My 2007 in Review

The Christmas cards from friends and family got me thinking. I haven't ever written a "Christmas letter" type summary of my year. So, I thought I'd give it a try on my blog. If you aren't interested in this sort of thing, that's fine. You can stop reading now and wait for the next post, probably on Wednesday. (Caveat: I don't normally think in calendar years, so I won't reference much from the first part of the year simply because to me it was "last year." For me, the new year begins the week before school starts.)
Major events of 2007
1. Buying a house. Motivated by the rapidly decaying condition of the apartment complex I lived in, I was able, by God's grace and help from my family, to find an affordable house here in town. The month-long sprint that was the process ended in early July when I finally took possession of the house and moved in--for one day. The next day saw me off to Sioux Center for three weeks. [A huge thank you, by the way, to my friends the Catlins as well as my entire family for helping me move into my house. And a second thank you to my family for re-doing my bathroom while I was gone. I still love it six months later!]
2. Starting classes for a Masters degree. The three weeks in Sioux Center (and indeed, the two months of preparation work) were the most stressful weeks of my entire year. The work was intense and detailed, although I enjoyed it. By the end of three weeks, though, I was ready to leave and start living in my house.
3. CPLS Graduation in May. It was a privilege to watch a class of 29 seniors take their final walk across the stage. This class and I have a long history: some of the students have had to put up with me as a coach and/or teacher since they were in 7th grade. It was a bittersweet yet joyous moment for me. To see these kids begin to take flight on their own after all the years of working with them was wonderful.
4. Running in the first CPLS 5K in August. I've always been (and probably will be) more of a sprinter than a distance runner, but I decided to try the 5K that the school sponsored. I finished in exactly 24 minutes, not exactly fast, but for me a great time. And the extra endurance that I gained from training for the race certainly made refereeing easier.
5. School Tour (to New York). For the second time in 6 years at Cair Paravel, I was able to go with the juniors and seniors as the traveled to New York City for a week. It was great to travel one last time with both classes.
6. Visiting Ames. On my way down from Dordt to Topeka, I made a side trip over to Ames. It was good to see all of my old friends one more time, and as nostalgic as always to roam the campus of Iowa State.

Normal events of 2007
1. Teaching. What else? I am truly grateful to God that I get to do what I do. I can't imagine doing anything else. Cair Paravel is a great place to be, and I enjoy the privilege of working with the students. I could go on for hours....
2. Coaching. I spent this year as an assistant coach for both the boys' and girls' teams. Like teaching, coaching is tiring work, but it is a chance to interact with my students outside of class, making teaching them in class easier. The girls' team won the inaugural Kansas Christian Athletic Association girls' tournament in the Spring. The boys came close this Fall, taking second after an exciting championship game.
3. Refereeing. It's my excuse to get out and run while still getting paid for it. This year, I did a few high school games and enjoyed doing that. There's nothing like a little refereeing to give one practice in handling irate people. :-)
4. Bible Study. I am part of a multi-generational study that meets weekly (for the most part). It's a blessing to be able to sit in there and learn from people older and wiser than myself. I also hosted a small (very small; we need to find more guys) single men's Bible study at my house.
5. Scholars' Bowl. Our 2007-2008 team took first place in our classification at one tournament. We also participated in another. The team had a lot of fun at both tournaments, no matter if we won or lost. This coming calendar year promises to be the most active ever in the history of Scholars' Bowl at CPLS: we are headed to two more high school tournaments and hosting a small high school tourney of our own, not to mention the two middle school tournaments that we're hoping to do in February.

As always, God has shown Himself faithful in my life in many ways. I know that I could not survive a year of teaching without His grace. It is simply too demanding a job, and I would burn out, becoming the ultimate grumpy teacher. From financial provision (tuition for graduate school, help with the down payment on the house) to the blessing of being able to spend time with my family over breaks, God constantly provided what was needed when it was needed. Soli Deo gloria!
Thanks for reading! May God make your 2007 a year of great joy and of knowing Him more deeply!

What Day Is It?

The joy (burden?) of being on a break from teaching is that one often forgets what day it is. Such is the case with me right now. I only knew that yesterday was Saturday because my computer told me so. To be honest, I would have had no clue as to which day of the week it was otherwise. I'm pretty sure I skipped a day last week (not sure which one, but one seems to be missing from my recollection). Of course, being sick and trying to rest isn't exactly a memory-making experience.
Off to other adventures now.

And More Snow!

If the forecast holds, Topeka could see another 2-4 inches of snow on top of the 9 that fell last weekend. This is one of the snowiest Decembers that I remember, and I'm not looking forward to shoveling it. Still, the snow makes for beautiful scenes, like on Christmas Eve, when it was so bright (thanks to a full moon), that everything was casting shadows. It gave everything a serene, peaceful appearance. That probably won't be quite the case with this snowfall, since the moon is now waning.

Snow!

Yesterday was a record setting day for Topeka snowfall, at least for the date. The official NWS tally of snowfall, 9 inches, was the highest snowfall total recorded on 12/22 in the history of the climate records. (Admittedly, these are only about 100 years old. I'm sure that sometime in the past 4000 years, there's been a bigger snowfall, but no one bothered to record it...) Here at my house, I had 7 inches of accumulated snow, although it was deeper in places thanks to drifting.
I was initially surprised that Silver Bells was postponed, but once I went out last night about 8:30 p.m. to clear off my driveway, I realized that it was a brilliant decision. I spent about an hour outside, and I only made it a 1/4 of the way down my driveway. I went back out this morning and spent another 45 minutes digging myself out so I could make it to church. The last time I saw this much snow, I was in Ames, IA, going to college. The last time I saw this much snow in Kansas was probably when I was a teenager in Lawrence. It's an amazing and beautiful thing to see. And the thunder was a nice addition. It's quite a rare thing to have thunder snow, and we did yesterday. Really cool!

Rant: Time and Date Errors

I'm just feeling the need to go "Andy Rooney" for a minute:
There are several common mistakes that people make with dates and times that are either slightly annoying or slightly amusing to me, depending on the mistake.
One is what I call the "noon problem." It seems that many of us have forgotten whether noon is 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. Consider the following statement, "The store will be open on Christmas Eve from 8-12 a.m." Now, I think we all know what that means. The store will be open from 8 a.m. until noon. However, that's not what the statement says. Noon is not 12 a.m. Midnight is. Noon is 12 p.m. So, the statement is really saying that the store will be open from 8 a.m. until midnight on Christmas Eve. I don't think those hours are going to be popular with most of the staff....
While the "noon problem" is more amusing than annoying, the "misplaced year modifier problem" is more annoying than amusing because it shows an ignorance of how our calendar system is set up. The problem manifests itself something like this: "He was born in 5 B.C. and died in 50 A.D." The problem? Our calendar system was set up in such a way that the split between B.C. and A.D. is the year of the birth of Jesus Christ. (Now, the guy who calculated the year was off by about 5 years, but hey, cut him some slack. He did the best he could with what he had.) B.C., thus, stands for "Before Christ," and A.D. stands for "Anno Domini," which is Latin "Year of our Lord." B.C. modifies the year by sitting after the number, e.g. 5 B.C. means 5 years Before Christ. A.D., however, modifies the year by sitting before the number, e.g. A.D. 50 means in the Year of our Lord (number) 50. It doesn't make much sense to put it the other way, e.g. 50 A.D., since that would mean 50 in the year of our Lord. When thought of that way, the second options is quite confusing. 50 what? And what year, precisely is this "Year of our Lord?" Sadly, we no longer teach the meaning of the phrase A.D., and so it has wound up misplaced after the year instead of before.
Of course, there are some, primarily historians, who realize full well what B.C. and A.D. stand for. They seem uncomfortable with this knowledge, however, and that leads to a third "error," one that is particularly infuriating to me. Here's how it works. In an effort to remove any references to Christ from their calendars, some historians call every date that would normally be designated "A.D." as "C.E." meaning "Common Era" or "Christian Era." Likewise, "B.C." becomes "B.C.E." or "Before Common Era." The numbering stays the same. Now, hopefully, you're seeing the absurdity of this. The dividing point, the birth year (albeit slightly miscalculated) of Jesus Christ, is still the same. But the reference to the cause of the dividing line has been removed. It's like people were afraid that if they used references to Jesus as a real, historical person that they might actually have to believe in Him.
It's also intellectually disingenuous for two reasons. First, there's no such thing as "Common Era" because many cultures use different calendars with different starting and ending dates. Secondly, the "Christian Era" could not begin at A.D. 1 because "Christians" did not really exist, yet. (Christ would only have been about 6 at the time and wouldn't have had too many disciples.) The "Christian Era" probably should not be held to begin until later, perhaps as late as Constantine's "Edict of Milan" in A.D. 313. So, the whole point of the designations is not for some valid historical reason; rather, it's simply an attempt to avoid the references to Christ in the year naming system. Yet this point is not acknowledge by proponents of the system. They somehow feel more "enlightened" for having removed from their system the reference to its origin in the first place.
So, the next time you plan on sending the e-mail out about your Christmas party, be sure to say that it runs "From 7 p.m. to 12 a.m." (not 7 p.m. to 12 p.m. That would be one long party!) and that it is on "December 21, A.D. 2007" (not 2007 A.D.). And please, don't even dare try to say, "2007 C.E." Somehow, the idea of a Christmas party in a year designated "C.E." just seems a little too much like mockery to me.
End of rant.

Colds! Bah, Humbug!

