Well -- really -- my employer got me an iPhone ...

All in all I like it ...

Pros

Intuitive and clean interface
Does most things I want it to do. It makes calls. It plays mp3s. I can check Gmail on it. I can read Google Reader on it.
Seems stable (at least with a weeks "compliant" use -- see unlocking below)

Cons

If you are dialing up a number that is going to require you to enter a number afterwards (like an extension) you have to click the numberpad button AFTER dialing to get back there ...
Doesn't have a Flash plugin.

It won't allow you to install third party apps without "unlocking" it. This doesn't bother me that much. I am not planning on using a device that size in place of my laptop. It also has a built-in camera which I would be tempted to slam except that I used it to take 130+ pictures of a family visit to Afton Villa in St. Francisville. We forgot our regular digital camera. The photos are not great but they captured some moments that would have been lost otherwise.

I have managed to work around some of the clunky cons for my purposes (streaming audio, instant messaging) ... Meebo.com handles the instant messaging flawlessly. Orb.com allows me to stream content from a Windows machine which allows me to listen to my Yahoo Music content remotely. Its KIND of slow so I am not thrilled with the solution but one can say it DOES work. It sometimes misses small blocks of the songs. I may try the Orb 1.0 interface and see if that resolves the issue. I have heard people have had problems with 2.0. -- I know using a Windows middleman is not a true Mac die hard solution BUT I am not a Mac die hard. I am a realist that needs to use the iPhone.

Jott + Google Calendar + any phone - I am using this as my primary calendar because its real time. I do not have to sync my phone to keep it up to date. I make a phone call to Jott

Jott: "Who do you want to Jott?"
Me: "Google Calendar"
Jott: "Google Calendar. Is that correct?"
Me: "Yes"
Jott: (beep)
Me: "Call St. Francisville Chamber of Commerce at 9:30 am Wednesday"

Within three minutes it is on my schedule and usually spelled right (the example above is real). No sync required. In fact, I have removed all appointments on the Calendar application on the phone itself. I simply don't like it. Google Calendar has every option I need. I can sync with Outlook now using Google Calendar Sync.

First off a late Happy Easter to everyone!

Matt 18:2-4 He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

written Easter Sunday 2008

Today my wife and I took the kids to the park to fly their kite. It was easy to get the kite into the air as it was quite windy today. Each of my children had multiple opportunities to display their kite flying skills.

Unfortunately, disaster struck. Our oldest son flew the kite into a tree. The boys ran to me and asked me to do something about it. I fought valiantly like a fisherman hauling in his catch and finally the string broke. I told the boys that it was over. The kite was stuck in the tree and we would never be able to get it down. They both looked down and moped with me for a moment ... As we were walking away from our lost kite my four year old son asked me "Daddy can you pray that God would get the kite down" ... With little faith, I responded to his request, knowing that the kite was as much a part of that tree as the trunk. "Dear God, please help the kite to find its way out of the tree." My two boys responded ... "Amen" ...

Time passed and we went from slide to swing. At least an hour passed. All the while the kite was staring at us from across the park some thirty feet off the ground, stuck in its fixed branch fate. Finally my youngest son asked to go to the bathroom. Being as this is a park and the bathrooms are none too clean I figured I could be of much assistance. Also I did not want to leave my son alone anywhere in the park ... Yes, dad to the bathroom is a must. Afterwards my son wanted to get a drink of water, which at the park means he wants to spend time filling up the water fountain to the point it overflows onto the grass and THEN get a drink. After spending some quality time at the water fountain we started to head back over to the slides. Meanwhile my wife was headed towards the swings so we slightly diverted that way to meet her. I took a glance over at our poor stuck kite. Just as I looked I noticed it shift slightly up the branch in a way more favorable to catching the wind. I walked towards my wife to tell her that the kite moved some and maybe, just maybe it might come down. I turned back to look and it lifted off the branch and started sailing across the park.

I took off towards it and met it landing towards the ground. After a little maintenance, I handed it to the kids. I overheard the two boys. My four year old exclaimed "you know, we prayed to God and He came through." My six year old responded "Yeah, after all He is risen from the dead" ...

Matt 18:10 See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

Everyone have a blessed Holy Week ...

This time of year is always the busiest for my blog. I get 5-10 times more traffic this week than other week in the year. If you are looking for my Easter Vigil Experience you can find it in my conversion story. It is also linked on the right and in this blog entry.

If you would like to post comments, leave them here.

My brother was in to visit from frigid Alaska

My brother Joe came to visit this weekend which was a good reason for my family to get together. It was good to see him. It was also good to see the rest of my family including my nephews and neice. I found out one of my nephews wife is expecting as well. News is exciting in our family!

As an aside, have you ever wondered why we have a gender neutral reference to brothers and sisters (siblings) but not for nieces and nephews? ... neichews? ... And what about a gender specific designator for cousin? Gotta love English.

My brother and his girlfriend also came by today and gave all four of my children shirts from Alaska. I think my kids would freak out in a place that cold! I made sure to introduce my brother to my latest time wasting diversion, Slacker.com. I even got him to help me put together a station of things he likes.

We will homeschool next year

In our family news I want to note that we have DECIDED to homeschool next school year. We have enrolled Benjamin with St. Thomas Aquinas Academy because we like the classical curriculum and we really want to ensure we are doing justice to our child by educating him at home. Thus I personally like someone external to us being in on the whole process (besides the local homeschooling group). For those concerned about our decision to homeschool I have taken great care to enumerate our reasons and the known negatives of homeschooling. We are not making this decision rashly.

