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Thursday, September 24, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
My Mom
My mom, as far as moms go is a pretty hip lady. She has just had a pretty cool life, and I figured that today, on mothers day, I would just tell you a little bit about her.
My first baby picture taken with her in the hospital, she is holding a Busch Light can, as if to say, "finally!"
My mom has had a hand in raising six kids.
When I was a kid my mom was still active duty in the Air Force, and she would come to pick me up from after school in her BTUs and combat boots. I used to get made fun of a lot for that and be kind of embarassed, but looking back my mom was doing some cool stuff.
My mom totally helped me a lot on my science fair project in 4th grade (first place baby!)
When I was a kid my mom would personall make a lot of my halloween costumes. One year I wanted to go as Shredder from the Ninja Turtles. She watched the movie, made a drawing and made me the coolest costume I ever had. I think I was six. I WAS Shredder.
When my mom retired from the Air Force, she decided that she was going to go to college, something no one in her family had ever done. And she did. She graduated with a degree from UALR with her degree in Public Relations. But she skipped her college graduation ceremony to come see me graduate from High School that same day.
Today my mom is doing something she loves, managing a flea market in Beebe. Everyday is like a yard sale and she gets to work with people that she enjoys doing stuff that she loves.
Since I was about 13, my mom and I have always loved our chick flick nights.
For mother's day this year my mom and I went and say Star Trek (because she is a huge fan!) and then rented Last Chance Harvey.
I know that everyone thinks their mom is as cool as I think mine is, just make sure you let them know.
Happy mother's day.
My first baby picture taken with her in the hospital, she is holding a Busch Light can, as if to say, "finally!"
My mom has had a hand in raising six kids.
When I was a kid my mom was still active duty in the Air Force, and she would come to pick me up from after school in her BTUs and combat boots. I used to get made fun of a lot for that and be kind of embarassed, but looking back my mom was doing some cool stuff.
My mom totally helped me a lot on my science fair project in 4th grade (first place baby!)
When I was a kid my mom would personall make a lot of my halloween costumes. One year I wanted to go as Shredder from the Ninja Turtles. She watched the movie, made a drawing and made me the coolest costume I ever had. I think I was six. I WAS Shredder.
When my mom retired from the Air Force, she decided that she was going to go to college, something no one in her family had ever done. And she did. She graduated with a degree from UALR with her degree in Public Relations. But she skipped her college graduation ceremony to come see me graduate from High School that same day.
Today my mom is doing something she loves, managing a flea market in Beebe. Everyday is like a yard sale and she gets to work with people that she enjoys doing stuff that she loves.
Since I was about 13, my mom and I have always loved our chick flick nights.
For mother's day this year my mom and I went and say Star Trek (because she is a huge fan!) and then rented Last Chance Harvey.
I know that everyone thinks their mom is as cool as I think mine is, just make sure you let them know.
Happy mother's day.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Why I Play
This is a scholarship contest that I entered recently to answer the question: "Why do you play?"
We had to submit a picture and a small explanation and this was my submission. If you have a moment click on the link below. If you have two, follow the link and vote for me. If you have three, post this on your own blog. Thank you.
I get judged by clicks, reposts and votes. So anything really helps.
We had to submit a picture and a small explanation and this was my submission. If you have a moment click on the link below. If you have two, follow the link and vote for me. If you have three, post this on your own blog. Thank you.
I get judged by clicks, reposts and votes. So anything really helps.
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Finals Week: Some Notes
* I have found several cool podcasts this week and have been loving them
1) "12 Byzantine Rulers: A History of the Byzantine Empire" has been a good listen. I really enjoy and remember a lot about the Byzantine Museum in Athens and it has been good to relearn a lot of this stuff.
2) "Plato's Republic" will be good to just have. I need to burn it onto a disk so that I can listen to it in the car.
3) "Ancient and Medieval History" has been good. I am preparing to listen to a lecture on Charlemagne.
* Finals week is here. I have already taken one at 8:00 a.m. this morning. This semester was good enough to me to allow me to take the only geography class that Mark Elrod will ever teach. While Asia and Africa are not really my forte, but it has been an enjoyable semester in class. I have learned a lot and had a lot of fun doing it.
