New Happy Year!

(No that's not a typo. It's a reference to an old New Year's television special. If you can correctly identify it, give yourself 5000 brownie points.)
One of the most random holidays that we celebrate in America is upon us: New Year's Eve/Day. I still don't quite understand the fascination everyone has with reaching the same orbital position as we occupied 365 days ago. I mean, I could see if we celebrated at the end of a certain season (say, March 22, the end of winter) or the end of a certain time frame (May 31, the end of school for most students). But to celebrate on the arbitrary day that we do just seems unusual to me. I guess we have to take time and look back over the year at some point, and this time is as good as any. It's still odd to me. Oh, well. I don't make the culture. And it's not that big a deal. I just needed to write something today, so there you go. Have a wonderful New Year, and even though January 1, 2009, will look an awful lot like December 31, 2008, may you be able to look back at 2008 and see the many blessings that God has bestowed upon you!

Semester in Review (Brief)

Several of my friends have sent out the traditional Christmas/end of the year letter that summarized all of the big events that happened in the past year. Being a teacher, I function on the academic calendar, so for me, the year is only halfway started. And it really divides into three pieces: two semesters and summer. So, for those of you who read this blog that aren't nearby, here is a brief overview of this past semester.
The semester began with a sense of foreboding, as if several unusual or bizarre events were just waiting to unfold. And those concerns proved true when a few of my students unexpectedly left the school during the school year. Now, having a few students leave at the end of the year or even at the end of a semester was not unusual. But to have some students depart part of the way through a quarter was completely unexpected and a bit shocking. The changes, though, proved good for the students involved, although we miss them at school.
Outside of school, life continues much as it always has. I've been blessed to have the chance to facilitate the discussion a couple of times in Sunday School class. I still referee soccer and serve as an assistant for the school's soccer teams, although I'm not sure how much longer I'll have the desire to do either. And the Scholars' Bowl team, which I sponsor, has started to get involved in more tournaments, even winning one.
And that's all the news that is news here in heartland of America.

Merry Christmas

May God bless you with a joyous Christmas and a wonderful time of rest as you celebrate the birth of our Savior!

I Wish You a Gratitude-Producing Period of Late December

It seems that in our pluralistic society, people are afraid to wish each other Merry Christmas, even Christians speaking to other Christians seem to suffer from this malady. The attempts to deny the existence of Christmas, even when many people who are not substantially Christian celebrate it, annoys me. Below are some of the common politcally-correct euphemisms for Christmas, and my initial thoughts when I hear them.
Statement: "Seasons Greetings"
My thoughts: "Which season? Spring? Summer? Fall? Baseball season? Oh, I love baseball season!"
Statement: "Happy Holidays"
My thoughts: "Which holiday? Groundhog Day? Veteran's Day? Yom Kippur? May Day?"
Statement: "Wishing you all the best this time of year"
My thoughts: "What about the rest of the year? And are you wishing it to me or to all of me, since I'm single and there's not a 'you all' in my life."
(And I'm sure there are others, but since my brain is still fried from having to speak in and listen to Spanish for 3 hours straight, I can't think of them right now.)
Now, I don't say these initial thoughts. Rather, I politely say, "Thank you. Merry Christmas to you!"
So, let me wish you now, dear reader, an early, merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!

Snow Is Great (To Look At)

It's a beautiful winter wonderland here in Topeka right now, with cold temperatures and 3" of snow on the ground. Unfortunately, that same 3" of snow is still clogging up most of the side streets, making driving quite the adventure. Admittedly, though, it could be worse. I could live in the country. Gravel roads become especially nasty in snow/ice conditions, so I am quite glad right now that I live in the city. If only the city would plow residential side streets. I can guarantee you that my street will probably not get plowed at all, which means that the packed-in snow will have to melt on its own. I would have no problem with this plan, except that the snow on my street doesn't melt easily because it is an old, tree-lined street. Beautiful, of course, but quite slick once snow is on it. I wouldn't be surprised if some of this snow stuck around a while, say, until March. :-)
Seriously, though, the beautiful of the argent landscape just helps set the mood for Christmas, which is now just over a week away. It would be wonderful to have the snow stick around to create a picturesque Christmas scene. Snow is wonderful to look at. Too bad it doesn't drive on quite as well.

Snow! Again!

Since I missed a post last week, I've decided to do an extra one to compensate.
The big news around Topeka today is the snow. I received 3.5" here at my house in the heart of Topeka. It's nice to see snow, again, and nice to be able to clear off my sidewalks and driveway in under an hour. The first snowfall of last year saw me shoveling for almost twice that long. There's nothing quite like shoveling snow to Christmas music as the Christmas lights on the house kick on! Below is a picture of one of the small boxwoods in front of my house covered in undisturbed snow.

College Football Turmoil

It seems like everything in society is in turmoil. The Big 3 automakers, the financial industry, and many other related industries are all struggling. And so are both college football teams that I follow: Kansas State and Iowa State. Earlier this year, K-State suddenly fired its football coach and within a day of the season ending, announced the return of its former head coach. It was strange and surprising. Now, in the past couple of days, news reports indicate that ISU's head coach, Gene Chizik, has been hired away from ISU to be the head coach at Auburn. Chizik was only at ISU for 2 years, and his first two teams struggled, but every indication was that he was going to stay at ISU for several more years. The opening at a prestigious school where he formerly worked apparently was too great a lure for Coach Chizik. His sudden departure certainly leaves the ISU Athletic Department in a lurch.
While I should be in shock at all of these sudden coaching changes, given how much chaos has been happening lately in the world, not much surprises me, anymore. And since it's football, not life, I guess it's not that big a deal, anyway. It is, though, just another bit of turmoil in a tumultuous world.

The Fall of America?

In Sunday School class today, one of the side notes focused on what happened to Rome as it began to decay from within. The scary part about the list was that it could easily have been 21st-century America. Now, I'm sure that everyone thinks that his generation is the most wicked and that it will be in his generation that society will collapse. But in this case, I would not be surprised if, within my lifetime, America loses its place as a military and economic superpower. Perhaps that is a good thing. So many other cultures right now try to imitate us, but the view of America that they get is a skewed view based on television and movies. What a horrible legacy to be giving to other countries! Perhaps it is better if we cease to be in such a prominent place, since our entertainment, I fear, is only heading farther into the tank. Of course, I don't expect the barbarians to come storming over the 7th hill any time soon, but I do know that the rest of my life will probably be lived in a society in turmoil. All the more reason that I am going to try to live with the attitude that Paul urges, using "the things of this world as if not engrossed in them" (1 Cor. 7:31).

Random Thought

The musical "The Music Man" came up in conversation over lunch today, and it got me thinking. That musical, to my mind, is one in which a less-than-stellar character (a con man) gets the girl (and he doesn't really seem to repent but rather converts her to scheme with him). "Guys and Dolls," which is from that same genre, also has a similar plot line. So, I was wondering how many stories (true or otherwise) I could think of where a man of character gets the girl. And, at first, I couldn't think of any. Then, I came up with 3:
1. Boaz and Ruth in the Bible
2. Aragon and Arwen in Lord of the Rings
3. Faramir and Eowyn in Lord of the Rings
There are probably more, and if you know of any, feel free to add them in the comments section.

No Pouting

As a single man, the month (and a little more) starting at Thanksgiving and ending at New Year's can be one of the most difficult times in the year. It's not that I don't love my family and being around my parents and all of my siblings. I do. But the holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's are all family-oriented holidays to me. And in the past, the lack of a family of my own (meaning a wife, kids, etc.) has been the cause of a negative attitude on my part towards my circumstances. This year, by God's grace, my goal is to make this next month a "No Pouting Zone." I am determined to enjoy what God has blessed me with instead of focusing on what He has not brought to pass. I've wasted far too many Decembers lamenting instead of celebrating. No more. It's time to rejoice as we enter Advent, a time of preparing to the celebrate once again the mystery of the Incarnation.