For my family members reading this on Facebook ... Tell your parents to get on Facebook or they risk aging faster. Also Keep in touch will ya!

How Christians came to accept the Sexual Revolution

There are some fascinating items in this article. I have included a hand full here which are particularly interesting regarding NFP.

A (Vatican) ruling in 1853 declared that such a use of periodic abstinence was not immoral. The question flared up again, and in 1880 the same ruling was repeated.

...

In 1855 W. Tyler Smith, a member of the Royal College of Physicians in London wrote detailed anatomical observations of the vagina, the cervix, the cervical os, and cervical mucus.viii He noted that cervical mucus affords a vehicle for sperm transport and that the most fertile time of the cycle appeared to be when cervical mucus was at its most fluid state.

...

In 1877 Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi discovered the postovulation upward shift in temperatures ... but it was not until 1926 that a Dutch gynecologist, Theodore Hendrik van de Velde, finally realized that the approximately mid-cycle temperature rise was caused by ovulation.

... (and an important summary)

The points I wish to assert are 1) that God had revealed, in the loose sense of the word, the two most important factors in contemporary systematic natural family planning well before Margaret Sanger instigated the American culture wars and 2) that the Catholic Church had accepted the principle of using systematic NFP even before the discovery of these two crucial factors in modern fertility awareness.

And one stands ...

The article also shows how the systematic breakdown of marriage from denying it a sacrament, to allowing divorce in difficult circumstances eventually degraded to mutual consent divorce, contraception, consensual sex amongst any two (or more) willing persons. The logic behind abortion also follows the same reasoning as it is necessary for our addiction to "free (from consequence) sex". The slope continues (polygamy, polyandry, rape and incest are still illegal) ...

Plenty of others had way better things to say about them as well ...

Paulos Faraj Rahho

Toby has a touching and thoughtful entry on the Parousians blog regarding the tragic death of Paulos Faraj Rahho, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul in Iraq. See He Has Finished the Race

"New" 7 deadly sins

Also, everyone was talking about the "New" seven deadly sins earlier this week. I would be remiss in my duty in leaving out something mentioning this. The fact is, it should have been a non-story. "The media incorrectly interpreted this application to the social sphere as an update of the Church's seven deadly sins." There are no new deadly sins. Consider these new ones social sins. They are:

1. genetic modification
2. human experimentations
3. polluting the environment
4. social injustice
5. causing poverty
6. financial gluttony
7. taking drugs

And they are rooted in the existing deadly sins. I won't go any more in depth than that. The big deal is that the press blew it. I know. Its shocking. The real question is when is the press going to issue corrections to the literally thousands of articles that went out misrepresenting the addition of new deadly sins? I won't hold my breath.

It happens on occasion ... Today the link was to my Easter Vigil Experience ... but there are no comments. No feedback. No links back to anti-Catholic sites seething with rage over the content. No links back to Catholic sites beaming with approval... nothing. I am left to guess what the conversation is about.

Admit it bloggers .. you really want to know what else was in that email don't you :)

I think pride is something I need to work on.

I have read around this big Internet of ours and my opinion here is certainly contrary ... I figured I would offer it anyway ...

Last night my wife and I watched "The Pursuit of Happyness". Above were the comments I read from average Internet reviewers before watching the movie. The acting was good -- dare I say excellent. It was an enjoyable movie in terms of things happening in the story. I thought it was a tad bit too intense but I could live with that. At the end I came away only feeling sorry for the child. The father (Chris) did not impress me much at all which was, I presume, the supposed inspiring part of the film I read so much about. Certainly there were some good aspects of the father displayed in the movie. You got the sense he sacrificed for his son. You get the sense he cared about education. There is no doubt he loved his son and his work ethic was very much to be admired. Furthermore it highlighted to me the plight of the poor. The poor are often making moral decisions at a level a little beyond that of the average Joe. Still this movie suffered from MANY problems that I would like to delve into. First, I think the screen play had issues in the way it tried to compress a more complicated story into a short time frame. It was a little unbelievable how readily the mother left. Ladies, run this through your mind: Your husband is failing to bring home the bacon. You are behind on bills. You are working double shifts for four months. You have a big tax debt and you could get evicted at any moment. Your husband is looking to take a non-paying position for six months with odds astronomically stacked against him of retaining a paying position. You are leaving the relationship for possibly unspecified other reasons. Do you leave your child behind in that situation? I cannot think of a single employed woman that would. She knows the courts would side with an employed mom over an unemployed dad. To me this was a major flaw in the plot and (from what I have read) did not convey what actually happened in the real life version of this story. Still beyond the screenplay issues we have the real gist of my issue with the movie -- modern day mantras and moral issues.

