The Golden Compass

I've written before about Philip Pullman.  He is a good author, but I do not like his message in the least.  I've seen some reports that the Golden Compass movie isn't doing as well as filmmakers had hoped.  I'm not entirely disappointed.  I do not think that any kind of organized boycott would do any good.  Just look at all the negative publicity about the Creation Museum that has just increased the number of people who know about the museum and come visit!  However, I think that even with the reported dumbing down of the anti-Christian message people are avoiding the movie.

If you want to read a good column about the movie then click here.  I followed a link from another blog and wasn't sure what the column would contain.  I liked what I read though, and liked it even more as I continued to read.  It is more coherent than an argument that I could make, and I definitely agree with what is said.

Pullman is a hardcore atheist who is trying to indoctrinate children into his world view.  Reportedly he has admitted that yes, his books are basically about "killing god."  I was thinking about seeing the movie just to see how it had played out the plot.  I read all the way through the books and while you don't have to read something to critique it, it oftentimes really helps.  But now I'm not so sure.  If it isn't doing that well I don't want to help it to do better.  *shrugs*  I'll see.  I'll probably watch it on DVD when it comes out.

~Matt

PS Yes, I know I haven't written more about Chicago, I promise that it is coming.  However, today I'm quite busy working at church, then editing video, then going to a costume birthday party and taking as many pictures as I can.  Tuesday I'm not working except for a meeting, so I should have plenty of free time before Bible Study.

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

11:30

It is currently 23:30 Eastern and I just got a phone call on my house line.  Nobody calls me on that line, because I always give out my cell number.  A tired female asked, "is Barbie there?"  I wasn't sure that she had said that, so I asked her to repeat herself, and heard the same thing again.  She did apologize when I told her she had a wrong number, but I realized now that I could have had fun.

"No, this is Ken speaking.  She divorced me last year."

"Mattel factory outlet, I'm sorry we are all out of Holiday Shopping Barbie.  Please take a number and enjoys the wonder of supply and demand."

I suppose there are more, but I'm tired now and need to sleep.  As soon as I have spare time I'll be posting much more about my Chicago trip!

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Trip to Chicago, pt 1

Here is the first of several blog entries from Chicago.  These were all written up before they were posted on-line, several on the bus as I rode to Chicago, then others in Chicago itself.  Enjoy:

Friday, December 7, 2007 [Pearl Harbor Day]
4th & Race St, Cincinnati, OH
Megabus, 09:00 departure

~15 chapters into "The Stand," very enjoyable book--a picture of who the survivors are is starting to emerge, and the final collapse of civilization is fast approaching.  I cannot believe that I left eh book at my sister's house.  I was reading it for just a bit and set it down before I picked up my backpack and luggage to leave the house.  With the exception of "Eyes of the Dragon," which is not typical Stephen King, this is the first King book I've read outside of the Dark Tower.  [another salt truck just drove by on Race, I saw one earlier on Fourth St. as I talked to my mom].  If the book continues to be as good as it has been I'll likely pick up more of his books in the future.

I'm sure I'll get into my new Jim Butcher book, "Captain's Fury," but even though it was the reason I went to Borders I'm no longer so excited to read it.  As I said, I'm really enjoying "The Stand."

The lights just went out as the driver started to pull away from the curb.  The overhead seat lights appear to work like those on planes, but will not activate at the moment.  Thankfully there is enough light outside to manage.

I hope I've packed warm enough.  I'll have long underwear if I need it, and my aunt said they've had snow and may be expecting more.  I have three pairs of gloves--one inner set and two different bigger ones that can go on top of the smaller pair.  I need to remember to tell Grandma that I would like another pair [she remembered and sent them home with my aunt who was just visiting her].  Oh, and I need to get her gift and mail it since I won't see her at Mom & Dad's when I go down for Christmas.

We're still in downtown--I guess when your vehicle is the size of a bus you can only make certain turns, or perhaps it always takes this long.  I avoid driving in downtown Cincinnati.

We're on North 75 and just passed Union Terminal [on the left].  I still want to take Amtrak out of there sometime, but I like the bus departure times better.  Perhaps I'll take the train to D. C. in a few years when I can afford several nights in a motel/hotel.           09:15

And now back to the present.  It is a pleasant 70.2 degrees in the house and a chilly 22.3 outside.  I'll type more later and include pictures where I have them.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Chicago here I come

I'm about to leave for Chicago in a few minutes (my bus leaves Cincinnati at 09:00) and so I was backing up the pictures on my camera so that I could clear the memory card.  On a whim I decided to check how many digital pictures I have.  Counting just the pictures that I've taken on the three digital cameras that I have owned over the last three and a half years I have over twelve thousand!  I don't know how that compares to others (I'm sure that Chris has many more), but the number was still surprising to me.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Goodnight

Yeah, I was back for a couple of posts, then I neglected this again.  I need to get back in the habit.  Hey, wasn't that the tag-line for Sister Act II?  Well I'm definitely not going to be a nun (or pretend to be one), but I like the habit of blogging.  I certainly read enough other blogs.  In my downtime at work I'm really enjoying pulling out my PDA.  I'll log onto the free wireless network and read political blogs.  For a while I couldn't keep up with posts--now I'm running out of them.

Work is going well--amazing actually.  Our numbers have dropped off come the week after Thanksgiving, but I'm optimistic that the doldrums won't remain forever.  Tomorrow should be our last big Saturday for a while.  For some reason people don't want to schedule many groups in the dead of winter or this close to Christmas.  Go figure...  Tomorrow I am in the Planetarium, which is always cause for celebration.  The Planetarium really is my home--I feel quite possessive about it at times.  I am in there every Saturday (except next Saturday when I'll be in Chicago, :(--well yeah for Chicago, and I plan to see the Adler Planetarium, but I'll miss ours) and so I have my routine down.  Then during our upcoming Christmas Celebration events (occurring after hours at the Creation Museum) I'm working long shifts--in the Planetarium all day!!  There are times that I absolutely love the schedule.  Dave (our manager) is great about putting me in the Planetarium on busy or important days!  :-)

This week I was schedule in a new place.  Not everyone wants to be there--but I've been asking for a while.  I was in Admissions selling tickets!  I wish that there had been more tickets to sell that day, but I still feel that I'm learning the ropes.  Thankfully Dave told me that he'd try to stick me out in the ticket booth at least once a week.   The novelty might wear off eventually, but I think I'll continue to enjoy it--partially since I'll never be out there every day in a week (I'm always back in the theaters eventually).  Right now it is new, but there will always be something new and challenging.

Well I have to be at work by 08:30 in the morning, so I'm going to sign off for now.  I always like to be early on Saturdays, and especially this day because a group is scheduled to arrive at 8:00.  They don't have a Planetarium show on their schedule, but our Admissions agents will do their best to sell them one.  I want to be ready for them instead of coming in to find that somebody else loaded my theater with a show, ;-).

