Happy 33rd Anniversary Atari 2600

On October 14th 1977 Atari Inc. released the Atari 2600 Video Game Console. Effectively igniting one of the more lucrative industries in human history. The Video Game revolution was now in full swing.

For a full history check out this Wikipedia article.

Did you know you can actually enjoy these great games STILL to this day. That's right! on your own PC you can play these old games. You don't even need an old controller however if you still have those rickety old hand cramping devices you can purchase a USB adapter for use with these games. But you can use your keyboard or if you have an Xbox360 controller you can use that as well. Windows update will automatically install the correct drivers for your computer when you plug this controller in.

To start you will need to download the free Stella Atari 2600 emulator from HERE. Or HERE if you have a 64-bit OS running on your computer.

Once downloaded just run the file and follow the simple instructions. After installation you will need some games!

Get the Games!


Remember those old cartridges? Yeah? Well you don't need those anymore. Today the games come in files called ROM's. These ROM's contain the programs that would run on your Atari 2600. Since the games were pretty simple programming they don't take up a lot of space. This was 8-bit computing back then and if you remember the graphics weren't too impressive by today's standards.

You can pretty much Google the name of any game you would like and add the term 'ROM' after it and you'll find the one(s) you want. However many times getting a package of all the games that came out for the 2600 is much more sensible and time-saving. Here is a page where you can download entire packages of the games or you can search for the specific game you would like and download them individually.

Go ahead and plug in any controller(s) you have right now before starting up Stella. (If you don't have one don't worry you can use your Keyboard and/or Mouse.)

Once you have them downloaded (you'll need to unzip any ROM packages you downloaded into a file on your hard drive. However the individual ROM's can stay zipped up) go ahead and start up Stella. It should be in your Start Menu Programs list. Browse to the folder where your ROM's are and double click the game you want to play.

ENJOY!!!! Have fun reminiscing and welcoming back the classic days of gaming! Nostalgia Rulez!

Combat originally shipped with the Atari 2600 so here is a screen-shot of the game loaded on my laptop.

Thanks to the Stella Developers and AtariAge.com for hosting these programs! So fun.

Donations for Bibles and books

Hey there everyone. I was able to strike a deal with Author Frank Viola's Publisher at a deeply discounted price for his books. I'm hoping to raise $1000.00 to purchase multiple Bible's and books in order to hand them out to people I come across. Every penny donated will go to the purchase of Bible's (ESV), Frank's books and other study materials. If you are not familiar with Frank Viola's books please visit his website http://www.ptmin.org/.

I will also be working on striking a deal with Wayne Jacobson as well for copies of his books. More about  him can be found at http://lifestream.org/

I would consider Frank Viola a leader in the push for an organic expression of the church. If you can afford to, please purchase his books directly from his page as he receives a better cut from Amazon.com. My goal is to give these books out to people who appear to be ready to hear Frank's message but are not able or unwilling to go out of their way to purchase these books. I want to remove any excuse people may use to refuse to hear a message that could possibly change their lives forever.

I've put a Paypal donation button up on the top-right of my blog. If you feel inclined, please donate to what I feel is a worthy cause.

Response to Norman Horn...

I recently came across an article shared by a friend of mine on facebook. The article is by a gentleman by the name of Norman Horn. I don't claim any knowledge about this author more than what is written in this article by him. But after reading it this was my gut reaction to his discourse.

Here is the link to his Article.


Norman invites you to comment on this article at LibertarianChristians.com.

I find it amusing that he claims his motives are purely apolitical whilst propagating his agenda through a politicized website. Unfortunately he discredits himself and shows himself to be a wolf in sheep's clothing by posting this where all of his libertarian friends will see it encouraging them to change the hearts and minds to a political viewpoint closer to his own. He claims in the article that it is not a political issue but recognizes that at face value his position is completely political. His article unfortunately comes off as nothing more than a DIY Libertarian propaganda "tract" if you will. He seems to be attempting to sell Libertarianism as a more morally Judeo-Christian ethical political viewpoint. Unfortunately Mr. Horn misses the point. I agree that we should pray for our enemies and for our leaders and especially for our brothers and sisters in Christ. However, he uses terms like "US invasion" a buzzword used to initiate a particular emotion in those who are supporters of the efforts in the Middle East, and "indiscriminate warfare" and "indiscriminate killing". All in effort to show some kind of immoral injustice being propagated by the American Government and the incompetence of the American military.

