We had ineffective small groups in our RCIA class and in the Alpha course I did as a Protestant. The problem is that most small groups fail to take into consideration a few basic ground rules regarding the majority of us who are uncomfortable in the setting until they get familiar with people. Small groups also require an effective group leader. I must admit that most leaders I have encountered are woeful at the task. This is true both in my Protestant background and in my Catholic background. The only effective small group I have ever been in was one that met on a continual basis over a series of years. It took time for the dynamic to develop and the dynamic was largely developed by a group leader PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED (i.e. college degree) in dealing with people. He realized developing the relationships in the group was necessary before anything worthwhile would come of the group. Still, for me being an introvert, the comfort level took months to materialize. I am not saying that a small group cannot function well without professional help but it takes time for an effective dynamic to develop between people. In some cases it might happen rather quickly. In others, it could take an uncomfortable period of months.

I have also been present in effective small groups where I was the odd guy out but it was clear to me that everyone else was getting something out of it. The common thread here is familiarity with the people. Everyone knew everyone else and the conversation flowed immediately to the topics at hand because Johnny had an idea where Sue was coming from by having at least a basic understanding of her life experience.

Relationships are more like plants growing from seeds. Its not like buying full grown trees and dropping them into the ground. That is why random small groups are irrirtating to me. You're expecting fruit to come from seeds. Nine times out of ten I know I am going to get a group leader who has no idea how to draw people into the conversation, thus I can look forward to 30 minutes or an hour of watching 15 people stare awkwardly at their watches. The time would be far better spent getting to know each other so that the next time the group meets the awkardness is lessened. Growth of the group is necessary before the real fruit is realized.

OK, I said I was going to avoid posting on hurricanes but I have to post a family update:

My in-laws got back to Beaumont and are leaving again. They said it is a ghost town and that many of the trees have been defoliated. They have no idea how long they will be gone from their homes. Prayers appreciated.

Also, review these two pictures to get an idea of how bad Hurricane Rita damage was at ground zero.

Holly Beach before


Holly Beach after


So don't let anyone tell you that Rita was a nothin' storm. Just because it wasn't Katrina doesn't mean it wasn't an incredibly bad storm.

I have decided to try and blog a little more. I am more sane when I do blog ... The recent hurricanes have really gotten me off track. Anyway, I am not going to vent on that any more ... best keeping my thoughts to myself on the matter.

More Catholic blogging. That is what I started this blog for anyway. Time to refocus this blog and refocus my life.

Thank you Jesus!!!

**rough draft ... more links to be added later**

I am a Baton Rouge resident. I want to give my assesment of what is going on down in New Orleans by explaining what I have been through emotionally the past few days.

My wife and I made a decision on late Friday night that if the storm looked like it was heading for the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 or 5, then we would leave. On Saturday morning the storm was a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour. I am a self professed storm nerd. I know enough to be dangerous but not enough to be worth listening to by folks who need information. I trust that the professionals know what they are doing. I have spent enough time mingling with them to realize they are good at what they do given the limitations we have in understanding the complexities of weather systems. Compared to even 10 years ago we have made huge strides. We have DOPPLER indicated tornadoes, giving lead time to persons in the path and the 3 and 5 day projections for hurricanes are getting better and better. Some of the computer models just this season have been pegging the paths of these storms with startling clarity. Still, with all we do know ... they still get it wrong. Hurricane Charley last season was a perfect example of this. People focused on where they thought it would go ashore. They foused on what they thought the intensity might be. At the very end it rapidly intensified and jogged right of track. With Katrina, however, they were on ... stunningly so. Because of my having followed previous storms I understood the reality of a Category 4 or 5 making landfall in the projection area.

One only needs read personal accounts of Hurricane Camille, The Labor Day Storm of 1935, Hurricane Andrew and especially the Great 1900 Storm to get an idea of what the worst case scenario could be like.

On Saturday I began to feel very uneasy, mostly because of all of the past information I had collected in my head about these storms. I knew something could go horribly wrong. I felt it deep inside that this one would be different. This would be the one to actually hit New Orleans. I began to find out the knot in my stomach was not something I was feeling alone. I got ahold of the following news report about the worst case scenario of what could happen in New Orleans; A category 4 or 5 making landfall in such a way to completely fill the city with water in short time. The scenario was nightmarish. Death totals would be in the tens of thousands.

I was up all throughout the night because my young children were taking the opportunity away from home to not sleep through the night. I would comfort them and take a peek at the latest information about Katrina. The horror I felt as the scenario they were predicting was unfolding was sinking in. My in-laws noticed. My wife noticed. I sensed history in the making. It was watching a frieght train headed towards the helpless .... and knowing, if it went as they say, the results would be incomprehensible.

