Two Nifty Tips

If you're running Firefox and have noticed that it's running a bit slow, you might be surprised to learn that your extensions may be causing the problems. Go here to find the extensions that are causing your system the most trouble and remove them.

If you're used to using OpenOffice (like me) and hate the long wait in loading any of its fine programs, go here to tweak the Options under Tools tab in the Writer program. The instructions are for Ubuntu but are easily tweaked for any OS you're operating.

Hat tip to Lifehacker for these recommendations.

Cool Computer Programs for Students

With school starting up again, we are reminded again how wonderful it must be for students who are living in the computer age as it exists today. There is a great post over at Lifehacker, which I should point out is a wonderful blog about innovative programs, internet sites, and office productivity, about certain and essential computer programs for your kids as they enter school.

I am particularly impressed with the online Cliff Notes and bibliography makers. There is also this cool program that makes pages for your notebook via a .pdf creator form that you customize and then make copies of. Have a look and see if you're not too old to download the free open source software for your computer.

Back to NJ

Well, I am finally back in New Jersey. I arrived late Thursday night and have been puttering around the house getting it in order, tending to a present crisis, and am presently working on my sermon for in the morning. So much to do -- and yet, as the ol' lament goes, "If it weren't for the last minute, I'd never get anything done."

My vacation to Oklahoma was amazingly restful. I didn't do much of anything except spend time with family, sleep, eat abundantly, and visit with friends. From time to time, I managed to go dancing and enjoyed some fine cuisine with my eldest brother.

One great thing about my vacation was getting caught up with an old friend: Tim and his wife Lori. Tim and I along with another friend Russel, attended a megachurch in Oklahoma City called LifeChurch. Afterwards, I visited Tim at his church where we were joined by his wife Lori and their 8 kids at Heritage Presbyterian while Russel went to his home church. I had the opportunity to get extreme examples of evangelicalism and conservative theology on my Sunday church services. I will write more about that later--the contrast was noticeable to me and I want to hammer it out on here.

Besides church, Tim and Lori invited me home with them for Sunday dinner where we ate until we were full. That Lori has always been an outstanding cook and she proved yet again that the cook only gets better as she gets older.

Upon returning to NJ, I took the train to the town near my mechanic where I picked up my truck (I had to replace to engine in it) and drove home. I arrived to find Maggie all excited to see me and we got reacquainted nicely.

Upon getting home and unpacking, I discovered that my home computer has died. I replaced the power supply, thinking that was it, only to find that it may have been it but it's also something else. I am thinking it must've been a power surge of some kind and my surge protector wasn't doing it's job. I am presently typing on my laptop (proving yet again that I am soooooooooooooo glad I have it) as I will also be needing it tonight as I prepare my morning sermon.

All in all, I've had a good time away. I am a bit stressed about the computer thing but alas, I'll find a remedy to fix it.

So that's it. I'll type more later as well as getting to the church blog to update it. Now that I am home, I need to hit the ground running. September is almost here and I have so much to get ready for. Woo-hoo!

Am a Goin' Home for a Bit

Here is where I am going.

Guess Her Age?

Go here for the answer. Shocking, right?

Liquid Kiss

One Place to Vacation

I have no idea where this is but it sure it beautiful, right?

In Case of Revolution ...

From the movie V is for Vendetta.

She was an Amazing Woman

NEW YORK (AP) -- Brooke Astor, the civic leader, philanthropist and high society fixture who gave away nearly $200 million to support New York City's great cultural institutions and a host of humbler projects, died Monday. She was 105.

Go here to read the rest of her obit.

Shift Happens

Here is an incredible video that shares information about technology and the human race. The sound track to this video is awesome (it's from the film Last of the Mohicans).

glumbert.com - Shift Happens

Now THIS is rather interesting

You can google Haiti and ufo and find all sorts of comments about this sort of thing.

A CNN Poll

CNN has a poll out that explains that more and more people know someone very close to them who is gay or lesbian. You can go here to the Human Rights Campaign to read more about the report.

It's HERE!!!

The new Ikea catalog is now in stores and available online.

Great, now we'll all be able to be tempted at work (and not just at home on before, during and after payday).

Umm.. Yeah..

An Interesting Statistic

Within the last several years, it has become particularly known that certain faith-based organizations have deep ties to right-wing politics. Organizations such as Exodus International and efforts by some vocal conservative evangelicals have revealed an underlying theme: being gay is both bad for America and good for the Republican party. It is good because it can gather support from religious organizations who have duped into believing that there is a gay agenda out there wanting to molest America's children while entrancing them into a deviate and deathly lifestyle. As a response, if you elect a good and faithful Republican (just not this one or this one), then they promise that such a dastardly thing won't happen.

Unfortunately for many Republicans, gay and lesbian Americans are responding against such a political scapegoating. And, so are many straight Americans. But this post is about the gay and lesbian folk who are voting in opposition to the evil strategy and association between misguided evangelicals and the politicians who are using them.

A study this spring by San Francisco-based Community Marketing Inc. found that an eye-popping 92.5% of gay men reported that they voted in the 2004 presidential race, and almost 84% said they cast ballots in the 2006 midterm election. Among lesbians, the results were almost as impressive; nearly 91% said they voted in 2004; for the midterm, the figure was 78%.

By comparison, the Washington-based Committee for the Study of the American Electorate put the turnout for all Americans eligible to vote at about 61% in 2004 and roughly 40% in 2006.

Thanks to Queerty for this post.

Lessons Learned

Over the weekend, Friday and Saturday, I have been dealing with a truck that has gone Ka-put! My truck, actually an SUV but saying SUV sounds so suburbanite-ish- my truck cracked a cylinder, a head gasket, and probably damaged a whole lot more. As one mechanic has explained, "Rev. Bo, you're going to have to make a major decision: fix the truck or junk it. And I don't recommend the former."

So I am having another mechanic look at it to see if the cost of fixing it will outweigh the cost of simply getting something newer. I have no idea at this point.

What I do know, however, I learned some valuable lessons this past weekend.

For starters, there is a difference between overheated smoke from your truck and an actual fire. I learned that by calling 911 and saying, "Help my truck is on fire!!!" The NYC emergency 911 service responded by sending 6 fire trucks to my location (4 at one time, 2 more later on). They were furious when they discovered that I didn't know the different between white bellowing smoke and red hot fire.