Ketchup.,..err...Catch-up Day

What a beautiful day that it is, and what a wonderful day to have a day off! Although ketchup will figure prominently in my plans for supper tonight (mmmm...sloppy joes), catch-up was the operative of the day. So far, I've accomplished many errands that I haven't been able to get to due to weather, Scholars' Bowl, or both. At this point, the only items left on today's to-do list are a long bike ride, supper, and relaxation. I'm looking forward to it, with a feeling of satisfaction and gratitude to God for a beautiful day that made catching up possible.

ISU-KSU Game Thoughts

Here are a few thoughts on a game that my alma mater could have won, if we had played better.
*ISU is a young team, and it played like one. It had three turnovers, one of them on a dropped option pitch that would have been a touchdown if the ball hadn't been fumbled. A holding penalty on an 88-yard touchdown run further showed signs of youth.
*If the ISU defenders could catch passes, they could have had 2-3 interceptions
*On the bright side, ISU ran the greatest fake punt that I have ever seen, a beautiful, "screen" like fake that fooled everyone, including me. I was not expecting it at all, K-State wasn't expecting it, and the result was amazing.
*Next year looks bright for ISU. A team that's a year older, a coach that is entering his third year, and a good chance to winning a conference game. ISU is still about 2 years away from being out of the Big XII North cellar, but there are signs of improvement. Who knows? ISU might well be challenging for the North division title here in a couple of years.

Raking Leaves...When?

I've got one more application of fertilizer (a "winterizer" batch) to apply to my minuscule front lawn. To complete that task, however, I need to get the leaves raked out of the way so they fertilizer lands on the grass and not the leaves. Finding time while the sun is up and the weather is nice has been difficult. Every day this week I've said to myself, "Self, I'm going to rake those leaves today once I get home from school." Invariably, though, something prevents me from getting home in time to get the leaves raked. I feel like I'm never going to get these leaves raked. I may just have to bite the metaphorical bullet tomorrow and rake leaves in the cold and wind. Or, I might just wait until next Tuesday.

Scattered Thoughts

Here are some scattered thoughts on a warm-ish, mostly cloudy Sunday:
--It's been quite a while since I've seen even a hint of snow falling in Topeka this early in the year, and yet, I saw snow flurries Saturday afternoon. It's not an unwelcome sight, although it is a bit surprising.
--Leaves must spontaneously generate, or be attracted to my yard somehow. It seems that I have more leaves in my yard than I have trees to generate them. Raking them will make for a couple of busy afternoons. Thankfully, it looks to be warmer than it was last week.
--My brother's new house is really nice.
--Do what you can. Start where you are. Use what you have.

Rant: Please, Not Until After Thanksgiving!

[rant]It's already started. From the moment November 1st dawned, some people--groups of people, really--have started to the inexorable march towards Christmas. Christmas decorations are already showing up in store windows and along city streets. Christmas (well, at least winter) music of the most saccharine kind is being blared from speakers in many stores. And I don't want to know how many radio stations started playing Christmas music already.
"So," you ask, "what's wrong with that?" Quite a bit, in my opinion. First of all, we have another holiday before Christmas, one that we should all be taking far more seriously than we currently do: Thanksgiving. Of course, in modern America, with its slowly-dying belief in God, the idea of giving thanks to the One who provided us with so much is becoming unthinkable. I guess I could understand why skipping it might be preferable. Second, and this is admittedly a personal taste issue, Christmas/winter music is a bit saccharine. Listening to it for two months is to me like eating a bag of sugar followed by drinking about 10 diet soft drinks in a row. The results just make me sick.
Once Thanksgiving is over, and the Advent season proper begins, I have no problem with Christmas music. In fact, I relish the thought of it. Which is why I don't want it spilling out into the streets right now: Christmas music loses its charm (its "specialness") when it becomes the default standard for 2 months. Give me 4 1/2 weeks of it, and I'll be good. But please, don't start roasting your chestnuts on an open fire until Jack Frost is nipping at your nose, which won't happen until after Thanksgiving.[/rant]

Interesting

I simply post this story here without comment. Read it and come to your own conclusions.
Planning Under Way for Obama Holiday.

Pondering Evolution/Intelligent Design

The theme of this weekend has been examining the debate surrounding Evolution. First, on Friday night, I finally got to see the movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed." The movie does a great job of looking at how academia is currently stifling debate over flaws in Evolution. In particular, those who espouse Intelligent Design (not to be confused with Creationism) face constant harassment or are forced to remain silent because they suggested that Neo-Darwinian evolution may not be valid. What especially disappoints me is that my alma mater, Iowa State, is one of the schools that stifled academic freedom. A few atheistic professors were able to convince the university to deny tenure to an Astronomy professor simply because he co-wrote a book that argued that the Earth could not have evolved as the result of chance. The fact that diverse opinions were not allowed to flourish at the university is just one incident in an attempt by many evolutionists to stifle any debate over Intelligent Design.
"But," many will say, "isn't evolution already establish as scientific fact, like gravity?" No, evolution is not a fact, neither is gravity, at least not in the sense of fact as we use it. (This was a part of our discussion in Sunday School, where we examined Darwinism's flaws in detail.) Gravitation and evolution are both theories that attempt to describe general patterns of reality. Theories always can be expanded or adjusted as more data comes in. In the case of gravitation, the theory has been updated and expanded over time thanks to Einstein's theory of General Relativity. In the case of Evolution, however, as we learn more and more about the complexity required for even the simplest organisms and simplest cells, we're discovering that blind Darwinian evolution simply could not have occurred. However, Evolution has been the dominant theory for so long (and its atheistic implications so important) that many mistakenly think that it is fact.
Given, however, the amount of irreducible complexity in even the simplest machines (and the lack of sufficient support from the fossil record), Evolutionary theory faces many, many challenges. It simply cannot continue as it is. As "Expelled" points out, rather than adjust their theories, some Evolutionary theorists have instead chosen to (with an almost-religious fervor) cling to the Theory of Evolution. The result has been a stifling of academic freedom and a lot of ad hominem attacks on those who attempt even a critique of Evolution.
I'm sorry to report that many of us who think that the Theory of Intelligent Design better explains life than Darwinism are neither ignorant nor stupid nor wicked. We simply are scientists who see significant discrepancies between the data and Evolutionary Theory and think that Intelligent Design Theory does a better job of explaining it. Unfortunately, in this current academic climate of "political correctness," Intelligent Design is anathema. Hopefully, one day there will be a recognition that Evolution is so deeply flawed that it must be rejected. But I won't be holding my breath.

Post-election Thoughts

*I had no confidence in the wisdom of the Americans voters. Now, I would say that my confidence is in the negatives, if that's possible. When the majority of Americans identify themselves as conservations and yet go vote for someone whose policies are, at best, left of center, it disturbs me greatly.
*The media won the election for Obama. Don't get me wrong; he ran a great campaign, but he could have run a C- campaign and still won because the media was so infatuated with him that they wouldn't run many negative stories about him. If we ever needed an example of what a sycophant looks like, I think we have found it in this year's media coverage.
*Whoever ran the McCain campaign should be disappointed with himself. The media were obviously against McCain (or at least not for him), and there were questions galore about whether he was young enough for the office. At the same time, his opponent was so far from the center and shifted his positions so constantly that McCain should have easily had the upper hand simply by pointing out the obvious. He didn't, at least not until it was too late.
*I wonder if I should live it up now before my taxes go through the roof in July, or whether I should save like crazy so I actually have a chance of eating something besides Ramen (or however you spell it) noodles for the next 4 years.
*It's interesting that when faced with the choice between 2 almost-identical candidates (Jenkins and Boyda), Kansans will vote for the Republican over the Democrat.
*In the end, I guess it all doesn't matter much. People have lived under far more horrible regimes than any that might occur in the next 4 years, and God ultimately is in control. So, I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing and adjust to the circumstances as they come.