Rewind a couple of hurricane seasons. Hurricane Lili. People asked to evacuate the city. Many did. Many complained about having to do so saying they never would leave again. Fast forward to last season. Hurricane Ivan takes aim at the gulf coast. Many were asked to leave. The drive times to Baton Rouge from New Orleans were eight times greater than normal. Many more complained about having to make the trek and said they would never do so again. It has been decades since an event even close to what has occurred has taken place even near the New Orleans area. Betsy was in 1965. Camille was in 1969. Those were before our time. Even those in our time were hard to fear. Mitch was thousands of miles away and besides, that was not the United States. The pinball-like body counts were just numbers on page three. Thousands dead couldn't happen here. The benchmark of our generation in this country was Andrew and not even 30 died in that storm. Times have changed. Or have they?

Sunday brought the sobering reality that what we had out there was a storm of tremendous proportions. The National Weather Service in New Orelans released the following statement:

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005

...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...

.HURRICANE KATRINA...A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.

MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.

AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.

POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BEKILLED.

AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.

ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE

We were closer to the reality of the nightmare scenario and that knot started getting bigger. I was almost sick. Maximum sustained winds of 175 miles and hour and a minimum pressure of 902 mb. For reference, the benchmark storm of our generation was 922 mb and its winds were 160 and to make matters worse, Andrew was a small hurricane compared to this. Furthermore, Andrew was primarily a wind event crumbing homes in to hardly recognizable piles of rubble. Still, I remember the day I educated myself on Camille. The pictures of multi-story buildings that were brushed away like a carpenter blowing the sawdust off his creation seemed impossible ... but there they were. It could get worse and it had been worse in the past. The gulf coast was staring down the barrell of a loaded gun and it was certainly going to fire. I kept those images in mind knowing that our beloved New Orleans was the target. Still surge wouldn't likely flow in and out like with Camille. Maybe that would spare some of the devestation, but flood waters would still cause significant loss of life.

I also thought back to the 1900 storm where an island of over 30,000 residents was innundated by surge covering nearly the entire island. Buildings collapsed with entire families inside. The horrors of the screams in the night must have haunted the survivors until their deaths many decades later. We knew surge kills, but we also knew how to get out of the way. That is the modern day advantage. Over 6000 people died on Galveston island that night with some estimates in the 8000 range and over 10,000 including the coastal areas on the shore of Texas across from the island. With all of this in mind, some things were not adding up about New Orlenas. It is always estimated that some people stay. They cannot leave or they choose not to leave. New Orleans is a large city. This storm was going to have a large surge. I have heard it takes 72 hours to evacutate the city. We had less time than that. Some people, even if everyone wanted to leave would be there. The scenario seemed more and more like Galveston than like Andrew or even Camille. There would be people behind and when the numbers started coming out that it could be as high as 200,000 people I felt even sicker ... The thought was torturing me -- It is now almost certain that people would die with this storm.

As the storm passed through I watched feverishly on the Internet for the latest information. Between checking with family and watching my hard drive fail making work impossble, I was checking the news. I was left with news reports comforting me with the idea that New Orleans was spared the worst. The major networks were hardly covering it. Still, the feeling wasn't gone. This was history and deep down I knew it. What I was seeing was like every other hurricane in recent memory. The images from the Superdome looked tame. Reporters were alive. They were well. Pictures were coming out of ground zero and other than wind damage, everything looked great. Lots of waving stop signs and bending trees. A couple of days would pass .. a small death total would materialize and this storm would pass into history just like all the others in our generation. Most hurricanes these days take our things. Still, I watched message boards for information, soon finding that the reports on the message boards were every bit as accurate as the news sites, and usually a few hours ahead. All of the sudden someone posted a picture of the bay bridge in Mobile with water raking at its bottom. This revealed a shocking piece of information. The storm surge with this hurricane was going to be unreal. Hundreds of miles away from the center we were seeing a surge of easily 15 feet. Also accounts of what happened to Jim Cantore of TWC left people making guesstimates of the storm surge in the Mississippi area. They were incredible and fortunately wrong .. but not by much. Rumors that the casinos had moved and that the storm surge was higher than Camille added fuel to the worry. It took the press almost 24 hours to start verifying the second hand reports but it soon became a reality. If the press was botching the job in the Mississippi area, what does that mean about New Orleans. Reports from the local officials in Mississippi that numerous folks decided to ride this one out made it even worse. It was becoming sadly apparent that this was worse than Camille and there were MORE people in the way. Despite the fact that the storm itself had weakened to a category 3, it maintained the category 5 storm surge.

We could only wait to see what had happened ...