I also learned what poison ivy looks like. Because my truck had no water left in the radiator (I thought that was my only problem), I had to hike through a dangerous park late at night to purchase a gallon of water. Surrounding many places that I had to crawl over was poison ivy. I now have it on me.

I also learned that even if you can get your truck started again after it's overheated, it isn't a good thing to drive. I drove it further before it stalled again. Later, when I finally got the truck back to NJ, I learned that because I continued to drive it, the heat of the engine melted some very important parts on my engine and may have made the problem 100% worse.

I learned that having AAA can be a lifesaver in tow-truck expenses. I learned this because I don't have AAA and have had to pay through my nose. I still have to have it towed again and it'll be very expensive again.

All and all, I doubt my life lessons are far from over. I still have to get a second opinion and I still have to determine what my future driving will look like. Please pray for me as I make important decisions as well as pray for those who will be helping me discern those decisions (e.g., the mechanics).

A Brilliant Letter to John Edwards

A post over at Pam's Houseblend has a letter written to John Edwards on his lack of support for LGBT marriage. Some time ago, Edwards made the statement about his own internal wrestling with this issue and responded: "I am just not there yet."

This letter speaks volumes to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender and straight communities. Using particular story images, the writer explains that while Edwards may not be there yet, there are a whole lot of people standing on the shore who are "already there".

The post is a bit long but be patient, dear reader. It is a good letter not just for the presidential candidate but for anyone who has yet to arrive on the shore of equality.

You're Not to Blame

This satirical music video is hilarious as it puts the blame where so many folks are saying the blame belongs.



Hat tip to Towleroad

Here's a Good Question

The Best Potter Yet

Well I went and done it already. I purchased my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Saturday morning at 9:30am (when the bookstore opened), sat down at 10:30am and apart from bathroom breaks, dinner breaks, and walking the dog, I read the entire book finishing in the week hours of Sunday morning at 4:30am. The book was so well written, I just couldn't put it down. And besides, the rest of the world and myself waiting nearly two years for the final chapter in Harry Potter's life.

And let me tell you, it was the finest read of all the books. Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione are full of adventure, suspense, dark emotions, and incredible confrontations with evil. The ending was spectacular and has more Christian themes in it than all the other books combined. I am sure that won't make much difference to all the 'Harry-haters' out there who think his books are more about the occult than themes of loyalty, friendship, and good triumphing evil. As is often the case, you can get out of Harry whatever you read into it. And, if you're open to a great adventure, all the questions being resolved from the other books, and an ending to beat all endings, then this is the book for you.

The book, while incredibly well written, also has some disturbing parts and some eye-opening ones. I discovered that Dumbledore isn't quite the hero I always thought he was (Harry discovered this too). But you know, in real life, especially as we grow older, we often discover that our childhood heroes has limitations and skeletons in their closets. However, the author, J.K. Rowling doesn't discount him and neither does Harry. We just learn that we're all human, and some of us more so than others.

I was also pleasantly surprised to learn about Snapes' involvement and heroism in the story. As you remember from the preceding book, he kills Dumbledore. Without giving too much away, he and Dumbledore knew the moment was coming when something had to be done.

Anyways, the book is full of great eye-openers and revelations especially the one regarding Harry's mom and her biological sister. In the end, there is a final battle that beats all battles and what Harry has to do will surprise you--and once you're surprised, the story continues further. In the end, the book wraps everything up as only Rowling could do it and it makes perfect sense. I won't give away the ending but I know you'll enjoy it (if you're a fan of Harry Potter).

Keep in mind that the book is 750 pages. The good thing is that you won't mind so much because you'll be turning pages before you know it and the book will satisfy you as you go about it.

My hats off to JK Rowling who, unlike most sequels that suck, actually turned out the best book of all.

A Fun Video to Watch

Here is someone mouthing the words to Sister Sisters I Don't Feel Like Dancing. It's awfully cute. A hat tip to Famous Like Me's blog.

Peanuts Grown Up... or growing up that is..

Follow this link to an artist's rendition of Charles Shultz's post adolescent Peanuts gang. It is really very interestingly and well drawn.

An Unexpected Cost of Living in NYC

There are many costs to living in the one of the greatest cities in the world. With the cost of a 1 BR apartment in Tribeca going for $9500/mo to a $2 million dollar for a 2 BR/2 BA apartment, just making ends meet won't allow you to be a part of such a thriving metropolis. Add to that the cost of maintenance which could easier be over $1200/mo on top of your mortgage and you have to make a whole heck of a lot of money if you want to live there. That is, of course, if you're unwilling to live in the seedier and scarier parts of town.

When I lived in Manhattan, I lived on the northernmost tip of it in a neighborhood called Inwood. I had a regular sized 1 br apartment and paid only $1100/mo in rent. Sure, I didn't live anywhere near the happening places of the island. I was next to 2 major subway lines and I was within walking distance of Manhattan's oldest park that also housed Columbia University's Crew team. While it wasn't the safest area in town, there were far scarier neighborhoods in Manhattan than mine.

However, if you live anywhere south of 125th Street, you could find yourself paying an astronomical amount of money every month for rent and a whole lot more for a mortgage. It wouldn't be surprising to pay over a million and a half dollars for a 1 BR or converted studio apartment. So it isn't too much of a stretch then to read an article where one parking spot in the Chelsea section of Manhattan is going for $225,000 just to have a place to park your car. Here is an interesting news article about the high cost of parking spots in NYC and other major metropolitan cities where land is expensive because most of it is owned by other people.

He Didn't See It Coming

This is kind of funny although you know it hurt.

On a lighter note...

A producer for Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who plays Harry Potter in the extremely high-grossing movie franchise, is emphatically proclaiming that Radcliffe is straight. One only needs to see how Radcliffe's been trying to shed his boy wizard imagery to understand why such a pronouncement is necessary.