Beautiful Morning

When I got up this morning, the sun was already up, yet it was still very quiet. On my way back inside from my daily check of my rain gauge, I had to stop. The birds were silent, and the wind was at a whisper. No traffic had yet assaulted the roads. The only sounds were the intermittent click of leaves hitting the ground and a distant church carillon playing "Come Ye Thankful People Come." I stood there for what seemed like forever, breathing in the cool morning air and letting the near-silence wash over me.
Thanks to God for such a peaceful and beautiful start to the morning. If every day this autumn is going to be like that, I think I'm going to like it.

Election Season

Mercifully, election season all comes to an end in just under a week. And then, we have to live with the consequences for 2 years. Of course, we have "nothing to fear but fear itself."
To all the undecided voters, I urge you to ask yourselves "not what your country can do for you," but rather "what you can do for your country." Government simply cannot solve all of our problems, and in some cases, it can make them worse.
Questions of all sorts keep cropping up. Is McCain too old? Is Barack Obama really ready to lead the country? Are voters going to vote on the basis of policies or on personality? I guess "it all depends on what your definition of 'is' is." I mean, we could be facing a "nu-cue-lar" stand off with Iran, and I would hate to see that part of the "axis of evil" triumph because we chose the wrong guy.
For those of you who have reached the point of apathy long ago, let me say, "Read my lips: I feel your pain." The good news is that in 2 years, we'll have mid-term elections, which will allow us to make changes to our government if we don't like the way things are going. The only question, then, is whether any group can destroy a country in two years. Let's hope not. May God have mercy on America!

Exhausted

Wow, this past week took more out of me than I expected. I was going to try to post about 1 Corinthians 7, a passage that is quite hard for me to understand, but I simply don't have the mental energy right now to process anything that complex or deep. I guess it's one passage where I often find myself wishing it said something different than what it says. But that is human nature, is it not, to wish for things to be our way instead of God's?

Rain, Rain, and More Rain

As often is the case in Kansas, it's the weather that's making the biggest story around. It's been raining nearly non-stop for the past 24 hours, and I would guess that we must be near 1.5 inches in the past 24 hours. That's a lot of rain in a short time. It's been a cool, wet year overall, and that's made for a welcome change after several hot, dry years. For now, I'm going to go enjoy being inside where it's warm and dry.

Singleness

Some rambling thoughts on singleness in a rough draft form. Critiques, disagreements, suggestions, and notifications of typos are always appreciated.

It's amazing to me how often at church, the pastor feels it necessary to mention marriage and romantic relationships in sermons. It seems that a Sunday doesn't go by that the whole idea of marriage isn't brought into a sermon, whether it validly fits or not. And each time he asks, "Do you remember when you first started dating your spouse," I catch myself thinking, "No, and I have no idea what that was like." And more than once, I've caught myself, to quote Caedmon's Call, wondering if "Maybe I have the gift that everyone speaks so highly of / Funny how nobody wants it."
The gift that everyone speaks so highly of is singleness (or celibacy), and it amazes me how we (myself included) react with such dislike to the idea of such a state being a gift. It's almost like we treat singleness not as a gift but as a curse. I know that I often react with disdain to the idea that somehow, I may be single the rest of my life. I want to scream to God that it's not fair. Men who see women as objects wind up married, while men who would make excellent husbands (perhaps I'm in that group; I'm hardly an objective judge of myself) are bachelors. It makes no sense. Most people in the Church react similarly, and prefer not to think about the issue since they can't make it reconcile with all of the "marriage language" in Scripture.
Jesus, however, addresses this very issue in commenting on marriage. He says, "For some For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage [or made themselves eunuchs] because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it" (Matthew 9:12, NIV). (I think that, based on the context, it seems safe to say that Jesus is thinking about marital status when he uses the word "eunuch" here, which is probably why the NIV renders the last of the three phrases "renounced marriage" instead of "made themselves eunuchs.")
Based on this passage, there seem to be at least three classes of people who never marry. One is those who were born with some sort of physical condition (severe mental retardation, e.g.) that prevents them from functioning in a marital relationship. A second are those who because of something done to them, never marry, and the third group are those who forgo marrying in order to devote themselves fully to God.
The vast majority of single people in churches today fall into the second class. They are unmarried because of something done to them, whether by others or by themselves. The key here is that these people often do not want to be where they are. The Church, I'm afraid, has not handled this group very well. They too often try to treat them as if they belonged in the first or third classes, instead. Some unintentionally treat those who are single as if there is something wrong with them, and shuffle them off into singles' groups, where their "needs" can be addressed. The thinking seems to be a sort of "put the mutants all at table 9" attitude. This sort of approach does nothing to help a person with the gift of singleness learn to treat singleness as a gift. Instead, it simply devalues the person by telling him, "You're anathema because you're not married. Get away from us, you freak!" The result is a feeling of being worthless not only in the eyes of others but also in the eyes of God.
At the same time, other people try to treat everyone who is single as if they are single because they are on some sort of "mission from God." The most frequent refrain of these people is "just remember that Jesus was single and that Paul was single." This attempted encouragement, while well-meaning, tells the single person that his singleness is God's way of making the single person more spiritual. It ignores, however, that Paul and Jesus both chose singleness "for the kingdom of God." Most people who are single, however, did not choose their state. It was forced upon them in some way, meaning that they don't want to be in the condition that they are in. Thus, when someone tells a single person that his singleness makes him more spiritual because he is like Paul or Jesus, the single person invariably feels inferior because he isn't super-spiritual the way people say they should be. The end result of this sort of counsel is a feeling of inferiority.
I've talked a little about how not to treat those who are in the second classification of those who have the gift of singleness. I want to take a moment, as one who may well be a part of the second group (even though I pray daily that I am not), to suggest some ways that the Church might better handle those who are single. First, remember that they are human beings just like anyone else. They are no more broken than any married person, and need friendships with others who share their interests, not just their marital status. Second, remember that just because a person is single, do not automatically assume that he doesn't understand the time pressures that families face. Single people face time pressures far worse than any family because if a chore has to be done, the only person to do it is the single person. Third, be careful how marriage is held up in services and teaching. Discuss it, treat it with honor, and use it sometimes as an analogy, but don't refer to it constantly. Constantly talking about marriage will only accentuate the pain a single person feels and make them feel inferior. Lastly, while singles-only small groups are great, all single people to be part of small groups with married people if their natural inclinations so lead. This will allow the single person to feel less isolated from the rest of the Body of Christ.
Again, these ideas are my first attempt to delve into this issue in a logical fashion. I'm sure that they overstate (or understate) certain aspects. I welcome any thoughts or corrections. And I hope and pray daily that God, in His mercy, will see fit to bring into my life a woman of God with whom I can happily share many years of worshiping and enjoying Him and the life He has given us. Yet, I also know that at my age and in my circumstances, I may well be one of those who has "the gift that everyone speaks so highly of." If I do indeed have this gift, then it's getting to the point where I need to stare the facts square in the face and begin to try to be a member of class three: those who renounce marriage for the glory of God.

Soccer and Cool Weather

I just got home from refereeing 2 soccer games at Hummer Park. With the cool weather setting in, I was definitely cold by the time I got done with game #2. I'm glad that soccer season is starting to wind down. I'm ready for a break.

Weird Writer's Block

I'm suffering from an odd form of writer's block: I have about 5 half-formed ideas and nothing yet worthy of posting. So, here's a picture of a beautiful sunset. Maybe my thoughts will get reset by Wednesday.

