What a Waste!

Wednesday is trash day. Each week on Tuesday evening I spend a few minutes going around the house to empty the trash cans in the various pasts of the house. I also check the refreigerator for anything that may be past it's prime. It's amazing what gets lost and then rediscovered in the back of the fridge. There may be food that is just old and needs to go out (like today, a bit of left over cake). I also have to get the recycle bin ready, though this gets addressed pretty much on a daily basis (old newspapers and recyclables from the house). I am always amazed at the amount of stuff that gets thrown out each week. And there are only two of us at home on any regular basis. However, I will say that as a general rule, we rarely have more than one bag and the recycle bin is only about 1/3 to 1/2 full on any given trash day. I don't feel so bad though when I look around the neighborhood and at other trash cans in the city that have tons (no exaggeration) of garbage, so much so that the trash cans are overflowing. I can understand businesses and people w/ large families or those that have kids at home . . . but, holy smokes!!. I really cannot believe the amount of trash that our society produces. And, on a regular basis.

I am not an evironmentalist, per se. I don't 'bleed green'. However, I do believe that we have a responsibility to take care of what we have been given. Anything new that we can recycle or any new product that will lessen the impact we have on the earth is okay with me. Anything we can do to increase mileage and lessen our dependence on other's oil is really okay with me. Any new form of transportation that we can develop that would be a real people mover. . . go for it.

You never know where thoughts will come form. As I was leaving the house this morning, I just looked at all the big blue trash cans down my street, down Goodwin, up 281 and then out 97. Down my street it just looked like a big blue gauntlet and I just thought about all the garbage being thrown out. It didn't help that blue is my favorite color. Why did they have to pick blue for trash cans? But ultimately, if you think about it, everything we have or own has the potential for being garbage.

So what are your thoughts? Or do you have any on the subject? Share with me.

Ipod Game

Okay, thanks to Erin, here is my verison of the Ipod Game, or rather should I say the Computer-In-My-Office-Set-On-Shuffle Game.

How do you feel today? - Could We Fall In Love - Craig Chaquico

What's your outlook on life? - Circle Of Life - Elton John

What does your family think of you? - Pride & Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughn

What do your friends think of you? - That's All I Can Say - David Benoit & Russ Freeman

What do your exes think of you? - Florida Straits - Spyro Gyra

How's your love life? - Another Park, Another Sunday - Doobie Brothers

How will your life be in the future? - Don't Look Around - Mountain

Will you get married? - Why Should I Cry For You? - Sting

Are you good at school? - State Of Grace - Jeff Lorber

Will you be successful? - Wild Night - John Mellencamp

What song should they play on your birthday? - The Wind of Change - Acoustic Alchemy

What song should they play at your graduation? - Steve's Boogie - Eric Johnson

The soundtrack of your life? - Homecoming - Acoustic Alchemy

You and your best friends are . . .? - I'm On Fire - Bruce Springsteen

Happy times: - I'm Free - The Who

Sad Times: - Big Dance Number - Spyro Gyra

Every day: - The 14 Carrot Cafe - Acoustic Alchemy

For tomorrow: - Once In The A.M. - Foreplay

For you: Hey, Ninteen - Steely Dan

What does next year have in store for you? - Bouncin' Back - Robert Cray

What do you say when life gets too hard? - Passionelle - Acoustic Alchemy

What song will you dance to at your wedding? - Shadowland - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

What do you want as your career? - Aspen - The Rippingtons

Your favorite saying: - Clap For The Wolfman - Guess Who

How will you die? - In Bed - Rare Earth



This was fun. Everyone do this and share. It is good for a few good chuckles. Tryyy it, you'll liiike it.

A Dark Sky Over Death Valley (Pt. 3)

It's HEErrree! I received the photo that I have been talking about. It arrived this past Saturday. I opened the front door of the house to go check the mail and there is this round cylinder in the middle of the doorway. Normally, the post man/woman will ring the doorbell to let us know there is something that will not fit into the mail box. But not this time . . . It just sort of showed up.

I've had it on the kitchen table so as to look at it. It is an awesome picture. It is all in black and white and clearly shows the Milky Way. Some of the stars are a bit blurry since it is a panorama but that just adds to the nature of the scene. I showed it to Caleb and told him some of my ideas for the frame and matting. I guess I'll be over to his shop soon.