My thoughts are simple: if he doesn't want people to think he's gay, he needs to stop doing London theatre in the buff and posing for pictures with next to no clothes on, or dressing up like a leather boy on his way to the Fulsom Street Fair in San Francisco. And take this picture, for instance, I mean, you can understand why folks are thinking he'd rather saddle with Professor Snape than take Cho to the evening ball (for you non-Harry enthusiasts, Cho is Harry's girlfriend in the books and movies). The way I see it, there are only three options for Radcliffe's odd behavior:

1. He has no idea what he's doing;
2. He knows exactly what he's doing in trying to shed the Potter image (even before he's finished making two more movies, not counting the one due out next week). Could he derail his chances to continue being the young boy turned young man wizard in any upcoming movie?
3. He has a public* (corrected from a hilarious misspelling) image director who is a moron and likes to put Harry in uncompromising situations.

My guess it's the latter. Still, if he keeps up this sort of thing the only movies he'll be in will be those called, Harry Pooter and the Prisoner of Ass-kaban.

Theology According to Homer Simpson

I sit here amazed and dumbfounded. I now understand that Homer was right after all, at least according to Pope Benedict. In a recently released statement, the Pope reaffirmed and reminded the world that the Catholic Church is the universal primacy that its always claimed to be but Benedict event went so far as to say that if you're not in the Roman Catholic Church, then you are either defective (as are the Orthodox Churches) or not a true church at all (everyone else) and are not a means to salvation.

Of course, most Protestant churches would agree that their church isn't a means to salvation, only Jesus is. And one might be tempted to 'read into the Pope's statement' that he means the church and Jesus are somehow intertwined in such a way that he really means what Protestant churches say. But he doesn't. The Roman Catholic Church is THE ONLY church Jesus authorized and by means of apostolic succession, the RCC continues to lay claim as the only heir to Jesus' continued physical and spirtiual manifestation on earth.

When one talks about ecumenism and "we're all in this together", one doesn't think of Homer Simpson and two versions of heaven: the boring Protestant heaven and the partying Catholic one. It seems the Pope's version of heaven is closer Homer than many Protestants who think we'll all be mixed there together, in one form or another.

There is a new book by Mark Pinsky aptly titled, The Gospel According to the Simpsons, explores the spirituality and gospel message of Homer Simpson. In this book, Pinsky explains,

[Homer's] capacity for love dwarfs his failings. Even God sees this. Homer can't stand his fundamentalist Christian neighbor (sic.), Flanders, and is bored to death by the sermons of the weary Reverend Lovejoy. He also has little time for the Bible – “If the Bible has taught us nothing else,” he tells Lisa, "and it hasn't, it's that girls should stick to girls' sports." But when God drops in for a chat, he discovers in Homer a surprisingly convincing theology. Basically, this is that life is tough and humans are hopeless but, without making a fuss about it, God is always there as the last safety net. And, when He's not around, there's love.

"It is Homer," writes Mark Pinsky in his book The Gospel According to The Simpsons, "who has the most personal relationship with God." A special hat tip to Andrew Sullivan for this quote.

+++
I just hope when the endgame is tallied, that Homer isn't right about the heavens. Check out this video and you'll see what I mean.



I find it dishonorable that a person of faith can be so callous and self-righteous to assume that his understanding of God is so complete that he would make such a statement proclaiming the RCC as the only true church AND that everyone else either has it wrong or has somehow screwed up their church to warrant their exclusion from God's realm. You know, if we're going to do an historical analysis of how "the church" has screwed up in its history, one doesn't have to look far to the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the selling of Indulgences that the RCC made happen. Heck, we can stay in the past century and look at priestly abuses to children and their families.

Instead of making amends for its horrid past, the Pope ought to instead ask humbly if they can join the rest of the world's Christians in coming to God, rather than protecting its Bishops, covering up its sins, and proclaiming to the world, "You're wrong, your church is wrong but thankfully you have us, the RCC to lead you in the path of righteousness."

No wonder there are so many atheists, agnostics, and the like. If the RCC is the only choice for Christianity (and for many folks in the world they are), I too might choose to not believe in anything rather that align myself with Pope Benedict.

To be fair, I know some great American Catholic priests who have a heart for Jesus and a love for everyone else. My disdain is directly aimed at this pompass-assed Pope. Hopefully one day the RCC will find its own redemption when it finally chooses a Pope with the humility and kindness that Jesus had hoped would sustain his church, after he was gone.

Things an Employer Can Do and Cannot Do

I just read a news article about a court case in which an employer, who is Christian, fired one of his employers because the employer discovered his employee to be gay. The employer is citing religious freedom as his defense. The attorney defending the fired employee said that "People who hold those views (that gay people are sinners and are going to hell) have to know that they can't act on them with regard to employment." What he probably could have said that was more clear was, "You can believe anything you want, but those beliefs cannot infringe upon the rights of an employee, if those rights are protected by law." See. This is more clear.

If you are an employer, you can fire someone for dishonesty (lying, cheating, or stealing). You can terminate an employee if they don't show up for work, or if they don't do their work, or if the word they do is below specified standards of productivity. You can fire someone for disrespect, dishonoring the ethics of the company, or causing mischief (as long as the mischief is spelled out and defined in the employees handbook).

As an employer in New York and New Jersey, you cannot fire someone because they are an atheist, a Jew, a Christian, or a Muslim. They might be going to hell but, even if they are and you hire them (you cannot refuse to hire someone of a different religion either, but that's another post), you cannot fire them for it. You cannot legally fire someone if they are an African American (or an African, for that matter). You cannot fire someone because they are fat, or too thin (like whoever would do that, right?), or bald. You cannot fire someone who has a disability (including HIV). You cannot fire a person from France, England, Russia, Mexico, or any other country (immigration rules aside). And, you cannot fire someone based on their sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation. Regardless of your religious beliefs (or lack thereof), a person who works and does their job has a right to have that job protected. As simple minded as this sounds, in 31 states in the USAmerica, an employer has the right to terminate an employee if that employee is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (actually 39 states can fire you if you're transgender).

In New York and New Jersey, we honor the vision of Martin Luther King, Jr., as it applies to the LBGT community, when he said in his famous "I Have A Dream" speech, "I have a dream that one day my children will live in a land where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." It's unfortunate that not every state honors the visions of its prophets.

What's In a Name?

