As many of you are aware, we don’t have any sort of Cable, Satellite, or Public Broadcast Television in the house. We do have an XBox 360, hooked up to an Epson MovieMate 50 Projector, pointed at a wall in the living room, which gives us about a ten foot wide viewing high definition surface to play video games on, watch DVD’s, and even stream shows from Netflix, my desktop Media Center, and other Microsoft affiliates. We also make great use of HULU and EZTV; and typically watch those shows on individual laptops or as a family around my 32” monitor in the office.

We love the projector which we have had for about two years now, and every time we go into Best Buy and see all those TV’s they have for sale at price points above $600 and significantly smaller viewing surfaces, we just sort of giggle. On top of the relatively inexpensive nature of the investment, we can also pick it up, take it into the back yard, and watch an outdoor movie on the backside of the house at night; or take it to the park, over to another friends house, etc. Tommy and Jodi have the same sort of deal, and went so far as to create an outdoor screen from a King Size bed sheet that can be hung between two trees in the yard, and we often take the kids over to BBQ, play outside, and watch a movie from their patio. All told, fantastic value for the price … in our opinions.

About once every two years, we do have to change the bulb, and that runs about $120, so we do not want to ignore the ongoing operational cost, but we still feel it is a great investment. We also appreciate that our main family room is not set up around a television, and it is certainly fun to have new people over to visit. They tend to look around for it, and then comment on the fact that they don’t see a television in our house – which provides a fun opportunity to turn on the system, transform a wall into a television, and play some Lego Indiana Jones! This especially fun with smaller children, who will continually walk up to the wall, then to the room behind the wall, in an effort to discover how the magic works; and did I mention the shadow puppet shows; kids love playing with shadows!

David Ammons suggested that a group from our community get together to watch the Super Bowl at our place, and he brought over a laptop with an HD tuner that could pick up the game to demonstrate how we could do it. Turns out that this was also the week that the projector began asking for a new bulb, and Tracey went ahead and ordered it so that we wouldn’t end up in some embarrassing situation with a group of people at the house watching the game and the bulb suddenly goes out! Friday afternoon, I changed the bulb and took the opportunity to clean up some of the cable connections, the sound system, and gamming connections. As I finished testing the system to ensure that we are good to go for having people over on Sunday, Tracey remarked that it would be very nice to be able to stream HULU and watch our shows on the big screen, rather than crowded around my desk.

If you grew up in the south, you know better than to mess with Mamma’s Stories! I decided to look into satisfying my wife’s whim. Amazingly, it only took a single Google Search to find PlayOn. To enjoy PlayOn, you need a networked PC, and a Wii^{In BETA}, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Moxi HD DVR, Netgear Digital Entertainer Live, or another supported device. PlayOn also enables you to stream your personal videos, photos and music from your PC to your Home Entertainment Center. It takes less than 3 minutes to set up! So, in less than five minutes of my wife commenting that she would like to watch Bones or Castle on the big screen, I was back downstairs and we were watching Bones!

Turns out PlayOn lets us do so much more than simply HULU, we can watch Netflix (we already could), CBS.com, ESPN.com, our media from Amazon VOD, and YouTube! Additionally with PlayOn Plugins you can get free access to The Food Network, The Weather Channel, and much much more. The library just keeps growing. Be sure to check out their free plugins. We are three days into the free 14-day trial, and I expect that we will be investing the $39.99 to pay for it at the end of the trial.

Ultimately, we didn’t have any embarrassing situations while watching the big game yesterday and we discovered a way to move Mamma’s Stories from the office to the living room, and with a family of eleven …. the living room tends to be a bit less crowded and infinitely more comfortable.