Post-Debate Thoughts

Some random thoughts after watching the debates last night:
Senator Obama's claim that most small business make less than $250,000 is a bit of a stretch to my mind. Yes, there are a few business that don't have a gross income of over $250,000, but I'd be surprised if 95% of small business gross less than $250,000. As far as profits go, of course, most small business have a net profit far less than $250,000.
Senator McCain just looks old.
Senator Obama is all about style. Whenever he talks, I feel like he's speaking a lie but is doing it eloquently so that he hopes no one will notice.
Senator Obama's "Oh, yeah, me, too" moment on Russia was pretty amusing. After Senator McCain had said what he thought we ought to do about Russia's aggression in Georgia, Obama's first statement was that he agreed with McCain. I wonder what Obama would have said if he went first...
At the end of the debate, Tom Brokaw had an embarrassing moment. When he couldn't see the teleprompter, he didn't know how to end the debate and had to ask the candidates to move by saying, "You guys are blocking my script." It played to every stereotype of news anchors as being incapable of thought because all they do is read off teleprompters. I'm sure that Mr. Brokaw is not that dense, but it was amusing.
And the most sickening part was the post-debate analysis by one columnist from the New York Times. He said that he thought Obama won. When pressed as to why, he gave an answer that was so fawning, I will paraphrase it this way: "Obama's so smooth, so personable, and so likeable, that if I were a woman and he weren't married, I'd want to marry him." It sickens me how much the media seem to obsess over Obama. Listening to the media talk about Obama is a bit like listening to a bunch of groupies at a rock concert.
This election, more than any other, has served to increase my cynicism for the entire political process and for any hope for this country. Like a lot of voters, I really would like a legitimate third option, one that isn't so old he looks like he'll die 2 years into office and one that also doesn't come across as so arrogant that you have to wonder if he's running for President because he loves his country or because he's enjoying the ego boost. Sigh. Oh, well. It's what we've got. It's a good thing that in the end, it is God who is ultimately in control of it all.

More Twists

The twists and turns that make up this year keep coming, both good and bad. This year has been full of more unexpected occurrences than I have ever encountered in one year. From misplaced computer files to leaky water heaters, from unusual soccer senior nights to the unstable economy, and from unexpected affirmations and encouragements from parents at the school to the rare moments of unplanned time off, this year has been full of challenges and blessings that I never could have predicted. In the midst of all of this uncertainty, the hardest part is staying focused on allowing God to be the Lord of my circumstances, trusting Him to work out the details that I am powerless to affect. If I can find a way, by His grace, to rest in Him more and enjoy the ride, this year, like a roller coaster, promises to be an exciting and enjoyable year. Now, the challenge becomes enjoying the "roller coaster."

Good Expectations

Last time, I wrote about expectations and how they can detrimentally affect our perception of reality. Expectations do not always, however, serve such a negative purpose. Indeed, without expectations, we easily sink into apathy and failure (like '90s grunge rockers). Expectations serve the legitimate purpose of motivating us (or someone else) to achieve more than we would otherwise accomplish.
Consider the case of a soccer team. If a coach sets low expectations for his team, the end result will be a team that accomplishes little. If, however, the coach sets high (yet realistic) expectations for his team, the team will perform well. Likewise, in our own lives, if we expect nothing from ourselves, nothing is precisely what we will get. If, however, we expect ourselves to live to a certain standard, we will try to live up to that standard. (Obviously, some of us set the standard too high, but that's another story.) Therefore, expectations function as a driving force, urging us onward to become something more than we otherwise would become.
As a side note, just as unmet expectations are a source of anger and conflict in relationships, so exceeded expectations are a source of joy and wonder. To eliminate expectations in order to avoid the anger of unmet expectations means that we often would have to live without the joy of exceeded expectations. While I know first-hand the pain of unmet expectations, I also know that I would not trade the joy of having people around me surpass my expectations.

Expectations

Lately, I've been pondering the effect that our expectations have on how we perceive reality, and, in turn, how those perception (sometimes incorrect), affect our actions and reactions. While this rough draft essay is far from perfect, it is an attempt to summarize in a somewhat coherent fashion, many of the diverse threads that are running through my mind on this issue.
While expectations can serve a good purpose, too often expectations can cause us to deceive ourselves about the truth and thus have incorrect responses to the circumstances of life.
Let me start with a classic illustration from the early 1900s. French scientists, determined to make a breakthrough to bring glory back to their country, believed that they had discovered a new form of radiation, dubbed "N rays." These rays had certain properties that could be observed by using a specially constructed device that identified the unique signature of these "rays." After a failed experiment of his own, an American scientist went to France to observe the collection of "N ray" data. Prior to one of the experiments, he secretly replaced the object that was supposed to be emitting "N rays" with a piece of wood and removed a prism from the apparatus. There was no way that the French scientists should have been able to detect "N rays." Yet, amazingly enough, the French scientists still reported the exact same "N ray" readings as before, because they expected to see them. These scientists fell guilty to allowing their expectations to influence improperly their perception of reality.
Before we have too long a laugh at the expense of the French, we should realize that we are too guilty of having incorrect expectations ourselves. I can think of times when I've been attracted to a woman and misinterpreted her actions because of my desire for her to show reciprocal interest in me. Likewise, we all know of students who have told themselves that they are "stupid" enough times that they stop trying in school, even when they are perfectly capable. Expectations, then, often cause us to twist the truth to suit our liking.
The problem with this twisting is two-fold. First, when we begin to make decisions based upon incorrect presuppositions, we will (eventually) wind up taking an action that results in negative consequences for us or for someone else, as was the case for our "failing" student above. Second, when we have unrealistic expectations of others, we often find ourselves disappointed and angry. How many marriages in this country, how many friendships, how many familial relationships, have been wrecked because of unrealistic expectations from one or both parties?
The solution to the problem posed by expectations is not to refuse to have expectations. Having no expectations results only in complacency, since we will accept anything if we expect nothing. (Perhaps this explains the current state of the American political system, but I digress...)
The solution to the problem posed by expectations is to have a "check" on our expectations. We need to examine them to make sure that they are in accord with reality. Often, when we find our expectations unmet, we tend to get angry and assume that our expectations were right to begin with. Instead, we should take a moment to examine our expectations to see if we had any reasonable right to hold them in the first place. For instance, many people get angry at God for some reason or another ("God didn't save me from this or that tragedy"). They expect that somehow, they deserve from God nothing but good. The become angry with God for not meeting their expectations. The way to recover from this is anger is to realize that, in reality, we are all sinners, deserving of nothing less than hell itself. That God is often merciful to us, both believers and unbelievers, by allowing good to happen in our lives does not mean that we have any right to expect such good from Him. For it was not because of our own goodness that God chose to save those of us who believe. Rather, it was by his grace alone that we are able to exercise complete trust in Jesus Christ and live a life glorifying to God. And I digress.
Expectations, as we've seen briefly, do wind up affecting us more powerfully at times than any of us would care to admit. The key to living without unrealistic expectations is to check our expectations periodically against an absolute standard. Often, we will need outside help (a friend, a pastor, a family member, God's Word) to do so.
Expectations, though, are not always bad. That discussion, though, belongs to another blog post.

Expectations, Sort Of

I had planned on blogging on expectations and how they affect our actions and reactions. It's something that I've pondering quite a bit lately. In an ironic twist, though, I haven't had the time that I expected to pull my thoughts together coherently. For now, though, I will say that I am fascinated about how much our expectations can be a source of conflict, as well as source of misunderstanding between people.

Interesting Week Ahead

This coming week should prove to be another interesting one: we have two big soccer games, one against Cornerstone (an in-town "rival" of sorts) and one against Tri City in Kansas City (a definite, friendly rival). On top of that, I have all of the typical tasks of a teacher, as well, in addition to needing some time to rest. It will be an interesting week.... The busyness sometimes makes me wonder why I still coach soccer. Oh, yes, it's because I enjoy it and enjoy the chance to build relationships with my students.