Given this year's drama over at Grey's Anatomy where one person (a straight person) called another person (a gay person) the "f" word, people have been talking about the power of words, what they mean, and how different words with the same meaning has extraordinary power. Just listen to Isaiah Washington's public service announcement. He explains it well, even if he can't always follow his own advice.

I am about to post a story from AmericaBlog about one gay person's opinion, "Stop Calling Me a Homosexual!" Well, he doesn't shout like that but that's the theme of the post. And, for the most part, I agree with the author. What's in a name you say? I mean, doesn't 'homosexual' mean 'gay'? Well, it does and it doesn't. The nuance is important and the article explains it quite eloquently.

The basic core idea is that using this term stigmatizes and clinicalizes a gay or lesbian person, it dehumanizes the person, it makes it easier to condemn him or her by depreciating the human element. Unlike the 'gay' term, homosexual makes some folks cringe because in the very word itself "homo" and "sex" are two terms that most folks don't talk about it public conversation. The term gay takes the sex out of the description and reminds us that the person in question is more than a sexual person. A gay or lesbian is a person who laughs, learns, has responsibilities, can be angry, joyful, or just themselves. A gay person isn't all about "sex" anymore than a heterosexual person is all about sex with members of the opposite sex.

Over a hundred years ago, there was a sociologist and mystic named Edward Carpenter, who termed the word homogenic when he tried to take the 'sex' out of homo-sex-ual. He did so to explain that men and women, men and men, and women and women all have homogenic relationships. Think about the guys who play poker on Friday nights; they are not meeting to have sex but they enjoy one another's company. Think of the Tupperwear or tea parties your mother used to attend with other housewives; they weren't meeting for sex, they were enjoying one another's fellowship. Our lives are about more than just sex--as are your lives. The term homosexual then, while at one time was a descriptive term, now has a lot of baggage and often anti-gay positions attached to it.

This article explains this well; so I'll stop typing and let you read it.

++++++++++++++
Dear Washington Post, please stop calling me a "homosexual"
by John Aravosis (DC)

The Washington Post published a pro-gay editorial today about marriage. And that's great. But they called us "homosexuals" throughout the piece, and that's not great. It's degrading and offensive and archaic.

I've written about this before, and some have disagreed. But I'd argue that those who disagree don't understand the nuance of language or of this particular phrase. Ask any gay person, regardless of whether they agree or disagree that the word "homosexual" is archaic and offensive, whether they use the term "gay" or "homosexual" to described themselves. I.e., "I'm gay" or "I'm a homosexual." Just ask them. Unless they're living under a rock, gay people rarely if ever use the word homosexual. (My gay-friendly straight friends, however, use the term all the time. In the same way that I still hear friends use the word "oriental.")

Why? First, because it's become archaic. Usage changes, and just as Negro and colored changed to black and African-American, just as oriental gave way to Asian, homosexual has become gay. But second, and more importantly, the word homosexual is offensive in the same manner as negro and oriental. Sometimes archaic words sting. In the case of homosexual, I think the main problem is three-fold. First, the clinical nature of the term. It's a scientific word that mildly dehumanizes gay people by suggesting that they have a medical or psychological condition. Second, the words "homo" and "sex." Both words connote something negative, or at least something that shouldn't be spoken out loud, to a lot of Americans. Third, and most importantly, homosexual is the word the religious right uses expressly and uniquely in an effort to dehumanize gays. Anti-gay religious right activists have said publicly that they will not use the word "gay" - rather, they insist on using "homosexual." Why? Because for some reason or another they figure that the word homosexual helps their cause. And while I don't agree with the religious right on many things, their ability to gay-bash swiftly and effectively is unqestioned. If they think the word gay help us and the word homosexual hurts us, who am I to argue?

Again, I don't mean to opinionated about it, but if you don't hear the negative nuance in the word homosexual, it's either because you're not listening, or more likely, you don't have an ear for language. There's a reason that colored and Negro and oriental weren't offensive terms years ago, yet are today. The nuance of words changes over time. And while gays were once thought to be mentally disturbed - that all changed in 1973 - the language has not changed since that time.

It's time it did.

PS Don't believe me? Read what a communications professional has to say about this. (Actually, I hadn't read his piece until after I wrote mine, but the logic is remarkably similar.) Also, check out this recent editorial in the lead gay newspaper in the US.

I Finally Did It

I spent yesterday, most of it anyway, reformatting my home computer's hard drive and reinstalling the XP operating system. My computer had become so sluggish of late that something had to be done. Now that everything has been updated and reinstalled, the computer runs like new. If you're looking to get a new computer because your present computer is running slower than a preacher's sermon on Mother's Day, let me recommend a few things you can do to your computer to make it like new (and save you a few hundred dollars in the process).

Before I tackled the huge project, I backed everything up on an external hard drive by making a duplicate copy of my programs and files. Then, after I finished that, I added some more RAM to my computer. That has helped enormously. RAM doesn't necessarily speed up your computer, instead it allows you to do more on it at the same time. For instance, you can have 4-5 open windows running at the same time (if you have your email program open, plus your internet browser, and are currently working on one or two Word documents). RAM is pretty inexpensive but realize that not all RAM works on all computers--you have to find the RAM that works for your system. To find which RAM you'll need to buy, go here.

As I was taking the computer cover off my CPU (knowing that doing so voids my computer's warranty), I purchased a can of pressurized air and blew out the dust that had accumulated there. Lots of dust tends to make your computer run hotter by insulating the heat. Blowing out the dust allows the motherboard inside to "breathe". Also, remember to blow the dust from your various fans inside the CPU. Be careful blowing the dust off your motherboard, I did it holding the can about 10 inches away from the board. Some of the circuitry can get damaged from a direct hit of that compressed air, so be careful.

I installed the RAM being careful to touch a metal surface before touching anything in the CPU to discharge any static electricity that would immediately damage anything inside. When I was finished, I put the cover back on, plugged in my cables, and turned on the power to the computer. Now the tedious process began.

Once I reinstalled my operating system, I went and began to delete all the computer programs that came with my computer that I knew I'd never use. Using them only once, you will discover that deleting them can be next to impossible. So, I got right to it. I went to by Add/remove program option and deleted just about everything that came with my system including Microsoft Money, Norton Utilities, Outlook Express, and anything having anything to do with AOL. Once any one program was removed, I had to reboot. That was okay, I had the entire day.