• Good Morning World! It's a beautiful day, in a beautiful state, and I got me one beautiful wife and family! SuperNorthFragalCarolinastic!! #
• Fun w/Google Talk Chatback links and email signatures today! #
• I am beginning to like #Thunderbird. It has taken a few weeks of use to get over the hump, but now I'm into the "it is fun" mode. #
• In the face of suffocating religion & moralism, offend boldly and celebrate liberty of faith for the sake of the gospel http://bit.ly/c1EdVc #
• RT @LookoutBLowe: RT @JimBelcher: Christopher Hitchens gets it exactly right. http://bit.ly/dtimEZ // that is utterly awesome and amazing! #
• Rolling through the mall with my posse! Oh yea, I suppose we qualify for village, but posse sounds so much mor hip! #
• Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Iced Tea. If you don't know, I can't explain it to you. If you do know, celebrate with me! #
• Tracey just said, "Honey, you have mashed potatoes and gravy in your beard." I thought she was flirting; I was wrong. #
• Gaston County apparently still has dangerous road conditions (in the hills?) so Public School is yet again canceled. Kids are doing a dance #
• Congrats to my bride on her new status as a Pampered Chef Consultant! Whoot! Cookware rocks! Technically, stoneware, but we ain't techy! #
• Those who desire to succeed will search for a way, those who do not will search for an excuse. #
• Show me your data (structure) and I'll derive the rest. #
• Mexican lunch w/@jinksto, stop by the sherriff's office for his weapon permit, & on to the coffee shop! It is a good day! #
• Listening to Gartner wax philosophical on The Emerging Identity Architecture. #
• Facebook rewrites PHP runtime http://bit.ly/bLjmpR #
• Facebook Rewrites PHP Runtime With HipHop http://bit.ly/awObUY #
• HipHop for PHP: Move FastShare by Haiping Zhao (notes) Today at 12:41pm http://bit.ly/8Xmzum #
• Time to do the Taxes! Tracey and I are off to see the Tax Consultant and finalize our paperwork! I look forward to being done with it! #
• Met a young man at the tax collector who is interested in the faith, Tracey and I invited him to dinner one night. People amaze me. #
• RT @Snozbody Making a good confession in a post-modern world http://bit.ly/9TT91Q #
• Look Forward to This @AdvanceTC event: Pastors and leaders from 10 states this Thursday. Not 2 late 2 register: http://bit.ly/4tAQ8u #
• To scars. Those we have already earned; and those that are yet to come. #
• rob@bankofamerica.com is now rob@baml.com – I feel so Flintstonish. BAML! BAML! BAML! #
• #EVE Goonswarm has 22 members, 2 corps, and 2 Systems. (http://bit.ly/9UjYcF) What? They just quit playing? #tweetfleet #
• Ordered me a side of DSL to go with my CABLE access. Too many afternoons of not enough bandwidth. I need more ISP options!!! #
• #EVE in other news, -IT- is now the single largest Alliance in EVE (my member count) http://bit.ly/dnqHON #tweetfleet #
• Gonna be a great day! Headed off to http://bit.ly/csM7m5 with some DUDES from Exodus! #
• Boswell kicking it off at #advancetc – Whoooot! http://twitpic.com/11cibt #
• Our ecclessiology is our true theology. -Boswell #advancetc #
• Calling our people to a God centered liturgy is vital to us! -Boswell #advancetc #
• Entitlement is proof we don't really belive righteousness has been imputed to us. -Boswell #advancetc #
• Our ecclessiology is our living doctrinal statement. -Boswell #advancetc #
• Ahead of schedule, that's the difference between a worship pastor and a lead pastor! #advancetc #
• Some days, like today, it hits me and I just really miss my dad. #
• I sneezed! Now where's the people? #advanceTC #
• Tyler on deck to rip it up! Looking forward to what he has to say. Belt buckle strapped! #advancetc #
• Your strengths and your weaknesses will be photocoppied into those that you lead. People imitate us and do what we do. #advancetc #
• Yer first 200 sermons are going to be … Stinky? #advancetc #
• A quick survey of my surroundings indicates that the vast majority of attendees own Apple products. #advancetc #
• I'm back home! Fantastic day at #advanceTC … and I got to stop by JR Cigars on the way home too! I love hanging out with the DUDES!! #
• Just re-filled the humidor with Excalibur Maduro (Lonsdale) … I'm so excited, but not to smoke one tonight. Tomorrow morning!!! #
• 49 Outposts, 90 System – Fountain & Delve are ours.(http://bit.ly/8HaAt2) Look at all that blue (http://bit.ly/7AXZm6) #tweetfleet #eve #
• New facebook Interface is aggravating. I dislike the sudden change, with no warning, and it slows me down. Someone point out the retro link #
• Church planting: Invigorating, satisfying and a load of fun … right? http://bit.ly/c80s9o #
• Blizzard headed toward mid-Atlantic region http://bit.ly/c8T9H1 – Do I need to go to the store? #
• Looking forward to folks coming over tonight. I been missing y'all with the travel and stuff. Will be great to sit and chat with friends! #
• Collin was throwing up last night. Tracey kept him home from school today. He doesn't appear sick to me. #
• Expense Reports, I just can't ever get excited about the paperwork associated with the trave. #
• 10.7M download and 334M upload speeds … the RV02 is treating me right I think #
• Er KB not M … 10.7M down 334KB up #
• The rain didn't keep people in; we got a full house packed in here tonight – I love this. Wonder how many more can squeeze in? #
• Jacob is moving in with his dad, back in Gastonia and attending Ashbrook! Whooot. Just down the road from Scott. #
• Lifting, Toting, Hauling, Slogging through the mud! Man I hope breakfast is ready by now, I reckon this crew is hungry! #
• Breakfast is done, someone find my whip so I can crack it! Git back to work crew! #
• Wondering where one finds a bi-polar bear. #
• Gout attack! I hates the pain, someone fetch me a hacksaw! The foot has to go. #
• Time to install MS Visual Studio … just realized I didn't install at Christmas when rebuilding the machine. How have I lived!? #
• Samantha and I getting set for another fantastic morning with the Exodus Kids! http://twitpic.com/11wdfu #

