The week that was....

Let's rewind to last Friday, or better stated, a week ago last Friday.  I had to wait around my house for a guy to deliver our new floor palates.  After that, I got my girls packed up (my puppy dog girls) and drove them to the resort for a weekend stay.  Next, it was up to Greenville from Columbia to meet my dad.  We headed up to Black Mountain for a men's retreat.  By the way, it was a great retreat.  I'll be posting another series of blogs on the sessions over the coming days.  Stay tuned.  After heading back on Sunday afternoon, I was scheduled to work from home on Monday which I did.  We had guys coming to install the new floor we just had delivered.  I'll have to post some pictures when I get the chance.  Our new floors look great!  Both Alli and I are very very happy.  Monday was a typical day, although slow moving.  Almost nothing of the dining room existing floor was removed.  It should have been, but probably I'll chalk that up to poor choices by the foreman.  The original schedule was supposed to have them finishing on Tuesday.  They didn't.  This frustrated both Alli and I because of the need to leave our home a mess, stuff scattered everywhere, furniture out of place.  No TV in our living room could be watched - we had everything disconnected because of the work.  So, they're gonna finish on Wednesday right?  Wrong.  The foreman had a doctor's appointment and then a meeting with a lawyer - so I let it slide and said he could come back and finish on Thursday.  Fortunately, they did, but I had to work from home again.  At least it wasn't raining, like on Tuesday, on which I got nothing done.  Between the rain, the puppies, and the noise on Tuesday, I had a pretty big headache Tuesday night.  But was I too lenient?  You be the judge - post a comment and let me know.  Friday might have been the most normal day of the entire week.  Saturday was busy.  We had a new table delivered.  I took my vehicle for some service work.  I also picked up my brother in law Mike to clean our house (ok, ask Alli for those details).  After Mike finished, Alli dropped me off at her parents to help her mom fix her computer (which only needed to be rebooted).  While I was there, I ended up chasing a bird out of their house.  Alli and her mom were scared out of their wits.  Her dad and I were calm, cool, and collected.  Then, I watched the Gators chomp the Gamecocks and take 1 more step in quest of another BCS championship.  Oh yeah, did I mention I raked up pine needles and leaves in our yard too?   So, it was a rather full day.  Sunday, I was on the technical team for both services, so I was up early.  I spent part of the afternoon typing up notes from the retreat, went to cell group (community group), and them came home and watched the Colts/Patriots game on TV.  So I guess you could say it's been a jam-packed last 10 days.  Stay tuned - more blogs to come.  BTW - Star Trek XI releases on DVD this week.  If you haven't seen this new movie yet, I highly recommend it, even if you've never watched it (Star Trek) before.  The story details how a group of young officers meet and come together to bond as friends, and co-workers.  The message is an excellent one - very positive and hopeful, and if you don't mind an occasional scene of something being blown into little tiny pieces, then this is a totally awesome movie.  I'll predict you'll be looking for a sequel.  Soon.  I certainly was.

Until next we blog,

E

Going Rogue

No, this blog isn't about the new book by Sarah Palin, at least, it's not about what that book is about.  Because I don't know what that book is about.  I haven't read it.  At least not yet.  Many of you who know me well can attest to the fact I'm not a fast reader, regardless of the situation.  So why would I want to read a book about a potential 2012 candidate for the presidency?  Now, that is a good question!  The simple answer is this.  With all the bad rap she's gotten lately, I'd rather read the book and judge for myself.  Something about it is compelling to me.  I know very very little about her - mom, wife, hunter, governor, etc.  I think it's very possible most of what we've heard so far is inaccurate, or at least incomplete.  One thing you may not know about me is that I am a political junkie.  I could literally sit and watch election returns and poll surveys for hours.  I don't quite know why.  Maybe that wild political streak in me says read it and find out for yourself.  Which is funny, because I can't think of any other person in politics or talk media who could write a book which I would want as a Christmas present this year.  I know.  Call me crazy.  What if we're all wrong about her?  What if she is what this country needs?  In the end, I think the only thing I think I know about her is that I don't know nearly enough to think I know who she really is.  And something about that might be why I think I want to read the book.

Better to keep an open mind and seek to fill it with the truth, right?

P.S. The end of the world is not going to be in 2012, I don't care what the Mayan calendar says.

That's my blog & I'm sticking to it.
--
E J Barlik
edge74@gmail.com
http://edgeofthegalaxy.blogspot.com/
http://eastusffl.webs.com/

The Modern Concerto

OK, I guess it's time again to start posting blogs.  I get in spurts as you already know.  Mostly that is because of when I have the time to blog. 

 

A couple weeks back, we had the chance to go to a sort-of mini music festival in Simpsonville, SC.  It was billed as the first annual Third Day Family Picnic.  Well, whatever you call it, it was well worth the money we shelled out.  Now, for those of you who don't know who Third Day is, I think it will suffice to say that at the current time, they are the most popular and successful band in Christian Music.  If you want to go back and have a debate on the greatest band in Christian Music history, I bet we could spend a lot of hours in that discussion - but that's another discussion for another time.

 

Now, normally when you go to see a concert, there will typically be 1 or 2 opening acts.  Teasers, if you will, for the headline act who will close out the evening.  And even with that, you can get a pretty good show, if long.  This particular event was outdoors, open air, with chairs setup towards the front, and a grassy knoll (i.e., the "picnic" area) at the back where you could bring a blanket to lay out on, etc.  In short, if you ever get the chance to see a concert at this outdoor ampitheatre in Simsonville, SC, I highly recommend that you go.  The sound was actually pretty well accessible from everywhere on the property, which is definitely a good thing.  The night was not your typical concert, with no less than I think 7 different bands playing, which is awesome, even if you only go to hear 2 of them.  We got a bonus in the fact that at least half of the bands playing were worth it to go see.

 

The night opened with Audio Unplugged.  They are a rather new band, a stripped-down version of the former Audio Adrenaline.  Same lead singer and also one of the guitar guys was also the same. We didn't know they were going to be there however, and probably missed 2-3 of their numbers as we didn't get there until about 6:45, maybe 15 minutes after the show started.  But, they did not disappoint.  And the memories of all their classic hits got the evening off to a great start. 

 

After what I'll call a "throw-away" band or two, a group called "Glory Revealed" came out.  In truth, they're not so much a band as a group of individuals from other bands who recorded an album together.  All very talented, their purpose is to write directly from scripture, and thus invoke scripture memory by listening to the songs.  Most of their numbers were bluegrass-infused, and Mac Powell of Third Day even sang on a few of the tunes.  I came away very impressed.  Enough so, that I may buy their albums this holiday season.

 

There was also a "pastor" there and he encouraged us to reach out to the church (global meaning) all around us and partner with the body to maximaize our effectiveness.  That, and he shared his heart for writing songs to invoke the scripture memory because he (and I share his view) believes today's modern Christian music is a bigger vehicle than ever for commincating scripture to those who are listening.

 

After another break, the first of the "double-headliners" came out.  To my eyes, Jars of Clay seemed to effortlessly roll through 10 - 12 numbers.  I'll call it a half-concert compared to what I think Jars would do if holding down the anchor spot.  They did several new songs from their recent album "The Long Fall Back To Earth", as well as a few from their early self-titled album, and one or two others from "Good Monsters".  I wished we had another 30 or 40 minutes of Jars, as they really had a bit more of a "electronic" vibe than I remember from them in the past.  Excellent, for sure.  Lead singer Dan Haseltine was in excellent voice, and had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Even on lyrics I wasn't familiar with, he was fairly understandable (which was not the case when the lead singer of Thousand Foot Krutch was screaming out (not kidding) vocals during their set - I know he was screaming because his face was red practically the entire night).  One thing I also noticed is that I think Dan Haseltine looks about the same weight now as he was back when Jars got started.  I think he had picked up some "baby fat" over the past few years.  On this night, he looked slim and trim, and was bouncing all over the place.

 

There was another break as they set up for Third Day.  I think they must have cranked out 18-20 numbers, maybe more, over the course of about 80 or 90 minutes.  I'll call it a 3/4 concert for Third Day.  Maybe slightly shorter than what you typically would see if they had a full set.  One number they played which I wasn't expecting was "Consuming Fire".  I don't remember them playing it since Brad Avery left the band for unspecified reasons a little over 1 year ago.   Everything sounded great, and they have definitely stepped up their overall concert performance with 12 video screens, more lights, and the like.  They even squeezed in an acoustic set, ala U2, in the middle of the performance.  This mini-set came just after a brief 5-10 minute rain shower, which left the majority of the crowd standing the remainder of the evening.  They even took 1 or 2 requests from the audience during this part.  They brought out some of the Glory Revealed folks to help out on different tunes throughout the night, and to add in some variety.  They did not disappoint.  Towards the end of the show, I was expecting the Jars guys to come back out for a performance of "When Love Comes To Town" (U2) since they had done this number on the recent "Live Revelations" album with additional help from Robert Randolph.  What we got instead was a real treat - the "bonus baby" I'll call it.  Mac came out on stage and said he had a surprise for everyone and it definitely caught us off guard.  He was talking about how the band was from GA and how they had recently been inducted into the GA Music Hall Of Fame.  So anyway, he says they've only practiced it a few times, and it was kinda the "official" song of GA, that if you were from there, you kinda had to know this one.  And the folks from Glory Revealed are all back out on the stage.  The music starts and they break into "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" (Charlie Daniels).  They definitely got us on that one!  But, it sounded great.  Mac still didn't know all the words yet, but it didn't matter because one of the other singers from GR had his back on the last verse and picked up seamlessly.  It brought the house down - easily the highlight of the evening.  And thinking back, I really didn't "miss" Brad Avery not being there.  I think the guys are doing just fine as they are.

 

So if this is what the modern concert is gonna look like in Christian music, I applaud the effort and look forward to many many more.

 

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

 

Edge

 

Your next wedding toast.......Romulan ale???

Question: What do you get 2 sci-fi freaks who get married?
Answer: A Star Trek wedding, of course? Think I'm kidding? Check this out.

What a great way to spend an afternoon. I'd love to get invited to something like that. Just don't ask me to wear the red shirt as best man....(in Trek fandom, almost every Ensign in a red shirt on an away mission dies....)

Mr. Data, make it so!

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

New keyboard now available

For those of you who have been struggling with English, it seems that new keyboards are being developed which allow you to type in other languages. One of them that caught my eye recently was in Klingon. Yes, you saw that correctly - Klingon. What someone would want a keyboard in a fictitional language for, I'm not entirely sure. But for all you Trekkies, it's one more thing to add on the Christmas list...right next to the cologne I blogged about in March.

That's my blog & I'm sticking to it...Qaplah! (Loosly translated: Success!)

Edge

Goooooooooooooooooo Gat-, er, Gamecocks.....

Got one of those once in a season opportunities tonight. One of my wife's colleagues at work had 2 extra tix to the Gamecocks vs. Rebels football game at Williams-Brice Stadium. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to go. And actually, it wasn't my first college football game -- it wasn't even my first Gamecocks game --- and it wasn't my first time at W-BS....so why all the fuss? Well, there's just something about the college football atmosphere I guess. Plus, I so rarely get to see a game in person, that it was a real treat for me. For those wondering, I did get to see the Gamecocks play my beloved Florida Gators in the Swamp (i.e., Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium) several years ago. And I have been to W-BS for other events before. But, I had never been to a home game where the Gamecocks were involved.

The day at work started out pretty busy and remained that way until I got off at 4 PM. Even "rushing" home, we didn't leave until almost 4:30. But waiting for me at home was a brand spanking new ball cap - solid black with the Gamecocks logo in the center. That was a really nice present from my baby. And quite unexpected. It worked pretty well with my Pirates of The Caribbean football jersey, so I was good to go. We drove over and met Alli's friend and then made our way down the stadium. Parking was much improved at the Fairgrounds. They have paved pretty much everything, and left a lot of natural grass for cars to park on. Tailgating was limited to Subway subs and cookies on this night, but the real treat was the game itself.

If you look at the stats on the ESPN recap, they will lie to you. The stats show mostly an even game. But, as the old saying goes, there are 3 kinds of falsehoods: lies, damn lies, and statistics. SC basically dominated the entire game with their defense. They played fast and aggressive, yet controlled. Credit to the defensive coaches for all of that. True enough, they did give up a couple long runs and a 45 yard TD on a blown coverage where 2 defenders ran into each other. Take those away, and you wind up with the equivalent of under 200 yards of offense for the Rebels. QB Jevan Snead looked uncomfortable all night. He was missing some sight reads, made several poor throws (usually high), and generally looked out of sorts, like he was totally intimidated by the Gamecock defense. He's better than that. But let's agree to say he had an off night. Ole Miss has some very fast running backs though. It seemed like we kept trying to tackle them most of the night.

SC's offense looked rather average on the night, but better than I've seen them in the past. QB Steven Garcia made fewer poor decisions, and generally ran the offense pretty well. Credit (Head) Coach (Steve) Spurrier for coaching him up and allowing his QB to made good judgments when he got into trouble. The game plodded along and Carolina kicked a FG to close out the first half and take a 6-3 lead. The 3rd quarter saw a blocked punt, and fumble, and Carolina with the chance to go up big. Instead, they settled for a 16-3 lead. At times, I think the refs were watching a different game than we were. They missed a couple calls, and actually called back a touchdown where there really was no penalty, but either way, the Gamecocks took a 13-point lead into the 4th quarter. The defense held on for the win during a late Rebel drive, forcing a sack, and several incomplete passes, and largely did not fall into the trap of mis-defending the "Wild Rebel" (i.e., "wildcat") formation all night.



WILDCAT 101
Compared to a standard 3-4 defense (3 defensive lineman, 4 linebackers), a typical 2 RB/2 WR setup for the offense lends itself to a variety of good plays. However, the wildcat formation causes some problems for the defense as the diagram shows. (1) By putting the QB out near the sideline, you force the defense to use a man to cover him, allowing for 1 fewer defender to make a tackle. (2) With the 2nd RB coming in motion, he could get the snap from center, have the main RB hand him the ball, or simply fake out the defense by continuing to run across the formation even when he doesn't have the ball. A linebacker is forced to follow him across the formation, thus pulling him away from his natural duty of protecting against a short pass. (3) By putting the TE in the backfield, you have now forced another linebacker to setup outside the defensive lineman, and "key" on him as a potential blocker or receiver in the backfield on the offensive side of the ball. (4) Setting both WR to one side forces both defensive CB to play on the same side of the field - this can create coverage issues if the WR advance and cross each other. (5) It opens up the middle of the defense if the offense has a RB who can throw a pass because the defense either has to "cheat" a safety to stop a potential run, or get burned deep if the WR beats his CB (cornerback). Again, this is very basic stuff off the top of my head. A number of variations of this setup exist, from exotic 4-WR packages on the offense, to jumbo-3 TE packages on the goal line when trying to score a TD. If the defense plays a 4-3 (4 defensive lineman, 3 linebackers), it can become even more deadly with potential trick plays. There is a lot of cat-and-mouse on both sides, with each coach trying to out-maneuver the other.

Yahoo! Sports has their own animated graphics of the Wildcat, along with a description of how defensive coordinators hope to defend it.

But all in all, I had a great time. I owe a big thank you to Patricia for inviting us, and look forward to seeming more in the future.

One big shout out to the Carolina fans on this night. Even watching on TV, I never got the sense W-BS was very loud. It was VERY loud tonight - especially during the 4th quarter when Carolina's defense was trying to make the final stops and squash the Ole Miss offense during the final half of the 4th quarter. I think the Gamecocks defense may have fed off some of the crowd's energy to make several big plays to close out the game.