Without going into too much detail (as I am tempted to do, and as I probably have already done), here are the programs I either installed or reinstalled. Note, that all of these programs are open-source and are free to use. In most instances the free programs do as good a job as the paid-for versions.

Avast! This is a free anti-virus program that is rated tops by PC World.

Zone Alarm. This is a free firewall that is extremely popular and efficient. You can purchase a firewall or use this one, but for heaven's sake, don't use the Windows Firewall that is in SP2 of XP. While it serves well as a basic firewall, it doesn't do eveything that a good firewall needs to do, as a result, it can leave you open to a lot of trouble.

OpenOffice. This is a free utilities suite (similar to Word, PowerPoint, Excel and includes extra programs like Draw, and a Database) that looks a lot like Microsoft Office. It even opens MS documents, saves to them, as well as creates its own. It has some handy extra features such as a .pdf creator. I love it, be sure to have it load in your system tray for faster starts.

This is also a handy office suit because it'll help your conscience too. Unlike many of us who have used "borrowed" versions of MS Office; this way, you'll get to use something without the guilt of continuing to use an office suite that you didn't really pay for. ;)

Firefox. This is a free internet browser with tabbed capabilities (IE 7 now has this feature).

Thunderbird. This is a free email client that lets you pull all your internet email (or work emails) threaded via pop3 access. I love this email client, I've been using it for years. And it has some of the best spam filters that I've ever used.

Picasa 2. This is a free photo management program from the fine folks over at Google, that one day may stir the same amount of ire that is directed at Microsoft (some folks are already getting a bit nervous with them). Until that time actually comes, this is a handy photoshop-lite like program that organizes and can manipulate your images to your taste.

AT Notes. This is a handy free program that lets you put those cool yellow stickums on your desktop screen to serve as reminder notes.

Evernote. This is a free information handling program that lets you copy and store all your information in one place as you surf the web, think of notes to jot down, or share information with colleagues. I use it with my sermon preparation and it's wonderful.

Okay, so there are my basic programs and as of this morning, my computer was running fast, smooth, and efficient. I am so glad I took the time to do this--hopefully I'll get another couple of years or so out of my computer before there is any need to upgrade to a fancier unit. (Heh heh, I just said, "unit" - is one ever too old to quote Beavis and Butthead?)

What's Your Blog Rated?

Here is an interesting thing to do for your blog to find out what it is rated. Some blogs are crass and others are inspiring- go here to put in your blog and find out what is should be rated (as determined by some preset conditions). Mine is rated PG-13 but that's only because my Mom reads the thing. You may remember what it used to be like with I first started it. :)

Guess the Context

I am thinking up some interesting and fun things to put on this blog on Fridays. It seems so many bloggers have fun things they put up on their sites to include Friday Picture of the Day, A View from Your Window, and Weekly Updates of unique news stories.

While I haven't decided what I am doing to do, here is one idea I am thinking about. I'd share some funny newstory and you, dear reader, get to guess the context and the story. Let me give you an example:

When Romney's eldest son, Tagg, and his four brothers complained about the brown runoff down the back windshield, their father quietly pulled the car over, borrowed a gas station hose and sprayed down both the dog and the kennel before returning to the road.

Go here to get the context.

A History of the Food Stamp Program

I invited you to take a few minutes to learn about our nation's food stamp program. Understanding the poor and the plight of those who almost have enough. This video is a proud moment in American history where our nation's leaders saw a need and addressed it through compassion rather than through the politics of exclusion and nationalistic pride.

To me, this was and continues to be one of our country's shining moments with the creation of this social program.

A special thanks to Aaron Krager over at Faithfully Liberal for this post.

Something to Lighten Your Day

One of my favorite feel good movies is Billy Elliot, the true story of a kid from a coal mining town, who takes up ballet dancing and is later accepted into the Royal Ballet School in London. If you haven't seen it, let me encourage you to go and rent it today.

Here is a scene from the movie.

My 1996

In 1996, I moved to New York City after being released from active duty serving in the Bosnian Conflict. I had been stationed at San Vito Air Station, Italy, a small reactivated radar station serving special forces troops of NATO who were sent both to Bosnia to help with relief efforts as well as help forcibly negotiate certain troubles in Europe. After my tour had ended and after my own negotiation for a seminary in New York, I moved there 'bright-eyed and bushy-tailed'.

I moved to NYC, the most magical place on earth, or so it seemed to me (and still does). What I didn't personally know about NYC was that it was in the throes of pain and death as countless men were dying of AIDS in what some survivors have called a holocaust of gruesome death and decay. While I know a few survivors (I may actually know more than just a few), there really is no way that I can fully appreciate the horror that they experienced in their 1996. In some way, I guess it is like racism- while I can sympathize with African Americans and other people of color, unless I am a person of color, I can never fully internalize and know what they experience--no matter how hard I try.

When it comes to living with AIDS, the horror they feel and experience is beyong my ability to comprehend-- they deal with the shame, the immeasurable fear, and the medical drugs that wreck their bodies. And this is only those who have the HIV virus after 1996. What horror was it like for those before then when having HIV meant certain death, a kind of death that eats you up from the inside out? Andrew Sullivan wrote an article called 1996 in which he believes that date should have its own armistice day in which the HIV cocktails were developed and saved a people (my own people, mind you) from death and destruction. Sure, having HIV today is no picnic but with the advent of the coctails, AIDS went from being a plague to a disease, and Sullivan believes that is cause to celebrate. Sullivan, as you might imagine, has his critics. There are those who contend that we shouldn't celebrate anything and they have a point. AIDS isn't over and in some places, even in developed nations, it is on the rise again. But Sullivan articulates a respite that we can't and shouldn't ignore. You can also read a brief post about Sullivan's article by going here.

Of course, he means only those who live in developed nations. In nations that cannot afford the cocktail regime, they continue to live the plague pre-1996. Everything that happened in the USA before 1996 is what people in Africa and China are experiencing every day. In these places they still use AZT (chemotherapy in a pill that destroys all the infected cells, not just the bad ones).

