Keyboard

Here is a picture of what my keyboard looks like:














Here is a picture of how it operates:













It gets a bit confusing.

To Fox

Dear Fox Broadcasting Corporation,

Several years you had on your network a unique and brilliant show called Firefly. Though I did not see it then I have since watched it. Firefly quickly became one of my favorite shows. I am saddened that it only lasted about one season because of its low ratings.

Now this year there is a new show out. It started in February. It is called Dollhouse. And though it did take a while to get going and has a plot-line that is difficult track for a first time viewer it has now also shown itself to be an original, relevant, thought provoking and downright enjoyable show.

Now imagine my dismay when it became known that you would be canceling Dollhouse at the end of its second season. I was worried that it might happen. People had been drawing parellels to Firefly, saying that Dollhouse also awaited a premature end. I hoped that they were wrong. But they weren't.

My question now is: Why? Why cancel a show with so much potential and dedicated viewers? Why not rather build it up? Move it to a better night (it must be agreed upon that Friday night is a dead zone for television) and build up some excitement, rather than shove it off into a corner and quietly pull its plug.

Truly, my question is: Why do you hate my life?

Sincerely,

An 18-25 year old male

P.S. Could you please bring back Firefly for a more seasons?

The adventures that come with doing yard work

I was sitting on my friend's roof today. As coming down was becoming the order of business I noticed something. I had gone up the ladder with the legs parralel with the house so if I were to put my foot on it I would be putting my weight on two of the ladder legs. Bad news. So I sat there, pondering the merits of trying to get down the ladder to jumping off the roof. Then the neighbor came and held the ladder for me. Problem solved.

Shakings

Padang. Samoa.

Inspired by Erik over at untitled...

What are your favorite spaceships? What makes these spaceships so special to you?

Bonus: Draw your own spaceship and post it.

From the National Geographic

I saw this picture and I thought it would give an image of what I was around in Indonesia. The picture was taken at a gas station in West Sumatera.

Today, I put away my backpack.

Anne of Green Gables and Contextualization (a more than slightly protentious title I suppose)

Marilla felt more embarrassed than eveer. She had intended to teach Anne the childish classic, "Now I lay me down to sleep." But she had, as I have told you, the glimmerings of a sense of humor - which is simply another name for the fitness of things; and it suddenly occurred to her that that simple little prayer, sacred to white-robed childhood lisping at motherly knees, was entirely unsuited to this freckled witch of a girl who knew and cared nothing about God's love, since she had never had it translated to her through the medium of human love.

Written Between Classes (A Bit of Nonsense for the Day)

Joe Schmo has a dodo.
His dodo performs boat shows.
What a blow to Joe Schmo,
If his dodo (who does boat shows)
Should fall in the snow
And get ice up its nose

A Request

Do any of you my wise and diverse readers have any ideas for readings, several paragraphs, no more than two pages, I could assign to my students. They are adults and have a good grasp on English and I think readings would be a helpful addition.
Here are the boundaries:

Appropriate (not that I am really worried that any of you would suggest what is not.)
Accessible on-line. So I can either copy, paste, print or give the web address.
Not overly difficult. But still challenging is fine.

Aside from these the whole world is yours. I would like to hear your ideas.

If You Know Me You Will Know What This Means

Some Tidbits of Random

I ate one of these. A few hours later my stomach felt a little weird.

So are you a nerd if you are excited to download a spreadsheet of the International Phonetic Alphabet? Because I just did and I was very excited. Of course I have no idea what most of the sounds are or what they mean when they say, "labio-dental flap" but it is still cool that these sounds encompass most of human speech. Yes, my Grandfather is a speech pathologist and my friends are linguists.

So I found out about the world's most expensive coffee a few weeks ago. It comes from southern Sumatra, among other places. And yes it is first eaten and then passed out of an animals system. But when they only eat the best you know you have the best bean. See more from Wikipedia here.

I'm now something of an official teacher. It is a strange feeling. Any teacherly types have some advice for the young one?

A Little Pop Culture

So this is "Idola Cilik 2". Roughly translated to Children Idol. These are the two finalists performing.

Modes of Transportation

There are about a million of these trucks, and their variations, around here.

So there are probably deeper thougts I could express right now but this is what is really on my mind

I really want to listen to the new U2 album. In its entirety, at loud volume. A whole lot. But I can't track it down. Not that I am looking very hard. And since my browser has decided to not use sound I can't listen to it on their MySpace. What am I to do?

On Wells and Trips

13 During harvest time, three of the thirty chief men came down to David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. 15 David longed for water and said, "Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!" 16 So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD. 17 "Far be it from me, O LORD, to do this!" he said. "Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?" And David would not drink it.
Such were the exploits of the three mighty men.

I never used to understand this passage. What an ungrateful wretch David must be to pour out this water that his men had just risked their lives for. They had worked so hard for that water, for David to just pour it out on the ground seemed bizarre to me. Why didn't he just drink it? Now I think I better understand this passage. Having asked from people their support for a trip that I feel God is calling me to I was not prepared for what would come. People did give and they keep on giving, they say they will pray for me, they throw me parties, they say they will miss me and all I want to say is that I do not feel worth any of this in the least. I want to do what David did and just pour the gifts on the ground before God and say, "Far be it from me to do this...". Though I suppose you could say with good reason that they are not really giving to me but to God they have still chosen that this particular thing is how they want to give to God. I doubt many of the people involved would have given directly to where I am going but now that I am going there they have taken interest, at least by sharing their hard earned money. Money? Isn't there one of the worst global recessions in years going on? Aren't people losing their jobs and homes right and left? Shouldn't have these good friends looked after their futures and their families rather than give it to some upstart kid? The kid that isn't even totally sure all the time God really called him and what he felt isn't just some TCK three year itch. It doesn't make sense. I am completely humbled. There has been no parallel, that I have experienced, to compare to this current circumstance. I want to do what David did but I can't. So now I go. Hopefully more in tune with what I should be doing, with God. The Mighty Men just wanted to get someone that they loved and respected some water that he had asked for, but David seeing all of that devotion displayed knew immediately that he did not deserve it. I don't deserve it either. Thank-you all the same though. We shall just have to see how God uses this I suppose.

Fun With Paint

I've been having some fun with Paint lately and I thought I would share my creations with the world. So here you go world.




Nerdy, no? Bonus points to the people who figure out the jokes or stories within the pictures. Especially the "Women of the Future" piece.