Keepers of the Truth

Visitors come

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 03:11:00 +0000

Well, since we got home with Kharoah we have had a steady stream of visitors. So far the friends we've had over are Mrs. Grotto's friends. I mean, I'm friendly with them as well, but originally they are hers.

Today, I finally had some of my friends make it out. It was so wonderful. Not only that my friends came to see us, but they brought dinner. If you read mynameismommy, you will know that I have said often that I think Kerri is a great cook. So you can imagine that I was excited when she said that she would bring dinner for us. Dinner lived up to my anticipation, but Mrs. Grotto was really taken with it. She threatened me if I ate all the food without leaving her leftovers. While she tells me that she likes my cooking, she never asks for seconds. Today, she asked for seconds. I guess I know who would win if we even had an Iron Chef showdown.

Now I've talked about how the friends who have visited previously were all Mrs. Grotto's and I've talked about how Kerri was here. Really, I'm originally a friend with baldman. He and I have known each other for many years and have grown closer as time goes on. Why are we friends? Many times our views are not similar (You can see that from many of my blogs here), but we are able to respect each other and do have many likes in common.

Anyway, we've been very lucky to have so many people come and visit and help us out. My parents have watched Kharoah while Mrs. Grotto and I went out to celebrate our third anniversary and our local drive-in theater allowed us to go see The Simpsons and Harry Potter. Things are good.

Sorry about the sideways picture. The computer isn't cooperating with me and I'm too tired to fight it right now.

Kharoah has entered this world

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 02:15:00 +0000

Well, he finally made it. Kharoah (I'd like to keep calling him this online for now. Please, if you know his real name, do the same.) entered the world on July 14th after a rather long delivery. He is big and healthy. Mrs. Grotto also is doing fine. I'm sure that I'm going to have lots more to post soon, but now I have to get to work on getting the house ready for his homecoming.

This has been a very exciting and special time for me. I'm still not sure that it has completely sunk in that I'm a daddy yet, but it'll hit me soon. Right now I'm just walking on clouds.

Response on empowerment

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:38:00 +0000

I am writing here to a discussion taking place between Bald Man and myself on Mynameismommy. I think it only fair to take my comment off Kerri's site as it is off the original topic and might follow lines she would rather not have on her blog.

You can read the original post and responses here

I will continue...

Baldie: I agree in much of what you are saying, but I think we are looking at two different ways to solve this problem. If you want to take down the powerful man, take him down. You can't do that by promoting one group because then they feel they deserve it, hoping they will someday be on par with the MAN.

What I'm saying is that if you and Kerri were each given a bunch of string and some beads you would each have the same chance at producing something sellable (aside from any natural personal artistic abilities). On this area we are all level. Now to say, I'm going to sell Kerri's necklace because she's a woman and woman have a tougher time than you as a man who could/should be doing something more meaningful, that's wrong.

If you want to get rid of the MAN who is holding down the people you need to look at who the MAN is. Who is it in those 3rd world countries? Is it the "FairTrade" people who give only 1/3 to 1/4 of the PROFIT back to the producers? That doesn't sound fair to me? Is it the religions (IE. Muslim, Christian, local, etc) who have for centuries said that women don't need to work outside the home for living wages? Is it the white society? Honestly, I don't know.

I'm sick and tired of the whole, "Why aren't there more black NFL coaches?" Why? Maybe because there haven't been enough black people who have proven themselves. When will we ever have enough? When will that argument go away? We had two coaches in the Stupid Bowl this year who were black (mulatto), and more was made about their color than the fact that they had worked hard and long to get there. Each man deserved his spot because he’d paid his dues in the lower ranks and proved himself. Would he have been in that position if it’d been given to him because of his color, most likely not. I’m not saying there aren’t racist people out there, but most people at the top want to promote those who can make them more money, regardless of race or gender. Put the race card away! All we are doing by lifting up one group and holding down another is empowering the race card.

Let's all just work. If the wages aren't fair, fire the HR person, get the board to can the CEO. We are all equal; we can't treat each other as if we aren't. That is what history has shown us. You talk about stopping the powerful by enhancing some, but not all, of the weak. That just creates new power structures.

I'll ask this to you again, but you don't have to answer since your wife may be reading. Can a woman do anything a man can do given the fair chance to work? If yes, the woman doesn't need an artificial boost. Correct?

Goodbye Bagheera

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:39:00 +0000

Today is a very sad day for me. I had to put down one of my cats. Not just any of my cats, but my mother cat. No, she was not the birth mother of any other animals, but she was the cat who acted most like a mother. Bagheera was the cat most likely to give a bath to a fellow kitty. She was the one who would crawl into the litter box after someone else got done and make sure everything was covered over. Ra would come and sit with me or Mrs. Grotto if we were sick or upset. Every night when I crawl into bed she jumps up on my back and crawls over to lay beside me. She is the only of the cats to not be afraid of the dog. They lay together and go nose to nose. While I wouldn't classify them as best friends, they respected each other as equals.
Baggie came to me from an exgirlfriend, but I think I was the one who named her. I had said that a black cat needs to be named after the mighty protector of the Jungle Book. Later I would start to call her Baggie-Ra like the leader characters in Watership Down. She was not really the Queen of my cats, but she was the caretaker, the lover, the calming force.
Bagheera will always be missed. I can't believe she is the first of my cats to go. I don't know of any time when she wasn't the picture of health. I cried today harder than I have cried in a very long time. I will continue to cry for my Ra. She will be missed every night as I go to sleep. She will be missed as I sit at my computer. She will be missed when it is kitty drink time. She will be missed by her brother who will have noone to rape anymore. She will be missed by her little sister who will have no one to chase her. She will be missed by her mommy who liked to have her lay on her tummy and warm the egg. She will be missed, but never forgotten.
I love you Bagheera

Let the games begin

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:47:00 +0000

Ok, as I'm sure my readers know, I am expecting my first child next month. There are those who have asked if we have set up a lottery to see who can pick the right date for the birth. What I was thinking was that entries can be made for free, but anyone wishing to donate money to the cause I will match the donation (up to $5) and we will give all funds raised to
WorldVision. This is a charity I have learned about through my friends Mommy and Baldie. They are hosting a BBQ this weekend where I plan on helping and they are doing so to raise money for WorldVision.

So anyway, if you would like to take part in this fun game of when is the next little Grotto going to come, let me know. Also let me know if you would like to donate (Again, not necessary to participate and you may e-mail me privately about money transactions if you would like) so I can pass those funds along to the people who need them.

Oh, the official date picked by the doctor is July 14th. And since I'm making this game up, I'm going to pick July 1st and also July 13th. Have fun! We'll see who wins (No prizes will be given as all donations will be going to charity).

Kharoah

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Fri, 25 May 2007 03:21:00 +0000

Kharoah

You began

A hope

A wish

A dream

We anticipated

To see

To hear

To Touch

Together Enjoying

Our baby

Our miracle

Our future

Family growing

With love

With joy

With excitement

You remain

Our hope

Our wish

Our dream

-ET 05/07

things seen on a walk

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 23:41:00 +0000

Ok, as the weather has gotten better I've started taking my dog and my Nike+ shoes out for walks. It turns out I am competitive after all. Would I walk for just my health or even that of my beloved dog alone? Most likely not (that's what history shows at least), but when you say I get credit for each step and that can make it so I can beat some of my co-workers, I'm out walking every day! But what have I seen you ask?

1) Dead bird laying on the sidewalk. Dead birds don't decompose very quickly. :(

2) A local student athlete going to a neighbor's house to collect some money for some sale or pledgedrive or something and the lady at the door in her robe (looked fresh from the shower) handing him money. If I didn't see him walk up to the house I'd have all kinds of great ideas as to what was going on.

3) A young man approaching a house with flowers. Ah, teen love...

4) A mother sitting in a car in the driveway. Hood on the car is up and she's splitting time between reving the engine and yelling at her teenaged daughter.

5) A little miniture collie with a bark that sounds more like a wheeze. It's always fun to hear.

6) A dad working on cutting a tree in his front yard. He was in the cleanup stages and he had his little boy playing among the stumps. Dad said it was time to go in and the boy needed to get his trucks and go in. The boy refused and the dad, last I heard was picking up the trucks and depositing them one at a time in the trash can. This is a philosophy I somewhat like, but I have the feeling that if I search that trashcan I won't find any trucks come garbage day. Either that or I'll see the boy and dad at K-Mart buying new ones.

7) I saw my first skateboarder today. With where I was living last spring and where I work, this is nothing special, but I haven't seen any boarders in my neighborhood. Made me happy. Don't know why, don't really like boarders as a group (that's changing now that more of my kids are boarders), but it was a comfortable feeling.

8) There were a group of young kids playing in the side yard of one house and when I looked over one had another in a perfect armbar tilt, even had the leg over cover and everything. I was so happy to see this form of wrestling in my neighborhood. Then before I could turn the courner, I heard one of the other boys yell, "Ok, now I'm going WWE on you!" *sigh* I had such high hopes...

9) Lots of friendly people calling hello from across the street or on porches. This should be nothing really special, but when I would walk in the last neighborhood I hardly had anyone speak to me. It was more of a look straight ahead, if you make eye contact that means you want to be agressive.

10) A teen jumping in a car and when they drive past he's licking a blunt closed. Not trying to hide it or anything. What balls!

Ok, that's all from the first 3 days. Hopefully I'll have lots of new sights throughout the year. Only 40 more miles to meet my goal for this challange. That's another 20-ish walks.

Why Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 03:20:00 +0000

My friend Mommy posted a blog about why she is blogging. One thing that I realized about why I want to blog and don't relates to something a co-worker and I were talking about one time with art. He was saying that he stopped drawing because he couldn't let others see works that aren't perfect. I commented that I'm the same way with my writing. It's hard for me to post anything that I don't think completely says exactly what I want it to say. Thus, I have loads of blogs I've written in my head but yet have to come out to this site. I need to work on that. I know I'm not the next greatest writer of all time, but I've done some stuff I'm proud of and that I think others like. Who knows, maybe with a little practice I'll even get better. Self confidence. It's a hard thing to get.

Please help with a title

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 02:56:00 +0000

I'm hoping to take advantage of the number of people visiting the site currently and the fact that many of them have religion on their minds by posting one of my stories. I would love any thoughts on the story itself (The beginning is weak), but I'd truly love ideas for a title (My brother once gave me an idea that was really good, but I forgot it. I'll have to ask again.). Below is the story:

Jeremy sat down at the table and hoped that his headache would go away. The last thing he wanted to do today was sit through a boring dinner meeting, but unfortunately he had to attend or he knew there was no way he would have a chance to be promoted through the company.

A tall thin man sat down across from Jeremy at the table. He smiled and nodded to Jeremy as he adjusted his knife and fork. He was the kind of guy that would always be sucking up to the boss. This guy was the kind of guy that kept getting promoted while Jeremy sat at his job just hoping that he didn't get fired. What was it about those neat people who always made it to the top?

Looking down at his watch Jeremy wished that he had brought his flask along to this meeting. With a shot or two this meeting would not have been so hard to sit through. The main speaker was one of those motivational speakers who would stand up at the podium and tell everyone with a big smile on his face that getting ahead in business was as easy as getting out of bed in the morning. All they had to do was to keep a positive attitude and then everything would fall into place.

As dinner was being served, Jeremy noticed that he and the thin man were the only two people sitting at the table. The other tables were sometimes filled, but it seemed that the planners had hoped from more people to be here today. Jeremy just hoped things would be over quickly. He had already taken his fourth aspirin as he sat there and knew that before the end of the event he would be swallowing more.

"Excuse me," said the man. "My name is Richard David." He extended his hand across the table and Jeremy shook it.

"My name is Jeremy Johnson." He smiled at the man in that business smile he know how to do so well. He looked at the polish on the other man and wondered how it was he hadn't already made it to the top of the ladder.

"It's nice to meet you Jeremy. I was wondering, would you mind if I said a little prayer over this food before we began eating?"

"I'm not a religious man, so if you would like to say a prayer, you won't really be bothering me at all. You'll just have to forgive me for not joining you because I'm quite famished and I think that lack of food is causing me to have a large headache."

"Jeremy, I don't like to be one to preach, but I'd like to tell you that there is much more to life than getting ahead in business, but if you do want to get ahead, the lord is a great gateway to success."

This was the last thing that Jeremy wanted to be talking about. To make his point he grabbed his fork and began to spear baby carrots with it. He was hoping that if he just didn't show any interest in this discussion, then maybe the guy would just stop talking.

"Have you ever heard the story about the last supper? I think that might be an appropriate story for today. One of the apostles didn't want to wait through the blessing then either. He had plans of advance on his mind. He was more into thinking about how to get ahead than thinking about what the Lord could do for him."

"But didn't the Lord forgive him for his sins? Isn't that what the whole thing is about? You don't have to believe. You don't have to go to church. All you have to do is just show up at church every once in a while and you are saved. What's the point of all this praying?" Jeremy really just wanted to eat his dinner in silence and then take a nap while the man spoke, but somehow this man was getting to him and he wasn't going to take it.

Richard straightened up in his chair and began swishing his chicken around in the white sauce. "While it is true that God is a forgiving being, he tends to favor those who keep him foremost in his mind."

"Well, what about you? If God is so easy on those who are always thinking about him, why aren't you sitting up there at the front table?" Jeremy could feel the pounding in his head become more intense and he tried to massage away some of the pain.

"There are things that the Lord has for each of us to do. It's my job to sit here with the working class and help them find the true path. Maybe I'm here to show that there can be happiness in just doing the job in front of you." He was now talking with his fork. Jeremy could see Richard standing behind a podium telling everyone that things would work out for them if only they believed in God.

Looking around at the other tables, Jeremy saw people eating and laughing enjoying the company of the others around them. 'How come I had to sit at the table with the freak?' He thought to himself. 'This is just the way things have been going for me lately.' The last couple of weeks had been rather under productive and now he was hoping things would straighten out before people started to notice. That was one of the reasons he had come tonight. At least if they did notice then he could say he was trying to improve his performance by going and listening to the speaker.

"If everything was just as simple as believing in God," Richard was saying, moving closer to Jeremy, "and never being tested, then what would be the point? We all have to question our faith. The lord works in many different ways. Have you ever had a bad week at work?" Jeremy was so drawn in to the conversation that he actually found himself nodding without even thinking about it. "That's just him telling you that you have to work harder, and if you believe in him, he'll help you.

"I remember when I was having a bad time once. I wasn't getting all my deadlines and people were starting to complain. That's when I asked God for help. I mentioned something about my troubles to the guy in the cubical next to mine one day just in passing and he showed me a great way to save time and get my stuff done on time. All I had to do was ask the Lord and he showed me the way."

"The Lord showed you the way?" Jeremy almost spat out the piece of bread he was chewing on. "You said yourself that you talked to the guy next to you and he told you how to get your work done. What are you talking about, the Lord showed you the way?"

"Yes, the Lord, after I asked for his guidance, showed me the way. I would never have mentioned my troubles if the Lord hadn't prompted me to at that time, and He did so because He know that man could assist me."

"That's a big bunch of junk. You asked another human for help and they helped you. That's not a divine doing, it's just one person helping out another. It's just natural human kindness."

"You are wrong. There is much more to it than that. God works through the people and he shows them how to find the path, not by just pointing his finger and making everything easy, but by making us find the answers ourselves. There is more to the story than just that though." Richard stopped and drank a little of his water before he continued. "When I later talked to the man next to me it turned out he too was a God fearing man and was looking for a new church to attend. After I told him about my congregation he began to attend. That was the real reason that God made me talk to him. I was to show him the way into my church."

"Well, I don't want directions to your church. I just want to finish my meal and listen to the speaker and leave. I have no use for divine beings that think I have to fear them in order to make it through to the next life. If I lived in fear of things, I would never get anything done."

"Is that so? Do you not fear you will lose your job if things don't go right? Isn't it fear that makes you come to work every morning? Fear of paying the bills, fear of not being accepted by the people in your neighborhood?"

"I don't care what the people in my neighborhood think of me. I don't care if they think I'm sort of loser who can't hold a job. Sure I sometimes think about getting fired and what that will do to me, but I don't worship my job."

A smile was settling across Richard's face as he took a bite of his chicken. He chewed it slowly and looked at Jeremy. "Let me just say, Jeremy, that you should take the time to examine your life and look at all the ways that God has helped you. I'm sure that you have seen His influence in the things that have happened."

Jeremy wiped his chin on his napkin. 'Lord,' he thought, 'if you are up there, let me just ask you. Show yourself. If you will just stop this guy from bothering me then maybe I'll start to think about you more.'

"Another thing you have to do is start to look to the lord for answers to your questions. He is always willing to help those who are in need the most. Like when I was having trouble, I just asked the lord for help and he showed me the way. That's all..."

"Ladies and gentlemen," said the man who was now standing behind the podium, "I would like to welcome you all here today at our meeting on work productivity. The idea behind today's meeting is to give you all some new ways to beef up your productivity so that you can achieve more out of your workday without increasing your work."

As the man continue to speak Jeremy sat back in his chair and thought to himself, 'Thank God.' He then allowed himself to drift off to a near sleep state where his mind could relax in the gentle utterances of the speaker's voice.

The Bible, The True Word?

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 18:09:00 +0000

So my dear friend Baldman posted something asking for the correct tense of a verb in a passage from the Bible. Several people stopped by and gave their interprutation of that passage, including myself. Now, I'm not a Christian so I try and keep low during Baldman's religious posts because I know he's looking for on-topic comments and not battles about why I should convert. When it looked like my comment was going to cause his blog to become that I decided to bring that battle over here so his blog could stay focused.

In a nutshell, I have been saying that because there are so many diffenent versions of the Bible it makes it hard to know what the true word of God is (assuming that the word of God is given in the Bible). Also, knowing that the Bible was transcribed by mortals, who is to say that somewhere in the transcription there was not a misspelling or wrong word inserted which chould inadvertanly change the meaning of one passage or another. One poster, Sean, has said that since the Bible can be traced down to within 30 years of the origin and there are more than 5,000 copies around the world. To this I reply that I know there are more than 5,000 copies of Cat In The Hat and it can be traced almost to 30 minutes of its origin. Does that make it true? If so, watch out for Thing 1 and Thing 2.

One point I usually make when I speak to people about why I am an Athiest is because I don't see any proof otherwise. Religion is nothing more than trying to explain the unexplainable. The Greeks tried it with their gods, as did many other cultures. Most every group of people has one set of beliefs or another and each was formed because they wanted to explain why they were here and how to control those around them. I believe that the purpose of religion is a good one. I love to quote Henry David Thoreau when he says in Walden, "Tablemanners were created so we don't kill those sitting next to us at dinner." We all need those rules. If you look at the 10 commandments, those are rules so we can all get along. Don't follow those rules, most likely someone will be upset. Usually, I try to follow the last 6 of the 17 10 commandments (This is like speaking of the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Trilogy) But I digress. What I was really going to say is that if the Bible were a set of rules God set down for his children to follow then he is a poor parent. If, when my child is born in a few months, I set down a book full of vague rules for him to follow, don't answer his questions regarding how to interrupt those rules, and then punish him if he gets it wrong, would you consider me to be a good parent? I would be following in the footsteps of the Christian God. How can you say I'm not? Is this really the model we should be following? Americans laughed and mocked the Japanese for their solid system of honour in which one worships their family yet that is exactly what Christians are supposed to do. Is it done?

ok, I will open this up for response. Please be polite. Everyone is free to their own viewpoint, and each to their own is valid.

Quirks, I have them

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 16:16:00 +0000

Ok, I was tagged. So this means that I have to actually look at myself close enough to point out 6 things about me which I find quirky. I have thought about this for a while and then I sat down to make my list. I had trouble coming up with 6 things. Not because I don't think I'm quirky, but to name thing is difficult. I finally came up with my list and began to write this blog and the list kept growing and growing... Then I looked at it and thought it was much more of a listing of my faults than my quirks. But really does it matter all that much? To quote Pink Floyd, "And if I open my heart you, show you my weak side, what would you do?" Here they are:

1) I'm VERY OCD. I have to really watch myself to keep from going over the edge. To give some examples, I'm a counter. I count steps, I count change, I count poles along the side of the road... Oh, and the money in my wallet all has to face the same direction and not be folded (Don't do folded pages in books either, have to straighten out pages (Although I do sometimes mark with a fold)).

1.5) This leads me to being a control freak. I almost made this a seperate entry, but then I realized that one was related to the other so I put them together. Because I like things just so, I want to be the one to do everything or watch over everyone so that things are just so (not like the stories though, cause those are good in a different way.).

1.5.5) I speak and think and write paranthetically (I also can't spell, but that's later in the list). Took me a while to realize I did this and then I read the book The Mezzanine which is all in footnotes and said, "I do that!" I even wrote a story like that once. I guess that's because I'm a multitasker (Ack, that's later too. I need to move on).

2) I have to read every day or else I get grumpy. I try and get in 50 pages a day or roughly 1 hour. Sometimes I get more or less, but I try. You can tell if I don't have a book to read though. Not that it's happened to me lately (Oh, my library is almost done!!) I don't care how much sleep I may lose because of my reading, I'll read over sleep most days. It's a nighttime ritual. I'll keep the rest of the ritual to myself. Some may know it. Some call it "Cave time". Whatever, it keeps me sane, so don't knock it!

3) I have to have a cover on all my pens, or retract the ink. Some people will put down a pen and leave the cover off. Can't do it. In fact I click open and shut my pen each time I check one thing off my list. I think this really falls under #1, but then again it is quirky.

3.5) I tend to overthink just about everything. That is usally what is happening right before I make the usual wrong choice about most things. I was playing a game one time where you have to name someone at the table who fits in with the quirk or whatever you are given. Someone named me as the most likely to think I was getting a good deal when I was being ripped off. I don't necessarily disagree with that because I do overthink things. This is one of the reasons I don't have much posted up here because I think I should write something and then I spend too much time trying to make it perfect instead of just posting it and realizing that noone is readin it anyway. It doesn't make my life as an artist very easy.

4) I have a pseudo-photographic memory. I can remember tons of things almost exactly like they happened. I remember conversations that I really have no reason to remember. My brothers call me a lier all the time because I remember things that happened when we were little, but it's true, I remember them. I can see the places the conversations took place. I don't know what they might be wearing because I don't notice those things, but I know it took place in the basement or whatever. I remember one conversation I had with BaldMan one summer we were working together. I remember where we were when he said what he said. It is just weird. Yes, it was a very wise statement. He makes them all the time, so I don't know why this conversation sticks in my head, but it does. I don't really know why most of the things stick in my head. Some are big, life changing events, but some, like the baldman conversation is just two guys talking. I wish I could control it, but it's a subconsious thing. I know if I read something and think about something else, I will remember what I read down to the place on the page (For a limited time only, act now!).

5) I'm a multiprocessor. I can't just do one thing at a time. I have to have more than one thing going on at all times or else I get bored. My wife used to joke because I would have the TV on, 3 IM windows going, a game running on the other computer (I have two computers side by side I use for different things), and I'd be talking to her all at the same time. If I needed to, I could quote almost word for word from any of the inputs I'd be getting when challanged I wasn't paying attention. It kills me to just sit down and watch TV. I have to be doing something else (Usually that is sleeping). I can't wait till I get wireless networking in my house so I can be online while I watch TV. I guess that is one reason I like my job and I do well at it. There are always 5 things going on and I have to be on top of all of them or else it crashes.

6) Spelling. Can't do it. Just like Hans Christian Anderson and many other people who went on to becoming famous authors. It gives me hope, but not alot.

6.5) I am the only person I know who is dislexic with the letters b and p. It's especially bad when I'm typing. And I'm a touch typist so there is no visual cause for it except the image in my mind.

7) I'm a starer, but I'm horrible when it comes to

Religion and politics

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 16:39:00 +0000

I read a news article about religion in politics which I shared with my pal Baldman . This is part of what I wrote to him. It is something I think should be more thought about. I talk about some of the hot issues of the day as elections loom close, but I feel these ideas can go to some of the other issues where morality is used as the main cause of why we can or can't do something.

The idea that religion is wrongly playing a part in politics is something which I feel should be addressed more. I think that we are quickly giving up our rights because others don't feel they are morally correct. If you don't think abortion is right, don't do it, but don't tell me I can't (I have the right to want to have a baby if I want to!). If I want to go and inhale secondhand smoke while I eat dinner I should be allowed. If I own a bowling alley and I want people to be able to smoke and drink while they play, I should be allowed to make that happen. Just because Governer Taft doesn't enjoy placing a fiver in a girls garter doesn't mean that he should stop others from doing it. If some church feels that their god doesn't approve of two girls getting married then let that church deal with it amongst themselves, why should it concern the government? We are starting down that road which will lead us toward a process where we'll be lead into a room to choose our ideas and told to press any button we want, but will only have one button to choose from. Often it is forgotten that one must take Jesus into their heart for salvation, just blindly saying or doing the "right" thing is not doing that. You can't force love any more than you can fool on omnicient being.

Give me a break

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 18:26:00 +0000

Ok, I really don't have time to be writing this today, but I really must force myself to take a break. This week has just been really busy and slightly frustrating. Together, those make for a grumbly guy.

I could complain and say how horrible things are, but truly, things aren't that bad. Yes, frustrating that my wife called me at 1:00 AM on my birthday to wish me happy birthday because I'd gone to work at 8:00 AM on the day before and hadn't made it home yet. Frustrating that when I got home from work on my birthday day my wife had work commitments that kept her late that evening. Frustrating that I had to get up half an hour early almost every day this week because various things were going on. Frustrating that due to construction a fiber line was cut at the home office and so I had no internet all this morning. Frustrating that the alternator went out on my truck last night so I have no vehicle today. Frustrating that the battery died on my wife's car this morning so she was not able to go to work day. Frustrating that due to my in-laws decision to move furnature on a Thursday I had to take the dog to get groomed so the piano and couch could be dropped off at my house. Frustrating that someone from the parent office came to my office Wed. and made me come in early to let them in. Frustrating that one of my servers is down so I can't reimage machines (and they almost all are down right now). Frustrating that I don't know if I'm going to get a paycheck next week because I switched from hourly to salary and I'm not sure how smooth that transition will be. I'm sure there is more to it, but I can't come up with it right now.

See what I mean. I could complain about these things, but really, it's not that bad. No one is hurt. No one is really missing out on anything important. No major catastrophies are going to happen because of this. How really can I complain? today is Friday. I can go home, fall into bed and sleep for till time to get up and eat sweet corn and take the dog to the park. No real loss. I've tried and started to complain about it to people this week and then I just realize, Hell, if this is the worst that is happening to me right now I'm pretty well off.

Of course every day adds something new to the list, but so far, I can cope. Really, when I look at it all from another angle I realize that lots of good came from this week as well. Hey, I'm on salery (IE benefits)! The dog is clean and not quite so sheddy. New furniture. Listening to my wife make music is one of my favorite things and now she has a new instrument to play with! The truck will be getting some new parts I've known it will need eventually. The wife's care got that new battery I new she'd need soon. Long work hours are created by high demand. because of some of the server issues I'm getting some updates for my machines I've needed for a while but they haven't deemed it necessary before now.

Oh, and did I mention yet that tomorrow is the festival I look forward to every year cause it brings the best chicken (except maybe mine) and corn. I can't wait to get that fall off the bone chicken and crunchy sweet corn. Mmmmmmm... Now that's eatin!

How do you define yourself?

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 18:17:00 +0000

Here is another blog inspired by Bald Man . This one also has reference to Kerri on mynameismommy.com as well. What a team those two make. If only there was a way I could find of getting them together...

Ok, so Bald Man was asking on in a blog if his comments were out of line in response to another blog . Since it seems I respond to almost everything Bald Man posts, I though, why should this be any different? No really, he is talking about an issue that I really do hold high on my things which get me annoyed list. Kerri had been speaking of the topic in one of her blogs as well. I have posted several times to Kerri's blog because she really hit a subject that makes my blood boil. I don't think I have yet stated my view in a way that I am satisfied with and I have been saying that I am going to write a blog on my views with regard to race for quite some time now but haven't. For that reason I'm glad I have such good blogfriends to allow me to work out my ideas on their spaces.

For the most part I'm not going to repeat myself at this time, you have links to the other blogs and comments. Please give them your traffic so they'll let me keep posting there. I do want to repost the end of my first (and there haven't been more than one so far so maybe only) comment to Bald Man. I would love to hear your answers. Heck, at this point in my blogging career I'd love for any comments. Hello, is there anybody out there? (listens for crickets). Anyway, here's the cross post.

How do you define yourself? What does that say about you? What are you trying to hide behind when you use one term or another? What are you trying to say when you use those terms? Who do you exclude by using those terms?

I've been to the mothership

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 01:29:00 +0000

In life I have a philosophy which I try and live by:
Always keep a list of goals to achieve and keep working toward your goals.

This week I have achieved yet another of those goals. I went to the Apple Computers headquarters in Cupertino. Was it an awsome, awe-inspiring experience? No, not so much. I mean I had fun walking around what little of the campus I was allowed to see and looking at the way they designed their offices and how they allowed their employees to do their own thing (think differnt) and such. It wasn't like, "Oh cool I have to get a picture of this or that." I didn't say much of "Look at that guy (I did say that about one guy who just has an awsome feel to him (More on him later)." It was just the joy of being at a place I had wanted to visit for quite a while. I'm the only Apple geek among most of my techi friends. I have a good friend who used to say that I was going to take over Apple one day. I have others who just don't get it. Anyway, I'd always wanted to go to Apple headquarters and now I write this just a few minutes walk from the place where it all happens. I'm still giddy just thinking about it.

Overall, what we did was little, although I now know how to post podcasts and I've used the Apple iLife and iWorks suites which are really cool. I would love to just sit down for a few months and get lost in this stuff, but I know that I'm going to have to go back to my office on Monday and get back to the real work I do. I just hope that I'll be able to use part of what I learned in what I do everyday.

I do want to talk just for a moment about one of the keynote speakers who talked to us. His name is Kim Silverman, Ph.D. He is a man of great stature not only in the way he looks, but also in the way he thinks and acts. He's the principal research scientist at Apple Computers and is overseeing the speech recognition and text-to-speech projects in OS X. First off, he looks just like Professor Dumbledore or Merlin or any of the legendary wizards we see on TV (I also heard him refered to as Santa Claus, but I didn't really see that as much). He spoke and made a presentation that just made everyone of us drop our jaws in awe of his speech. He could make the computer just and dance just with the sound of his voice. It was an awsome sight. Then when we were at a reception later he came out and did magic tricks for us. He's a very accomplished magician and he put on quite a show. He started with a trick where he used me as the audience participant. I was very skeptical at first, but soon, I was just sitting there wondering how he pulled it off time and again. Here he was standing close enough for me to touch and he pulled my card out of a deck multiple times. I had my eyes firmly on the deck and never once did I see how he did it. I thought I had it once, but then he pulled the card out of somewhere completely different from where I thought he'd placed it. I was amazed! Later, after he'd gone around the room doing other slight of hand tricks I got a chance to talk to him. I told him how much I enjoyed listening to him present and see him perform. I told him that it was like magic what he could do with the computer. He said, "I think that part of what makes effective technology is making it act like magic." or something like that. I was just so overwelmed by what he did. If you ever get a chance to see this guy in action I think you too would feel as I did. It was a great way to end a great week!

World View

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 13:13:00 +0000

Bald Man posted a blog and it got me thinking (He does that to me alot, and I appreciate him for that). What is our world view? How is it that we think about things when relate to them? Usually when I do things, I try and use a philosophy I learned from Alister Crowley "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. Love is the law, love under will." What I was told that meant when I first heard/read/whatever it is that "You can do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't interfere with what someone else wants or does in a negative way." I do my best to do that. I try and live by the "Golden Rule" and treat others as I wish to be treated. Those two things, I think define a lifestyle that if we were all able to follow, would lead to great things.

The problem is that there are a whole lot of us in the world and it is hard to do something that doesn't effect someone else, and maybe in a way that is negative to them. Things were so much simpler when we had a smaller world view. Back 200 years ago we most likely wouldn't know what was going on 100 miles from our town. Today, 100 miles might be a daily commute. Back in 1800 the newspapers didn't come out but maybe once a week in most towns and they only told of violence maybe once a month. Today we have 24 news and 24 violence, but when we really review that, how much of that is local in 1800's terms? Did the world get more violent or did we shrink the world with technology?

There was a time when we were much more careful about what we did because it really had more of an effect on our lives. How many leaders were willing to sound the battle cry knowing that they were the ones who actually went first into battle? I think that I am more willing to say that a leader had to fully believe in what he (Sorry ladies, I think I am being historically PC here)was fighting for back then as opposed to today. Would bush have pushed for war in Iraq if he was on the first plane flying into battle (See previous war experience)? But each of us personally had to be careful of what we did back in those times. I might get upset and kick the tire on my car. Most likely it won't damage my car (else I'm stronger than I thought or my car is junkier than I thought), but in 1800 a swift kick to the spokes of a wagon could have easily broken a spoke or spooked a horse. Even the little things mattered a little more. For most people a penny was a lot of money at that time. Do you think that many people abused things they spent 100's of dollars on, or treated them so they might break? Sure some did, but I think most didn't. Today, $100 is a minor thing for many people and who cares if this one breaks, I can go to Wallie-World and get me 2 more for the price of one.

No, I can't say that I have followed both law and rule to a T. I know I have broken both, but I do try. That is part of the problem. It really can't be done totally, and in this case, trying is the best we can do. Let me give an example... Smoking. I don't smoke because second hand smoke can harm others. Ok... Seems good to both Law (don't impede on the will of others to not be harmed by second hand smoke) and Rule (I don't want others to force me to deal with the side effects of their habits I don't share). But wait, there's more. Here is where it doesn't work to both Law (By not doing it I'm harming those people who make their living from the tobacco crop. I know that many people think that those farmers can just plant something else, but alot of farms are suitable for only certain crops, and so tobacco fields most likely won't grow wheat. Besides, I may want to smoke.) and Rule (I'd hate for someone to not do something just because I don't want them to, no matter how good it is for them. Also, I want others to use my "product" (I do have a job ya know) and would hate to think that they aren't because they are being polite to someone else (It does happen in my line of work)). So I have to decide, which is better? Usually I will decide one way, but sometimes I might go another on any given issue. It seems it would be so much easier in a smaller world where I didn't have to decide if I wanted to buy someone made in a sweatshop in China where the people at least are making something for their labor or to not buy and keep them from making the pennies they may need to put food in their mouths.