* I always have the same questions at the end of the semester: should I sell this book or keep it? On one hand I could totally use the cash, but on the other, for the most part I have really enjoyed this book. Should I add this to my small personal library because I might need to look back on it, or should I just dump it? These are always issues for me, especially since I am getting further and further into my majors classes and am getting more and more books that I want to keep. It is tough. Anyone else have this trouble?
* I am thinking about selling a lot of my useless books on Amazon. That'll be nice to make some room.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
(eco)Smart Cars
If I could plan next year's Earth Day, I would want to call these guys to come do a demonstration.
Smart Cars are all over Europe right now, and I remember thinking they seemed like the greatest thing, and they are, but I had no idea how cool they are until I started doing some research.
First off, the big environmental indicator for most people is the Miles Per Gallon. These cars on average get 41mpg highway and 35mpg in the city. This tops the new Accord (31-22), Civic (34-26), the Toyota Yaris (36-29), and Corola. The only car that I could find that is readily available is the Toyota Prius (48/45).
Price difference? Smart Pure ($11,900) Prius ($22,000)
However, this is a blog about being green, not cool cars. So what else about the smart car is so Green?
Smart say that they are committed "to protect the environment, reduce energy consumption and innovatively preserve our natural resources." They do this in several ways that I could tell you about, but I think that you should just read their site about it.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Capital Trip
Hey, I am just getting around to posting some ictures and stuff from the trip down to the Arkansas capital building. We went down with Lori Klein's State and Local Government class. We had a good time, it was a good group, got to see some pretty neat things and watch both the house and the senate working through bill proposals, which for me was the best part. But, here are some fun pictures from the day!
Shayna and I modeling the great seal of Arkansas.
The Ceiling of the building from the floor.
And Jake and Ben from the floor.
Shayna and I modeling the great seal of Arkansas. 
The Ceiling of the building from the floor. 
And Jake and Ben from the floor.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Christians and The Environment
I wrote this paper today for my environmental science class, thought I would share:
“In the beginning God created...”
Whether you see the stories of Genesis to be literal or allegorical—fact or fiction—the message in the opening line is clear: God established this earth. No matter what faith background you come from, you believe that your God, whoever he may be, created. That in itself should be a truth that leads you to a life-long course of action. If we fight to defend and place importance on things built by man, then how much more should we exercise this defense for the things that God created—human and nonhuman.
In Genesis God seems to imply that he put us here for that exact reason: to have dominion and protectorship over the earthly things that God created. God makes Adam to be the world' “gardener, to tend and care for it.” He also gave plants and animals as food, so we know that it was expected, even willed that man eat and kill plants and animals. But as a gardener, I feel that Adam was not given to deplete, over-harvest or make useless the land around him.
But, in the garden a snake comes to man and convinces him to take the fruit of the tree. In this one move man puts the word of the snake above the words of God and the love of the fruit above the commandments of God. It is here, when the love of the creation hinders the worship of the creator, that we find our problems. Though God cares about all of his creation, I believe that the priority lies with his image bearer, mankind.
Therefore, when an eco-terrorist kills a logger with a railroad spike, he is not acting in accordance with God's will. When, in order to protect the creation, people kill the image bearers of the Creator, I believe we have mixed up our priorities.
I think we have lost a lot of our call and guidance on being protectors of the environment. Biblically we can see Jesus using animals when he rides into town on a donkey. We see God in Exodus saying these animals are okay to eat. Doing something as barbarous as riding a donkey and something as cruel as eating an animal would shock some people today. Others however don't care. Among many people my age it seems that there is general apathy toward the ice-caps, global warming or even casual litter that they fling out their window.
I do not know if this is apathy or if this is (what I consider) a perversion of Christianity. Sam Harris, in his harsh rebuke of religion, The End of Faith, says points out the vast number of people in America who are evangelical Christians. Then, he looks at the number of them who believe that Christ's second coming and thus the end of the known world is going to occur in the next fifty years. He points out that if you think this world is going to end in your lifetime, that that belief affects how you do other things in your life. I think this is accurate. If you believe the earth is going to end in fifty years then statistics like the earth running out of oil in 100 years aren't going to phase you or detour you from buying an SUV that only gets 10 MPG.