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Casino Royale

I just finished watching the latest Bond movie.  I honestly have only seen perhaps one (Dr. No) or two (perhaps one of the later Pierce Brosnan films) James Bond movies.  However, since this one was a reboot of the series with a new actor that didn't really matter.  I enjoyed the film, though some of the plot twists were a bit predictable.  When Bond says he is going to quit and run off with the female lead I knew she would either break his heart and/or die, because it isn't a series about a married agent.  I know at least that Bond didn't settle down.  Anyway, it was a fun movie.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

What is that?

Yeah, I have a day off tomorrow, so I'm wondering exactly what that is.  I haven't had a day off except for Sunday in quite a while (not counting the weekend I visited Tennessee).  Of course despite the fact that I say I "don't have a life" I've managed to keep it busy.  I'm heading into the Creation Museum with some clocks (I had an idea to keep the Planetarium running on time).  [As an aside sadly nobody who regularly reads this has visited the museum so they don't get the joke--but that is partly my fault since I've avoided writing here for so long.]  Then I need to work on some video editing and prep for Thanksgiving dinner.  I'm going over to the house of some friends and will be bringing food, so I need to get started on the preparations and ingredients gathering.  Then I need to get ready for Bible Study.  It is Mexican Food night and instead of ordering pizza or eating out we'll be bringing together the food.  It sounds like fun, and I offered to fry the taco shells.  I always love fried corn tortillas better than the hard taco shells that you can buy.

Tonight I rented Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer from the $1 a night machine at Kroger.  It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either.  It was a fun way to waste some time--but not anything really worth watching again.  I did recognize Stan Lee in his cameo, and not just because he used his real name.  I also rented Casino Royale and plan to watch that tomorrow morning.  I'm actually thinking of heading to bed somewhat soon.  It won't really be that early, but somewhat early and might make it easier to get up earlier when I don't have to go to work.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Pirates at the Museum

Today was another awesome day with friends. It was the perfect day to explore the Museum Center with friends from the Creation Museum. We explored not only the Latin American Culture Fest (which gave the others their free ticket) but also the History Museum. And we kept running into pirates! Two of my coworkers (Jen and Rachel) insisted on pictures with all the pirates that they ran into. It was great fun, and I got to take many pictures.

At the end of the evening we came back to Hebron, Kentucky where we'd started out (near the Creation Museum) and ate at Mr. Herb's , which is a great little local restaurant. I would type more, but I spent all of my creative juices typing captions for the pictures that I put up on Facebook. If you have an account then check out the photos. If you don't have an account yet then you should create one and add me as a friend!

~Matt
--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Tired, but thankful

I just got back from a few great hours with friends.  Several of us from the Creation Museum (and one not working there, but known through one who does) headed up to a "Thanksgiving Concert" being held in Cincinnati.  It was quite interesting with groups ranging from a gospel quartet to Indo-Pakistani to African to Korean to Hispanic Salsa, and more types of music.  It was definitely eclectic--but quite interesting nonetheless, and a good time with friends.  I was the driver tonight.

We didn't have time to eat before we arrived, so on the way home I exited the freeway right by the Museum Center (my "other" museum) and we went to Frish's Big Boy.  I've never actually been inside one before--just the drive through.  I wasn't too impressed with the drive through--but the service inside was much better.  It was a cross between fast food and full service sit-down dining.

I really would type more, but I'm tired and I need to sleep.  I have to be up in less than seven hours--actually about six so that I can get ready and be into work on time.  Night all!

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Deer in the Headlights

I really know what this expression means now.  It was dark by the time I got off work tonight.  The freeway is only two lanes out by the museum, so I was driving along in the right hand lane, safely with my lights on.  All of a sudden I saw a deer in my headlights!  True to form it didn't move or even seem to react to my headlights or oncoming car.  I'm so thankful that the lane to my left was empty.  I hit the brakes and swerved into that lane to pull around the dumb animal.  I looked in my rearview mirror and didn't see anyone come to a screeching stop, so I assume that the deer survived and wasn't hit by another automobile.  I was a bit shaken for a few moments, but nothing too bad.  I really can understand the expression now.  I know it was only a few seconds, but it seemed as if the deer was frozen forever.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Now that's old

A month or two ago (was it all the way back in July?) I went to theaters and watched Die Hard or Live Free (the fourth movie in the Die Hard franchise) despite the fact that I'd not seen any of the previous films.  I enjoyed the movie.  I recently procured the earlier movies and right now I'm watching the first.  I think it was made in the late eighties--obvious from the clothes, music, etc...  But here is the best indicator.  The movie is set in Southern California, never a region of low prices.  I was just watching a scene when I realized that there was a gas station sign in focus.  Here is what it said:
Regular .74 9/10

Yeah, not 3.74, or even 1.74, but 74 cents per gallon!  Now that's old!!

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Stardust

Well I went to watch Stardust this evening (Monday night).  It was very enjoyable, for a movie.  I'm sorry, I'm too much of a reader.  The movie was great, I'll freely admit that.  Some of the changes made for a great movie.  But I'm too much of a book person not to be disappointed at how the scriptwriters thought they had to spell things out so plainly (when they were simply implied in the book) and create dramatic tension not present in the book.  *shrugs*  I'm not at all objective, so I might be overlooking how these changes made it a better movie, but I can't help but compare it to the book.  Again, great movie, but as always (though I'm still looking), better book.  ;-)

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Touring the Creation Museum

I keep forgetting that different sites are separate. I have posted quite a few pictures of the Creation Museum on my Facebook account, but of course those are not accessible here. Therefore I'll provide y'all with the links to the albums below. Enjoy!

Creation Museum grounds
Creation Museum interior (i.e. limited walk-through--I want to bring out some big things as well as some that are overlooked, without spoiling the entire experience)

~Matt

PS If you want really good pictures check out the ones that my nephew Chris took on his walk-through (though he didn't get to see everything).

Bourne

Tonight I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum with a friend from work (Adam).  It was an interesting movie.  The shaky camera was back, but for some reason it didn't bother me as much as it did in Supremacy.

Yes, Tish was right, the fight scene was awesome.  I did wonder something though, would she have loved the movie as much if Bourne had been driving (and then wrecked) a Ford pick-up instead of a police cruiser.  Hmmm...;-)

This is a movie trilogy that I have enjoyed, and I'll put it on my shelf next to Jurassic Park.  It was something else where the books and movies were both good, but completely different.  Not only did the movies ignore the central premise of the books, but really these three movies (named for the three books) take place over the course of time covered in the first book.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

More picture options

Okay, this shot might look a bit distorted because I had to stretch it for some reason. Blogger didn't like the size. This is a panorama shot that I took with my camera. It isn't brand new any more, but I'm still playing around with some of the features. I think I'm going to try to head into work early tomorrow morning with a tripod and capture some panoramic shots of the grounds. Hopefully I can beat the early guests--it is only a Monday after all.