One of the initial problems I had with the movie was that it perpetrated the great myth that we can do anything we set our minds to. That is only true within reason and within the gifts given to us by God -- I guess this is what play-by-play guys refer to as the ever nebulous "playing within himself". It was clear during the movie that the main character was good with numbers. The broker he spoke with early in the movie indicated that you needed to be good with numbers to pursue that career path. In that sense it echoed with reality as did the statement he made to his son about him not being good at sports. In a sense it implied that he understood his limits. But then he follows that with "Never let anyone tell you that you can't". Millions in America heard "I can do ANYTHING I put my mind to" which is exactly what our current "affirm always" society is good at conveying. Without understanding ones own limits this idea can have serious consequences. Combatting this error is precisely why I like Simon on American Idol. People need a rude wake-up call yet they have been told their entire lives that they can. The most difficult thing to watch on that show is the number of people who are told "whats for" who continue rant that if they work hard enough -- tone deaf or not -- they WILL be somebody famous. Meanwhile millions of us sit at home with jaws agape and a very clear realization that living in reality is not so bad after all. It is the perfect public skewering of the "I can do anything I want" mentality. I hope American Idol stays on the air for decades for that very reason alone. Consider further that thousands, if not millions of little boys want to play in the NFL. Are only the ones who "will it" the most the ones who end up on NFL rosters or does it have anything to do with natural physical ability COMBINED with a great work ethic? Certainly "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" but at that level, without the talent, hard work is not going to be enough. Thats precisely why Rudy never started for Notre Dame. You couldn't fault Rudy for hard work but he simply did not have the talent. The sky was not the limit. A common theme in both movies is that persistence pays off -- a good theme when one understands their limitations and strengths (good with numbers) and pursues excellence within that framework.

Another bigger problem I had with "The Pursuit of Happyness" were the lapses in moral judgment used to achieve an end. Chris lied about needing to go to the same place in the taxi and then got stuck with a bill that forced him to choose between feeding his family and paying a legitimate debt (granted his culpability is lesser in that instance because of the extremity of the circumstance but I digress). The poor decision was getting into the cab. That end was to land the job. He further told a lie to the CEO of Pac Bell in order to get into the 49ers game. That lie apparently paid big dividends because in the story he closed many Pac Bell accounts. Most of those contacts he made at that game. This end justifies the means morality is rampant in our society and misguided. For my lefty readers, its how torture is often justified, for my more right wing crowd its how handing out condoms in poor countries is justified. Moral ambiguity ... Scripture has choice words for those who follow it ... they get what they deserve. (Rom 3:8)

The movie also perpetrated the myth that we all should pursue WEALTH and that happiness is found there. If all men were millionaires, millionaires would be poor. Jesus tells us that the poor will always be with us (Matt 26:11). He further tells us that the path for those who are wealthy is very narrow (Matt 19:24).

Finally, I could argue that he needlessly subjected his child to homelessness because he was too good for a regular job. I won't because one could counter that the economy was THAT bad during that time frame and this opportunity may have been his only path at providing for his son. I think that unlikely but the point can be made. There was a scene where President Reagan was on TV discussing the horror of the early 80's economy and presumably that was the purpose of that scene. Still the decision to pursue that career path in the framework of the movie indicated that he took what could have been life or death risks involving not only himself but his child. What if he HADN'T gotten the job? What if he HADN'T been able to sell any more bone density scanners? Would that have been enough to have him doing the kind of menial work his wife was willing to do to support the family? Its easy to look at a story and say "but he got the job". Yes, 59 other people were working their tails off as well. Maybe they didn't have the motivation to feed a family behind them, but all it takes is ONE to work harder, have better contacts or lie his way just a little better than our hero and the story ends with a father and child starving in the gutter. Of course the story that ends on the way to a multi-million dollar fortune is better on the movie screen. It gives people a false hope -- a hope in the world and its promises. "Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment." (1 Tim 6:17, see also Psalm 127:2)

There is hope and it is only real in He who gives it ... “Spe Salvi facti sumus”—in hope we were saved. (Rom 8:24)

This is timely - True happiness comes from hoping in God, despite adversity, Pope observes

If you have been recently struggling in the normal collegiate sports -- football, basketball etc. -- then at LEAST win the stuff your area is somewhat known for. :)

Louisiana Tech's Justin Jacobs cut his way to a first-place finish, becoming the first student lumberjack to qualify for the Collegiate Championship this June.

Louisiana Tech finishes fifth nationally in the 2007 BoatU.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship, Sept. 27-29

I have been slack in my duty to complete the various expansions of reasoning off my "list of reasons to homeschool". One of those items was "Why Classical?" I was struggling to put my reasons into words until I read an essay that pretty much summarized what I consider to be the chief deficiency in modern day education. That is it often lacks a solid foundation in logic.

Has it ever struck you as odd, or unfortunate, that today, when the proportion of literacy throughout Western Europe is higher than it has ever been, people should have become susceptible to the influence of advertisement and mass propaganda to an extent hitherto unheard of and unimagined? Do you put this down to the mere mechanical fact that the press and the radio and so on have made propaganda much easier to distribute over a wide area? Or do you sometimes have an uneasy suspicion that the product of modern educational methods is less good than he or she might be at disentangling fact from opinion and the proven from the plausible?

Have you ever, in listening to a debate among adult and presumably responsible people, been fretted by the extraordinary inability of the average debater to speak to the question, or to meet and refute the arguments of speakers on the other side? Or have you ever pondered upon the extremely high incidence of irrelevant matter which crops up at committee meetings, and upon the very great rarity of persons capable of acting as chairmen of committees? And when you think of this, and think that most of our public affairs are settled by debates and committees, have you ever felt a certain sinking of the heart?