Let me invite you to read Sullivan's article and feel the horror, if one can actually feel something like that in a written word. Perhaps it'll give us a glimpse into the minds of survirors as well as get a taste for their disdain for the 'powers that be' whether those powers are in the White House or in the local congregation or Temple.

Synod Gathering 2007

This year was the first time that I have ever attended the bi-annual meeting of my denomination. Called Synod, it meets in various cities across America. This year it met in Hartford, CT for an entire week (and actually it is still going on now). Most folks who aren't delegates go Friday through Sunday, whereas delegates stay from Thursday until the following Tuesday.

At this gathering, I was fortunate to hear Bill Moyers give the opening address as 13,000+ attendees met in Hartford's Civic Center. It was the largest such gathering of Synod, probably because it was a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the denomination, it met on the east coast where the majority of UCC churches are, and perhaps because Barack Obama, a UCCer himself was to speak (and did).

I loved Bill Moyers speech about faith and values and the need to not let others define who we are. I also enjoyed his wit and intellectualism. I also got to hear Walter Brueggemann the following day as he spoke about our history and the struggle within the denomination between the liberals and conservsatives (yes, the UCC has its own conservatives). Brueggemann sought to bring balance to both sides of the issue by encouraging a more open dialog. Being a retired professor of Old Testament and the writer of perhaps the most widely used OT history book in seminaries, his wisdom and patience was evident to those of us who are perhaps a bit nervous and definitely not patient.

I heard Barack Obama speak and enjoyed his testimony and declaration of faith. Having met Jesus through the UCC's Trinity Church in Chicago, his speech drew much applause as well as an edification of our collective faith. I was (and remain) a bit skeptical to have a Presidential candidate candidating at a denominational gathering; but most folks present felt his speech was worthwhile given the current President's use of his faith in office. Obama presented an alternative interpretation to Jesus' Good News. He also critiqued some evangelical zeal that puts a questionable emphasis on how some political folks interpret what they think Jesus felt was important.

You can go here to read his speech.

You can go here to watch Obama's campaigning speech as well as Moyer's speech.

Personally I would rather have heard from more speakers of faith rather than a candidating presidential nominee; not because I don't like him (because I do like Obama, even if he's a little unpolished). A gathering of faithful men and women should encourage deep commitment in one's faith journey and not be a part of someone else's White House bid. I say this even though I find Obama's faith (or at least the one he presents to us, with politicians, one never knows if they really believe what they say, right?). Interestingly Jeremiah Wright, the pastor at Trinity UCC, introduced Obama via a taped introduction. Surely that adds to Obama's support, but I am still uncertain if giving him a political platform at our bi-annual meeting was appropriate.

What I very much enjoyed about my first Synod experience was all the friends I ran into and the new ones that I made. Practically every UCC minister I knew was there. I met former seminary classmates there. And, I ran into many folks from my previous pastorate including the new pastor (who is also a friend of mine).

Oh, and one more thing I enjoyed was the 14,000 dozen cookies that were baked and given out at the gathering. Yes, you read that right: 14,000 dozen cookies. Is that incredible or what?! And they were available all throughout the event, passed around during the events and speeches. I hope they will always do that. To help illustrate how much I love cookies, in the foyer of my living room I have a sign that reads, "Life's Short, Eat Cookies."

Maggie

Last Friday I became the proud new owner (or, as a church member says, "A proud new father just in time for Father's Day,") of a 3 1/2 year old golden retriever/cocker spaniel mix dog named Maggie.

It has taken her some time to get used to her new environment and it's taken me sometime getting used to getting up at 6:00am to walk her (I don't have a fence in my backyard). Walking her 3-4 times a day was at first annoying and is now rather pleasant. And picking up the poo in those small doggie bags isn't as gross as I thought it would be.

She has a good temperament, is friendly to everyone, and is good company. The only downside is her barking. I am going to read up on the dog whisperer to see how I can put a stop to that. Do any of you have any suggestions?

A Love Story

I have no idea where this story originated but it is an interesting read.

*****

A long time ago, before the world was created and humans set foot on it for the first time, virtues and vices wandered bored, not knowing what to do.

One day, they were all gathered and bored more than ever when Ingenious had an idea: Why don't we play hide and seek? And all of them liked the idea, and immediately the mad Madness shouted: I want to count, I want to count and since no one else was crazy to seek for Madness, Madness leaned on a tree and started to count, 1, 2, 3. And as Madness counted, the vices and virtues went hiding.

Tenderness hung on the horn of the moon; Treason in a pile of garbage; Fondness cur led up between the clouds; Lie said he would hide under a stone but he lied and hid at the bottom of the lake; Passion went to the center of the earth; Avarice entered a sack that he ended up breaking....

And Madness continued to count, 79,80, 81,82. All the vices and virtues were already hidden by then, except for Love, whom as undecided as he is, did not know where to hide. And this should not surprise us because we all know how difficult it is to hide Love.

And Madness was already at 95, 96, 97 and just at the moment when she arrived at hundred, Love jumped into a rosebush and there he hid out. And Madness shouted "I'm coming! I'm coming!" and as she turned, the first one she saw was Laziness, thrown to her feet because he didn't have any energy to hide.

Then she saw Tenderness in the horn of the Moon, and Lie at the bottom of the lake, and Passion in the center of the earth... Discovering them one by one, finding all of them but one. Madness was getting desperate, unable to find the last missing one, until Envy, envious for having been discovered, whispered to Madness: "You are lacking Love, and he is hiding in the rosebush."

And Madness took a wooden pitchfork, and stabbed at the rosebush, and stabbed and stabbed, till a heartbreaking shout made her stop. And, after the shout, Love came out covering his face with his hands, and from between his fingers run two threads of blood, out of his eyes.

Madness anxious to find Love had took out Love's eyes with the pitchfork. What have I done?, what have I done? - she shouted. I have left you blind! How can I repair it? And Love answered, you can't restore my eyes. But if you want to do something for me, you could be my guide.

From that day on, Love is blind and is always accompanied by Madness.