This is my nephew Ryan, and I think he is playing a game on his Wii, though he might just be watching television, I don't remember positively.

~Matt

One Week Late

Yes, I have just finished re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  It is the only one of the books that I've only read once, and it again was a thrilling experience.  Now without further ado I am off to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows while burning plenty of midnight oil!!

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Ireland Queries

Yeah, I'm just home from the bar.  I think it was the first time I'd actually stepped foot in a bar.  But let me explain first.

Several of my co-workers from the Cincinnati Museum Center get together each Tuesday at a Cincinnati bar called Molly Malone's.  This is Trivia Night.  I couldn't participate for the longest time because I worked evenings and on the very rare instance I had Tuesday off I was either busy or didn't really want to go anywhere.  Now I just have Bible Study every other Tuesday, so I decided that I would finally attend when I can.  It was great fun, and I think that our team tied for fourth place.

Do you know the only winner of the Triple Crown with the name of a US city in its name?  I did.  This horse was the last living Triple Crown winner until it died a couple of years ago.  Seattle Slew.

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Outage

If you read this blog and also post at the Section 77 Annex then please know that your browser isn't malfunctioning.  Dusty, who graciously hosts the Annex is having some difficulties with his hosting company and as a result things are down right now.  I'll mention something here when I know that things are back up an running--either that or you can keep checking the URL to see if the site is operational.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

On Target

I am currently meeting my goals, okay not all of them, but one in particular I have met thus far.  I started re-reading the Harry Potter series two days ago after work.  That first evening I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  Yesterday I finished Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  Finally a minute ago I finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.  Now after this point the books are a bit bigger, so I'm not planning to finish them in one night.  The only problem is that I'm afraid that I might finish before I can get my hands on book seven.

I don't want to cut things any closer, because I don't want to overshoot the deadline either though.  It is a tough dilemma.  Right now I'm going to go start on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as a way of distracting myself from the problem, ;-).  But before I go I do want to leave you with the closing paragraphs from book three.  I love reading such quality humour. I  was laughing (or at least chuckling) out loud as I reread this passage.

"What's that?" [Uncle Vernon] snarled, staring at the envelope Harry was still clutching in his hand.  "If it's another form for me to sign, you've got another--"

"It's not," said Harry cheerfully.  "It's a letter from my godfather."

"Godfather?" spluttered Uncle Vernon.  "You haven't got a godfather!"

"Yes, I have," said Harry brightly.  "He was my mum and dad's best friend.  He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of wizard prison and he's on the run.  He likes to keep in touch with me though...keep up with my news...check if I'm happy...."

And, grinning broadly at the look of horror on Uncle Vernon's face, Harry set off toward the station exit, Hedwig rattling along in front of him, for what looked like a much better summer than the last.

I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed these books.  Even when I'm re-reading them for the second time and I know everything major that happens, I'm still thoroughly enjoying the ride.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to say that all the way through Half-Blood Prince, but I'll try.  ;-)

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Um...wrong number?

I just received a strange phone call.  It was a collect call from the Kenton County Jail.  Now I don't know anyone likely to end up in jail who knows my house phone number so I thought it strange.  Then when it gave me the recorded part where the caller identifies himself it was a male voice saying "It's me."  Well I didn't recognize the voice and was sure it wasn't anybody I know then--anybody who might call me would surely use their name...  But strange.  I wonder who they were trying to call.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Political fun

I just caught the last few minutes of Sean Hannity's new show Hannity's America for the first time.  It was interesting, somewhat like listening to his radio show.  I enjoyed the time spent, I don't often have time to listen to good political radio or TV.  He had an excellent section on how wrong Rachel Carson was when she wrote Silent Spring and how many mistakes she made.  All those mistakes have cost the lives of countless people in Africa who have died of malaria after DDT was banned and mosquitoes proliferated.

Anyway, that isn't the best part of the evening.  I'm now watching the 1/2 Hour News Hour on the Fox News Channel.  It is hilarious!  If you've never watched it give it a try!  And if I'm the last person to start watching, then you didn't y'all tell me about it before this!

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Bible Study

I've not had the opportunity to attend a Bible Study or small group in quite some time because I've been so busy with unpredictable work schedules.  Last night several people from the Creation Museum were getting together for a Bible Study and I decided to attend.  It was great.  We started to go through Galatians, and will keep meeting every other week.  It was quite refreshing and a great experience.  I'll be definitely heading back in the weeks to come.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

No tags

I bought my annual Old Navy flag T-shirt a few days ago.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that they have embraced the "no tags" movement.  Okay, perhaps it isn't a movement, but it should be!  I remember seeing that Hanes was releasing T-shirts with printed tags a couple years ago.

For years I have cut tags off my shirts because I hate to feel them rubbing against my neck.  Finally I have a shirt where I don't have to do this!  :-)

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Johnny Mac

Someone from work told me that John MacArthur was preaching at her church.  As I haven't heard him preach in a couple years I decided to attend that service.  It was a powerful message from Second Corinthians about God being a reconciler.  2 Cor 5:21 is the heart and meat of the gospel: "He made Him who knew no sin sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

I didn't usually attend MacArthur's church when I was at Master's, but I heard him speak often.  Perhaps we heard other preaching so much I didn't appreciate it as much then.  The church I attend is great, but I miss the type of expository preaching that MacArthur does.  It was a very good sermon.  I even thought about talking to him afterwards.  He is apparently in the area for some sort of conference.  I thought about telling him that I graduated from Masters a couple years back and was now working at the Creation Museum.  Oh well, perhaps another time (whenever that might be ;-)).

It is interesting to see the church situation in the area.  Just as around Master's you could find faculty, staff, and students at many area churches of varying denominations so you can find Creation Museum and Answers in Genesis staff attending a variety of local churches.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Shiver me timbers

And where did we get that goofy expression?  Was it Robert Louis Stevenson?  I know he was responsible for quite a bit of what we think as traditional piracy in Treasure Island.  Anyway, I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End with my nephew Chase last night.  I quite enjoyed it.  I will strenuously avoid any spoilers here as there are those who may not have seen it.

I will simply state that if you enjoyed the first two you should see this one.  It reminded me a bit of the Matrix trilogy conclusion (due to the complexity of its plot and the many characters), but it was quite fun.  It wasn't a comedy, but it had many moments where I was laughing.  All the characters you liked in the first two movies are back in good form.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Noodle exercise

I was out running around with my nephew Chase tonight when we stopped by Wal-Mart for a couple things.  I'm always looking for good games.  After I called Chris to confirm that he would play a game tonight I purchased Cranium.  We managed to get in two games before midnight, with the teams tied.  Hopefully we'll play a tie-breaker tomorrow or the night after.  I've played the game before, but it has been a few years.  I think the last time I played might have been at a history major get together at Dr. Frazer's house.  That was a fun evening as I remember Dr. Stead playing.  He had to act like some famous woman and we were all cracking up watching him.