So, two weeks ago, I lost my voice thanks to a cold. I had just gotten over it, and then I manage to catch another one. This one, thanks be to God, has left my voice alone, but I've been coughing for three days, now. It's not fun. I can't remember the last time I've been sick for this long. Last year, I caught nothing. Not so this year. :-(

Winter Is Here

Astronomically, winter starts on December 21. In terms of the weather conditions, though, winter started with the early-season snow last week and the ice storm this week. And it looks like winter is going to get into full swing with a significant snowfall in the forecast for this weekend. The current official forecasts call for 5-7 inches of snow in Topeka. That will certainly make things wintry. Of course, I'm supposed to be helping family move to town Saturday morning. Could be a bit difficult if the snow falls as predicted. We shall see. Accurately forecasting snow accumulation is quite difficult. Still, it will be nice to have snow this time around instead of ice. Perhaps it will even linger for a week and give us a "White Christmas."

Prince Caspian Trailer...I'm Concerned

I've just watched the first trailer for the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and I have to say that overall it looks like it will be an interesting movie. Unfortunately, it also looks like it's going to deviate from the book (and embellish) on it far more than The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe did. There are several little hints I saw that concern me, but I'm not going to mention any of them. I'm going to take a "wait and see" attitude regarding this movie. Hopefully, it won't deviate as much as I'm concerned that it will.

"Ice" of You to Drop By

By this time tomorrow night, NE Kansas could be in the grip of a serious ice storm. Warm air aloft and cold air near the surface could combine (potentially) to produce a serious freezing rain event. That much is well known. The Weather Service does a great job in sending out warnings about this sort of event.
What's not in the forecast, though, is the amount of uncertainty regarding what actually will happen. Some systems are easy to predict. Some are not. This system is proving slightly problematic. A small error in the forecasted direction of the upper air disturbance will result in far less ice or far more snow to the region. Surface temperatures also could sneak over the freezing mark, turning a potentially dangerous event into a cold gullywasher.
That being said, taking precautions is certainly wise. If this system does indeed progress as the forecast models predict, we could be in a for a long couple of days. I'm praying that it doesn't and that God will be merciful to us in this situation. Please join me in praying.

Cold

A few random thoughts on the word "cold" (because I have nothing else to say right now)
I have a cold.
It's cold outside.
I'm not used to this cold, yet.
Cold is a strange word if you stop and think about it.
Wouldn't frío be much better?
I just has that onomatopoeic sound to it, like someone trying to talk while cold.

Veni Veni Emmanuel

With December here, cold air descending on Topeka (albeit only for a day), and the season of Advent beginning, it is time to turn to thoughts of Christmas. I have tried as hard as I can to avoid Christmas related music and decorating until Advent starts. It's sort of my way of "rebelling" against our culture that seems to feel the need for Christmas to start the day after Thanksgiving (or even right after Halloween). With Advent now here, my Christmas lights are now turned one and my Christmas tree is now up (much to the delight of my cat). My thoughts now can slowly turn towards the joyous birth of our Lord and Savior in Bethlehem some 2000 years ago.
Sadly, though, as I've gotten older, Christmas has ceased to be my favorite holiday. I know that there are people that just seem to love this holiday more than any other, who could listen to Christmas carols year round and have their lights on perpetually. To me, though, Christmas has lost a lot of its wonder, thanks to the secular and materialist emphases that our culture has placed on it. (If I hear one more commercial hawking products using "Carol of the Bells," I think I'll go crazy.) Christmas is supposed to be about celebrating the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, which is a wonderful and joyous event. It is an appropriate time to give gifts. Yet our society wants to have the joy without the Source. The result is so saccharine that I can hardly take it.
So, while strangely dressed gnomes sing carols to try to get me to buy GPS systems that I neither need nor want, I'm going to content myself with singing the centuries old refrain "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." Amen, come Lord Jesus. And save us from our own folly.

Global Warming Fueling Major Hurricanes? No So Fast!

For the second year in a row, hurricane forecasters have missed the mark (albeit barely) on their forecast for the number and intensity of hurricanes for this year. The forecasters had predicted 7-9 hurricanes, 3 of them Category 3 or better. However, only 6 hurricanes formed, 2 of them major (both Category 5). Now, while this prediction is closer to reality than last year's very off forecast, it is still below what the more alarmist members of the media are trying to tell us will happen. A lot of factors go into hurricane formation, the available energy is the only one. Clearly, the atmosphere is far more complex than any of us can understand, and we should not be surprised if our initial forecasts are off. God has made this world wonderfully complex and yet also surprisingly simple. And above all, he remains in control and will do what pleases Him.

Adventures in Lighting

So, with being a first-year homeowner comes the adventure of trying to decorate the house some for Christmas. Now, I was going to wait until Saturday to put up lights on the outside of my house. My motivation for waiting was primarily the tendency of our society to jump right to Christmas right after Thanksgiving. I can't stand that. I can't take Christmas that long. I'll be fine to start it once the liturgical season of Advent starts this coming Sunday. Thus the motivation for putting my lights up this Saturday. Then I saw the forecast for Saturday. It's not going to be light hanging weather. Besides, by God's mercy and grace, my dad happened to be in town today on some errands, so he swung early this evening with a ladder, and I hung my lights. It was a bit of an adventure because I've never hung lights at this house before, and I didn't have any lights to hang.
So, I went out and bought some, but there are innumerable varieties of lights out there, including some that will calculate and file your 2008 income tax for you. I settled for 3 sets of basic mini-lights. Then, I had to drive all over Topeka trying to find the right kind of hangers. I finally found what I was looking for at a hardware store in north Topeka. Everywhere else was out.
Once I got the hangers, with my dad's help and a little bit of ladder work, I was able to get the lights up relatively quickly. I'll turn them on Saturday night when I do my interior Christmas decorating. And enjoy the fact that I'm not putting lights up will sleet and freezing rain are falling.

Lesson from the Garden

Hear now the story of
The wise Gardener
He plants the flowers and shrubs
With great care and love

With purpose He selects
Buds, seeds, bushes, trees
To make an arrangement
Glorious to see

Some walk by the display
In lovely springtime
See the beauteous blooming
And think they've seen best

Others look at His choice
Of type and color
With a jeer and a sneer
They harshly say ill

"Flowers that bloom too late
Are killed by the frost
Roses that bud too soon
Are lost to the cold"

Rare is the passerby
Who pauses to see
The autumnal beauty
Of the late bloomers

Yellow lilacs mixing
With red fallen leaves
English roses shining
Beneath reddened trees

Bushes of burgundy
Amidst fallen gold
Shrubs of pink and purple
Beneath dropping oaks

Few stop to take notice
Yet the Gardener
Sees and smiles as His plan
Unfolds exactly

Late plants shining brightly
Together lovely
Bringing color ere cold
Sends them all to rest

Raking Leaves after Sunset

The last week was very busy for me, so I didn't have any time during daylight hours to rake the leaves that have been covering my front lawn. So, with frigid weather forecast for today, I spent two hours yesterday raking leaves in the darkness, with only my front porch light to help me see. It was actually not as unpleasant as I had expected. By the grace of God, the winds were nearly calm most of the time, allowing the leaves to stay where I piled them and my trash bags to stay open. It was a more enjoyable experience than I expected it to be. Thanks be to God for a cool night, calm winds, and an iPod!

Thankful for Thanksgiving

It's been a while since I've felt like this. Between this past week and refereeing most of the day yesterday, I am exhausted. It will be by the grace of God alone that I am able to teach successfully these next two days. I need a break, no matter how short. Somehow, I hit a wall last week. I don't know what it was, but suddenly, I have felt that I'm just walking through some sort of morass. Maybe it's the switch to Standard Time; maybe it's something else. I don't know. All I know is that while I enjoy teaching and I love my students, I still need a break to be able to be the teacher that they deserve. Thanksgiving is coming at the perfect time.

Writer's Block, Pt. III

Writer's block is a piece of wood. It is rectangular, about 2 inches tall by 4 inches wide by 1 inch deep. Thank you; good night.

And Suddenly, I Have Nothing to Say

I knew it was going to happen again, eventually. After that sequence of quizzes over The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I am out of ideas right now about what to write.
I think I'll go out on a long run here soon. The weather is simply too nice to stay inside, even with the windows open.

LWW Quiz 20

Here's the final installment of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe quizzes.
39. Who walks into the room right after the children fall back out of the wardrobe?
a. Mrs. Macready
b. No one
c. The Professor
d. Mr. Pevensie

40. To whom does the Professor say that going back to Narnia through the Wardrobe won’t be possible?
a. Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy
b. Peter and Edmund
c. Susan and Lucy
d. Lucy

LWW Quiz 19

Sorry it's a day late. Here's the penultimate quiz.

37. Who says that Aslan is not a tame lion?
a. Peter
b. Mr. Tumnus
c. Edmund
d. Mr. Beaver

38. What is the name of Edmund’s horse?
a. Phillip
b. Jonathan
c. Mr. Ed
d. We don’t know

Happy Reformation Day!

Today is Reformation Day. It was on this day in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the chapel at Wittenberg. This one action is seen by many historians as the start of the Protestant Reformation. So, instead of celebrating Halloween this year, I'm going to celebrate Reformation Day by going to Bible Study and then coming back home and sleeping. :-) No costume for me, although if I were going to be at home, I would hand out candy dressed as Martin Luther. ;-)

LWW Quiz 18

35. How many of the enemy does Susan kill?
a. Zero
b. One
c. Two
d. Three

36. Where is Edmund when Susan and Lucy find him?
a. Behind the fighting lines in the care of Mrs. Beaver
b. Riding a unicorn
c. In the midst of fierce combat with the Witch’s dwarf attendant
d. Lying wounded on the field of battle

LWW Quiz 17

33. What animals pull the White Witch’s chariot in the battle against Peter and the army?
a. Reindeer
b. Polar bears
c. White horses
d. We don’t know

34. Whom is Edmund protecting when he destroys the Witch’s wand?
a. Himself
b. A leopard
c. Peter
d. Susan

LWW Quiz 16

31. In what manner does the White Witch leave Aslan’s camp?
a. She is carried on a chair on poles
b. She walks
c. She dances
d. She runs

32. After conferring with the Witch, Aslan orders the entire army to move its encampment to what location?
a. Cair Paravel
b. The Fords of Beruna
c. The Beaver’s house
d. He doesn’t order the army to move camp

LWW Quiz 15

29. What animal(s) serve as Aslan’s attendants?
a. Fauns
b. Leopards
c. Bears
d. No animals serve as his attendants

30. Where do Aslan and the White Witch hold their conference regarding Edmund?
a. At Aslan’s throne in the camp
b. Inside Aslan’s tent in the camp
c. By the river where Peter killed Maugrim
d. At Cair Paravel

LWW Quiz 14

27. How does the White Witch enter Aslan’s camp?
a. She disguises herself as a tree and sneaks in.
b. She walks into the camp.
c. She rides a chariot pulled by polar bears.
d. She is carried in a chair by four Cyclops.

