Let's end this once and for all...

I was hoping that the recall would die in court. Turns out that it wont die so easily. A judge has mandated the recall for July 12th.

Bates laments in his post over his lack of confidence in the Tulsa District judges...

I never expected a ruling against the pro-recall forces in Tulsa District Court. In hindsight, TfEI (Tulsans for Election Integrity) should have sought a change of venue to some western Oklahoma district, beyond the Tulsa Whirled's circulation area. I suppose some would say it's rude to suggest that a judge might not be impartial, but judges are human, and judges go to parties, serve on charitable boards, and rub elbows with the high and the mighty, and they're as likely as not to see the world through the same filters as everyone else in their social circles. I lost my confidence that local judges would ever rule against the local power structure when Judge Jane Wiseman ruled that the Vision 2025 ballot was not logrolling, and in her ruling contradicted the rationale she used about 10 years earlier to invalidate the county jail sales tax ballot.

He continues…

Appeal would still be a possibility, but in the meantime, it's time to get serious about fighting and winning the recall election.

Amen to that brother!

I'm jazzed up for a fight. I don't like being told how to vote by outside interests. Jim Mautino is my councilor and I want to keep it that way. I'll be damned if I'm going to let him go with out laying it all on the line! Go to the Tulsans For Election Integrity web site and sign up to help.

Technorati Tags:tulsa tulsa+city+council+recall tulsa+city+council

Attack of the Lady Bugs

Stringer has ladybugs back in stock! I purchased a tub of several hundred for my garden.

Technorati Tags: ladybugs gardening

High speed!

I just set up DSL! So fast…so…nice…ahhhh...

I also set up a wireless network which is also nice.

The Armpit of America?

I have heard people call New Jersey the "Armpit of America", my wife is always quick to point out, “They prefer the Garden State.” This was my first trip to NJ and if all I had seen of it was Newark I might agree, but luckily it was not. I think “Armpit of America” is probably an unfair characterization. I think it would be fairer to say that Newark is the armpit of New Jersey.

That place is messed up! On the approach to the Newark Airport, and after a quick drive outside the airport, one gets to see the full majesty and grandeur of Newark. See the majestic smoke stacks, the eclectic junk yards, the beautiful ports and train yards, the artistic arrangement of trash on the side of the road, and last but not least the masterpieces of graffiti on every sign and underpass.

However, once you get about 30 minutes outside Newark, New Jersey changes in to...well...a Garden state. Wild deer, rolling hills, trees, etc, etc; it is really quite lovely.

Technorati Tags: New+Jersey Armpit+of+America

Good bugs eat bad bugs

Stringer Nursery @ 7203 E. 41st, has decided to experiment with selling beneficial bugs. They had a limited shipment of ladybugs. Based on the success of their sale, I was told they might order more for sale next year. This morning I went to Stringer to pickup some ladybugs but they were already sold out. I guess the demand for beneficial bugs was greater than expected. Instead of waiting until next year they have already ordered more. They hope to have a new shipment next week or so. I think they also plan to sell praying mantis pods as well.

I recommend you check out Stinger if you haven’t been there. They have a great assortment of plants, flowers, shrubs, trees, soil, chemicals, accessories, and in a week or two, bugs!

Technorati Tags: ladybugs gardening stringer+nursery

Tulsa World misleads with letter to the editor

It seems that it is convenient for the pro-recall crowd, concerning the rule of law, to misunderstand, misinterpret, and/or mislead. In a recant post, Tulsa City Councilor Chris Medlock points out the error in a letter to the Tulsa World editorial staff.

The contention of our suit is that state procedures (like that used in Councilor Turner's election) are trumped, because Tulsa's charter mandates a different procedure, as stated above.

Consistency is a fine thing. But the law is the law.

The charter trumps state law and that is why we've brought the question to a judge.

Councilor Turner’s petition for the election re-count fell under state law because there was no city charter law concerning the validation of those petitions. In the case of a recall, there is a city charter rule. As I, and many others, have pointed out time and time again, the city charter trumps state law. The Tulsa World knows this but they are more interested in misleading their readers than the truth.

Technorati Tags:tulsa tulsa+city+council+recall tulsa+city+council
tulsa+world

ORU update

I was able to make it to the ORU Library today. While waiting to get into the reference section I decided to visit the rest of the library. I found my way to the DVD section, I was shocked to see Aliens in their collection. It was to the right of The Jesus Film, and just above The Exodus Reveled.

At Evangel we were not allowed to watch rated R movies…of course at Central Bible College they were not allowed to think about movies…

Technorati Tags: ORU+Library

Messiah Bible study delay...

I have not forgotten about my Messiah Bible study. I have not had time to head down to the ORU Library for the next round of research. The next block will be No5. THUS SAYTH THE LORD: Haggai 2:6-7 and Malachi 3:1, No6. BUT WHO MAY ABIDE THE DAY OF HIS COMING?: Malachi 3:2, and one of my favorites No7. AND HE SHALL PURIFY: Malachi 3:3.

