According to their website, Google turned 8 today.... you'd think it'd be longer than that!



Of course, one has to wonder... how old is 8 in Internet Years???

Walking to the bus stop on the way to work this morning, the sunrise was VERY nice... The sun is starting to rise later, and set earlier - a sure sign that fall is rapidly closing on us.

You can't help but be in amazement sometimes... what an awesome world God has made for us, eh?

 

I know I put this in the Morning Break already, but I wanted to put it here, too, to make the point even more loudly... how sad that organizations like the ACLU and various Federal Court rulings have helped most of us forget what we began with:

State Preambles and Constitutional Snippets 

Alabama 1901, Preamble. We the people of the State of Alabama, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution.

Alaska 1956, Preamble. We, the people of Alaska, grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land.

Arizona 1911, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Arizona, grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution.

Arkansas 1874, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government.

California 1879, Preamble. We, the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom.

Colorado 1876, Preamble. We, the people of Colorado, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of Universe.

Connecticut 1818, Preamble. The People of Connecticut, acknowledging with gratitude the good Providence of God in permitting them to enjoy.

Delaware 1897, Preamble. Through Divine Goodness all men have, by nature, the rights of worshipping and serving their Creator according to the dictates of their consciences.

Florida 1885, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Florida, grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, establish this Constitution.

Georgia 1777, Preamble. We, the people of Georgia, relying upon protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution.

Hawaii 1959, Preamble. We, the people of Hawaii, Grateful for Divine Guidance establish this Constitution.

Idaho 1889, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Idaho, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings.

Illinois 1870, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Illinois, grateful to Almighty God for the civil l, political and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.

Indiana 1851, Preamble. We, the People of the State of Indiana, grateful to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to choose our form of government.

Iowa 1857, Preamble. We, the People of the State of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of these blessings establish this Constitution.

Kansas 1859, Preamble. We, the people of Kansas, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious privileges establish this Constitution.

Kentucky 1891, Preamble. We, the people of the Commonwealth are grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties.

Louisiana 1921, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Louisiana, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties we enjoy.

Maine 1820, Preamble. We the People of Maine acknowledging with grateful hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us an opportunity and imploring His aid and direction.

Maryland 1776, Preamble We, the people of the state of Maryland, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty.

Massachusetts 1780, Preamble. We, the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe.
In the course of His Providence, an opportunity and devoutly imploring His direction.

Michigan 1908, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Michigan, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom establish this Constitution.

Minnesota, 1857, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Minnesota, grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings.

Mississippi 1890, Preamble. We, the people of Mississippi in convention assembled, grateful to Al mighty God, and invoking His blessing on our work.


Missouri 1845, Preamble. We, the people of Missouri, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness establish this Constitution.

Montana 1889, Preamble. We, the people of Montana, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty establish this Constitution.

Nebraska 1875, Preamble. We, the people, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom establish this Constitution.

Nevada 1864, Preamble. We the people of the State of Nevada, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom establish this Constitution.

New Hampshire 1792, Part I. Art. I. Sec. V. Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.

New Jersey 1844, Preamble. We, the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.

New Mexico 1911, Preamble. We, the People of New Mexico, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty.

New York 1846, Preamble. We, the people of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings.

North Carolina 1868, Preamble. We the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for our civil, political, and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those.

North Dakota 1889, Preamble. We, the people of North Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, do ordain.

Ohio 1852, Preamble. We the people of the state of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and to promote our common.

Oklahoma 1907, Preamble. Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty establish this.

Oregon 1857, Bill of Rights, Article I. Section 2. All men shall be secure in the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences.

Pennsylvania 1776, Preamble. We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance.

Rhode Island 1842, Preamble. We the People of the State of Rhode Island grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing.

South Carolina, 1778, Preamble. We, the people of he State of South Carolina grateful to God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this Constitution.

South Dakota 1889, Preamble. We, the people of South Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties

Tennessee 1796, Art. XI.III. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience.

Texas 1845, Preamble. We the People of the Republic of Texas, acknowledging, with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God.

Utah 1896, Preamble. Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we establish this Constitution.

Vermont 1777, Preamble. Whereas all government ought to enable the individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and other blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man.

Virginia 1776, Bill of Rights, XVI Religion, or the Duty which we owe our Creator can be directed only by Reason and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other

Washington 1889, Preamble. We the People of the State of Washington, grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution

West Virginia 1872, Preamble. Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God.

Wisconsin 1848, Preamble. We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, domestic tranquility

Wyoming 1890, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Wyoming, grateful to God for our civil, political, and religious liberties establish this Constitution.

 

"Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants." - William Penn

 

... at the calamity of others, but sometimes you can't help it.