One Heck of a Truism

The New York Times published some graduation speech excerpts over the weekend. A hat tip to Daily Kos for posting it. Here is my favorite:

"You’ve been told during your high school years and your college years that you are now about to enter the real world, and you’ve been wondering what it’s like. Let me tell you that the real world is not college. The real world is not high school. The real world, it turns out, is much more like junior high. You are going to encounter, for the rest of your life, the same petty jealousies, the same irrational juvenile behavior, the same uncertainty that you encountered during your adolescent years. That is your burden. We all share it with you. We wish you well."

---Tom Brokaw at Skidmore College

Scathing Response

Wayne Besen, the director of Truth Wins Out, an organization that challenges ex-gay propoganda, writes a scathing response to Jerusalem's new law banning any assembly that offends religious sensibilities or may be deemed a threat to public order. Specifically, Jerusalem is two votes from passing their new law to ban Gay Pride in Jerusalem. (The vote for the bill is not expected to be taken until after this year's Jerusalem Gay Pride.) Besen contends that Israel's political system, which is very much like our own, where the right to protest and hold public assemblies challenging anything from politics to religion, that Israel's agreement to such a law could have a dramatic backlash with unintended consequences.

In the same way, it is like our own assemblies where we gather to protest one thing or another. Can you imagine a political system that banned a protest that would be deemed offensive to someone? With the wrong people in power, anarchy would thrive. And the prisons would be filled with political 'Nelson Mandella-like dissidents'. Or, as a wisened Oklahoma grandparent might say, "They're cutting off their nose despite their face."

Besen goes even further in his lamblast by suggesting an even greater threat:

If the ultra-Orthodox think for one second that American and European Jews have any intention of supporting the Jewish version of Iran, they’ve got another thing coming. It is inexcusable that people, who have felt the sting of persecution, now mimic the tyrants who drove them to the shelter of Israel.

Go here to read his entire article.

A Great Sermon

The new pastor at Broadway United Church of Christ, the Rev. James Campbell, preached one fine sermon last week. You can read it by going here. It's a .PDF file.

The sermon is about trusting your gut and he interpreted Jesus' story about raising the young man into a touching account of both Jesus trusting his gut when confronted with the sadness and situation of the widow who lost both her husband and young son.

So True

Two Amazing Videos

Let's say that your day is going okay, not spectacular, just okay. Or, let's assume that your day is really crappy and your attitude is annoying your patmates. Well then, do I have the cure for you! Check out these two videos over at Towleroad's blog. The first one is a Billy Elliot-style success story and the second is an opera singer who doesn't know he can sing and works in a car parts store. The videos are from Britian's Got Talent, a television show that highlights various people's talents (and not just for their singing).

A Gay Bomb?

Just imagine. You're in a war, surrounded by the enemy and all hope seems lost. Being the platoon leader, your men turn to you for strength, courage, and resolve. With the enemy surrounding you and you know they don't take any prisoners, you know it's the end. You call your men over and tell them how proud of them you are. You tell them that they have sacrificed their lives for their country and our country was built on the blood of such youn......

"Kaaaa-BOOM!!!" the sound rips apart the air and suddenly everything turns pink.

"That's strange," you say to yourself. 'Is that the Village People's Macho Macho Man playing in the background?'"

And suddenly the enemy drops their rifles and they start kissing each other. On the mouth. While taking off their uniforms because they must.

You think to yourself in stunned amazement, "What in the hell just happened?!"

"Oh, we're saved! That must be the new gay bomb," says the young and eternally cute young soldier who plucks his eyebrows every morning and the scary thing is that you have noticed and thinks it makes him look better.

Okay, so what am I talking about? The Pentegon has confirmed that in 1994 it was considering making a bomb, that when detonated would cause the enemy to turn gay and have uncontrollable gay sex with each other leaving them unable to fight. Instead, they'd be singing showtunes, dancing with their shirts off, and have humping each other all the time.

You think I am kidding? Go here and be amazed.

Unfortunately what the military didn't understand is that it already has gay men and women serving in its service and they don't all have sex all the time and behave like eternal club kids. They actually perform and sustain the services like they've always done with professionalism, integrity, and hard work.

A Falwell Replacement Already?!

The Rev. Jerry Falwell probably isn't even cold yet and there has arisen a new proponent of the 'God is removing God's protective curtain over America because of them homosexuals.' And to be quite honest, I am rather stunned by who it is: The Rev. Dr. John MacArthur.

John MacArthur is a prolific writer, pastor, and college and seminary president, who one would think is beyond such tribal interpretations of an angry God looking to smite the disobedient. And yet, here he is. I found a sermon post about his sermon in which James Dobson (Focus on the Family) gives support to MacArthur's belief that "he wouldn't be surprised" that a major city would be destroyed. And who does he blame? He blames them lesbians.

Here is the post:

On the June 4 edition of his Focus on the Family radio show, Focus on the Family founder and chairman James C. Dobson broadcast a sermon by John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, titled "A Nation Abandoned by God." In the sermon, MacArthur said America had forsaken God and engendered the "wrath of abandonment" as a result. MacArthur declared: "You know a society has been abandoned by God when it celebrates lesbian sex." MacArthur further argued that as a result of America's abandonment, the destruction of a major U.S. city "could happen" and that "God would be just in any calamity he brought upon us."

DOBSON: Some of our listeners are not going to agree with what he [MacArthur] has to say, but it's going to make you think, and it's also going to be somewhat disturbing. And I happen to agree with what John MacArthur was saying on this day, and I want to thank him and his team and Woodman Valley Chapel for allowing us to share this message. It needs to be heard, especially at this time in our nation.

Go here to read the post. Go here to read the post source and listen to Dobson.

When Yesterday was Young

I just read a post concerning that 'Man of the bush,' no not George, this is a completely different kind of bush. I am referring to George Michael. (Ba-dum dum dum!)

Okay, so George was quoted as explaining why the media is 'out to get him'. It isn't because of his drug use, falling asleep as the wheel while intoxicated, or even his extracurricular activities in said foliage. No, it's because all men are jealous of him because he gets to shirk parental responsibilities.

Here is his story:

He said, "I think at the end of it all I represent something profoundly different for society.

"I have grown up surrounded by people who think that sex, drugs and rock n' roll is compatible with a working life while being married with children. During the 1980s, my generation and the one after me, found that was impossible.