Cold+Busy Week=Tired

I have a cold. I have a busy week that includes an away game at Sunrise tomorrow. I'm not going to post anything more because I want to take advantage of my unscheduled time while I have it. And listen to K-State football.

Rain and Busyness

Busyness kept me from keeping to my scheduled blogging, which shows where it falls on the priority list: low. Still, I'll sort of "bridge the gap" between postings by making one now and then waiting until Wednesday (hopefully) for the next one.
The story around Topeka (all of NE Kansas, really) is the rain. It has poured all day. It's been a long time since I've seen it pour like this for so long. It was decidedly tropical in nature. And while the moisture source was ultimately the remnants of a Pacific hurricane, the forcing mechanisms were extratropical: a slow-moving cold front and a shortwave hitting at the same time.
I received over 2 inches of rain Thursday and Friday, and I think more is on the way for tomorrow. It will continue to make this summer (it's still technically summer) one of the coolest and wettest that this part of the country has seen in many years.

Puzzling Circumstances

My circumstances, as I expected before the year started, have gotten puzzling. I will spare you the boring details. Suffice it to say that I am staring at complex situations. Partially, I did it to myself, and partially, God has put these circumstances across my path. Either way, I know that as PFR says in one of their songs, "I got here by myself, but I know that I will never leave the same way." Or as Jehoshophat, faced with overwhelming odds from enemy armies, says in 2 Chronicles 20:12b, "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." (You, in this case, refers to God.) My circumstances may be puzzling me, but they are not a puzzle to God, and in the end, it is He who will work His will in these circumstances. My task is to do as Jehoshophat did: turn my eyes to the Lord, pray, and then listen to Him and to wise council. I'm going to need it.

Rain and Cool Weather

I could comment in detail on the Presidential election and the games that the media and the Democrats are playing by trying to slander John McCain's choice for VP. But I won't. I don't care. I'm sick of Presidential politics right now and all the stupid games that both parties are playing so that it's nearly impossible to discern the truth.
Instead, I'm going to focus on the wonderful, unseasonable weather that we have here in Topeka. The temperature is not even 60 degrees, and light rain has been falling on and off all day. The cool temperatures are courtesy of a cold front that pushed through yesterday afternoon, but the rain is courtesy of the remnants of Hurricane Gustav. So, the end result is a wonderful, late-October-type day that is perfectly suited for running. And that's what I plan to do, go out and enjoy a nice, relaxing jog without worrying about how long it takes me. And no matter who is elected President, they won't be able to take that away from me!

Presidential Campaign Thoughts

This Presidential election cycle has been one of distaste for me so far. Neither major candidate and I see eye-to-eye on most of the issues. Obama's politics are so different from mine and his inexperience so great that I do not feel comfortable supporting him. McCain's age, on the other hand, is a factor that makes me hesitate to support someone that I'm not sure could survive 4 years in office. Which is what makes McCain's choice for a running mate intriguing to me. By choosing a young, conservative governor, he has created a ticket that I could support far more comfortably than I could if it were McCain-Romney or McCain-Lieberman. I still am not completely convinced that I will vote for McCain-Palin; I still would like to do a little more research. Still, McCain's choice of Palin has made the idea of voting for McCain a little more palatable for me to consider. There's a long way to November, still, and I could still decide that I would rather vote for 3rd party candidate than McCain. We'll have to see.

Case in Point: Why I No Longer Watch Evening News

I rarely watch evening news anymore on television because of how insipid and irrelevant I find much of the coverage. It seems that the mainstream media is simply out of touch with what is going on. My case in point tonight comes from what is perhaps one of the most absurd statements I have heard a newsman utter in quite some time.
He said, "There are no headlines [to start the newscast tonight] because there is only 1 headline: a major party is about to nominate an African American for the first time in history." Now, while I can see why the media would consider this an historic event, I cannot believe the amount of hubris and ignorance that the statement expresses. The only headline is the nomination of Barack Obama? Not even close. What about Russia's continued conflict with the republic of Georgia? What about Tropical Storm Gustav, which is eventually expected to become a strong hurricane and threaten the Gulf Coast? What about John McCain's campaign? What about Pakistan's upcoming presidential election? What about...well, you get the idea. To be so narrowly focused as to see the (already assured) nomination of one man, regardless of his race, as the only important item of the day is poor reporting. I'm disappointed.

It All Starts Tomorrow...

The day that I've been expecting for 3 months is finally almost here: the first day of school for this school year. As a result, I'm going to break my "rule" about not writing about school and take a few minutes to ponder the coming start of classes. Even though I've gone through 6 other starts to school years, I still feel like I felt when I faced my first start to my first year: very excited and also a little fearful.
I'm excited because I see the potential that this year has to be an excellent year. I'm excited to teach a smaller Calculus class, and I'm looking forward to see the leadership that this senior class will take. Second semester, I get to teach a Meteorology elective, and that has the potential to be a great experience.
I'm also fearful, though. Some of my fears deal with the differences that every year brings: new students (freshmen), a new senior class, changes to the school calendar and administrative structure. So much about this year is different that I have no way to know what to expect. There's always a bit of fear that we have to fight when facing the unknown. The other component of my (mild) fears deal with my own awareness of my own inadequacy. I know that without God's grace working in me, I am worthless as a teacher. At best, I will last about 3 days on my own strength; after that, I'll be worn out. I need to rely on His grace if I have any hope of having the energy to think clearly and teach my students well.
Whenever you read this, please pray for me and for all of us teachers. We always will need God's grace in order to do our job well. Thank you in advance.
Now, it's time for me to relax a little more before the marathon-sprint known as the school year begins. As always, it could be a late night because without fail I have trouble falling asleep before the first day of school.

Maybe I'm Getting Too Old for This

A new soccer season has started, and with it come the challenge of 7 am practices. I say "challenge" because I am not a morning person. This week, though, has been difficult so far. I can't remember being this tired after three days of practice. I feel like I've been sleep walking all week. I certainly hope and pray that I don't feel this way next, or else the first two days of class are going to be very interesting...

And So It Begins (Again)

My students don't show up for another week, but tomorrow for me is the first day of the school year. Soccer practice starts bright and early at 7 am, and then it's off to school to work in my room and talk with anyone who happens to drop by during enrollment. I expect to be at school 4 out of the 5 weekdays this week. Hopefully, I'll be able to get enough done these first two days to have one more "project day" around my house to take care of all the little items I was too lazy to take on during the summer. Regardless, I'm looking forward to the school year starting and seeing what sort of twists and turns it will bring.

Environmental Friendliness

I thought with all the talk of reducing one's carbon footprint, I would do the same.
Here goes:



I'm not quite sure how this is going to help the environment, but hey, since it doesn't cost me anything, I'm all for it.

How I Feel Today After a Long Road Trip This Weekend

Gdalks fglkjade dfjlkteai, bsadkfjoirt afiogjhkjja dglkajio. Tyuhbcajkljeafbk bakljoir joiaji alk knaol adadadadada!

Primary Election Results

The results from the primary election have rolled in, and they are hardly surprising. The closest race was between Republicans Jim Ryun and Lynn Jenkins. Jenkins won by a couple percentage points and now will face incumbent Nancy Boyda in November. Jenkins winning the primary presents a Boyda with a difficult task ahead of her. She won largely because of a backlash against Republicans, especially by moderate voters. Jenkins, however, should be attractive to many moderate voters. Definitely, she will be more attractive than Ryun would have been. Jenkins' ability to attract more of the moderate vote should give her a decent shot of winning, if she manages her campaign correctly. A good place to start would be the low approval rating of Congress. I've seen it listed as low as 9%, lower than President Bush's.
The other results were as I expected, most notably Rucker beat out Hecht for the Republican nod for District Attorney. Hopefully, all of the politics come to an end for a month or two before it picks back up in October. (Wishful thinking, I know....)

