Python

I've added 2 new things to my "Do everyday" list:

1. Read one epistle a day, selecting from:

• Galatians


• Ephesians


• Philipians


• Colosians


• 1st Thessalonians


• 2nd Thessalonians


• 1st Timothy


• 2nd Timothy


• Titus


• Philemon


• James


• 1st Peter


• 2nd Peter


• 1st John

That's 14 Epistles... once through the cycle every 2 weeks. I picked these because they are relatively short. I still try to leave some time for unplanned reading, so I don't feel have to try to get to some "finished" state when I am reading, but for this, I want to get much more familiar with these books soon.

2.Also, I'm learning a little Python. It is a programing language that seems relatively easy, and has a way (PyObjC) to integrate with Apple's Cocoa.

I've worked on learning programming languages before, but the only one I've really stuck to was TI Basic which isn't object-oriented, or any other cool buzzwords (and it only runs on Texas Instruments calculators.)

I'm working through an 80-page .pdf that I got off of the Python site(Python for Non-Programers, and I'm on page 18. After that book is under my belt, I'll kick over to one my bro sent me that is 800 pages Dive into Python.

Roasted Green

A big thumbs up for roasted green tea. The stuff I have smells a lot like green tea with roasted rice, but has a different taste. As a bonus, the little wet roasted rice things don't stick to my filter. (But I still like the roasted rice...)

The Republic of Tea calls theirs "Chop Wood Carry Water Tea."

(sorry about that comic, It really screwed up the formating... If I knew a second thing about HTML I'd fix it)

Oh the Humor

Amazing

The internet is an amazing place... I got to see this actually appear on my screen, so I thought I'd pass the opportunity on to you:

(Seen in an article on the San Antonio Spurs recent injury woes:)

It’s no hex folks. It’s not voodoo or some silly curse. It’s just bad luck

Are/Could conflation

A recent article from Wired News about OS X's security entitled "Mac Attacks Are on the Rise" mentions that "Attacks on Apple's OS X operating system... are on the rise..." (emphasis added)
But then, we only get some weak comments to back it up:

"Apple's recent introduction of the Mac mini... could actually increase the likelihood of more malicious software computer code targeting the Mac platform..."

and

"the number of vulnerabilities can be expected to increase"

Of course Wired says all the right stuff so that they can pass the buck to Symantec, the company that released the report... So it is a pretty poor showing by Wired, but an even worse showing by Symantec, who I wouldn't trust to secure my computer over Microsoft... (and if you don't know how bad an insult that is, you probably shouldn't be reading this post ;-) )

Mate Latte

Well, mate is not tea, but you make it the same way, and I found a new favorite... Mate Latte

It has almonds in it... I'm convinced the way to my heart is through almonds...

The people at Tevana told me that The Republic of Tea was really expensive, but I can get republic of tea in bulk at HEB central market... No dealing with the internet, and I buy as much as I want...

Neat-O

Wow... while writing that last article, I noticed that PithHelmet had a new version... I downloaded it to try it out and it rocks! I bought it for $10 bucks... It adds per site cookie-management (I can block all cookies from all sites, then simply allow sites I want to have cookies at store info on my computer) and per site java/javascript/plug-in management...

No more turning on and off the plug-ins by hand...

It also looks like it can be customized a whole bunch to do more than I am even mentioning...

For a Mac User who knows anything about what I am talking about, I would recommend this as a well-spent $10...

Banner Ads

Well, I got tired of the FLASH banner ads that not only get around my ad blocking Safari Plugin but they also move... which draws my eye over to them... So I have started turning off flash and shockwave in Safari.app preferences. It works great!

Now I would like it if I could use an Apple Script to turn plugins on and off... I go to lots of sites at which I want to see the flash animations, so I have to turn it on every once in a while...

Another thing that would be nice is if I could turn it on for just one window or tab, instead of having to deal with those ads while I'm tracking the Mavs every once in a while... or Waiting for Homestarrunner to load.

From the Desk of Mr. Merton

Learn how to meditate on paper. Drawing and writing are forms of meditation. Learn how to contemplate works of art. Learn how to pray in the streets or in the country. Know how to meditate not only when you have a book in your hand but when you are waiting for a bus or riding in a train. Above all, enter into the Church's liturgy and make the liturgical cycle part of your life-- let its rhythm work its way into your body and soul.

Thomas Merton New Seeds of Contemplation

There's a New Digital Rebel in Town

Wow... I almost impulse bought a $1000 item just now... I just saw that Canon released a new Digital Rebel, going up to 8 MegaPixels...

You know... I am graduating soon...
;-)

Poetry

I don't know how many of you know this, but I don't really understand poetry... and by poetry, I mean poems... So I decided to write a poem to try to get into the head of a poet... See, I can imagine someone seeing something beautiful and thinking "I'm gonna take/paint a picture of that" or someone sitting down and thinking "I'm going to write a beautiful piece of music" but not "I'm going to write a poem" so here they (I wrote 2) are:

I. Deconstruct This! (That's the title...)

He danced upon the flowers of the sky.
And sang a sad swan song of sweet sorrow.
With tangible reverence to the night,
A quick, slip-shod council of nature,
Commenced to their business of doom.

Along for the ride, ran round the staves,
Came breathless, bride to be.
Ample opportunity to allow organization
Was given gladly by nature's cabal.

But no rescue was to be,
The man of men would not flee,
His punishment would destroy the sea,
Down among the small fishes.