Songs, fellowship, big dinners, sweet words, beautiful liturgies, the holiday season was upon us! What joy, what merriment, entire towns were dressed up to reflect the pervasive spirit of celebration. Hot chocolate, fresh baked cookies, warm fireplaces, warmer friendships, praise the Lord for our ability to celebrate Him so. In reflecting on our celebration, let us look at the gift of salvation and remember what made that celebration so sweet; and perhaps be encouraged to deliver the gift to others this year.

It seems simple enough to say, “Christ died for our sins” and there we have it, nutcracker done, shell removed, and on to enjoying the sweet meat. Yet I would submit that by doing this, we lose so much of the context that makes this gift wonderful beyond comparison. It is as though I walked up to you on the street and said, “Hey! Congratulations, Mr. Smith just paid your $15,000.00 speeding fine. You do not have to be concerned about that anymore.”

You are probably going to look at me funny and be offended that I would even suggest you had such a speeding fine, never mind the fact that I claim someone you do not know paid it for you. Yet, if I approached you on the street and said, “This morning, as you were driving to work, you passed a school for deaf and blind children. You were in such a rush to get to work on time, you must have missed the clearly posted speed limit signs, and ignored the speed bumps, you went through so fast. The policeman on duty at the crosswalk got your tag number and fined you with $15,000.00. But Mr. Smith heard about it and paid the fine for you!”

Now you are excited, you have the full context and the gift actually makes sense to you. As Christians we need to keep in mind the full context of God’s gift of salvation and present that gift to others in the full context. God created us (Revelations 4:11[RSH1] ). We sinned against God (Mark 7:20-22 [RSH2] & Romans 3:10-12[RSH3] ). God justly gives those who sin against Him exactly what they ask for, separation from Him (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9[RSH4] ). Jesus was born in the flesh (John 1:14). Jesus died for our sins (1 Peter 3:18 [RSH5] & 1 Peter 2:24[RSH6] ). We must place our faith only in Jesus Christ to be saved from our sins (John 3:36 [RSH7] & John 3:16[RSH8] ). There you have it, the gift of God in a nutshell and all the sweeter for it.

[RSH1]“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

[RSH2]²⁰And he said, ““What comes out of a person is what defiles him.” ²¹“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,” ²²“coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.”