Very little information was leaking out of New Orleans at first that led me to believe the situation was not as bad as they had described in predictions prior to the storm. The only alarming thing was that there were floating bodies, but that could be explained by the numerous above ground graves in the area. Surely we are beyond the era of large death tolls in the United States. I have to hold on to that.

I drove my family home just when they started showing the rescues and shots from the air. It looked pretty bad. Driving home brought home in a very real way the human toll of the mass exodus from New Orleans. It seemed everyone was from New Orleans on Tuesday. I saw a woman sobbing in a Burger King, being consoled by someone it seems she didn't even know. She had lost everything. She wasn't alone. Most people around her had as well. Not even I could see that until the last leg of our drive home. Listening to the people calling in on the radio and asking about areas I knew from the air shots were bad was like listening to a broken record. Caller after caller was hoping to hear someone say that things were fine. Every response was the same ... "I'm sorry ma'am, that area has been completely destroyed" ... A few glimmers of hope were offered to those who found out they only had a few feet of water in their homes. Call after call after call. It never ended. The national media could not see it at this point. People from New Orleans are all around us. They have nothing but their lives and the clothing on their backs. Priceless yes, but it doesn't soothe the pain they all feel. Paychecks will not be coming for most. Baton Rouge is now home to 500,000 homeless. Every five minutes the light noise is crashed by a helicopter headed down to pull survivors from their homes. One after another, after another, after another ... Everyday we meet someone new from New Orleans. I have yet to meet someone who hasn't had their lives impacted by someone who has missing relatives. The stories on the news are real. Men have lost their wives. Wives are looking for husbands that stayed behind to protect property that likely ended up crushing them under pounding waves and wind. This is reality in Louisiana. People are dying in New Orleans and every helicopter flight reminds us. Every five minutes the hope that one more person might make it streams overhead.

It became apparent to me that this was going to be a catastrophe. They were talking about there being a hundred people on the tops of houses in the Ninth Ward where it seemed the worst. I began to think the death toll across the coast could exceed that of Camille. With a hundred or so on the roof, you knew some didn't make it. When the numbers of people being rescued started to reach the thousands I knew deep in my heart my worst fears early on had been confirmed and the mayor of New Orleans added his own thoughts to the mix by saying that the death toll would probably be in the thousands. In my grossy uneducated opinion this storm will claim thousands of lives. I would not be shocked given what we have seen that the death toll could reach or exceed that of 9/11. The mix is deadly. Complacency by some, ignorance or -- most difficult to bear -- the sheer inablity to leave areas where death is near certain. I read a post suggesting that folks should have walked. Many people cannot. Its just that simple. They were doomed and I am sure many of them knew it.

I have seen one too many posts out on this wide Internet of ours claiming this situation is being blown out of proportion to make Bush look bad, or Blanco, or Nagin ... this is reality folks. Those are real people, from real families. Sadly, it can get worse. If a fire breaks out in New Orleans, they cannot stop it. As people get continually desperate because they have no food and water, the crime situation will get even more out of control. Anarchy reigns this night in New Orleans. It IS hell on earth.

I'll leave my thoughts with this ... The counts are not coming out of New Orleans. The number missing is staggering and even with poor communication we know some people will never communicate. The dead are everywhere. Things are so dire they can only push them aside. I think America is going to be shocked when the actual numbers start coming in. The stories will keep coming and they will get harder and harder to listen to. I have to listen to them because they are my neighbors. They need my sympathy even if that is all I can give.

I will finish this post with a link to a site containing shots of the Mississippi coast from the air (click on the boxes). Please take 30 minutes to scour through it and then spend a few hours in prayer thankful for your own life and in awe of what you now know has happened on the coast. Finally, pray for those who are trapped and for rescuers who must find them.

Ivan creates 91 foot wave offshore

Speaking of Ivan ... we went vacationing in that area this past weekend.

Sat

Drove out of town around 7:45 am and managed to see the baloons launching for the local Baloon race
Got to St. Tammany Parish visitors center
Got to the grasshopper monster rest stop in Mississippi
Drove through the Interstate tunnel in Mobile (kids loved it)
Got to Eastern Shore Centre (irritating music alert) across the bay from Mobile
Got to Perdido Key ... the devestation from Ivan and Dennis is still quite evident.
Went to Big Lagoon state park
Went to the beach at Perdido Key across from the visitors center
Headed back to Mobile
Drove back through the Interstate tunnel in Mobil
Reached our hotel in Mobile. We were on the 13th floor and had quite and impressive view of the west side of Mobile.
Ate fancy pants overpriced dinner at hotel.
Celebrated wifes birthday in the room with the kids.

