Well a strange thing happened in my first design class today. So the teacher introduces the basic format and everything but instead of telling us what we are going to be designing he has us come up with our semester-long project.

Now that is all well and good but he didn't moderate either. I was beginning to think I had walked into a political philosophy class or something because all of the sudden everybody had "the best" way to choose the best project out of a list and no one was really taking anybody elses views into consideration. I won't go into the different and bizarre ways we picked but needless to say we ended up going with the choice of the majority.

It really makes me glad that we have a representative government so that I can choose someone to do all these dealings for me. I also see the clear benefits of a set system where lawmakers don't have to come up with a new way to decide every time.

Signing Off...

Hey second post in one day--

I just was making the blog rounds and found a great one that you guys should take time to read and think about.

From Tim Challies at Challies.com: Pragmatism

Signing Off...

Whew!

Well I just got out of my first class of Studio III, I think I am going to like my teacher but we'll see about that. He is an Indian fellow and very interested in seeing us design European type structures. Which means small and efficient.

I had never thought of American houses as extravagant but when you compare how much free land there is in a medieval town to say, Dallas or Lubbock you realize that you have to be much more frugal in general. The average family (about 2 bedrooms) house runs about 800 or 900 square feet. Makes me thankful for having room to stretch out at home.

Here is the link to our class page if it interests you ARCH 3501

Well, so far I am still working at the bookstore and it's a good thing because I am actually going to have to buy some books for studio and the discount really helps.

Well this has been a busy week, Ellen came home on Wednesday and so our family went for dinner at Campisi's (Ellen is fine by the way). But for pretty much the rest of the time I have been working.

My manager is very generous, since this is my last week at home he has been working me as much as possible so that I can earn as much money as possible. Too bad that the side effect is being worn out.

It does have a good return though. Money is useful stuff.

Signing off...

"..she knows his love's in tulsa and she knows he's gonna go, it ain't no woman flesh and blood it's... "

RODEO!!!


I had a blast last Saturday night, a group of about 12 kids from church went to the Mesquite Championship Rodeo and while I can't presume to speak for everyone I think it was a good time for all.

I had never been to the rodeo until today but I have been a fan for at least a year or so. Particularly of bull riding -- the Outdoor Living Network (or whatever it's name is) shows PBR events every week and I usually didn't miss them all last year.

I still have a dream of riding a bull in competition sometime. I have had many people try to talk me out of this but I ain't gonna be talked out of it. My mother said she would prefer it to riding a motorcycle, the lesser of two weevils, she says.

One day...

The picture is: Evan, Me, David Lamb and Austin Sword on David's jacked-up Dodge

Our family had an interesting episode tonight. We were planning a night of movie and light dinner but right as we were preparing to put in the movie, the power went out and stayed out for an hour.

So instead, we had a pioneer night. We built a fire and lit candles and mused about how we only had a little time between the indian attacks to eat our dinner.

After we ate I read a little out loud --no not Little House on the Prairie but from an old Tom Swift book of my dad's.

It is fun to do imaginary things every now and then, the imagination is a wonderful gift. Just about the only thing we didn't do was get out the guns and fight the indians. That will be tomorrow night...

You know, I love storms. We are currently experiencing a rainless strom right now. In other words we are getting a lot of wind and there are big storms to the south and west and there is lots of lightning. It really is exciting...


My love of storms goes back about three years...

Best I can recall it was February of 2003 and I had just started delivering pizza for Domino's. It was a dark and stormy night (it was!) and we were BUSY. Sometime after dark it began hailing and the hailstones got up to the size of racketballs - it was scary. Just trying to drive down the road was an event, the hailstones were pounding like hammers and scaring me to death. Several times I had to take refuge behind buildings and at one point I ran into a 6 or 8 inch deep pool of water in the road. It stopped the car like I ran into a wall (I was probably going 25 miles an hour). I had to fetch the pizza off the floor on that one (silly old inertia) but the pizza was ok.

During that storm I was not particularly enjoying it, but one verse was running through my mind the whole time:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Psalms 19:1

I believe that God protected me during that storm. Since then I have come to enjoy storms more than fear them. Every time a heavy one blows through I think about the power that God's storms are created with and it amazes me.

Signing off...