I can't help but look at this sign in our church, and smile, picturing in my mind's eye a scene that I myself have experienced on occasion... I feel badly for those who may have gotten hurt, but the smile comes anyway.  Hopefully, that's not TOO bad a thing, eh?

On the way out from the Football game, we came across the Fox "SweatBox", and stood in the crowd for a bit, listening to Terry Rant away about the highlights of the games of the week.  (Pics from the game)  They swept the crowd a couple of times with the camera, so I may have been on Fox Sports for a few fleeting seconds... but since no one has written me about it, I guess no one noticed.

Oh, well... I had fun at the game - and listening to Terry!

This was awesome, so I'm clipping it here...

The Beggar and the Bread
by Max Lucado

A beggar came and sat before me. “I want bread,” he said.

“How wise you are,” I assured him. “Bread is what you need. And you have come to the right bakery.” So I pulled my cookbook down from my shelf and began to tell him all I knew about bread.

I spoke of flour and wheat, of grain and barley. My knowledge impressed even me as I cited the measurements and recipe. When I looked up, I was surprised to see he wasn’t smiling. “I just want bread,” he said.

“How wise you are.” I applauded his choice. “Follow me, and I’ll show you our bakery.” Down the hallowed halls I guided him, pausing to point out the rooms where the dough is prepared and the ovens where the bread is baked.

“No one has such facilities. We have bread for every need. But here is the best part,” I proclaimed as I pushed open two swinging doors. “This is our room of inspiration.” I knew he was moved as we stepped into the auditorium full of stained-glass windows.

The beggar didn’t speak. I understood his silence. With my arm around his shoulder, I whispered, “It overwhelms me as well.” I then leaped to the podium and struck my favorite pose behind the lectern. “People come from miles to hear me speak. Once a week my workers gather, and I read to them the recipe from the cookbook of life.”

By now the beggar had taken a seat on the front row. I knew what he wanted. “Would you like to hear me?”

“No,” he said, “but I would like some bread.”

“How wise you are,” I replied. And I led him to the front door of the bakery. “What I have to say next is very important,” I told him as we stood outside. “Up and down this street you will find many bakeries. But take heed; they don’t serve the true bread. I know of one who adds two spoons of salt rather than one. I know of another whose oven is three degrees too hot. They may call it bread,” I warned, “but it’s not according to the book.”

The beggar turned and began walking away. “Don’t you want bread?” I asked him.

He stopped, looked back at me, and shrugged, “I guess I lost my appetite.”

I shook my head and returned to my office. “What a shame,” I said to myself. “The world just isn’t hungry for true bread anymore.”

I don’t know what is more incredible: that God packages the bread of life in the wrapper of a country carpenter or that he gives us the keys to the delivery truck. Both moves seem pretty risky. The carpenter did his part, however. And who knows—we may just learn to do ours.

OK... Most folks know I tend to side with those who are a bit to the right of center... some would say that I'm a bit to the right of those on the right, but that's for another posting.

I have a problem... I don't like any of the Republican Candidates, and I absolutely CANNOT vote for Mike!  Let's just say his CEO thing isn't sitting well with me... and leave it at that. 

So, since I think that I can do a better job, I'm suggesting that folks write me in... its my bit of protest. I know I have at least ONE vote!

The company we work for has a new motto...

I like it.

The weather is changing.  That much is certain.

We went up to the Family Pancake House up in Summit on the way home (OK, I guess its not "On the Way", but it was part of our drive from work to home... a bit of a detour!    ).

We had a great meal up there (I LOVE that place!), and had a great time...

When we left the place... it was actually cold... as we drove by the sign out front of the parking lot, we noticed that the temperature was pretty low... and it was still fairly early in the evening... I'm sure it got a lot colder by morning.
 
Winter, it seems, is not that far away!

I know I've mentioned this to folks before... but some of the artwork at my company stretches the definition of "art"... when I moved from the 15th floor to the 6th floor, one thing I was sort of glad about was that I wouldn't have to look at the black boxes with the "o" on one of them...

Well, I'm not sure when it happened, but I noticed it Today...



I went up to check 15...  they have paintings on the wall, now... so for some reason, the folks in charge of the artwork must think I liked the black boxes or something!

OK... this is a revelation that borders on TMI, and is a bit gross.

My last dental appointment was in 1985 or 1986.

There... its out.  I'm not too proud of it, but my last bout with the Dentist involved a dislocated jaw - which was done by accident by the dentist during a tooth extraction gone way bad.  He got the tooth, but my jaw was wired for about a month, and there was a LOT of pain involved.

I am blessed with a decent set of teeth, I guess, because they haven't bothered me at all... well, for the most part.  Every now and then they act up, but usually only for a day or so.  I just haven't felt the need to go.