I’m going to Parsippany New Jersey for business Sunday-Tuesday. If I’m not able to get to the library tomorrow then it will be a while before I get to it.

If you are following along and you still don’t have a copy, I highly recommend you pick up one. Handle’s Messiah is really a beautiful work and you are really missing out if you have never listened to it or don’t own your own copy. Actually I recommend getting 2 or 3. It is hard to find one version with all the songs, plus I have never listened to a version where I liked every performance. I like the tenor and alto in one version, the soprano in another, and so on.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy, perform my favorite version.

Blog Oklahoma

I just joined Blog Oklahoma, a web ring of blogs about or in Oklahoma.

Site Meter

I've added a site meter from the folks at Site Meter.

Now I'll know whether or not I'm the only reader.

State-by-state gun laws

I just got off the phone with my sister; among other things we discussed gun laws. She had told me about some gun law that she had repeatedly heard but did not know if it was valid or not. I logged on to packing.org and was quickly able to clear up the confusion.
Packing.org is a great resource for state-by-state concealed and carry gun laws. Each state gets its own page with the laws clearly outlined. Often the site links each law to that states penal code or appropriate state legislation website page.

They are quick to display the following disclaimer

The information on this site should be considered "as-is" and is not guaranteed to be accurate in any way. The maintainers of this site make an effort, when possible, to try to verify the information, but we are not lawyers and, therefore, we cannot and will not give legal advice. If you need accurate answers, hire an attorney who is licensed in the state in question.

The information provided here is intended to give you a good starting point on the topic of Carrying Concealed Weapons (CCW) and where to look for authoritative information on CCW. When possible, we try to provide a resource of contact information (State Police, State Attorneys General, Licensing Authorities, etc) for you to verify the information on this site. Where this contact information is absent from this site, it is up to the reader to find it.

Therefore, it is completely up to the reader to verify ALL information on this site.

With that said, I always check out their site before I travel with my gun. There is also a bulletin board style section of this site where people can ask questions or post comments. It is interesting to see what people are saying. There is no doubt that this crowd is pro gun…
If you want to balance your world after visiting this site you can checkout stategunlaws.org brought to you by the "gun friendly" Brady folks. This site is basically the polar opposite of packing.org.

"..and, lo, I am with you always"

I’m not entirely sure what to think about this site. While I don’t deny the truth of Matthew 28:20, I’m not entirely Jesus meant he would literally be with us in physical form. I think this guy knows that but is creating these pictures as way to get us to think about the broader truth of the verse.

Still, there is something kind of disturbing to me about these pictures. I can't quite put my finger on what it is that I find strange by this. My wife thinks these are just campy and I'm just being too critical...perhaps.

I think my favorite is the dental assistant on page one.

(edited, I was perhaps too harsh in the original post.)

Trusted or Tyrannical computing?

The Trusted Computing Group with such members as AMD, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Sony, and Sun Microsystems are working on a framework by which they will make your system more “secure”.
I have to say, I’m highly skeptical of the true motives of trusted computing. According to their website

The Trusted Computing Group, or TCG, develops and promotes open specifications. Computing industry vendors use these specifications in products that protect and strengthen the computing platform against software-based attacks. In contrast, traditional security approaches have taken a “moat” approach and are software-based, making them vulnerable to malicious attacks, virtual or physical theft, and loss.

Systems and applications based on Trusted Computing Group specifications can:

• Store keys, digital certificates, passwords and data securely in hardware
• Enhance network security
• Protect online commerce transactions
• Help protect against viruses, worms and other malicious attacks
• Protect digital identities
• Provide authentication between systems and networks
• Allow for single sign-on to systems
• Enable digital signatures for financial and other transactions
• Support regulatory compliance for Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA and other federal requirements

Based on my research, security does not mean the same thing to us as it does to the TCG. When I think of security, I think my computer is protected from attack. I tell my computer what to do and it follows my instructions. I’m safe but in control. It appears that TCG thinks security and trust belong to them. They are secure from YOU. Their software and hardware can trust each other do what they want.

It is clear why media companies are excited about this. You wont be able to copy media if they don’t what you to. I have to say that I’m not terribly excited about that. I copy movies and music that I own for my own benefit. Alright, I can see their point.

Some have suggested that Microsoft’s dog in this fight is China. Microsoft is content with their piracy for now but if they could force China, and others, to pay for their software well, that would mean BIG money. Bill Gates reportedly said,

Although about three million computers get sold every year in China, people don't pay for the software. Someday they will, though. And as long as they're going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.

Ok, I can understand that too. I think Microsoft charges entirely too much for their OS but perhaps if they could eradicate piracy, prices would go down? Regardless, I recognize their right to be paid.