Have you ever followed a discussion in the newspapers or elsewhere and noticed how frequently writers fail to define the terms they use? Or how often, if one man does define his terms, another will assume in his reply that he was using the terms in precisely the opposite sense to that in which he has already defined them? Have you ever been faintly troubled by the amount of slipshod syntax going about? And, if so, are you troubled because it is inelegant or because it may lead to dangerous misunderstanding? (source)

The name of the essay is "The Lost Tools of Learning" by Dorothy L. Sayers and it is worth the time to read it. One who has spent any time on this big Internet of ours has seen many examples of bad argumentation. In my public school education much time was spent trying to teach me to be persuasive as if my thoughts and ideas meant something apart from truth. Without a logical foundation to frame my persuasion, I might find myself trying to convince others of my fancy rather than trying to convince them of what is right, good and true. That is where logic comes in. There are fallacies that should be avoided. Much propaganda should be shunned sheerly because it is trying to convince and only convince -- there is no real reason. I was fortunate, in a sense, because I have a degree in a field that requires studying at least the mathematical applications of logic. The basis of everything I do at work rests on it. To that extent I am familiar with the basic concepts and can identify common fallacies even if I am not intimately familiar with their names. I shudder to think of how easily I could be taken in without recourse to what I do know. I do NOT want my children suffering through the same type of education crippled with the same disadvantage.

Watching television, reading the op-ed page in a newspaper or listening for what passes as debate on talk radio is an exercise that strongly condemns the state of education in America. That hasn't changed since the essay was written. Where modern debate excels in words and pithy one-liners it lacks in actual content. I want to raise children capable of sifting through that muck to mine the truth. I want to raise children who know how to learn and that is where I feel a classical education has a strong leg up on the standard method of education offered in classrooms today.


---

Another choice quote

Post-classical and mediaeval Latin, which was a living language right down to the end of the Renaissance, is easier and in some ways livelier; a study of it helps to dispel the widespread notion that learning and literature came to a full stop when Christ was born and only woke up again at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Yes, learned people from the ever creeping forward Dark Ages were not idiots ...

From my most recent post

Many on the internet have claimed to look for a list of homeschooling negatives. ... People are searching on "homeschooling negatives".

I found that out by looking at my keywords summary for the last 500 hits. I then did a little review of the links and noticed a glaring need and filled it.

Here is where I stack up on those searches after just one day.

Google Search terms - negatives of a homeschool education (#2 as of writing)
Google Search terms - homeschool negative (#5/6 as of writing)
Google Search terms - homeschooling negative (#3 as of writing)

Notice the difference in listings ... I presume it is because one of the search terms is in the title vs. not.

I have been hesitant to post on this subject mostly because it could get picked up by homeschooling apologists, misinterpreted, unread and commented on in a vitriolic manner. Please read the whole thing before you comment. Also visit my not so short list of reasons why we have chosen to homeschool.

Before continuing I want to give full disclosure to those reading this post that I am a proponent of homeschooling. Many on the internet have claimed to look for a list of homeschooling negatives. They have further complained that all they find is a set of straw men picked apart by people who are in favor of homeschooling and in the end they have not been given the balance they are looking for when researching their possible choice to homeschool. The straw man there, of course, is that those making a decision to homeschool are incapable of finding the negatives of a situation and commenting on them. I would think anyone who has made a big decision in their life can find fault with that logic. Most of us try to make decisions considering ALL of the available information before taking the plunge. Most homeschoolers have identified negatives and chosen to go ahead with it taking into consideration those negatives and dealing with them appropriately.

I have run this list by a small set of homeschooling parents and they would prefer for me to call them "challenges" or "things to think about". That is fair however we can call it whatever we want. People are searching on "homeschooling negatives". They want fair criticism of the choice. That is what I aim to offer here.

Second this list doesn't apply to all homeschooling families but individual items certainly can apply to some. In at least one case the "negative" seems to apply to all (#4).

Obviously these are open to discussion in fact I plan to comment on most myself.

Homeschooling negatives

1. With homeschooling you are removing yourself from the common experience of society.
2. Some talented athletes require a school to achieve their potential (I am thinking football mostly).
3. Homeschooling is difficult without solid support (at least in my experience -- the quality of the local co-op/support group makes a big difference).
4. You will be misunderstood and constantly have to defend your decision. You may even be criticized within homeschooling circles for curriculum choice etc.
5. Lack of peer competition. In some cases groups have less children of one age group than another.
6. Socializing (as opposed to socialization) - This is a practical problem for some families whether anyone wants to admit it or not.
7. Unexpected costs - For example, in our case this is the necessity to drive to most group functions resulting in high gas costs.
8. Access to high end lab equipment is easier in a school situation.
9. A Stanford professor who studied homeschooling determined lack of access to different teaching styles and viewpoints as his main criticism of homeschooling.
10. Dealing with curfew and truancy laws
11. Cost and access to good music and art lessons
12. One article I read cited the necessity of a parent staying home as a negative because of loss of income
13. Failed expectations in terms of the amount of time required to perform adequate instruction with some children
14. Failed expectations in terms of progress also becomes a burden
15. State and legal requirements can often be a burden especially in terms of documentation
16. Friction is often encountered if one should need/desire to enter the public school system for any reason after homeschooling
17. Housework becomes a lower priority. In some homes it is to be expected that it will not retain that museum like quality
18. I have heard homeschooling graduates complain about the amount of time spent with their parents.
19. I have heard homeschooling graduates complain about gaps in their education stemming from mistakes by their parents (curriculum choice etc)
20. All of us have heard of parents who had no business educating their children.
21. Interpersonal relationships do not cease in a homeschooling environment. You will find disagreeable people (bullies even) in a group.

Now obviously these need to be considered in light of the positives and possible solutions one can come up with to deal with these. Almost all homeschooling families for example, are not raising the next Barry Sanders,so #2 is likely not a huge concern for them. Still if someone WERE raising the next Barry Sanders in a homeschooling environment, the world would be deprived of his great talent because he was never in a system that allowed his talent to shine.