Sun

Checked out of room
Went to Mobile zoo
Drove through downtown Mobile. Saw the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Most of the churches in Mobile were quite spectacular. Their garden district reminds me very much of the garden district in New Orleans.
Went to Bellingrath Gardens
Went to Dauphin Island. At at a place called Barnacle Bill's
drove home, stopped at Canes in Gulfport area
Stopped by our new house on the way into town. They are pouring our foundation. Our house plan is reversed from the model homes and the plans you see online. Will have to get used to that.

Its a mistake we all have made ... please ... I beg you .. only make it once and ensure that others only make it once.

Every so often you will receive an email that says some politician, government or famous person did this or that. Today I got a couple of videos. I watched one and dismissed the other. The first video suggested that a missile hit the Pentagon on 9/11 and not a passenger aircraft. It then proceeds to ask you to open your mind, change your way of thinking ... blah blah blah ...

Fortunately I remembered a great article by Popular Mechanics that specifically debunked most of the common 9/11 conspiracy theories.

THEY ARE CONSPIRACY THEORIES

This one also failed the Snopes test. I find Snopes to be one of the most useful sites on the Internet. If you get a forwarded email telling you anything that looks too good to be true or reeks of conspiracy theory, pull out some key words and search Snopes.com. If you find an article about it with the words False, please make haste and embarrass your friends and family by exposing their nonsense to all on the forwarded list. It is the only way people learn and it forces them to think twice before forwarding nonsense.

Note to readers, friends and family. If anything you send me fails the Snopes test, I will treat future emails with a high level of suspicion. I will also make it a point to have as many of your friends and family making fun of you over the gaffe as possible. You have been warned.

Registered Member: First Apostolic Full Gospel Church of Jesus Christ Unreformed, Roman Assembly - Mid City Campus

OK, I am officially on break until December ... too much at work. House selling. House purchase. Birthdays etc ... I will post occasionally during the time.

I will resume full time posting in December unless my load lightens before then.

A Little Known Fact About the Catholic Church I found this very amusing.

River cruise a challenge to the Vatican

This quiet eastern Ontario town is poised to become the frontline of a movement to usher women to the forefront of the Roman Catholic church.

Well ... not really .... This issue has been settled for 2000 years. Its only a battle in the minds of those intent on it being a battle. There is no room for "dialogue" with the truth. It IS. Period.

"... I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." - -Pope John Paul II, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, May 22, 1994

How much clearer can it get?

Kenyan Police Believe Italian Bishop Was Killed During Botched Robbery by Six Assailants

may update later

Christian Adoption Agency Rejects Catholic Couples, Saying Faiths Are in Conflict

You know, other than the clear problem of receiving public funding, this is not unexpected. Besides, I don't think any of us seem to have a problem with the fact they by the same statement of faith they are denying children to muslims, pagans, atheists etc.

Most homeschool parents in the South have come up against similar statements of faith. Of course, they tend to receive no funding from the state.

What the headline should read is
"Some Protestants Believe Catholics are not Christian"
or
"Some Protestants believe Sola Scriptura is a required tenet of the Christian faith"

When seen in that light, this news has been old for centuries. When you look at it in terms of the fact that Christ said His followers would be persecuted, then it is even older news. Why the press seems interested in this division now is beyond me?

My wife ran an errand tonight and was subjected to one of the finest examples of electronic music that exists to this day; the 2002 release In Between by
Jazzanova. There are a myriad of reasons why that CD is one of the best I have ever had the pleasure of leaving in my CD player for months on end.

Part of what makes it work, for the programmer in me, is the fact that they use the synthesizer for what it is GOOD at; making noises other instruments struggle with. Not only that, you can tell someone spent a long time making excellent sounds and integrating them appropriately, without complicating the mix. Furthermore, they employ them in a manner that is thoroughly musical. I like to think of "In Between" as a jazz album using newer instruments and different techniques.

Drum machines can perform tasks that drummers cannot. That is what they are best used for.
Samplers can perform tasks that previous recording and performance techniques just couldn't. That is what they are best used for.
Synthesizers make unique sounds and provide unique opportunities for performance and in-studio excellence that other instruments just can't do. That is what they are best used for.

Long gone is the time when synthesizers were pretending to be brass sections or drum machines were pretending to be real drummers. Now they are being used as the instruments they CAN be. The TB-303 took on a life of its own long after its release because potential was seen for use beyond its original intent. Initially it was intended to be a bass accompaniment for a lounge musician. Crank out a cheesy, farty bassline, sing Margaritaville and be on your way at 2 am. It didn't meet its market all that well. Its potential was only realized in the late 90's acid craze where used TB-303's were people were taking out second mortgages (not quite) to get their hands on one. It took a different style and a different time for people to use it as an instrument in and of itself that was unique and entirely different from its intent, which was immitation.

This is where "In Between" shines and it is why it is my current favorite album and has been in that spot for nearly 3 years.