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Iron Chef Blythewood - Secret Ingredient: Pineapple

Well, I don't have 60 minutes, and I'm not cooking up 5 recipes here, but I do have one for a killer "Triple P" smoothie that's a great way to start out your day.

 

You'll need:

1 standard bar-style blender

1 16 oz can of chunked pineapple in its own juice

1 large peach

1 plum

8-12 ice cubes

Milk (optional)

Non-alcoholic Pina Colada mix (optional)

 

Prep:

Cut peach and plum in half and remove any nuts from center.

 

Instructions: pour pineapple & juice into the blender.  Add remaining fruit and ice.  Place lid securely on blender.  Pulse the blender a few times to get the ice cubes downward into the blades.  Blend on low, medium, or high until desired consistency is achieved.  Remove lid and taste with a spoon. If you like a somewhat "smoother" smoothie, add a little milk to thin out the chunkiness.  Add pina colada mix if you want to jazz up the taste a bit.  Replace lid securely, and pulse again to mix in milk or pina colada mix.

 

In under 5 minutes, you've got a delicious, nutritious "triple P" (pineapple/peach/plum) power-packed smoothie to start your day the healthy way!  Should be enough for 2 smoothies (or if you're like me, 1 large one).

 

Got a favorite pineapple recipe of your own?  Blog about it and I'll link my recipe to yours.

 

That's my recipe & I'm sticking to it!

 

Edge

Myrtle Beach Vacation Videos

Vacation Pictures from Myrtle Beach

Vacations & stuff

Seeing Randy's vacation blog reminded me that I never got to post anything on the one we took recently to Myrtle Beach. We stayed at the Caribbean Resort, which I highly endorse. They have specials running all the time, or at least it seems that way. The hotel itself was fabulous. I especially liked the indoor hot tubs and lazy river (the outside ones were ok too).

First of all, it was the first time we took a vacation with friends, and I definitely hope not the last. (Family vacations don't count in this category.) Kevin and I got to play golf, which was pretty cool. He had a tough day, but I think it was pretty relaxing. While I didn't play great, I actually had a lot of fun and only lost 3 golf balls, which is way better than I usually do. I managed to stay out of the woods most of the day (although I was there enough), which is a good sign for me.

One night, all 5 of us (me, Alli, Kayte, Kevin, & Kayden) went out for seafood. It was pretty good. The GPS kinda gave us faulty directions, but we managed to get there finally, and the price was pretty good for what we got.

We also went out to play mini-golf one night. It was guys vs. gals, and it really wasn't close. There was only 1 hole-in-one that I remember, but also several other close attempts. The fact that we all had a good time was only topped by the sight of us carrying Kayden's stroller over the various obstacles when we couldn't push it because of steps, or barriers, or whatever. She was largely very good during the entire trip, and I have to commend her for her good behavior - but then, who knows what to expect from an 8-month old???

The beach was nice enough. I'm really not the best critic because I'm not a fan of the beach by nature (having grown up in FL). Just sitting out in the sand, reading a book is not fun to me. But, one thing I think I learned on the trip was that sometimes building relationships may cost you a sunburn or two. Hopefully next time, I'll remember that lesson. The Atlantic Ocean at Myrtle Beach was pretty good. There were enough waves to make splashing around for 20-30 minutes fun enough. And at night, it was nice enough to go walking on the sand and hunt for shells, which is fairly hard without flashlights....but that's another story for another time. While we were out walking one evening, a guy managed to snag a baby shark. Kinda neat, but I stayed far enough away to prevent touching it.....

We also got in some shopping at a couple different places. Not a lot of things for me to buy really, but we did uphold our annual tradition of picking out a Christmas ornament on vacation. That is definitely one tradition I enjoy. It gives us a chance to think about the memories, and then experience them again at Christmastime.

I think I'll post vacation pictures in my next blog.....

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

For The Record.....

My 2009 NFL Predicitions - let's see how I do this year...

Note: do not use these predictions to bet on anything.  I can only guarantee I have the correct team names.....

NFC East

1. Philadelphia Eagles - best team in a hard-nose division

2. Dallas Cowboys - lack of TO will hurt them eventually

3. New York Giants - no WR for Eli

4. Washington Redskins - QB is only second-rate

NFC North

1. Minnesota Vikings - forget Favre, this is AP's team

2. Green Bay Packers - Rodgers = 8 wins

3. Chicago Bears - trade for Cultler improves the team, but not enough

4. Detroit Lions - starting a rookie QB

NFC West

1. Arizona Cardinals - should be able to win with Warner & company

2. Seattle Seahawks - healthy Hasselbeck + TJ Housh = 1300 yards & 12 TDs

3. San Francisco 49ers - Singletary is working hard to improve a team without a solid QB

4. St. Louis Rams - still have too many holes to fill at WR, and on defense

NFC South

1. Carolina Panthers - running game will bulldoze everyone

2. New Orleans Saints - high-octane offense will make up for average defense

    Atlanta Falcons (tie) - I was wrong about Ryan - he's good

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - no QB to speak of.....

AFC East

1. New England Patriots - Brady is money with Randy Moss

2. Miami Dolphins - can't do it 2 years in a row

3. New York Jets - Sanchez has "it", but will still have rookie learning curve

    Buffalo Bills (tie) - call a TO, baby, you'll need one at 5-11

AFC North

1. Pittsburgh Steelers - still the best in an improving division

2. Baltimore Ravens - Flacco is for real, should win 10 again

3. Cincinnati Bengals - Palmer back at full strength should help

4. Cleveland Browns - if you have 2 starting QB, you really have no starting QB.....

AFC West

1. San Diego Chargers - clinch the division by November 10th

2. Denver Broncos - why did they trade Cutler???  now 6-10

3. Oakland Raiders - JaMarcus Russell isn't the answer

4. Kansas City Chiefs - Cassel has no support, soon no Larry Johnson

AFC South

1. Indianapolis Colts - Manning will be back at 100%

2. Tennessee Titans - if Collins gets hurt, might not make .500

3. Houston Texans - Schaub + Johnson = 15 TD & 1400 yards easy

    Jacksonville Jaguars (tie) - defense has to carry them until Garrard & Jones-Drew take over

Playoffs:

NFC: Philadelphia, Minnesota, Arizona (Bye), Carolina (Bye), New Orleans (Wild Card), Dallas Cowboys (Wild Card)

AFC: New England (Bye), Indianapolis (Bye), San Diego, Pittsburgh, Baltimore (Wild Card), Tennessee (Wild Card)

Round 1: New Orleans over Philadelphia, Minnesota over Dallas, San Diego over Baltimore, Pittsburgh over Tennessee

Round 2: Arizona over Minnesota, New Orleans over Carolina, New England over Pittsburgh, Indianapolis over San Diego

Round 3: New Orleans over Arizona, Indianapolis over New England

Super Bowl XLIV: Indianapolis over New Orleans, 42-38

===========

Bonus UFL predictions

Orlando Tuskers - 4-2

New York Sentinels - 3-3

Las Vegas Locomotives - 3-3

California Redwoods - 2-4

UFL Bowl: Orlando over New York, 28-21

Bonus NCAA prediction: Gators go 14-0, repeat as national champs!!!!! Gooooooooooooooooo Gators!

That's my blog & I'm sticking to it!

Edge

When Can A Fake Cure Be Better Than The Real Thing???????

Take about 10 minutes to read the following article.  It chronicles a rise in what doctors call "the placebo effect", or the ability of a sugar pill to accomplish the same thing as real medicine.  I think it's an interesting look into the over-medication of society as a whole.

I'd really like a lot of feedback on this article - especially from those of you who work in and around the medical community.

http://www.wired.com/medtech/drugs/magazine/17-09/ff_placebo_effect

My personal thought is that the less medicine we take, the healthier we will be.  Now, I know that sounds a lot like a true-ism (the ability of a statement to be true because the premise of the statement automatically entails the results).  But don't get me wrong here.  I think we (as a society) are rushing to doctors for medications when we have nothing in terms of an illness.  It's also why society is becoming less respondent to antibiotics - namely because we take too many of them.  Personally, I try not to go to the doctor when I already know he's gonna provide an over-the-counter strength prescription.  I figure I'll save myself the co-pay, go over to Publix or Wal-Mart and just buy the thing.  I try to go to the doctor for more serious stuff (bronchitis, strep, severe colds with respiratory junk, etc.).  Or in a more serious condition, I'll even go to my local urgent care facility.  I did recently for an x-ray of what might have been a broken finger.  (At first, my insurance denied the claim on the grounds that I didn't contact my primary physician first - but I fought the denial of claim and won on the grounds that it was (1) after hours of my regular physician, and (2) to wait until my doctor was open would be like saying I also could not go to the ER in a serious emergency -- fortunately, common sense prevailed, and I saved myself the $112.)

But the deeper issue here is the amazing power of the human body to heal itself if we just let it.  Now, that doesn't mean medicine can't help.  But ideally, medicine should be designed to trigger the body's natural defense mechanism, or in extreme cases, supplement it where the body will not produce anti-bodies to fight the infection/disease.

I would bet you that the less medicine we take, the longer we'll live because we won't have all that junk in our system gumming up the works.....

But hey, it's only my opinion.  I'd love to hear yours...

Edge

Insta-blog.....quite possibly the best 70's TV promo of all time, definitely of this decade

Shweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hall Of Famers from Atlanta

For those of you who keep up with Third Day, here is a recent article by Jeff Foxworthy "roasting" the current wonderboys of Christian Rock music...or is he roasting himself?  It's hard to tell.  Anyway, here is a link to the article: http://www.thirdday.com/gahof.htm

 

And for those who want to catch Third Day here in SC, surf over to their concerts page.  They ar ehosting the equivalent of a mini-Christian Music festival coming up in Simpsonville, SC.  Alli & I have tickets and are already looking forward to it....

 

Their heart is right on track, their message is sound, and their music is rocking!  If you've never heard them, you owe it to yourself to check them out.  You just might find a new favorite band.....

 

That's another short blog for tonight.....

 

Edge

Ultra Violet MtnDew Update

I posted a blog a while back on the preponderance of Mountain Dew flavors.  In the post, one rumor was that Mountain Dew Ultra Violet would be a new flavor......

Well, it's finally on the shelves, and it's only in diet.  The color is a bit unique - light purple, hence the "ultra" violet name.

Personally, I'm giving it 2 thumbs up, especially since it has zero calories, and that makes it guilt free. But rather than give away the taste, I'll make you go try it for yourself....

Let me know what you think, and I might just award a free bottle of the stuff to someone based on the review.......

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

Edge
http://edgeofthegalaxy.blogspot.com/

DNA can't be faked, right? Or can it?

It's now possible to fake DNA!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/science/18dna.html?_r=1

How long will it be before the first case is overturned????  I wonder......

Personally, if this is possible, I think it calls into question every case won on DNA evidence, and the ability to preserve evidence in its original state for future analysis.

In the words of a popular talk show host: What say you???

Edge

We won the war!

If you paid any attention at all over the past 16-20 years, you have been assaulted with two versions of the impact of America's successes or failures in foreign combat.  Liberals generally say we have "lost".  Conservatives trumpet the victory chant.  Now, you may be sensing where I'm going with this blog, but slow down.  I'd like to share with you an excerpt from our current commander-in-chief, President Barack H. Obama.  The following excerpt is taken from a speech given recently.  Check out the article for the full reference.

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/phoenixmetro/central/story/Man-protests-President-Obamas-Phoenix-speech-with/q4OeoN6qZU-efcy1Zoq7xQ.cspx?p=2

"In recent years, our troops have succeeded in every mission America has given them, from toppling the Taliban to deposing a dictator in Iraq to battling brutal insurgencies. At the same time, forces trained for war have been called upon to perform a whole host of missions. Like mayors, they've run local governments and delivered water and electricity. Like aid workers, they've mentored farmers and built new schools. Like diplomats, they've negotiated agreements with tribal sheikhs and local leaders."

What I want to point out here are the following aspects of his statement:

1. He admits that our troops have succeeded

2. He admits they have succeeded in EVERY mission

3. He admits the missions were given by America as a whole (not democrats, not republicans, not independents)

This is a far cry from his rhetoric during the campaign.  So either he's come around and is being forced to admit the reality of the facts, which are that our military HAS succeeded; or, he's lying through his teeth.  Now, personally, I hope it's the first of these two possibilities. Because if it's that he is lying, then we have a president who doesn't believe in our military.  And if he doesn't believe in our military, then why did he agree to become their commander-in-chief?  He would be admitting that he doesn't believe in himself either, since he is responsible for leading the military and ultimately directing their ability to participate in keeping our country safe.  That's a sobering thought, isn't it?

So I'll say it again - we (who speak the truth of conservatism) won the war!  Not only on the ground in the various battles around the world, but also in the war of ideas.  The truth has a way of dividing folks into those who fall on the side of truth and those who live in fantasy land.

I won't pretend to speak for our president, but the next time I want to go to fantasy land I'll hop on over to Walt Disney World.....

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

Edge

Bragging rights......

OK everyone.  I was on TV once in elementary school.  But that was a goofy interview at best.  My cousin has made it big time!  He's a news anchor/actor/emcee.  Check out his success story here: http://hub.lsj.com/article/20090728/THINGS0206/907280309/1142/HUB06

 

I've got to say, I'm right proud to be his cousin.

Just goes to prove, success really does come in cans, not in cannots....

 

Way to go cousin!

 

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

 

Edge

The Dog Days Of......Summer III

Alli had better luck. They love treats!!!! Check out the wagging tails. :)


That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

The Dog Days Of......Summer II

Trying to get them to sit...I guess they wanted their treats. Sorry it's sideways.

8 months ago.....

Our pups were born....
Right after we brought them home, they looked like this:



That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Christmas in July????

Well, not really, this was from the infamous "snow day" back in January.

Funny how 1 little snowflake can cancel school.....



That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

The Dog Days Of......Summer

Hey everyone - I realize I haven't posted any pictures of our puppies in a while, so I thought I'd let you see some recent shots of our now 1/2 year olds. Remember, Arwyn is lighter in color and Jorja is darker.

Such sad puppy dog eyes....



They love to play outside too...





And they look at you with those puppy dog eyes.....





And last but not least, a new video:

They can be lazy.....

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

If you can't take the heat.....

Get out of the "Global Warming" kitchen.  According to the following article (see below), the government has spent countless millions of dollars on "global warming" research.  But is it just to support a political agenda.  Now, those of you who follow my blog know already that I personally feel they are supporting an agenda.  However, there is a segment of the population which doesn't believe in "global warming".  It is for those people, I say, government is wasting the money - theirs, mine, yours, and everyone else's.  It sure seems like the science doesn't support their agenda, and so they make the science line up with their goals, instead of the intellectually honest position of letting their goal be to follow the scientific facts.

http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=104031&cat=12

Now mind you, I am not saying here that "global warming" doesn't exist (even though I may not think it does, doesn't mean I am correct).  I am saying in this blog that "global warming" is being used to spearhead a political agenda, and I personally feel it is wrong of politicians at the federal level to push a non-political position for the sole purpose of using people's heart strings as part of some massive taffy pull.  They make people feel bad because nobody wants to "harm" the environment by using their wicked, evil SUV's which "destroy" the atmosphere by pushing countless atoms worth of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.  And so, they use the political aspect of their position to fund "research" into a cause which is not supported by science.  In the meantime, a large amount of the funds get syphoned off into their personal accounts.

