picture from a borrowed camera

I borrowed a camera from one of my students so that I could capture some of the colors of Fall here:

doh!

I really regret that I dropped my camera in the water at BAICA camp a few months ago. It was a rainsoaked field, and it was there for only 3-4 seconds or so, but long enough to render my camera unworkable.

It's really sad because the trees and leaves are really quite beautiful right now. The Fall colors of reds and oranges and browns just aren't the same with me telling you how great they are...I know you'd much rather just see it!

losing innocence

I think I may have commented on this before, but I feel that kids in today's day and age are losing their innocence earlier. What am I talking about?

I'm talking about all the sinful crap that's in the world, that's on a zillion tv chanels and on a zillion websites, and the ease at which it is exchanged and transferred over the Internet through chatting or things like MySpace. Kids are exposed to the junk earlier and become subjected to ridicule, social peer pressures, foul language, and all sorts of inappropriate sexual phrases and words earlier than in generations prior, in my opinion. I'm not sure 5th graders were asking perverse questions back in 1994. But maybe.

Yes, I think technology has accelerated the loss of innocence. I'm not calling for a turn to an Amish lifestyle, technology has also been a positive -- you wouldn't be reading these thoughts and opinions of mine without these blog things, and I couldn't stay more connected and in community with fellow brothers and sisters if it weren't for all this advanced technology. I just think we should recognize the damaging effects our "better" technology can have on the younger, and even younger ones to come.

Vegetable Smedley

So my roommate, Craig Smedley, BAICA Bible teacher, now has a dish named after him.

You´ve heard of vegetable medley, right?

Well, Vegetable Smedley is a dish of vegetables that you just cut up and put on a plate, it involves no cooking whatsoever. It aligns very well with Craig, who does very little to no cooking. So, the next time you see Vegetable Smedley on a menu at your local restaurant, you know what you're in for.

napping

Napping is great. I read an article on a study they did, they being smart doctors and researchers somewhere, that napping reduces your risk of a heart attack by 30%. 30% from what? 30% compared to daily McDonalds eaters or 30% compared to runners...statistics are an interesting thing...anyways, I believe it's got some truth to it.

Our bodies get to rest and let the good immune system work it's wonders if we're feeling ill or under the weather. I'm writing this because I took a nap today after school, to clear up, not during, and I feel much more rested and refreshed now...so I encourage you to nap if you can!

a texting idea

So text messaging is fairly common, wouldn't you say? Then why not have the "world text-messaging" championships??

Round 1 could involve players being given a phrase or sentence to test their speed to see how quickly they can type out the message and send it.

Those who make it to Round 2 would be the players receiving by phone an answer to a question, like in Jeopardy, and then they have to quickly think on their feet and respond with the correct question.

For the final contestants who make it to Round 3, they have to navigate an obstacle course, like inside and outside of buses and subways, up stairs, etc. while trying to text a long sentence.

Think about the future of this real-world game!! It could be the next basketball. It would be difficult for the contestants, requiring agile minds, and quick fingers...they'd also have to stretch the fingers well to prevent finger cramping during the competition...

So yes, I have lots of ideas, mostly dumb ones.

change

Change is an interesting creature. It's a double-edged, self-contradicting sword. So why is change often times hard? Why is there often so much hope and excitement involved with change? don't those seem opposites...

I've been thinking about change alot recently. We're going through some changes here at BAICA, and it's been hard in some aspects, but exciting and hopeful on the same coin.

Is it because we have to figure out a new set of what's familiar habits for our creature-of-habits selves?...and then those habits could be much better than what we have now?

Is it because we don't know how things will turn out? So we worry, but yet the part of us that knows, but many times hides, that the Lord is really in control, is that what excites us?

Didn't Jesus change everything? People then and now worry because they can't necessarily control what's to be if they change to Jesus. Lest not we forget that He is the Lord of the Universe! That is exciting enough in itself!!

Change. Hard, but exciting. Sometimes just gotta do it.

retirement rule for sports

The NBA has recently instituted an age requirment for players. The NFL has a rule that says you must be 3 years removed from high school to be drafted. Why don't pro sports, especially MLB baseball, also institute a you-can't-come-back-after-two-retirements rule?

This is because of Roger Clemens. And others like Michael Jordan whose post-retirement playing years turn out to be disaster. Clemens signed a $28,000,022 contract to play for the awful Yankees this year, for one year. Besides the fact that he thinks it is cute to add the "$22" to his 28 million dollar contract because that's his number, and he doesn't really have to travel or be with the team this year, he just has to pitch on his days to pitch, nor will he be pitching for the next three weeks while he gets back into shape -- I'm not going to whine and complain that his salary is a ridiculous amount of money for one year. He'd be quite unintelligent to decline that offer. I think his bosses are the ones who fell off the turnip truck, but maybe they figure they can sell at least $28,000,023 worth of merchandise more because Roger is with them now. I highly doubt it.

I get sick of seeing excellent players come back after their fifth or sixth retirement, play for teams of low integrity, and perform poorly on the field just to be overpaid. Their teams suffer and their fans suffer. So I suggest that they get one freebie. Maybe they were wrong to retire once, okay, let em' go back. Once. After one retirement, that's it. Finito. Siyanara. Adios mi amigo.

Argentine drivers...

I think I have commented before that Argentine drivers are less than stellar when it comes to their ability to adequately and safely control a motor vehicle. As proof, I was hit today while riding my bike.

I'm fine, as well as my bike, and I'm thankful that it wasn't worse. I was on my bike and circling a round about, on the outside part of it, while a car was on the inside of the round about, clearly circling, and acting like it was going to keep circling to take one of the later roundabout exits. As I am riding, I am watching the drivers and passengers of the cars near me, including the car on the inside of the circle. I always try to watch drivers here, to see where they are paying attention to, if at all, so that I can anticipate any stupidity.

Anyways, in the car on the inside of the roundabout, I see this woman point to the immediate exit of the roundabout to her husband/boyfriend that I am now crossing, and I say to myself, uh-oh. I figure out quickly that he is leaving the roundabout, and so I reacted by turning my bike towards the immediate roundabout exit to try and avoid any side impact, but knowing impact is coming. After she pointed, he starts steering toward the immediate exit, not looking to his right, I guess just assuming that any car there would be leaving the roundabout at that immediate exit. And so he runs straight into me from behind, and propels me into the curb, where I hit front tire first, and then proceed to flip over the front of my bike and land in the grass. This narration took much longer than the actual event, it happened much faster than that.

The thing that surprised me the most was that he stopped the car, got out, and was sincerely concerned about if I was ok or not. That is fairly rare for a Buenos Aires porteño I would have to say. What didn't surprise me is that he stopped in the middle of the road after hitting me, and so cars were backed up behind him, and those drivers all proceeded to honk their horns impatiently, even after having witnessed this guy hit another guy on a bike. Oh Argentine drivers...

I'm changing my look...