Also his statement, "..this war – which is now the longest prolonged conflict in American history – ..." is tossed out there without any basis in fact at all. The Vietnam War lasted for 10 years from 65 to 75. But either way it doesn't matter. WWI and WWII and The Revolutionary war are all contenders for the longest conflicts in US History. Again none of this even matters. The length of time is of no added consequence to the calamities that come to those, whom, when the nations of this world make war with each other, suffer. But either way, his claims to keep the issue completely apolitical, when put in context with his overly political nature, unfortunately, proves to be too much for this reader to accept.

As I stated above. I believe with the proper Kingdom mindset the issue can be more easily addressed without having to unnecessarily criminalize a government or unduelly ruffle the feathers of our more politically minded brothers and sisters.

Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies and bless those who persecute us. Turn the other cheek, and pray for our leaders and for those who are suffering in this world especially for persecuted Christians. All these points can be made without even entering into a discussion about the political nature of the current world events. It should be no surprise to us that this world has once again shot itself in the foot. It happens in every generation. Sometimes multiple times. Jesus and His disciples/apostles also taught us to not speak evil of anyone. Nor to judge another man's servant. These principles alone should drive our concern for those trapped in these worldly affairs.

I admire this authors concern for our brothers and sisters conditions, however misguided they may be. I also share in his concerns, perhaps even for similar reasons. And in this I rejoice that the love of Christ is being spread. But I urge every Christian to examine themselves continually, (myself also) that we not find ourselves caught up in this Worlds affairs in a way that will distract us from that Kingdom mindset that will allow us that peace that surpasses all understanding with the love of Christ at the center of our hearts, minds, and souls.

The peace of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Forever and Ever. Amen.

Making Rounds: Pathways My first "Mega-Church" experience!

Alright so I showed up to Pathways Church on Sunday Morning at 9:00am. I didn't exactly know what to expect other than maybe a mega-church experience. Their website: http://www.pathwayschurch.us/ is quite vague in description as to what exactly happens when you get there.

I was planning on going to both services except that all three of their services: Saturday, Sunday 9am and Sunday 10:30am are all exactly the same.

When I got there I was surprised that visitors get preferred parking. I didn't really like the idea but I figured I would get the raw experience and take advantage of all the "amenities".

When I walked in after being greeted by 2 members in yellow shirts at the door handing out the weeks bulletin, I found myself lost almost immediately. I don't know if that is due to my paradigm of a "typical" church and service or if the blame could be placed on the organization's efforts in trying "too hard". But never-the-less, I wanted to give them a chance.

To my left was a long reception desk and to my right was a Cafe of sorts that I think was handing out water and perhaps a light breakfast. I didn't approach the cafe simply out of lack of curiosity. I got the picture and I was fine with it.

So I walked up to the reception desk where there were more volunteers with yellow shirts on and noticed a sign that said, "Guest Central". I figured, "Well, I'm a guest so I guess thats where I'll start." I walked up to the counter and told them I was a guest and waited to see what happened.

Immediately I was presented with a guest card and asked if I would like a tour. They were instantly curious about whether or not I had a family and presenting me with all the different amenities they had that would be of interest to me. I couldn't help but recognize the sales tactics that were being employed by the staff to sell me a membership. Many of these tactics I remember reading in employee manuals while working at places like West Business Services and in other sales jobs I'd had. I smirked and decided to just go with the flow.

Of course since I have 2 little ones they were instantly compelled to show me the elaborate nursery and daycare they have setup. It was almost like a separate business all on it's own with registration forms and a computer database system with volunteers to watch and teach the kids while Mom and Dad enjoy the worship service in the main auditorium. When I say elaborate I mean it's almost an entire wing of the gigantic building. Right away I was curious as to how much this must cost to maintain on a weekly or monthly basis.