That's just wrong.  Forget the cause.  It is wrong for politicians to line their own pockets while countless millions have no healthcare.  Now, I could care less what research is funded, as long as it is legitimate.  It you want to earmark money to study the scientific effects of cow manure on growing crops, then so be it.  Fine with me.  But if you want to study why cow emissions are polluting the atmosphere, I have a problem - that's not global warming - that's the nature of the beast - literally.

I'll let you ready the article for yourself and form your own conclusions.  Personally, I don't think government saying something is true, makes it true (in fact, most times just the opposite).  I think we should let the science speak for itself, and then determine what needs to be funded for scientific research and what doesn't.

Right now, no amount of "science" supports any kind of position that "global warming" should in fact be funded by government funds, at least not from where this guy sits.

That's my blog & I'm sticking to it!

Edge

And that's the way it is....

For those who've paid attention during the past week, America lost another icon.  Now mind you, I use that term loosely.  The man we lost was no better or worse than any other.  I say "icon" because for so many years, he was the news.  A friend in church reminded me this morning that he used the news to present his political views in a way that makes them seem always correct.  And for that, he violated a rule of journalistic integrity: to always remain neutral and just report the facts in an unbiased form.  But then again, he was no worse than many in today's media, blatantly flaunting their (quote-unquote) bias towards who-ever the hot political leader is.

Walter Cronkite brought a certain respect to the news, seemingly not sensationalizing it like so many did (and still do).  [In reality, he was an unashmed liberal, continually taking one-sided stances, and leaving much out of his newscasts in order to force his view down your throat - you just never knew that, unless you knew him well.]  There was a calculated, practiced delivery, leading you down the path he wanted to take the story.  He was both calm and direct; yet he was still animated enough to capture your imagination of how things should "really" be in the world (at least, for his world view).  But for me, he evokes images of days gone by when news mattered to people.  A time when you had to trust the man delivering the news because you couldn't be there, and somehow he magically could, with pictures over his shoulder, displaying exactly the scene he described...amazing.  Like a good movie or novel, you were hooked.  Sitting on the edge of your seat, you could almost ask, what's going to happen next?

Yes, American lost a great man this week.  A man great in stature in terms of what he meant to this country and how the news was reported.  Many tried to be him, copy his style, practice his mannerisms.  And all of them fell so short - at least for me they hid.  WC almost had this sort of Walt-Disney-ish feel to him.  He certainly looked enough like him...

 (That's Cronkite behind the news desk, with the green wall in the photo and Disney in B&W.)

Heralded by some as the "most trusted man in America", Cronkite died at 92.  But whether you agreed with his political views or not, there is no denying the impact Cronkite brought to the dining rooms, living rooms, and water coolers of America. Across the fruited plain, he gave you what (he thought) you needed to know, the important things, the stuff that mattered to most people.  If you heard it from Walter, you could bet the farm it really did happen (ok, maybe not exactly how he described it, but at least believably close).  You came to trust him like a father, or perhaps better stated, the wise uncle who was always full of good information and advice, even when the outlook wasn't.

Should you want to reminice about "Unlcle Walter", pull out your copy of the movie Good Morning Vietnam, and check out Robin Williams' brilliant take on him.  Or better yet, if you have a chance, surf over to http://www.digitalradiocentral.com/studio-lounge/6131-thats-way-walter-cronkite-dead-92-a.html and you'll hear how he reported on the death of JFK.  He doesn't actually speak his famous tagline "....and that's the way it is." after reporting on the death of JFK in the clip.  If you check out the you tube links, you can also see his report on the death of MLK also.  Both of these reports show his practiced tone and demeanor.  But if you want to hear his tagline, check out this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj77rx0Z5Ck 

Good bye Walter, America already misses you.

--
E J Barlik
edge74@gmail.com
http://edgeofthegalaxy.blogspot.com/
http://eastusffl.webs.com/

Dew update

Some of you will remember I posted a commentary on the overwhelming number of Mountain Dew flavors here.

Well, it seems someone had a bit too much time on their hands, or heads......it seems some evil genius has come up with Dew Shampoo. I kid you not. Check out this story. I just think I might skip the experience and not "Do the Dew on my Doo".


That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

Until next time, Dew it to it.

Global Warming On The Hot Seat

Recently, the EPA red-flagged one of their own reports because it didn't reach the conclusion they were trying to justify, namely that "global warming" was being caused by carbon dioxide.  I won't get into all of the sumantics of why those on Capitol Hill feel the need to investigate.  But suffice to say, here is the article: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/29/gop-senator-calls-inquiry-supressed-climate-change-report/?test=latestnews

 

Now, put aside your politics when reading the article, despite the website name.  Buried in the article is this tasty nugget:

Carlin said he personally does not think there is a need to regulate carbon dioxide, since "global temperatures are going down." He said his report expressed a "good bit of doubt" on the connection between the two. 

Specifically, the report noted that global temperatures were on a downward trend over the past 11 years, that scientists do not necessarily believe that storms will become more frequent or more intense due to global warming, and that the theory that temperatures will cause Greenland ice to rapidly melt has been "greatly diminished." 

Now, I don't know this man Carlin from anybody else, but he is an EPA analyst, according to the article.  What that tells me is that, as a scientist, he chose to look at what the facts told him.  The conclusion he reached was the same one you and I will is you do the research.  Namely, that the earth as an environment, goes through natural swings of rising and falling temperatures, much like a pendulum swings from side to side.

 

What that tells me is the following:

1. Some folks are still about the truth at the EPA, not an agenda.

2. Some folks in Washington have an agenda, and global warming is part of it

3. Some folks in DC are willing to fire people or at least severly discipline them for speaking the truth, namely that global warming is a hoax.

 

Those of you who have read my past blogs, know I also believe global warming is a hoax.  Keeping an open mind to see what the facts say as opposed to listening to "experts" constantly beat the same tired drum over and over and over, is something I've tied to do in this debate.  And I'll also say this: Former Vice President Al Gore is not a scientist.  He did not invent the internet.  And he's pretty good at lying on the spot.  Go re-watch his political debates, or read his speeches and the evidence is there - his statements fall severely short of what a sensible person might even call "common sense".  So when he says we're in the middle of a global warming crisis, headed for Armageddon, I, for one, choose not to believe him.  I don't see the evidence to back up his so-called "facts".

 

And I realize some of you think I'm off my rocker here.  But don't misunderstand, I'm not saying we have the right or justification for wasting resources - not at all.  In fact, that's not even relevant to this discussion.  We are all called to be stewards of this gift the Earth, which our Heavenly Father has allowed us to manage.  What I am saying is that for those of you who currently believe global warming is a "fact", I would call you to check those "facts" again, and see what the science really says, not what the media, the press, or the Beltline Buds of Obama want us to hear.

 

Check out the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).

They note: Climate has cooled and warmed throughout Earth history for various reasons. Yet, rapid warming like we see today is unusual in the history of our planet.

 

How about Universe Today: http://www.universetoday.com/2009/06/26/past-climate-change-cannot-be-tied-to-earth-passing-through-galactic-plane/ 

 

or

 

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: Most of the studies and debates on potential climate change have focused on the ongoing buildup of industrial greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and a gradual increase in global temperatures. But recent and rapidly advancing evidence demonstrates that Earth's climate repeatedly has shifted dramatically and in time spans as short as a decade. And abrupt climate change may be more likely in the future.   (Article: http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=12455)

 

or this 2005 article from ABC News Online: 

The northern hemisphere experienced a prolonged heatwave 1,000 years ago but was plunged into a chill about 500 years later, according to research that throws light on a key aspect of global warming.  The big climate shifts occurred before industrialisation and so have natural causes.

(Article here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1299709.htm)

 

or how about this conclusion from Science Daily: This means that it is difficult to distinguish the human influence on climate from natural variability, even though the past 15 warm years are best explained if one includes human influence in the simulations. The new study underscores the importance of including natural climate variability in future scenarios. It is not only the humans that can cause appreciable climate changes - nature does it all the time by itself.  (Article here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/02/050212195414.htm)

 

My point is simply this.  Even the websites (some of which are doggedly evoloutionistic, or political in nature, like some of those I cited here) who practice "pseudo science", or are given to wild exaggerations at times, have cited evidence that global warming (as they call it, not me) is as much natural as it is man-made.  But they also say that there is no definite correlation that we even have it in the first place.

 

I pulled these random samples in about 20 minutes from all over the web.  I'd like to see Al Gore at least do that much.  But even if he chooses not to check his sources, you might think it's a good idea.  It's just common sense to me.

 

The Edge

Live Long, and Prosper....

Guess I really haven't felt.....

I guess I really haven't felt much like blogging over the past month or so.  Between the demends on my time at work and the losses in our family (for more on this, check out the "Adventures In Barlikville" blog my wife posts), some things just seemed a lot less important.  And I guess in the big picture they are.  SO much has gone one that it's tought to know how to organize my thoughts into something cohearant.  But maybe I should just hit the highlights:

 

My grandmother died a few weeks back.  My grandfather died last year.  I guess that kind brings closure to that part of the family tree, as both my father's parents are now gone.  No matter how you slice it, it's a potent reminder that life, much as we would like to extend it, is limited.  We are all mortal, and we've only got 1 to live.  I suppose the good thing is that in the case of both, there was nothing I left unsaid.  So, I have no regrets in that respect.  I suppose grief is a part of that loss.  Not knowing when it will hit you though can be difficult.  It's also a great reminder that all we really can do is to trust the One who gave us that life to begin with.  To quote Star Trek (The Next Generation) for a minute: "Death is that state in which one exists only in the memories of others."  Tasha Yar said this in a holographic recording played for the senior staff shortly after she died.  That line always stuck with me.  Don't know why.  Maybe I do now.  In some small way, there is comfort in it.  I guess if we remember who our loved one were who passed on, then they're not really gone, are they?

 

Last week, we had a memorial service for Alli's uncle, James Hatchell.  He was a good Christian man, who was usually found serving in some way if he wasn't on the golf course.  He loved golf, and he loved his family, and he loved his church.  He was a faithful servant, if there ever was one.  And now, he is playing the back 9 on heaven's home course.  He'll be sorely missed at family reunions.  But then again, I suppose we'll have a bit more to remember at the next one....

 

Ans speaking of golf, this year's U.S. Open was perhaps one of the goofiest I can ever remember.  Water everywhere, delays galore, and in spite of all that, they still managed to finish on Monday without a playoff.  The old adage about golf is that you can never win a major in the first round, but you sure can lose it.  In this year's case, that rang true for Tiger Woods.  Sitting at even par thru 14 holes, he went double bogey, bogey, par, bogey to finish his opening round at +4.  He finished the tournament at Even par.  The winning score?  4 under par.  Oh, what could have been.  And yet again, another Phil Mickleson collapse in the late holes.  Sitting at 4 under with 2 holes to play, he had yet another collapse on the last two holes: bogey, bogey, to finish at 2 under, and kicking himself yet again.  How does he manage to keep doing this?  If this man could putt at all, we would wine twice as much as he already does.  Now mind you, Phil puts me to shame.  He could spot me 30 and still beat me.  But he can't putt in the big moments to save his life.  I don't know why.  For those who watched, I think we all saw the Barnes collapse coming.  But you have to hand it to Lucas Glover.  He held it together when the world was collapsing around him, and held on for the trophy.  Good job Lucas!  I don't think this will be his last win on tour folks. With his nerves, I think he'll be around for many tounaments to come.

And now on to my passion: football.  I love the sport, but some goofy junk has gone on this offseason.  I'm not going to run it all down for you, there's no need.  But training camps start next week, so we're all ramping up for the upcoming season.  And I'm looking forward to fantasy football again.  I've been working pretty hard on the website and I've almost got it finished.  A few more touches, and I'll be able to send out the info to the prospective owners.  Oh boy!

 

And in a note about the recent events in South Carolina.  Ironically, I didn't vote for Mr. Sanford.  And I certainly can't understand how he feels at this moment, nor would I want to.  He's made his choices, and now he needs to bear the responsibility for them.  But as God's Word says, we should pray for those in authority over us.  I stopped to pray for him and his family after I saw the news.  I don't know that I would have done that 5 years ago.  Maybe I'm changing my outlook on such things as I get older.  Hopefully, I'm growing in that area.  But no matter whether you like him or not, or voted for him or not, this man is facing a stiff reality check right now.  Whatever faith he has will be pushed to limits unknown.  Our pastor reminded us this morning that a very prominent king once had the same problem.  He solved it by murdering the lady's husband, thus compounding his own sin.  I'm certainly not advocating murder here.  Far from it.  But I think it shows just how human all of us really are.  We're all prone to "sins of the flesh".  We must always be vigilant to keep the evil far from us, and to resist temptation not in our own strength, but with the strength God gives to all of us, if only we will ask Him.  (And for those wondering, that king's name was David, a man who the Bible says was a man after God's own heart. If  aman of God can fall from grace, how much more could we?)

Edge

These ain't your father's Braves...not anymore

Ok Braves fans, tonight, the end of an era became official, permanently. Tonight marks the night when you can no longer utter the words "Atlanta Braves" and either Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, or Tom Glavine in the same sentence, unless, of course, you are referring to the fact that they are all now simultaneously ex-Braves. Despite pitching well in his last 2 rehab starts, Glavine was called into the office of General Manager Frank Wren and given the option to retire or be released. Thinking he might still pitch in 2009, he chose to be released.

Kudos to the Braves for making the tough decisions in 2009 and not re-signing the injury-plagued Smoltz, the injury-plagued Hampton, or allowing a weaker-than-thought Glavine back into the rotation. Yes, I know, I know. I sound like a turncoat. I'm far from it. I'm just acknowledging what the general public already knows - the Braves are better off without them, at least, in 2009 they are.

After the last 2 seasons, Atlanta needed to shake things up, and re-tool for the future. No more "Baby Braves". No more "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain". No more Smoltz as savior of the ninth-inning. It was time to move into the future and tonight they finally turned over the last stone of the pitching staff who made the run of 15 consecutive division titles seem old-hat. Glorious by any other teams' standards, and super by Atlanta's own admission, and yet only 1 World Series title. Considering no one else may ever win 15-in-a-row again, I'd say the record is safe. And now, it's time to start a string of 15 more, or at least try to get there. Derek Lowe, the cagy ace of the staff; Javier Vazquez, the strikeout mongrel; Jair Jurjens, the impressive ERA-buster; Kenshin Kawakami, the Japanese phenom; and now the new duo of Kris Medlin and Tommy Hanson are gonna push for time. What are we gonna do when Tim Hudson, aka, the veteran with the steel demeanor and the even steelier slider rejons them in 2010? Here's my vote for the first 7-man starting rotation in MLB-history. Toss in Jorge Campillo, Buddy Carlisle, Rafael Soriano, Peter Moylan, and Mike Gonzalez, any you have a heck of a 12 man staff. I'll even let you add in the lefty of your choice in the bullpen. I'd put that 7-man starting staff up against the entire league, and dare them not to win 95-games collectively. Not only do I think they could, I think they would.

Martin Prado, Omar Infante, and Yunel Escobar have all stepped forward this year. And new backup dishman David Ross is a major improvement from backup catchers of the past. No more Ozzie Virgil. No more Bruce Benedict. No more guys with .215 averages.