I am glad however that this trend is changing. Everywhere I look people are “being green” and “thinking green.” I am fortunate enough to live in a community where we have a great recycling program and facility. But the movement that I am most proud of is amongst the people on my own campus who have said that God's creation is important to them. Many student directives have led to better campus recycling, better product consumption and more awareness about their actions on the world.
I think that this arena is where the Christian mindset belongs. I would like to think that I am living on the forefront of the reawakening of Adam's call to be a protector, a steward and a Shepard of the earth. Where Christians say it is not only better for the earth, but better for me and my spending in the long run for me to get a Prius instead of a Hummer. Or, perhaps we should be more active in demanding better fuel efficiency from car companies. Maybe it is a smaller stand like, asking for fewer bags when I go to Wal-Mart, or biking to class instead of driving.
So, this being where I think that the Christian mind should be, what have I done? What am I doing? I recycle in my home. I paid the initial cost for energy saver light bulbs so that I could, in the long run, save money and energy. I make sure that when I leave my home all the lights are turned off and the air-conditioner is not running. I use power-strips and do my best to turn them off when not in use. In this way I am not only being a better steward of the earth, but of my money as well.
That is individual use, what about the larger picture? How should Christians inhabit, use and populate the world? If there are children starving in Darfur should Christians in America have three children? I think that a child who is educated, taught good stewardship and compassion for people abroad is more valuable than one less child. I think that if Christians stop having children, then there will be no one in the world with the best motives behind their work. I would rather raise Christian children who are passionate about showing love and bringing relief to people around the world than no children at all.
This week president Obama presented his plan for a national rail system designed to cut down on the amount of long distance travel in the United States. I think this is a worthy cause to get behind. I think that using less gas and less jet fuel are things that are important in the coming years. The standard Asian countries still are leading in the gas efficiency race with Honda, Toyota and other making many vehicles touching the upper 30’s in highway mileage, a race that until recently American car companies have been fairly uninterested in. New companies are coming up all the time. 2008 saw the launch of the Smart company, which makes a two seater vehicle that gets 45mpg. These are things that Christians should be getting behind.
For a long time America as a “Christian Nation” has been characterized by free-markets, reckless growth, gluttonous consumption and a no-limits attitude that has depleted our earth, squandered our resources and hurt many people in many nations to save pennies on the dollar. I think it will soon be a Christian’s place to step up and say that they are willing to pay more to make sure it is done right. Pay more for energy saver light bulbs, pay more for fair-trade coffee that ensures a good wage to the grower, $1,000 more for a car that gets 10 more miles per gallon.
Some may suggest that a more “green” approach puts people out of jobs. I think that jobs just change with the times. In Detroit, when it comes down to it, GM will go bankrupt and close all its factories and throw in the towel, or it will have to start making more fuel efficient cars. Jobs that are lost in trash pick-up can only be gained with more sophisticated recycling systems. As processed food looses popularity, there is a booming organic movement. Construction workers for conventional buildings can only be re-commissioned to help build more eco-friendly buildings. I don’t believe that jobs are lost as much as they are redistributed in other sectors.
So in the last sections of my paper I will just make several statements that I believe Christians should be about concerning the world:
Stewards: Christians need to be better stewards of all things than the people around them. This includes time, money and the environment. I think I have done a good job of laying out the case that being better environmental stewards will also have great financial effects in the individual and society as a whole.
Activists: Activist has developed a pretty negative connotation in our culture recently. Often these people are tied to negative instead of positive things in the world such as eco-terrorism, anti-establishment movements and light terrorism. This is not the picture I am trying to convey. I suggest that Christians be active in supporting things that they see as right and just. Christians can do this with the things we listed earlier—time and money. If a Christian thinks that better gas mileage is important, he should spend his money on a car that gets good gas mileage. If a Christian thinks that some stretch of forest should be preserved, he should take the time to write a letter and let people know about that.
Advocates: If a Christian believes that someone should have a voice that for some reason does not, the Christian should act on speak on that person’s behalf. This means if an animal is endangered by a development coming in, Christians should stand up in defense of that. If there are people dying around the world due to lack of water, but have no way to plead for help from the international community, Christians should stand up and say something for them.