I can't quite figure out why Sun, AMD and Intel are part of this. Is it pressure, fear of being left behind, money, or do they really believe in it? I'm not sure.

While there seems to be some interesting aspects of TC and some useful applications, I think TC ultimately puts the control in the hands of media and software companies, who would rather you not be able to do what you want with your computer. It seems to be a plan that is ripe for abuse. The day I can't control what my computer does, or my choices are limited to vendors that will force my computer to do what they want, instead of what I want, I think will be a sad day for computing.

Seth Schoen sums it up best I think.

We have at least two serious concerns about trusted computing. First, existing designs are fundamentally flawed because they expose the public to new risks of anti-competitive and anti-consumer behavior. Second, manufacturers of particular "trusted" computers and components may secretly implement them incorrectly.

For further reading checkout Can you trust your computer? by Richard Stallman, Trusted Computing' Frequently Asked Questions, and a more balanced look Trusted Computing: Promise and Risk By Seth Schoen

Technorati Tags: trusted+computing tyrannical+computing

WWW dot I Hate You!

Forbes has cataloged and rated their top 9 favorite corporate hate sites. They rated these sites on such categories as: ease of use, frequency of updates, number of posts, hostility level (angrier is better), relevance, and entertainment value.

The top 9 were sites were:
KBhomesucks.com devoted to KB Homes
Paypalsucks.com devoted to PayPal (part of eBay)
Allstateinsurancesucks.com devoted to Allstate Insurance
MS-Eradication.org devoted to Microsoft
Amexsux.com devoted to American Express
WalMart-Blows.com devoted to Wal-Mart
Verizonpathetic.com* devoted to Verizon
Untied.com* devoted to UAL (parent of United Airlines)
UnitedPackageSmashers.com* devoted to United Parcel Service

*A special nod to these who did not resort to “sucks” or “blows.”

Popular hangout

In addition to the large amount of green space at our office complex, it is adjacent to a large stream and green belt. Apparently this makes an attractive resting spot for geese. Indeed, geese have been using our office complex as a rest stop for a few years now.

Well the word must have spread because there are geese all over the place this year. A few have even decided to nest. I took these pictures with my camera phone (sorry about the quality).


Just after I took this picture, another goose flew in and chased these off. He sounded very angry.


This goose has made a nest under one of the pear trees.

Quick post

• I have added a link to make it easy to email my posts to others.
  
• I’d like to give a warm welcome to the blogsphere to Terry, with his new blog Wild Ramblings.
  
• Microsoft’s Longhorn, has recaptured my attention with regard to Trusted Computing. Hopefully, in short order, I’ll have more on that. I need to do some research first.

It’s a Beautiful Day!

It is another beautiful Spring Saturday. This morning I watched my daughter, Regan, run around in the back yard. While I sat on the porch and drank coffee, she ran the full length of the yard kicking a ball and singing songs. Her exuberance and sheer joy could not help but spill over. I must have watched her run and have fun for 45 minutes. It is the best entertainment I’ve had in a long time. Yet another reason to love spring.

Taxes Taxes, will you always haunt me?

Tulsa Topics offers up this post about the Tax Man. Read this post and enjoy the song “Taxes Taxes” by Hank Penny.

The death tax on its death bed.

The Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005 is progressing nicely. It just passed in the house 272-162. Now it is on to the Senate. The Senate must now pass their version of the house bill, whcih is S. 420, before the President can sign it in to law. Sen. Jon Kyl who introduced the bill, along with Senators Nelson, Allard, Allen, Burns, Inhofe, Talent and Thune, refused to comment as to the likelihood that it would pass. Write your Senators and tell them to support this bill.

Don’t be fooled by Senators like Pelosi who try to construe this repeal as fundamentally unfair. She is quoted, “Do we want to continue reckless Republican tax policies or to return to a fair system of taxation?”

Umm Senator Pelosi, I think the double taxation of our citizen’s hard-earned estates is unfair. I think farms and small business that are over a few million in total value and are forced to close and/or pay heavy taxes is unfair. Wrong is wrong, and double taxation is wrong. It is only fair to let people keep what they have earned, to let them distribute their hard earned wealth as they see fit.

Instantiation with out initialization, Bah! May it never be!

One of the biggest rookie mistakes that one can make when programming in C, is not initializing variables. For example lets say I want to create a variable called taxRate. If I don’t set it equal to 0 before I start my program, then it could contain whatever junk that's in memory at run time. BAD FORM!!! (Some compilers will set all valuables to zero, and some do not)

Today, as part of an on going process to improve our development environment, the same colleague who managed to compile our app in C++ started compiling app in the newest version of the compiler we use. This compiler happened to be a little pickier about variables that were used with being initialized. It was kind enough to warn us about it. When he initialized this particular variable, it fixed an ongoing bug that has plagued us for years. Years of pain and anguish because some (insert descriptive insult here) did not initialize a variable!