On the job front things are going very well.  Yesterday the Creation Museum opened with much fanfare.  We had over 4,000 guests (with many long lines) and a paltry 30-50 protesters across the road.  Yeah, they didn't really manage to do anything.  To be fair I don't think they even tried to disrupt anything inside the building, just waved their signs across the road.  It is a free country, they have their right to free speech and I do not begrudge them that.

I am a show host, which means that I am responsible for introducing shows in our theaters and getting the programs started.  I have become somewhat of the staff expert on the Planetarium (#7 when you click the link) as I was in there the first day when Dr. Lisle explained its workings.  Today I was stationed in the Last Adam (about Christ) Theater at the end of the museum tour, but before I headed down there I helped to train the Planetarium staff, only one of which had worked there previously.

If you do go through the walk through, please keep in mind that it was apparently completed sometime before the Museum was, as several concepts have changed.  Numbers 32 and 33 are now combined as a theater presentation in the Last Adam theater.  Starting today the Special Effects Theater has been renamed the Men in White theater after the show that it houses.  I'm sure that may change eventually (it certainly isn't tied to the exact current show), but that would be quite a while down the road.  I have heard that there are two completed Planetarium shows, but currently we only show one.  I don't have any inside information on when we might switch or start offering both.

Well I should get to bed now.  I went to bed early (by 23:00) last night, and yet I woke up early and had to toss and turn and doze fore more than an hour until it was actually time to get up.

~Matt


--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Yes I promised an update

This is almost it.  I've been coming home from work, checking critical e-mails and then heading straight to bed.  I have worked ten to eleven hour days all day this week (13.5 yesterday!).  But I'm loving it!  I've never liked a job this much.

Good night.

~Matt

PS Next week might be crazy, but not quite this bad.  Bug me then for more information.

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

I am alive

No really, this is me.  I am off to bed, so this will be short.

I LOVE MY JOB!!!  I told myself this several times today.  It was a long day (11 hours) but great!!!  I'm even going in for an extra day tomorrow because we're stretched so thin this week what with it being preview week for members (our dress-rehearsal week) and us being open three hours later than normal.

I should have more later.  But I will be working until nearly nine each night this week.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Good news (no question mark)

I talked to my current employers and they said they "don't want to hold me back" so they're fine with today being my last day.  This sounds great as I know that AIG can get me started training tomorrow if I'm free.  I'll probably even leave a bit early today just so I can tie up those ends a bit easier.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Gainful employment?

I got a call back from Answers in Genesis--their background check is still ongoing, but because it is taking so long and they're opening so soon (May 28) they want to hire me on a contingency basis (i.e. if the background check process turns up something really bad they'll let me go).  I accepted and will be figuring out how much notice I need to give my day job tomorrow.  I turned in notice at bigg's tonight that I would be quitting after my last scheduled day next week (whenever that is, I don't have that schedule yet).  That was exciting.

I'm hoping my current day job doesn't ask for two weeks tomorrow morning--if they insist I will give it to them (though I don't have to) because I feel that I owe them that much for the time (6-7 months) that I've been working there--but I just hope that they'd be happy with less.  I figure that they haven't offered me a real job in all this time, so they shouldn't really expect me to stick around forever.  I would be there still if the AIG thing hadn't landed in my lap after a search of their website.  I wasn't searching actively for work because I didn't have time--just on the lookout for really good opportunities.  What was the point of trying to squeeze in interviews for a job only marginally better than what I already had.  *shrugs*  Hopefully I'll have a good update tomorrow.  I know AIG wants me to start training ASAP, so I'll let you know when that actually happens.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Busy, Busy, Busy

First of all I should have mentioned it earlier, but today is Free Comic Book Day! If it isn't already too late in the day click the link above, enter your zip code, and find a participating store near you! You may not go to all the activities you'll find, but at least you can go and get free stuff. It is great fun!

Of course that isn't all I'm doing today. I've switched days at the Museum this weekend (I go in tomorrow after church to work instead of today). Today I am going up there to see Titanic with my sister, brother-in-law, Chris, and his girlfriend. Hopefully we can get up there in the first batch of people so we can avoid most of the crowds that may come later in the day. Many people still think this is the last weekend even though the exhibit has been extended for another week.

After we get through the exhibit I'll come home for my main reason for taking the day off (I planned to go through the exhibit with family earlier, but my brother-in-law flew an extra flight that interfered with those plans). I'm going to take three of my nerfs (the youngest boys) and head out to local comic book shops. Last year we just hit three. We'll be starting a bit later, but I plan to hit the two in Kentucky and at least a couple in Cincinnati. I figure the fun will be worth the extra gas--even if it is above $3.00 a gallon at every station I see!

Well now I need to head off to take a shower and get ready for the day. I just need to remember that I'm going to have fun today. That should be my primary concern as I'll try not to get annoyed by jerks on the road or other potential distractions. :-)

~Matt

1000 Days Before the Mast

Here is a recent entry in a blog that I've started reading. The two bloggers (Reid and Soanya) are aboard a sailboat in the Atlantic. They recently left New York (I think) and are planning to stay at sea for the next 1,000 (well a few less than that by now) days, circumnavigating the globe at least three times. It is a fascinating story, and there is usually at least one new post a day, sometimes more (with pictures). Check it out!

~Matt

PS If you do read several blogs or other sites with RSS feeds Google Reader is a great way to keep track of them, especially if you use more than one computer during the day. I keep track of all my blogs, news sites, and podcasts this way.

After the Storm

via 1000 Days Non-stop at Sea by Reid Stowe on Apr 30, 2007

April 30, 2007
Day 8,9

Stormy Weather
As most people have heard, photos of waves don't really show how large, steep, or fast they are moving or what happens when they crash on the boat, toss her about, find their way through new places, and keep coming for days on end. In this photo, they do look beautiful, but when viewed from the boat at sea they're awesome. To survive all of this is the story of man on the sea and these days it is the story of women too. We try to let nature take her course rather than wish for something else, especially since we did choose to cross the North Atlantic in the spring. When our friends on shore don't receive a communication from us it's because it's too rough, wet, and humid to take our electronic equipment out. We are a little worried about our technical equipment surviving these conditions and we've only just begun.
We have already weathered three separate storms where we had to take down most of our sail, and two nights and a day of constant lightening and thunder. In the midst of all this, we keep ourselves busy tending to all levels of surviving the high seas and appreciate all of our friends and sponsors who have made this opportunity possible.