I have some comments on each of these in a post below this one in terms of my experience and situation.

Most of these are really dependant on the family ... I wanted to make a few comments from my perspective.

1. With homeschooling you are removing yourself from the common experience of society. Most kids go to school. Conversations they have as they grow up often times refer to school. That said, there is much in common that homeschoolers can relate to even in terms of education. Furthermore nobody is the perfect mirror of societal norms. Around here, for example, understanding football makes one able to talk to pretty much anyone else. If you do not know much about football you are on the outside looking in.
2. Some talented athletes require a school to achieve their potential (I am thinking football mostly). Uncommon problem for most homeschooling parents.
3. Homeschooling is difficult without solid support (at least in my experience -- the quality of the local co-op/support group makes a big difference). Our religion has limited us to Catholic or inclusive groups. The majority of the Catholic group lives far from us and a good percentage of them prefer a different method of instruction to us. Inclusive groups provide a good but challenging option for some. In the case of an agnostic homeschooling family we know, they have virtually no support because most of the other groups around here have statements of faith.
4. You will be misunderstood and constantly have to defend your decision. You may even be criticized within homeschooling circles for curriculum choice etc. Common problem, one that homeschoolers around the world have to deal with.
5. Lack of peer competition. In some cases groups have less children of one age group than another. I covered this in another blog post -- a case often specific to a family.
6. Socializing (as opposed to socialization) - This is a practical problem for some families whether anyone wants to admit it or not. I know of families that live 50 or more miles from other homeschooling families. Having had my children in school makes it easier to have "school talks" with the neighbors and whatnot. You are in a different world with homeschooling so it provides its own set of advantages and challenges.
7. Unexpected costs - For example, in our case this is the necessity to drive to most group functions resulting in high gas costs. Also materials somehow manage to come out as more expensive than you initially plan ...
8. Access to high end lab equipment is easier in a school situation. I have heard of places where homeschool families have access to community college and high school labs. Still, the majority of what is needed to perform the work is affordable by most families who chose to homeschool.
9. A Stanford professor who studied homeschooling determined lack of access to different teaching styles and viewpoints as his main criticism of homeschooling. This can be dealt with by co-ops but the question is "How many families take the effort to do this?"
10. Dealing with curfew and truancy laws. This can be a tough one but in most cases the laws are written with exceptions for homeschoolers.
11. Cost and access to good music and art lessons. Dependent on location and family situation. In my case, my mother taught piano, my mother-in-law taught music in the schools and teaches voice. We also have great community support because music is NOT funded in the local public schools at the elementary level. The local community has picked up the slack with a great childrens choir.
12. One article I read cited the necessity of a parent staying home as a negative because of loss of income. A wash for people who chose to stay at home.
13. Failed expectations in terms of the amount of time required to perform adequate instruction with some children. Has been a problem for us in the past.
14. Failed expectations in terms of progress also becomes a burden. Has also been a problem for us in the past even though we have found our expectations were high. We were expecting 3rd grade performance out of a five year old instantly.
15. State and legal requirements can often be a burden especially in terms of documentation Dependant on the state. Some states are lenient. Others, not so.
16. Friction is often encountered if one should need/desire to enter the public school system for any reason after homeschooling. We had a lawsuit filed locally with a girl who was expelled and homeschooled for the remainder of the year to keep pace with her peers. When she went to enter school the next year they kept her back a grade. She won the lawsuit and was allowed to advance.
17. Housework becomes a lower priority. In some homes it is to be expected that it will not retain that museum like quality. Real problem for real families :)
18. I have heard homeschooling graduates complain about the amount of time spent with their parents. Who me?
19. I have heard homeschooling graduates complain about gaps in their education stemming from mistakes by their parents (curriculum choice etc) Certainly a real concern that I think many parents tackle by choosing curriculums with support and grading so that there is someone OUTSIDE the family checking their progress. Homeschooling families often subject their kids to the same standardized tests as children in the school system for the same reason.
20. All of us have heard of parents who had no business educating their children. You get the good with the bad. We have also heard of bad situations in schools that are equally repellant.
21. Interpersonal relationships do not cease in a homeschooling environment. You will find disagreeable people (bullies even) in a group. Contrary to popular belief homeschoolers have to deal with unpleasant people. Its part of life. Choosing homeschooling is not going to get you out of dealing with that.

Not quite what the article says but the trend is certainly in the right direction.

Catholic religious communities reported on average a 30 percent increase this past year in the number of individuals in initial formation -- the period before final vows. In addition, 62 percent of participating communities reported an increase in vocation inquiries in the past year.

The positive trends in religious vocations detected last year continue, according to the VocationMatch.com Second Annual Survey on Trends in Religious Vocation, sponsored by VISION Vocation Guide, published by TrueQuest Communications of Chicago on behalf of the National Religious Vocation Conference.

The majority of those who are considering religious life are under 30 and quite serious about choosing religious life -- about one in five plan on entering a religious community in the next year, while another 64 percent are "seriously considering it."

Echoing the countercultural appeal of religious life to younger Catholics, it appears that many discerners are looking for more obvious outward expressions of their commitment to religious life. Vocation directors -- both men and women -- commented on an increased interest among inquirers in wearing a habit or traditional religious garb.(source)

All this despite the fact we have not changed the celibacy requirement and allowed women priests. Go figure. The result -- "serious discernment" wanting "obvious outward expressions of their commitment" which is exactly the kind of people we WANT in religious life. The strict requirements weed out the religious life dabblers and encourage those who want to dedicate their entire lives to service in the name of Christ and His Church. This is the wisdom of the Church folks. Religious whose priority is service.