And now, what may be the best news of the day...the Braves have traded for Pirates center fielder Nate McClouth (McCloud(?)), who routinely beats the Braves with his bat, and his glove. He's gonna be the new Andruw Jones, not that we miss the old one. This guy is an all-star, if you haven't already noticed...power, speed, glove skills, and smart on the field. Not only will he grow to love Atlanta, he will improve his game big time in Turner field, turning it into a doubles and triples paradise. And he's even gonna steal some bases along the way. Mark my words Philly, New York, and Miami - the Braves are winning the division in 2009.

If this holds up, here's what I might do (if I were Bobby Cox) for a potential everyday lineup:
1. Nate McClouth (CF)
2. Yunel Escobar (SS)
3. Chipper Jones (3B)
4. Brian McCann (C)
5. Garrett Anderson (LF)
6. Casey Kotchman (1B)
7. Kelly Johnson (2B)
8. Jeff Francoeur (RF)
9. Pitcher

and on the days David Ross catches (i.e, the "B" lineup):
1. Kelly Johnson/Omar Infante (2B)
2. Yunel Escobar (SS)
3. Chipper Jones (3B)
4. Nate McClouth (CF)
5. Matt Diaz/Garrett Anderson (LF)
6. Martin Prado/Casey Kotchman (1B)
7. Jeff Francoeur (RF)
8. David Ross (C)
9. Pitcher

Yes, Braves fans, get ready for a few surprises, the most pleasant of them being our new CF, and our suddenly dominant pitching staff...it's a wonder what scoring 1-2 more runs a game will do for you. That is how much Nate is worth.

And here is my 2010 rotation (albeit it only a 5 man rotation):
1. Derek Lowe
2. Tim Hudson
3. Jair Jurjens
4. Javier Vasquez
5. Tommy Hanson

Bullpen:
Kris Medlin (long relief/spot starter/6,7,8th inning)
Kenshin Kawakami (long relief/spot starter/6,7,8th inning)
Jorge Campillo (middle innings)
Eric O'Flaherty (lefty specialist)
Peter Moylan (7th/8th inning)
Rafael Soriano (7th/8th inning/closer #2)
Mike Gonzalez (primary closer/8th inning when needed)

Oh, the possibilities.....

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Edge

I won , I won, I won

Gotta give some pub tonight to Randy Barnett. He's got an interesting blog about this-and-that. It's good reading. You would all do well to check it out. I recently entered a contest he sponsored (literally) and won a few bucks. Check out the blog, and let me know what you think..

Contest Entry Here

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Edge

Insta-blog #2 for today..........

Zune HD

http://zune.net/en-us/mp3players/zunehd/default.htm

Edge

Another insta-blog.....

Wii New Super Mario Brothers

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10254399-1.html?tag=nl.e404

enjoy....Edge

Ever have one of "those" nights?

The "those" I am referring to in the title of this blog refers to those nights when ya just feel kinda "junky".  Life's kinda got you going in 50 different directions.  You feel like you are behind paying bills, doing laundry, don't have any free time, can't buy a break in the grocery line, can't get a green light to save your life, can't watch your favorite sport without your favorite team losing, can't seem to watch the end of the movie because you keep falling asleep.....I could go on.

Ever have one of those kinda nights?  I kinda had one tonight.  I was about ready to break down, but somehow I managed to hold it together.  I'll be ok, but it might take a few days.  One of the contributing factors tonight was the news that my only remaining grandmother is in ICU and has not been given much time.  A thousand things go racing through your head.  I need to get the emergency leave papers filled out at work.  I need to book an airline flight.  I need to get a shelter for my puppies.  I need to finish this report.  I need to cancel my church commitments, etc.

And then my wife brought me back to reality and reminded me that basically none of that stuff is stuff I can control at the moment.  We just had a sermon on not worrying, and I just failed miserably myself.  Alli had children's church this week and was not in the main service.  I kept thinking about how much she needed to hear what was said.  Not because she worries, but because I think she worries more than I do.  I typically am cool as a cucumber.  99% of the time, I'm a rock.  Nothing gets to me.  But not tonight.  I think I kinda lost my sense of what is the most important thing with hearing news like this - my family is there for me.  And despite all my attempts to want everything to run smoothly, Alli pointed out that almost nothing does in this kind of situation.  And she nailed me again - I can't argue with the logic there.

The puppies were cooped up most of today because of the possibility of rain in the forecast, so I am sure that contributed to their constant need to go outside tonight.  It almost drove me nuts.  I just wanted some peace.

Got an email from a friend tonight saying her husband got a job (finally), which is great!  At the end of the e-mail she asked for prayer requests from those to whom she sent out the update.  So naturally, I replied, considering what I am going through...bam.  About 5 minutes later I get a message back that my reply is undeliverable because her ISP (Yahoo) is blocking the Gmail domain name from sending mail to Yahoo.  So what do I do there?  I can't even tell her I can't send her mail because it will just get rejected again.....how ironic.....

This week I had a rebate check returned to the sender because my address was mis-typed.  So much for getting it in a timely manner.  I just hope I don't have to wait 6 more weeks.....

I've got a project deadline at work which has an ECD this Friday.  Unfortunately, I can't test most of it because the data entry part which I need to do can't be completed because of screen errors.  I just have this sense my boss might think more of this is in my control to complete than actually is.....all I can do is my best right?  I can't make someone else do their job.....I can only be responsible for my own work on the project, right?  Or do I have some kind of responsibility for the work of others on our team?  I am not the team leader nor project leader for this project.  I do have responsibility for the environment setup on one piece of the project though - and it's not the part currently getting the errors.

Even my music is less than comforting tonight.  It's not bringing me the uplifting vibe I normally get......

Maybe I'm just tired and need some sleep.  Goodness knows I could use it.  I have an 8:30 AM meeting at work.....I better sign off for now.

Edge

Powerful proverbs

It's been a while since I posted a powerful proverb, so I wanted to re-visit that idea tonight..

I heard a radio commentator the other day.  He said something rather profound on the surface, and requiring a modicum of thought. But in the end, I had to agree 100%, especially since the Bible backs up his statement when it says "...the truth shall set you free..."

I welcome your thoughts on this proverb.  I do not want this to be a discussion on Mr. Limbaugh though.  My feelings about him are not relevant to the discussion.  And neither are yours.

Live long and prosper!

Edge

Hypocritical nation demands rich nations cut greenhouse gasses

And in the follow up to my blog on "Global Warming" a few minutes ago:

Hypocritical nation demands rich nations cut greenhouse gasses while they are immune .....   

It's just more proof global warming is a farce....I think what I hate mostly is they want to impose all these regulations on the U.S., but don't want to be subject to following them.  You shouldn't have it both ways....

--
E J Barlik
edge74@gmail.com
http://edgeofthegalaxy.blogspot.com/
http://www.geocities.com/eastusffl/

Here's one piece of technology I can live without knowing about....

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they have it.  I just don't want to think about it right now.  And while I'm at it, cancel my next flight to the ISS (not that I was going there any time soon.....)

International Space Station recycles human waste products into drinkable water 

This is very cool technology.  I just don't want it in my own backyard, so to speak.

Edge

U.S. Nuclear power - we have a surplus?

According to this article , the UAE wants to become less dependent on foreign energy sources by getting nuclear power from the U.S.  Does anybody see the irony here?  Aren't we trying to do that with oil?  Which of course begs the question - why aren't we developing more uses for nuclear power ourselves?  Apparently they aren't concerned about their "carbon footprint".  But then, why should they be?  It's not like they are the most responsible nation on the face of the earth in terms of cleaning the air, water, and other natural resources they have.  If you know me, you know I personally think global warming is not only a hoax, but an attempt to gain political power by garnering sympathy from those who are "concerned" about the environment.  We don't want to be seen as uncaring or unconcerned, so we cave in.  Well I think it's time we are stop this nonsense.  Either that, or we start fining the federal government for all of their lack of wisdom in the use of the resources they have....How about if they go all digital in congress?  No more printed bills (in multiple languages, no less).  Think how much of the budget that would save in paper alone.  Or what about if we forced the lobbiests to go green by submitting all of their requests via teleconference instead of face to face on the "business trips" our congress men take to Disney world (see my last blog).  That alone might force them to re-think their strategies because they would be on record with their views and subject to scrutiny of the media and general public.  Or why aren't we fining the owners of the volcanoes of the world for all of the carbon dust and ash they shoot into the air every time they erupt?  They pollute thousands of time more in one eruption than we do in years of "wasteful" commerce.  Wait you say, we can't fine a volcano owner...ok then.  How about we require those owning them to buy the credits to offset the pollutants so we can clean up the atmosphere from all of their harmful by-products?  But it's an act of God you say.....aha - gotcha!  By that reasoning, the act of God is WORSE than what we as mere humans do to the environment.  And that is exactly my point.  This planet has been running for thousands of years without the ability to "clean it up", so why should we worry now?  I would think the "act of God" would work itself out, just as it always has.  Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't protect the planet, or not recycle - far from it!  I just think we all need to stop putting on this "enviro-saver" mask, and come to grips with the fact that the natural order of things is that the earth works on global temperature cycles, and every so many years, the average temp goes up.  In those same mathematical weather models, the temperature also goes down during the cycle as well.  So this "global warming" attitude we like to put on airs about, is just that - a bunch of hot air.  I think I'll use it (all the hot air) the next time I go on a baloon trip.....

One other thing - if this global warming was actually true, how come my office always feels like it is 65 degrees?

Here's my easy recipe to save a few resources and be practical at the same time....

Recycle - take a bike to work

Reuse - take pictures with a digital camera - it ill save the cost of producing and developing film with all those harsh chemicals

Restore - go back to the same WalMart every time and help create local jobs

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

Edge

Mandatory paid vacation?????

Florida Congressman submits bill for mandatory paid vacation .

This is an interesting concept.  On the one hand, I like the idea that all full and part time employees would have time off, or get paid for it.  I think it would do a lot to reduce stress levels, and perhaps even making "working for the man" a little bit less distasteful.  But I have to give thought to the possibility that this kind of legislation might, in fact, serve to decrease the number of full time or part time workers actually hired.  Suppose you work for a local bookstore and they classify an employee who works 40 or more hours a week as full time, and any employee who works 24.0-39.5 hours a week as part time.  Everyone else would then be classified as "flex" employees, and not subject to the regulations.  I think we would see a number of companies artificially holding hours at 1-half hour under the limit so as to avoid paying out this "mandatory paid vacation" time, regardless of the cost.  The byproduct is more workers hired, but at lower wages.  While the store's hours of operation during a given week are a constant, I have to conclude that if more of those hours are staffed by "flex" staff, fewer of them will be able to provide the level of customer service we all want, but seldom get - a person who knows every product in the store front to back and doesn't need to call a manager to get the information.  And like the article says, one other possibility is that companies might actually NOT hire folks at all because of the need to come in under staffing level to avoid being affected by the legislation.

I guess time will tell.

I think based on my understanding so far, I would be in favor of this bill.....

Edge

A blog on blogging

Well, by now you've figured out that I post blogs in bunches.  I have lots of reasons why I do that, mostly that I don't always have time every evening to post stuff about stuff.

I hurt my right middle finger a couple weeks back playing softball.  I had it in a splint for several days, and was not typing.  It's still swollen and somewhat sore around the top joint.  No constant pain, but it's not exactly getting better, either.

Secondly, I feel like I am so far behind on so many things, that I might not catch up for a while. One of those things is blogging.  I do enjoy it, but sometimes I have to play the priority card and beg off because of my wonderful puppies.  They consume much more of what used to be my free time.  I love them to death, but not always how they act.  Those of you with dogs can certainly verify what I have said here.  

Thirdly, sometimes I just can't seem to find enough time in the evening.  Maybe now that reruns are on, I'll get the chance.

But anyway, you're going to see a bunch of them tonight and then maybe none for a couple weeks.  We just got word about my grandmother in Massachusetts.  She is currently in ICU as I write this, and the doctors are not giving a good prognosis.  I won't go into the details, but any prayers you offer up for our family would be greatly appreciated. We can only say thank you in advance and promise that we will pray for you during those times when your family is going through tough times as well.

On this somber note, I will sign off my first blog of the night...

Edge

Aussies cram 2000 movies onto single CD....no kidding!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10246057-1.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

This one deserved an immediate post!

 

Edge

Cool puppy photos made with Edge's cell phone

Some of you have been asking for more photos of the pups. Well, here are a couple I took with my phone camera. One is a 4-square multi-photo with Arwyn on the left and Jorja on the right. The other is a photo which does not exist is real space/time. It's done with a panorama effect. The camera fuses together portions of the photos it recognizes to produce the entire shot. In this case, there is no way I could ever get them both to look at me and smile and stay on the groud at the same time. That's what makes it sooooo coool. Plus, I can't get lawn funiture to bend at ridiculous angles. The white looking thing in the photo is actually the edge of a chaise lounge.

 

That's my (short) blog for today.

 

Live long & prosper!

 

Edge

Do you trust your doctor? It cost this guy over $7 million dollars!

Recently, Manny Ramirez of the Los Angeles Dodgers tested positive for a banned substance.  He was suspended from his job for 50 games.  He is a Major League Baseball player.  Which doesn't make him special does it?  Unless you take into account he makes $25 million per year.  Check out the story here.

 
OK - let's do the math here.  He makes $25 million a year, which is 162 games, and he is suspended for 50 of them.  $25 mil x 50/162 = $7,716,049.38   So that means 1 bad prescription from a doctor cost him $7.71+ million dollars.  No wonder the cost of healthcare is rising....

He trusted his doctor blindly, and it came back to bite him in the butt.  He should have known better, especially as much money as he makes.  He could have hired somebody to check for him....

 

Now I say all this to say - what about your doctor?  Do you trust what he/she gives you?  Do you take time to educate yoursef on what the products do that they prescribe?  If not, maybe you should.  Some can cause impotence, raise your blood pressure, or cause you to drive erratically.  All these things can affect your life.  And not in a good way.

 

I hope you care and don't just go to the doctor as a cure-all.  I hope you take the time to keep yourself healthy, and prevent unneeded medical care by eating right, exercising, and practicing good hygene.  You'll be healthier for it.  You'll feel better about yourself.  And most likely, you won't miss 50 straight days of work.

Live long and prosper!  Seriously!

 

Edge

Teacher gets a free ride for 7 years...and does no work......why?

Frankly, I think the context of this article is appalling.  If you are a teacher or related to one, I hope it turns your stomach.  What this guy has done would be laughable, if it wasn't so warped.  Read it and then come back to see what I think....

 

 

 

Anyone who knows me, knows I am pro-teacher.  But, I'm not pro-stupidity.  When you over-simplify everything, we the taxpayer across the United States are paying this guy's salary.  (I'll save my reasoning on this for another discussion.)  The Los Angeles school board must be blind and stupid for this guy to still be employed - because the complaints are based on sexual misconduct, not based on his disability.  It's one more reason I hate unions and what they do to today's workers and taxpayers.  The unions started off as a very good thing.  But now, that time is no longer.  They need to be obliterated.  I wish the administration would....oh wait I forgot, they (the unions and special interest groups) elected him.  Guess I have to live with my hate a little longer.  Ugh.  Pray for me.  No wait, I don't need prayer on this issue, because I'm right.  Pray for this guy.  pray for the Los Angeles School Board.  And pray for the unions to stop hiring guys like this. 

 

That's my blog, and I'm sticking to it!

Live long & prosper!

 

Edge

Will the Space Shuttle ever fly again after 2010?

I'm not so sure....check out this article about the NASA space shuttles being retired....