That is, until yesterday.  I had a bout of "uncomfortableness", and used that as the prompt to get me to look up my dental coverage, and call a dentist.  Today, I went on my first appointment in about 20 years... A battery of X-Rays, and a check by the doctor to see what's up.  I was assured that they wouldn't be dislocating my jaw, and that they could help me... and that things have changed since my last visit.

It started with the X-Rays.



Things HAVE changed... the "film" was a sensor attached to a USB Port, while the emitter was controlled by another USB deviced hooked to the computer... the digital scans were instantly available to the doctor, who was in his office in another room... TOTALLY 21st century.  They were then stored in my "file", which was an entry on their database.  Even the chart showing the work that was done, and the work needed to be done, was a acreen in my "file".  Very nice.

So... it seems that the metal fillings that were put in back in the late 70's were wore out a LONG time ago, and one had split in half... not the tooth, but the filling.  Other than the failure of the old fillings, and some sub-gum buildup that needs to be removed, they're not too bad.

20 years ago, I knew I had 3 cavities that needed work... today, I need two crowns, both caused by the failure of the fillings in the tooth needing work, and one additional cavity to go with the three I already knew about.  Not bad, if you ask me... I expected much worse!  I have a month and a half of pain ahead of me, I'm sure... but that's OK... I'll smile when its done.

I was riding the bus this morning, and got this picture of Lake Washington, and just a hint of Mt Rainier... if I'd have been quicker, it would have been much nicer.

That's when it dawned on me: Dawn is starting to happen later... pretty soon, it'll be dark when I leave for work, and dark when I head home... one of the joys of living North of... well, South.

I grew up in New England, so I'm fairly used to short days, but the Puget Sound is a bit farther North than that, and the days are just a bit longer in the Summer, and shorter in the Winter.

So, Winter is on the way, and if the cooler weather didn't give it away, the shorter days certainly will! 

Its been 5 years now...

Sadly, it seems that folks have already started to forget the lessons we were taught on that fateful day.

This was the scene at the intersection in front of the building where I worked.

Dry sweep, skid marks, lines painted in the street... apparently, they had had a bang up at some point during the night - or at least before I went into work.



I don't know what it was, but it sure looked interesting, at least until the shadow lady kindly pointed out that the light had changed, and I was holding up traffic.

I'd imagine I'm not the funnest person to be behind sometimes...

I must have the worst computer where I work.  At least I hope I do.  To say its slow is an understatement.  It takes about 30 seconds to make a folder.  When I type, I'm usually 1 or two letters ahead of the screen, and the longer I type without breaking, I get farther and farther ahead... for a person who looks at the screen while he's typing, it can get annoying.

Internet Explorer has difficulty opening the home page - which is off the Intranet on our Lan, so speed shouldn't be an issue.  Opening a small text document in Notepad takes about a minute, on average...

Its not the other equipment we have here... the LAN is top-notch, we have TONS of bandwidth, and ample power... its just that when I got here, in 1999, I was a contractor, and they gave me an old "hand me down" for a computer, and I've used it ever since.  I did get a new Hard Drive, and they've upgraded my memory, and they let me put in a second video card, so its better than it was when I got it, but its still plugging away with the same processor, while the programs it has to run have grown in size and complexity, its sadly lagging in available clockticks...

Yesterday, it was a weird dialog... today, its messages that keep popping up telling me I'm going to have to wait.  They're upgrading everyone's computer, so things are getting better for most folks; they just haven't gotten to me yet...  I suppose I shouldn't have 26 applications open (5 explorers, 3 instances of word, Outlook, two DOS prompts, Extra, Fontpage, 4 internet explorers, 2 Visual Studio IDE's, Microsoft Active Sync, SQL Server, IIS, and 3 notepads) at once... but then, where's the fun in that?

... it starts with a dialog that looks like this!



I was moving files into an archive folder, and got this error message... not too cool.  I guess you can only move files that DON'T exist...

Ugh... Bill, you're killing me!

OK... this might be a little weird, but I figured I'd share anyway... If nothing else, you'll gain insight into "me"....

At work, there's a movement sensor in the bathroom that turns the lights on when someone walks in.  I suppose it turns them off, too, at some point after no movement has happened for a while, but I always notice it turning the lights ON in the morning.

ANYWAY, sometimes boredom will cause me to find ways to occupy my time, and today, as well as other days, it was seeing how much movement it would take to make the sensor light up, meaning I had triggered the relay that would have activated the lights... or a security camera, or an internal alarm, or something...  you have to wonder (well, at least I do)... ARE they logging the event when this thing goes off?  It'd be a VERY easy thing to do.  There's sensors in other locations, in the print room, supply room, by the doors to the elevators, by the exits to the stairwells, in conference rooms, and I'm sure in other places that I haven't noticed... some kick on the lights, some don't... my bet is that they're all feeding back to something, and that something is keeping track of the hits - especially the ones that don't trigger lighting... if so, then you have to wonder why they're tracking that... is it for an alarm system?  Are they monitoring traffic around the building?