Soanya's View:
Wow! I saw 20ft waves surround the boat. Reid says the wind builds up the waves and that it has to be windy for several days in a row to make big waves. I guess the conditions were right. They came in mountainous sets and made the boat really roll. Sometimes one would come so close to the rail that I would wonder if it would break over the boat or whether it would pass under. If it breaks, it's far better to be inside a closed hatch. Imagine liquid blue mountains rising and falling all around you, dancing to their own deep strong music and rolling off into the distance.




Reid Stowe and Soanya Ahmad
1000 Days Non-stop at Sea

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They should know better

The next time Tim Minear has a great idea for a TV show I dearly hope he goes to somebody other than FOX!!!  There have now been two shows produced by Tim and starring Nathan Fillian that FOX has canceled, Firefly and Drive.  I don't think that I have any respect left for the network.  they certainly don't have any other shows that I watch.

At least Firefly got a few more episodes.  I thought that Drive was fascinating and it had hooked me in from the very start.  Then it is canceled after four episodes with the news that the last two episodes may air during the summer.  Please, someone just keep the idiotic Fox executives away from any good show concepts.  They're sure to make hash of them and/or murder them prematurely.  *sigh*

I didn't realize it had been canceled until I finally realized this evening that I couldn't find a place on the official site to play the episode that I thought aired last night.  Instead I watched the episode of Heroes, and was really looking forward to relaxing in front of an hour of Drive only to have that hope cruelly snatched away.  Darn you Fox!!

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Independently mobile again

No this isn't my car, but practically identical. This image came from Wikipedia and is labeled as a 1995 year vehicle--mine is 1994, but the same colour. Unfortunately mine doesn't look so nice. It is once again drivable however!

I just received a call from my brother-in-law to say that the vehicle has been fixed. :-) It cost less than half of what it might have as the mechanic was able to salvage the wheel hub when repairing the brakes (I think that was what the problem was). I consider it quite a bargain when I realize what I might have had to pay.

Now I can stop borrowing family vehicles! I didn't ever get around to learning to drive stick though--I really need to do that so I can just borrow the truck if something goes wrong in the future. Now I just need to find the time. I hope to call AIG today and see what is going on. I really hope they still want to hire me, I'm just concerned that it has been so long with no communication. I want to make sure that no signals were crossed or misinformation communicated. If I can start working there I'll get my evenings free and have a life where I could learn to drive stick again without having to plan it a month in advance just to find the free time. ;-)

~Matt

Still waiting

I'm still waiting to hear back from Answers in Genesis. I thought that I would hear before this, after they told me about training starting next week. But I haven't heard anything since my interview on Wednesday. :(

~Matt

Once was lost

But now found...Everything just showed up again this morning. I'd still like to know what happened, but I'm also happy to see everything restored.

~Matt

Google's Vanishing Act

When I woke up this morning and logged onto Google to take a look at my homepage there, all my settings were gone!  Then when I started to change things back the changes didn't save properly.  They were there for a bit, then disappeared again.

I've always enjoyed working with Google, because they do great work.  I wish I knew what had happened here.  I didn't have anything vital in my homepage--I usually just use it to take a quick glance at things.  But I don't remember where I got all of the widgets I had installed there.  :(

I just hope that nothing happens to my Google Reader settings.  I would be lost without all of my blogs and podcast feeds aggregated there.  And no, don't suggest some program, I use too many computers to use a program (I tried it).  And I don't have an iPod (and hate iTunes anyway).

I found a thread in one of Google's forums where many other people complained of the same thing today--so it wasn't just me.  At this point I just wish one of the Google blogs I read would mention the problem so I would know I wasn't truly crazy or alone.

~Matt

PS I'm still waiting to hear back from Answers in Genesis, though my second interview did go very well.

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

A recent conversation

Matt: [content redacted to prevent severe bodily harm to self]
Julie: [content redacted to prevent severe bodily harm to self]
Matt: [content redacted to prevent severe bodily harm to self]
Julie: thank you!
Matt: [content redacted to prevent severe bodily harm to self]
Julie: [content redacted to prevent severe bodily harm to self]
Matt: [content redacted to prevent severe bodily harm to self]
Julie: gasp!
Matt: What?
Julie: [content redacted to prevent severe bodily harm to self]
Matt: [content redacted to prevent severe bodily harm to self]
Julie: [content redacted to prevent severe bodily harm to self]
Matt: [content redacted to prevent severe bodily harm to self]
Julie: [content redacted to prevent severe bodily harm to self]

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Sounding better

I just got a call back from Answers in Genesis.  I'm to go in for a second interview tomorrow at 16:00.  It will be squeezed in between my two jobs, but the guy I just talked to did mention that training would start soon and that they would want to get me in (assuming they make me an offer).  I think I'll leave a note for my manager at bigg's tonight letting him know that I'm seriously looking for work and may be leaving there soon.  My other job I'll wait to talk to them as I want to wait until I have something definite.  I'm just not sure about timing and the traditional two week notice.  Technically I don't have to give it with a temp job, and I may have to go that route--but I'm not sure.  I'm not even sure I'll get a good offer at this point, so I just need to wait and see.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

In Which I Borrow a Car

Doesn't that sound like a good episode or chapter title? Unfortunately it is true to life. My car wasn't doing so well as I started to drive home, with the brakes acting a bit strange. I called my brother-in-law for advice and he said to go ahead and come home, just go slow and keep back from other cars. I did this, but was still a bit nervous.

Today I borrowed his mom's car, and she said I could also use it tonight to get to bigg's. I'm not yet sure what tomorrow holds. I could borrow my brother-in-law's truck if I could drive stick, but unfortunately I cannot, and I don't really have enough time to learn. He did say that he would try to arrange for the repair shop he uses to take a look at my van. It has been abused greatly and I feel horrible for how it looks now compared to how nice it looked when my parents owned it.

Granted, it hasn't all been my fault, but still, I can't help but feel guilty, especially for the bit of damage I did cause by scraping the wall of my garage. But as my mom reminded me last night this is why I have a savings account. Of course unless you're saving for something special or a vacation you don't really want to spend that account--but sometimes you need to, and this will probably be one of those times.

~Matt

How high can you ply?

I'm just guessing here, but Sheryl Crow must not use one-ply toilet paper. She claims to have a great new idea to combat global warming. Here she is in her own words:

"I propose a limitation be put on how many squares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting..." using "only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required."

Hmmm...right, and in which universe does Sheryl live? I can only assume that she must be talking of 15 or 20 ply paper here, but how would that be more environmental than using more squares of one or two ply?

This is just absurd! I did see this article directly on the BBC, but thanks to Michelle Malkin for bringing the news to my attention first.

~Matt
--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Divorced from the reality of math

Here is an article from Reuters on the rising use of British private eyes by those involved in divorce proceedings. Apparently marriage laws in the UK are much more lax than those in the US. As far as I can determine not only men and women are involved in these marriages. I don't know who or what the other parties are, but they must be there somewhere if the math is to be believed.

Of those who used a private investigator, 30 percent were women, while 19 percent were men, the survey shows.