More Mud Than a Pig Sty

It's August, and the general election is still about four months away. Already, however, the mud slinging between candidates has begun. Locally, former representative Jim Slattery, a Democrat, is trying to beat out Pat Roberts, a Republican, for the Senate seat. And Slattery has already started in on a ton of negative attack ads against Senator Roberts. And, as with most attack ads, most of the information contained in them is mostly incorrect, at best. It's not the only ugly campaign going on. Lynn Jenkins and Jim Ryun are both vying for the Republican position on the ballot against incumbent Democrat Nancy Boyda. The Jenkins/Ryun ads are ugly enough. Once the primary election is over and Boyda and the Republican nominee start going after each other it's going to get really ugly, really quickly, especially if Ryun is her opponent. If I remember correctly, those two constantly attacked each other for months, often using subtle (yet powerful) means to avoid looking negative. Ugh. Such ugly political attacks are why I never want to run for office. I'm already sick of such horrible behavior, and it's only going to get worse once the primaries are over. I may be making much use of the mute button in the next few months, assuming I even dare watch TV at all.
Interestingly, the national election is getting ugly, too, although since Kansas is not a critical state, we're not having to put up with the Presidential mudslinging. Still, the news is constantly replete with mud-slinging, and, even more amusingly, accused mudslinging. Presumptive Democrat nominee Barack Obama constantly has accused his opponent's (presumptive Republican nominee John McCain's) campaign of playing the "race card." The odd part about that accusation: it's completely baseless. McCain has, however, run some attack ads against Obama that say he is arrogant and not ready to lead.
So, that's the current situation. Where do I stand on all of these candidates? Well, I'm not going to say definitely. In some ways, I'm not thrilled with most of the candidates, but I'm especially not excited about the two options for President. Obama and I disagree on just about every major political issue, and I think that the McCain ad about him being arrogant and not ready to lead is right on target. That doesn't mean that I'm all for McCain, however. I don't agree with half of his political positions, and I am not convinced that he'll survive four years of the stress of being the President. That will make McCain's choice of a running mate critical for my decision. (It doesn't matter if Obama picked Sam Brownback for his running mate. Obama already has lost my vote.) If McCain chooses someone who is a younger conservative who could legitimately run the country if McCain were to die, I think that I might vote for him. If he picks another moderate like himself, well, I'm not sure what I'll do. But I'll wait to see on that.
For now, I'll be sure to take a shower after watching any amount of TV to get off all of the mud that's being slung.

Uthf

I don't know what it is about today, but I'm feeling like I'm functioning at about 50% or so. It's an odd sort of cloudy day. Odd because it's late July, and normally it is clear, sunny, and insanely hot. Those conditions appear to be coming in the next few days, so I'm not disappointed in this abnormal weather. Still, I think it's having an effect on me. I can't seem to get my thoughts fully in order. Well, it looks like it's going to be one of those days when I'm going to have lean on God's grace because my own aptitude just isn't there right now.

It's So Nice to Be Home!

After three weeks of hard work, and a Saturday of refereeing soccer games, I only have one thing to say: it feels really, really good to be home. Thanks be to God for such a great place to live!

Punished for Working Efficiently

A significant part of the class that I'm taking this week requires me to design an integrated thematic unit, which is a way of structuring a unit so that it is built around a conceptual theme that the class then examines in light of different disciplines. It is the sort of thing done frequently in elementary school, but never (with good reason) done in high school. As a high school teacher, it may seem odd that I'm in the class, but because of schedule problems, this was the only option for this year.
Designing the unit hasn't been hard. I have a nice, 7-block (about 3 week) unit designed on "Reading and Responding to the Book of Creation." It's part mathematics, part history, part apologetics, and part practical theology. Incidentally, most of what I've done will never be used in my classroom because it does not match with the reality of the nature of the material I have to teach and the way that I believe it should be taught. I'm trying to be as creative and outside-the-box as possible right now so that I can maybe come up with 1-2 good ideas for my real classroom.
Since it uses quite a bit of material that I already have planned and since this topic is one that I've already done a lot of thinking and reading about, it was very easy for me to design a unit that met the professor's criteria. So easy, in fact, that I could be done in the next hour or two if I really wanted to be. I don't really have any motivation to work, however. Since I've worked so quickly, my professor has threatened me with having to start work on another thematic unit. Since I don't like the concept of integrated thematic units at the high school level a whole lot in the first place (I disagree with many of the philosophical bases that this approach is based on), the last thing I want to do is start designing another unit. I can't help the fact that I picked a good topic and that I like to work efficiently at a task, especially one that I want to get done so I can move on to other things. But to punish me for working efficiently by then demanding more work from me is ridiculous.
So, tomorrow is going to be a highly inefficient day. Two hours of work is about to become five. I dislike being off-task to such a large degree, but if it's an option between a minor waste of time (slow work) and a major waste of time (designing another unit), I'll take the minor one any day.
I'm ready to be done with classes for the summer. Why can't they end on Thursday?

One Week Left

The marathon sprint (yes, I am aware that I just wrote an oxymoron) that is summer graduate courses at Dordt College is drawing to a close. Soon, I'll be done with round 2 of my Masters-degree coursework. And you couldn't pay me enough to stay around a minute longer than I have to; I'm ready to be home.
This week promises to be a lot of work, and I'm not particularly looking forward to that. Tonight, in fact, should be my shortest night. The rest of the week is going to be loaded with inefficient group work, a redundant statement. I'm not looking forward to doing it, but I am looking forward to getting it done. I just want to be home.

Why Can't I Write?

My class this week on Integrating Students with Special Needs has been interesting, even if a lot of it does not relate to my particular situation. One aspect, though, that has been unpleasant has been the activity to write a "social story." These stories try to use really simple language to try to explain to students with disabilities the proper way to behave. Sounds simple, right? Well, it should have been, but for some reason, I couldn't write the silly thing! The restrictions were quite onerous for me. (For one thing, I couldn't use words like "onerous.") Thankfully, my professor helped me figure out how to approach it. Still, I am amazed at how much trouble I had. [Sigh]. I guess no one of us can do everything.

Week 2 Begins

Week one of my 3 weeks at Dordt has finished. My class this past week went pretty well; it wasn't anywhere as difficult as I thought it was going to be. It still was work, of course, but the workload wasn't overwhelming. It's good to have that class done and out of the way.
My class this week is going to be a complete unknown. I know nothing about this professor, and I can't tell from her syllabus exactly how much work she will ask of us during the on-campus phase. Since she's a new professor, there are two possibilities: too much work or too little. I wouldn't mind the latter, myself, since from what I hear, my course in week 3 is the former.
It does not matter much, of course. It's by God's grace that I get any of this work done, anyway. We'll just have to see what happens.

Why Not Hydrogen-Fueled Planes?

I was pondering this idea the other day: as we see the price of oil skyrocket and dream of a hydrogen economy, why do we hear so much about implementing hydrogen as a fuel for automobiles and not as a fuel for planes? Given the infrastructure challenges facing hydrogen-powered cars, it would seem to me to make more since to roll out hydrogen-fueled airplanes, instead. There are fewer airports than there are gas stations, the refueling of planes is accomplished by more trained workers (a concern for self-serve hydrogen fueling stations), and switching to hydrogen-powered planes would significantly reduce our demand for oil. Yet, I haven't heard of any planes that run on hydrogen. An Internet search for hydrogen-powered airplanes turned up lots of environmentalist websites, no mainstream media sites, and a couple of research articles. Boeing, according to the one article that I read, seems to doubt the ability of hydrogen fuel cells to be the primary source of power for commercial aircraft. Whether this inability truly exists, or whether it's more of a "640K out to be enough for anybody" statement, remains to be seen. I'm all for switching to hydrogen power overall. So, to all mechanical and aerospace engineers out there, no nay-saying about this idea. Let's get those fuel cells and/or hydrogen engines functioning at a high enough level that we can drop oil as our main fuel source.