As we continued on, my tour guide seemed at a loss as to where to take me next. She had mentioned a grades 1-6 area in the basement so I was curious as to how that was set up. When we got down there it was obvious it was setup exactly like the main auditorium (stage and all) but on a smaller scale. I assume it was a way to get the kids used to this type of worship so as to understand how to behave themselves when moving on to the adult worship service. She showed me the classrooms in the hallway in the basement that seemed somewhat unemployed with the exception of the game-room that was in use by two children at the moment. There were 3 or 4 televisions with video game systems hooked up to them as well as some arcade games. I commented that it must be exciting for kids to come with that kind of motivation. She assured me they didn't try to emphasize those things at all. I thought to myself, "I bet. It probably wouldn't look very good.if they did."

As we walked back through to return upstairs I ran into an old friend of mine Nathan Fietzer who was one of the youth volunteers and was talking to some of the children there. When I greeted him I lost my tour guide and after talking shortly with him decided to venture out on my own.

When I returned upstairs I walked down a hall that had rooms labeled for the different classes that were being held for different people in multiple situations (i.e. Married, Single, Recovery, etc.) even some general study groups. I believe they are holding a study in the Letter to the Hebrews. Or it was a class to learn about the Hebrew people. I wasn't sure. :-p

But anyway I made my way back to the main entrance and the auditorium and decided to find myself a seat. It was expressed to me that they have over 1400-1500 members. I can't imagine trying to get to know that many people all at once but I hope they weren't trying to impress me with their large membership. I guess it's a paradigm thing.

So I found my seat and soon the music began and it seems the volunteers(yellow shirts) were all up on stage leading in song along with the band. There were three screens projecting the lyrics as well as those who were on the stage performing. I kind of enjoyed it. It was a nice idea all in all if this were viewed as a place for Christians to get together and worship God and socialize and fellowship. I even thought to myself, "Maybe I wouldn't mind bringing the family here once in a while and maybe even get involved."

A lesson everyone should learn when visiting churches like Pathways is to not let the glitz and glamor suck you into thinking it is something it's not. (I think that makes sense). As the service went on and I filled out my guest card and looked through the bulletin. I was excited to hear the lesson for the day. There was a small skit mimicking the "Mac vs. PC" Apple commercials in honor of Father's day that was clever but a little too deep of a topic to be summed up in quick-witted banter between two generalized characters attempting to represent a father and son in modern day America.

After that I was thinking, "Okay! On to the lesson." I was really hoping for one of those really inspiring talks that you see on Tangle.com. You know the ones. But instead what I got for the next 15-20 minutes was a run down of EVERY single program currently in progress and a ceremony for the 30+ teens who raised $70k+ to take a missions trip to Ireland. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. I would love to go overseas to experience life in Europe for a while. But whatever. I wasn't sure why this wasn't paid for by the church since it was being presented as an evangelical missions trip. But anyway.

At that point it was time for the collection. Of all the positive feelings I had about this place and what they were trying to accomplish, it was all ruined in the next few moments. The "Senior Pastor" Brad Liebe, went from the gentle, loving, heart of God pastor and turned into, LEGALIST CENTRAL! It was almost like he was angry about it. Pulling no uncertain punches, he declared, "YOU MUST GIVE YOUR TITHE. YOU NEED TO GIVE YOUR FIRST 10% TO GOD! THESE PROGRAMS MUST BE PAID FOR! WE CANNOT SURVIVE WITHOUT IT AND YOU WILL BE RICHLY BLESSED IN RETURN! If you look in your bulletin this week you will see what Malachi 3:10 says printed there right above our contribution goals." or something very similar to that. I wasn't recording it but I know they were.

So in shock at the sudden harshness coming from the stage in front of me, I looked in my bulletin to see what he was speaking about and realized why he was so adamant about the "tithe". It seems their WEEKLY budget for running this "church" is...are you ready...$25,000.00! WEEKLY! I couldn't believe it. "WOW!" I thought to myself. It seems they haven't been making their goals though. Last weeks contribution was only $17,443.75. I guess there might be some reasons for that.