If we take those numbers at face value only 49% of those involved were men OR women! I'd really like to know what the other 51% were!

~Matt

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Cravings of Normalcy

Could this day actually be normal? I'm not sure, but I hope that it turns into such. I was quite relaxed today--I even slept in. My nephew and I went to second service, as well as one other nephew that wanted to stick around for a second Sunday school class.

Then I spent the rest of the day enjoying myself, including fixing more strawberry shortcake for the rest of my sister's family and watching a movie with the nerfs (Flushed Away). Of course I'll have to do laundry tomorrow, but I am baking my bread right now and so things aren't that bad off.

For now I cry pardon for the lateness and brevity. I must needs slip off to bed. Thankee, sai.

~Matt

PS The Dark Tower? Why would you ask? You thinking I'm reading the comic series "The Gunslinger Born" to get back into the world of the Tower? Would I do such a thing?

Resistance is Futile

One of my nephews is spending the night tonight at my apartment. I always enjoy having time for this, though I had to work at bigg's last night so I had no chance then. Whenever my job situation improves I hope to have most nights free.

I told him that we could cook whatever dessert he could find in one of my cookbooks. It is an old alphabetical cookbook from Gold Medal Flour. I did deny one request to make a cake. Then he choose gingerbread cookies. I would have, but I noted that the dough had to set for 1-2 hours before you could continue--that was enough for him.

Finally he settled on strawberry shortcake. If I was in California I would probably have some fresh berries, but alas I did not. Therefore we drove to the nearest Kroger where I procured said berries along with a couple of other supplies. Then I came home, cooked the shortcake and we enjoyed a delicious dessert. Oh, just to whet your appetites here is a picture. Enjoy!

~Matt

Where was this when I was in college?

Inventors have created a soap infused with caffeine which helps users wake up in the morning.

The soap, called Shower Shock, supplies the caffeine equivalent of two cups of coffee per wash with the stimulant absorbed naturally through the skin, manufacturers say.

"Tired of waking up and having to wait for your morning (coffee) to brew?" ask the makers, thinkgeek.com.

Scented with peppermint oil, each bar is designed to provide a stimulant boost within five minutes.

- Reuters

This would have been great (minus the peppermint scent)!!  You could sleep in a few more minutes if you knew that your shower would wake you up that much faster!  ;-)

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Interview

Today I ventured out to the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum (nearing completion) for an interview. I think it went rather well for an initial interview. I have hopes that I'll be called back in for a second interview. I don't want to say too much (be too optimistic), but I'm quite hopeful now. Now to just pray that this is the open door God would have me go through (or that if it is to close I could at least avoid it hitting me in the face as I readjust, ;-)).

~Matt

Victory for life!

Thankfully the Supreme Court has upheld the Congressional partial-birth abortion ban!!

Observers say the decision reflects the recent addition to the court of two conservative justices appointed by President Bush.

Wonderful! Sounds great to me. Now if we can only get rid of Ginsberg and/or Stevens and replace them with more people that actually respect the Constitution.

The Bush administration has defended the law as drawing a line between abortion and what they say is infanticide.
But abortion rights groups say the decision is a blow that could threaten most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
They say the procedure is sometimes the safest for a woman.

Cry me a river. I hope it does threaten more abortions! They are ALL murder. But this is a good first step down a long road. Hopefully we can keep momentum going.

It is good to see some good news to balance out the horror of the Virginia school massacre. Of course when you look at things objectively I'm sure far more than 32 babies were mercilessly butchered on that same day in just the state of Virginia. So as much as I might dislike judicial review in practice this one instance is good in that the Court has given some power back to the rightful purview of the legislature.

~Matt

Assuming the worst

Reading named worst for families

When I saw the preceding headline by the BBC I immediately assumed the worst, that they were claiming that reading was bad for families.  Then I reconsidered and wondered if it was something that families weren't doing enough of (I'm sure that is true) and that thus current conditions were bad for families.

Then I started to read the article and it all made sense.  I do enjoy reading Commonwealth (UK, Australia, New Zealand) news, but some things do trip me up because I'm not familiar with them.  Place names are one of those, especially on a local level.  I know Manchester, or London, or Canberra, but smaller locales aren't quite so familiar.

A Berkshire town has been named the worst place in Britain to bring up a family, according to a new survey.
The Reader's Digest poll asked 1,000 parents to list the things that make for a family-friendly environment.
The researchers then ranked places on how they scored against the criteria - which included crime rates, good local hospitals and affordable housing.
Reading was last in 408th place, while Oxford was 399th. The Scottish district of East Dunbartonshire came top.

~Matt


--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Sanity...finally!

Minnesota's Muslim cab drivers face crackdown

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Muslim cab drivers at Minnesota's biggest airport will face new penalties including a two-year revocation of their taxi permits if they refuse to give rides to travelers carrying liquor or accompanied by dogs, the board overseeing operations ruled Monday.

The Metropolitan Airports Commission, responding to complaints about the liquor issue, voted unanimously to impose the new penalties beginning in May.

A large number of taxi drivers in the area of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are Muslim Somali immigrants. Many say they feel the faith's ban on alcohol consumption includes transporting anyone carrying it.

It is about time! It was stupid to allow this practice to go on. Get out of the business if you have reservations like this. Under no circumstances (save private religious observation) should Sharia law be allowed to exist in the United States. It isn't compatible with republican government as it mandates certain legal practices (unlike a Christian who can easily live under the rule of a non-Christian government).

Hopefully a crackdown on supermarket clerks who refuse to scan bacon or ham will come next. They should either be reassigned to a position where they could never come into contact with the stuff. Get over their objections. Or be fired/quit. I don't see any other options. Accommodating this kind of behavior is just stupid. We shouldn't even take one baby step towards being the Islamic Republic of America.

~Matt

PS

Thanks to OneRing.net I found the following review of the Children of Húrin at LibraryJournal.com. If you didn't like LotR (Like Mark the Heretic) then don't bother to glance at this volume. It isn't LotR II either, but set much earlier in the history of Middle-earth during the eras covered by the Silmarillion. As I mentioned in my last post I'm swinging by my local Borders to pick this up as soon as I get off work! Then I'm putting my other books on hold so I can immediately delve into the tale!

~Matt

Clear the calendar

Tomorrow the Children of Húrin is released. I would pick up my copy before work if I could, but I'll have to content myself with acquiring it between morning and evening jobs.

~Matt
--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Can I Explain?

Well it seems that at least one person was confused by my blog entry last night. I'm not sure why. I was just trying to communicate information about my latest job offerings. I can provide you with more information at this time, courtesy of the diabolical Julie. Here if the full recruitment pitch. Oh, I did edit the transcript slightly to include some informative and interesting links. Check some of them out, especially the multiple Colorado links!