1 Cor 7:32-35

I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

Womens ordination is a different topic for a different post ...

Catholics Come Home

This is really exciting ... they have three videos. Watch them all.

Epic 120, Movie, Testimonials Mix1

HT Bettnet.com

I happen on occasion to hear of relationships where husbands consider their wives to be no more than their play toys. I have heard men say it. I have heard of women complaining about having to "satisfy the urge". These men offer no sacrifice to serve the needs of the wife and expect in return unlimited sex regardless of the physical or emotional condition of their wife. Frequently, as is common in many modern relationships, premarital sex is involved as is contraception.

Here is where the Catholic teaching on right sexual relationships, and particularly Humanae Vitae, shines.

Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.HV 17

Consider the proposed alternative of the Church

The right and lawful ordering of birth demands, first of all, that spouses fully recognize and value the true blessings of family life and that they acquire complete mastery over themselves and their emotions.HV 21

The contraceptive mentality breeds a lack of self control. Many of us have heard of relationships like this.

I wonder what percentage of "modern" relationships suffer from the object mentality that Paul VI warned us about in 1968?

American Papist has a timely post -- Religious Delusion Hampers Nanotechnology

The catch for Americans with strong religious convictions, Scheufele believes, is that nanotechnology, biotechnology and stem cell research are lumped together as means to enhance human qualities. In short, researchers are viewed as "playing God" when they create materials that do not occur in nature, especially where nanotechnology and biotechnology intertwine, says Scheufele.

Wow. "Nanotechnology, biotechnology and stem cell research are lumped together."

Let's be clear for a moment. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with nanotechnology, properly termed. And certainly putting it in the same category as "stem cell research" is wrong. The only thing these two things share in common is being microscopic.

And they were shocked at the results? American Papist concludes

So, what should we take from this survey, and its subsequent reporting?

* Many Americans are uneasy about nanotechnology for "religious" reasons
* Those reasons are either not understood or not well presented by the survey takers
* People continually looking for an excuse to blame things on "fundamentalists", have found one
* Two tasks must be taken up: a) educating those who try to take "mental short cuts" about the distinction between technology and the uses of technology b) educating those who charicature "religious reasoning" about the essential role of prudence in scientific discovery and research.

To which I commented

A few days ago I made a post about the Samsung SilverCare line of washers. It is receiving much scorn from environmentalists willing to apply the "precautionary principle" to it -- The precautionary principle seems to me to be the secular equivalent of Pascals wager except applied to the environment. The idea is that in the absence of actual scientific data a really good idea something is happening is sufficient enough for action.

Back to the SilverCare washer. The washer uses a process to create what Samsung calls "nanosilver" and which Samsung foolishly advertised killed bacteria instead of just sticking with the seemingly very green "92% energy savings over hot washes" marketing angle. Killing bacteria = bad for the environment. From what I can tell it simply uses a nanotech process to create silver ions (Ag+). The outcome is not much different than processes used in drinking water treatment and pool water disinfection. There are already regulations in place for that. Still, the FDA insists on treating the washer as a pesticide until Samsung can demonstrate that it is not harmful to the environment. Some environmentalists are up in arms because they didn't go so far as to ban the machines. Of course if Samsung had not made the "kills bacteria" claim, they could have gone on for decades spilling silver ions into wastewater and environmentalists would have been none the wiser.

Now, to be consistent, I wonder when they are going to subject all those water treatment plants to the same thing ....

Same problem, different religion.

Since someone asked recently ....

I like a small percentage of CCM. Trust me, I have tried to like it more. In my Evangelical days I was the one guy that went for the secular music because, quite frankly, its better ... and not just a little. A LOT. For the vast majority of CCM, I see crowd followers affixing the message of Christ on top like someone tacking a bible verse on a Van Gogh knock off and calling it religious art. It used to be that religion drove culture. Now mediocre art is merely draped over with a thin veil of religion. Am I expected to like it just because the words are better for me to listen to?

When Christian artists start doing things that will stand the test of time again I think that the secular world will take them more seriously .... In recent years CCM has gotten much better. I still think it has a long way to go though.

Just my two and I know there are millions out there who disagree ...

I find it fascinating that the EU, an increasingly secularized union and one likely to scoff at Pascals wager, will use similar logic to support policies regarding the environment. This similar logic is captured in the "Precautionary Principle"

The February 2, 2000 European Commission Communication on the Precautionary Principle notes: "The precautionary principle applies where scientific evidence is insufficient, inconclusive or uncertain and preliminary scientific evaluation indicates that there are reasonable grounds for concern that the potentially dangerous effects on the environment, human, animal or plant health may be inconsistent with the high level of protection chosen by the EU".(source)

I see virtually no logical difference between this and Pascals Wager.

I am not arguing whether or not the Precautionary Principle is good or bad. For a theist, it seems, the concept is more useful because many an atheist has presumably rejected the similar logic used in Pascals Wager regarding God. With Pascals wager the stakes are much, much higher. They are eternal. However, a theist that bases his belief in God to some extent on Pascals wager can easily dismiss Precautionary Principle as it applies to global climate change if one feels the data supporting the concern is sufficiently flawed or if he simply feels the stakes do not warrant such a consideration. Remember the stakes in Pascals Wager are as high as they can get.

