Thank you UK

There will be a lot of people who think Kentucky let them down. I am disappointed, but for the guys. I wanted them cutting the nets down, but West Virginia beat us, fair and square.

Thank you Mr. Wall. If you go pro (and I think you should), you've given us a wonderful year. Mr. Cousins, if you don't go pro (and you should not), remember how bad it felt on the bench, and make sure this summer that you don't go back.

Thank you Mr. Patterson for sticking through Unmentionable Coach #2, and giving us three wonderful years. I'd love to see another year, but you've earned your NBA money. If you go, you go with our thanks.

Never, ever give up.

Keep fighting, even when it looks like you're done.

A comment at Vox Popoli

Since at least one person over at Vox Popoli liked this comment to Vox's post to MH, I'll preserve it here as well. Nothing is original to me; I just retyped it.

MH: 3/16/10 1:15 PM:
I just want to thank everybody for all the wonderful references, I will most certainly check some of them out.

I have tried to read the bible many times, and find it utterly unreadable. The God described in that book in as far as I could ever get through it is an incredibly vindictive and cruel entity. And its full of things that just seem preposterous to me to the point where I can't take it seriously enough to finish the book.

This is interesting, as I've found much of the Bible the most readable book out there. Job and Ecclesiastes helped me through a depressive high school term, and Revelation is the ultimate combination of "Cheer up! The worst is yet to come!" and "Guess what: we win." I challenge you to read Revelation 21 (the descent of the New Jerusalem from heaven to the new Earth) without wanting to see that city, even a little bit.

My number one piece of advise for "new" Bible readers is to ditch the King James Version. The best thing I ever found was a New International Version bible at summer camp. Find an NIV Bible or an English Standard Version bible with wonderful notes. The Quest Bible is an excellent choice.

Second, throw away your notions of God as the eternal grandfather/Santa Claus and as the punisher. The God of the Bible is both Just and Love, and He is not concerned that we can't understand how He balances out those natures.

When I hear about God being vindictive, most people are usually talking about the conquering of Canaan. At the very first blush, it does sound cruel. Kill everyone, burn the cities, etc. However, if you read just a little bit more, you realize that it's not that simple. God behaves in predictable patterns:

* God decides to set a time limit on a sinful people. Over 430 years before Joshua, God tells Abraham that the people of Canaan's time is limited. A few cities get destroyed soon afterwards (from the author's point of view, the absolute worst). The rest get extra time to repent, until the Israelites show up.

* God warns people. Rahab knew God's name, and knew that God was giving the land to Israel. Jonah went to Ninevah to warn the people there that they were under God's judgement. The two angels warned Lot's household to leave Sodom.

* God provides an "out" for the good guys. Ninevah repented and was spared. Rahab and her household became part of Israel. Sodom would have been spared for the sake of 10 good people. (As an aside there, Lot had as many people with him as Abraham did, and Abraham had an army. When Lot went into Sodom, he took hundreds of servants with him. Abraham was sure that at least 10 of the people he sent with Lot would still be righteous. He was wrong.) An entire city was spared just because Lot whined he couldn't walk to the mountains, solely for Abraham's sake.

* God judges individually and collectively. You are responsible for your own sins, but you are also responsible for the sins of your group if you don't act. Rahab rejects her community, and is absolved of both their sins and hers. Lot's wife self-identifies with Sodom, and is punished for its sins, despite being of an otherwise righteous household. If you are "innocent" but won't get out of a sinful people, then you are under judgement.

* God sets your lifespan. This is a hard thought to make sink in, but it is a very Tanach-based Jewish thought: God gives life, and takes it away. God cannot commit murder because He gave the life in the first place, and can set the boundaries as He pleases. If God says "this person's life is over", then that's it.

"What about the innocents/children?" I've heard several arguments that are probably true (Israel didn't have the resources to feed tons of orphans, etc.), but there is a moral judgement hiding in the question. Morally, the real accusation here is "these children deserved to keep living, and it's murder for God to take their life". This is really begging the question. God gave these children their life, and He can decide how long they live.