Julie: Message: Mr. Graubner we are pleased to announce that you have been accepted into despot training STOP we will expect to hear from you as soon as is feasible STOP we hope that you will accept our scholarship offer STOP

me: Oh, I like telegrams like this!

When do I start?

Julie: right away!

but you have to travel back in time to a country who needs a despot first.

me: What about Colorado?

I could be a good Colorado despot!

Julie: i don't think Colorado is currently on our list.

California is, though

me: Why not Colorado? I like California, but Colorado has some great scenery. I could build a nice mansion somewhere on the Mesa. Oh, what about turning Land's End into a waterfall? Is that a good despotic project?

Julie: That would be an excellent project. I like your initiative. I'll talk with the current despot of Colorado (otherwise known as the congress) and see if i can get you an internship.

They may deny your request, however. They truly enjoy inflicting their own tyranny.

me: Yeah, well they've had more practice. It isn't really fair the head start they have.

Julie: I agree. But since it's a despotism, i have no grounds to protest.

It's part of the rules.

me: But I think a successful coup d'etat might get me a passing grade.

I've made preparations.

Julie: Very good! You even have a media for propaganda! This is even better than we'd hoped.

me: I even have a group of people brainwashed into following me. They get their instructions from an on-line message board--little do they understand the subliminal messages I programmed into its code!

Julie: Mr. Graubner, you may be able to test out of these classes at this rate. I will try to push a recommendation through to the upper level training commander that you be moved through the ranks as soon as possible!

me: That sounds acceptable to me.

Send me more information in the morning, right now I must go to my beauty sleep so that I make plot more dastardly deeds on the morrow (and continue in my efforts to memorize the Evil Overlord List!).

Julie: As you wish.

~Matt

I've been recruited

I'll be seeing y'all.  But I think I'll be too busy to communicate in this mundane fashion in the future (unless I need some propaganda practice).

Message: Mr. Graubner we are pleased to announce that you have been accepted into despot training STOP we will expect to hear from you as soon as is feasible STOP we hope that you will accept our scholarship offer STOP

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Wow that's desperate

Can you imagine being so short of troops that you needed to draft four-week-old boys? Welcome to Germany.

The German Army sent a draft notice to a four-week-old baby named Lucio, ordering him to report for duty within the next 10 days, before realising it had blundered.

Of course it was a mistake, but still quite humorous. Imagine trying to get combat boots that small.


~Matt

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Sparks

I haven't built up this much static electricity in a while, or at all that I can really remember.  I have hardwood floors and am wearing shoes, so it wasn't the stereotypical socks on carpet.  I just put my hand up to brace myself as I leaned over to examine my thermostat.  My index finger was perhaps a quarter of an inch away when it happened.

I saw a bright spark connect my finger and the metal of the thermostat.  I also felt it and heard a snap.  I've felt such shocks before, but never really seen one like this.  It was very bright, like an electrical or fire starting spark.  I didn't realize you could inadvertently build up static that powerfully.

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Matches

Have you ever tried to find matches at Wal-Mart?  Perhaps it is only the one that I went to, but I couldn't find them anywhere!  Well I suppose I could have gotten the small boxes that were at the check-out lanes, but I wanted big boxes that don't run out so quickly.  I checked in sporting goods and was directed towards hardware and lawn and garden.  From there I was sent a few other places and I never did find them anywhere.

Then I went to Kroger, asked at the Customer Service desk and the guy pointed towards the store's front wall.  "Right there by the charcoal."  Wow, that was easy!

~Matt

PS But I didn't look too closely.  I didn't realize they were strike on box until I got home.  But I did get three boxes for less than $1.50, and they each have a couple hundred matches!  <insert evil grin here>

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Sleepover

Last night I slept over at my sister's place. She and most of the family headed down to my brother Larry in Tennessee to enjoy some Spring Break vacation. One of the older boys stayed behind, mostly so that he could get in some extra hours at McDonald's I think. Well, my sister asked me to stay over last night when he had some friends over.

I haven't gone anywhere in a while, so I did have to think for a bit before I got everything together that I would need. I needed the chargers for my cell phone and PDA as well as a spare alarm clock to ensure that I would wake up on time. Then I brought some of the bread that I baked yesterday, and the rest of the fixings for lunch (except for the chips, I stole those from my sister, ;-)).

I even remembered all of my toiletries, though I shaved last night rather than bringing my razor over. Well I slept well and even woke up early thanks to a second alarm on my cell phone. That one I set so I'd get up early enough to get the bread ready yesterday. I didn't get up with it (about thirty minutes early) but I did doze off and on and then got up about five minutes early rather than my usual five minutes late. That bit of time made a difference, even with the slightly different routine here at my sister's house rather than at my apartment.

I was ready to go about ten minutes before I need to. Then I discovered a problem. I couldn't find my keys. At first I looked everywhere that I'd been in the house (only a couple places as I pretty much just went straight to bed last night) and couldn't find them! Then I was thinking that I was sure I'd had them and they must be here, so I looked everywhere again. Finally I reflected again and realized that I wasn't so sure I'd had them last night after all. I do need to lock the door of my apartment when I leave, but not the front door of the building.

My hands were full when I left to cross the street last night, and I'm sure that I somehow just forgot them. Thankfully this is the first time this has happened in six months. Because of the cold snap though, even though I'm at my sister's place I elected to leave my car in my garage, figuring that a bit longer walk was worth a warmer car. This though leaves my car locked inside my apartment. I do have a spare car key, but no spare apartment key.

I'm going to call my landlord later (at what I can figure is a decent hour) and see when he could let me in. At that time I need to ask him if I can get a spare key that I could leave here at my sister's place. I'm not too worried about work besides the lost pay as they've not been keeping me that busy (in contrast to the Cincinnati plant where there is plenty that I could be doing right now!). I called in and let them know of the situation. Once I get access to my car I'll call them back and figure out the plan for the day.

Joy, joy, joy... ;-)

~Matt

PS UPDATE No, Mark, you may not quote me yet again, but I am an idiot. Of course this only happened after I left a message with my landlord (and haven't heard back) and finally called work to tell them that I couldn't make it in for sure. I found my keys. I replaced the water in one of my nephew's frog cages (as apparently needs to happen each day). His brother is supposed to do it, but he is still sleeping and I doubted that he would remember. I started moving the cages around and spot my keys laying there. Of course it is only now that I remember that my sister's front door was locked last night so I had to use my key to open it.

Earlier I couldn't remember that and so could convince myself that I must have left my keys. By this point the work day is nearly half over. I'll miss the day of pay, but I don't really want to have to call back in at this point--I'll just write off this day as a mistake and head into work tomorrow morning.

I'm too lazy

to type much tonight. So I settled for another picture post. Enjoy yet another view of the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal. Thanks.