"Me, I don't want any children, I don't want responsibility. I am gay, I smoke weed and I do exactly what I want in my life because of my talent. I represent an ideal which others have had to let go and they blame me for that. Especially men."

You can read the original post here.

Actually, I am amazed at how he went from Number 1 hottie, to well.. ahem.. looking older than his 43 years of life. Sure, he's had one incredibly ride, but daaaaaaaaang, he sure looks a lot older for the wear, right?

Honestly, I think he's an amazing talent. He always has been one. When he gets his life in order (and surely he will), he'll have one heck of a story to tell. He might not ever look as young or sexy as he was, but his music will always be.

A Laserjet Printer for $20?!

I recognize that most often, when a deal sounds too good to be true, it usually is. But help me out here, is this correct? In order to get it as this price, you'll need to do three things: 1) follow the link below, 2) put the printer in your online shopping cart, and 3) print out a separate rebate form (you'll see it when you click on the link at the top of the screen that gives you the directions. The latter is a mail-in rebate, which is usually like waiting 3 months for your rebate. Still.. a final price of $20 is tough to beat, right?

Go here to begin your link clicking experience.

Shameful Fundraising Tactics

Jim Wallis confronts Focus on the Family's claim that gay folks are responsible for the breakdown of the American family. Speaking directly to them, they concede and admit gay folks have nothing to do with it. In doing so, they show that their fundraising tactics are built on fear-mongering and lies.

Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for this post.

"I had this conversation with Focus on the Family, and I said I agree with you that family breakdown is a huge crisis, a serious crisis. And I don't think the Left talks about that enough. My neighborhood is eighty percent single parent families. You can't overcome poverty with that, with eighty percent single parent families. But how do we reweave the bonds of marriage, family, extended family, and community, to put our arms around the kids? And it's not just in poor neighborhoods. Kids are falling through the cracks of fractured family in all classes and neighborhoods.

So I said to them, I want to rebuild family life and relationships, but explain to me how gay and lesbian people are the ones responsible for all that? which is what their fund-raising strategy suggests. And after about an hour and a half they conceded the point.

They said, Okay Jim, we concede that family breakdown is caused much more by heterosexual dysfunction than by homosexuals. But then they said, We can't vouch for our fundraising department, which says a lot, I think" - Jim Wallis, Powells.com.

Bullied 15 Year Old Boy Commits Suicide

Bullying really does have ramifications for kids who cannot or do not know how to handle it. Regardless of our sexual orientations, bullying instills a level of fear in a person that can distort their reality. Unfortunately the kid in this story was also drunk, his distorted reality manifested itself in his horrible resolution to end the bullying. Here is the story:

A boy of 15 lay down in front of a train to commit suicide after being teased at school about his sexuality, an inquest was told yesterday.

Moments before he died, Jonathan Reynolds sent harrowing text messages to his family telling that them they were not to blame for what was about to happen. A passer-by saw him holding the mobile as he lay down on the tracks in front of a train travelling at 85mph (136km/h) through Pencoed railway station near Bridgend, South Wales.

In his last text message sent to his father, Mark, and his 14-year-old sister, Samantha, the teenager wrote: “Tell everyone that this is for anybody who eva said anything bad about me, see I do have feelings too. Blame the people who were horrible and injust 2 me. This is because of them, I am human just like them.

“I hope they rot in hell 4 what they made me do. They know who they are.”

He added: “None of you blame urself mum, dad, Sam and the rest of my family. This is not because of you.”

A postmortem examination showed that Jonathan, who achieved a grade A in his GCSE Welsh oral exam on the day he died, had a blood-alcohol level three and a half times the legal limit for driving.

The inquest jury sitting at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court was told that Jonathan, a pupil at Bryntirion Comprehensive School, had argued on the phone with two friends, Saphra Hayes and Nicola Kennett, on the evening he died.

Both girls told police that they ended their conversations with Jonathan on good terms. His mother, Caroline, told the inquest that she believed that the arguments had been a “catalyst” for his actions. She said: “He was, to all intents and purposes, in for the night, and then following a few angry phone calls he changed his mind and went out.”

South Wales Police investigated Jonathan’s death because of the nature of his final text message, but Detective Inspector Russell Warwick said: “There were no issues that constituted criminality.”

Although Jonathan had not complained of being bullied at school, Detective Chief Inspector Sandra England, of the British Transport Police, said that weeks earlier he had confided to a friend that he was gay.

The friend, Aimee Murray, told Ms England that Jonathan had been teased about his sexuality by a number of boys at school. She also said that he had been using concealer on his face because of acne.

Thomas Coleman, from Pencoed, was walking his two dogs with his wife near the railway station at 8.25pm when he saw Jonathan on the line.

Mr Coleman said: “He had a mobile in his hand. I called out and said, ‘Get off the track’. He looked at me and just put his head back down and I saw him walking across the track. I was walking across the bridge and he was walking across the track and he seemed to lie down and the train came.”

William Roberts, the driver of the train from Cardiff to Carmarthen, saw Jonathan jump down from the station platform on to the track. There was no possibility of avoiding him as the train’s stopping distance at 85mph was nearly three quarters of a mile. Mr Roberts said: “I started to blow the horn. He was walking across the line right across the track and just lay down on the line.”

Dr Alan Rees, a pathologist, concluded that Jonathan died of multiple injuries. The jury returned an open verdict.

Towelroad quotes this story from the Times UK.

It sure is easy to love this guy

CHICAGO , IL-- U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement to commemorate Pride Month.

"Pride Month is a reminder that while we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do."

"Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."

"It's time to turn the page on the bitterness and bigotry that fill so much of today's LGBT rights debate. The rights of all Americans should be protected -- whether it's at work or anyplace else. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" needs to be repealed because patriotism and a sense of duty should be the key tests for military service, not sexual orientation. Civil unions should give gay couples full rights. And those who commit hate crimes should be punished no matter whether those crimes are committed on account of race, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation."

"This Pride Month, let's make our founding promise of equality a reality for every American."

Striking Difference, Eh?

When it comes to our expressions of love, it is difficult to imagine a more striking contrast.

Would this Scare the bejezus out of you?