Last night, by chance, I happened upon the website of Per-Andre Hoffmann. The pictures on it are incredible. There is even a picture of Lake Malawi, which is a place I would like to visit one day. My interest in Malawi stems from the African Cichlids that can be found in the lake. I find it just incredible that many species of cichlid exist only one place in the world.

Also, last night my son was told a story that involved a volcano and my wife voluteered to look for volcano pictures on the Internet. A second picture that I stumbled upon is a shot of a volcano and an aurora over Iceland.

Catholic group not going away - Too bad this article didn't mention much of their beliefs which are grossly opposed to Catholic teaching. Also, given that I have read the average age of VOTF members is in the mid-60's, it really is just a matter of time. They will go away. Never fear, there will always be another movement trying to advance the gates of hell against the Church. They will always fail.

White fixated on Catholicism - White Stripes ... I know little about them and I didn't like much of what I heard on LAUNCH but somebody is excited about being Catholic. I can't say I blame him ... his fans should get on board too.
Boycott Tan? via Amy Welborn - Well, I was interested in reading this book after I saw her on the Journey Home ... now I am not so sure.
Church of England votes to back women bishops - This is no shocker ... It must be noted that one of the bishops threatened to "become Catholic" if this went through.
Same old myths
An Islamic Opus Dei? - Haven't read this but I will do so later ...

Emily is with us in the Atlantic ... slightly more southerly path predicted. If it follows a similar path to Dennis after that, well, I might be visiting some other part of the country.

Sort of ... I didn't get serious about doing this until later and I still have big gaps of time where life pulls me away.

I am happy I made it this far ... now if only I could get some readers ... :)

Not bad since Catholics are supposed to be all opposed to science. (get the facts about The Galileo Controversy)

Speaking of science ... First off, my prayers are with those in the path of Hurricane Dennis. The following example will show you why I do not trust the press all that much. Consider the following quotes from the following articles.

Fierce early storms bode ill for season

It also is the earliest occurrence of a Category 4 hurricane in the Caribbean, and possibly the U.S., meteorologists say.

Dennis affecting local travelers

Dennis is also the first storm this intense to hit the country during the month of July.

To me the slight of hand in the wording of these statements is most bothering to me. Both of them imply that this is the earliest that a Cat 4 has formed in the Atlantic basin AND made landfall. I have even seen people on the Internet using these quotes in global warming discussions to show that things are happening that have never happened before.

Fact: This would have been the earliest in July that a Cat 4 had made landfall in the US if Dennis had not, by miracle, collapsed before moving ashore.
Fact: Hurricane Audrey made landfall in southwest Louisiana on June 27, 1957 as a Category 4. Maximum sustained winds were 145 mph and the death toll was near 400.

Now go back and read the statements in those articles again ... With the first statement, there is no possibly to it. Audrey made landfall in June. Case closed. As for the second statement, yes, a storm this intense this early in the season is unusual but it has happened before. Interesting how the second piece of information gives a tiny bit more perspective to the intent behind such clever wording. In fact, consider that four named storms in early July set record ... This is a good article pointing out another thing that IS unusual about all of this. Still, the year 1959 started off with a bang similar to this year and ended up with 11 storms. According to the NWC FAQ the record is 19 storms (1995) ... I find it interesting that weird things were happening in the 50's yet only one of these articles managed to mention that. I wonder why nobody has drawn the parallel between these last couple of seasons and then? Finally, how come I can verify these statements were misleading with a few web searches and yet these articles manage to make it to press? I thought there were fact checking teams at most newspapers or at least a process to ensure that information is being accurately portrayed.

In the debate about mans role in global warming, I want facts. Facts exist and they can make a compelling case. Clever wording and omission of information that tries to prove to me that the sky is falling is unecessary and it undermines the press by giving me, the reader, the indication that the whole truth is not something the press really cares about any more.

Is it about agenda or news? Make up your mind and be blatantly honest about it. Don't try to hide one in there and say it is the other.

What I am reading online today

Music leads pianist to a life of Catholicism
Aristotle on Abortion
Creationism talk suggests need to revisit Catholic education
Catholics cannot support abortion rights-Vatican - read it and weep pro-abortion heretics.
My Launchcast Radio Station - Dappled Things has a LAUNCHCast station.
Do Protestants Become Catholics for Love? - IMHO, too many folks convert to Catholicism to marry someone and for that reason alone. It cannot, however, be ignored that an increasing number of folks ARE converting for doctrinal reasons, including the author of this blog and many other folks that I know and have encountered online and in person.
Fornication, contraception, and the laughter of God - An EXCELLENT essay on Catholic sexual morality and the standard two wrongs make a right mentality that prevails within a large percentage (majority?) of lay Catholics.
A Christian boy band hits New York City and the girls go wild - Intersting ... I plan to do a little research on this in the near future.