Big Wave's related post

Wow, you know I have been in a rather heavy mood lately. Probably thinking too much about the real world...not that we should ignore it, but it does bear down on you.

I have a hard time blogging while I am in this mood so I am going to post the lyrics to a great song by Blue Highway.

Some Day

Some day when my last line is written
Some day when I've drawn my last breath
When my last words on earth have been spoken
And my lips are sealed in death
Don't look on my cold form in pity
Don't think of me as one dead
It'll just be the house I once lived in
My spirit, by then, will have fled.

I'll have finished my time here alotted
But I won't be in darkness alone
I will have heard from heaven
The summons to come on home
And when my body is in the grave
Don't think that I'll be there
I won't be dead, but living
In the place Jesus went to prepare.

And after all is said and done
Know that my last earnest prayer
Is that my loved ones be ready
Someday to meet me there.

One of my mother's favorites, I suppose that I have now deprived her of putting it on her blog. But I am sure she won't mind.

An interesting thing has happened to me, this past week I have listened to more talk radio than music-- and not only talk radio but political commentary.

*gasp* -- not that!

I have actually enjoyed it (otherwise I wouldn't have continued) and I have found it is more of an amusing waste of time than a help. On the one hand I am learning about the most current events, on the other hand all the information I get is spun so hatefully that you have to wonder how much is real and how much isn't.

This week I have listened to two shows consistantly. On the liberal side of things is the show called "The Majority Report" -that one is consistantly Bush-bashing. On the conservative side of things is the show called the "Savage Nation" the fellow who runs this show, Dr. Michael Savage is of the Bush-is-a-sellout crowd of ultra conservatives. There are certainly middle of the road shows out there I just don't have experiences with them.

Now I won't go deeper into what these shows say, you can look that up for yourself, but there was one similarity that struck me about them and that was how both radio hosts felt that if Bush kept having his way about things that the US (yes, the nation as a whole) would disentigrate. Both shows exude this feeling of hopelessness that is saddening.

Very saddening...they seem to have no hope.

But there is hope, but not through political channels,

"Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts" Zachariah 4:6

Today, August 3rd, saw the grand opening of the newest IKEA store in Frisco, Texas.

For those of you not aquainted with IKEA, it is a swedish-based furniture store with an equal amount of space devoted to kitchen and home furnishings.

I was there, as you probably guessed, and had a lot of fun too.

The place was packed and I mean PACKED! We waited 30-40 minutes to get inside then when we went to the check out the line it was about 400 yards long (seriously, four football fields).

Amazingly, they planned this VERY well and there was not a time when we felt neglected; From standing in the sun, when we recieved fold up screens and cold bottled water to the checkout line when employees walked up and down with granola bars and orange juice.

I regret to say that in walking around, I really didn't get to look at the furniture. I hope that some day soon I will be able to go back for a more thorough look 'round.

If you ever find yourself with the chance of getting to visit an IKEA for an afternoon then I would reccomend going at least once. Before you go take warning: hide your credit cards and allow yourself a limited amount of cash -- because if you are like me it is easy to add it up...

While you are there ponder "the consumer" and its place in the food chain.

Signing Off...

The Sunday before last I was at my grandparent's house in Granbury and thankfully I had my camera with me when the sunset came. (right)

Their house is on the Brazos River and though the river there is not the best for swimming it is really nice to be able to walk down there whenever we want to and just enjoy watching sunsets or skipping rocks or whatever.

This sunset reminded me of another that I experienced this year. (left) Though the location was San Angelo and the time was April 16th.

They say that people are generally prone to create the same composition when given the chance and that seems to be the case here.

Sunset and sunrise are two of the most beautiful times of day, in my opinion.

Signing off...

"So I saw in my dream that the man began to run. Now he had not run far from his own door when his wife and children, perceiving it, began to cry after him to return; but the man put his fingers in his ears, and ran on crying, Life! life! eternal life!"

Our family reading tonight was the beginning of Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. This quote was interesting to me, the thought that he was resolved, that he saw the need to actually flee, is inspiring. Too many times I find that I have put earthly things in rank above heavenly things. To the end of actually giving in to the temptations of sin.

The point Bunyan is making is straight out of Luke 14:26 which says:

"If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."

The most important thing is to take up our cross and follow him...

"Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27"

If you follow the link to the right you can read this in context, which I reccomend.