 

And on a 2nd note - why are we trying to go to the moon again in 2020?  What possible purpose cold it serve?  Haven't we already been there?  Aren't the samples we got in the 60's good enough now?  I mean, I'm all for increasing knowledge and science - what are we gonna gain by going back?  Are we planning to put a colony there someday?  Can't do it without oxygen, last I checked.  I wonder what they are thinking.....

That's my blog & I'm sticking to it!

Live long & prosper!

 

Edge

Vacation Pix #5

Vacation - the last round

2 shots from the water park, the bear rug hung on the wall leading to our wing of the lodge, my new tshirt (back), and Alli with a Moose (ah, be nice, Mr. Moose, don't bite her....)

Vacation Pix #4

Vacation Part 4...shots from the lodge room, featuring Bath & Body Works shower soap (!) and a rather curious picture over the throne....

Vacation Pix #3

Vacation part 3....pix from the lobby

Vacation Pix #2

Vacation Part 2...the view at night, plus the hotel wildlife at various times....

Vacation Pix #1

Here are the first round of pix from our vacation last week....

When the Going Gets Tough.....

....The Tough Go On Vacation!!!

Well, I don't have a lot of time today to post this as I need to leave for work. But I'm going to just say that the Lord worked out a minor miracle last weekend. Friday morning came around and we really wanted to go out of town for the weekend. But, there was no place for our puppies to stay. So I said a prayer and it was basically that the Lord would have His will done, and help me to see if Icould find someone who could watch our puppies. Well, I came across the Wescott Acres Luxury Pet Resort. Wow. Talk about cool. Just about everything we were looking for. Puppies had a nice area to stay, plenty of room for their needed potty breaks, lots of attention. I even got them a fun "nature walk" on Sunday morning. This place was a full shelter, boutique, obedience school, puppy day care, rescue shelter....they had everyting. The staff is very well trained, and super friendly. The short story is that the pups had a good time, even though they were a little apprehensive about being away from home.

Now on to mom & dad...in other words "us". We checked out of Columbia, and into the Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC. It's a great getaway for a weekend or a week. It's got an indoor water park with plenty to do, including a wave pool, and several rides. It's also got special areas for smaller kiddos so they can do everyting the grownups can do. They also have a mini-golf (which we didn't get to do), a spa (for the ladies (and adventurous guys)), a dessert shop, a buffet restaurant, a sandwich shop, and areas across the main lobby called MagicQuest, which is for all of the aspiring Harry Potters among us (not that I endorse that knid of thing). They even have a main lobby with a grand fireplace with storytime and pajama storytime during the day. Way cool. All this is a grand total of 5 minutes from outlet malls, great restaurants, and only 10 minutes from Lowe's Motor Speedway (just outside Charlotte, NC).

We had a ton of fun, and I'll let Alli share more in her blog Adventures In Barlikville. I'll post pictures later.

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Breaking news on the Dews

Well, as any good soda jerk (excuse the pun) knows, you gotta stay on top of the hip new news in order to serve your customers the best and keep them coming back for more. With that in mind, I bring to you the latest rumors and facts on some new Mountain Dew (excuse me, Mtn Dew) flavors hitting stores soon:


Fact: Mountain Dew Game Fuel: Red Horde
Fact: Mountain Dew Game Fuel: Alliance Blue

Inside word is that Red Horde is identical to the original sprcial Game Fuel that cam out a couple years back. Alliance Blue is supposedly a new flavor with berry. Mmmmmmmmm. Sounds yummy. I loved the Game Fuel flavor when it came out. I hope the Alliance Blue is just as good. Both are special editions for World of Warcraft, another video game.....

Rumor: Diet Mtn Dew Ultra Violet
Rumor: Diet Mtn Dew White Flash

I have no earthy idea what these will end up being...


So, by my count, that brings our Dew list to almost 20 flavors:
1-2 Mountain Dew (regular and caffiene free)
3-4 Diet Mountain Dew (regular and caffiene free)
5 Code Red (cherry)
6 Diet Code Red (cherry)
7 Livewire (orange)
8 Baja Blast (tropical lime - only for Taco Bell)
9 Pitch Black (grape)
10 Pitch Black II (sour grape)
11 Game Fuel (cherry citrus)
12 Revolution (wild berry fruit flavor)
13 Supernova (strawberry melon)
14 Voltage (raspberry citrus - Dewmocracy winner)
15 Game Fuel: Red Horde (cherry citrus)
16 Game Fuel: Alliance Blue (wild berry something)
17 Blue Shock (slurpee flavor)
18 Darth Dew (Star Wars slurpee flavor)
19 Mountain Dew Throwback (with natural sugar)

Sometime, I may actually try to post my reviews of them all.....but for now, just settle for the logos:















That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Well, it had to happen sooner or later....

By now, I'm sure all of you were wondering what happened to me. Well, stress & life will do that to ya. Sometimes after a long day at work, I just didn't feel like gatting back onto the 'puter yet again. Never thought I'd say that...

But all that said, it's worth it to have a good job, a house full of pets, and a wonderful wife who means more to mean that anything else. Sometimes, I get tired or caught up in other things and forget to show her just how much I care, but I think if we all face facts, we all are prone to that from time to time. I keep on trying though. I'm sure as anything it will take me a lifetime to get it right, and just about then, Jesus is gonna come back.....

I've been bad about my workouts lately and really have no one to blame but myself. I finally broke the 200 lb barrier, but with that also came a change in my meds that my family doctor had me on. It's really changed the way I react to stuff in terms of metabolism. And between the late nights at work, the softball games, and the injuries, I haven't been to the gym this entire month of April. In my defense, I tried to go today, but my pass card wasn't re-activated yet. I think I need to call our fitness center director, and find out what happened. So if you think about it, nudge me about my gym time. I need to get back into regular rotation at the gym.

Well, we lost yet another softball game again this week. We were obviously put in the wrong league. At least we didn't get slaughtered this week. We only lost 13-7. And it's gonna sound funny, but I actually pitched pretty good the entire game. We missed some plays on defense in the first inning and gave them like 6 or 7 outs. That's a great way to lose a game - getting behind early. I pride myself on being a good hitter, but this year has been stinkin' terrible for me. I was 0-5 going into Tuesday's game. So I promptly grounded out to shortstop...again. But my second at bat might be the start of something. With the bases loaded, I slapped a solid single to left, over the third baseman's head. In the process, I also got my first RBI of the season. So, 2 streaks over with one swing. I also managed to strike out a guy looking, which is nearly impossible in softball. And I gotta give credit to my defense. We played a lot better after the first inning.

The other thing this week, was that Alli, for the most part, was winding down her current Master's classes and had a couple days off before starting her next Master's class. We wanted to go out of town for a mini vacation. Of course with that, there is a responsibility to our puppies. I looked into possibly boarding them with our vet, but found out they only let them out 3 times a day to go play or use the bathroom, which is not good - puppies need freedom, and fresh air! We tried to see if one of Alli's relatives would come stay at our house and just let them out, feed them, etc. Unfortunately, the person said no. Which contributed to how bad Alli felt about everything because we have no one to watch them. You would think someone who lives basically in the same town would be willing to do this, especially considering it would not have been an inconvienience at all (at least, we don't think it would have been one). Instead, that person chose to say no. We've been good enough to do things for this family, even when it inconvienienced us, so we figured we might be owed a favor. Sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to. It's a shame too, because I think we could both have used the break in normal routines.

Well, ta ta for now. See you again next time. Same bat time. Same bat channel....

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Public Service Announcement

Well, here's the next in my line of public service announcements....tired of paying your hard-earned money for ring tones for your cell phone? Then check out the new widget on the top right hand side of my blog. I'm going to keep it docked there so you, my adoring readers, can remember to download as many as you want. I've already added a couple to my new phone, and it works and sounds great!


From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Braves start the season hot at 5-2

Well, the Atlanta Braves have started out 5-2 this season, thhanks to majorcontributions from thier new pitchers Derick Lowe, Javier Vasquez, and Kenshin Kawakami (sp?). Pair them with sophomore Jair Jurjens, and you've got the makings of a very solid rotation. Hopefully, they can all pitch 200 innings and take the stress off the bullpen guys.

In the words of the fans....oh o oh oh oh...........Go Bravos!!!!!!!!

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Get Your Teddy Bears ready....

For those of you looking for a unique gift during the upcoming year, check out the following ads, which allow you to purchase a Captain Kirk or Mr. Spock Vermont Teddy Bear in a Star Trek uniform. Send it to the Trekkie in your life.....

Note: I have ordered from VTB in the past and can vouch for their quality and selection. They are simply put, awesome.

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

I hate being sick

Man, I hate being sick. A couple weeks back, I lost 3 sick days at work due to sinus congestion and general just feeling miserable. I hate that. Not sick enough to stay home, but too sick to go to work. Either way you lose. Oh well. Anyway, it knocked me out of 2 weeks of gym days, plus a softball game. Ugh. Now, I have to work late almost every day this week to make up time for this Thursday - I have my yearly physical at 8:45 AM, which means I might not get into the office until 11. Which also means I might be going home around 6-7. I hate that. Oh well, work will still be there when I get back.

Also, pray for Alli - she has an MRI on her knee on Thursday.

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Alternative Power To The People

For those of you interested in solar, hydro, and/or wind power, check out this article on the subject. These kinds of articles have merit in my mind because the use of natural renewable resources is always worthy of our time. A good example of this would be using bamboo to build a hardwood floor instead of oak or maple because bamboo grows back quicker and more abundantly, can be harder if cured properly, and is theoreticaly more durable than oak, the "gold" standard in hardwood floors. The article covers ideas on storing power in "super batteries". Personally, I'd like to see some of this come to more towns acruss the fruited plain and thereby reduce our oil consumption. It will help to keep energy costs lower per capita. Now, we'll have to wait and see if Obama's cap-and-trade system really turns out to be a bait-and-switch (i.e., the big companies "buy" their way out of trouble meanwhile the smaller energy companies who get hit with retroactive penalties are forced out of business - this is just wrong -- some of the smaller co-op energy companies are bringing affordable energy to rural areas such as Blythewood, SC). I hope they're on to something here, but time will tell.

One other thing I will be excited to see come to pass would be the advent of hydrogen-powered vehicles which can travel a minimum of 400 miles on a single refuel cycle. The reason I am excited about this is because it is one of the single-most efficient ways to rid our dependance on oil. True, you will always need oil for lubrication, but I say go with synthetic oil - it may cost more in the short run, but will cost less in the long run because you change it less often, and it actually is MUCH better on all the moving parts in your engine, perhaps allowing it to last quite a bit longer than those running conventional petro-based oils. Technology already exists to pull hydrogen out of water in something the size of a normal-sized refridgerator. (Note: ignore the "fluff", check out the picture.) Of course, the article here says 100 miles is max distance right now. Don't worry, 400 miles maximum will be here soon enough. Why 400 miles? Because it would compare to the approximate amount you can travel in a Chevy Tahoe on a full tank of about 23 gallons at just over 17 MPG. The great thing is hydrogen power would produce a ZERO-emission vehicle, thus cutting pollution to basically nothing. The trick is to have the technology to build fueling stations which can pull enough water vapor out of the atmosphere combined with the other H20 sources available to provide the needs for a local area of 50,000 to 100,000 people in a given radius. (Remember, you will have multiple re-fuel stations in a local area.) And since water is basically free, the cost per hydro-liter will only need to equal the cost of producing enough to fill up a tank plus a set amount for overhead and maintenance of the refuel station.

So, yes, I'm not exactly "Mr. Green". But this is certainly one area of future technology to keep your eyes on. It will be here sooner than you think.

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

You want fries with that????

Seems Coca-Cola is getting ready to release a drink dispenser capable of displaying not only ads, but also capable of allowing you to order music downloads...

I kid you not!

What's next? A Big Mac & fries?

Not sure whether to be worried or elated about this one. That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Star Trek is closer than you think...

OK - by the title I may have given you the impression that this blog is about the upcoming movie. If so, then score one for me because I have successfully mislead you.....although not intentionally.

This blog is about a piece of technology Star Trek predicted would be present in the future, namely a universal translator. It was basically a computer program/database capable of taking any spoken language and translating it into "human", so that we could hear it properly. Kinda cool, if you ask me. We got to see the beginnings of this technology in the series Star Trek: Enterprise, where it had not yet been perfected, but was still being developed.

Anyway, having been out of work the past few days with a pretty bad sinus head cold, it gave me the chance to catch up on some shows I routinely DVR because they are not on at times when I can be dedicated to watching them. And I have to give my wife props here for predicting I would not be able to live without it. She was right, of course, as she normally is about these knds of technology.

So anyway, I'm watching the 3/25 episode of CSI:NY which I believe was entitled "Communication Problem". The "A" story was about the last 2 members of an indian tribe in the NY city area. One wanted to reclaim their rightful land to put up a cultural center. The other had taken enough control to put up a warehouse full of servers designed to run an on-line gaming casino, something of a grey area in the law. The older man, feeling guily at the betrayal of his heritage, tried to give away the land, rather than let it be desicrated by the greed of the younger. It was a brilliant story, centered around the older man's murder.

The interwoven "B" story was about Danny's continued search for a baby name for his suspected male child with Lindsay. Naturally, at the end of the show, Lindsay lets him know it's going to be a girl. Ah, the things we worry about so needlessly....

Now I say all that to say this....the story opens with an apparent murder on a train, which is not only far too easy of a storyline, but far too simple to solve, especially, since he was shot from outside the train by a stray bullet. But we know all that in the first 10 minutes. But during the process of interviews with suspects, I noticed something new for the CSIs. Detective Don Flack pulls out this walkie-talkie looking device and holds it up to this guy's face, and says ".....here, tell it to this...." or something similar. This because the guy is speaking in some kind of European language. The next thing you know, he's looking at the screen and the device talks back to him and prints out the translation on the screen, and it hits me....we just saw an actual translator program working in real time.

Now I know what you're thinking. For this to be shown on TV, it must be working in real life right? Well, bingo. Check out the episode. One of the best written episodes I've seen. Also provides some nice insight into Native American customs and the struggle they faced when being moved off their ancient lands...

And that's why Star Trek is closer than you think....

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Star Trek XI is a qualified success!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, everybody, it's now official.  Star Trek XI is a qualified success!  Wait a minute you say?  The movie hasn't even released yet?  Well, in the words of one of my football commentator gurus: "NotSoFastMyFriend....."

It seems that according to an article posted by Variety Magazine, that a prequel sequel is already underway.  And by already pre-approving the sequel, this makes Star Trek XI the most successful movie in Star Trek franchise history even though it's currently made zero dollars at the box office.  How sure are they?  The expected release date is June 2011.  Now that is truly a scoop to end all scoops.  A release date for a movie with no actors signed, no story penned, and no critical success to follow.

In the day and age we live in, Hollywood is so starved for a sure-fire hit, that they are willing to proclaim one just to get a sequel underway so they might have something in the pipeline for 2011.  If that isn't hubris, I don't know what is.