Bowled tonight ... no-tap again ... 255, 200, 257 for a 712.

I am stressing out about our home selling. I request prayer.

I am noticing that my time to blog is being eaten up by this home buying and home selling process, not to mention unexpected car repairs. I need something in life to tone down. Please?

Also, pray that Hurricane Dennis hits a freak cold front or something that totally knocks it out ... we don't need the storm and Lord knows the rest of the gulf coast can do without it.

First we decided on a smaller house but the monthly difference was not really that much so we sprung for this one which gives us several advantages. As we have learned any of the scores of contigencies can actually happen so we may not end up in this house, but we hope so.

Clearly this might explain why blogging has been light.

We close on our old house on July 26th. Lots to get done so I expect blogging to be light this month ... then I will breathe a huge sigh of relief knowing that this plan is less likely to be interrupted.

Bowled a 681 NT last night (256, 228, 197) ... I left the Greek Church** in the last game in the 8th spoiling any chance I had at a 700. The middle game was scatch except for the last shot. It would have been a 227.

We also went winless last night making up for the total thrashing we delivered the week before. Oh well, our visit in first place lasted all of a week.

** Greek Church: Split leave when three pins remain standing on one side of the lane and two on the other (the pins resemble church steeples) - from Bowling Glossary - Bowling Terms

Storm blows through SEK
For those who do not have a BugMeNot plugin
login: SEKsports
password: bugmenot


from
050630's Storm Reports

According to reports the tornado was a half mile wide at one point. I am not certain whether this was all one long track tornado or if it was a series of tornadoes spawned by the same storm. My guess is a series given how far apart these tornado warnings list them. Still, it seems a fairly significant event. I am sure we will see some film of it in the near future.

Warning text ...
 
983  
WFUS53 KSGF 010240  
TORSGF  
KSC021-MOC097-145-010345-  
/O.NEW.KSGF.TO.W.0023.050701T0238Z-050701T0345Z/  
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED  
TORNADO WARNING  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO  
940 PM CDT THU JUN 30 2005  
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SPRINGFIELD HAS ISSUED A  
 
* TORNADO WARNING FOR...  
NEWTON COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MISSOURI.  
SOUTHWEST JASPER COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MISSOURI.  
SOUTHEAST CHEROKEE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST KANSAS.  
 
* UNTIL 1045 PM CDT.  
 
* AT 935 PM CDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT  
CONTINUED TO OBSERVER A TORNADO BETWEEN COLUMBUS AND SCAMMON...OR  
17 MILES NORTHWEST OF JOPLIN. DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED THIS TORNADO  
MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH. GOLF BALL AND LARGER HAIL AND HURRICANE  
FORCE WINDS HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED JUST NORTH OF THE TORNADO  
TRACK.  
 
* THE TORNADO WILL BE...  
4 MILES NORTHEAST OF BAXTER SPRINGS BY 950 PM CDT.  
NEAR GALENA AND JUST WEST OF JOPLIN BY 955 PM CDT.  
NEAR IRON GATES BY 1000 PM CDT.  
NEAR SHOAL CREEK DRIVE BY 1005 PM CDT.  
NEAR LEAWOOD BY 1010 PM CDT.  
NEAR NEOSHO BY 1030 PM CDT.  
 
THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. A  
TORNADO IS ON THE GROUND!  
 
THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A  
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS  
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN  
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO  
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.  
 
IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A  
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE  
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.  
 
LAT...LON 3719 9483 3703 9478 3699 9463 3676 9461  
3676 9407 3694 9407 3717 9444 3720 9462  
 


Warning text ...

099
WFUS53 KSGF 010344
TORSGF
MOC145-010445-
/O.NEW.KSGF.TO.W.0024.050701T0343Z-050701T0445Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
1043 PM CDT THU JUN 30 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SPRINGFIELD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
NEWTON COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MISSOURI.

* UNTIL 1145 PM CDT.

* AT 1038 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS
TRACKING A TORNADO NEAR SAGINAW...OR 8 MILES SOUTHEAST OF JOPLIN.
THE TORNADO WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE...
NEAR DIAMOND BY 1100 PM CDT.
NEAR GRANBY BY 1115 PM CDT.
NEAR FAIRVIEW BY 1145 PM CDT.

THE TOWNS OF RITCHEY...NEWTONIA AND STARK CITY ARE ALSO IN THE PATH
OF THIS TORNADIC STORM.