1. Not everyone is giving their 10%
2. Everyone is giving their 10% but their memberships income isn't such that this amount would cover this much or...
3. People who would otherwise be able to make extra contributions (more than 10%) are not compelled to do so because the request being made is only 10%.

I guess there is something to be said about making it a "free-will" offering.

There was a plea to contribute more money. And it was requested that any extra money donated be earmarked by the ones donating. It was also pointed out however that this was not to be construed to be part of your 10% that is "commanded" by God.

It was really disappointing actually. I had to ask myself why are they so dogmatic about the contribution and not about anything else? What makes the money so important? And why use Malachi 3:10 to compel any Christian to do anything. I thought we were Christians...not Jews. But I digress...again.

It seems on top of their weekly budget of 25k they also have a monthly missions budget of 7000 smackers and an ongoing project called Project Cornerstone with a 2-year goal of $1.2 million buckaroos! With financial expectations like that it's no wonder they ride their members for cash.

So anyway, after the 15 minute sales pitch to it's members and a collection of funds for the "tithe" for the week we finally got to it. The sermon/lecture/homily. Now I don't know what happened here. Maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe it was a paradigm issue. Or maybe I just wasn't smart enough to get it. But, I have NO CLUE as to what Mr. Liebe was trying to say. I'm not sure there was one coherent thought process that came out of his lips for the next half hour. I was trying my best to follow along but in his efforts to continue along the same study of Luke 8 and also tie it into father's day as well as keeping it entertaining and an effort to personalize the lesson, I think he forgot to string his thoughts together cohesively so that others could get something out of it. Without going into GREAT detail about the experience, lets just say, it was some thing left to be desired...again. To be fair, I do understand that every one who preaches in this type of venue, is allowed an off day and this may simply be the case. I was assured by my friend who actually suggested I visit and who knows Mr. Liebe personally, that this is more than likely the case.

Unfortunately, however,  this left a bad taste in my mouth.  My final impression was that these people have a great opportunity to provide a place for Christians to get together and worship and grow and learn and be immersed in the Lord. It is too bad though that they come across as an organization whose goal is simply to drain this community of every last extra cent they have under the guise of religion and even more disappointingly under the name of Christ. I guess if it was treated more like a YMCA or admitted to being an organization for Christians instead of a Church, I'll be honest, I might have considered a membership myself. But never-the-less. Sadly, disappointing.

On the plus side. Since it was Father's day, I was given a token for a free Ice cream...err...frozen custard at Culver's. WOOHOO. Hey why not just pay people to come to church? I've heard that somewhere before. hmmm....

Anyhoo...LATERS!

Edit: As you can see in the comments below there has been a firestorm of malcontent with Brad Liebe on issues unrelated to this post. As of April 7, 2013 it appears Mr. Liebe has resigned been fired due to adultery with his sister-in-law. I hope Pathways can recover and move on. I still recommend the book "So you don't want to go to church anymore?" By" Wayne Jacobsen (http://www.jakecolsen.com/) as it deals with a similar issue in the book.

Making Rounds: Appleton coC and Victory Baptist.

So I've decided to check out the different churches in the area. Not to become a member of any of these organizations but simply to evaluate and get a true perspective on the way others in the community practice their faith. I will be visiting only Christian churches. This excludes Unitarian Universalists and Mormons. I will be checking out their websites if available and listing their times of service followed by a review of my impressions.

Appleton church of Christ

I actually started this past week. I went back to visit my friends over at the Appleton church of Christ on Newberry Street on Sunday Morning. I attended both the 9:30am Bible Study as well as the 10:30am Worship Service. It was really good to see many of the faces I have come to know and love over the last 10 years. There will always be a special place in my heart for those folks there at Newberry St. Especially the preacher Whit Sasser. Heck, I named my kid after him. (His first name is James and my son's middle name is James.)