Tomorrow it begins

The first of 3 graduate classes that I am taking this summer begins its on-campus phase tomorrow. From my recent perusal of the class roster, there appear to be only 6 of us in class. That is a smaller class than the 10 or so that I had in each of my classes last year. A small class should make for a more enjoyable experience, however, since we'll each have plenty of time to interact with the professor and each other. I'm looking forward to the class, but I also have to admit to feeling a bit of trepidation at the start of this next class. Parker Palmer says that a teacher's biggest fear is being expose as a fake, and I can't help but wonder if that fear is at the core of the timorousness. It definitely will be a time for leaning on God's grace, and I look forward to seeing what God does in the coming week!

July and Hard Work

Wow, it's July! It seems like a long time and yet a short time since the latest class of seniors at Cair Paravel said their final farewell to the hallowed halls. Now, I've spent over a month on "vacation." I'm not quite ready for school to start, but neither am I ready for more time off. The routine has gotten, well, just that--routine. That will all change here in a few days when I start three weeks of all-out sprint academically, taking a graduate course a week for the next three weeks. I've already spent about a month in pre-campus work, but now it's time to take the classes themselves. If they're anything like last year's classes, I'll be very busy during the week and very bored on the weekends. Such is the way this program goes. At this point, though, it will be a welcome change of pace from what has become my summer routine.

Poem: Psalm 61

I wrote this song/poem a while back. I'd forgotten about it until I was exploring a folder on my hard drive and found it. Enjoy.

Help me, Lord, I’m fading
My love for You away
Listen, Lord, and help me
Restore my joy in You

Lead me to the rock higher than I
Lead me to the rock higher than I
Lead me to the rock higher than I
Lead me to the rock

At times I feel so empty,
My soul’s brook run dry
All my hope seems futile
And I don’t even care

Lead me to the rock higher than I
Lead me to the rock higher than I
Lead me to the rock higher than I
Lead me to the rock

My thirsty heart screams
For more of You than me
So take this broken vessel
And build it up again

Lead me to the rock higher than I
Lead me to the rock higher than I
Lead me to the rock higher than I
Lead me to the rock

A Solution to High Gas Prices?

This article discusses some interesting testimony before Congress by some energy analysts about the effect of speculators on the current price of oil. Speculators, the analysts claim, have been driving oil prices far above their appropriate values. So, the analysts say that if Congress enacts legislation to limit speculation in the oil futures market, the price of oil could return to a level that would allow $2 a gallon gasoline. (Oh, those were the days, huh? :-) ) Of course, we all know how accurate analysts are. Anyone remember that record-setting hurricane season analysts predicted for last year? :-)

Ah, Summer!

Today was a great summer day. It was quiet, with little wind, and it was cool enough by 6:30 that I was able to ride my bike to small group. Then, because it's summer, it stayed light late enough for me to ride back safely. And being a Sunday, traffic was light. It was just a nice, relaxing day.

Out of Control "Green"

Apparently, the latest fad in society is being "green." If see another commercial where a company blathers on about how "green" (meaning not contributing to the greenhouse effect), I may well break my television. Our society seems to have developed "carbon-phobia," as if CO2 is the most evil gas in the world. What's sad about all of this fear is that the link between human-produced CO2 and global warming is not as strong as the media would have us believe. We are worrying ourselves to death over something that is not as significant as we think. And in the fear of emitting CO2, we're adopting all sorts of measures that could have negative repercussions, economically and environmentally.
Economically, we're slowly wreaking our economy because we're afraid of building new power plants. The result will be an increase in demand and a huge upswing in the price of electricity. Nuclear power may well be the best political option, but the costs of building new nuclear reactors are also prohibitive.
Environmentally, the craze for compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) will create a toxic waste hazard because every CFL contains mercury. Most consumers are not going to dispose of their expired CFLs appropriately, and the end result will be an increase of the mercury levels in our landfills. Likewise, hydrogen power is not as "green" as people would have us believe. Hydrogen power emits water vapor as its by product, and water vapor not only is a "greenhouse gas" but also a major source of energy for thunderstorms. Here's what I mean: imagine a city the size of Kansas City with all of the cars powered by hydrogen. The emissions from these cars will increase the humidity in the Kansas City area significantly. This additional humidity will make summers more uncomfortable and also provide extra moisture for storms, meaning more heavy rain events (flooding) and more severe storms (hail, high winds, tornadoes). In other words, as we rush to hydrogen as if it's a savior, we need to remember that hydrogen power has its own significant side effects that we need to be prepared for.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all for being wise in how we treat the environment. If we can switch from highly-polluting oil to lower-pollution hydrogen, I'm all for it, even if the result is a more humid environment. But we need to be circumspect. The current "I'm more green than you" mentality preys on unfounded fear of a catastrophic greenhouse effect that's our fault. And that fear, if it drives our decision-making in politics and in life, could result in decisions that do more harm to our society and the environment than anything that global warming could ever cause.

Unbelievable Finish

While I was waiting for the US-Barbados World Cup Qualifying match, I watched pieces of the replay of the Euro 2008 game between Turkey and the Czech Republic. With as little as 20 minutes left, the Czech Republic was up 2-0. At any level, especially the International level, that kind of lead is usually insurmountable. In this case, however, Turkey managed to get 3 goals, including 2 in 2 minutes. I'm not a huge fan of Turkey, but it was an impressive effort. And it just goes to show that you never know what's going to happen.

What's Wrong with the Royals?

I have been a fan of Kansas City Royals baseball as long as I can remember. I grew up listening to the games as a child and can (barely) remember them winning the World Series in 1985.
In the 23 years since reaching the pinnacle of baseball success, the Royals have slowly become one of the worst teams in baseball on a consistent basis. Every year, I hear the same thing in Spring Training. "We've got the team that will win more games this year." "We're not going to lose 100 games this year, and a year (or two) from now, we'll be playing meaningful games in September." About mid-May, I hear the same thing every year. "I don't understand why we're losing games, we have the talent." And by July, I start hearing, "Well, next year, when _________ is healthy." "Next year, when _______________ makes it to the Majors." It's a sure sign that the Royals are losing so frequently that they practically have last place in their division all locked up.
I light of this consistency poor play, which has included blowing innumerable four-plus-run leads in the late innings in the last two weeks, I have to ask myself, what's wrong with the Royals? Well, I don't claim to be a guru, and I certainly would not want to be a manager or a GM. What I'm writing here are possible problems with possible solutions.
What's wrong with the Royals?
1. The lack of offensive punch. Jose Guillen has been a great addition; he gives Kansas City someone who actually can hit something besides the occasional double. The rest of the team, however, is ineffective offensively. The player with the best average on the team (excluding pitchers) is DeJesus, who is hitting .296. Compare that to the Texas Rangers, who have 5 players hitting over .300. Now, Texas is one of the best offenses in the league, so I don't expect the Royals to have as many guys over .300, but to have none is sure sign that the offense is not as it should be.
Solution? I'm at a loss here. Dayton Moore, the GM, has done everything he can to find a power hitter or two to put into the middle of the offense. There aren't that many out there that the Royals can afford. Perhaps, one of the younger players will develop into a power threat. That idea, however, leads me to another problem.
2. The inability to retain players. A perennial problem is the inability to keep solid players once they've reached their prime. Look around the league at some of the better players in the league: Damon and Beltran, for example. They came up with the Royals, but Kansas City was forced to get rid of them because their salary demands were too high. In all likelihood, the same thing will happen to all the young players who are being hailed as the "future" of the team. They'll be gone right as they're hitting their peak and could be part of a winning team. Which leads me to my last point.
Solution? Being a small-market team, Kansas City only has so much money to compete with the seemingly endless pockets of New York, Boston, LA, and San Francisco. The best solution in my mind is a salary cap. That, of course, would be blocked by the Players' Union, which has far too much power. Their reasons for opposing it are almost ludicrous. You're telling me that making $3.5 million a year isn't enough? That the market alone should be able to set value? The end result is a lack of competitive balance and the eventual collapse of the league. A salary cap needs to be implemented for the good of the game. Most of these major leaguers are making enough that if they manage their money well, they'll be fine once they leave the game.
3. The culture of losing. Their seems to be something that surrounds this club, an air of almost-mythical proportions. We've seen it in all of the late-inning collapses of recent weeks. We've seen it in when former Cy Young winners become complete duds. It must be something in the water in KC, because I can't explain it. Or, perhaps, there just simply isn't the talent there.
Solution? I don't know. Perhaps it's time for organization-wide psychological help. Something has to change if this team is ever going to get out of the cellar and become competitive again. Right now, based off of what I've seen, they're not.