SEVERAL SPOTTERS HAVE OBSERVED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND NEAR THE
COMMUNITY OF SAGINAW.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3703 9445 3699 9453 3676 9424 3675 9408
3682 9408 3694 9407



There was also a rogue tornado in Louisiana yesterday but I couldn't find any coverage of it.

I am not banking on the decisions of others and how they might affect my family. I am going to do what God wills I do right now and let the rest of it happen as it will. I am thrilled to be married to such a wonderful woman and to have such adorable and intelligent children. I am as happy as I have been and I am where I am ... Baton Rouge, Rome, Seattle or Texas City ... you name it ... My goal is to be pleased with His will in my life.

Sometimes reality pulling you away from a dream has a way of teaching you how to be really happy rather than teaching you to desire things you THINK will make you happy. I am coming to the conclusion that yearning for dreams as an end in and of themselves is not the same as yearning for Beauty and Truth, which you CAN have anywhere. Placing your desire in one boat is a constant disappointment. Placing your desire in the other shows you that joy is attainable in any condition.

Below is a cut and paste fest of some things that I have written in recent weeks about attitudes towards sex. It also gives a little background into how I have come to the conclusions I have come to. I may clean this up later and link to some references on the matter. For now, this is what you have ...

Read the letter in CCLI where a man has some choice words about NFP.

Now, re-read the letter above with the thought "sex is my god" and see how it comes across. I hate to sound like a jerk, but I am not sympathetic at all. If you are using NFP for 18 years then I think "openness to life" is not high on the priority list.

Lets face it, we live in a society where SEX is God and if it is infrequent or not present at all, that is hell. I think the average man needs to get in the mindset of asking himself if he would love and cherish his wife if one day she were to get into an accident and sex wasn't possible? Thats a tough one, yeah, but the answer should be so obvious ...

This is hard to say on my blog, but I have made it known elsewhere and for the purposes of this post it is relevant information. My wife and I recently abstained for 8 months after the birth of our daughter. I used it as an opportunity to express my love for my wife in different ways. I feel closer to her now than I ever have. The time period ENHANCED our relationship. It felt like we were dating again. I cannot express to you how much of a gift that time has been. I also used the time to learn better how to TAME my desires in a healthy way. I personally think getting the flesh under control in this manner is a difficult but good discipline to put yourself through. Besides, every sacrifice is an opportunity to allow Him to INCREASE. (John 3:30) It also gave me time to learn more about my faith. Most importantly, the time period in itself was an immeasurable indication to my wife just exactly how much I love her.

The purpose of marriage isn't rampant sex. Unfortunately we live in a world where that is the norm in a relationship. I have seen one too many truncated interpretations of Ephesians 5 resulting in men asserting their "biblical right" to indulge themselves at will, and with contraception that means without any consequence. If she is physcially capable then she is fair game. I then hear of women talking about their necessity to think about "doing it for the Queen". Total unitive and procreative love is damaged when the woman is submitting out of fear or indifference as opposed to surrendering herself out of love. Actual sacrificing love on the part of the husband, however, harbors a stronger desire to share in intimate moments in the context of true headship and submission. The corrupt version is a sexual attitude which COULD result in what Pope Paul VI referred to as men seeing their wives as a "mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires". (Humane Vitae 17) It can even happen in traditional Catholic marriages where men have no care for the physical and mental well-being of their wives. People focus to much on asking their wives to "suck it up" and "sacrifice" opposed to asking themselves to maintain a basic level of self-control for periods of time for the benefit of the wife. Ephesians 5 specifically indicates that men are to love their wifes as Christ loves the Church. Consider His sacrifice? To what level should we, as men, be prepared to give? The submission of a Christian wife in any matter is greatly compromised by husbands who demand submission without offering any amount of reasonable sacrifice themselves. Self control and sacrifice on the part of husbands is necessary. Without them, you are teetering on a dangerous edge of treating your wife no differently than the way men treat lap dancers in a strip club.

It is high time people kick sex off the pedestal they have it on and get some perspective. People who have tons of children have long periods of time where they cannot have sex spaced nice and evenly throughout their marriages. It is hard for them too ... and they have a bunch of kids running around to make it even more difficult to find time to get away and be intimate in any manner, much less sexually. Some couples struggle having children and they have sex frequently. I am guessing it is tempting to think those men have it great. All sex ... all the time. Ask those couples what they would give for the opportunity to have a child, which is a gift so many people squander away in order to pursue other things.

If the frequency of sex is a problem, open yourself to having a child. After all, that is far more in line with His purpose than your being sexually satisfied all the time.

The Lost Liberty Hotel

Apparently someone is looking to make a hotel on the land that is currently occupied by the home of one of the Supreme Court justices. I cannot tell you how funny I thought this was.

Apparently, they are serious.

