have you heard of the Ansari X Prize? if not, you should read up on it. having grown up around aviation, the name Burt Rutan is very familiar to me. when i first heard of Ansari, i didn't know immediately that this man was already working on a project, but i knew that he would compete. you should check up on this, it's history in the making.

although i haven't come right out and said it on this forum, i am a bush man. this is for several reasons and after reading the article "John Kerry Explains War Funding Vote", i feel even better about my support of our president. you really have to read past all the verbal maneuvering to understand that he is saying he first voted in favor of it(later voting against it) because it rolled back tax cuts on the wealthiest people in order to fund it. he always makes a big deal about how Bush's tax cuts help the wealthy, but he never explains that the wealthy actually pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than the middle and lower economic classes. i am not financially wealthy by any means, but i do believe that if they work for it, they should keep it. if i had a GPA of 2.0 and my friend had a 4.0, should he give me a point just to make things even? the heart of the issue of supporting our troops should not be politically motivated, and this says to me that kerry is not a man to be Commander In Cheif of our troops.

the more i READ about him, the more i like him. i think that, like his big brother, he has strong opinions and is not afraid to use strong words. calling president carter's comments "nonsense" and "ridiculous"...nope, no mixing his words there!

i guess it's all about expectations, and perhaps personal taste as well. i know full well that you can be serious and have fun at the same time. but when your fun is the primary purpose for an activity, then it is probably impossible to devote your mind's full attention and heart's affection on God, praising Him for who He is and what He has done. i say let a fun concert be a fun concert, but be very careful about calling it Worship.

i saw a sign that said this one time on a river. it pretty much describes my afternoon yesterday.

gavin, one of my students, stopped by my office yesterday to hang out. he was looking at my slimy fish tank, trying to see if my one fish was still alive. it was a 3 year old red tetra that never ate when i fed it so i stopped feeding it about 4 or 5 months ago. the little bugger really hung in there but yesterday it appeared that he was about to die. so we scooped him out and fed him to my black widow.

yes, i keep a black widow in an empty water bottle with the lid screwed on tightly and she stays in my bottom desk drawer. strange i know, but it has helped me with my fear of spiders and has actually turned into a fascinating pet. i haven't named her yet and am open to suggestions.

so now i had an empty fish tank, hmmmm, what to do. we cleaned it up with some steel wool and dishwashing soap, something you should probably never do if you want to keep fish again. chemicals and fish don't mix well. so gavin gets the idea that we need fish, and he knows where to get some little grouper. we head to the marina and pull up a bait trap and sure enough there are a pile of little pin fish and grouper. we snagged 2 black grouper and 2 pin fish. i really want a blow fish after my buddy charlie caught one on when we went fishing, but that will have to wait. we filled the tank half full of the salt water, drop in our new pets, and head back to the church. they needed more water so we finished filling it with fresh tap water and added table salt to try to make it salty enough. now i've never had a salt water tank before but i know they are very difficult to maintain and you have to keep the salinity just right...and table salt ain't the way to do it. but ever since i learned that fish don't have the nerves to feel pain, i worry about such things less and less these days. to my surprise, all 4 are still alive this morning.

so later he and i are going to see justin. zach was already there and they were at the canal across from his house trying to catch a little alligator. this was one of the funniest things i have ever seen. nevermind the legal ramifications invloved, boys will be boys. when we left them, they had not succeeded, but they did get a hold of a large spear gun, just target practice i'm sure...

first of all, i have a lava lamp. you need to know this.

secondly, i'm reeling after this weekend. we had an incredible time. the students were pumped, so much fun to be with them. the leaders we had were absolutely incredible. i had the best time with them, and am forever thankful for them. thank you brandon, cassie, liz, bryan, susan, adam, jd, and amy.

new orleans won, auburn won, and georgia was off meaning they didn't lose.

i am leading worship with gavin and corbin wednesday night. no big deal except that i will be playing guitar. i've pretty much been trying to teach myself, working off and on and taking pointers from gavin and a old friend jason geiken. after sitting with gavin recently, i realized i was further along than i thought i was and really started working hard again. if you don't play any instrument, i highly suggest learning something, even if it's just for your own personal enjoyment. this has been a very fulfilling endeavor.

since i worked all weekend, i'm taking an extra day off this week, probably going to have a long weekend. this will almost certainly mean going to crestview, checking out daniels new truck, working the hunting lease, playing guitar with len, and maybe going to church with them saturday night. it's such a blessing to have wonderful in-laws.

btw, after an hour and 40 minutes, the lamp is flowing. i might not get any work done all morning.

all my life i have wanted one and now i have my very own lava lamp! and those who gave it to me make it even more special. we had our D-Weekend this weekend and the students gave it to me in appreciation. actually, pookie gave it to me and said it was from everyone. i turned it on yesterday morning at 8am and by the time i returned to my office at 11.30, it was doing its thing. this morning it has been on for an hour and a half and it still isn't flowing. i'm truly amazed at all the stuff that has to happen before it starts to flow and the changes it makes while it's warming up. this really is a big deal to me. yet another beautiful distraction for this a.d.d. impaired guy.

gotta get busy...

i've got so many things i've gotta get busy with. school, work, this web page! i just put up a comment harrasing my buddy micah about how he doesn't post up, but he's done way more than me! ok, here goes the new leaf.