28. What is the White Witch’s name?
a. Jadis
b. Jedes
c. Jaudis
d. We don’t know; we never hear it.

LWW Quiz 13

25. Put the following events in the correct order:
a. The Pevensies see the Stone Table
b. Peter draws his sword
c. The Pevensies see Aslan
d. Aslan talks with Peter

26. After Aslan shows Cair Paravel to Peter, what does Peter say in response?
a. Nothing.
b. “We’re from Finchley, and I’ve never seen anything like that castle.”
c. “I’m not who you think I am.”
d. “That sure looks a lot like Minas Tirith!”

LWW Quiz 12

23. How close do the Pevensies come to being captured by the White Witch’s wolves?
a. Very close. A fox saves them once, and a melting waterfall saves them another time.
b. Kind of close. The Beavers stage an argument to provide a distraction.
c. They are captured.
d. Not close at all. They are never chased by wolves.

24. What happens when Edmund meets Tumnus in the White Witch’s castle?
a. Edmund draws a moustache on Tumnus.
b. Tumnus and Edmund talk, Edmund realizes that the White Witch is evil.
c. Tumnus helps Edmund escape.
d. Edmund never meets Tumnus.

LWW Quiz 11

21. According to Father Christmas, who is responsible for the collapse of the White Witch’s enchanted winter?
a. Aslan
b. Father Christmas
c. Wayne Newton
d. Each person’s heart because of being stirred to hope by news of the Pevensies’ arrival

22. How does Father Christmas responded to Lucy’s slightly fearful prediction that she would be brave enough to fight in battle.
a. He tells her that she would not be brave.
b. He smiles.
c. He says that he doesn’t doubt it but that battles are ugly things when women fight.
d. He tells her to take heart and unleash her inner feminist warrior when the time comes!

LWW Quiz 10

19. How many wolves chase the Beavers and Pevensies as they leave Beaver’s house?
a. 0
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4

20. Under what conditions do they meet Father Christmas?
a. He pops down the Beaver’s chimney.
b. He stops by the cave where they have stopped for the night.
c. They are fleeing towards the Stone Table when he overtakes them on the edge of some woods.
d. He is in Aslan’s camp near the Stone Table

LWW Quiz 9

Oops! I'm a couple of day behind. Sorry. I've been in a bit of a survival mode these past couple of days. Here's the quiz:
17. Where is the White Witch’s castle located?
a. In the middle of a plain
b. On top of a hill
c. In the middle of a lake
d. Near Cair Paravel

18. How do the Beavers and Pevensies flee Beaver’s house?
a. They don’t. The White Witch captures them.
b. They walk along the dam and then take to a narrow path on the far side of the river.
c. They climb down the dam and flee along the river
d. They go out through a tunnel that Beaver has dug.

LWW Quiz 8

15. Where are the Pevensies and Beaver when he tells them Aslan is on the move?
a. In the forest
b. In his house
c. On the way to his house
d. He doesn’t

16. What do Peter, Susan, and Lucy do once they notice that Edmund has left the Beaver’s house?
a. They do nothing, thinking he’s gone out to get some more fish
b. They run after him and see him enter the White Witch’s castle from a distance
c. They immediately set off to meet Aslan at the Stone Table
d. Peter breaks out into a long poem about Arwen…I mean…never mind…

An Amazing Comeback...

Normally, I don't write about school-related stuff on my blog, but I know that several alumni will be interested in this story. And rather than have to write the story in several different messages, I thought I'd put it here.
WAHAA, one of our chief rivals in the KCAA, came into town with an excellent record and a couple of resounding victories against other teams in our league (8-0 over Heritage and 6-0 or 6-1 against Olathe Christian). They were older and taller than us, as well as well-coached. Coach Congdon rightfully said that this was going to be a tough game for us, and he was right. The story of this game ranks as one of the best comebacks in the history of Cair Paravel Latin School Boys' Soccer.
The game began with the teams trading opportunities back and forth without much success. In the 8th minute, however, WAHAA finally captialized on our poor marking. One of WAHAA's players hit a cross that went through Boggs's hands and to an unmarked WAHAA forward. The game remained a back-and-forth affair, with both teams having opportunities. Finally, we were able to take advantage of one of our opportunities. Harrison was able to corral a loose ball from a corner kick and send it off their keeper's outstretched hand to knot the score at 1-1. The remainder of the first half saw both teams trading fruitless opportunities.
Then, the drama began. Coach Congdon had to leave for a wedding rehearsal, leaving me in charge. (Not my favorite place to be, admittedly, but I can do it in a pinch for one game. Coach is more than welcome to keep his job...)
Anyway, so we began the second half underway, and WAHAA nearly scored a goal on a breakaway. Andrew saved us by making an amazing recovery. And then only 6 minutes into the second half, it rained. Or perhaps a better way to say it would be then the skies opened up and every single ounce of water in the atmosphere (coupled with lightning) came pouring down out of the sky. The game was suspended for 10 to let the storm pass.
As we resumed, the seniors led us in the "Oggie" cheer, something we haven't done for a while, and we came out fired up. Unfortunately, we took a punch to the gut only two minutes after we resumed play, when a WAHAA player was able to beat Boggs to a loose ball in the box.
Now down 2-1, our players had the chance to give up or to fight on through. I was impressed how they continued to fight. The next 12 minutes or so were relatively uneventful, as we again slowly regained momentum from giving the goal.
Then, we took another blow. Or more accurately, Boggs took a blow. He had just dived on a loose ball when one of WAHAA's players speared Boggs with his shoulder. Boggs had to leave the game with an injured left shoulder, forcing us to put Andrew into goal. (Now, Andrew has played goal for us before, but he's had no reps at that position in practice.)
The next 4 or 5 minutes passed tensely as we tried to adjust to different people in different places forced upon us by the injury. With fifteen minutes remaining, the game seemed to have reached a stalemate. Needing two goals in only 15 minutes, we switched our formation to a 4-3-3. Boggs was also able to return to the game as a stopper.
Switching to a 4-3-3 is a bit risky because you can lose the battle in midfield and put insane amounts of pressure on your defense. But if the defense holds together and your opponent doesn't adjust correctly to it (by playing short passes through the midfield), it will usually work within about 10 minutes.
In this case, it seemed to be working. WAHAA's defense was having trouble adjusting to the extra pressure created by the third forward. In the 75th minute (about ten minutes after the change), Ryan hit a great through ball to Trevin, who calmly carried to about 10 yards out and nailed a shot past the helpless keeper.
The score was tied 2-2. With only 5 minutes remaining, the question was whether we would be able to get another goal in time, or whether we would have to take the risk of overtime. Less than a minute later, that question was emphatically answered. Grayson hit a short square pass to an open Harrison who promptly unloaded a beautiful shot from about 25 yards out. The ball sailed past the outstretched arms of the WAHAA goalie.
We were now up 3-2 with about 4 minutes to play. WAHAA made one last-ditch effort to find the equalizer, but one of their wings was called offside on their most promising attack. In the end, we prevailed, and credit has to go to the team for playing such an excellent game. The seniors did a good job of stepping up and showing some leadership with Coach gone, and the defense played much better once Boggs went down. Andrew only had to touch the ball a couple of times, and he performed admirably in both cases. The offense turned it on when it counted, and the team refused to quit. And now, here I am, two hours after the final whistle, still not totally believing what I just saw happen. It was truly one of the most amazing comebacks I've ever seen.

LWW Quiz 7

13. How do the Pevensies wind up meeting Mr. Beaver?
a. He shows up at Mr. Tumnus’s house
b. He runs into them at the Lantern
c. They discover his house while searching for evidence of Mr. Tumnus
d. They follow a robin who leads them to a spot in the woods where the meet Mr. Beaver

14. What is the first evidence that the children have of Mr. Beaver’s intelligence?
a. He starts arguing with his wife
b. He puts his paw to his lips to make a “be quiet” signal
c. He breaks out into a rhyme about Aslan
d. He says, “Well, I ain’t gonna smell it, if that’s what you want.”

ISU Won!

I can't believe it. Iowa State won today over Iowa, 15-12. ISU was 0-2 after losing to such football "behemoths" as Kent State and Northern Iowa. Somehow, though, our players were fired up and apparently were able to shut down Iowa's offense most of the game. It's an excellent win for a team that desperately needed one heading into Big XII play. Now, maybe the Cyclones can continue that winning streak against one of the hardest schedules in the country. Of course, to do that, we're going to have to score some touchdowns...