100 Greatest Catholic Quotes

I like most of their choices. An excerpt:

1. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed: and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me, and I in him. -- John 6: 55-57

100. Sin makes you stupid. -- Mark Shea

We are about to start looking to buy a home. Our currnet home is currently under contract. Our last deal fell through so we are hoping this one works out a little better. They already seem much easier to deal with.

Back to buying a home ... We would prefer to have 4 bedrooms but house prices in the 4 bedroom range are totally outrageous right now.

Basically

1. DINKS can afford expensive homes and that is the primary market
2. ARM and interest only loans are big right now so people who want to buy above their means can. This helps people keep the property values high.... For a while...
3. No major builders dare step foot in Louisiana because of the good ole boy network so there are no builders taking advantage of economies of scale.
4. Almost all builders around here are "luxury builders" (see #1) ... i.e. you can't find a new home without marble countertops, triple crown molding and a large shallow ditch dug behind it to qualify it for the "waterfront property" price increase. Also, MOST of these so called luxury homes have yards. They are packed together like sardines and filled with gardens so you get all the maintenance headache of a garden with none of the advantages of having a real yard ... for kids that is.

Sometimes I wish I could turn back the clock when 4 kids was a more common family size. I could rant and rave about why large families have it difficult in this market but what is the point. This is reality. I have to deal with it. What concerns me even more is the numbers of ads I see encouraging loans that are quite simply a short term ticket to living in luxury. It gets the house built and the profits distributed. Then it sends people on a straight path to bankruptcy. If that doesn't happen, surely they will at LEAST lose the home. That is no way to live.

You know it is bad when you hear counter-ads on the radio about fair lending. Many folks are sold homes they cannot afford. Period.

Anyway, back to our decision ... Our choices seem to be

1. buy a ridiculously large house in ugly-ville that we will never be able to sell again. I have a feeling this market is set up for a crash in the near future because of #2 above. Houses in this category are going to lose even more value than they have now.

Dave Ramsey suggests #1 - I have thought about this and have come to the conclusion that it makes a lot of sense provided you are planning on pouring a lot of cash into it to make it NOT ugly. If part of the home is to incorporate your faith into it, BEAUTY is of great concern to me. I need a place that is conducive to contemplation. If I am daily having to tell myself "well, we really did get a lot of bang for the buck" just in order to make it tolerable to live, then I have lost something in favor of a savvy financial decision. Ugly is a lie. I prefer to spend my days seeking and appreciating Truth.

2. buy a spec home in a flood plain that we will never be able to sell, once it floods the first time ... my parents live in a flood plain. I don't have the stomach for remodeling every 3 years, primarily because taxpayers foot the bill and I hate living in a hotel.

We already rejected #2 - Quite simply, we were going to get fast and tolerable construction on land that might flood with homes that likely wouldn't flood. New homes. A LOT of house. Good location, save my horrible drive to work. Still, for financial considerations, I know what the dreaded 100 year flood tag can do to a property value. It was a risk, bad timing on our part and we simply couldn't buy the house.

3. Buy a marginally larger house with a decent sized back yard and with a floor plan that is conducive to expansion.

Looking like our plan - We even found a waterfront home that is in our price range with a decent sized lot AND that is within 5 minutes of my office, which is outside of Baton Rouge. We found another a little outside of where I want to be with 2 acres of land, a swimming pool AND almost as large as some of the ugly-ville homes we were considering in nicer parts of the city.

4. Build

Long term goal, but likely not now .... (never say never eh?)

Anyway, this was a long roundabout way to say ... pray for us.

That is:
$1.97
$2.18
$2.49

for a 664 giving me a 221.33 average for the night and dropping my average to nice even 226. The competition is two guys on the same team who are carrying 235 and 240 averages respectively. I come in at #3. One of the guys on my team says they carry about 190 averages in regular league. That is where I WANT to be right now as my book average was about 192 when I stopped bowling 5 years ago. I know one of them bowled a 260-something tonight so I have my work cut out for me if I plan to catch them.

What is killing me is being square at the line on my spare shots and consistent speed (which was fine in practice this past week). My release is improved although I tinker with it when I realize that I have made a mistake elsewhere. I am hitting the pocket really hard right now. Strikes are NOT a problem. My first two games were 1 shot each from being scratch with a legit 4-bagger in game 1 (and two splits). I relied heavily on the 9-pin strikes in the 3rd game.

Did you know you could do math with Google? ((228.333333 * 6) + 664) / 9 = 226
You can do conversions too: 25000 sq ft to acres

In our league you get two points for a win and 1 point for total. It is 3-man teams. We beat our opponents by an average of 100 pins per game. We were just on as a team. 7-0 this week. We were in 3rd before this week. I am hoping we could make a move on the top two teams with that finish.