Let me give you the real scoop on this one:
A. Hollywood in general is suffering from a lack of reality about the world they live in - we don't care how big the names in the movies are - we want GOOD stories.  If you can't write one, the opening night crowd will spread the word by text message, cell phone, and e-mail inside 24 hours, and there won't be a follow-up weekend of success in week 2 anymore.
B. Every movie lately is "losing money" (OK not really, every), so much so that the big wigs wanted to PREVENT Tom Cruise from starring in Mission:Impossible 4.  (He is the only reason those movies even sell in the first place.)  Um, do I even need to get into the idiocy of that idea?????  I mean, Cruise has some downright goofy personal beliefs, but he's one of the top 10 actors of this generation (Top Gun, A Few Good Men, Cocktail, Risky Business, Days Of Thunder, The Firm, M:I 1 & 2 & 3, among others....)
C. Star Trek is a sure thing if you market it right, and they got this one right.  The last several have been lackluster, partially in part because of (I'll be honest enough to say it) TERRIBLE marketing.  Star Trek can only be screwed up by idiots who have no clue what has been dropped in their lap.  And believe me, from the fan reactions to the last few movies.....that is EXACTLY what happened.  They took their time on this one, and didn't rush it into a Christmas release.  Instead, they pushed it back to May in order to market it properly, including scores of well placed TV spots (including the SUPER BOWL), well placed Internet spots (including ESPN, reaching the biggest demographic of all - action-crazed males with testosterone to burn), and I'm sure (although I have not seen them), well placed magazine ads.  So kudos to them for getting this one right.  The movie trailer was so good, even my wife remarked to me that she wanted to see the movie.....that, my friends, is high praise.

Now, I want you to notice something here.  I, being the BIGGEST Star Trek fan in my family, have not 1 word to say about this movie - yet.  I am biding my time.  I'm holding off on this one.  I am expecting the best, but won't be surprised to be disappointed.  Yes, I gave my opinion on the marketing, and the Variety story, but I have not yet read a film storyline, seen more than anyone else has on the on-line trailers, and don't have any inside info on how good this is, although I do read websites related to Star Trek, and read blogs and reviews of other peoples' opinions on line.  I'm holding my own judgment for now until I see the movie.  And that my friends, is proof I want you to see it.  For if I gave you my opinion now, what reason would you have to go?  You'd just tell me to tell you what happened, or what will happen.   NotSoFastMyFriend.....go see it yourself.  My review will not be posted until AFTER the movie releases.  What, not a Trekkie?  Well neither is my wife......


Live Long and Prosper.
Hailing frequencies off.

Lt. Cmdr. Edge

Powerful Proverbs....MANKIND

Today, I'm going to start a series.  One I hope will last for a long time.  From time to time, when I come across some bit of wisdom or something profound, I'm going to post it here.  I invite you to reference it in your own blogs, or give credit where credit is due.  If I know the author, I will try to list it with the proverb in question.  Please leave comments!  I love comments....and if something I post helps you along your way, drop me an e-mail....I'd love to hear about it.  Today's proverb comes from a man by the name of Jack Handy.  I never met him, and I doubt you have either.  But you might just recognize this bit of wit and wisdom.....










That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Edge

The Journey (author unknown)

The Journey

When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey - a journey that will bring you more love and devotion than you have ever known, yet also test your strength and courage. If you allow, the journey will teach you many things, about life, about yourself, and most of all, about love. You will come away changed forever, for one soul cannot touch another without leaving its mark.

 
Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life's simple pleasures - jumping leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joys of puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears. Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an old plastic shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat loves the crinkly sound.

You will learn the true measure of love - the steadfast, undying kind that says, "It doesn't matter where we are or what we do, or how life treats us as long as we are together." Respect this always. It is the most precious gift any living soul can give another. You will not find it often among the human race.

And you will learn humility. The look in my dog's eyes often made me feel ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw not some flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things and dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and so chose to love me anyway.

If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will be not just a better person, but the person your pet always knew you to be - the one they were proud to call beloved friend.

I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as the sun sets, one day your dear animal companion will follow a trail you cannot yet go down. And you will have to find the strength and love to let them go.

A pet's time on earth is far too short - especially for those that love them. We borrow them, really, just for awhile, and during these brief years they are generous enough to give us all their love, every inch of their spirit and heart, until one day there is nothing left.

The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon old and frail and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy wakes up stiff and lame, the muzzle now gray.
Deep down we somehow always knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken. But give them we must for it is all they ask in return.

 

When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead - young and whole once more. "Godspeed, good friend," we say, until our journey comes full circle and our paths cross again.

---

What a tear-jerker.  Hope your eyes survived the crying....

 

Edge

HDTV settings (Part 2)

Here's an update to one of my previous blogs.... HDTV Calibration

 

Crave corner --  CNET launches HDTV picture settings forum
David Katzmaier
Today I'm proud to announce the relaunching of one of our most popular services here at CNET Reviews: providing picture settings for HDTVs. Now and for the foreseeable future, HDTV picture settings information will live in its own dedicated forum at CNET, where readers can search for our official settings to apply to their own TVs. The format also allows readers to post their own settings and share advice on HDTV setup in general.

 

Read more: http://forums.cnet.com/5204-19410_102-0.html?forumID=150

Edge

Um, it's amazing what you find when you're not looking.....

Check out the mission statement of this new football league, which begins play inside a month.....

 

http://www.southernifl.com/league/about-the-sifl.html

 

That has to be the first league I've ever seen openly say their mission is to honor God in all they do.  Wow!  Just for that, I hope they succeed.

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it.

Edge

Fwd: For That Special Someone.....Star Trek Cologne??

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10200276-1.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0
 
Um.  Red Alert......

Highly logical, eh Mr. Spock?
 
That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!
 
Edge

Stimulus? I got your stimulus....

OK.  In fairness, the unions are gonna hate this one.  Why?  Simple.  Wal-Mart doesn't deal with them.  While the following article mentions the fact that a drive to unionize Wal-Mart employees is underway, I for 1, don't think it will ever happen.  What is good news for the rest of the Wally World employees is their bonus checks...

 

The article is here: http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/23/wal-mart-weekly-2-billion-in-bonuses-coming-to-wal-mart-employ/

Now this is how to stimulate the economy.  Give money to people.  Sounds so simple.  Perhaps Obama and his team have overlooked the obvious???  Wal-Mart didn't.

 

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it.  (Maybe I should get a second job at Wal-Mart in my free time.....oh wait, I don't have any.)

Edge

The New USFL !?!?!?!?!?

This must be some elaborate hoax just to torture me.......

http://www.newusfl.com

They suckered me in. I actually think this might actually happen. Oh no....the end of.....got..to..stop...

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

The UFL......an Upstart Football League?????

So, by now you've probably heard that there will be a new "baby" football league this fall. If not, well, that's OK. That's why I'm here. To keep you informed of such things. Not only are they going to try this in the midst of a "poor" stretch in the economy, they're going to try to do it in the fall....against the NFL. Or are they? Their business plan says they want to employ those whom the NFL has not put on rosters....oh, so now you see the bigger picture. Allow the guys who feel they can to still play, and at the same time provide a possible "minor" league system for NFL teams come the end of their system. They went out and got 4 head coaches with NFL experience, which is a bold and audacious move. What's the lure for these guys? The chance to develop young (and not so young) impressionable minds and shape them not possible NFL players someday. Now the interesting thing that I see is that the NFL is going to be up against a re-negotiation of their CBA (collective bargaining agreement) in the next 12-14 months. If they (the NFL owners) mess it up, don't you think that if they get locked out by the owners (told not to come to work), they will go right over to this other league and say, hey - you want to pay us, we'll play. This is a bargaining chip in the players' favor. But at the same time, it's also one for the owners, because if the players fail to compromise, thy're going to be left without jobs at the higher pay level the NFL can provide....so this might actually be a win-win for both sides. Check out the article by John Clayton of ESPN, which examines some of the details of what will be going on with this situation.

ESPN.com article: NFL labor strife would help UFL's cause

Personally, Id like to see the CBA result in a better pay equity scale, meaning NFL rookies make less until their worth is actually proven. In return, maybe the NFL can mandate max contracts of 2 years for rookies, giving them the opportunity to outplay their comrades, and thus make bigger contracts on their second go-around.

Stay tuned...this could get interesting.

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Softball paractice

Ok. So last night I'm at softball practice. And both good and bad things happen to me.

The good:
1. Pitched a 1-2-3 inning. That's hard to do in softball for many reasons. I owe it to my defense, including myself, by catching a line drive, hit just over my head. I was ready, and I nailed that sucker right out of the sky.
2. Went 2-for-2 hitting. Never a reason to complain about that. 2 solid singles to center.

The bad:
Hurt myself swinging on my first hit. I hadn't even gotten out of the box and I could feel the top muscle on my left leg scream in pain. Didn't pop it or pull it away from the bone, but I definitely did not like the move I make. It hurt the rest of the night, especially running. I was reduced to less than my usual medium speed, which made me an easy target for ground outs..... Funny thing is, I thought I had done enough stretching at the start. Jogged out to center field and back. Few leg bends, etc. Warmed up my arm (which I still ain't throwing overhand well. Feels like I can only go maybe 70%. I've been throwing sidearm in warm-ups to reduce the strain. Good thing softball is underhand slow pitch. My muscle hrt the rest of the night - even driving home was somewhat painful, scrunched up in my car. Has the heating pad on medium-high, wrapped around my leg with an ace bandage, marooned on the couch in the living room. Sleeping was interesting. I'm not a stomach sleeper, like many folks. I prefer my back. But for last night, I had to give it a go so my leg would stay in contact with the heating pad. Took some meds too. Still a little twinge this morning. But apparently not enough to stay home. So, I'm gonna try getting ready to see if I can go into work. I think I can make it.

The wierd:
As last night was a scrimmage, there was no real rhyme or reason to substitutions or batting order. So it was kinda like swapping out at pre-determined intervals, and batting whenever the guy in front of you had his turn. Gotta see what coach was thinking on that one. I was confused. But with so many guys on our team, it was good just to get a few innings in in the field, and also a couple at-bats.

The cool:
I really had the junk working on the mound. I feel like Greg Maddux out there. I'm moving all over the place, changing spins, bringing it short/long/left/right, etc. It really kept a few of the other hitters off balance. Kinda like they don't know where it's coming from. Changing the angle really confuses batters, who generally only just try to go up and hit it as hard as they can. That kind of hitting mentality may get some hits off me on sheer power alone, but overall, it was very effective. We had sever ground-outs to the infielders, including 1 I played myself and threw to first for the out. If that kinda junk is working during the season, I'm gonna be totally stoked. I'm gonna try to not give up any earned runs the entire season. We'll see what happens.

This is your diamond in the rough, signing off....

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

First Walk

Took our puppies on their first walk around the block on Monday. It was an interesting experience. Gonna start doing this more often. They were curious, of course. Jorja has 2 speeds - "stop" and "fast". Arwyn was a bit more even keeled. This is gonna be fun.....

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Quick Hits

Braves are looking good in spring training.

Why do I suddenly believe less and less of what our President is saying these days? Can anybody tell me? Could it be because he's talking and acting a lot like Bill Clinton? Now I know some of you think Bill is a good man...no offense intended. But I seem to remember tax increases, lies and subterfuge, and the dismantling of our military. And when I look at what Pres. Obama has done in the first 50 days: 1) He passed the worst debt-ridden spending bill in the history of the United States. IN less than 2 months, he's managed to more than double our indebtedness to future generations. The only way he can pay for it is to raise taxes, just watch. I can guarantee you by next year, he will do it! 2) Um, does anybody remember him promising to not allow pork in the upcoming budget? Seems to me like passing a (de)stimulus bill with over 7,000 items of pork is breaking that promise. Hey, facts is facts, he signed it. 3) Not only does he want to close G'tmo (a very strategic military base), he wants to get our military off the front lines in the middle east, and he also wants to turn his back on Israel. If that isn't dismantling the very core of our military from a strategic, personnel, and policy standpoint, then I don't know what is. I guess my only choice is to keep on praying for him (see my previous posts on this subject)...he surely hasn't been seeking much wisdom from above lately.

3 former NFL payers recently passed away off the coast of Florida in a boating accident. I hope their families can find peace in the coming days....

Personally, I blew it today. I had 5 cookies when our floor won a "cookie break" at our building for having the best area in terms of being organized.

Softball practice was good tonight, and bad....more in another post.

Here's wishing you and your family a happy Saint Patty's Day!

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Alaska Trip Update

Alaska Trip Update - Final Post

For those of my readers wondering about the Alaska Trip I had an opportunity to go on this summer, it appears that door has been closed. I'm cool with that. God must have a different plan in place for me during that time. For those who were willing to contribute, I thank you for your prayers and offers of monetary support. If you still wish to give, go out to the website and pick up my father's contact information. Call him - he can share additional details.
Contact information -- http://www.geocities.com/edgweb/alaska/contact.html

Again, thanks to everyone for their prayers. The rest of the team (and my dad) still are raising support and need your prayers. They are doing a great work in the lives of those Alaskians. The blessings will fall for their faithfulness.

I won't go into the details as to why I will not be going except to say that the initial response was not at a level to where I could commit additional resources at this time.

Keep on praying....

E

What if the Oscars featured Pets??????

Well, many of you have been asking for more puppy pics, so I decided to capture them in their own environment with myself cast as director in their first motion picture.....Puppy Playtime. Enjoy!
================
Smile for the camera (Arwyn is lighter/Jorja is darker in color)

================
WCW (World Canine Wrastlin')

================
At first, it was time to play indoors, but it gave way to Arwyn chillin' out and Jorja joining her....

================
We decided to take it outside, and all the fun got kick-started. At first, it was WCW, round 2...

================
Jorja was on the hunt for a leaf...

================
But then Arwyn thought she found the missing leaf....

================
And Jorja got it in the end...

================
Arwyn started round two with another bit of detective work....

================
And Jorja picked up the trail, leading to another victory for the dogs. They found the second missing leaf.

================
So, after a long few minutes of detective work outside, it was time to head back inside...

================
And time for a snack...take 5 girls.

================
Time for our photo op...check my makeup again, I want to be perfect...and the nominees for best impersonation of a dog by a dog are.....

================
And the Academy Award goes to.......Arwyn & Jorja for their co-starring role in Puppy Playtime. Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters....

================
But by then, they were tuckered out from their big play time and photo op, and starring role in the movie....

================
Beddie-bye time daddy...

================
Zzzzzzzzzzzz............

================
That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Edge

Public Service Alert: How To Calibrate Your HDTV

From CNET.COM

http://cnettv.cnet.com/2001-1_53-50005275.html?tag=nl.e404

High Tech Red-Neck?

Many of you all know me as a geekozoid deluxe because of my job as a computer programmer.  Well, hold on there, I am really only good at programming in one language.  All the other stuuf I have to find out just like you - by reading and learning about the product (Windows, MS Word, MS Excel, etc.).  Doggone it, I don't even have a facebook account.  What does that tell you???  And none of you would ever confuse me with a redneck.....I think.  You know, that term really has its origins in the people who used to work out in the fields all day, and got sunburned on their neck, hence red-neck, or redneck.  So really, it's not derogatory - it has it's real meaning in those who worked hard - an honest day's work for an honest day's pay.  And that's a good thing.  But that's not where I'm going with this blog.  Many of you might also have the opinion that NASCAR is a "redneck" sport.....born in the south by those who used to run moonshine to avoid the law. Confused?  Just think "uncle Jesse" from the Dukes Of Hazard TV show.  He was a "shiner".  He and JD Hogg were old buddies growing up.  But I digress.