LWW Quiz 6

11. Where are the Pevensie children when the read the notice of Mr. Tumnus’s arrest?
a. In the Beaver’s house
b. In Mr. Tumnus’s house
c. In the White Witch’s house
d. Outside Tumnus’s house

12. What is the name of the Queen’s Chief of Secret Police?
a. Fenris Ulf
b. Draugrin
c. Maugrim
d. We don’t know

LWW Quiz 5

9. Edmund denies going to Narnia with Lucy. What do Peter, Susan, and/or Lucy do?
a. Lucy runs away back into the wardrobe
b. Peter and Susan decide to go talk with the Professor
c. Peter has a heart-to-heart with Edmund about lying
d. Lucy breaks into tears at Edmund’s taunting. She runs down the hall into the Professor, who asks to speak to Peter and Susan

10. Why do all four children wind up going into the wardrobe?
a. Susan’s looking for a nice fur coat and drags the others along with her
b. Lucy decides to go into the wardrobe, Edmund follows her, and Peter and Susan follow Edmund
c. They are trying to avoid Mrs. Macready as she leads a group of people touring the Professor’s house
d. They break the window of the wardrobe room while playing cricket and, hearing someone coming, flee into the wardrobe

LWW Quiz 4

7. The Pevensies play hide and seek. Who is it?
a. Peter
b. Edmund
c. Susan
d. Lucy

8. Under what circumstances does Edmund follow Lucy into the Wardrobe?
a. While playing hide and seek
b. While exploring the house with Lucy
c. He doesn’t
d. At night while following Lucy to see what she’s up to

LWW Quiz 3

5. When Lucy meets Mr. Tumnus, he asks her if she is a “Daughter of Eve.” What is Lucy’s response?
a. “Of course I am!”
b. “My mother’s name is Helen…”
c. “My name’s Lucy.”
d. “I prefer to think of myself as a Daughter of Adam.”

6. When does Lucy see a picture of Mr. Tumnus’s father?
a. Before Tumnus plays his flute.
b. While Tumnus plays his flute.
c. After Tumnus plays his flute.
d. She never sees it, although we notice it.

LWW Quiz 2

Question 3: Under what circumstances does Lucy first enter the wardrobe?
a. While playing hide and seek on the first full day in the house.
b. While running away from Edmund because he was mean to her.
c. While exploring on the first full day in the house.
d. While following the script.

Question 4: What game do the Pevensies play on their first full day in Professor Kirke’s mansion?
a. They don’t play a game. They explore because it’s raining.
b. They play cricket outside.
c. They play “pin the tail on the professor.”
d. They play a word etymology game because it’s raining.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (LWW) Quiz 1

While it doesn't offer anywhere near the number of discrepancies that the Lord of the Rings movies did, there are some differences between LWW in book and movie form. Most of those differences are minor, but I thought it'd be fun to do another little sequence of quizzes, just like I did a year or two ago for the Lord of the Rings books/movies. For each question, you'll be given several options. Answer either according to the movie (for 1 point) or according to the book (2 points). I'll post the answer in a comment each time.

Question 1: How many servants does Professor Kirke have?
a. 0 -- He lives by himself
b. 1 -- Mrs. Macready
c. 2 -- Mrs. Macready and the butler
d. 3 -- Mrs. Macready, Ivy, Margaret, and Betty

Question 2: When do the Pevensie children first meet Professor Kirke?
a. They don't. He stays hidden in his study at all times.
b. On the first day; he welcomes them at the front door.
c. After Lucy and Edmund have both gone through the wardrobe and returned.
d. Right after Lucy has returned from going through the wardrobe the first time.

This Is What We've All Been Waiting For

It all starts tomorrow...
And by "all," I mean, of course, the school year. The past three months of resting, classwork, and preparation have all been for this: glorifying God by teaching mathematics to high school students. I'm excited! I can't wait to resume the wonderful privilege of doing what I do. No two years are identical, and this year will be different than any other. I can't wait to see what God has in store for this year!

Personality Test

Today was an interesting day. We took a personality test as a part of the in-service, and it's always fun to see what other people's personalities are. We were using the DISC model, a simple assessment that I have taken a couple of times before. It was hard, in fact, not to answer the questions in such a way as to bias the results. I did manage it, however, and my result, not surprisingly, was identical to what it was a few years ago. My personality came out as C/S/D. For those of you who understand the model, you'll probably not be surprised at the combination. The most amusing part of the discussion for me was hearing all of the married staff members talk about how their spouses had their "opposite" personalities. For example, an "I" woman generally seemed to be married to a "C" man. Opposites attract, they say, and that certainly seems to be the case in many circumstances.

And So It Begins...

While my students still have a week left before they must return to grace the halls of Cair Paravel, I get to go back to school starting tomorrow. [Yes, I said "get" and not "have." As I probably said somewhere on a previous post (way back in the archives), I see teaching as a privilege and not as an obligation. I try as often as I can to say "get" to teach instead of "have" to teach. It more accurately reflects reality, I believe. But I digress...]
Starting tomorrow, there are two official work days, one unofficial work day, and two in-service days. I am going to need all of that time to have everything ready to my satisfaction. I'm excited, however, to get back to something approximating normal after this summer, which I think has earned the official title of "Summer of Chaos," thanks to all of the change that has gone on in my life these past two and a half months. Praise God that He doesn't change! Without Him, I think I would probably be a taco short of a combination platter (if you know what I mean).
So, the joy and challenge of teaching begins again for me starting tomorrow, and I can't wait!

This Is Scary...

Separated at birth?
The first picture is of VeggieTales Co-creator Phil Vischer. The second one is of me. Anyone else find the resemblance uncanny?

Random Thoughts

It's really hot outside.
It was good to get some of the weeds cleared out of the backyard, but there's still so much to do...
The Royals-Yankees game sounded more like a slo-pitch game than a major league game.
There's so much still to do...
I like the new basement floor. It makes the basement seem more bright.
Supper time...

Poor Science

A recent study, referred to in a CNN.com article claims that the number of tropical storms in the Atlantic Basin has increased in frequency and that the increase results directly from global warming. Unfortunately, the connection is unfounded.
While it is true that the number of recorded tropical storms increased in the time period from 1905-2005, the increase is not, as the authors claim, due to global warming at all. The authors completely failed to account for the improved technology for the detection of tropical storms. Weather satellites now allow us to identify numerous tropical storms that we would not even know about otherwise. Since we know can identify more storms, it is logical that there should be an increase in the number of storms recorded since 1905. We simply are capable of finding more storms now than we did in 1905.
Yes, the number of named storms has increased, but that is not the result of global warming. Nor is there anything in this research that indicates any significant human influence upon global temperature, a connection that has yet to proven. So, before panic sets in out there, let me reassure that the planet is not totally falling apart, not yet. :-)

Home Sweet Home

After three weeks, I have finally been able to get back home to enjoy the new house. While I was gone, my family did some remodeling of the bathroom (as a birthday present). This work was much-needed, as you know if you've seen the pictures at Yahoo! photos. I've included a new set of what the house looks like with stuff moved in and mostly put away. A couple of pictures of the re-done bathroom are there as well. Look in the "House Remodel" album. It's great to be back in Topeka, and I'm looking forward to switching gears back to being a teacher instead of a student. I'm not ready, yet, for school, but I am ready to get to work on school-year preparations.

Almost Got It; Stay on Target

Only 4 more hours of class, and then I can take so much of what I learned and put it into practice this fall! I'm looking forward to completing this first lap of the race of graduate school. I'd write more, but I have to study for a difficult test that is tomorrow.

Harry Potter Marathon

Since I have a week of class still to go and since there's nothing to do in Sioux Center except go running and wondering how a college of any sort survives in such a small hamlet, I decided to check out from the College library the four previous Harry Potter movies. I've never watched any of them, and I was in a mood to take a break from the hard work of a difficult week. I was only partially successful. Now, I haven't read any of the books, so I don't know how they compare to the movie, but I enjoyed the Sorcerer's Stone and the Prisoner of Azkaban much more than the Chamber of Secrets or the Goblet of Fire. The Sorcerer's Stone, being the first, is more light-hearted and fanciful. There's a sense of child-like wonder at all that's going on. Chamber of Secrets, on the other hand, is unnecessarily dark at times. The only aspect of the movie that keeps it from becoming painfully dark is the light-hearted friendship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Still, Chamber suffers simply from having source material that is far too dark. It would have made a better horror story than a Harry Potter story. Prisoner of Azkaban, thankfully, returns to a more light-hearted feel. While there are dark moments, the overall feel of the movie is much more enjoyable. The movie simply is a good mix of intense story elements with light-hearted fun. Sadly, the Goblet of Fire, which in my opinion is the weakest of the four, does not follow Prisoner's footsteps. It's too dark, darker by far than Chamber. Most of the movie seems to be spent in messing everything up before minimal attempts are made to resolve some of the major conflicts, especially the interpersonal ones. For comparison's sake, it feels about twice as unresolved as Empire Strikes Back (and that's saying something). Now, I don't know if that is the result of the screenwriter and director, or if it is the source material. Frankly, I suspect it to be the source material, and if so, I think I've had about enough of Rowling's unnecessarily dark view of life. I don't read books and go to movies to see how messed up the world is. (And I never have. I refused to read Lord of the Flies in 8th grade because the dark tone annoyed me so much. The teacher, mercifully, let me read a different book.) I read and watch movies for enjoyment, and I don't particular enjoy the glorification of evil and seeing everything messed up without proper resolution.
So, I think for now, I'm done with Potter for now. Court Jester, anyone? :-)

Startling Statistic (If It's True)

In a Topeka Capital-Journal article from today, the following disturbing statistic is mentioned: in Kansas last year, there were 11,221 abortions. I find that number a bit hard to believe. How could there be that many? That is approximately equivalent to the entire city of Atchison dying in a single year. What are we doing to our society? If this statistic is true, then we are in serious trouble in this country. I hope for the sake of our country that this is a misprint and that the real number is 1,221. While that is still 1,221 too many abortions, it is much less depressing.