If countries can use an admitted matter of faith to dictate policy to its citizens regarding global climate change, how can they reject a matter of faith in terms of religion supporting or rejecting policy in the public square? After all, its my country too. Make no mistake, the goal of secularization is not only to remove God from the legal system but to remove God from the discussion entirely. I have encountered this numerous times. Theists are routinely asked to justify their political positions solely from a materialist perspective. Maybe we should require them to justify matters they accept on the Precautionary Principle all the same ... After all, it only seems consistent.

My wife and I were shopping for washers and came upon Samsungs SilverCare line of washers. Consider the claim

An increased consumer demand for energy-saving products prompted Samsung to develop a system to use silver, widely known for its anti-microbial properties, in the wash water of its newest line of washing machines. Metallic silver atoms, electrolytically stripped of an electron, are injected during the wash and rinse cycles, allowing over 100 quadrillion silver ions -- which act as a super cleaning solution -- to penetrate deep into the fabric to sanitize clothing without the need for hot water or bleach.

...

Here's how it works: A grapefruit-sized device alongside the tub uses electrical currents to nano-shave two silver plates the size of large chewing gum sticks. The resulting positively charged silver atoms -- Silver ions (Ag+) -- are injected into the tub during the wash cycle. According to tests, this process removed or killed 99.9% of odor-causing bacteria. The specific microorganisms tested were two bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, and two fungi, Aspergillus niger ATCC 6275 and Penicillium citrinum ATCC 9849.(source)

Now, from what I can tell ALL this process does is introduce silver ions into the water. They are not special nanosilver ions with different properties from other silver ions. The nano-technology deals with the process that produces them. Period. Still, this has not been without concern in the environmental world. Consider further the process of copper-silver ionization sometimes used in drinking water disinfection:

When copper-silver ionization is applied, positively charged copper (Cu+ and Cu2+) and silver (Ag+) ions are formed.

... Full Circle: the page spells out some common uses of this process

Drinking water and copper-silver ionization

In the United States, several drinking water production companies use copper-silver ionization as an alternative for chlorine disinfection and to prevent the formation of disinfection byproducts. The standard for trihalomethanes was decreased by EPA from 100 to 80 µg/L.
When copper-silver ionization is combined with chlorine disinfection, it is an excellent disinfection mechanism to deactivate viruses and bacteria.

... Full Circle: the page continues with some regulation information

The European Union does not dictate any standards considering silver concentrations in the water. Copper, however, has a maximum value of 20 µg/L, because it corrodes waterworks. Copper concentrations should be measured in taps. (EU Drinking water directive 98/83/EC, 1998)(source)

Here we have a process that accomplishes the same thing with some regulation already in place. What is different other than the technology used to produce this result? -- FC: a possibility is that they are larger particles -- The FDA rules as follows:

For readers following the Samsung washing machine controversy, marketing of Samsung's Silver Nano washing machine was curtailed for a while last year in the US after EPA indicated it intended to regulate silver ion generators as pesticides under FIFRA. EPA officially announced its position on silver ion generators in the September 21, 2007 federal register. Samsung is now marketing a SilverCare washing machine with antimicrobial properties in the United States. No word on whether the new machines use silver nanoparticles (doubtful). Stay tuned.(source)

We had a few milestones in the past few weeks. Our youngest made his first birthday. Today I have updated it with pictures from our middle sons first soccer game. He is on the same team as his older brother.

If you are a friend of mine on Facebook (or if you are reading this on Facebook) you can see pictures of all of this.

We are also buying a new washer. I have a LONG post on that front which I will post in the next day or two.

Several weeks ago my wife and I went to mass and it happened to be one where they were going to baptize a few infants. The homily also happened to be on the well timed topic of leaving mass early. The deacon went through reason after reason why we should not leave mass early. I certainly agreed with him. Then my infant son started to act up a little. At this point I got up and walked to the back so that I would annoy as few people as possible. I remained in the back.

A young couple and their friends were waiting at the back until after mass to have their beautiful child baptized ... they talked the whole time despite shshes and glares of death from surrounding parishioners. I had been told in the past that baptism classes are where you meet the Chreaster Catholics -- those who show up only for Easter and Christmas. Well it was clear that this couple and none of their friends had ever spent much time in mass. I felt such sorrow for the grandmother who was just urging them to respect those around them. It just wasn't going to click in 15 minutes what hadn't clicked in 25 years.

After receiving I continued once again to the back to wait until the end of mass. I counted no less than 20 people exit mass early. I wouldn't have thought much of it except that the homily was specifically on that topic. I was floored. I kept asking myself if they were being deliberately disobedient or if they just were not listening. Then I wondered why they even came in the first place.

My wife asked this question to a priest once ... His theory was that the Eucharist is irresistible ... in his words it was "there is just something they cannot put their finger on that keeps them coming". True.

Then I thought of all the middle aged and elderly practicing Catholics that I talk to. I always hear the same thing "I regret not getting serious about my faith until I read Scott Hahn or started watching EWTN". At one time they were irreverent, shunning their faith for every other thing the world had to offer, but in the end they decided at one point to keep coming. It hurts even more to hear them voice regret of having used birth control during their fertile years. I keep hearing, "have children while you can" ....