More info can be found at:
http://www.appletonchurchofchrist.org/

Review:

My review of this congregation would be slightly skewed because I know them all so well and they know me as well. I don't feel I can properly gauge the experience on a relative scale since I would have to be a total stranger for there to be an understanding from my current perspective. I will say this however, that when I first appeared there over 10 years ago I was greeted very well by many if not all of the members. They were very kind and very heart-felt. A group that genuinely cared about being hospitable and making strangers feel welcome.

As far as anything else is concerned I dare not say since, like i said before, 10 years of experience at this congregation leaves me with a bias that would not be fair to the other congregations in which I will be attending and writing reviews about. First impressions, unfortunately, in my case, are lost.

Victory Baptist

For the evening service I attended the Victory Baptist church on Richmond St. Since they don't have a website, here is a link to as much info as I have:

http://www.baptist411.com/churches/details/7362/

Their evening service time is at 6:00pm. I am not positive on the morning services.

Review:

I actually grew up in a Baptist church which is why I decided to "check them out" first. When I walked into this quaint little building I wasn't quite sure what to expect. When I had driven by earlier that day, I figured there couldn't be more than 20 or so members in this congregation. Indeed, it was a small congregation of about 4-5 families. the only young members were the members children and it seems it has been this way for some time.

Now, I must admit. I am quite familiar with the core Baptist Doctrines, so I had a little bit of a "heads up" before walking in the door. When I walked in of course it was right before services were ready to start so I assumed I would have to rush to my seat and try not to hold up the service.

I was greeted by the evangelist of the group, one Mr. Ken Griesbach. Much to my surprise he took some time to get to know me a little bit. Albeit, with a small amount of confusion. I got the impression that this congregation doesn't get too many visitors from the area. The atmosphere was a little uneasy as I observed the strange looks on some of the members faces and the children's blank stares of curiosity.

Of course the first question on Mr. Griesbach's mind was, "Are you saved?" To which I happily responded, "Yes!" This was a little weird for me since it's not often one asks me this question. I told him that I had grown up in a Baptist church but didn't have the heart to tell him that I lost count of the number of times I was "saved". But to ease his conscience I told him, and later on, another one of the member's that, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." For some reason, I wondered at that moment..."How do they know I'm not lying?" Of course I wasn't lying, but how would they know?

Well, services started and there were many songs that were sung with the guidance of a single slightly out of tune piano. I tried to recall the days of my youth as a Baptist growing up but it was tough since the church I grew up in only used a guitar. Played by "Pastor Mark" every Sunday. I knew quite a few of the songs they sang and we got to one of my all time favorites, "Jesus Loves Me". I always enjoy watching the kids sing that song. Sometimes I think of how innocent they are, liking the song for it's simplicity and not necessarily for it's message. As an adult it makes me appreciate the song all the more. Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so! There is a GIGANTIC message there and speaks to so many fundamental tenants of our Christian faith.

As the service continued after the songs, a collection was made but the Lord's supper was not served. I found that particularly interesting. I was actually looking  forward to witnessing how this is practiced at this particular congregation.

I always find it humorous when small congregations still insist on "passing the plate" for their contribution. Especially at evening services. If you watch you might actually see someone put something in there that wasn't present that morning or perhaps they believe they must give every time they gather together. Who knows? I still find it funny though because the guy holding the collection plate kinda looks around aimlessly knowing full well that out of the maybe 10 people in the congregation that have money to give either already gave or are too young and don't have any income. But I digress.

The sermon was unfortunately something left to be desired. Without going into a huge discourse about why I can't stand the 1611 KJV of the Bible, I will just say that for most of the sermon I was kicking myself for not having brought my Bible. I understood what the preacher was trying to get at though with the lesson.  It was a discourse on Genesis 30 and the slick business decision by Jacob to take the spotted and speckled sheep and then breeding the spots and speckles out of the sheep thereby showing how smart the Isrealites were, having the basic understandings of genetics. A good lesson all in all.

Of course no wonderful Baptist "homily" can be let go without at least one paragraph on Pre-millinialism. So he told a story of a news reporter asking an old friend of his when Jesus would again re-appear. Slickly quoting Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."