A Day Late

Whoops! I missed my traditional Wednesday posting day due to being so absorbed in writing the rough draft of my research paper for my class this week. However, I am on a break right now, so I have the chance to make a brief post.
One of the unique aspects of these past two weeks has been the chance to interact with a couple of women from Paraguay who teach in a teacher training college near the capital of Asuncion. It's a rare treat for me to be able to say anything in Spanish, as most of my duties in Topeka do not bring me into contact with the sizable Spanish-speaking population. Surprisingly (by the grace of God), I have been able to understand most of the Spanish spoken to me and been able to respond with some success, although I am very rusty in speaking. Apparently, though, my accent is still decent, which is a relief to hear.
Only 1 day and 1 week left!

Week 1 of Dordt

Week 1 of my 3-week class-taking adventure at Dordt College is complete. It was relatively uneventful, with class coming to a quiet end on Friday at noon. The class covered spiritual formation in the classroom and was overall well-done. It could have become an "Evangelical-bashing," as some Reformed theological discussions easily do, but I was surprised about how little of that happened. The phrase "covenant child" was equated with "child of God" a few times erroneously, and young-earth creationists were implicitly accused of being theologically inferior once, but that was the extent of times where I felt that particular beliefs made me not fit. (Interestingly, I had a discussion at the end of the week with the other science teacher in the class. She and I both are young-earth creationists, while those who thought otherwise were administrators and humanities teachers. It fascinates me how we scientists seem to put less stock in science than the humanities people.)
The biggest challenge has been adjusting to a new "city." I put city in quotes since it is hard to refer to Sioux Center, population 6000, as a city. It's really a quiet farm town...that smells like pigs half the time...and has only one through street (Highway 75)...that is so torn up and rough that it is nearly impossible to drive on. But I digress. Living here has made me realize now how spoiled we are in Topeka. We have plenty of shopping and numerous activities. While Topeka may not be the greatest place in the world, at this point in my life, I enjoy living there.
So, one week down, two weeks to go. For my class this week, I am taking "Issues in Education," which is really a philosophy of education class. Here, as with last week, I expect that my support for a classical and Christian methodology is going to put at odds with most people in the class. As I face the potential for criticism and argument, it is important that I remember the old proverb: In the essentials, unity; in the non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.

Birthday

An cautionary note: this post is long and gets a bit heavy before ending in a more positive manner. If at any point it gets too heavy for you, skip to the final paragraph. With that note completed, we proceed.
The day that I have been dreading for an entire year is here: my 30th birthday. I have found that no one really understands why I have dreaded the advent of my 30th year so much. Even I haven't totally understood it myself. It is only in writing this that I think I am fully beginning to understand why I have so wished that the calendar would stop its dread onward march.
"What," many have asked me, "is so awful about turning 30? You get an insurance break; it means you're a year wiser now; it means that you have entered the prime years of your life." And it also means that God has blessed me with another year of life.
All of this is true (and good and wonderful), but there is something about a milestone birthday like this that causes me to pause and reflect, with dismay, at how quickly the past few years have passed. It seems like only yesterday that I was 25, happily going about life, worshiping God and serving Him. Now, all of sudden, here I am, 30 years old, and it seems to me that my life is passing me by. It touches on my greatest fear that I'm going to wake up one day and find myself aged 85 years and on the brink of death, having passed through all of my life without enjoying it as God recommends in Ecclesiastes, without taking care of the tasks that He gave me to do, and without anything changing in my life.
It's the third item that scares me the most: the lack of change. At 25, I pictured my life at 30 to be substantially different from how it was then. It turns out, though, that my life at 30 looks remarkable similar to life at 25.
Let me try to explain it this way. There are milestone moments in everyone's life that mark significant changes: getting a full driver's license at 16, graduating high school at 18, graduating college at 22. Most people in their 20s enjoy two more such moments: getting married and having children. Almost all experience these two events before the age of 30. I have not been blessed with either of these last two moments, and thus in some ways my life has felt like it has been on pause for the past 5 or 6 years, like my early twenties have been carried on interminably and become spread thin "like butter that has been scraped over too much bread." I feel like I've been holding my breath waiting for the next changing moment, waiting for that next "transition time", waiting for the next phase of my life to begin. Yet, those events haven't happened. Now, as I hit 30, I find myself having spent 5 years holding my breath, realizing that I have missed out on those two great milestones of being in one's mid to late 20s and also realizing how grim the hopes are of ever enjoying either of these two events. (Not to mention realizing with sadness that missing those moments is largely my own fault for missing opportunities.) And I have to ask, "Am I going to have to spend the rest of my life on 'pause?'"

Enough with melancholy thoughts, though! There have been so many good times and so many blessings in the past 5 years. I would not now wish to go back and trade a single one of them for something different! I have enjoyed the opportunity to teach my students, to coach soccer, and to worship and serve God. I have loved so many minutes of it. And if my life has to be "on pause," then I can think of no better way to spend my "paused" time than in the manner in which I have spent it. Praise and thanks be to God for the myriad of joyful experiences and blessed moments which have filled these past 5 years! To all of you out there who have wished, do wish, or will wish me a happy 30th birthday: Thank you from the bottom of my heart. One of the greatest joys of turning 30 is realizing that God has blessed me with so many more wonderful friends than I had at 25. It is a blessing and a privilege to have been your friend these past few years, and I look forward to many years more.

It's Official!

As of a little after 3:00 pm today, I have now become the owner of a house. It's an exciting day, and I've got a lot of work ahead of me. For now, though, I'm going to enjoy the blessing which God has given me: to be out of apartment complexes with their unusual neighbors and noisy environs. I'm looking forward to moving in.
If you want to see pictures of the house, check out a sequence of pictures at Yahoo! Photos and choose the House album.

July 4

Happy 4th of July! The weather in Topeka has provided fireworks for Topekans. A tornado touched down 5 miles south of Hoyt, which is N of Topeka. The tornado dissipated quickly, but it was there long enough for the tornado sirens in Topeka to sound and everyone to take cover. It certainly added some excitement to everyone's 4th!

Packing

I've already started packing for the move to the new house, and I can't help but notice how empty and depressing rooms become once there's nothing on the shelves and walls. The challenge, of course, is not getting everything boxed; it's getting everything boxed efficiently. At the same time, too, I have to go back through everything for the first week of class, since it's been about a month since I've looked at a lot of this material. I will definitely be in need of God's grace and wisdom!

We Don't Care; We Don't Have To

There's an old Saturday Night Live sketch that features Lilly Tomlin (I believe) as an operator for the telephone company. The basic premise of the sketch is summarized with this motto: "We don't care; we don't have to; we're the phone company." Back in the 1970s, one phone company basically had a monopoly on all phone service throughout the US. The result was terrible customer service and constantly-increasing rates. I've been reminded today of this sketch as I've encountered such an attitude of arrogance from a corporation.
<rant>I just found out that the school's current health insurance provider, Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Kansas is now refusing to allow us to be a "group" as defined by their terms. This callous disregard for the needs of a small business disappointed me greatly. Obviously, BCBS's only real concern is making copious amounts of money, and small groups like ours simply are not profitable enough.
Their policy is disappointing, of course, but what they wanted to do was what reminded of the SNL sketch. It shows the callousness and indifference that BCBS has for its "clinets." BCBS wanted to dump all of us who were covered, effective July 1. Now, they came to this decision only in the last week or so, meaning that I would have had about two weeks to hunt for individual health insurance, something I can't really afford, nor would I have been able to get coverage in that short a time span. Did they care about that? Not at all. Were they breaking state law? Absolutely. Our new chief administrator, by the grace of God, found out that according to Kansas law, BCBS must offer all of us who were covered under the group plan the same plan for 6 months, albeit at the higher, individual rate. BCBS was loathe to admit this, of course, but after some hard work, they finally obeyed the law grudgingly. </rant>
It is most disappointing that a company should choose to act in such a cold-hearted way. I have to remember, though, that God is in control, and there is a reason that He has allowed this to happen. I do not understand it, but I have no choice but to trust Him. I know from past experience that He will provide, and I can't wait to see how He'll provide this time.

Politics as usual

If you don't like politics, don't read beyond this paragraph. You can look to the right, though, and see an unusual picture that I took the other day of my cat. For those of you who are interested in politics, read on.
[Sigh] It's politics as usual here in the capital city of Kansas. In a story that ran in today's Capital-Journal, the office of Attorney General Paul Morrison attacked all of former AG Phil Kline's charges against George Tiller, the infamous (or famous, depending on your bias) abortionist. The entire article amounts to a one-sided argument in favor of not prosecuting Mr. Tiller. Never mind that the argument only addresses 15 of the 30 counts against Mr. Tiller. (This, of course, implies that the other 15 have completely legitimate basis, a fact the article completely ignores.) Former AG Kline is vilified as being incompetent and unethical, an accusation that is unfounded and certainly inappropriate in a news story.
Once again, the Topeka Capital-(read "Democrat-") Journal has decided it is necessary to sway public opinion against someone with conservative political views. This "article" (if it could be called that) belongs on the Op-Ed page, not in the regular pages of the paper. That it came from the Associated Press (no friend of conservatives, either) is no excuse. The Capital-Journal should know better than to run such a slanted article. Yet, this is not the first case of one-sided reporting. The paper evidenced such bias during the last election cycle, when it took every opportunity to attack Phil Kline and then-Representative Jim Ryun. It will certainly be interesting to see how much positive coverage Sam Brownback gets as he makes his run for the Republican presidential nomination.

House Picture

Here is a picture of the house. More pictures forthcoming. I'm excited at the thought of getting out of the apartments and into a quieter, larger space. I'm not look forward to the closing costs, of course, but I am grateful to God that I have the ability to get into something even as good as this.

Have Identitiy Thieves Gotten Desperate?