Morally, either they are innocent at death or they aren't. If they are innocent, then their death is inconvenient but temporary. If they aren't innocent, then they are morally condemned anyway. (I include this not for infants, but those who want to define "children" to include clearly self-aware ages as high as 18 or 21.)

God is not capricious or bloodthirsty, but patient and merciful (the real "God changed His mind" verses always involve God choosing mercy over judgement). He sent Jesus to die on a cross because He wants all of us to live.

They was robbed!

I didn't get to watch CBS's selection committee, so I only now realized that Florida got into the tournament, but Mississippi State didn't. That isn't fair. I am a fan of Billy Donovan, and originally hoped that he would get the job instead of both Billy Gillespie and Calipari. However, Florida consistently underachieved this year, while Mississippi State played people really, really hard, especially UK.

Coach Cal was right; if UK is second in the country, then Mississippi State deserves to at least be in the big dance. They were robbed.

My tax dollars at work

We didn't get any bills or Netflix envelopes yesterday, so the mail sat on the counter until this evening. After opening the Netflix envelopes (gotta find out what happened after the 4th season of CSI: Miami), I checked the rest out. There, in white "US Official Business only" glory, was a letter. From the Census Bureau. Telling me that I was going to get my census forms next week, and that I needed to fill them out.

The Census Bureau spent about a dollar printing a custom letter for my address, stuffing it into an envelope, and mailing it, just to tell me that my census form was coming soon. Wow, that's 100 million tax dollars down the drain. Thanks, China, for funding that.

That said, I certainly support the "I am an American" racial choice, and will be checking it for the entire Packrat family. I can't tell which racial groups are in my family, why should the government care?

South Carolina played a good game tonight

I just wonder why Patrick Patterson and John Wall didn't show up for the game.

Disagreeing with Scalia

In general, I am a big fan of justices Thomas and Scalia. I think they are the two most libertarian on a court packed with statists. Both still aren't far enough, but the current trend in anti-government Constitutional thinking derives straight from Scalia.

That is why I am particularly upset at Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. As I've gone along, I've grown to appreciate Vox Day's opinion that corporations should not have their "legal personhood" fiction, and that legal entities have no rights, much less First Amendment rights.

I wish Scalia had gone down that path here.

I'm done with Dickie V.

Several years ago, Dick Vitale did an interview about his career. He made me feel sorry for him by saying how he just loved basketball, and wanted everyone else to love it too, and he couldn't understand why people didn't like him. I felt really sorry for him.

Today, I turned him off. The sound, at least. I am watching the UK game on espn360.com, and the sound is off. I just can't take it any more.

A committed Relationship

OK, I can be a very dense man. Just ask Milady. I often don't understand things.

I am very confused by the term "committed relationship". It seems that Peter Orszag was in a committed relationship with woman number 2. He wasn't committed enough to marry her (the jury's out on whether it was mutual or not), and wasn't committed enough to stay with her after she's pregnant. He's already in yet another "committed" relationship with his new fiance, a couple of months out.

I see no commitment here. He stayed as long as he was getting something out of it, and then left. I would prefer the honesty of "it was only about the sex and food" than "we are in a committed relationship".

Of course, he could be using an alternate definition of committed: "To place officially in confinement or custody, as in a mental health facility". That would work with Michael Savage's theory that current liberalism is a mental illness.

Snowshine

I attended the University of Kentucky as an undergraduate. Being a night owl, I tended to be on campus in a computer lab or visiting the Tolly-Ho or Perkins for late-night food.

A cloudy night after a snow storm was extra special. I would bundle myself up as possible, and then wander around campus. At 2AM, the air would be completely crisp and clear. It looked like every photon of light had to have bounced up and down at least 20 times before stopping. I know it was a trick of the eyes, but it looked brighter and crisper than a clear, sunny day. A snowy night in the country is nice, but you have to have the solid light pollution of a city to pull this one off. One of the terms I used was "snowshine".

Tonight, it's snowshining again. I can't walk on campus or down our street - I'm too cold, and I've got to get in bed to meet tomorrow's responsibilities. But, for 10 or 15 minutes, I can look out the front window and be amazed at God's blessings yet again.