Loving: Above all things, when Christians work in arenas that they are passionate about, they should be loving to the opposition. This means that Christian eco-terrorists are not permissible. Love means wishing the best for those around you, which should mean helping people attain things to improve their quality of life. That means sending aid and providing assistance to those in need around the world through food and funds.
Empowering: American Christians have a lot to learn about simplicity and conservation, but I believe we also have a lot to teach about food production and healthcare. I think that if we are to really help people in the world we are to do more that deliver bags of rice and bottled water, but also to teach crop growth, safe sex, crop rotation, gemology, personal hygiene and land management. I think that in this way we are teaching men to fish, rather than handing them a fish. I do not think that we are to be the personal care takers of the globe, but instead provide struggling peoples with tools for self-sufficiency.
I think that everyone needs to come up with how they feel about this stuff. Dr Doran was nice enough to put some guidelines for thought up on his website, which I will link to here.
“In the beginning God created...”
Whether you see the stories of Genesis to be literal or allegorical—fact or fiction—the message in the opening line is clear: God established this earth. No matter what faith background you come from, you believe that your God, whoever he may be, created. That in itself should be a truth that leads you to a life-long course of action. If we fight to defend and place importance on things built by man, then how much more should we exercise this defense for the things that God created—human and nonhuman.
In Genesis God seems to imply that he put us here for that exact reason: to have dominion and protectorship over the earthly things that God created. God makes Adam to be the world' “gardener, to tend and care for it.” He also gave plants and animals as food, so we know that it was expected, even willed that man eat and kill plants and animals. But as a gardener, I feel that Adam was not given to deplete, over-harvest or make useless the land around him.
But, in the garden a snake comes to man and convinces him to take the fruit of the tree. In this one move man puts the word of the snake above the words of God and the love of the fruit above the commandments of God. It is here, when the love of the creation hinders the worship of the creator, that we find our problems. Though God cares about all of his creation, I believe that the priority lies with his image bearer, mankind.
Therefore, when an eco-terrorist kills a logger with a railroad spike, he is not acting in accordance with God's will. When, in order to protect the creation, people kill the image bearers of the Creator, I believe we have mixed up our priorities.
I think we have lost a lot of our call and guidance on being protectors of the environment. Biblically we can see Jesus using animals when he rides into town on a donkey. We see God in Exodus saying these animals are okay to eat. Doing something as barbarous as riding a donkey and something as cruel as eating an animal would shock some people today. Others however don't care. Among many people my age it seems that there is general apathy toward the ice-caps, global warming or even casual litter that they fling out their window.
I do not know if this is apathy or if this is (what I consider) a perversion of Christianity. Sam Harris, in his harsh rebuke of religion, The End of Faith, says points out the vast number of people in America who are evangelical Christians. Then, he looks at the number of them who believe that Christ's second coming and thus the end of the known world is going to occur in the next fifty years. He points out that if you think this world is going to end in your lifetime, that that belief affects how you do other things in your life. I think this is accurate. If you believe the earth is going to end in fifty years then statistics like the earth running out of oil in 100 years aren't going to phase you or detour you from buying an SUV that only gets 10 MPG.
I am glad however that this trend is changing. Everywhere I look people are “being green” and “thinking green.” I am fortunate enough to live in a community where we have a great recycling program and facility. But the movement that I am most proud of is amongst the people on my own campus who have said that God's creation is important to them. Many student directives have led to better campus recycling, better product consumption and more awareness about their actions on the world.
I think that this arena is where the Christian mindset belongs. I would like to think that I am living on the forefront of the reawakening of Adam's call to be a protector, a steward and a Shepard of the earth. Where Christians say it is not only better for the earth, but better for me and my spending in the long run for me to get a Prius instead of a Hummer. Or, perhaps we should be more active in demanding better fuel efficiency from car companies. Maybe it is a smaller stand like, asking for fewer bags when I go to Wal-Mart, or biking to class instead of driving.