This particular bug would only show up if the trash in the variable happened to be zero. Any non-zero value and the application would behave properly. The circumstances needed to replicate this bug were nearly impossible to reproduce, and to top it off we did not even know what to look for. As it turns out this particular piece of code was not even the list of sections that we had previously focused on.

Ironically, at the same time my colleague was fixing this problem, I was dicusssing with another colleague about how much I hated to see variables that were not initialized.

Moore's Law turns 40!

This week Moore’s Law, governing the growth of computing power, turns 40. In his article, "Moore's Law Began as Guess, Grew in Power Over Time", Kevin Maney writes about that first article in the April 19, 1965, issue of Electronics, which started it all.
Moore, along with four others, was asked to write about the future of computing.

Moore never intended to create a fundamental law in his article, he was just pointing out a trend that he saw as fairly solid.

Moore's Law began as a back-of-a-napkin extrapolation -- a quick guess about the future based on recent events, such as your Dad's saying on a family car vacation that since you'd gotten to Cleveland in two hours, you'd make Milwaukee by nightfall.

In Moore’s article titled, "Cramming more components onto integrated circuits." Moore was one of the first to recognize the importance of the integrated circuit.

Integrated circuits will lead to such wonders as home computers -- or at least terminals connected to a central computer -- automated controls for automobiles, and personal portable communications equipment.

Later in the article Moore postulates that power of these integrated circuits would double every year for the same price.

Certainly over the short term, this rate can be expected to continue, if not to increase. Over the longer term, the rate of increase is a bit more uncertain, although there is no reason to believe it will not remain nearly constant for at least 10 years.

It was not until 1975 that Moore changed his prediction to every 2 years.
One of the more fascinating revelations revealed by Maney, regards the length of time crucial to the Law, “In a 1997 interview, he told me, ‘I never said 18 months.’ Even though that's how everyone quotes Moore's Law these days.”

Maney finishes the article by suggesting that perhaps the Moore's Law has taken on a life of its own, having become a self fulfilling prophecy, not because it is necessarily true but perhaps because it is what people have begun to expect.

What's funny, too, is that it's not a law at all -- not like the law of gravity, which describes something that is resolutely true. Chips don't have to double in power at a certain pace. But since it's so far been possible to improve chips at that pace, the industry has embraced Moore's Law as the de facto standard for how fast the industry should move.

Well, guess, law, or self fulfilling trend, it has been a great 40 years. Happy birthday Moore's Law, may you last another 40 years!

Technorati Tags: Moore's+Law

Messiah Bible study: No4. AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD

Isaiah 40:5

5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

When the culmination of this Devine plan is realized His Glory will be revealed. This revelation of God will be unlike any other. In Exodus 33:18-23, Moses requests of the Lord “Please, show me Your glory.” God replies “…for no man shall see Me, and live.” God places Moses in the cleft of the rock to protect him as the Lord passes by. Moses catches but a glimpse of the Lord. But on this day his glory will be revealed to all flesh.
In Isaiah 45:22-23 it is reiterated in a slightly different way.

Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath.

A way has been prepared, we can follow it or not, but ultimately His glory will be revealed and we will confess that He is the Lord. For He has spoken it!

<< No3. EVERY VALLEY SHALL BE EXALTED
No5. THUS SAITH THE LORD>>

Technorati Tags:the+messiah george+frideric+handel bible+study

Let’s fund the murder of foreign babies

Jeers to the 52 Senators who voted to approve the Boxer amendment to the Foreign Affairs Authorization Act, for fiscal years 2006 and 2007.

Cheers to the 46 Senators who voted against it, including James Inhofe and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn of Texas.

This amendment will reverse a U.S. policy that prohibits foreign aid from going to organizations that provide or discuss abortion services. Don’t you love your tax money going to fund foreign abortions?
Here is a quote from Senator Boxer’s press release.

We are a country that believes in fairness, democracy, free speech, and improving the health and lives of people all over the world. But instead of promoting these values, the Global Gag Rule enforces a dangerous code of silence.

She goes on...

At a time when we are trying to promote the best of our democracy abroad, the last thing we need is to export unconstitutional restrictions on free speech. It is not only hypocritical, but it is bad foreign policy.

So, how does limiting the funding of foreign originations, who don’t share our values, equate to an unconstitutional restriction of speech? How does making a choice to not fund the murder of innocent children restrict fairness and democracy? Is Senator Boxer suggesting that abortion is part of the “best of our democracy?”

I'm sad that this passed, but I'm glad I have senators that adequately represent me...

Also, FYI, another important issue in the House is the House Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005 which is coming up for a vote in the not to distant future.

A Red Letter Date

One of my colleagues, after much toil and effort, has successfully compiled our app in C++. Our application has a code base that is over 10 years old that is written in C. I had written a crude framework that allowed C++ code to interact with our C code, but it really was more of a stop gap measure. I prefer to write new code in C++ as apposed to C, as do most of the other developers in our shop. We decided to jump in head first and get this thing compiling in full C++. Thousands of compiler errors and dozens of linker errors later it is done! Wow, it is a good day.

My Reagan tree

I planted a Shumard Oak (Quercus Shumardii) in my back yard on June 5, 2004. You may or may not remember that this was the day that President Ronald Reagan died. It was coincidence that had me planting a tree that day. I bought the tree on June 4th. Lowe’s had a sale to which all their trees were deeply discounted; no doubt because no one buys trees in the summer, it’s the worst time to plant them. Nevertheless, I could not pass up a good deal so I bought it. Back on point, this coincidence was not lost on me. I was hit hard by his death. Being born in 76, Reagan was the first president that I can remember. I grew up under his presidency and as it turns out Reagan had a lot do with my parents turning from the democrat party. I think growing up in a conservative home under the Reagan administration had a lot to do with my political leanings today. So I was proud to take that coincidence and pretend it was on purpose.

I knew that the middle of the summer would not be the best time to plant a tree, so I took extra care in the method of planting. You may have heard the old adage, “Buy a five dollar plant and dig a fifty dollar hole.” That’s what I did. I dug a wide hole and planted the tree with a good mix of soil. I figured if I could keep it alive through the summer that I might have a chance, and then my only obstacle would be the winter. If the tree could come out of hibernation in the spring I’d be home free.

Well since the first hint of spring, I have been waiting with bated breath for signs that my Reagan tree would wake from its slumber, and I have good news! It has green buds all over! I’m very excited.
Technorati Tags: Shumard+Oak Reagan

Redneck question of the week

My brother-in-law, Sterling, put my sister in charge of authoring this quiz, in the current edition of the Robert’s Pool Service news letter.

In honor of the upcoming NASCAR race at Texas Motor
Speedway next weekend, Sterling asks the Redneck
Question Of The Week... All of the following are
actual country song titles except?

A. "I changed her oil, she changed my life"
B. "You stole my food stamps and my heart"
C. " When you wrapped my lunch in a roadmap, I knew
you meant goodbye"
D. "You're the reason our kids are so ugly"

Sydney adds "Go Junior!!!"

Now don’t cheat! Make your guess before you do an internet search to find the answer.

Hey I'm AG!

I took this quiz to determine what denomination I am...It got it right. I even answered one of the questions contrary to how I know a good AG should answer...I won't go on record which one it was though...

Although I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the denominations to which I scored less than AG… I think I’d practice Catholicism before I’d consider being a Seventh-day Adventist…no offence.

Here are my results…
1: Pentecostal/Charismatic/Assemblies of God (100%)
2: Anabaptist (Mennonite/Quaker etc.) (72%)
3: Baptist (non-Calvinistic)/Plymouth Brethren/Fundamentalist (69%)
4: Methodist/Wesleyan/Nazarene (61%)
5: Church of Christ/Campbellite (58%)
6: Baptist (Reformed/Particular/Calvinistic) (41%)
7: Seventh-Day Adventist (38%)
8: Congregational/United Church of Christ (36%)
9: Anglican/Episcopal/Church of England (27%)
10: Eastern Orthodox (27%)
11: Lutheran (25%)
12: Presbyterian/Reformed (23%)
13: Roman Catholic (14%)

When does life begin?

Since the Terri Schindler-Schiavo case has been in the forefront, I have heard a lot of people say that until we get the question of when life begins right, we will have trouble with when or how to end it. I thought I would take a little time and clear this up because it’s not that difficult. When the pronucleus of the human sperm, containing its 23 chromosomes, fuses with the human ovum’s pronucleus with its 23 chromosomes and a new cell containing 46 chromosomes is created, human Life has begun. Whatever the reason, any purposeful destruction of this new, unique, cell is murder.

ROR's email address

Roemerman on Record now as an email address all its own. If you would like to make a comment or suggestion that you are uncomfortable posing on the blog its self, or is not relevant to one of my posts, feel free to email me at roemermanOnRecord at gmail dot com.

I added my picture

I finally figured out how to post my picture on my profile. What can I say other than if you know me, you know that this picture reflects my personality...no not pyro! Lets say "quirky.” I love this picture, mainly because I took it my self. I was experimenting with various shutter speeds in a completely dark room. I wanted to see what would happen if I used fire as the only source of light.

Messiah Bible study: No3. EVERY VALLEY SHALL BE EXALTED

Isaiah 40:4

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

I am immediately reminded of Ecclesiastes 1:15 when I hear this verse. Solomon says, “What is crooked cannot be made straight…” These verses seem to be in stark contrast. Upon closer examination, “crooked” is not being applied to describe the same thing.

Isaiah is furthering his description of the “way of the Lord” in the previous verse. Another translation is “the rugged shall be made level and the rough places a plain” Literally the rugged mountain highway is leveled, removing all obstacles, and figuratively, all obstacles to God are removed.

Solomon is referring to the utter hopelessness of man’s wisdom to answer life’s real unanswered questions. He is saying, I have all the wisdom in the world but it is all vanity, this has not brought meaning to my life nor has it fulfilled my purpose “What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered.”

However, perhaps in the grander scheme of things these verses can be compared. We try to make our own way. Through our own understanding and our own acts, we try to win our salvation only to meet obstacles. The path we would lay to God is wrought with obstacles and is too steep to climb. God has prepared a way and removed all the obstacles through His son Jesus.

<< No2. COMFORT YE MY PEOPLE
No4. AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD >>

Technorati Tags:the+messiah george+frideric+handel bible+study

ORU Library

Thanks to the folks at the Oral Roberts University Library, who are letting me use their resources for my Messiah bible study. Their library is open to the public by temporary pass. In order to get a pass, you must call ahead and make an appointment. You wont be able to check out any books but you will have access to their vast resources.

Messiah Bible study: No2. COMFORT YE MY PEOPLE

Isaiah 40:1-3

1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: *for she hath received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins.
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
*This piece of the verse is not in The Messiah

The first 39 chapters of Isaiah tell of Judah and Israel’s wickedness, warnings and finally judgment. Chapter 40 begins a new direction of the book in which Isaiah gives comfort to a downtrodden people.

1. In the first verse God wants Israel and Judah to know that they are still His people. You are my people, and I have not forgotten you, be comforted says, not Isaiah, or your enemies that torment you, but your God. We can know that in our darkest times that God knows about our situation and while we may not know when it will end or why it is happening, we can trust in the Lord.

2. Again the words of comfort are reiterated but more specifically to Jerusalem. Another translation is “Speak upon the heart of Jerusalem” or “Bid Jerusalem take heart...” Also, "Jerusalem" can be replaced with "the people of Israel." Your service has ended and your sins are pardoned. This is a foreshadowing of what is to happen on the cross. Be comforted because your warfare against your own flesh is ended and your sins are pardoned, because of the sacrifice on the cross.

3. I can’t help but think of John the Baptist who cried out to the people of the coming Messiah. God is preparing the way for His Son. "Prepare" suggests the removing of obstacles so that this highway of the Lord can lead His peoples back to the Zion.

What a great way to start The Messiah, Be comforted, you are not alone. One is coming that will remove your iniquities and lead you back to the Lord
No3. EVERY VALLEY SHALL BE EXALTED >>

Technorati Tags:the+messiah george+frideric+handel bible+study

The Messiah: A Bible study

I have been listening to The Messiah for about a decade now. My mother first introduced me to it. We would listen to the Young Messiah, a contemporary version, when we looked at the Christmas lights over in Highland Park Village – Dallas Texas. Then in my senior year in High school the chorus teacher, Mrs. Grimland, wanted so badly to perform parts of the Messiah. For one reason or another we were unable to do it. As a consolation she gave all the seniors a copy of the entire score as a graduation gift. So every year I dust my copy of The Messiah and listen to it at Christmas and Easter.

For some reason I have been listening to it a lot this year, not just At Christmas and Easter. It occurred to me that I ought to focus some of my energy on The Messiah as a bible study. So at least every week I’ll study the bible verses in one or more songs out of the Messiah. So dust off your copy of the messiah, grab your bible, and follow along with me. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy, perform my favorite version.


I’ll start off with No2. Comfort Ye My People.

Technorati Tags:the+messiah george+frideric+handel bible+study

128 bit WEP huh? Well don’t rest too easy.

An article by the folks over at Tom’s networking, The Feds can own your WLAN too, tells how 128 bit WEP can be defeated in “about three minutes.”

The last page lists some suggestions on how to secure your wireless network.

1) Network segregation
Put your access point on a separate subnet, with a firewall separating the wireless and internal users

2) Change the default settings on your access point
Default settings (SSID, administrator password, channel) are well known and even included as part of some WLAN attack tools

3) Use WPA with a strong key
WPA is a definite improvement over WEP in providing wireless security. But the version intended for home and SOHO use—WPA-PSK—has a weakness shared by any passphrase security mechanism. The choice of simple, common and short passphrases may allow your WPA-protected WLAN to be quickly compromised via dictionary attack (more info here).

4) Update your firmware
This is helpful if your AP or client doesn't currently support WPA. Many manufacturers have newer firmware for 802.11g products that add WPA support. You may also find this for 802.11b gear, but it's not as common. Check anyway!

5) Turn off the WLAN when not in use
A $5 lamp timer from your local hardware store is a simple, but effective way to keep your WLAN or LAN from harm while you're sleeping.

Surprisingly mac address filtering is not listed. Anyway if you have a wireless network in your house or business you ought to give this article a read.

DST update

The House Energy and Commerce Committee have voted to approve an amendment to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that would extend daylight savings by a month. The change would move up daylight savings time to the 1st Sunday in March and extend it to the last Sunday in November. The full House could vote on this in a few weeks.

In my earlier post on DST , my research indicated that DST saves us energy. In 74 and 75 the transportation dept determined that DST saves us an equivalent of 10,000 barrels of oil a day.

The Hillary Meter

According to the Hillary Meter, Senator Clinton is currently: 43% Liberal. Well actually only 43% of Americans think she is a liberal. I…ughh!, never mind.

Rasmussen Reports is launching the Hillary Meter--a twice-monthly measure of Senator Hillary Clinton's effort to move to the political center.

Pixel problems?

With the roll out of Sony’s new PSP, the subject of dead or defective pixels in an LCD panel is back in the forefront of discussion. One would assume that if one purchased a product that contained an LCD display that was anything less that a perfect, it would be returnable as a defective product. Not so. Tom’s Hardware has an excellent article outlining the ISO standards that govern the different classes of LCD faults, and a list of manufacturers and their return policies.

Before you run out and buy a device with an LCD display you should check out this article. (Samsung makes the LCD for Sony’s PSP in the US)

Penalty: An Autopsy Of Dead LCD Pixels

What follows is an excerpt of the last page.

15" LCD Panels
Native resolution is 1024 x 768 pixels, a total of 786,432 pixels.
Class 1 panels: this is the easiest - no pixel defects are allowed.
Class 2 panels are more complicated.
• Type 1: Lit pixels allowed = 2 x 786,432 / 1,000,000 = 1.57.
• Type 2: Unlit pixels allowed = 2 x 786,432 / 1,000,000 = 1.57.
• Type 3: Red, green or blue pixels allowed = 5 x 786,432 / 1,000,000 = 3.93.
If you refer to the standard, 2 always-lit pixels is >1.57. So this is over the top and the warranty comes into play. 15" ISO 13406-2-compliant panels may not allow more than: Type 1 + Type 2 + Type 3 = 5 defective pixels altogether, with a maximum of one lit, one unlit and three red, green or blue pixels.
In addition, the cluster rule stipulates there should never be more than two defective lit and unlit pixels in any one circle with a radius of five pixels. Also counted as defective are screens with several red, green or blue pixels occurring twice or more on a square of 5 x 5 pixels.

17" Panels:
This is calculated the same way as for the 15".
Resolution = 1280 x 1024 = 1,310,720 pixels.
Class 1 panels: no pixel defects are allowed.
Class 2 panels:
• Type 1: Unlit pixels allowed = 2 x 1,310,720 / 1,000,000 = 2.62.
• Type 2: Lit pixels = 2 x 1,310,720 / 1,000,000 = 2.62.
• Type 3: Red, green or blue pixels allowed = 5 x 1,310,720 / 1,000,000 = 6.55.
If you refer to the standard, two always-lit pixels is 3>2.62. So, this is over the limit and the warranty comes into play.
17" ISO 13406-2-compliant panels may not allow more than: Type 1 + Type 2 + Type 3 = 10 defective pixels altogether, with a maximum of two lit, two unlit and six red, green or blue pixels.
In addition, the cluster rule stipulates there should never be more than two defective lit and unlit pixels in any one circle with a radius of five pixels. Also counted as defective are screens with several red, green or blue pixels occurring three times or more on a square of 5 x 5 pixels.

Finally Tom’s conclusion:

Actually, it turns out that the ISO 13406-2 Class 2 standard is not an adequate guarantee of quality. Initially drafted in 1999 and finalized in 2001, it was evidently designed for small screens. Now it does no more than minimize the damage. Who would be prepared to wait for their screen to have ten defective pixels before replacing it? Not us. It is now crucial for manufacturers to adopt Class 1, the only one that ensures a perfect display, or a new standard should be adopted.

Technorati Tags: dead+pixels defective+pixels

oops

I was sent this article by Eck Ruddick, a local neighborhood advocate. Apparently Mount Dora Florida dropped 9 million dollars on a sewage plant that they did not need...oops.

Are large Enterprise software vendors in danger?

I just read an interesting post titled
OSBC: enterprise applications next wave for open source

The post is about the keynote speech at the Open Source Business Conference given by Larry Augustine.

Augustine postulates that the current large enterprise software model is broken. He concludes that the current model does not cater to small to medium business, citing long sales cycles, and expensive licensing. Large software companies put 76% of new license revenue toward sales marketing. This is ironic because essentially these venders are charging their customers to convince them to buy their software.