~Matt

PS If anyone visits me now I have a membership (free to employees) so I can get anyone in with me to one of the museums for free (with no notice). If I didn't have the card I'd have to request a comp ticket which takes a few days and you have to know exactly when you'll want to use it. Now I don't have to do that unless I have more than one person to get in. I think back to when I showed Mark and Julie the building. I could have gotten either of them into the museums, if only so briefly if I'd had the membership then (as I could have if I'd known of it!).

~Matt

Winter is over!

Wonderful Morning

This morning was great.  One of my nephews slept over.  I woke up early and dozed back to sleep.  At some point I heard my nephew get up, and he went out to my living room and started quietly watching DVDs.  I eventually got up a bit before eight, came out and finished up my work for church tomorrow (I put the song slides together).

Then I had plenty of time to cook an omelet for breakfast, take a shower, fix my lunch, and still have a couple minutes to watch the DVD that my nephew was enjoying.  I didn't really feel rushed before I had to leave around 9:15.

It was quite relaxing and not a bad way to start the day, especially when I knew it would be a good day at work.  I wish that more of my days were like this, but I don't want to get up at five or five thirty, so I only leave a half-hour to get up and get ready each morning.  What with returning from my night job so late I just need time to unwind at night and would rather cut sleep than never have any weekday free time.

I am getting tired of it (as I've mentioned far too often)--but that is why I'm hoping that at the very least I can interview for the Answers in Genesis position.  But anyway, I don't mind working so early when it give me more time before my night job (taking fifteen to twenty minutes to go home, fifteen to twenty to get to the other job and thus only having twenty or fewer minutes wasn't fun when I first started this crazy routine).  However, once I can hopefully settle down to one day job and the Museum for fun on the weekends I would definitely not mind a later start time!

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Serene

Today I got a bit homesick for Firefly, so after work I popped in my DVD of Serenity.  I haven't watched it in a while, so it was refreshing.  Of course now I'm just more homesick for another movie, more TV, or at least more comics.  Only the last have been promised, so I suppose I'll set my sights there so as not to be disappointed.  ;-)

~Matt

--
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

The Jack Dixon Casefiles

I'm not sure if you'll guess this from reading this entry, so I'll make it easy and spill the beans up front. I was addicted to the Hardy Boys books growing up. I did start to write some stories as a kid (including one that was heavily influenced by Brian Jacques' Redwall series) but they never really went anywhere unless they were also school projects. That is where the genesis of my sci-fi universe lays, in a short-story project in my junior year of high school. Sadly that remains one of only two short stories that I've completed (though it desperately needs reworking).

Here I'll start to share some stories that were written all of the way back in 1994! Yep, it has been nearly (they were written in September if the date labels are to be believed) a baker's dozen of years since these were written, but I thought they might provide some ammusement


The first offering I give you is Jack and the Alaska Trip - Wilderness Crash I hope you enjoy reading this lite fare.

It was the first day of Christmas vacation for Jack. He decided to go backpacking in the mountains. Since he lived on an island with no mountains, he planned to fly to Alaska. So he bought plane tickets, but he found out at the last minute that he had been given tickets to China. What was he going to do?? He could not get a refund, the airline would not allow that now. Neither would they admit that they had made a mistake by giving Jack the wrong tickets. He also did not have enough money to buy other tickets. So he decided to go to China.

In the morning he drove to the airport and boarded his plane. He found out that there was to be an overnight refueling stop in Alaska. When the plane took off, however, he learned from the pilot that they were flying over but not landing in Alaska. Jack was crestfallen.

Just then a terrorist stood up and demanded to see the pilot. He was refused. So he took out of his suitcase four sticks of dynamite. He said that he would set them off if he was not allowed to talk to the captain. So a stewardess took him to the cockpit. He told the pilot to reroute the flight north-west to Russia. The pilot agreed, of course.

Then the pilot looked at the gas gauge. He screamed “We’re out of gas!!!!!!” Then the engines coughed and spluttered. With a sudden explosion the plane began to descent rapidly. That was when everybody realized that the plane was going to crash.

They crashed right in the middle of Alaska, where there were no people for eight hundred miles in any direction. The pilot and everyone in the cockpit were killed. So Jack and the other passengers were on their own. Luckily there was a nurse on board. She treated the stewardess for minor injuries. Since it was in the middle of winter the plane had become everyone’s home. The first thing Jack did was to get his dog out of the baggage compartment of the plane. The dog was a purebred Doberman Pincer, named Wayne. Jack and a man named Shaw, who lived on the same island got everyone’s luggage for them. Then Shaw, Jack, and a native Alaskan named Joe hunted for food. They borrowed rifles from three of the five soldiers on board to guard against terrorists. The soldiers had not had time enough to get their guns out before the terrorist was killed in the crash. When the three boys went hunting they shot and killed one moose, three deer, and three elk. They went hunting every other day after that. They went on like that for two weeks. Then a plane flew over the wreck and spotted them. Within two days all the passengers had been picked up and flown back home

~Matt

PS Oh, the two dogs were based off the two dogs that I had growing up, if only in species.

Dessert

For the first time in a while I'm treating myself to dessert. Okay, truthfully the problem is that I've been too lazy to cook any more cookies or similar desserts for a while, and I don't want to pay for anything from the store, so I've been stuck.

Tonight I defrosted some raspberries and blackberries and added them to some vanilla ice cream. It isn't at all complicated, but it does taste good.

~Matt

A Perfect Oportunity?

What may be the perfect employment opportunity has just presented itself to me--or at least I've been made aware of the possibilities.  It is a "guest services" position at the soon to open Answers in Genesis Creation Museum here in Northern Kentucky!  This appears to be quite similar to what I do at the Museum Center at Union Terminal.

Coupling my over two years of experience doing that with my commitment to Creation I hope that I at least have a shot at being interviewed.  I took the first step of telling them of my interest via the AIG website.  Not I just have to wait for the HR individual to return my message and I can send off my resume, cover letter, and other documents.

I would appreciate prayers.  At first glance this looks like a perfect opportunity (though I don't know what the job pays).  I don't hate where I am now--but it isn't what I want to be doing in ten years if they end up hiring my on full-time.  Of course they might just string me along as a temp for months.  This wouldn't be so bad but I don't have health insurance and I need to keep working at bigg's.

I'm getting quite tired of that and having no life.  No Saturdays free because I choose to work at the Museum Center is one thing.  Having no nights free because I have to slave away at bigg's is quite another altogether!

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

There's the downside

I just received my second (or third?) phone call on my phone line.  Anybody want to guess what it was?  Yeah, a sales call!  I need to go put the number on the Do-Not-Call list.  It is nice in one way that the call is just for me and I don't have to say on behalf of someone that they're not interested.  I can just say definitively that I'm not interested in any offers!  :-)

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Laundry

I hate doing laundry.  I have a couple loads in right now, including one that should be done in the dryer that I forgot about.  *sigh*  It just takes too long.

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero