Mental Musings

Difficult Week

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:32:00 +0000

This past week has been really difficult for our household. Saturday (June 28) was our Patriotic Musical. I spent all morning at the church getting things prepared for the program that evening. Wendy was home washing clothes and packing suitcases for her and Ashton as they were leaving on Sunday for Centrifuge (youth camp). We left early that night for the program and got home in time to get the boys to bed for an early start the next day.

Sunday we had our normal three worship services, ran home to eat lunch and change clothes then drove right back to church so that Ashton and Wendy could load the church bus and head for camp. Zachary was very upset because this is his first time to go a week without his brother and his mother.

On Monday, Zachary spent the entire day with a neighbor and her two young children. He did fine, but he was very sad that I could not make it home until late and did not make it home for lunch. That evening we went shopping to get supplies for our cookout on Tuesday and then spent an hour playing Mario Party 6. He went to bed late (he really wanted to spend as much time with me as he could) and asked me to sleep with him for awhile.

Tuesday he did not want to stay with anybody. He insisted on going to work with me even though he would have to sit quietly and play his Nintendo DS while I worked. I also had to go to a meeting in Columbia with three other men from church, so he had to sit quietly in the back of a van for the hour drive and sit quietly in an outer office for three hours while we met with our state director. We made it home about ten minutes before our Bible Study group arrived for the cookout and study time. He did get to play with two preschool boys and entertained them with magic tricks.

Ashton had a difficult time on Tuesday as well. One of the other middle school boys at camp told him that nobody wanted him to hang around with them and asked him to go away. Ashton went to the youth pastor to talk about this. The youth pastor had this boy call his mother to tell her what he had done and made him stay right beside him for the next 24 hours. Wendy said that Ashton was still very upset about the incident, but was walking around by himself looking happy. This is one thing that our boys miss out on by being homeschooled, so they have to experience it at church activities.

One Wednesday Zachary was scheduled to spend the day with a friend. We got to their house a little early and had to wait for the mother to wake up and get dressed. Everybody else was still asleep, but she told us that she was going to take them to ride go-carts on the military base. Zachary was extremely excited at this. At lunch time I found out that the go-cart place was closed, so they went to play putt-putt. That evening I found out that his friend is actually away at camp this week, but his younger sister was home…so, Zachary had to spend all day with a girl who has no interests in common with him. He was not very happy.

Today (Thursday) Zachary and I went fishing at a church members’ pond. We spent an hour feeding fish (meaning that the fish were eating our bait and we were catching nothing). Then we got into a paddle boat, switched to lures instead of bait, removed the weights and lowered the bobbers. Suddenly we started catching one fish after another. Zachary caught seven fish, including the largest, and I caught five. In my defense, I did spend most of my time removing his fish, throwing them back in, paddling the boat, untangling his line, changing lures, etc.

Ashton had another difficult day because all of the boys at camp were being punished because two boys made a mess of the bath area in their cabin. The youth pastor had all of them sitting in the cabin until the two boys confessed. Ashton said he knew who they were, but they did not want anyone to tattle. However, the only boy who was not being punished was the one who told the youth pastor that some of the boys had made a mess. Ashton and another minister’s son were searching through their bibles and reading aloud verses about doing what is right in hopes that the two boys would confess, but they did not. The boys were allowed to leave their cabin to go to worship time and will be coming straight back after. Ashton is tired of camp and ready to come home. I think he liked RA Camp much more.

Who I Would Not Vote For

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:18:00 +0000

Just in case anybody cares, I thought I would post some of the issues that concern me when voting. I will never vote for any politician who:

Is more concerned about the horn-rimmed-snowy-mole-woodpecker-rat than they are about the well being of humans.
Will allow China, Russia, Cuba and Mexico to drill off our shores but prohibit America from doing so.
Favors giving welfare, medical benefits and education funds to those who enter our country illegally (in other words, criminals).
Believes that we must be tolerant of every religion except Christianity.
Cannot realize that the average temperature on Mars has also been increasing and there are no SUVs or flatulent cows to be found there.
Favors killing innocent unborn children but is opposed to killing guilty murderers.
Believes we should give terrorists the same rights as our own citizens.
Thinks that increasing taxes on the wealthiest people won’t increase the costs to everyone else.
Believes that judges have a duty to create new laws to protect people.
Thinks that the government has an obligation to take care of our every need.

I am sure that there are many more just as valid issues, but these were the ones I thought about as I was relaxing for a few minutes today.

My New Tooth Is In Early

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 03:20:00 +0000

I am not quite sure why my wife laughed so much when I called to tell her that. I am going to get my $1027 tooth inlay put in tomorrow. I am also going to get blood work and x-rays of my chest done because my doctor said that I have an obstruction in my lungs. He wants to make sure that I do not have any scare tissue or pulmonary conditions that need to be treated. Guess I should go to bed and prepare for a long day of poking and prodding at the labs and some pain at the dentists.

Tortured Tooth Tale

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:03:00 +0000

My tooth tale continues... I thought I broke another part of my tooth this morning while brushing my teeth. I made another emergency appointment with the dentist and was able to get in at 10:20. I must say that I am impressed with how easy it has been to get in with this dentist. I found out that I did not break another part of my tooth, nor was it another tooth. I lost another part of my filling. And, as Paul Harvey would say, for the rest of the story...

This filling is the entire cause of my recent tooth problem. When we first moved to Maryland we made appointments for all of us with Dr. Stephen Gentile in Belcamp. We did not think that we should check with people for references first, but it turns out that we made a very expensive mistake by not doing so.

The cleaning process was much worse than any I had every had in my life. I left with my gums very sore. None of us have had teeth problems prior to our visit, but we expected that Ashton would have some cavities because he really hates brushing his teeth. Much to our surprise, Ashton was the only one that did not have a cavity.

We returned to get our cavities filled and had another bad dental experience. After the Novocaine was given to me, the dentist started to drill. I immediately started to feel pain that almost caused me to hit the ceiling. The dentist gave me another shot of Novocaine and tried again. After just a few seconds he hit a nerve and I gripped the seat handles to keep from jumping. He gave me a third shot of Novocaine and continued to work. I still felt some pain, but not as much. I also was shocked by how much pushing the dentist and his assistant were doing. I thought they would push me out of my seat.

I left the dentist office with my entire mouth and tongue numb, but I was still in pain and my jaw was sore. My past experiences have been that I would leave the office numb, but with no pain. It took about seven hours for the Novocaine to wear off, but then the pain became even worse. My jaw felt like somebody had slugged me repeatedly. My teeth hurt for several weeks.

The appointments continued to pain us when we got our bill which was hundreds more than we expected. We were not told by the dentist that he did not use the old silver fillings, but only the more expensive enamel fillings. Our insurance (which we no longer have) did not pay for the enamel fillings. If that was not bad enough, the dentist also tried to bill us for services which the insurance did pay them for. We had to make multiple calls and finally copied all of the bills and insurance claims down to the dentist's office to have his receptionist go through so that they could make corrections.

Fast forward two years to the day my tooth broke. My new dentist explained to me that a filling had come loose and rubbed against the tooth. The tooth got weakened and then cracked causing it to break. Now guess which filling came loose? Not one of the old silver ones, but the expensive enamel one that Dr. Pain (AKA Dr. Gentile) filled. Seems a little suspicious to me. Unfortunately we have no way of getting the bad dentist to pay the $1027 that I am now paying to fix his poor work.

What is everyone doing?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:08:00 +0000

I went on to my Digg site today to see what my friends have been up to and apparently the answer is: nothing. See below.

Makes me wonder if I need to just take the day off and go to the pool.

Expensive Habit

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:37:00 +0000

Last night I was enjoying one of my little habits, chewing ice, when suddenly I noticed that some of the ice seemed a little extra crunchy. I spit it out to find out that I had broken a tooth. I went to the dentist today and discovered that it wasn't really from chewing ice, but a filling had slipped and wore down the tooth so that it had cracked.

I am almost certain this filling is from the last dentist visit I had two years ago. That visit was the worst I had ever experienced. The dentist had to give me three shots of novocaine to numb me. While he worked on me, I was constantly feeling pain. Afterwards, my teeth and jaw were sore for weeks. Now I find out that his poor work has related in a broken tooth years later.

The total cost: $1027. Ouch. That hurt more than when my tooth broke.

Interesting Fortune Cookie

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:08:00 +0000

Anyone who knows my family will find this amusing...

My fortune cookie today read, "You have a lively family."

Mind Games

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 28 May 2008 01:10:00 +0000

My wife’s grandfather kept his mind sharp by doing the New York Times crossword puzzle everyday. Keeping the mind agile is just as important as exercising the body. I remember watching a movie featuring Patrick Stewart that was about a man who was concerned about Alzheimer’s. He went through daily mental exercises like reciting as many prime numbers as he could, naming all of the presidents in order or going through the state capitals in alphabetical order.

Most newspapers include at least one daily crossword puzzle with perhaps a Sudoku puzzle, Word Jumble or other such entertaining mental exercise. There are many other options for those who do not like to support the liberal bias of the printed media. Many websites offer online games such as crossword, scrabble, jumble and more. Then there are the educational video games like Brain Games that has become extremely popular on the Nintendo DS.

Other mental exercises include:

Reading (reading anything, including comic books, is better than no reading)
Writing (even simple processes such as letters or emails help you order and process)
Mathematical problem solving (how many of us in non-math fields can remember our algebra)
Memorization (there are tricks to memorizing an entire piano sonata or all of the lines in a One Act play)
Trivia (sport facts, politics, movies, music, weather or whatever interests you)
Word games (my favorite is Questions Only [every sentence must be in question format], but I also enjoy Last Letter [the first word of your next sentence must begin with the last letter of the other players last word])

Share some of your favorite methods for keeping mentally alert.

We Slept In The City That Never Sleeps

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Monday evening we entered our room in a posh hotel in the garment district. Although it was not what we expected based on the web photos we had viewed, the room was nice and clean. After squeezing between counters and walls in restaurants and businesses throughout the area, we were not shocked to find out that our room resembled a miniature version of most hotel rooms. Our room was on the street side (the bathroom window is directly behind the hotel sign in this photo). This might seem like a choice location when staying in a hotel one block from the Empire State Building, but the "City That Never Sleeps" stood up to its name.

I am not certain how I actually fell asleep, with the garbage trucks picking up trash at 11 PM, the subway trains rumbling underground somewhere nearby, the car horns honking, the music playing loudly from the open-air nightclubs, and, to our surprise, a window cleaning company starting to work on the next door building around 11 PM. I guess exhaustion finally won out, because I never heard Zachary wake-up around 3 AM needing something to drink (his mother had to deal with that). I did wake around 6 AM and could not fall back asleep with all of the early morning commuter noise.

Check out our photos and video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP0iocPW1F0.

Only Liberals Have Free Speech

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:00:00 +0000

This news article is only the latest in a long line of stories that show how liberals in our country are attempting to quiet the voice of anybody who thinks differently than they do: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,353023,00.html. Dr. William Gray is a renowned meteorological scientists who consistently does a better job of predicting the hurricane season than the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He has done this because he does not begin with a biased opinion that global warming is the cause of the increased cycle for hurricanes. Now that he has been speaking out against global warming, calling it a political issue instead of true science, the left has successfully managed to manipulate Colorado State University in an effort to shut him up. Apparantly American citizens are allowed to speak freely about anything as long as you agree with the liberal agenda.Yes, I too am a skeptic when it comes to global warming. I am old enough to remember when the public schools were teaching that man's treatment of the planet was leading the world towards another ice age. That was only about 30 years ago. However, since the scientific data during the past 30 years has not been able to support that view, the wacko environmentalists have decided to use another scare tactic: global warming. I am not saying that world-wide temperatures have not increased. It has been scientifically proven that the average global temperature has increased one degree over the past few decades. But it has also been scientifically proven that the global temperature on Mars has increased one degree during the same period. How can that be? Mars does not have SUVs or flatulent cows. Perhaps the scientists who point to increased solar activity rather than man-made causes could be right. But we may never get to hear honest debates about this because the liberal left has done an excellent job of preventing these scientists from being heard by the masses.

How is it possible for the left to have so much power over free speech? They have been working for most of my lifetime to shut down free speech while claiming that they are promoting that very thing. They support the free speech rights of Anti-Christians, homosexuals, anti-war activists, profane artists, extreme environmentalists and the like, while shouting down those who do not hold to their views as being opposed to free speech. It is ludicrous that they continue to get away with this tactic: yell for your right to speak freely while demanding that those who disagree need to keep quiet. And the liberal, agenda-driven, drive-by media has not only enabled them to do this, but has been a major factor in their war.

If anybody still doubts that the left is campaigning for just such a war against free speech, look at recent events in politics. Who would have ever thought that the darling of the left, Bill Clinton, would be the target of the very people who made him a two-term president? Bill Clinton has been allowed extreme liberties when he was acting in extreme, un-presidential ways by criticizing his own country, was given a pass when he put down the current president and was even praised for having the wisdom to do so during a time of war. But as soon as the Clintons turned their war machine against a fellow liberal, the flood turned against him. Who would have ever thought that Bill Clinton would be told to “shut up” by his own party? They never asked him to do that when he and his wife were destroying their own party. He never got the blame for turning congress over to the republicans for the first time in more than 50 years. But speak out against Obama and Clinton is told to just go away.

Dr. Gray’s troubles at Colorado State University indicate just how much of a stranglehold the left has on our educational institutions. I wonder how long it will take before the average American even realizes that they have lost this constitutionally protected freedom. Will we wake up one day to see news stories about police raids on churches and communities? Will entire cross-sections of our culture be arrested for speaking out against the liberal agenda before people realize that they should have done something?

Liberalism is not a one party system. It has long been the driving force for the Democratic Party and now has a stronghold on the Republican Party. The Republican poster child for anti-free speech, John McCain, is now the Republican candidate for our next president. McCain was not only successful in creating a law against free speech in political ads, but he continues to condemn his own party for putting our ads against his rivals in the race. No matter which candidate wins this race, free speech advocates will continue to see major loses in the ongoing struggle to keep this important freedom intact.

Proud Parents

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:49:00 +0000

Our twelve year old son has been exploring the internet for many years with our watchful eyes on what he is doing. Since he has been exploring YouTube lately, I have been even more diligent in keeping an eye on what he is up to. I was very surprised to see the following comments that he left following one of the videos (and this from a boy who hates to do his writing assignments for school and never likes to talk about what he is learning in church).

I was very impressed that he even made a point of letting one of the anti-religious commenters know that he disagreed with a negative comment made by another, so-called, Christian. I have left the link to the video intact so you can see the comments he was responding to, but I want to caution parents that some of the comments are not appropriate for children.

COMMENTS LEFT BY OUR SON ON YOUTUBE:

Thousand Foot Krutch - Falls Apart
ninjahobo... He Has Changed My LIFE! Just Pray And Ask Him What He Wants You To Do In Life, It Will Be Good At The End In Heaven If Nothing Else (7 hours ago)

He Does Love Everyone, He Is Not Picky. Some People DO believe He Doesn't Care, But He Does Care For EVERYONE. Ok, Reply If You Have Another Question. (7 hours ago)

Look, I Disagree That Your "Garbage" But God DOES Care. He Wanted Too See If We Would CHOOSE To Follow Him, Instead Of Forcing Us. I Pray You Will Decide To Follow Him. (1 day ago)

Look, I Disagree That Your "Garbage" But God DOES Care. He Wanted Too See If We Would CHOOSE To Follow Him, Instead Of Forcing Us. I Pray You Will Decide To Follow Him. (1 day ago)

Keeping Ahead of the Children

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:54:00 +0000

I have been helping my sons put together a website to use for their weekly video webcast. They record the video on Thursday evenings during our Praise Team rehearsal. My eldest has been putting the audio on i-tunes under their show name "Random Random," but has not been able to get the video converted to MP4 format without spending money on a converter program (something we cannot do at this time).

After preparing the website for him, he decided to just use YouTube. I have had an account on YouTube since December so I could share our Living Christmas Tree videos, but have never taken the time to upload them. Yesterday, my son opens his account, changes the design and uploads their first episodes. This, of course, makes me feel outdated, so I decide to work on my YouTube tonight.

You can visit my Youtube site at: http://www.youtube.com/poolehall. The only videos right now are of our Living Christmas Tree.

You visit my sons' at: http://www.youtube.com/callmebob50. Their site has silly podcasts with thier friend, Nick.

Positive View on Homeschooling

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:46:00 +0000

Watch Here if video does not play below

Princeton Premier - Beware Hoax

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:41:00 +0000

Feeling a little down lately? Wish people would recognize you for the many wonderful talents you have? Guess what? Princeton Premier may be about to fulfill you dreams.

Beware any e-mail that claims you have been honored by some unknown organization with a realistic sounding name. Companies like "Princeton Premier", "International Society of Poets" at poetry.com, the "International Who's Who" and others simply prey on the innate desire that humans have for recognition and fame. Once you agree to be listed in their annals of fame, they hound you for money to receive copies of their publication or a framed certificate or some such item to show you have been selected by their esteemed organization.

When in doubt, do a Google search or check snopes.com for more information before supply any of these unsolicited e-mails with your personal information. And caution: never click on the link at the bottom to "opt out" of receiving future e-mails. Anyone who does this is about to be flooded with SPAM. When you opt out of any e-mail, they sell your e-mail address to thousands of other companies as a valid e-mail address of somebody who actually reads the e-mail sent to them. the best thing to do is report as SPAM, delete or if you continue to receive similar e-mails, create a new rule in your e-mail client to automatically delete e-mails with certain key words in the subject.

Still not convinced, read below and click on the supplied link to submit your own name. Just remember that I warned you when they contact you wanting money.

Steve Poole,

It is my pleasure to inform you that you are being considered for inclusion into the 2008-2009 Princeton Premier Business Leaders and Professionals "Honors Edition" section of the Registry.
The 2008-2009 edition of the Registry will include biographies of the world's most accomplished individuals. Recognition of this kind is an honor shared by thousands of executives and professionals throughout the world each year. Inclusion is considered by many as the single highest mark of achievement.

Upon final confirmation, you will be listed among other accomplished individuals in the Princeton Premier Registry.

For accuracy and publication deadlines, please complete your application form and return it to us within five business days.

You may access the application form using the following link:
http://rm.resultsmail.com/route.cfm?mid=5d06d154-b3bb-403f-a214-22e8df812e99&uid=2c0b6aad-d5ea-4316-ae6d-c02ec604e1d2&route=http%3A%2F%2Fapp%2Eformassembly%2Ecom%2Fforms%2Fview%2F11970

On behalf of the Managing Director, we wish you continued success.

Sincerely,
Jason Harris
Managing DirectorPrinceton Premier

This email was sent to [email address removed by me], by Princeton Premier 23-35a Steinway Street Astoria, NY 11105 United States
If you do not wish to receive future e-mail from Princeton Premier, please click here [link removed by me]
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Mary Was a Widow?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:30:00 +0000

Our youngest was talking to us about Mary, the mother of Jesus yesterday after the Easter service. He said, “Mary was a widow.” My wife said, “You mean she was a virgin?” He replied, “Oh yeah, she didn’t do that thing.” At this I was curious and asked, “What thing?” He responded, “You know, it begins with an ‘s’ but I am not going to say it.”

When we ate Easter dinner with some friends we had to share this story with them. Everyone laughed and wondered just what are they teaching the children in the fourth grade bible study classes.

Rosetta Stone Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 21:30:00 +0000

Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE!

This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.
This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking. Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included! For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.

To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these (blue) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/ and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it. And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it. And good luck! The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg. And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win. Yay for free stuff!

Review of "Out of the Silent Planet" (1938) C.S. Lewis

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:07:00 +0000

This is book one of the Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis. It is also known as the Ransom Trilogy or Cosmic Trilogy. This story begins with the unusual travel of Elwin Ransom, a college professor of philology (study of languages). Ransom is on a hiking trek through the midlands of England. He stops at a cottage to seek a room. The owner agrees to allow him to spend the night if he will go get her son from his workplace at an estate nearby. That is when Ransom’s adventure really begins.

The estate is owned by Devine, a man that Ransom knows and does not like. Devine is working with Professor Weston who has invented a spaceship. Devine encourages Ransom to have a drink with him which includes a drug. The two men kidnap Ransom and take him on their trip to Malacandra (Mars).

Devine and Weston intend to offer Ransom as a human sacrifice to the sorns who are the inhabitants of Malacandra. However, Ransom escapes into the wild. Lewis goes into great detail about the differences between Earth and Malacandra.

Ramsom eventually discovers Hyoi, one of the hrossa which also inhabit the planet. He learns the culture and language of the hrossa. He also discovers that a large amount of gold, called “sun’s blood,” is available on Malacandra. He deduces that this is the reason that Devine and Weston have made this trip.

During a hunting trip with the hrossa, Ransom meets an eldil which is described as a creature of light and appear to be Lewis’ depiction of an angel. The eldil wants Ransom to meet the Oyarsa which is the eldil ruler of the planet or the arch angel. Ransom refuses as he wishes to complete the hunting trip with Hyoi. Meanwhile, Devine and Westen are searching for their sacrifice when they come across the hunting party. They shoot and kill Hyoi. Ransom is told by the hrossa that Hyoi’s death is a penalty of his refusal to do as the eldil requested.

Ransom begins his journey to visit the Oyarsa. On his way he discovers that the seroni are also a peaceful race as he is joined on his journey by a sorn. He is taken to Meldilorn, home of the Oyarsa and hears how there are Oyeresu for each of the planets. He is told that the four inner planets of our solar system have intelligent life forms. He is also told that the Oyarsa of Earth, Thulcandra, has turned evil and has been bound to that planet by maledil, the ruler of the universe.

While Ransom is with Oyarsa, Devine and Westen are brought there by the hrossa for killing three of their clan. Oyarsa tells Devine and Westen that they not wanted on Malacandra and allowed to leave in their own spaceship. Ransom is offered the opportunity to stay on Malacandra, but he chooses to return to Earth. Oyarsa gives him a task: to prevent Westen from further evil. Oyarsa causes the spaceship to disintegrate once it lands back on Earth.

This is an excellent book for children who enjoy science fiction. The trilogy was written through an agreement that Lewis and Tolkien made with each other to write a trilogy in a genre in which they did not normally write. Tolkien wrote the Ring Trilogy. There are many similarities between these two trilogies. Lewis and Tolkien communicated often with each other while writing these books.

Some terminology in the "Old Solar" language is used throughout the trilogy (this information found on Wikipedia):
· Field of Arbol — the Solar System
· handra — a planet or land
· Malacandra — Mars
· Perelandra — Venus
· Thulcandra — Earth, literally “The Silent Planet”
· Glund or Glundandra — Jupiter
· Viritrilbia — Mercury
· Lurga — Saturn
· Sulva — The Moon
· hnau or 'nau — a rational being, capable of speech, intellect, and personhood, and containing a soul
· Eldil, pl. Eldila — an Angel
· Oyarsa, pl. Oyéresu — (Title) Ruler of a planet, a higher-order angel, perhaps an arch-angel.

Caution to parents: C.S. Lewis does use some language and images that were not considered inappropriate in the British culture [e.g. smoking and drinking were common adult activities even among Christians—this is the same reason Tolkien’s hobbits and other creatures of Middle Earth participated in both of these activities].

Ode to Dr. Seuss

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:06:00 +0000

Dr. Seuss’ Leap Day Fun Day

By Steve Poole

I wrote this in about 10 minutes today in an effort to try and get our Homeschool Fellowship group to remember about a Leap Day fellowship we are having. When my wife read it to our boys, one of them went running around, laughing hysterically and ran into the stairway rail.

Tomorrow is Leap Day, and that you well know,
Is not seen again the next three years, no, no.
To celebrate this quite momentous occasion,
Why not give your kids a school day vacation.

We’ll have some nice snacks, even soda and juice.
Come join us for fun, bring along Dr. Seuss
His birthday is coming in just two days more
If he were still living he would be one-o-four,

Our plans as of now, they are really quite loose,
We will start with a song sung to dear Dr. Seuss.
It all starts at one, but who knows when it ends,
I guess that the finish time really depends,

On when the fun ends…
… and the going begins.

Building the Church Together

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:33:00 +0000

Dr. Joel C. Hunter of Northland Community Church in Orlando, Florida tells this story…

A teacher in a young children’s class noticed David as soon as he walked into her classroom. David was missing his left arm. The teacher was worried that the other children would say something about David’s missing arm, so she immediately started going around to each of the children in the classroom and asking them to play the old “Here is the Church, Here is the Steeple” hand game with her. The children were so into the game that nobody asked David about his arm or said anything at all about it. By the end of the class, the teacher was thrilled that she had made it without any negative attention being given to David. Just before their closing prayer, she excitedly said, “Let’s everyone hold our hands together and do “Here is the Church.” She realized her mistake immediately when she glanced over at David. But before she could say anything else, one of the little girls in the class put her right arm around David, held her left hand in front of him and said, “Come on, David, let’s build the church together.”

Rejoice! Arise & Build
(c) 1999 Stephen R. Poole

Meter: Irregular
Tune originally used: DARWALL

Rejoice! Arise and build,
lift up your voice and sing!
Together we can build
a church for Christ our King:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice!
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

Rejoice! Arise and build,
our motto you’ll recall:
Not equal gifts,
but equal sacrifice for all.
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice!
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

Rejoice! Arise and build,
the sacrifice is small,
Compared to Christ
who gave His life for one and all:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice!
Rejoice, again, I say, rejoice!

Where Are the True Conservatives?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 02:32:00 +0000

I am concerned that the only Republican Presidential candidates who held to the Conservative core values have dropped out of the race. We are left with three candidates who claim to be Conservatives, but do not stand for the same values that I believe most Republicans espouse.

Areas that the candidates do not agree with me: McCain, Huckabee and Giuliani’s stances on dealing with illegal immigration; Romney and Giuliani’s stance on stem cell research and gun control; Huckabee’s stance on taxes, McCain and Giuliani’s stance on marriage between a man and women, Romney, Huckabee and Giuliani’s stances on energy, and I do not agree with any of them on their education stances.

Usually our candidates stand for the core values of the Republican Party, but if any of these candidates get elected these core values are going to change within the party. I am also concerned that we have the third Southern Baptist (Huckabee is an ordained Southern Baptist minister) running for president and he seems to be as liberal as his Democratic counterparts (Clinton and Carter).

You can see which candidates believe as you do by taking a 14 question survey that only asks for your zipcode, age and gender: http://www.wqad.com/Global/link.asp?L=259460.

Is My Son the Next Computer Giant?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 02:56:00 +0000

Our twelve year-old is driving us crazy with his computer obsessions. Every time we turn around he is pleading with us to download a new app, virtual OS, emulator, widget, etc. His favorite is Edubuntu, but today he wanted to download a free trial of Windows Vista into a virtual hard drive space. My wife was amused that he wanted to know our business name, because he had to complete that part of the enrollment in order to get his free copy. Once he went through all of the steps, the download link was broken on Microsoft’s site. His response to this was, “Well that’s what I would expect from the people who made Windows Millennium Edition?”

This is the same son who at the age of four was constantly changing our desktop settings just to see what would happen. We have been used to our son checking out three inch thick books on Linux, Unix, Ubuntu or hacking his iPod. We thought nothing when he installed Rockbox on his Sansa MP3 and then on his borther’s so that they could dual boot between MP3 player and game machine. We asked him to quit using his Edubuntu CD-Rom in our laptops because sometimes even a hard reboot would not reset our wifi settings. We almost always know that his, “Dad, come look at this” is about another interesting app he has discovered or a new version of Ubuntu that allows him to do something new and exciting.

I guess my son gets this obsession from me. After all, I had my first computer in 1977. It was a Commodore 64. All of my extra cash went into purchasing add-ons: including the first mouse/wheel ball. I joined bulletin boards and learned all about hacking, which I only did for my own fun. I taught myself Basic programming so that I could create little files to execute nice screen effects. I read books about various programming languages including assembly and C++. As soon as the Commodore 128 came out, I purchased one of those. Next was the Amiga 500 and finally I made the move to an IBM with Windows 3.1. As soon as the Internet was available, I jumped off the BBS track and started learning HTML, PHTML, and scripting. I taught myself all of these things by reading the programming of other sites. I then taught myself how to animate GIFs, and Photoshop pictures before the term was even known. As soon as I acquired Windows 95, I started downloading emulators from my old Atari 2600, Commodore 64 and 128, Amiga 500 and 1200, and even Macs. I still own most of these emulators on my current computer.

My son and I both start drooling whenever we walk or drive near a computer store, we fight over who will get to read the new PC Magazine first, but I think I have lost my desire to keep on the cutting edge of the Geek world. Most people would still think I am geeky. After all, I do have a Facebook account, Myspace account (which I have never used except for searching for people), a Blog, several websites that I still maintain, Google widgets page, Yahoo widgets page and I recently opened Youtube and Godtube accounts in order to place our Living Christmas Tree clips online. But my son’s obsession is wearing me out.

Tonight my son brought me an old 3.5 inch disk and wanted to know how many megabytes it would hold. He was looking for something with about 800 MBs so he could store all of his apps on a portable device (he owns a 2 GB flash drive but cannot find it). I actually asked him why? What kind of a question is that for a computer geek? The only possible answer to that question is “because I can.” He had no intention of actually taking my flash drive with all of his apps stored on it over to a friend’s house so that he could execute commands from his own array of widgets. He just wanted to do it because he could.

I realized that I am no longer the geeky one who is trying to figure out how it is done and then doing it myself or, better yet, improving on what was done. I am now the father who continually warns my son not to do anything that will necessitate another reformat and reinstall on our home computer. I find myself wishing we could afford to purchase him his own laptop (he dreams of Macbooks) just so I do not have to worry about losing my financial records on the home desktop.

Both of our boys think it is funny that they have to explain things to their parents. You should have witnessed our ten year old trying to teach his mother how to play a Wii game tonight. And my wife and I have had such little access to the new digital camera that we purchased last summer that we still do not know how to switch from the video mode to the camera mode. BUT it is really nice when we still are need to help then with something technical. I recently had to help my twelve year old when his new iPod Nano locked up during an Itunes auto update. It took a while for us to get on the same page because I had never even tried to play his iPod. He had to show me how to soft reset it and I had to search online to find out how to hard reset it.
Maybe I need to start backing up my important files on my flash drive daily instead of using our second hard drive. Maybe I should set-up our computer for dual booting so that my two boys only have access to one hard drive. Maybe I should not be so worried about it and just allow my son to continue researching, learning, hacking, programming and eventually supporting my wife and me in our old age when he is running the largest computer software company in the world.

From My Personal Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:00:00 +0000

Thought I would pass along some information that may be helpful to anybody who uses Paypal for online purchases.

I checked my bank account online today and noticed $790 had been transferred to my Paypal account. I had not authorized these, so I checked my Paypal account and saw that they had held these transfers for investigation because so much had been requested within two days. I disputed the charges with my bank account and Paypal and should get all of the money back within a few days. It appears that somebody successfully entered my Paypal account, but since they did not successfully change any account information I was able to block further access.

Paypal informed me that they have started offering a "Security Key" which they will send you for $5 to cover shipping it. They are sending me a key for free because of my specific situation. The key is a device which creates a random code once every few minutes. After registering the key, when you log into your account you will be asked to enter the security key code. You press a button on the key and you are given the correct code for your account. They have had 100% success in preventing unauthorized account access with those who are using the new security keys.

After the shock I had today, I would have been happy to pay the $5 for the extra security. This is the first instance I have ever had of someone breaking into any of my online accounts. I am thankful that we had enough in our bank account to cover the temporary loss.

Christmas Hymn

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 03:13:00 +0000

I wrote this while I was in seminary. I never recorded the music, but you can read the words as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Bethlehem Manger
© 1992 Steve Poole

VERSE ONE
They looked to you, O Bethlehem
A birthplace for the Savior,
But all you had to offer them
Was straw placed in a manger.

CHORUS
Lift up your voice, with praises sing,
Listen as the joy bells ring,
Today is born the Christ the King!
Born to die, new life to bring.

VERSE TWO
Then came the shepherd full of fear
To see the promised Savior;
They bowed their knees and shed a tear,
To see Him in the manger.

VERSE THREE
The wisemen came, each from his place,
With gifts to give the Savior;
A light shone bright on every face,
As they peered in the manger.

Christmas With a Capital "C"

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:18:00 +0000

Click title above to watch this video. I think the title of the song says it all. Video is not great, but it is worth listening to the song.

What Can Christians Learn From The Golden Compass?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:09:00 +0000

I have read “The Golden Compass” and recently read “The Subtle Knife.” These are not books I would recommend for my children, but they are books I would recommend that Christians read. Why? Because these books show how the world reacts to God as a result of horrible atrocities from those who claim to speak for Him. These books can help Christians better understand the reasons that the world distrusts and even hates the Church.

The Church has a very long, negative history and most Christians have done very little to repair this sordid past. Consider what the average non-Christian knows about the Church. The Church went through a period that could be defined as the acquisition of wealth (many churches throughout Europe look more like museums than worship houses). The Church had a period of tyrannical rule culminating in the reformation when the Church was known for killing those who did not have the same beliefs (many pilgrims came to North America to escape such tyranny from other religious groups).

What does the world hear from the Church today? They see so-called Christians committing horrible acts: protestors at clinics intimidating and even threatening women; hate-filled protestors at military funerals; televangelists stealing millions from the offerings sent in by donors from around the world; high profile pastors with prostitutes; and even children harmed because of pedophile priests.

Most Christians simply claim that their specific religious group had nothing to do with these events. However, the world sees the Church as one group, not fifty different religious denominations. When you try to explain the differences between various religious groups, the world sees a Church that even fights among itself.

The recent outcry from Christian groups concerning “The Golden Compass” shows just how much we need to work on changing the world’s perception of the Church rather than trying to convince the world to do things our way. How can we expect the world do things our way when it is contrary to their very nature?

What is the point in trying to force theaters to ban the movie? Philip Pullman, the author of this book series, is an acclaimed atheist. Why then should Christians expect these books to be written with a Christian view? Maybe we should explain that these books demonstrate the world’s reaction to a church that has done horrible things in the name of God. We can use this as a means to open discussions with non-Christians. We can discuss and compare religious intolerance and intolerant religions. We can show the differences between religious people and true followers of Christ.

Jesus and the early Christian Church did not demand that governments allow them to pray openly in public places. They did not insist that the Jewish people stop stoning Christians. They did not petition the Greek theater or Roman Coliseums because they were presenting anti-Christian entertainment. They concentrated on proclaiming the Good News of salvation to non-Christians, ministering to the needs of Christians and non-Christians, worshipping God and fellowshipping with and teaching fellow Christians.