I find this interesting as our small little software group is trying to replace one of the CRM applications that we currently use with an in house solution. We think we can do a better job for a lower price. Even though we are a small software group, we are inside a very large company; if we are steering away from a large enterprise solution, then perhaps the current enterprise model may be broken for more than just small to medium business.

Technorati Tags: open+source+software enterprise+software

Valeris rides again!

Valeris is my motorcycle, or as my friends in the medical community call it, my donorcycle. She is a Vulcan 750. She wakes after a long slumber of 9 months. I last drove my bike on June 30th. There were various mechanical problems that were not completely resolved until this evening.

I'm also having mechanical problems with my Ford Ranger. I'll be unable to resolve those for a week (parts on order). My wife got tired of me borrowing her car every day so I was compelled to fix my motorcycle. Anyway I'm glad because Valeris and I have a lot of catching up to do.

Technorati Tags: valeris motorcycle kawasaki+vulcan

Google maps has added satellite

I love Google; in my eyes they can do no wrong. Not too long ago they raised the bar on online maps with Google maps.

You can grab the map and move it around, do local searches for thinks like “bicycle repair”, and their directions are so much better than Map Quest or the other guys.

They just one upped themselves by adding satellite to the system. On the upper right hand of the page there is a link that will convert the map a to a satellite photo with all of the same functions as the regular map. That is really really cool!

Now I will say that the satellite photos are kind of old, and the directions are not always %100 correct, but Google maps is still in beta.

Tulsa Votes today

I could not really say in any better than Bates, but just incase you don’t read his blog, don’t forget to vote today.

Vote yes on the Go bonds as they actually fund projects that government should be involved with.(transportation, sanitary sewer, flood control, police, fire, and public facilities).

If you live in the Union school district and live in section 5, vote for Tom Seng for Union school board. I did a little volunteer work on Tom's campaign, and I can say that he is a good guy and will serve Union well.

I left my freedom in San Francisco

I love San Francisco; it is a really great place to visit. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I would not want to live there. The political climate on the left coast and particularly in SF would be too much for me to handle. Their latest shenanigans relate to regulating bloggers who spend over $1000 and have more than 500 hits. Thanks to Charles G. Hill for his post about The San Francisco threat

DST

For various reasons, I’m not a big fan of Daylight Saving time. I decided to do a little research on the subject, and I found a couple of interesting things.

• It is properly called Daylight Saving time, not Savings
• Based on consumption figures for 1974 and 1975, The Department of Transportation said that observing Daylight Saving Time in March and April saved the equivalent in energy of 10,000 barrels of oil each day. The total energy savings for those two years was 600,000 barrels.
• In 1986 President Reagan signed a law that changed Daylight Saving Time from the last Sunday in April to the first Sunday in April. This was done to conserve energy during the month of April.
• During World War II, President Roosevelt instituted year-round Daylight Saving Time, called 'War Time.' (From 2 February 1942 to 30 September 1945)
  

So I guess I’m slightly converted toward the DST camp. If it saves energy, then it’s probably not so bad.

I also found this amusing quote from Samuel Marchbanks

I don't really care how time is reckoned so long as there is some agreement about it, but I object to being told that I am saving daylight when my reason tells me that I am doing nothing of the kind. I even object to the implication that I am wasting something valuable if I stay in bed after the sun has risen. As an admirer of moonlight I resent the bossy insistence of those who want to reduce my time for enjoying it. At the back of the Daylight Saving scheme I detect the bony, blue-fingered hand of Puritanism, eager to push people into bed earlier, and get them up earlier, to make them healthy, wealthy and wise in spite of themselves.

Time to Plant (update)

I planted my garden today.
In my back yard I put 8 Tomatoes, 8 Jalapenos, and 18 Marigolds mixed in.

In the front yard flower bed, I planted 72 Dianthus Picotee

I plan to try something new this year. I’m going to buy a bucket of lady bugs for inset control instead of chemicals. That should be interesting.

Technorati Tags: ladybugs gardening dianthus+picotee marigolds

Anonymous comments

I'm fairly certain that I do not like anonymous comments on my blog. I'm going to restrict and delete any current anonymous comments.

I apologize inconvenience for any this causes. Feel free to post ant complaints in the comments section of this post.

Get involved

Over the course of this year, I challenge you to do one or more of the following.

*Contribute to a campaign, PAC, or political party.
*Volunteer to work on an election campaign
*Write your Senators and Congressman. You don’t have to tell them to support or oppose any particular cause/legislation. If you feel well represented, tell them so. Write a letter to encourage them.
*Learn who your local elected officials are and give them a call.
*If you are not registered to vote, register!
*Vote in an election that is not in November. Your local elections can be more important than the national ones.
*Call your local political party’s office and ask what you can do to help.
*Attend a debate.
*Attend a city council meeting.

Getting involved brings knowledge and knowledge is power. The average person has more power to make positive change than they realize.