Can't wait to see it on the wall at the office.

Next stop: Mount Everest!!

What a week!!

This seems to have been a really long week. I have been so tired every day. You would think that sitting at a desk all day talking to people would not be too hard. I think, though, that most of my fatigue is mental. Having to be mentally on your toes dealing with people's issues and problems and ready to deal with whatever comes your way . . it can just really be exhausting. And trying to wind down . . . I'm better at that than in the past. But, still . . .

I have thought all week that it was not the day it was. Must be wishful thinking. On Tuesday evening I was thinking how grateful I was that tomorrow was Thursday. My philosophy is that if I can get up on Thursday morning, I have the week made and Friday will be a breeze. On Wednesday morning I was thinking about having to get up only one more day. Then, this morning, thinking it was Saturday morning, I woke up at about 4:00 am and thought about how nice it is going to be not to have to get up with the alarm clock. That dream was shattered at 5:45 am by the alarm clock reminding me that today was Friday.

So, what good happened this week:

Monday - Had a good visit with the Wharton's. Enjoyed watching Amy and Shanon get to spend time together.

Tuesday - Court went smoothly, surprisingly so since it was a double-court day.

Wednesday - Spent the evening in fellowship with brethern.

Thursday - Had a good breakfast with Ray. Spurs won!! . . . and more fellowship.

Friday - A quiet day at work playing catch up and preparing for the next week. Get to go home once I reach my 40 hours (about 2:15 pm).

However, chores at home await. Guess I'll just shift gears.

Have a great weekend.

Signs and Signals

So, I'm sitting at a train crossing . . . waiting on a train to cross. Signal arms are down. Lights are flashing (both those beside the track, those above the track and those on the crossing arms). Traffic is backing up. The air horn on the engine of the train is blowing loudly and getting louder as it approaches the crossing. There are curbs on the street, not only to make the road look nice but to provide a definite appearance as to what is the road and what is not the road. Suddenly, the driver of a pick-up truck decides he cannot figure out what all the fuss is about and decides to drive over the curbed area that separates lanes, around the crossing arms and across the train tracks! All this with a train barreling down at about 30-40 mph! What a no-brainer . . . the driver, not the decision! I also saw people on the other side of the intersection get out of their cars to wave and yell at the truck driver, pointing to the approaching train, trying to warn him. Thr truck drivers response, to just keep on driving. I don't think that I have ever seen sparks coming out from under a locomotive before. And I'm sure there was something else coming out of the mouth of the engineer of the train, but we'll not go there. Fortunately, there was not a collision, but it was oh so close.

I cannot figure out why that driver decided that he did not have to abide by all the signs and signals that were warning him of the impending danger. Besides the danger that he posed to himself there was also the danger that others could have been harmed physically had there been a collision. What of the mental anguish that could have happened to those who would have been a witness to the accident? What about the emergency personnel who would have had to pick up the pieces of the incident? And finally, what about those members of the families of those who would have been involved in the accident?

Those signs and signals around the intersection were put there for a reason, to warn of the possibility of impending danger. And yet this person chose to ignore them.

In addition to the things mentioned that tell us of the train crossing, there are also painted on the roadway before the crossings thick white lines along with thick white X's with big white 'RR' letters. At some intersections there are rumble strips that attract our attention. Along with these signs, on the side of the roadway are other signs placed there by the highway department that tell us of the approaching crossing.

I couldn't help but think about how this relates to us and the dangers of sin that are all around us in out lives. There are signs and signals that constantly warn us of danger. These warnings can be obvious, not so obvious and at times are very subtle, but they are very real. We must always be aware of our surroundings and looking out for danger wherever it may be or wherever it may come from. We must be ready to react and act to find safety. Why do you think school buses, other forms of public transportation and some large semi-trucks usually stop at all 'RR' tracks? It is for the safety of themselves and those around them. It's a funny thing about sin . . . it affects not only us but those around us, as well. Once it gets ahold of us, it does not let go until we firmly resist it or until it is through with us.

Some random thoughts from a happenstance occurance. Those are my thoughts. What are yours. Share with me.