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