II. Amazing Feats of Carlton Thrask

Down to the marketplace, yesterday he ran,
allowing orthogonal trysts to fly.
Travail and effort given life;
Methuselah sat to sing twice-long.

Among the crowd of cauliflower
planted the evil crown's fore-brow
the man-upon black and launched
a wave of sorrow o'er the sea.

Bent flint flicked forcibly upon
the ragged crew of orange vultures;
And gangly-armed muppet men worked
about the ghastly gorges.

Windy conversations of deep-throated rocks
beset whenever the man would sing
about most any topic or thing;
And n'er was disorder among his socks.

The Albino Elephant of Angle Rock
ran to and fro among the ships;
Able to swim as easily as chalk
And eat hors d'evours with all the dips.

Crackling cackling crazy cars
drive up the lazy highways,
causing countless cans of oil
sold down on the byways.

Carlton Thrask, n'er basket met
could hold him underwater;
And so he flew, deep underground
to stop... once he saw her.

I know it is really bad... but this is how all poetry looks to me... except, I'm not able to create lines that don't signify anything... I could present these poems I've written in a series of pictures... Most poetry lines don't actually signify anything to me...

Oh well...

Email Etiquette

I'm not sure what to do. I've sent a couple of emails to people anticipating a reply. I know that lots of people are rather sporadic on checking their email, but I've been waiting for replies from two people for months now... Should I send another email? What should be in it?

I Stand by the Door

I stand by the door,
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world-
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There's no use my going way inside, and standing there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find,
Is only the wall where a door ought to be,
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands.
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it....
So, I stand by the door.

The most tremendous thing in the world,
Is for men to find that door--the door to God.
The most important thing any man can do,
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands,
And put it on the latch--the latch that only clicks,
And opens to the man's own touch.
Men die outside that door, as starving beggars die,
On cold cruel nights in cold cruel cities in the dead of winter-
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live on the other side of it-because they have not found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him....
So I stand at the door.

Go in, great saints, go all the way in-
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics-
It is a vast and roomy house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden basements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms,
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in,
Sometimes venture in a little farther,
But my place seems closer to the opening.....
So I stand by the door.

There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid,
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them;
For God is so very great, and asks all of us.
And these people feel cosmic claustrophobia,
And want to get out. "Let me out!" they cry.
And the people way inside only terrify them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them they are spoiled
For the old life, they have seen too much:
Once taste God, and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened,
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people to far in do not see how near these are
To leaving-preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door,
But would like to run away. So for them, too,
I stand by the door.

I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was,
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who want to run away again, from God.
You can go in too deeply, and stay too long,
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there,
But not so far from men as not to hear them,
And remember they are there, too.
"Where?" Outside the door--
Thousands of them, millions of them.
But-more important to me-
One of them, two of them, ten of them,
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait,
For those who seek it.
"I had rather be a doorkeeper...."
So I stand by the door.

By Samuel Moor Shoemaker, founder of Faith@Work

Use Gmail with Mail.app

Now that I can use gmail with Mail.app I will start using it more often.

Dwight Update

This is a dual post, I'm going to put it on Johnnymail too, so sorry if you are forced to see it more than once.

I'm about to go back to school for the last run before graduation. Spring break ends on Monday, and then there is not another official break until dead week, after all my classes are over. I'm only about half way through The Brothers Karamazov, so I need to light a fire under myself.

On the Tuesday after I get back, I have my senior oral exam. I'm glad I got to go so quick, I didn't want this hanging over me for too long. It is one hour, and there are three tutors who will examine me. We will be discussing my senior essay on "The Kingdom of Heaven in The Sermon on the Mount." I only have one class that day, but I will have to take off of work in the music library. I am going to meet Ms. Silver for lunch, because she may not be able to attend (she was my essay advisor.) I'm not too worried about the oral, although I've been getting a little anxious now and then over spring break. If you want, I could use some prayer that I will speak the truth clearly and fluently.

Then, the rest of the month I will be studying Relativity, Genetics, recent American poetry, and whatever the senior seminars are about (I know there is one on Flannery O'Connor and one on Faulkner, but I can't think of many others...) I will also be attending my friend's orals, and trying to figure out how to buy a used car that can carry me and my stuff from Maryland to Texas to Minnesota this summer.

I am applying to go to Concordia St. Paul (where my brother goes) to take some pre-seminary type courses. For example: New Testament, Old Testament, Greek, Hebrew, Mission of God, and possibly others. After next year, Thomas graduates (in May) and we may go to seminary together... He is looking hard at Luther, which is in the Twin Cities area, and I haven't really started yet, but am thinking about Concordia Seminary (St. Louis), Luther Seminary, Dallas Theological Seminary, and maybe Fuller Theological Seminary (In California).

After graduation, I'm going down to spend a week in North Carolina on the beach. My friends Sir Robert and Johanna are getting married, and invited a bunch of people to the week long celebration. From there I will drive with my Mom either in a rental car, or in my car (if I can get one) back to Texas with all of my stuff (tons of books :-D)

I think that is it!

Tilt Sensitive Mac Game

Bubblegym is a game for the new powerbooks with the Sudden Motion Sensor technology (sensor causes the removal of the read/write head from the hard drive surface if it senses a sudden movement, like the powerbook falling off of the table)... I can't see this catching on, but it is pretty cool.

Wow

It has been a while. Spring Break is almost over, and I need to finish The Brothers Karamazov

It is really good.