I remembered that so I could fulfill his request that if anyone had questions they could ask after services. So I approached him after some fellowshipping with a couple other members who did their best to sell me a membership. :) I asked Mr. Griesbach what exactly the Apostle Paul was referring to when he said in:

Romans 16:25-27 "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest , and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen." KJV (emph.added)

and

Colossians 1:23 "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard , and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;" KJV (emph. added)

He readily admitted that throughout history there have been times that Christianity had been preached to the whole world but gave no explanation as to why Christ did not return at that time. I just smiled and said "Okay." He seemed interested in talking about the Christians role in our government but bordered on tossing out the validity of scripture when I brought up Romans 13. I was quite surprised at this. But I didn't want to argue. So I changed the subject. He asked me about my family and wondered if we would be seeing each other again and I told him "Perhaps."

One other thing of note was that during a conversation with one of the other members, it was decided by him that it was important that I know that there are churches "out there" that believe that baptism is necessary for salvation. WHAT!!!! lol. :D I told him, "And you're okay with that, right?" I then stopped paying attention when he went on with the calvinist cookbook, eventually moving on to my conversation with Mr. Griesbach.

Overall, I would say these are genuinely nice people but I can see it getting ugly if anyone were to disagree with them. Heck, I am not sure one would gain any respect if you studied from any other Bible than the 1611 Authorized KJV.

One question I would LOVE to have asked and just didn't get the chance would be why they don't worship with Grace Baptist a few blocks down the road since they also are an independant Baptist Congregation. Maybe that is where I will visit next Sunday.

Have a wonderful day folks!

Fiscally Responsible?

My Mother-In-Law showed me something she received from a Democratic Co-Worker of hers yesterday. This was the Chart she was shown:

This was My response:
The Constitution
Article I
Section. 7.
All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
Section. 8.
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

  
Now who’s the “Knuckle-Draggers”?

My Review of Angus (DVD)

Originally submitted at WB Shop

Angus is fat, dorky and smart, a kid with an uncool pal and a crush on a cheerleader. Angus is funny, rowdy and triumphant, a totally cool movie with a dead-on eye and ear for the hilarious, heartbreaking rite of passage called high school. A great cast (including Academy Award® winners* George C. ...

Angus (DVD)

AMAZING!

By Chad the Conquerer from Appleton, WI on 4/8/2010

 

4out of 5

Pros: Entertaining, High Production Value, Engaging Characters, Original

Best Uses: At Home, Younger Viewers, Adult Viewers

Describe Yourself: Avid Moviegoer

I have been waiting for ages for this to be released on DVD and it has finally come. This can be a life changing movie for many. Whether you struggle with your weight or being picked on at school or even if you are/were the bully. There is a great message in this movie and it was well taught. There is a bit of language but it adds to the realism of the movie without being overdone. I think Everyone will enjoy this movie.

(legalese)

Max loves cheese curds!

Cheese!!!!!!!!!!!!

Web 2.whatever!

If you didn’t know. The IT world is calling all this micro-blogging/Social networking fad and a slew of other online applications, storage and sharing, Web 2.0.

Well, I’ve had enough. There is a reason i guess as to why I don’t talk to people that are from my distant past or even from my recent past. I suppose I just don’t need to keep tabs on people and acquaintances about their daily coffee routine and what they’re having for dinner. As fun as that may sound I don’t think the benefits outweigh the negatives. When someone “de-friends” you on facebook, or when not enough of your “friends” are following you on twitter, I don’t think people should get all emotionally disturbed and feel unloved.

It is a crazy thing in our world today. I remember the propaganda when the World Wide Web was starting out. “It’ll bring people closer!”, said the dot com bubble fanatics. So everyone got online and were given a new reason why we shouldn’t come together physically. It allowed for people to move even further away from their homes and families by giving an excuse that they’d, “stay connected”. There is just something to be said for being able to see you friends and family in person as opposed to e-mail or micro-blogging. Besides, even the telephone was supposed to keep people connected as well. I don’t know about the rest of the world but I can’t stand talking on the phone. There is so much lost in the conversation not being able to see the other person. E-mail is worse in this regard. And micro-blogging is even more informal because you’re not just talking to one person so one  may have a whole new way of insulting someone while remaining totally neutral and gaining plausible deniability. For instance….