[RSH3]¹⁰as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; ¹¹no one understands; no one seeks for God. ¹²All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

[RSH4]⁸in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

[RSH5]¹⁸For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit

[RSH6]²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

[RSH7]³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

[RSH8]For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

• Listen to The Tabernacle: Part 1 (http://bit.ly/60qkRC) to understand why a Christian outside a body of believers is an anomaly. #
• Country boy + overalls + TSA checkpoint = VIP promotion to head of line + _special_ treatment. Prolly quicker to have just stood in line. #
• LGA is closed to all traffic at the moment. I'll be sitting in the CLT concourse for a while, thankful I have a good book! #
• Flight moved back to 12pm now. Beginning to desire more comfortable seats and thinking on how to approach a meal at noon. #
• Pushed back to 1:00pm now. Wow, this is far more time than I enjoy in the terminal. #
• 1:00pm now. They are making noise about boarding soon(tm) after sitting here so long, I'm so reluctant to squeeze into the plane. #
• Whoot, the plane landed at LGA, I think the wind spun us in a 360 as we came in over the river, but the landing itself was awesome. #
• A fine cigar in a fine cigar bar in NYC. I hate to be away. But this is exciting. Love the diversity here. http://twitpic.com/zr92i #
• Three opportunities to share the reason for my joy today! Meeting some friends for a quick meal, then calling it an early night. #
• Good moaning NYC! Now, where do they keep the food this time of day? I don't see wafflehouse! #
• I promise, no overalls today. I am saving those for Friday! http://twitpic.com/zu4lc #
• Goonswarn Sov drops in Delve! http://evemaps.dotlan.net/alliance/GoonSwarm/changes #eve #tweetfleet #
• Identity & Access Management, 2010 Summit. Session 1: Present Your Strategy // Soon, all their strategies are belong to Bubba!!! #
• Sitting in Bryant Park and enjoying a good cup of coffee and some devotional time before this day gains momentum. http://twitpic.com/zub28 #
• Engineering Paradise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0DxmthvkKU thus rocks, gangsta engineers for the win! Thanks Jeri Jahnke for sharing. #
• A new perspective of Bryant Park. Dig the view! http://twitpic.com/zueoy #
• Thought provoking brainstorm question: What would we need in place to run the entire company securely on the public Internet w/no corp net? #
• Timely! I am reading this book (http://www.crossway.org/blog/2010/01/fleshing-out-gospel-community/) right now! #
• RT @SelestCayal IT alliance holds J-L , NOL, F-T, PUIG, QX- & HM- Outposts. Sov in NOl, soon J-L and F-T as well. More systems will follow #
• I get that my eyesight weakens and my hair turns silver with age, but seriously, MUST it sparkle? I don't want sparkly silver hair! #
• How did I make it this far today w/no tweets? Work is hectic, that is my excuse. #
• In a store (in NYC) for "Big Boys"; a fantastic shirt caught my eye, I really want that shirt. $250 for a shirt!? Looking for walmart now. #
• Boss told me yesterday that he prefers my "Jesus Style" of dress; I'm back in sandles today. He suggested I grow a pony tail; takes longer. #
• The IBM SOA consultant from the UK just called me an IAM savant, then said something about the rainman. Interpretting it as a compliment. #
• Fantastic fellowship with @mogrinz over lunch. I love that guy, and he is very intelligent which makes for excellent conversation! #
• RT @acts29 iPad? Really? That's the best name they could come up with? Does it come in a pink wrapper? #
• Church planting is for wimps: a Q&A with Michael McKinley http://tinyurl.com/ybwdgtr #
• Three men whom I didn't know, but who know me by reputation, just sat down at my table and asked me to explain my faith and practise. #
• RT @JohnPiper "God wasn’t stuck with leftovers. He got first dibs. He chose the uncool people, to shame the cool people" http://ow.ly/1118o #
• Which edition of D&D are we referrencing? #