WBCOOP 2010

Right after Christmas, I realized that I hadn't seen PokerStars mentioning the Blogger tournaments. I was afraid I'd missed them. No, they are just running late.

Registration code: 843197

Happy 2010!

The Packrat family prayed, worked, and then relaxed. A perfect way to start the year.

We worked by putting the final touches on the upstairs lounge paint job. Now the paint is almost done; we only have to paint the new day bed I'm putting in tomorrow.

Now we are relaxing, watching the after-ball-drop shows on the tube. What high quality....

There are WAY too many bowls

We have had too much experience with the doctor, and now it's the car doctor. I took the car in for an oil change and a tire rotation. Of course they found more. The front tires were worn out, as was the rotor and the brake pads. A $30 trip turned into $720.

Brother, can you spare a dime?

This isn't the only strange thing going on in this world… I was watching ESPN, and they were discussing bowls. Then they mentioned the "San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl". The Poinsettia Bowl is hardly tier one (or even tier three), but it makes me upset. If a Credit Union can buy a bowl, I could have had the kypackrat.com Bowl.

Open Prayer Requests

I ask everyone to pray for the salvation of my great-uncle "R". He knows nothing about the Bible, little about Christianity, and has absolutely no hope. I've been working to witness to him ever since my grandfather (his brother) passed away, with little effect. He is too much of a boor to hear what I'm saying. For Christmas, I gave him a care package of a Bible and several study books, and wrote a letter to witness to him. Like the sower, I've spread my seeds. Now, please pray that God leads him to read those books and makes those seeds grow.

Second, my brother-in-law W has been tentatively diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and the doctor thinks it's spreading throughout his body. Since the tests (biopsy, etc.) are not done (they will occur this week and next), we are praying that the doctor is mistaken and it is either not a tumor or that it's not malignant. If the doctor is correct, please pray that W receives peace and comfort from the Holy Spirit (W is a baptized believer).

An open tribulation Theory Blog

Over at Vox Popoli, SugarPi posted:

OK, Starbuck and DrTorch, you're tempting me beyond what Markku's admonition is able to restrain me. I'm dying to ask a sincere question that no end times, post-trib scholar I've read has been able to illuminate satisfactorily.

Comments are unmoderated. Ask and talk away.

The Manhattan Declaration -- Why I agree, and won't sign

I was reading R. C. Sproul's blog for a post by Sinclair Ferguson (more about it later), when I noted a post about The Manhattan Declaration.

I've heard some about the Manhattan Declaration, but between work and Number One Son being back in the hospital twice in the last month, we've been busy. When I read Sproul's blog post, I went and read the Declaration. In general, it makes me glad to see the Church making a principled stand on three of the serious issues facing America. I would prefer more clarity on fighting the evils of divorce and fornication too, but that's just me.

I also have trouble agreeing with RC's insistence that it would be wrong to sign the document because of whom else is signing it: Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians. Sproul says:

The Manhattan Declaration confuses common grace and special grace by combining them. While I would march with the bishop of Rome and an Orthodox prelate to resist the slaughter of innocents in the womb, I could never ground that cobelligerency on the assumption that we share a common faith and a unified understanding of the gospel.

As a Restoration Movement adherant, I am naturally hesitant to distinguish between types of Christians. I believe in "Not the only Christians, just Christians only" motto. Sproul goes too far (IMHO) in condemning Catholics and the Orthodox in not agreeing with his theology.

Nonetheless, I won't sign, because Sproul is not totally wrong. There is a difference between saying "You're not Christian enough" and saying "I can't co-sign on your theology". Chuck Colson said, "This document is, in fact, a form of catechism for the foundational truths of the faith." I don't believe it is an adequate catechism; that is reserved for the Bible itself. Second, the document is incomplete: any such document should have condemned divorce, fornication, and the sexualization of our society (porn, etc.) in equally strong terms.