Zidane... Was he really all that?

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 13:23:00 +0000

Ok, I think I need to have an unbiased opinion on this. I watched Saturday's match between Brasil and France and I was really unimpressed with the whole game. France won, 1-0 on a restart free kick where Henry got behind the defense unmarked. That was the one shining moment in an otherwise unremarkable game. France had 2-3 players on all the best Brazilians making it so every time Ronaldo touched the ball he was surrounded and he resorted to Maradona style dives to attempt to gain the calls.

Speaking of the calls, I thought that the referee did not really stay consistant with his calls. In fact, on the play where France scored, a Brasilian (I don't really recall who) was all but raped by two Frenchman (Nothing surprising there) to a no call, but then on the French attack someone got touched for a call. That is not the only example, but really inconsistant in my opinion.

No, I'm not blaiming the officials for the Brasil loss. They lost it themselves by not figuring out how to get past the French defense better, by not putting in a stronger or more comfortable striking line toward the end of the match to force a goal. In fact, look at the side which took the pitch for Brasil... No Emerson, Adriano did not start, Fred did not come in (He did well in round robin play as a late sub), and where was Robinho prior to the 80th minute? I was very disappointed in this game, and the handling of the Brasilian lineup.

What really gets me though is the press. During the match I had to listen to the announcers talk about how any time someone tried to attack Zidane they were showing lack of respect (even worse if they touched him on the tackle), but when they contained it was because he commanded such great respect. Did he play well? To me I think he played a good game. Yes, it is true he is a top quality player, but I don't think his played warrented then or now all this talk about how wonderful it was. He did drop that ball right onto a running Henry's foot. Beautiful touch that! He did make a few good touches to beat some defenders. Nothing more than Ronaldinho did though.

Maybe I'm just too biased. I'm not a fan of the French, on or off the pitch. This is something that started before the '98 World Cup when France spanked Brasil in the finals (Ok, before that I didn't realize France had a soccer team, but that will show how much respect I gave them). No, this has nothing to do with the recent "War on Terror" - Freedom Fries stuff. I think France was right to stay out. Anyway, am I just too biased to have seen a GREAT game from Zidane? Did I miss the magic? Please, let me know what you think.

Thoughts on Blogger so far

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 17:22:00 +0000

Ok, I just thought I would post a few thoughts on my experiece with Blogger so far. I've been on for about a week, and I would have to say that overall there isn't a whole lot positive or negative about my experience. There are, however, some things I'd like to see improved.

First, I'd like for there to be some way to sign up for RSS feed or something that allows my readers to know when a comment or a follow up to a comment is made. I have seen this on Baldman's site so I assume it is something that WordPress allows. Guess it spoils me. As it stands, you have to check a blog every few moments if you want keep up to date on comment thread. Bummer.

Second, I wish there was a way to network here. Not that I have a real theme I can state which would draw readers, but I feel like I'm just posting to my few friends. Nothing wrong with that, I like having them here, but I would like to make new friends. I wish I was able to expand my readership somehow.

Third, I wish there was a way to edit comments. I found a typo in a comment once, but after it is posted it's stuck that way. I think I have one blog where I had to make three comments just to get one right. I'm not the world's best editor, but I do try and get things right when I see it.

That's all I have for now. Hey, for free, that's not a big list of wishes. Maybe I'll make the plunge and start paying for a site someday...

Rantz and armegeddon

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 03:43:00 +0000

I wrote this to a friend of mine who's blog I read. I open this up to you all as I know that many of you are religious and I would be interested in what you have to say on this subject as well.

I know on past blogs you have written greatly on religion. I have had an experience lately that I was hoping you might be able to bolg about and help me with. I had a young teenager come into my office on June 6th and tell me that the world was going to end and she was very upset. I had heard the whole 666 thing, but didn't konw it was connected to the end of the world as we know it (And I feel fine). She told me all the cunfusing and mostly inaccurate things she had heard from friends and read on MySpace. I did my best to calm her and we talked about religion. I was trying to be as religion neutral as possible as I don't believe we should influence others in those matters, but also to be as honest about them as possible (Only though truth shall we find enlightenment!).

The thing she had the most trouble with was the trinity. I tried to explain the whole one in the same idea and all that, but she kept saying that since it was God who created Jesus in Mary, Jesus could not therefor be God. I was not really sure how to explain it (I don't understand it myself. It all sounds so redneck when you get into it). Could you assist me with that?

Also, since the books of the New Testament were written by the Apostles, or attributed to them, does that mean that they wrote them, or did God? I realize that is a fine line of distinction, but one I feel needs to be drawn (This leads us to "Do we have free will").

If You Give A Chinchilla A Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 13:13:00 +0000

Here is a little something I wrote in the style of Laura Numeroff
It's still a little rough around the edges, but I'm hoping you can help me make it better.

If You Give A Chinchilla A Pie

When you give a chinchilla a pie he usually asks for some milk

When a Chinchilla has milk he usually needs a newspaper to read while he drinks it.

And if a chinchilla reads a newspaper he'll start to talk.

Talking will lead the chinchilla to waving his arms...

And that makes him spill his milk all over the floor.

So then the chinchilla will need a mop.

But chinchillas don't know how to use a mop, so he'll probably just dance around with it.

Then you will have to chase him out of the room because he's just making a bigger and bigger mess.

So the chinchilla will go into the other room and watch the game.

But cheering his team to victory always makes the chinchilla want a snack.

Because his team is winning the chinchilla will hurry back to the kitchen where you have just cleaned.

He will tell you that you did a good job.

And because he made you happy, you will give the chinchilla a pie.

How strong am I?