Jack just had a bad conversation with his friend John.

Jack says: I hate stupid people.

John replies: You don’t need to call me stupid.

Jack responds: Oh, I wasn’t talking about you. I was speaking of stupid people in general.

John states: Oh, ok just checking

Next post….

Jack says: It’s so fun messing with stupid people.

John states: That’s not funny!

Jack says: What are you talking about?

And it goes on and on and on. Until one or both get over it.

Personally, facebook/Twitter/<name your web 2.0 app here> are way too high maintenance for anyone. I find myself checking my status, changing my status, checking other peoples status, commenting on other people’s status’ and I can’t help but feel like a politician trying to keep the peace amongst my friends/co-workers/colleagues/acquaintances and anyone else that may be following my mundane existence.

Listen, I don’t care what you are doing today. Unless it is with me or I wish to make plans with you I’ll either call or come over. I sure as heck can’t rely on anyone to respond to my comments on your wall or return an e-mail in a timely manner. But to be fair, most people don’t answer their phones anymore and if they do they screen their calls so you don’t ever know if they’ll call you back. I am finding that the only way to make sure any of one’s relationships are “stable” is to speak to them face to face. Oh, but that would make people feel uncomfortable because in our world today we can hide behind our imaginary walls built by the geeks of the world wide web 2.0.

So in conclusion it seems the only way to be sure that anyone actually gives a darn about anyone is to keep to myself and my family and if you miss me give me a call or stop on by. Because  these are my rules for myself…

1. I pay 65 bucks for phone service…I WILL answer it when someone calls. If I don’t there are two possible explanations. Either I don’t want to talk or I am on the can and can’t get to the phone. Leave a voice mail.

2. If you know me you more than likely know where I live. If it is detrimental that you speak to me, and you can’t get me on the phone, COME SEE ME. Besides, I actually return voicemails. I will call you as soon as I get your message barring any unforeseen technical troubles.

3. If I am not home when you come to visit, leave a note on my door with the way you prefer to be contacted when I return and receive your message.

4. If you don’t want to talk to me, don’t make up excuses. Just tell me you don’t want to talk to me. But don’t worry about that because I will only speak to you when I am spoken to. This makes sure that any friends I have are friends because they actually wish to spend time with me. Not because I bothered them into submission.

5. If I wish to spend time with you, don’t act all insulted or like I am being a burden. If I perceive that I might be becoming a nuisance, I will cease attempting to contact you.

6. I do like e-mail personally as long as what is said in an e-mail is taken the way it was meant and that what was said continues on in the “real” world. I treat e-mail just like voicemail.

This list may change as I go throughout my life. But for now this is what I think is best. Let me know what you think by commenting or sending me an e-mail and I will respond.

Anyway, thanks for reading my rant. Just thought I would share my thoughts for today.

BTW, I cancelled my facebook, twitter, and pleonast accounts and don’t plan on going back anytime soon.

The Joys of a fresh Install…

Ahh…don’t you just love it when you wipe your entire hard drive clean, knowing that you have everything backed up. Then installing a fresh OS like Windows 7 and not have to deal with the bloatware from the computer manufacturer. Then install all the fresh new up to date versions of the freeware and open source programs we all know and love. Setting up your System to your liking without having to struggle with finding the appropriate software just to make your computer run. The Bliss of Windows 7, Open Source, Freeware, and OH YES!!! GOOGLE APPS AND SERVICES!!!!

I have never been happier with Google in the last couple days. They have so many apps that make being online fun! It’s funny because I am actually typing this in Windows Live Writer. It’s just nice when everything is integrated. I guess this is just a taste of future computing. Everything will be online and the hard drive will become obsolete. Even the new Google Chromium OS threatens to take locally stored OS’s off the market. I hope Chromium succeeds. Computers will be so much cheaper.

Anyhoo…4am I should stop now

Chad…OUT!