Identity theft has been a problem for years now, especially with the proliferation of Internet phishing scams. Now, however, comes news that identity theft has hit a new market. Read the story here. With this horrendous crime now happening among television's greatest, it's only a matter of time before other wonderful characters also have their identities stolen. So, merchants, be alert. If Scooby Doo ever tries to make a purchase, you should promptly notify Car 54, Dragnet, CHiPs, and Magnum P.I. in order to help put a stop to this TV land thievery!

Home on the Range

It's official! By the grace of God, I was able to find (in my price range, no less) a nice, little house in a good neighborhood. The previous owners took excellent care of it, and the house is about the perfect size for a single guy like me. Even so, it is about 1600 square feet, if you count both the finished and unfinished parts of it. I'll post pictures once I have some. The contract has been signed by all parties, but there's still some details to take care of before close. Lord willing, those will go okay, and I should be able to move in well before my lease runs out on my apartment. Thanks be to God for opening the doors!

It's a Sad Day for a Once Proud Planet

Check out this article about a recent discovery that has further demoted Pluto from its former glory of planethood. It is a reminder that scientists never have all the answers and that even when scientists think they do (Pluto was considered a planet for nearly 50 years), they still sometimes turn out to be wrong.

House Hunting

I've grown tired of my apartment complex, especially having to do laundry in a dirty, poorly-maintained laundry room. The quality of my neighbors is also starting to deteriorate; one of the apartments on my floor has been sealed by order of the Sheriff, which is not a good sign. So, with the help of my parents, I've begun a serious quest to find "a little casa on the mesa." (Bonus points to anyone who can name the movie that quotation is from.) I've learned a few things in just the few days since I've started:
Lesson 1. Topeka has a lot of junky houses.
Lesson 2. There seem to be only two types of houses in my price range: nice houses in terrible neighborhoods, and atrocious houses in great neighborhoods. The first group of houses are fine in and of themselves. They fit but the neighborhood around them (or close by) is slowly suffering the urban blight that seems to plague Topeka. The nicest house that I saw was definitely in the category of a nice house in a decaying neighborhood. The second group of houses would be great if I were a handyman or had lots of money to spend on repairs and upgrades. Unfortunately, I am much better at demolition than I am at construction, and being a private school teacher, I don't have a whole lot of money.
Lesson 3. The phrase "predatory lending" is redundant. I've never been quoted such ridiculously high interest rates and insane mortgage payments as what I've heard from the different agencies and banks that I've talked to. They're quoting me rates that are at least a half percentage point too high for the region.
Lesson 4. I'm going to have to trust God to open the doors, because right now, if I'm going to find a house, it sure seems like it's going to take a miracle only slightly smaller than finding me a wife.

One More NYC Photo

I realize that it's been a month or more since the New York City trip, but I had to add one more picture from the trip. I hope you recognize the object of the picture. :-)

Wind, Wind, and More Wind

It has been a windy day here today. I went running, but I made sure that my route was east-west so I didn't have to fight 25-30 mph sustained winds (with gusts to 40). I did, however, have to run against the wind for about 200 yards or so to get back home. That was the hardest part of the run. I felt like I was going nowhere. It wasn't the worst wind I've ever encountered, though. That happened in February of 1999, when an intense low pressure barreled through Ames, IA, with 40 mph sustained winds with gusts into the 50s. I almost got blown off my feet a couple of times by those gusts.
Hopefully, the wind will die down, soon, and I can run north-south again. There are more routes that are better in that direction.

Yo Soy Arbitro

Yesterday, I refereed a couple of games in the adult league in town. The majority of the teams in the league are Spanish-speaking, which certainly made for an interesting experience. It was enjoyable, actually, to be able to put my minimal knowledge of Spanish to use. One of the men I refereed with knew little English, so I had to try to communicate with him in Spanish. It was a challenge but an enjoyable one. I'll say this, too: I'm glad I wasn't the center. The level of play is far above my refereeing skills. I would have had 22 angry men cussing me out in Spanish if I had been the center for either game. I'm content to be on the line for a while. Maybe one day, my skills will improve to the level where I'll be able to handle a game in this league, but for now, I'll settle for working on the lines and on my Spanish as well. I like to talk with the players during the game as a part of maintaining order. Es dificil cuando yo no puedo recordar las palabaras que son necesarias para conversar con los jugadores. :-)
Hasta luego.

Baseball

As the summer has officially arrived, I can spend some time focusing on a fantasy baseball team that I run in a league with some of my relatives and their friends. It's all in fun, but it still is an interesting challenge. The trickiest part is keeping on top of player injuries and streaks. You want the hot players in, and it's tricky sometimes to get the right mix of players, especially pitchers.
As far as real baseball goes, I enjoy listening to games. Lately, though, there hasn't been much excitement for Royals fans. The Kansas City Royals are the best AAA team playing in the Majors this year!

Summer Begins

With graduation yesterday--and it was a wonderful graduation ceremony...I will miss this class--the summer has officially arrived. Summer is always a bittersweet time for me, as it is for many teachers. It takes a while to adjust to the slower, less-structured pace of the season. Although I need it every year (as do my students, I suspect), I find that I also dread summer just a little. Perhaps it simply is because I am such a creature of habit. I like routine, and it's always difficult to adjust to a new one. Regardless of the cause, I am grateful to God that He stays with me throughout the challenges of switching routines. I couldn't survive the school year without Him, and I know I couldn't survive summer without Him, either.

Addendum: I just got home from the last graduation party, and I realized how much I'm going to miss this class.

More NYC Pictures

Below are a couple more pictures from the trip to NYC. My official duties for the school year end in two days, and I'm looking forward to having a bit of rest in the midst of an otherwise busy summer schedule.
A couple of captions are required. The first picture is of the side of one of the escalators in the Macy's on Fifth Avenue. Notice the number. :-) The second was taken in the Royal Suite at the Waldorf-Astoria. "The queen will see you now," says the Queen's Hong Kong secretary.

Life Right Now

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

And, continuing the trend, here are two more pictures from the New York Tour. The first is of an Arch on the northeast edge of Prospect Park in Brooklyn. The other is of a fountain in Central Park. Both parks share the same designer: Frederick Law Olmstead.

I'm Back

The posts about NYC have postponed indefinitely. In the past week and a half, I have been attempting to survive sans computer. At this point, I still have not recovered all of my data from the spontaneous death of my previous machine. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to find someone who will salvage the old data or not. I pray that they will, but I have, in my attempt to recover the data, managed to do more harm than good.
Anyway, I will be posting again, and I pray that I haven't made too big a mess of things.

Picture from NYC, pt. I

A couple of photos from the recent trip to New York City. The first is of the arch in Washington Square Park, and the second is of one of the many colored displays in Times Square. More to follow in subsequent posts.

Loquacious Cogitation

Numerous spherical conglomerations of dihyrdogen monoxide are failing in their struggle with gravity and rapidly alighting on the carbon-based carpet life form. A sufficient accumulation of these previously airborne particulate-liquid suspensions should force the postponement of tomorrow's contest of association football, bringing elation to the overly-taxed scholars of the ultimate level who have recently been protesting the level of their quotidian workload.
Expressions of gratitude; benevolent nocturnal time frame.

Graduate School Homework

It's sort of like the instructions on the back of the shampoo bottle (lather, rinse, repeat); only for graduate school, it's more like
1. Read
2. Write
3. Repeat
4. Repeat some more
5. Repeat ad naseum

The Emprorer Is Not Pleased...

Yesterday was the due date for taxes, and many people scrambled to file their taxes either online or through the mail. According to reports I've read, the Post Office decided to have a little fun this year, at least in Topeka, by hiring people to dress up as Star Wars characters to "stand guard" over the mailbox as people came to drop off their tax returns. I can just imagine how much fun a guy in a Darth Vader suit could have with people showing up to mail their returns.
[A man walks up to the R2-D2 shaped mailbox. A man dressed in a Darth Vader costume is standing next to it.]
Darth [in perfect James Earl Jones voice]: The Emperor is not pleased with your lack of progress on your taxes.
Man [dumbfound]: Uh....
Darth [pulling out toy light saber]: Paying your taxes is your destiny. The Emperor has foreseen it. Mail your return, and your journey to the Dark Side will be complete.
Man [very confused and scared]: Uh, yeah....
[Man drops the mailbox and hurriedly walks off]

Sparrows

It was such a nice day that I opened up my apartment to the outside air. As a result of having only the screen door open, I could see and hear what was going on outside. The birds were making a ton of noise, and none were noisier than a couple of sparrows (I think they were sparrows) that landed on my deck. There were two, one of which I think was a male because it was brighter-colored. The other one (the female?) landed and spent about ten minutes chirping away happily while the other (the male?) just sat there. It was almost like they were checking out my deck to see if it was a good place to build a nest. Regardless of what they were doing, they got my cat's attention. After tensely listening to the chirping for a while, she started chirping back and hopped off of my lap and ran to the screen door, wanting to get the birds but not sure how to get to them. If you have never heard a cat "chirp" at birds, it is one of the funniest sounds you will ever hear. Perhaps one of these days, I can record a bit of the sound and post it up here.