• Snowing in NYC this morning! Fun, fun, fun! #
• Bryant park in the snow, view from our conf room. Today's topic: What will the 2010 SOA strategy be? Will it be? http://twitpic.com/105e8p #
• RT @JohnPiper Lewis irrevocably captured by God: "Round about, / Beating my wings, all ways, within your cage, / I flutter, but not out." #
• Like a two ton anchor around my neck, beauracracy drags me to the smothering depths of ineptitude. #
• We are approaching a level of wiki ubiquity that has finally reached the lowest technical ability of our fellow associates. #
• Study of God's word that does not result in an informed head AND an inspired heart is lacking a presence of the Spirit. Timeframes vary. #
• Last diner in NYC, went to the Capital Grille – just me and a good book for some good food. http://twitpic.com/1080ye #
• Look at all that protein! Yum yum yum yum! http://twitpic.com/10818q #
• Real men smoke cigars! #
• Real old men smoke pipes! #
• Pipe tobaccos come in a much wider variety and is also significantly cheaper to obtain. #
• Pipes themselves are a lot of fun to collect and are beautifully crafted. #
• Pipes and Cigars both come with a wide variety of associates paraphanalia. Gadgets are fun. Pipes get more gadgets. #
• Pipes have a steeper initial learning curve w/regards to the basics; I believe cigars take far more skill to fully appreciate. #
• Intellectuals tend towards pipe smoking; men of action tend towards cigars. Gross characterization, sure – but you can't escape it. #
• The "Prince of Preachers" was a cigar man!!! I rest my case. #
• It is COLD in NYC! Wow, it has been a while since I last experienced this chill. Going home today! #
• View from the conference room to day! http://twitpic.com/10b4td #
• Wrapping up Identity & Access Managment discussions in NYC. Service Oriented Architecture here we come! #
• RT @acts29 The character of a leader-the unseen driving force-will most affect the legacy one leaves for the next generation to emulate. #
• I miss my monitors, my mess, my kids; mostly miss my wife! Got earlier flight home, should easily miss the ice storm. No campfire tonight. #
• Grow a group who share lives and encourage each other; be a blessing by offering hospitality, practical care, strive with people. #
• On the ground in Charlotte, just a few moments to see my wife again! #
• The kids are frantic to go play in that. I love thier energy and excitement, I really just want a fireside book. http://twitpic.com/10hqp6 #
• Kids is loving the snow, lots of fun to be had! They are about crazy! http://twitpic.com/10htpw #
• More snowday pictures! http://twitpic.com/10hvxd #
• Sledding with the Dransfields! We had tons of fun, looks like we will have to do more later today. http://twitpic.com/10i2l2 #
• Time for the fire and coacoa! Finally, I can read my book – oh noes, where are the other half the kids!? http://twitpic.com/10i34e #
• I give up on reading the book next to the fire .. heck, reading a book at all today. Maybe in about 10 years….. #
• EVE: 18 Outposts, 44 Systems – We are well into re-taking DELVE. -IT- is happening. http://bit.ly/8HaAt2 #tweetfleet #eveonline #
• I wonder if they (http://bit.ly/bpP7tH) make house calls? I so definitely want to see that parked in my front yard! #
• Another sledding session this afternoon. Solid 1/4 inch sheet of ice covering the roads, kids love sliding and walking on it. #
• After sledding Collin announced, "I'm putting on my pajama's and not going out again. It is cold! LIke 50majillionbilion degrees outside!" #
• Will be working with Collin on the concept of a measuring temperatures and numbers in general tonight. #
• It only took one day, but I'm pretty sure the teenagers have cabin fever! They are driving me crazy, they want moar attention! #
• Sleep did not cure the cabin fever, I have one rambunctious household this morning. Pray for them, they are locked in here with ME! #
• You are Hairless Potter! http://bit.ly/9QhoJA (Don't tell Baldimort!) #
• Church with the family was great. We looked at the practical differences between Church, Parish, Chapel, Temple and the relation to worship. #