So, this being where I think that the Christian mind should be, what have I done? What am I doing? I recycle in my home. I paid the initial cost for energy saver light bulbs so that I could, in the long run, save money and energy. I make sure that when I leave my home all the lights are turned off and the air-conditioner is not running. I use power-strips and do my best to turn them off when not in use. In this way I am not only being a better steward of the earth, but of my money as well.
That is individual use, what about the larger picture? How should Christians inhabit, use and populate the world? If there are children starving in Darfur should Christians in America have three children? I think that a child who is educated, taught good stewardship and compassion for people abroad is more valuable than one less child. I think that if Christians stop having children, then there will be no one in the world with the best motives behind their work. I would rather raise Christian children who are passionate about showing love and bringing relief to people around the world than no children at all.
This week president Obama presented his plan for a national rail system designed to cut down on the amount of long distance travel in the United States. I think this is a worthy cause to get behind. I think that using less gas and less jet fuel are things that are important in the coming years. The standard Asian countries still are leading in the gas efficiency race with Honda, Toyota and other making many vehicles touching the upper 30’s in highway mileage, a race that until recently American car companies have been fairly uninterested in. New companies are coming up all the time. 2008 saw the launch of the Smart company, which makes a two seater vehicle that gets 45mpg. These are things that Christians should be getting behind.
For a long time America as a “Christian Nation” has been characterized by free-markets, reckless growth, gluttonous consumption and a no-limits attitude that has depleted our earth, squandered our resources and hurt many people in many nations to save pennies on the dollar. I think it will soon be a Christian’s place to step up and say that they are willing to pay more to make sure it is done right. Pay more for energy saver light bulbs, pay more for fair-trade coffee that ensures a good wage to the grower, $1,000 more for a car that gets 10 more miles per gallon.
Some may suggest that a more “green” approach puts people out of jobs. I think that jobs just change with the times. In Detroit, when it comes down to it, GM will go bankrupt and close all its factories and throw in the towel, or it will have to start making more fuel efficient cars. Jobs that are lost in trash pick-up can only be gained with more sophisticated recycling systems. As processed food looses popularity, there is a booming organic movement. Construction workers for conventional buildings can only be re-commissioned to help build more eco-friendly buildings. I don’t believe that jobs are lost as much as they are redistributed in other sectors.
So in the last sections of my paper I will just make several statements that I believe Christians should be about concerning the world:
Stewards: Christians need to be better stewards of all things than the people around them. This includes time, money and the environment. I think I have done a good job of laying out the case that being better environmental stewards will also have great financial effects in the individual and society as a whole.
Activists: Activist has developed a pretty negative connotation in our culture recently. Often these people are tied to negative instead of positive things in the world such as eco-terrorism, anti-establishment movements and light terrorism. This is not the picture I am trying to convey. I suggest that Christians be active in supporting things that they see as right and just. Christians can do this with the things we listed earlier—time and money. If a Christian thinks that better gas mileage is important, he should spend his money on a car that gets good gas mileage. If a Christian thinks that some stretch of forest should be preserved, he should take the time to write a letter and let people know about that.
Advocates: If a Christian believes that someone should have a voice that for some reason does not, the Christian should act on speak on that person’s behalf. This means if an animal is endangered by a development coming in, Christians should stand up in defense of that. If there are people dying around the world due to lack of water, but have no way to plead for help from the international community, Christians should stand up and say something for them.
Loving: Above all things, when Christians work in arenas that they are passionate about, they should be loving to the opposition. This means that Christian eco-terrorists are not permissible. Love means wishing the best for those around you, which should mean helping people attain things to improve their quality of life. That means sending aid and providing assistance to those in need around the world through food and funds.
Empowering: American Christians have a lot to learn about simplicity and conservation, but I believe we also have a lot to teach about food production and healthcare. I think that if we are to really help people in the world we are to do more that deliver bags of rice and bottled water, but also to teach crop growth, safe sex, crop rotation, gemology, personal hygiene and land management. I think that in this way we are teaching men to fish, rather than handing them a fish. I do not think that we are to be the personal care takers of the globe, but instead provide struggling peoples with tools for self-sufficiency.
I think that everyone needs to come up with how they feel about this stuff. Dr Doran was nice enough to put some guidelines for thought up on his website, which I will link to here.
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