Forest Ponderings

One of my students got me started on this line of thinking earlier today. I thought it'd be interesting to explore the following questions:
Q: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?
A: Yes. Sound is defined as the vibration of air molecules by an object. Thus, as the tree falls and hits the ground, it vibrates air molecules (and the ground upon collision), making sound. That no one is there to observe the sound does not negate the existence of it.
Q: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around, does someone still manage to get government benefits for being hit by it?
A: Yes, most likely, given the government's recent track record. However, it may take 2 or 3 three appeals.
Q: If a man says something in the forest and no woman is in the forest to hear it, is he still wrong?
A: If you are a woman and you are reading this, then you will probably say that the answer is "yes," and I'm not going to argue with you. (Don't argue with a woman; either way you lose.) If you are a man and you are reading this, then you will probably say that the answer is "no." That is, you will answer "no" unless there's a woman within close proximity to you who is also reading this, in which case you will probably answer "yes."
Q: If an airplane crashes in the forest and no one is around, who buries the survivors?
A: Probably their next of kin, whenever they die. Usually survivors aren't buried. President Bush is the exception, of course. He gets buried by the media pretty much every day.
Q: If a liberal theologian says something in a forest and no one is around to hear it, will the media still print it as if he speaks authoritatively for all Christians?
A: The Jesus Seminar voted on this question, and the answer was as follows: 2% casted the red ("definitely") bead, 23% casted the pink ("probably") bead, 30% casted the gray ("maybe") bead, and 45% casted the black ("definitely not") bead. In the process, they also decided that Jesus was married and that He really didn't say most of what the Gospels quote Him as saying. I'm sure that these "facts" will come as a surprise to Him. The results were then immediately published by all the major news outlets.

Americans in Technical Support

I bought an iPod less than a month ago, and to my surprise, when I went to try to use it today, it was dead! It would not charge, reset, or power up. So, after about an hour's worth of searching through Apple's tech support web site and trying everything I could think of to get the silly device to work, I finally called Apple. I fully expected to talk to someone with an Indian accent named "Joe" (of course we know that's not his real name, just as we also know that we have no hope of pronouncing his real name). Instead, I was pleasantly surprised (after enduring the standard automated answering system) to be greeted by an American accent. The tech support guy was helpful, understanding, and recognized that since I bought the iPod less than 30 days, I was entitled to a new one as a replacement instead of a refurbished one. It took about 45 minutes to get the situation taken care of. I have to say that I'm disappointed that the product failed in such a short time. I'm glad that support was so good, though.

Global Warming...On Mars!

I just read an article today that reported that Mars is experiencing warming and has been since the 1970s. <sarcasm>This warming, of course, is quite clearly being caused by human-produced carbon dioxide.</sarcasm> Seriously, it is very interesting to me that Mars is experiencing the same warming as the Earth over the same time as Earth. For Mars, the only apparent cause is increased solar radiation. If the warming on Mars is caused by increased solar radiation, then why are we so quick to blame human activities for the warming here on Earth?

Rain and Mud

On Friday, Topeka set a record for precipitation on that date, 2.22 inches. A similar amount fell over in Lawrence, causing me to expect that the soccer tournament at which I was going to referee would be canceled. I was wrong. The tournament proceed, although the field where I worked had some horrible swampy areas. It was not the most enjoyable field to work on. It wouldn't have been so bad, either, if I hadn't had to do four games in a row, with the hardest one at the end. It was a difficult afternoon of hard work. Thankfully, the heavy rain is done for a while, giving this region a time to dry out.

Destroying Our Future to Pay for the Present

I think it's time for Kansans to wake up and pay attention to what the state Legislature has done. By a 21-19 vote yesterday, the state Senate approved a House measure that would allow for the expansion of gambling in Kansas, including the building of three state-owned casinos. Have we become so desperate for money that we are now willing to build casinos that will, if anything, only increase the number of gambling addicts? Have we become so desperate for money that we are willing to encourage vice in order to get money into the state coffers? It's a sad day for Kansas, as many will discover in about 5-10 years when the full social impacts of these casinos are felt. May God have mercy on our state!

Dead Sea Scrolls

Since it was Spring Break for me, and I was starting to go stir crazy staying around my apartment most of the time, I decided to drive over to Kansas City and visit the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at Union Station. Surprisingly, getting to Union Station and parking weren't as much of a hassle as I expected. The route to Union Station is easy, and parking in the garage on the west side was free (unless I had stayed longer than 3 hours, which I didn't).
The exhibit itself wasn't as well attended as I expected: I was one of 4 people in the 2:30 group. The majority of the exhibit focused on the background of the scrolls, the community at Qumran (where the scrolls were found), and the political situation in Judea at that time. For the majority of Americans, this background is helpful for them, since their knowledge of Old Testament history is, at best, limited. The scrolls themselves were fascinating to view. There were several different fragments (or replicas, depending) on display. The most interesting part for me was how small the writing was. I can only imagine the amount of care and detail that went into writing the scrolls.
The exhibit was not perfect, though. <rant>Instead of using B.C. and A.D. to designate the appropriate era for a year, the exhibit used the modern, politically-correct (and intellectually disingenuous) labels of B.C.E. and C.E. B.C.E. means "Before Common Era" and C.E. means "Common Era", and A.D. 1 is the same as 1 C.E. In other words, the systems are identical, but someone was bothered by the references to Jesus Christ in the traditional system. So, instead I had to endure a minor slap in the face that denied the importance of the Lord in history. (Besides, there is no such thing as a "common era." The Jews, Arabs, Hindus, and Chinese all use or have used different calendar systems. It is only in the West that B.C. and A.D. are common. Thus, the system is not really about removing religious bias but instead instilling an anti-Christian bias.) </rant>
In spite of this one minor flaw, I enjoyed the exhibit. It was certainly better than sitting around home bored for another day.

Interesting Article

Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries has recently put up an interesting commentary on global warming, especially in response to Al Gore's "documentary" An Inconvenient Truth. This short article is well worth your time.

Bracket Go Down the Hole

Although I am not totally surprised by it, KU's loss earlier today to UCLA has messed up my bracket, since I had KU reaching the championship game. The only thing that could hurt my bracket more is if Ohio State goes out (which is likely), leaving me without the ability to accumulate any more points. I could tell somewhat early on in the game that this wasn't going to be KU's night. They missed point-blank shots, the referees let the game be very physical, the "neutral" court was in San Jose, close enough to Los Angeles for a sizable contingent of UCLA fans to make its way up to the game. So, add all that together, and you get a KU loss. And with it goes half of my bracket. Oh, well. It's all just for fun, anyway.

Here Come the Storms

Today is the first official day of Spring, also known as the vernal equinox, and just in time, strong to severe storms are breaking out to the north. At this point, it looks like the first line will miss Topeka, but it's good to see Spring-like weather again. If we do get rain--which would be wonderful--I only hope we get what we need and not too much. I really would hate to lose a soccer game due to a swamped field. Only time will tell, though, what God has in store.

Thoughts about a Glass

An optimist says, "The glass is half-full."
A pessimist says, "The glass is half-empty."
A cynic says, "Not only is the glass half-empty, but what's left isn't worth drinking."
A meteorologist says, "There's a 70% chance of the glass being half-empty."
A mathematician says, "Liquid occupies 50% of this glass's internal volume."
A conspiracy theorist says, "The glass was put here as part of the government's attempt to cover-up its involvement in the JFK assassination."
A Democrat says, "The glass is half-empty, and it's the Republicans fault!"
A Republican says, "The glass is half-empty, and it's the Democrats fault!"
A Blogger says, "The glass, whether it's half-full or half-empty, at least gives me something to write about..."

And so...

Um, uh, well, that is, you know, eh, and so on, and stuff, like, etc.

It's March, It's Warm

Although a cold front has right now brought blustery north winds to the region right now, the past three days have been beautiful, especially for mid-March. For the first time in my five years as a soccer coach, I was wearing shorts to the first game of the season. Usually, I'm bundled up against freezing temperatures. So, it's been a tremendous blessing lately to have warm weather. Praise God!

No Respect

Kansas State should be in the NCAA Tournament, especially since Texas Tech made it in. There are a couple of other teams that probably also deserve to be in, but I don't know enough about them to comment. I do know that the Big 10 and Pac-10 have too many teams. I have no idea how Stanford made it in, nor do I know how Illinois made it in, either. Georgia Tech, in my mind, is also a question mark, given that they finished 6th in the ACC. Kansas State could have legitimately taken any of those teams spots and could probably beat those teams on any given day. So why was K-State left out? One simple reason: reputation. Those three teams are all perceived to be good, so even if they have a sub-par year, they will be allowed in. K-State will have to have a better year next year in order to get the respect of the Selection Committee. For now, I guess it's NIT time for K-State.

Spring Forward

This weekend is when Daylight Saving Time begins, which means that however groggy you thought you felt last Monday, it will be ten times worse this Monday. The good news about the earlier time switch is that JV soccer games will be much easier to complete because we won't run out of light as quickly. Now, if only the perturbation of my sleep schedule doesn't make me more grumpy. I'm already feeling off because of the changes brought about by soccer season. I am such a freakish creature of habit!

Phenomena

Hymns

Amazing love, how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me
--Refrain from the hymn "Amazing Love"
There's just something that I like about some old hymns. I'm not quite sure what it is. Perhaps it's the depth of doctrine contained within the good hymns' lyrics. Perhaps it's just what I was raised on. And perhaps it's because it's such a rich part of our cultural heritage. I'm not sure. All I know is that I think that we do a disservice to ourselves in modern Evangelicalism when we ignore them. Too many churches have abandoned hymns, which I think is sad. We should not abandon hymns because in doing so, we lose much depth of doctrine and our ability to understand God's glory.
A disclaimer is in order, though. I am not saying that we shouldn't sing modern praise music. I think that there are some excellent modern praise songs out there that truly reflect God's glory and majesty in a powerful way. Many, however, do not, instead contenting themselves to repeat the same words over and over (and over and over, ad nauseum). (The worst example of this, in my opinion, is the song "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever," which could as easily be titled "I Keep Singing the Same Words Over" because of how often we sing that same trite chorus.) My concern, then, is that in leaving behind the hymns, we have left behind intellectual depth and traded it for worship that is emotionally stimulating but intellectually devoid.
One complaint about the old hymns is that they are boring. This complaint is, to be honest, valid sometimes. I'm not a huge fan of any song if it's played lugubriously. Too often in the past, especially in the mainline churches, the organist would play hymns at a tempo more appropriate for a dirge than a song of praise. Granted, there are hymns out there that should be played slowly, but slow hymn playing (as if to encourage greater pondering of the lyrics) only allows the minds of the singers to wander. On the other hand, played correctly, a hymn can be intellectually and emotionally powerful. Few songs, for example, have the power to touch me better than the third verse of "Holy, Holy, Holy."
Holy, holy, holy
Though the darkness hide Thee
Though the eye of sinful man
Thy glory may not see
Only Thou art holy
There is none beside Thee
Perfect in power, in love and purity
This verse declares to all that, no matter how bad circumstances become, God is immutable, always holy, even if no one holds Him to be so. Few songs, especially modern, hold such sound doctrine.
Contrarily, many modern songs have very little doctrine in them. Most focus on our relationship with God and sound almost like (or sometimes exactly like) contemporary love songs. While it is good to love God, He is more than simply "a beautiful one [we] love." He is the Creator of the universe. Perfectly approachable, yes, but also perfectly holy. We need to remember that He is both our Father and our King, and treat Him appropriately in our worship.
For that reason, I think it is good to sing both modern praise songs and the traditional hymns. When played appropriately, a good hymn is engaging to the mind and the emotions, stirring the whole of the worshiper into praise of his Creator. So, let us not forget the traditional hymns of the faith, even as contemporary songsmiths craft new songs to express adoration in different ways.

Only in Kansas

Yesterday, it was a beautiful day, as we were situated perfectly in the warm sector. The high was about 70 degrees, and it even got warm enough for thunderstorms. The lightning show off to the southeast of Topeka (80 miles SE) was one of the most wonderful and beautiful displays of God's creation that I have ever seen.
Then, there's today. It snowed this morning, the temperature never cleared 40, and a bitter north wind made the wind chill somewhere in the low 30s. That forced the first day of soccer practice to be inside. Sigh.
There's hope for next week, though. The long-term forecast calls for temperatures to be back into the 50s. Let's hope so. Indoor practices are tough.

An unusual amenity

Notice the next-to-last "feature" listed in this advertisement (I've circled it for you) for a hotel here in Topeka. It's a bit unusual, wouldn't you say? If you're having trouble reading the picture, click on the picture for a larger version.

Ash Wednesday 2007

I can't believe that Lent is already here! Being in a non-liturgical church certainly makes it hard to keep track of the times and seasons that have been traditionally observed by the church in much of its history.
While it is found nowhere in Scripture, I think that there is some validity in taking time (granted, we should do it frequently) to ponder the depths of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in anticipation of celebrating His resurrection in about a month and a half.
Traditionally, today has been a day marked by remembering our own weakness and inability to save ourselves. It is today, Ash Wednesday, that we remember that from dust God made us and to dust we will one day return. We can do nothing on our own to save ourselves. This makes the antoning sacrifice of Christ that much more amazing. Praise God for His amazing mercy, even to a ball of dust such as I.

Thoughts and Notes

You know it's a bad day when...
You dream that you go to an away basketball game, and the court's too small.
You snap at your students for no apparent reason.
You arrive home from working out and there are two police cars parked in front of your apartment building.

A couple of unusual headlines (with commentary) from today:
1. From CNN.com: "U.N. Needed to Thwart Asteroid Threat" (Right, just what we need--the U.N. After all, look at all the great work they've done in the last 10 years in dealing with problems in Iraq, North Korea, Iran, the Sudan, Rwanda, Israel...)
2. From FoxNews.com: "Sen. Clinton says South Carolina should remove flag from Statehouse grounds because U.S. should unite under one flag" (Exactly, the flag of a massive, centralized bureaucracy that provides low-quality nationalized health care and tons of other entitlements. Oh, I can't wait for the taxes. I'll have to make sure I move it into the 'hood before she gets elected President because I won't be able to afford to live somewhere even marginally safe anymore.)

Snow?!

It's been a rough winter for weather forecasters. As late as Wednesday, they were saying that the temperature today was supposed to 40 degrees under partly cloudy skies. However, a small snowstorm moved through for about 2 1/2 hours this afternoon, <rant>causing our basketball Senior Night to be canceled because the other team didn't want to risk coming in from KC.</rant> Needless to say, I am displeased. It's not fair to the seniors, who have worked for four years and now won't get any recognition. Such is life, but it's disappointing that the forecasters can't do a better job.
So far this winter, every forecast of a major snowstorm even one day in advance has been a bust. Now, we have only a same-day warning about this mini-storm, and it's enough to scare our opposition out of driving in to play us. Sigh.

Mystery of English

Why is it that "ode" and "odious" sound so much alike?

Today's Post

It's Wednesday. It's February 14. I have nothing to say. Thank you. Good night.

Alternate Hot Drinks

I don't like coffee, and I don't like tea. However, there are some cold mornings when I would like to drink something warm with breakfast. Hot cocoa just isn't right for some reason, so I thought I'd try an experiment: hot cola. I normally drink pop at room temperature, anyway, so the thought of it heated to the same temperature as tea is not as repulsive to me as it is to some. Still, would it taste fine?
To find out, I took about 4 ounces of a name brand cola, poured it in a microwave-safe cup, and heated it for the appropriate amount of time. The resulting beverage was unpleasant to drink. It lost some of its carbonation due to heating (the carbon dioxide is already loosely embedded in the drink, heating only exacerbated the degassing process). It lost the crisp, sweet taste that I normally associate with this particular cola. Instead, it was more of a semi-flat, semi-syrupy, mostly disgusting concoction. I now know why people do not serve colas hot. They taste terrible.
The question to solve now: what to drink? What warm beverage could I drink in the morning that is neither tea nor coffee nor cocoa? That question will have to be put on hold for another day.

Better Late Than Never?

I received something quite unusual in the mail today. Arriving in a specially-designed envelope was my own shrink-wrapped copy of ETS's GRE PowerPrep (tm) software. This fancy software is designed by ETS to help people who are going to take the GRE prepare for the rigors of the test.
Now, there's just one little problem with me receiving this software: I already took the test! In fact, I took it over a month ago and already have received my scores. So, what, exactly, am I supposed to do with this CD-ROM? I already have enough coasters (thank you, AOL), and CD-ROMs don't make good frisbees. So, I guess I'll just store it in case any I know ever decides to try his hand at the GRE. I can probably get the software to him faster than ETS apparently can.

Where Have I Heard This Before?

Which is Better: Persuasion or Force?

Abstract
People have always been trying to make each other do something that they do not want to do. Ever since Satan tricked Eve in the Garden of Eden, there have been two primary methods for enforcing one's will upon someone else: persuasion and force.
This experiment examines these two methods and attempts to determine which is better. It was hypothesized that force would work better than persuasion because force works no matter how willing the subject is. The experiment, however, showed the opposite, that persuasion is better than force. The implications of this result are far reaching.

Paper
Which is better: persuasion or force? This experiment examines these two methods and determines which is better.
A little background is required first. Ever since Satan tricked Eve in the Garden of Eden, there have been two primary methods for enforcing one's will upon someone else: persuasion and force (Nonymous, 15). Force is defined as "to compel through pressure or necessity" (Dictionary, 522). Persuasion, on the other hand, means "the act of persuading or being persuaded" (Dictionary, 926). Thus, these methods taken together show different paths that one can take in order to enforce one's will upon someone else.
Force has been used for a long time. The Israelites took the Promised Land through force (Joshua, NIV). Alexander the Great used force when he conquered much of the known world (Heroditus, Books I-VI). Other examples include... [Editor's note: The remainder of this paragraph removed because of space considerations.]
Likewise, persuasion occurred just as often. Satan persuaded Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, bringing a curse on all humanity (Genesis 3, NIV).... [Editor's note: Section removed due to space limitations.] Finally, modern politicians often persuade the public to vote for them by making all sorts of bizarre promises that they have no hope of keeping.
My hypothesis for this experiment was that force would be better than persuasion, since force can work even when the subject is unwilling. To test this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted using a man, the north wind, and the sun. The man had a loose-fitting cloak that he wrapped around his shoulders. Then, the north wind and the sun would each take a turn attempting to get the man to remove his cloak. The participants would be timed with an ordinary stop watch. This process was repeated three times to ensure reproducible data. A coin was flipped to determine who would go first for the first trial. After that, the participants would alternate throughout the remainder of the experiment.
The north wind won the toss and thus went first. Using all his force, the north wind blew as hard as he could against the man, causing his cloak to flap around like crazy. The man, however, only held onto his cloak harder. The man never removed his cloak. The results from each of the three trials for the wind are summarized below in Table 1.
Table 1 -- North Wind's Results
Trial Time
1 Infinite
2 Infinite
3 Infinite
Overall, the north wind's three trial times averaged out to infinity. He failed to dislodge the man's cloak.
The sun went second during each trial. Instead of using force, he beamed down gently on the man, causing him to become warmer and warmer until eventually the man took off his cloak. The results from the sun's trials are shown in Table 2.
Table 2 -- Sun's Results
Trial Time
1 5 minutes, 23 seconds
2 8 minutes, 10 seconds
3 1 minute, 1 second
Overall, the sun's average time was 4 minutes, 51 seconds. The sun successfully dislodged the man's cloak during each trial.
Based upon the data, my hypothesis has been proven incorrect. Persuasion is better than force. The results of this experiment are far-reaching, affecting parent/child, student/teacher, and even dictator/oppressed-peasant relationships.

Bibliography
1. American Heritage Dictionary. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991.
2. God. The Holy Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: International Bible Society/Zondervan, 1984.
3. Heroditus. Histories. Athens: Ancient Greek Scribes, 440 BC.
4. Nonymous, Alexander. Methods for Enforcing One's Will upon Others. Tehran, Iran: O-PRESS-ion, 2007.