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 16:08:00 +0000

Ok, today is one of the biggest days in the 2006 World Cup so far. Big matches being played by USA and others in their group to see who will advance to the next round and then Brasil plays a match just to show the world how pretty soccer can be (Since they have already clinched a spot in the next round and I think 1st in their group (I'd look it up but... well, read on)).

Let me explain. I'm an American (I'm sure that won't be a shock for most of you). According to popular belief, we are supposed to strongly support our home team/country no matter what. I have never bought into that. Part of the reason for that is because being the youngest kid in the neighborhood I always got to pick which team I was playing as after the older kids picked their teams. The older kids picked the home team and thus I was stuck picking someone else. In most pro sports that someone else was Pittsburgh because they were the best teams at that time (My thoughts, why pick a loser?). So I jumped on bandwagons. I'm proud to say I haven't fallen off the wagon yet (Well... I'm a little down on the Pirates, they are still my team, but I have adopted a new team who I really follow better (again, more on that later). One of the bandwagons I jumped on was Brasil. They were the ones that everyone watched back then. They were the team to beat. They had Pele! So when it comes to watching world soccer, my heart lies with Brasil. What a beautiful game they play. *Sigh*

Oh wait, I was making a point... Yes, American soccer. So now of course the USA is starting to work their way from being a country that everyone laughed at in the world of soccer to being something of a consistent challenger. I really don't like the style of soccer team USA plays. Too many long balls, not enough control, too much reliance on speed, not enough concentration on skill, too much physical, not enough grace. Because of this, I really don't like USA soccer. I don't think they deserve to do well until they learn to play the game better. Don't get me wrong, I know that most Europeans play the same style, but I'm a fan of the South American style.

This all leads up to today's matches. USA is getting ready to play for their life in the tournament. If they win AND Italy wins then they advance to the knockout round. So of course logic would tell you that I would be rooting for Ghana to beat the USA and Czech Rep. to beat Italy (For those of you who don't follow world soccer Brasil and Italy are pretty big rivals because Italy is tie for second (With Germany my second favorite team) only to Brasil for most cup titles). Well, logic would only be half right or maybe three-quarters right, but not totally. I think that I would really like to see Italy play Brasil. I think it would be fun to watch us beat up on them again. Currently the head to head matchups between the two countries rests at a 2-3-2 tie. I think that Brasil could easily finish off the Italians and thus taking one more step toward showing everyone that they are and always will be the best in the world. To do that I need Italy to get second in the group. So I do want Italy to lose today, but then I need the US to tie Ghana. I think Italy would move to second based on goal differential.

But here's the thing... I'm starting to let a little bit of pride take over. I wouldn't mind seeing the US do well. The better the US does in the cup the bigger the sport will become in the US and then there is a better chance we will become one of great nations of the world. The kids need heroes. I had Lexi Lawless (Still have his old goatee)... Ok, he wasn't really a hero as he took the pitch for the US when I was a little old for hero worship, but I did like him. So I don't know... Do I want them to win? I mean I still like the underdog of Ghana. They did really well when I watched them against Czech Rep. I could be happy either way with this game.

But here is the challenge I have with today. It has taken many hours to get this far in the post between other chores, but I'm trying to make it through the day without discovering the scores so I can watch when I get home. But THE SCORES ARE EVERYWHERE!!! When I go to Yahoo!, I see the box pop up with the scores. When I get in the truck to go home tonight I know the 2 Live Stews will be on and I enjoy listening to them (Even though one of them is on vacation and the brothers aren't as funny when they both aren't there). During the course of the ride home I'm sure I'll hear at least one update. Sure I could listen to some funk on the way home, but it just isn't the same. Not the mood I'm in today. I'll have to see how quick I am on the volume. Then I have to hope my beautiful wife doesn't say anything about the scores before she allows me to settle back with an import and watch me some footie. Oh, it'll be a challenge. It has been hard so far, but I'm up for it. I think I can make it. I hope I can do it. I think I can. I think I can.

Who are you? Who are you? I am a walrus...

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 17:32:00 +0000

So, I'm sure that you all want to know who I am. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Rantz (That is pronounced Ran tez' (I actually think the e should be a shawe (upside down e (Oh, have you noticed I talk paranthetically alot?)))) Grotto. My name is not an offshoot of rant as in rant and rave. I may rant, but that's not why I got my name. How did I get my name? I choose it, made it up actually. Always surprises me that other people have picked it as well, but I guess that just goes to show how hard it is to be original. When I made up the name I was around 12. I'm not 12 anymore. I didn't know that grotto was a real word. Alot of people don't. I discovered it was a real word several years later when I was reading the book, ET. I thought it was sort of neat. It also is cool that it could be a real last name.

"Which Rantz hit you over head?" asked the caveman.
Rubbing her head the rather comely, if not for the knot on her head, cavewoman replied, "It one in grotto,"
"Rantz Grotto?" said the caveman grabbing his bow and arrows. "I kill now!"

See it works. I like it. So yeah, that's my name.

Where do I live you ask? Well, I live out here in cyberland, in a grotto. I like it here. I spend alot of time out here in my little grotto. Course, that's why most people think I'm a little strange. I'm used to that. My wife says I got issues. I agree.

What else do you want to know? Like my business card says,
You got problems?
I got solutions

Just beware, I don't guarantee that you'll always like what I have to say.

Welcome

noreply@blogger.com (Rantz Grotto) — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 17:15:00 +0000

Hi I'm Rantz Grotto.
This is a place where I, the power hungry man, will start his reign of terror.

This is the place where you, my faithful followers, will bow to me.

This is a place where everyone, except my enemies, will be comfortable.

This is a place where the gods, my fathers and mothers, will talk to me.

This is a place my enemies, those who can't see the light, will fear.

This is a place you, FOOL, have just entered.

This is a place I, Rantz Grotto, have created.

Oh and in case I forgot to mention it, have a good time and enjoy your stay! :)