From the AP:
A man has taken flight in a lawn chair hoisted by more than 150 large helium-filled party balloons in a bid to ride the wind from the central Oregon town of Bend all the way to Idaho.
Wow.
Archive for the 'General' Category
Here’s the situation: You’re at home, your wife calls from the mall and she locked her keys in her car. She remembers an awesome email she received that said she should call her husband at home because he has the other keyless entry to her car and have him push the unlock button while she holds her phone to the car. She tells him to try it. He tells her it will not work. Guess what… it won’t work.
Once again, beware the FW: FW: FW: FW: FW: with 12,873 email addresses on it. The content in that chain letter probably is not true.
Tomorrow, my sister gets married and my daughter is having her third birthday party. It’s hard to believe that this picture of my sister (left) is 20 years old; my daughter (right) is almost that age and has the same love for dance outfits. Congratulations Lindsay! Happy Birthday Sarah! I love you both.
My good friend, Tim Ellsworth, has written a new book entitled, “God in the Whirlwind.”
From lifewaystores.com:
When a powerful EF-4 tornado with winds in excess of 200 miles per hour slammed the Union University campus on February 5, 2008, destroying eighteen dormitory buildings and causing $40 million in damage, the immediate assumption was that dozens if not hundreds of lives would have been lost. Miraculously, nobody died, and the next morning major media outlets flocked to Jackson, Tennessee, where Union students and faculty credited God for their survival and got to share their faith with millions worldwide.
God in the Whirlwind recounts the entire experience through twenty eye-of-the-storm accounts from those who saw the walls and ceilings crashing down upon them and felt their ears pop as the pressure dropped, from anxious parents who waited for their child’s call, and from Union leaders who marvel at the university’s unbroken spirit in the face of such devastation. This inspiring book also includes eighty photographs that visualize God’s mighty hand upon nature and his gentle hand of grace.
Still not available on Amazon, but you can purchase it online from LifeWay.
“If You Can’t Read ‘Then You’ve Got, the Army, Iraq” - Stephen King
Wow. Thanks.
Earlier this week, Drew was given a small U.S. flag that he is very proud of. That same day he skipped his nap and was pretty tired as we did our nightly routine before bed. We got ready for bed, said our prayers, and recited catechism. Before we tucked him in, I asked him if he could say the Pledge of Allegiance with his new flag. The following is an exact quote.
(With his little hand over his heart) I pledge allegiance to the Flag- of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, induh-induh-vis-ible, and have everlasting life. John 3:16.
Kids are so precious.
We were awoken at about 4:35 (9:35UTC) this morning by an earthquake in Southern Illinois. Being half-asleep, I thought someone was running on our second story roof. I came to my senses, we grabbed the kids, and headed to our safe spot to ride it out.
USGS.com puts the earthquake at M5.4 with an epicenter just northwest of Mt. Carmel, IL, and 5 miles deep.
UPDATE: The USGS has revised the temblor (thank you Bill Jacks) to a 5.2.
From Fox News:
MARION, Ill. - A federal agency is investigating the case of a baby apparently sent home with the wrong family from a southern Illinois hospital. Officials say the mistake happened in March at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion.
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health says the hospital wasn’t required to report the matter but it did on April 4th.
She says the state did an investigation on behalf of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That’s a federal agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid, under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Peter Leonis is a spokesman for the centers, and he says findings of the investigation may be available within weeks.
The hospital, meanwhile, isn’t commenting, citing patient privacy laws.
Wow, this is just one of many crazy stories I have heard concerning this hospital. Personally, I drive the extra 15 minutes to Carbondale.
Whether we agree on the mission or not, we should all remember the many men and women that are fighting for our country. Pray for them, let them know you support them. Help their families out any way you can while they are away. I can’t imagine leaving my family for a month, let alone a year (or longer).
Brian, Travis, and the countless others- thank you for your service.
Yes, I love “The Chronicles of Narnia”, “Mere Christianity”, “The Screwtape Letters”, and even “Out of the Silent Planet”. But this post is not referring to the author of the aforementioned literature. I am actually referring to one Charlotte Staples Lewis (no relation to Clive Staples Lewis that we know of). She is one of the newest characters on LOST.
In it’s fourth season, Lost has left the confines of the island and introduced many new characters that are not from the island, although Miles looks eerily similar to Dr. Marvin Candle from the first season. One of the newest characters, part of a privately-funded task force bent on finding the island, is Charlotte Staples Lewis. I immediately recognized the similarity to the creator of Narnia’s name. Like always, we know little about her or where she came from. It is obvious that her light-blue eyes look nearly identical to Ben’s.
The dullness of the start of season 3 has been redeemed by the start of this season, IMO. I have enjoyed the first two eps of this season and look forward to the remaining 6. I will pass on the information I recently read that hints at an additional 6 episodes that may be produced for this season if the striking writers vote yes today.
My friend Tim posted the following on his blog:
Now I know how Jack Bauer feels.
The past 24 hours have been the most intense day of my life. Many of you have read about the tornado that ripped through the Union University campus last night, reducing several dorm buildings to heaping piles of debris and trapping nine students in the process. (Timmy Brister has a good collection of resources, and The Jackson Sun is another place where you can find lots of info.)
To walk around the campus and survey the damage, there’s only one logical conclusion: that God’s providence is the only reason nobody was killed. It is staggering to see these buildings now and wonder how everyone got out alive. Thanks be to God for His kindness to us.
Click here to continue the article in it’s entirety over at Tim’s blog.
Please consider making a donation to:
Union University Disaster Relief Fund
1050 Union University Drive
Jackson, TN 38305
It was recently brought to my attention by my friend Carrie that it is advisable to store a contact number with the name of ‘ICE’ in your cell phone or digital device. If you’re in a situation that you cannot communicate after an emergency, the hospital or other emergency personnel can easily find your “In Case of Emergency” contact person. So, go enter your emergency contact’s number in your cell phone and name it “ICE”.
Click here to see a story on this in the Washington Post.
How many times have you been watching your favorite DVD and had to continuously adjust the volume? Are you frustrated with not being able to clearly hear the dialogue over the sound track of the movie? You’re not alone. Relying totally on your TV speakers is the problem. Even though your TV may say “Surround Sound” or “Simulated Surround Sound”, its not surround sound! Why?? The answer is the movie you are watching is encoded with something called 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound or better. Quite simply, this means the DVD was designed with 6 discrete audio channels. The channels consist of front left and front right, center, surround left and surround right. The “.1” refers to the ultra low frequency bass channel for a sub-woofer. Check out the diagram below. The sub-woofer is not shown in the diagram but would typically be located in the upper left corner of the room.
My good friend Mitch, is the most recent editor assigned to the Home Theater and Tech beat of jeremyfrombenton.com. He is the most knowledgeable person I know when it comes to the setup and cabling associated with HT. I have learned much from him and you will too. Enjoy.