• #EVEONLINE: 10 Outpost/24 Systems today. http://bit.ly/8HaAt2 the influence map has a sweet blue hue around Fountain http://bit.ly/7AXZm6 #
• "Important Blogger? Talk about an oxymoron!" – Booth, Bones Season 5 Episode 11 #
• #GOOOH http://bit.ly/4WfPq7 Rally and Practice Selection Session w/Tim Cox tonight! Going be fun, wanna go with? http://bit.ly/52abPh #
• Monkey Business! I love me some Scott Adams first thing in the morning: http://bit.ly/7GyRmV #
• Tea Party outpolls Republicans (http://bit.ly/4K5H15) Polls are suspect, never sure what precisely they say, yet they do say something. #
• I am feeling nauseous. My tummy is clearly unhappy. I do not know why, and I don't like it. Someone please make it stop. #
• Tracey just texted me pictured of the girls with their new braces … wow, that's a lot of metal! #
• Got the #GOOOH report from Tommy. They read Traceys comments at the meeting. 200+ people for the mock selection. Whooot! #
• Sev 1 Issue has me up and troubleshooting. Good company, Tommy is on the line. Good Chai Tea .. thanks @valerieathome ! #
• Sev 1 issue resolved, the business is back … in business. I'm thinking it is way past my bedtime, and good company or not, I'm off to bed. #
• Booking Travel to NYC! Which is where I'll be next week. #
• #eveonline Favorite Quote today after a fleet fail, "all we did was dent the cloning service"! #
• Listening to "The Ox – Qualifications of an Acts 29 Church Planter" (http://bit.ly/4WsBo9) by Mark Driscoll … I'm diggin it! #
• Lord, what am I, a dead dog, that free grace should look upon me, and that thou shouldest crown me with such loving kindness? – Tom Watson #
• Zend (http://www.zend.com) is coming to visit me in Charlotte on Friday. Looking forward to lunch with them, and discussing their tech! #
• Writing a (Strawberry) PERL script – I forgot how much I enjoy the language, grammar and syntax. #
• Incredibly rough week so far. Date night tonight w/Tracey … I pray it shall, as ever, be a refreshing and motivating time! #
• Watching Darrin Patrick on Elders http://bit.ly/5IX4qF good stuff. Count the costs. Best Quote, "This will ruin your life as you know it." #
• Returned home from date w/Tracey to what appeared to be people running 'coons in the backyard! In the city limit! #
• Called the police, and they got rounded out of the woods, with the dogs. They were indeed running 'coons! So country they made me look city. #
• Saw "The Book of Eli" w/Tracey tonight. I enjoyed it, she was kinda "bleh" about it. Gets my recommendation though. #
• The Difference Between Tolerance and Love http://bit.ly/5NIBK6 #
• Shared the gospel with a man this morning. Don. Part of a cleaning crew that came by the house. Hope he comes back, I like him. #
• Lunch with Tracey, Samantha, and Nicole! Three of my favorite ladies.Tai food here we come. #
• Nicole does NOT like Sushi. We give her points for trying it, and the facial contortions were well worth it! #
• Fantastic lunch with some fantastic girls! We definitively determined that Tracey and Nicole are 'agin Thai food. Sam's up to try again. #
• My IE7->MS Word->Apache HTTPD->Tomcat->Confluence Foo is Strong today. Chuck Norris has nothing on me baby! #
• Hmm, I forgot the key piece, add Siteminder in the list too! #
• I missed this a few days ago! Mohler appointed Schaeffer chair at WJI http://bit.ly/7tZ7ng #
• 'bout to have lunch with Rick Gonwa of Zend. Looking forward to some good conversation! Any questions I could proxy? #
• Microsoft and Zend partnering to make PHP just as performant on IIS as it is on Linux/Apache. #
• This chat w/Zend is having an evolutionary effect on my thoughts regarding PHP Application Lifecycles. I like these guys! #
• Serving 14 for dinner … Then we have the Fri night open house! See the rest of you at 7:30pm. #
• Have a house full of people, I love this life! #
• Somewhat expect the firemarshall to arrive one night and tell me we are over occupancy! #
• Breakfast at #wafflehouse and then hanging out with some DUDES from the Exodus Church! It is a good day! #
• Great morning of fellowship with the Exodus Church DUDES! Love them guys! #
• Looking forward to a fun morning with the wee Exodus Kids today! #
• Clean up! Clean up! Everybody do your share! They are into this game! http://twitpic.com/zk4sd #
• Crayola time! They enjoy this activity more, so nice and quite. Awesome to see the diligence & intentionality. http://twitpic.com/zk77u #

With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance? – Jay Leno

Dear Rob Hines:

We invite you to submit a paper/abstract in the area of "Communication Systems and Technologies" included in The 14th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics: WMSCI 2010 (http://www.2010iiisconferences.org/wmsci) to be held on June 29-July 2, 2010 in Orlando, Florida, USA.

The deadlines are the following:

Papers/Abstracts Submissions and Invited Sessions Proposals: February 10th, 2010
Authors Notifications: March 4th, 2010
Camera-ready, full papers: May 26th, 2010

You can also submit your abstract-paper to another area or any of the following conjoined and/or collocated events:
=======================================================
The 4th International Multi-Conference on Society, Cybernetics and Informatics: IMSCI 2010 (www.2010iiisconferences.org/imsci); which submission deadline is February 3rd, 2010

The 3rd International Multi-Conference on Engineering and Technological Innovation: IMETI 2010 (www.2010iiisconferences.org/imeti); which submission deadline is February 17th, 2010

The SUMMER 4th International Conference on Knowledge Generation, Communication and Management: KGCM 2010 (www.2010iiisconferences.org/kgcm); which submission deadline is February 10th, 2010

The 3rd International Symposium on Academic Globalization: AG 2010 (www.2010iiisconferences.org/ag); which submission deadline is also February 10th, 2010

The 2nd International Symposium on Peer Reviewing: ISPR 2010 (www.2010iiisconferences.org/ispr); which submission deadline is also February 10th, 2010
=======================================================

Do I Dare? What would I write about?

if – it creates a condition, precedes a conditional statement; however, the master can do far more with an if statement.

Some Project Manager says, “Hey! We need a blafgartfee document! Bubba, could you get that done for us?“

To which Bubba responds, “I got no idea what that looks like. If you send me an example or a template, I’ll get it done.”

See, the creation of a condition … “you must send me an example or template” before Bubba will do anything.

Three weeks later, some some Project Managers says, “Hey, I have you down to provide the blafgartfee document by EOD today. How is it going?“

Bubba, “Seriously? Did I really miss the communication from you with the example or template?“

Them, “Oh. Let me see if I can find that for you now.”

Three weeks later ……

Apparently, Bubba if statements can create a Temporal Loop!

Many years back, in the early 1990’s, Tracey and I got married. We were young and with our lives before us we spent many hours dreaming what our lives would ultimately be. I was given to poetry and had recently read Laughter in the Walls by Bob Benson. It captured so well our own particular dreams at the time that I copied it down and made some ever so slight changes to accommodate our own lives.

I utterly forgot about, but Tracey hid it away safely in an album with other keepsakes, and this morning my daughter Samantha found it, read it, and brought it to my attention. I am amazed to realize, that our dreams have come true in a quiet manner that we never suspected. The sudden confrontation of this document from so many years ago and our current situation is an amazing thing. Allow me to share with you the dreams of a 21 year old man, newly married.

I will pass a lot of houses on my way home -
   some pretty,
   some expensive,
   some inviting -
But my heart will always skip a beat when I turn down
  the road and see my house nestled against the hill.

I guess I’ll be especially proud of the house, and way it looks;
because I’ll draw the plans myself.

It’ll start out large enough for us, I’ll have a study -
   Perhaps two teenage boy’s will live in there.

And it’ll have a guest room -
  with my daughter and her dolls as permanent guests.

It will have a small room for Tracey, maybe her sewing room …
  and perhaps the two toddlers swinging on the Dutch doors will claim it as
  their own.

So right now, it might not look as if I’m much of an architect.
  But it will get larger … one by one they will
  go away
       To work – to college – to service – to their own houses -
and there will be room for just the two of us.

But it won’t be empty – every corner, every room, every nick in the
coffee table will be crowded with memories.

Memories of picnics, parties, Christmases, bedside vigils, summers, fires, winters,
going barefoot, leaving for vacation, dogs, conversations, black eyes, graduations,
first dates, ball games, arguments, washing dishes, bicycles, boat rides, getting
home from vacation, meals, rabbits, and thousand other things that fill
the lives of those who would raise children.

AND my love and I will sit quietly by the fire and listen to the laughter in the walls.

My son Ethan is playing with the dog in the room behind me, Abby (in her room) is sorting her doll house, Collin (in his room) is engaged in a game of Lego’s, Sam is being self conscious about her new braces, Bethany is being excited about hers. Jacob and Corey are having a virtual fight of epic proportions with heroic avatars, and Tyler cheers them on, heedless of who wins while Nicole reads a book for school. My wife is relaxing with a book as well. I am in awe of how my God has so blessed me as I sit here and watch the walls filling up with laughter.