 

My point of the blog is that NASCAR season is upon us again and today is the Daytona 500!   Boogity, boogity, boogity - let's go racing boys.......  And you know I gotta pick my faves.  Most of you who know me well enough know I was a Dale Earnhardt fan.  Black #3 - I was born on April 3rd.  The parallels are too many to get into.  But anyway, y'all figured out by know I'm a "little E" or Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#88) fan.  Maybe fan is too much to say.  How about causal rooter of interest?   Anyway, those of you who watch NASCAR at all know Jimmy Johnson (#48) is the best driver on the planet.  And truth be told, I like him too.  He's a really nice guy when you see him on screen.  And he just happens to have won the last 3 (yes 3) NASCAR championships in a row!  Wow.  You got to be good to do that.  Even DE3 would be proud of that.

 

So anyway, my pick for today is gonna be..........surprise, surprise.....Mark Martin (#5).  He's had lot's of back luck at Daytona, but today, he's gonna break it.  I'm calling for MM in a nail-biter at the end.  And for the season, I like #48 Jimmy Johnson to become the first even 4-times-in-a-row NASCAR champion.

 

So that's my high tech redneck picks of the NASCAR season.

 

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!  Live long and prosper, as always.

E3 (Edge #3)

He's Just Not That Into You

Ok, ok.  I know the title is a bit cryptic.  That's by design.  But I do have a point to the crazy title, so keep reading.

He's Just Not That Into You was the title of a film Alli and I went to see at the local megaplex recently.  And as with all good movies, it sparked some discussion afterwards.  We've found that the better a movie is, the more we like to talk about it afterwards, and kind of discuss what the pros/cons/etc. were.  But in this case,  I don't want to ruin the movie too much by debating the plusses/minuses here.  But I do want to kinda give a quick plotline/movie synopsis without too much commentary.

The main characters in the movie are basically people like you and me, but perhaps skewed to the time of their first/second professional jobs - late 20's/early 30's.  There was also a married couple (late 30's?).  I think the main guy you'll all recognize, but don't know his name - he's the Mac guy from the Mac vs. PC commercials.  And I must say, his character (a bartender) comes off pretty well - cynical about love, because he's seen it happen all too often in the bar - the meeting, the pickup, the faint "I'll call you later", the gal buying every minute of it.....but what he doesn't expect is to also be dragged into the love trap himself (or is he just faking it to prove a point???)

If I'm any judge of movies (and mind you, I think I can do a better job than professional movie critics, because all they do are go to movies and have no grip on what "real" people like to watch), I'd say the Drew Barrymore flower-power production team has yet another winner on their hands.  It really takes a look at the "in love"/"out of love"/"looking for love" quandry we all face at some point in our lives from a slew of different angles.  But to understand them best, you need to go see the movie!  There's even the "I found someone on the internet" angle, for those of you who like the new-school methods.  And to her credit, miss flower-power herself gets a minor cameo in the movie as a journalist.  But rather than having the movie be formulaic where all the main characters know each other or grew up together (think Friends), this movie takes the track that all of the main characters have their own lives, but it's the subject matter itself that is the main crux of the movie.

Even though it's PG-13, I'd shy the kids away.  There was a bit of language (cursing), albeit in-character for non-religious folks, as these main characters were.  There was also one scene where a gentleman was obviously unfaithful to his wife (although they don't show it on screen, thankfully).

Maybe I'll blog up some more movie reviews as time goes on...depends on the feedback....
That's my blog & I'm sticking to it.

Edge

http://www.hesjustnotthatintoyoumovie.com/
P.S.  I do not officially endorse or disclaim anything found at the movie website.  It is only a link if you want more information.

The Dog Days of Winter (Part 2 of ???)

SO anyway, Arwyn and Jorja are progressing in their love of the outdoors. Running and playing are their favorite things to do outside, besides eating grass. Still don't get that one... But anyway, it's a lot like having a new baby around the house. We are constantly cleaning up #1 and #2, but they are starting (in some cases) to get better. Arwyn goes every time we take her out. Jorja is not always going outside, which leads to messes inside. Ugh. We (Alii & I) both hate that. Sometimes, Arwyn still goes inside, but she is getting better. Those two bundles of joy are a handful, but have definitely re-arranged my personal schedule. They just love to be held, and can whine somewhat loudly at night. Lately, I have to go sit on the kitchen floor so they can crawl into my lap and fall asleep if they want to. Then, I can usually put them in their kennel and head off to bed...

Until next bark, that's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Alaska Mission Trip

This summer, I have a chance to go on a mission trip to Alaska. Check out the details at http://www.geocities.com/edgweb/alaska/

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Super Bowl 44 Logo.....sorry Super Bowl XLIV

Here's an early look at next years Super Bowl Logo. My first blush reaction is that it's got too much Orange, even for a game being held in Miami. At least the logo works kinda well. The goalpost/football thing is good, and the "hidden" M at the top of the graphic is pretty neat to see in the design. I missed it the first time around.

Oh, and for those wondering, my prediction on the Super Bowl 50 (Roman numeral L) logo is that the "L" in super bowl will somehow be bigger and more prominent than the rest of the letters. Yes, it's early, by you heard it here first - come back in 6 years to see if I am right...

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Congrats

Congrats to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have now won their 6th Super Bowl, the only team ever to win 6.  Give credit where credit is due - they did what they had to do to win it in the end.  Possibly the best catch ever in a Super Bowl by the game MVP Santonio Holmes to win it with 35 seconds left.  Wow!  Perfect throw and catch, and the replay confirmed it as in bounds.  Excellent game - most watched Super Bowl in history.  Gotta believe both teams may be in the playoffs for years to come.....

That's my blog & I'm sticking to it.
Edge

Super Bowl 43 Logo

For those who care, here is the Super Bowl 43 Logo

 

Super Bowl Prediction

 

'nuff said.

 

That's my (rather short) blog, and I'm stiking to it.

The Stimulus Trap (or) Money Money Money

For those of you who are budding economists out there, check out this article on the Stimulus Trap: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/994mlbmh.asp

 

(hopefully, it is still live).  Forget party affiliation when you read.  Just think about it from a common sense perspective.  How can we boost the economy if no one is willing to spend money to have an economy to boost?  And also, why is it that if a company loses millions of dollars, they fire the president, but when the U.S. has a deficit (loses billions of dollars), congress gets a free pass to print more?  Doesn't make any sense, does it?

Printing more money only de-values the money already in circulation.  Taking money out of circulation increases the value, but makes it more scarce. So, we're walking a precarious tightrope here.  What we gotta do is have the government spend the money to hire people doing jobs which are critical to infrastructure (where the citizens not only get value for the money spent, but also get improved roads, etc.)  Also, 1 quick way to save our country mega-millions every year is to stop paying people for life after they leave office, and also enact term limits.  This would reduce congress' salaries to a fixed cost instead of variable.  This is better for budgeting.  The next thing is for them to re-vamp the tax system.  Read up on the FAIR TAX and also the new 1040EZ proposed by Rudi Guiliani and others.  These make a lot of sense from a common sense standpoint, even if you don't agree with them politically.

OK - off my high horse for tonight....  get out there and read, and let me know what you think.


--
That's my blog & I'm stickig to it!
Edge

The Dog Days.......of Winter? (Part 1 of ???)

Well, my life is now different for eternity. No really. This weekend, my wife brought home 2 adorable little puppy dogs, whom we have named Arwyn (which is from the Lord of the Rings) and Jorja (who is named after Ms. Fox, of CSI fame). Arwyn is lighter in color, somewhat smaller, and has a pronounced stripe running down her nose. Jorga is a little bigger, darker in color, and has only a white spot on her nose. That's how you can tell them apart. 5-6 weeks old.....so we are getting them practically from birth. So now I get to learn what it's like to potty-train a couple new pups. I had a dog growning up. My parents live by the statement that I ignored her, which is of course, not true. She lived a long and fulfilling life. I hope our 2 new ones do the same. I'm including some pictures from the first couple days in their new home, which is of course, our home. Mostly, they are just random shots.
So anyway, Alli calls me at work in the middle of day 2 - we have a sick puppy. Not eating much, diarrhea, etc. Great, I think to myself, what next? At this rate, I'll be broke by next month. The good news is it was nothing serious. Got off just over 100 dollars at the vet. Whew. (Hey, Pres Obama, can I claim them as dependants???) So anyway, day two went a lot better, and with a snow day for school, Alli got to spend an extra day with them and get a little closer with training...

What's on tap next? I dunno, but Jorja seems to like licking my beard......



That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Quick Quiz: America Is What Color????

On the eve of our next presidential inauguration, I felt it time to pause and once again reflect on the past 8 years...what's really changed, and what hasn't. You see, I saw a map 4 years ago, and it wasn't your typical map. It was a county by county map of the United States of America. And while that seems a bit odd to look at since we are used to looking at states, I think it provided (at least for me) the context by which to properly evaluate our last eight years. ANd my friends, one thing has become blatantly clear - we're still the same America we were 8 years ago. What? That can't be possible? We just elected Barack Obama, whom the media has proclaimed the next "messiah" who will save us. He'll be better for the economy, better for jobs, better for health care, etc. There's no way this is the same America - Bush......

Hold on there a minute. I know the externals say Obama won the popular vote, the first ever such victory by a black man in America. And for that, we truly have a historic day in America. But let's step back and see what's truly different....

First, here was the breakdown of Bush vs. Gore (2000):




Next, we have the same breakdown of Bush vs. Kerry (2004):




And finally, the Obama vs. McCain breakdown (2008):




And now you see why I say it's the same America. Not much on the maps has changed. We're still the same as we were in 2000. The externals, for sure have changed. But the inescapable truth is that America is roughly identical to the America of 8 years ago. During the campaign of 2000, Al Gore promised us the world was coming to an end soon due to global warming. Al? Hello? When is soon? Last I checked we were still here. In 2004, Kerry promised...well, ok, we don't really know what he was promising because he was before it before he was against it, whatever "it" was. Now, in 2008, Obama has promised an end to the war on terrorism (why? we're safe now than we were 8 years ago), a reversal of the George Bush tax decreases (why? we're richer now than we were 8 years ago - proof of this is Obama wants to tax the rich MORE than before), and he's also promised a great many other things. Now, you may have sensed that I am a skeptic of Mr. Obama (I can still say that for a couple more days). You would be right. But before I pass judgment on his failed policies, I'm going to wait to see which ones he actually has the guts to stand behind when the junk hits the fan..... And before I throw him under the bus, I'm going to wait to see if that bus is carrying smarter or less smart children in 8 more years. And before I forget God's Word, I'm going to be praying for him, and those giving him counsel. It is not only my right as a citizen to do this, it is my command as a child of God to do so......pray for those in authority over you for they watch over (care for) your souls.......I may not liek him personally, but God has been teaching me some things that I hope He is also teaching you. Prayer is gonna go a bit farther then all our criticism.....so let's agree together to pray now, while there is still time. And to quote one of my favorite Christian bands, Petra, ....redeeming the time for the days are evil - this whole world's in such upheaval - we wrestle not against flesh and blood - but when the enemy (Satan) comes in like a flood - Stand up, take a stand for Jesus, stand up so the whole world sees us...

Note: opinions in this blog can be backed up here: Newsmax.com

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Gators Win Again....

And now, the final BCS rankings after the Gators chomped Oklahoma 24-14 in the BCS Nation Title Game for 2008:

1. Florida
2. Who cares?!

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

The old cold has finally gone away...

Well, I finally got over my head cold (check out the Adventures In Barlikville blog by my wonderful wife here to catch up...). I hate those. It felt like the worst one of my life. It started its course around New Year's Eve, and finally surfaced in full 2 days later. I felt awful. Missed church, community group, and other stuff. I get sinus trouble whenever the temperature/humidity changes wildly, like it did last week going from warm mid 70's to damp mid 30's almost overnight. Messes up my head pretty bad. But enough about me.

Finally had the chance to see the lovely Kayden Grace Elliott. Boy is she a cutie (ok, bad pun there...) You can catch up with her mom at K&K Elliott when you have the time. We visited with her parents on New Year's Eve and I finally got to play a Wii for the first time. Kinda fun. Only bad thing is that I haven't yet figured out the precise control of body movements to make the controller do what I want. Alli beat me in bowling. Twice. So, obviously it has no correspondence to real life. Still, I am on the lookout for one (eBay anyone?) I actually bought one for Alli for Christmas, but it turned out to be unavailable, so I had to re-start my search.....

Anyway, I must have spent an hour or so tonight responding to blog posts. Was actually kinda fun.
You should check out my defense of creation (versus evolution) on my friend Randy's blog.

OK - now that I've blogged about all the other blogs I care to, you should go back through my stuff and leave any comments your heart desires.

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Ending the year on a good note

Well, I guess I owe all of my adoring fans 1 last blog to close out 2008.  Reflecting back on our extended Christmases this year, I have to say that I was quite pleased with all of the gifts which friends and loved ones chose to bestow upon me.  Of course, they all pale in comparison to Jesus's most precious gift - Himself!  1 odd thing that happened was that I actually had purchased a Wii game system for Alli off of eBay, but due to complications with the transaction, the item was no longer able to be sent.  So, I'm still looking.....but as I found out from the seller, it was given to a man who otherwise had no gifts for his children.  In the spirit of Christmas, I forgave the man and agreed that he no longer needed to follow through on his part of the contract.  In return, I did not pay for anything.

 

My sweet wonderful wife got me a number of excellent gifts, including a couple books, and DVDs and also 2 items of clothing.  One was a Florida Gators hoodie oversized sweatshirt.  It is very comfortable and I have to say, looks quite good on me.  The other was a Gators ballcap (one size fits all) which matches the hoodie.  I was so happy!  I almost can't wait for the BCS national championship game so I can see Florida whip Oklahoma's tails back to the plains.....

 

One other thing I am also looking forward to getting for Alli will be a new HD stereo for her vehicle.  I've already looked at what I want to get her, and I think it will be very cool. Not only does it pick up the new HD FM broadcasts, it also has an AUX jack for hooking up my Zune MP3 player for when we go on trips.  We'll be able to plug in the headphone output directly into the jack, and literally play the Zune through the vehicle speakers, which will be very cool.

 

The other new gadget I am about to play with is called an HDMI cable.  What it does is allow you to hook an HD cable box into an HD TV and get full HD over a single cable instead of hooking up 5 component cables.  HDMI carries audio and video over the same cable, so that is why it is called HDMI (high definition multimedia interface).  After doing some research, I found out that you really only have to spend about 5 bucks to get the cables online.  Seriously - check it out on cnet.com if you have an HD TV - it might be the best purchase you ever make for your HD TV.

 

I think the final thing we will be doing in 2008 will be travelling up to the Greenville area to visit our friends Kayte and Kevin and their new baby girl Kayden.  We haven't seen them in a while, so this will surely be a blessing.

 

I've definitely enjoyed the time off from work and have used it to spend with friends and family.  This is the best thing I could have done given the fact the break form work was a mandatory one.

 

As I look back on the full year of 2008, many things have happened which I didn't even figure on a year ago.  This is definitely confirmation that the Lord has plans for us which we can't see down the road with our human eyes.  It's the process of trusting him which allows us to take each successive step by faith and keep on moving down the path.  As time goes on, I definitely have plans for 2009, but I don't want my plans to get in the way of God's ultimate plans not only for me, but also for my family.

 

I hope you grow deeper in your relationship with Jesus and lean to trust him more in the new year!

 

That's my blog for 2008 and I'm sticking to it!

Edge

Well, it's finally here......