I ask myself often why you see little old ladies at daily mass. Sometimes I think it takes decades for people to get out of the desert and come home. I think a vibrant church full of only twenty-somethings is a scary thing. I thought that when I was Protestant and I think that now. Where are the people who persevere? Where are the wise we are supposed to learn from? The Catholic Church can seem so desolate to young people because there just are not that many of them in the pews. Once mama isn't taking them to mass they often disappear. In the end, when wisdom gets more control over them they often come back. I pray they all come back sooner. As for me I need to see that the fact that most practicing Catholics are older than me as a gift. It is better to learn from the wise than to be part of the blind leading the blind.

Then again, it could just be my generation. I have much hope for the people younger than me that I see at mass.

I just recently bought a Sansa Connect to use with my Yahoo Music service. When I got it the battery would not take a charge so it is headed back for a refund. I may save the cash and go for this ...

Slacker

It allows you to create a station that you will like almost instantly. Pick your favorite 15 artists -- viola. Good station. You are allowed 6 skips per hour on the free version. You have to pay for unlimited skips. The better thing is that there is a portable device that you can purchase to use with your stations.

As far as finding new music, LAUNCH, Last.fm and Pandora are also excellent and I recommend using all of them. I have found them helpful in different ways and there are free versions of all of them.

Also, if you HAVE a lot of MP3's a service called AnywhereFM allows you to upload them and create a station with YOUR music. They have recently been bought by imeem so keep that in mind.

Lots going on in the Internet music biz .... and I think its really cool.

One of the biggest raises I got in my career is when Bush passed his tax cuts ... thats just reality. I may not appreciate a lot of what the Bush administration has done but when it comes to my bottom line the Bush tax cuts are likely why my financial situation today is MUCH better than it was when he took office the first time.

Yall play with this for a little while ... it will teach you a lot about who pays taxes in this country

1040 Tax Estimator

Another interesting page in case you are looking for some input Personal Income in the United States

I am using standard deduction. Median household income is $48,000 so I am going with $50,000 for the examples. Median income for individuals is $32,000 -- numbers are from 2006 for year 2005

I put a few examples up for review ...

Single
$8,750 is the 0% tax point
25k income $2,046
32k income $3,096 median income person pays 10%
50k income $7,586
64k income $10,236
100k income $19,661

Married filing jointly
$17,500 is the 0% tax point
25k income $750
50k income $4,093 median income pays 8%
100k income $13,473

Married jointly 2 kids
$42,875 is close to the 0% point (pays $8 federal tax)
25k income $0
50k income $1,073 median income pays 2%
100k income $9,773

Married jointly 4 kids
$63,000 is close to the 0% point (pays $3 federal tax)
25k income $0
50k income $0 median income pays 0%
100k income $6,073

For those lower incomes I am not even considering EIC which wipes out some of that tax burden. If one considers buying a home and other deductions that effective rate can go down even more.

Consider, wouldn't an average family likely be median income level with 2 kids? ... they are a 2% tax rate. The average single person pays 10% or less in federal taxes.

One more thing to consider ...

During 2006, Tax Foundation economists estimate that roughly 43.4 million tax returns, representing 91 million individuals, will face a zero or negative tax liability. That's out of a total of 136 million federal tax returns that will be filed. Adding to this figure the 15 million households and individuals who file no tax return at all, roughly 121 million Americans—or 41 percent of the U.S. population—will be completely outside the federal income tax system in 2006.1 This total includes those who pay no tax, and those who pay some tax upfront and are later refunded the full amount of the tax paid or more.(source)

Now some people will complain that the single person making 100k pays more than the married person making 100k. Its not as bad as it appears here. The married person is making money for TWO people. Compare two single people making 50k and the married person making 100k.

Compare two single people making 50k to married couple making 100k
Two single people making 50k each will pay $15,172 (7586*2)
A married couple filing jointly making 50k each (100k) will pay $13,473
A married couple filing separately making 50k each (100k) will pay $19,094

Also consider that there is a REASON the state wants to encourage marriage. Quite simply children are the future tax base. They are the future of the nation. The state does well to encourage that.

I am not sure what I want you to take from this except that you need to know how the system works. When someone says that a tax cut benefits the rich they are completely right, but that is only because people who are NOT rich typically do not pay income taxes. There is no way to get a benefit from a tax cut when you are not paying taxes. The crime in income taxation is that many poor do not know how to do their taxes or that they should go to someone who does. If they pay more its because they have not taken advantage of the system. The system is not unkind to them. It is VERY forgiving, especially to low and middle income families.

I know everyone is focused on Super Tuesday but tomorrow the story will be what was happening with the weather ... and not that polls closed early.

The death toll is not insignificant. The number of injuries is high. The damage reports seem, initially that is, to warrant the HIGH they issued earlier today. One supercell starting in MS spawned tornadoes into KY (may still be doing so) ... thats over 300 miles. Hockey fans were held in the Nashville area due to that supercell passing through just as the game ended. Memphis has damage. Jackson TN has extensive damage and CNN was even reporting 86 injuries in Jackson alone. Arkansas unfortunately has (last I read) at least 7 dead and I know of at least 3 dead in KY. CNN is reporting 16 dead as of midnight CST.

There is a pipeline burning in TN and reportedly a plane down.

Its late and this post is a mess. I'll followup in the morning (more of the same expected further east) ... Maybe even a derecho tonight? Why not ... everything else seems to have happened.

Prayers for the victims and their families I am sure would be appreciated ... My 6 year old asked that we pray especially for the "little babies" in the path of these storms. Y'all listen to him as well.

UPDATE: See national news. Death toll up to 47 per Fox News/CNN... Super Tuesday results lead both sites. Americans know what is important (see image below).



With daylight I think the real damage assessments will begin. A tragic, tragic event ...