Finally, if it is a statement of theology, then I can't agree that all Catholics and all Orthodox are preaching exactly the same Gospel as I am. There are saved Catholics and saved Orthodox. However, the Orthodox church and the Roman Catholic church both teach as doctrine non-Biblical principles. I may be in Christian union with believers in both organizations, I most certainly am NOT in union with either organization itself, and the document implies that I am.

Even without arguing the Stone-Campbell "no creed but Christ", I won't be signing the Manhattan Declaration, no matter how much I agree with 99% of it.

Crass Consumerism

Once again, I've been suckered out on Black Friday for the sales. I think I've done the best I've done since I lined up 6 or 7 years ago to get a "free" computer.

Here's my deals, in order:

• Staples had their 50 pack of jewel cases at $5. Since I'm completely out, this wasn't bad.
  However, I still have a beef. I don't care how "easy" it is, a rebate still is crap. The store takes my money, and then may give it back 2-3 months later. No thank you! I was going to buy Staples' 100 pack of CD-Rs and 50 pack of DVD-Rs, but instead of $5 each, they were $14 each with $9 rebate (I think).
  
• There's a new Computers Plus store in Lexington. The people are nice, and the first thing you see in the store is a MacBook Pro. :) They had a $10 8G USB flash drive (something I've been needing for a while), with a $10 coupon for later. Unlike Staples, I was willing to pay $10 for the drive, so the coupon is just a bonus.
  One problem with then though: the owner has a Marine-style haircut. I don't trust short-haired computer people much... ;)
  
• My best deal by far was Radio Shack's Gigaware USB headset. They're flimsy, and Radio Shack is useless for drivers (if you have Vista, start searching Google). However, my Mac loves them, and they've got the best sound I've heard out of headphones (and almost the best I've heard out of a computer, period). I bought two, and I may go back and get one or two more at these prices.

The one sale I'm disappointed in not happening: blackfriday.info and fatwallet.com claimed that Circuitcity.com would sell the Linksys WRT320N for $7. Unfortunately, there's no sign that they have, or that they will. If they would, I'd buy 4 at least. They'll run DD-WRT, and that would let me move the home network off of G and onto 5GHz N. Maybe that price will show up sometime soon.

(Interest disclosures: None. I didn't even give you links that make me money.)

Time to leave California

It seems that California is raising payroll withholdings, as an interest-free loan. (Sorry for no hat tips, I saw this too many different places....) I am SO glad that I never wandered too far left of the country. At this rate, I expect California to be bankrupt in months.

It is well with my soul

I'm sorry for ignoring the blog. In one sense, I've been suffering the death of a thousand cuts, but on the other side the Lord has been so very faithful.

In the course of two weeks, I have had the following items break

• the video card on "Precious"(*), my work laptop
• The battery on my supervisor's spare MacBook, which I was borrowing.
• Then the hard drive on the same MacBook dies, leaving it down. I had to scrounge a hard drive out of an older Dell laptop and restore my files again.
• My co-worker's hard drive decided to die a few days later.
• We had to cancel a trip out of town with our neighbors because our 7 person cabin ended up being a 4 person cabin...
• I spent Sunday afternoon taking out the vinyl flooring I put in the kitchen just a few months ago. We have no idea how water got under it, but it did. This would be less depressing if we were finished paying it off... *blush*

Even so, it is well with my soul. All four of us are healthy (including Number 1 Son), and no one has the swine flu yet. Our house is intact, and we aren't bankrupt. I have good friends, good co-workers, a good job, and a good church.

To quote the song:
My sin not in part but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul

Something long forgotten

Roman Polanski drugged and raped a 13 year old girl.

His arrest isn't about a great artist being persecuted. It's about a pedophile and rapist being caught to face justice.

There was a plea bargain that the judge was waffling on. I don't know California law from the 70s, but most states didn't require judges to follow plea bargains for sentencing.

Even if it did, Mr. Polanski ran first and asked questions later. He should be in jail in California, awaiting the results of his appeal.

Sorry, Roman, you're no OJ. I tolerated the Not Guilty verdict for OJ because IMHO the state didn't prove its case. You on the other hand are a dirty old man who ran from his jail time and should face it.