I told you I was bored.

Psalm 51:1 - The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.

Although the rest of the Psalm deals with a stern reminder that we are to follow God, or pay a heavy toll, the first verse fits well when watching a sunrise or sunset... and while this picture isn't a sunrise per se... it's a morning picture with some of the color of the Morning lingering in the scene... it caught my attention this morning, and gave me a few moments to pause and reflect on just how awesome our God really is... I guess I needed that.

This is me. 



Even with my phone's tedancy to dull out the color, and do a "yellow shift" on the colors... I'm red.  I'm sure I'm redder in person.

I live in the Pacific Northwest for a reason... the cloud cover protects me from the "Big Yellow Thing" in the sky... but this weekend, the clouds lifted, and I was exposed to more sun than I'm used to, and it now shows...

I went to Kalaloch again this year with the Shadow Lady's side of the family - and had a FANTASTIC time visiting with everyone, and just relaxing... there's something about a camp fire that just warms you all the way through...

Anyway, back to the burn... I was making a sand castle with the new generation of cousins, and got burned on my face, neck and (this is a new one for me) on top of my head... I guess my hair isn't the protector it used to be!      The Shadow Lady went and got me my hat, but by then, the damage was done... it would have been MUCH worse, though, probably, so I'm glad I had it!  I had a GREAT time, though... so I guess I should just be happy for the Vitamin D...

The sand castle came out pretty good, too... it was a VERY fun weekend!

I had to change the URL to my blog.  Sorry.  If you had it bookmarked, you'll have to update your bookmark.

The site went down, and I had to change the URL to fix it.  Things are fixed... for now.  I'm not sure what happened (GoDaddy, my hosting service, doesn't really know either, sadly enough... it works though, so I'm not OVERLY concerned, unless it breaks again...)  It had something to do with DNS setting difficulties, but neither I, or GoDaddy Support, can make it happen again.  I hate it when things like that happen.

Sorry about that. 

JB

This is the Automated Postal Center in my home town's Post Office.

I used it a while back to send an Express Mail package... on a weekend, when the main office part was closed... it worked PERFECTLY!  These things are AWESOME! 

Its nice to see our tax dollars spent on something that really makes a difference!

I thought this picture was funny... because only one person is actually working.  Its like when you're watching a road crew, and one guy is digging while 3 others watch...

anyway, I thought it was funny...





Did you see him? He's the guy in the cage, waiting for the pitch.

I don't know exactly what it was, but today as I was driving back from droping off the Shadow Lady's Sister, listening to the radio (Spirit 105.3), a thought ran through my head, and I rememberd a portion of the ceremony,  where our pastor talked about the cord of three strands... I was reminded of an old post I had on my website, and decided to repost it here...

It was originally in an old section called "Reflections", and was dated October 29, 2005...


The importance of fellowship is made quite evident in the Bible...

ECCLESIASTES 4: 8-12
8 There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, "And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?" This too is vanity and it is a grievous task. 
9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.
10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.
11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?
12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

As the Pastor was preaching the other day about how a bundle of sticks is stronger than one by itself, and how we should strive to avoid being a single twig, which is easily broken, and instead endeavor to find the strength that comes from the support of our spiritual family, a memory was triggered by the last portion of the passage that provided the focus of the sermon...

When I was a kid, there was a summer where my grandfather had come across several huge reels of twine.  I'm not sure where they came from, but he let us kids have at it, and we worked out ways that we could use it to play with.  My Cousin Ray and I quickly noticed that one strand of this twine was not strong enough to do most of what we wanted - mostly, it had to do with holding our weight for one reason or another.  But, our grandmother showed us how she used to braid a single strand of cord into three strands, which made the cord much, much stronger.  We spent several rainy days braiding the cord, and then we had a cord strong enough to trust with our weight, adding a whole new realm of possibilities when it came to lashing boards and branches to trees...

Throughout Jesus' ministry, and later by the Apostles, many attempts were made to reinforce this truth to the body of believers here is only a small portion of the hundreds of passages of advice to us in our walk with Christ....

John 13:34 (Jesus is being quoted)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.

Romans 15:7
Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.

Galatians 5:13
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Colossians 3:13
bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

1 Thessalonians 5:13
and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.

Hebrews 3:13
But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 10:24
and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

1 Peter 1:22
Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,
 

1 Peter 4:9
Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

Alone, we are easily turned aside... but in a group, we can help support and build each other up.  You can easily break a thread, but a group of threads... that gets more and more difficult as the number of strands grows larger.  The more we involve ourselves in fellowship with other believers, the more strength and support we can garnish from - and provide to - the group.

 

Added in 2007

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