Yes, that's right.....it's finally here!  After 16 long weeks of agony, strategy, moves, counter-moves, trades, and downright second-guessing myself, I've finally reached the end of another journey.  It's a journey I've been taking anually for around 12 years now.  I can think back to my first such journey....it was so frustrating.  At the end of it, I felt a bit down and discouraged.  I spent the first 12 weeks of it feeling like I was never going to have any success.  It took me that long just for anything positive to happen at all.  I think my third time on the journey was memorable also.  I tried so hard to do my best, but I just couldn't seem to make any progress.  I never did even get half-way up the mountain that year, but the biggest thing that happened to me was being able to out-perform some of my fellow competitors.  I managed to advance to the final competition that year, but did not win, of course.  I remember that a couple of years later, we moved to Georgia because I had lost my job in South Carolina.  Undeterred, I continued on this annual journey with my friends.  And while it was almost my last journey with them, a new idea had birthed inside me.  The second year we lived in Georgia, I decided to invite a brand new group of guys to join me on my journey.  And it has been an annual tradition for me ever since.  On this journey, there are mountains and valleys.  Along the way, you see the highs, and the lows.  You make new friends, and you see old ones pass along.  You draw closer to family, and some begin to feel like family.  At times, you are cheering both for and against those not actually taking part in your journey, but who are rather those your journey is all about.  Thoroughly confused?  I'm not surprised.  But then, that is the crazy world that is fantasy football.  Highs and lows, good times and bad, superfans and armchair quarterbacks alike can all come into the game with a passion which only they can truly understand.  You love it - you hate it - you get down - you thrill at the last second victories - it's all part of the game.  Oh, I've won and lost my share of games now.  And this year was no different.  Just 1 week's difference in opponents, and I win the championship.  But alas, yet again it was not to be.  This year, after my nemesis Cliff beat me again in the first round of the playoffs, I managed to bouce back in the consolation game and finish the season officially in 3rd place.  And ya know what?  I'll take it!  It's pretty hard to get 3rd place in any league, let alone fantasy football, where the wierd it commonplace, and the commonplace is sublime.  Wierd plays, and players with even wierder names (Manumaleuna, Housmandzadeh, Gostkowski, Janikowski, etc.) often end up doing your team in by 1 or 2 points.  So why do I play?  Why does a puppy chew up a shoe?  Why does a cat chase it's tail?  Same reason here.  It's all about fun.  And if you can't have any, you shouldn't play.  So what finally got here after 16 long weeks?   They end of the season, of course.  Oh, but don't fret, there's always next year!

That's my blog & I'm sticking to it!

The Edge

( check out our website at http://www.geocities.com/eastusffl/ )

It's beginning to feel like Christmas

I was just thinking this week how much it is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. Decorations everywhere, radio stations converting their formats for an entire month, sales in the malls, even sportshas become commercialized....one of my favorite examples of this is in Jacksonville. Normally, Jaguars home games can be identified by the sight of the team logo (a growling Jaguar) at midfield. But around Christmastime, even the Jaguar is wearing a Santa hat....how festive.
But the great thing is that the Spirit of Christmas is in the air. There seems to be a general feeling of giving, sharing, and helping out just about everywhere. Even at work this week, I was saying to a co-worker (who I had helped out on a project), that we're all part of a team and he didn't owe me anything. He was commenting on how when others do that for him, usually, they tell him he owes them something in return, etc. But I digress.
I'm really getting into the Christmas mood. Hearing the songs of Christmas gives you something of a nostalgic attitude at times. I was just thinking how much I enjoy the carols of the season.....with that in mind, I give you my top 5 Christmas songs of the season (no particular rhyme or reason to this) for 2008:

1. Sarajevo 12/24 by Trans Siberian Orchestra

2. Feliz Navidad

3. Christmastime Is Here (the one with all the Charlie Brown kids singing it)

4. I'll Be Home For Christmas (yes, the old war ballad)

5. Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives

And now a few comments: Sarajevo 12/24 has everything I want in a Christmas song - rock instruments, stirring theme, classical Christmas reference (think "Carol Of The Bells"), all wrapped up in a nice 4 minute package. I love this song no matter what time of year it is played. Something about it just gets your heart stirred up. Feliz Navidad is, was, and forever will be my favorite Spanish Christmas carol. I love the attitude: festive yet sincere; joyous yet playful; it just kinda lifts you up to think about the tropics when all the snow gets to bogging you down. And one of these days, I'm actualy gonna learn all the words. I know most of them, but not quite all. I also love the message. Wishing your fellow man a Merry Christmas and a PROSPEROUS New Year! Sweet. Christmastime Is Here always bring back my childhood memories of watching the Charlie Brown Christmas Special on TV. The centerpiece, of course, is Linus's retelling of the Christmas story from scripture. Perfect - the true meaning of Christmas in a children's TV show - out of the mouth of babes, as they say. I'll Be Home For Christmas first caught my attention on M*A*S*H, of all shows. Something about the way Hawkeye sang it when he was reminicing to Radar about how a lot of touching songs came out of WWII. I think it reminds me of all our military out serving at their posts around the world, so that our families can meet in peace back home. I often tear up when hearing this song - songthing about the sentiment in the lyrics and maybe how much I have to be thankful for. And last, but not least, Holly Jolly Christmas is one of those songs EVRYONE should have in their collection. Not only does it talk about being happy and vibrant at the holidays, it also reminds us that "...somebody waits for you...". To me, this is tied into the fact that no matter where we are, someone always wants to spend Christmas with us, which is the point of the entire thing in the first place - spending time with loved ones. To me, that will always be better than the presents.
Anyway, time for me to go. Got to listen to more Christmas music.....



That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Goooooooooooooo Gators!!!!!

Well, now that the defacto NCAA Semi-final game has come and gone, I suspect the Gators will be headed to the National Championship game against Oklahoma. I'd rather have seen Texas play Florida, so as to get probably the 2 best QB in the nation squaring off, but you can't get everything you want, right? Anyway, it was a good game, played well on both sides. Punch, and counter punch. Even with players down with injuries, the Gators went to their depth and pulled out a hard-fought win against a very good team in the Crimson Tide. Thumbs up to Nick Saban & the gang for a well played game. Guees they get to go to New Orleans in the Sugar Bowl, possibly against whoever the BCS automatic bid was for the conference who normally doesn't get a bid....we're gonna have a Penn State/U of SoCal Rose Bowl, and what looks like a Texas / VA Tech Fiesta Bowl. That leaves the Big East winner (Cincinnati???) to play the other BCS-lottery winner in the Orange Bowl.

So, in short my predictions are as follows:
BCS Championship.....#2 Florida (SEC Champ; 12-1) vs #1 Oklahoma (Big 12 Champ; 12-1) (Oklahoma favored by 3)
Orange Bowl.....Cincinnati (Big East Champ; 10-2) vs Ohio State (At Large; 10-2) (Ohio State favored by 8)
Fiesta Bowl...Texas (At Large; 11-1) vs VA Tech (ACC Champ; 9-4) (Texas favored by 16)
Rose Bowl...USC (Pac 10 Champ) vs Penn State (Big 11 Champ; 11-1) (USC favored by 11)
Sugar Bowl.....Alabama (At Large; 12-1) vs Utah (At Large; 12-0; Mtn West Champ) (Alabama favored by 18)







That's my blog & I'm stickin' to it! Gooooooooooooooooooooooo Gators!!!!!!!!
--
Erik J. Barlik
EDGE74@GMAIL.COM

Last batch of pics from Ridgecrest (the rest are on my PC - can't post 'em all, ya know....)

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

More Ridgecrest pics.....

We had some downtime to watch some football and bond over the Gators, Gamecocks, Tigers, Red Raiders, and a few other teams....

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

More pics from Ridgecrest...such beautiful colors all around us the last weekend of October/first weekend of November......

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

Here are some pictures from the men's retreat for our church. It was at Ridgecrest, in Black Mountain, NC.

I'll post more pictures on the next post.....

That's my blog and I'm sticking to it!

From my edge of the galaxy to yours....live long and prosper.

SCC Men's Retreat, Part VII

Sunday Morning – main speaker

Sunday's message centered around leaving a legacy

 

·         References back to Genesis, and also Ephesians, abut the main focus was Deuteronomy 6:1-9

·         Obeying God

·         Following Him

·         Teach (train) your children & children's children to fear the Lord

·         No Biblical support for spoiling your grandchildren.  Grandparents have the ability and choice to give gifts as they see fit, but there is NOT a Biblical principle of spoiling them.  What their responsibilities are involve teaching them the Godly, moral principles found in God's Word, in support of the parents.  This is modeling Christ to them, involving them in the Godly activities in service, etc.  It also is a chance to ask questions during the everyday stuff of life to take their spiritual temperature and direct discussions towards how God works in the world through nature, physical laws, spiritual laws, and modeling love at all times.

·         Love for God in ALL things with every last ounce of our strength even to our dying breath

·         You are always disciplining your children – are you doing it well??

·         Be diligent to show yourself approved to God

 

 

I hope everyone has enjoyed reading the series I posted from our recent men's retreat.  Agin, feel free to comment on the individual posts, or mail me back directly.  Next post, I'll try to upload some pictures....until then.

--
Erik J. Barlik
EDGE74@GMAIL.COM

SCC Men's Retreat - Part VI

note: I have removed the names from the below listing to protect the anonymity of those involved in their missions....

 

Sunday Morning – Armed Forces tribute

Song played was "American Soldier" by Toby Keith

Speaker was xxxxxxxxxxx, xxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxxxx, xx – xxxxxxxxxxx

 

·         Spiritual climate is one where the soldiers definitely feel the pressures to perform and to serve their country, and given the choice again, the majority of them would still go to serve.  Very few would not have.

·         Some of the roles he plays are to comfort the other soldiers in times of loss; to counsel in times where advice is needed; and to be intercessors in times of spiritual need.

·         He gave testimony about one Afghan interpreter who became a convert to Christ through the message of the gospel.  He asked for a new name and was give the name of xxxxx xxxxxx.  This convert is now preaching the gospel to his people because of the power of Christ.

·         He also gave testimony of taking communion on a mountaintop, as they were getting ready to survey the valley on their assignment.  The "sermon on the mount", as it has been named by those involved.  Five guys on a mountaintop together, sharing the Word and the Lord's supper with a Bible, a machine gun, and the blood of Jesus.

·         He also talked about one guy who was about to go out on patrol from a sentry point, called him, and said he had some fear about the mission, and asked to take communion before the assignment.  So, in the dead of night, in blackout conditions, he is administering communion at the guard point, in a room not much larger than a maybe a small bathroom, by the light of a heating element and a mini-flashlight, just bright enough to read the words off the page.

--
Erik J. Barlik
EDGE74@GMAIL.COM

SCC Men's Retreat - Part V

Saturday night – main speaker

Mark again spoke on the connection of our roles as family leaders to the passages in Genesis 1-2.  He also piggy-backed on what Derwin spoke about, noting that we are not completed in our spouse, but in God.  Our spouse is our help mate, our companion, our encourager, our confidant, our supporter, our champion, our friend, our gift from God.

 

·         We have to lead our families as servant leaders

·         Worship (of God) = Service (to our wife) in the aspect of our walk with God.  How are we modeling Christ in our actions and attitudes.  Are we praying, reading His Word, talking about the things of God in such a way as to make that attractive to our spouse and children and the others who come to visit our home?

·         Adam was alone, but he was not lonely.  From Genesis, we see that he spent regular time with God before Eve came on the scene.  After Adam had named the animals, no suitable partner was found for him, so God took the rib from his side and formed Eve, his perfect compliment, in an earthly sense.

·         Adam's state of being alone was a physical issue, whereas the concept of loneliness is an emotional issue – we can be lonely in a crowd of people if we feel disconnected, and separated from the ones we already know

·         What might have happened had they chosen not to sin?  Might we all be worshipping as God intended from the beginning?  Sinlessly?

·         The sin Adam committed was one of inactivity – sitting back and watching as Eve was deceived and doing nothing to prevent the carnal response of eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.  The consequence according to Genesis, was that they realized they were naked, they were then ashamed, and they tried to cover their nakedness in their own effort.  God eventually had to slay the animal, make the sacrifice and cover them with the animal skins, and in a spiritual sense, his atonement.

·         Husbands need to be pre-emptive about our service in the homes, not passive.

·         Marriage is for the purpose of glorifying God through living unashamed in a way that fulfills the mandate given to Adam to be fruitful and multiply (subdue the earth, etc.)

·         This connects to the great commission which Jesus gave to his disciples to be witnesses to the ends of the earth – Jesus has a consistent message to us in Genesis, in His life on earth, and in the future.

·         We need to look like Jesus, not ourselves (He must increase, I must decrease).

--
Erik J. Barlik
EDGE74@GMAIL.COM

SCC Men's Retreat - Part IV

Saturday morning – guest speaker

Derwin spoke about the lifestyle of personal evangelism.  He spent time on what the fears and barriers which we see are, and why we are not responsible for the outcomes.  He cited the scriptures where Paul and Apollos planted and watered but God provided the increase or harvest.  In essence, the results are up to Him, we just have the privilege of being a part of the process, playing a role as it were.

 

·         We are on mission 24/7

·         We are missionaries to our families, our co-workers, or neighborhoods, our church friends, and our contacts during the everyday stuff of life.

·         We have to earn the respect of the people we are to speak to, whether it is on our families, jobs, etc.  Our lifestyle has to match up with what we believe, or it will never speak loud enough for them to ask us why we live in the radical way that we do.

·         We earn the respect through integrity, and not through getting up on the desk and shouting that they are "going to hell" and getting ourselves fired.

·         It's about building relationships.  Sometimes it can take days, weeks, months, or years to do this, but we have to walk with God with an intentionality of purpose, and pray that God would open the doors for us to have the opportunity to share and then the boldness to walk through those doors an witness about who God is at the appropriate moment, not in a confrontational way, but in a way that the character of Christ is so compelling that they want to know.

·         Our identity is not in who we are in our job, or what sports team we align with, or what award we've won, or what great victory we have accomplished.  Our identity is in Christ alone, and we get to serve him by being a faithful servant as a programmer, pastor, janitor, etc.

·         In a spiritual sense, we have the same righteousness as Billy Graham, or Paul the apostle, or anyone else who is covered by the blood of Christ. We are all equal.  This is what God sees when he looks at us – he sees us covered with the blood of Jesus, the same blood which covered the sins which Jesus took upon Himself as He died on the cross.  As such, we are viewed the same.  Our identity is in Christ, who covered our sins, not in our job or some house we own, or what car we drive, or what team we root for (Carolina, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Penn State, Texas, etc.)

--
Erik J. Barlik
EDGE74@GMAIL.COM

SCC Men's Retreat - Part III

Saturday testimony of Brian Graham, who was a missionary pilot for Wycliffe Bible Translators.  He talked about the impact that God's word is having in the remote islands, and villages of the remote places around the globe.  The power and impact of God's word is such that even the troublemakers in the local villages are turning from their sins, and their lives are changed.  Some are becoming the next generation of preachers, proclaiming the gospel to others in their villages, and the next villages, etc.  God's Word is being used as a tool to teach other cultures to read – this has the impact of communicating the gospel in a way that makes a lasting impact because the truth of God's Word is what they are hearing, and why it is so important to continue to do the work of translating it into other languages.  Over 2000 language translations still need to be done in remote portions of the globe.  But the end picture is one from Revelation 5:9, where every tribe, language, people, and nation will have souls praising God around the throne, and at the marriage supper of the lamb.  Tribe = people group.  "People" seems to have the connotation of culture or lifestyle of an area.  Nation = political or physical boundary.

--
Erik J. Barlik
EDGE74@GMAIL.COM