - The BirdBrain's Nest is born.

What an interesting year. Blogging was one of the trendiest things to do in 2004, and I joined in. Here's to another year of posts that don't make alot of sense.

Quotable Quotes

2005-05-12T10:28:00.000-05:00

As others have done, I'm going to post some quotes. However these quotes are a little different. The come from the time of LT. Specifically the HSLT 2001 vans rides.

"Extra skanky bootylicious bubblegum"

"Oh no! My bananas are gonna explode!"

"Gay Cowboy? Jolly Rancher."

"I don't care, I can suck at things."

"Take me now, Lord!"

"Won't we get enough of this at LT?"

and of course "It's just eye candy."

Quote away....

And as an odd note, there's a guy who looks like M. Night Shyamalan sitting a couple seats away from me right now.

Apathy

2005-05-10T14:54:00.000-05:00

I'm at the point where I'm not sure if I even care how the rest of the semester goes. Three finals and lab report are all that remain. When I looked through the exam I had today, I realized that if I could have studied 20-30 minutes more, I could have aced it. All I want to do is NOT do school, organized my junk, and have a nice summer. About 70 hours remain until my release.

The BirdBrain's Nest

On second thought...

The Holy Observer is back

I'm sorry

Random Things

Burgers

Seven years bad luck

The Entertainer

iPhone

A day not working

Wrong Number

iPhone

Theremin

Tax Dodgers

Troubles at Home

Internet

Decorating

Returning Messages

Dinner

Satisfaction

My beloved

I feel so dirty

Spending money is fun

Moved In

New house

Good News

I Made an Offer

My Dominant Intelligence

LED Sign Project

Podcast #6

I'll take two

Podcast #5

Podcast #4

Podcast

Holocaust

Vista

CD reviews

We Build Jables

Camping Trip

*cough*

Sharing when you don't want to

I did it

MST3K for the masses?

Weekend

Personal DNA

No Time

I'm stupid

Another horrible podcast

How to impact the world for Christ

My First Podcast

5 Days

Tip

You know...

17 Days

100,000 Miles

FE Exam

Quote

Test Stupidity

Frustration

Injuries in Iraq

Survival of the Richest

Kaps is a pop

Priorities

Interviewing

I might be right

Confession

Conflicting

Mac-Curious

4 Things

Spiritual Bicycle

Just as good the second time

Detailed comments on "I like Emergents"

Why I don't blog often

This is a relief

Choose a band and answer queries with song titles

I've lost my mind

What do you think?

Stupid Hippie Teacher

Cash or Check, it doesn't matter

Leader Test

cough