More Storms

The weather continues to be May-like here in June. A strong squall line is headed for Topeka; I can hear the thunder rumbling in the distance. It has been quite an interesting weather week, with the outbreak on Thursday and a line of strong storms moving through the area. Hopefully, this line will amount to nothing more than some heavy rain.

Severe Weather Outbreak -- 10:15 pm

Thanks be to God, the worst that happened here in Topeka was an hour-long power outage in the central part of the city. I was among those without power, but the Westar crews did an admirable (and somewhat foolhardy, given the amount of lightning present in these storms) job in getting power back on. Otherwise, the majority of the severe weather occurred west of the city. With the severe weather threat moving east, it's time for me to call it a night. Hopefully, this outbreak is the last one of the season. I'm ready for some calmer weather.

Severe Weather Outbreak -- 8:15 pm

Finally, it's Topeka's turn. A severe thunderstorm is moving its way up the turnpike. I expect to have to seek shelter here in the few minutes from the large hail and damaging winds. I'll post another report after the storm passes through.

Severe Weather Outbreak -- 6:30 pm

I underestimated the available energy in the atmosphere in central Kansas. The severe weather is starting to break out with increasing rapidity. We're seeing quite the outbreak of tornadoes across the region, not just central Kansas. Three tornadoes were reported out by Clay Center, another tornado is on the ground right now between Manhattan and Ogden, and a third tornado warning is out for Wichita.
The SPC expects the lines of storms that are producing these storms to turn into long-lived squall lines (called derechos) with tornado-proudcing supercells embedded on the north and south edges of any line.
Topeka is not yet experiencing anything severe, but the winds are still gusting strongly from the south. There is plenty of energy available to any storms that move into the region. I'll have to be ready to take cover once any storms move this direction. I'll try to keep blogging if something happens, unless the power goes out.

Severe Weather Outbreak -- 5:00 pm

So far, this "outbreak" has not been as significant as I had expected, although there have been several fast-moving supercells in central Kansas. These low-topped (mini) supercells generally do not produce strong, long-lived tornadoes, though. That's fine with me, as I'm sure it is with those who are in the path of the storms.
Still, the threat exists for severe weather throughout the region, and NE Kansas is about to come under the gun. The SPC is planning on issuing a Tornado Watch for E Kansas and NW Missouri soon. The main threat, according to SPC forecasters, is for large hail and damaging winds, although embedded tornadoes are possible.
The sun has tried to peak out from behind the clouds a few times in the past 2 hours, but the skies remain primarily overcast, and the temperature is at 84. If the sun had been out for the past two hours and the temperature had jumped, conditions would have been much worse.

Severe Weather Outbreak -- 3:30 pm

3:30 pm The SPC's next Convective Outlook just came out. It appears that they still expect a significant weather event to occur across the Central Plains. They did not shift the greatest threat area to the west and north as I had expected. Instead, they kept it pretty much in the same region as before, with the exception of expanding the probability of significant hail southward towards NE Kansas. It appears that they expect the threat for destructive, long-lived tornadoes to still exist. Given that they have a ton of data at their fingertips and at least Master's Degrees in Meteorology, I'm not going to argue. It should be an active afternoon/evening.

Severe Weather Outbreak -- 3:00 pm

3:00 pm -- Severe thunderstorms are in progress in Western and Central Kansas. Some of the storms are rotating, meaning that they are capable of producing tornadoes. No reports of tornadoes in Central Kansas, yet, although there probably still will be some. The SPC has tornado watches running from Northern Texas all the way to NW Iowa. The western 2/3 of Kansas and most of Nebraska are under watches of some sort. It could still be an interesting afternoon.
The latest convective outlook from the SPC has not yet arrived on their website. Whether that is a delay due to how their computers process the data, or whether the situation is complex enough that they want to get the changes right, I expect the next risk assessment put Topeka in a lower risk area than before. We'll see if I'm right in a few minutes.
Here in Topeka, skies are still overcast, and temperatures are still on the cool side for this time of year: 82 at Billard. Without extra heating, I'll be surprised if we have sufficient instability for significant severe weather. Why is extra heating needed? The warmer air is, the less dense it is, and the less dense it is, the more it will want to rise once it is forced upward from the surface. At 1 pm, there was still a strong inversion over Topeka, meaning that any air that is forced to rise would be cooler than the air in the region it was lifted into. As a result, thunderstorms will have a hard time developing. If this inversion (often called a cap) erodes, the energy is there for strong thunderstorms, although the tornado threat for the area around Topeka does not look significant at this time: the winds are not favorable for rotating storms.

Severe Weather Outbreak -- Noon

Noon -- The SPC has issued 2 PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) Tornado Watches from the central parts of Kansas and Nebraska. You can find current watch information at the SPC Current Watch Page. At this point, not much is happening in the watch area. There appears to be a line of strong storms forming SE of Dodge City, but they are small in nature and not moving very much. Based on radar imagery, there also appears to be some sort of boundary about halfway between Topeka and Manhattan. It is probably an outflow boundary from earlier convection. At this point, Topeka still has overcast skies with a temperature of 81. With a dewpoint of 68, though, that is enough energy for storms to feed on. The question is whether the air in place right now is unstable enough for an outbreak to occur. Whether (and when) the clouds clear out will be an important factor in what this evening's weather will be in NE Kansas.
The latest SPC Convective Outlook has just come out. It looks very much like the previous one. The High Risk area has shrunk some and now is mostly in Central Kansas up through Eastern Nebraska and NW Iowa. Topeka appears to be right on the edge of the High area. The discussion from the team of forecasters that looked at this event still indicates that they expect significant severe weather, including the potential for strong, long-track tornadoes.
The threat is still several hours away for this part of the state, but it will be wise to stay tuned to local media outlets this afternoon and evening.

Severe Weather Outbreak -- 8:15 am

8:15 am -- As I expected, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has put the center of the country--including the Eastern part of Kansas in a "High" risk area. For a details of the risk area, click here. For those of you not familiar with SPC procedure, the "High" category is used only a few times each year. The SPC only uses it when they expect a significant, severe outbreak of severe weather. While I have seen a situation in which an area marked "High" had no severe weather at all, those circumstances are rare. There is the possibility that the conditions will not play out exactly as forecasted, but it's better to be prepared than caught off guard.
I'll be following the weather as much as I can all day, and I'll add updates to later parts of this post as conditions warrant.
If you live in the high risk area, you will want to keep one eye on your local media outlets, starting this afternoon. You can also use the NWS Forecast Office in Topeka's website as a source for information. Stay safe today!

Another Round of Severe Weather Possible

Tomorrow could be an active day for severe weather across the NE Kansas area. Depending on the timing of the next system, a significant severe weather outbreak could occur tomorrow afternoon/evening in this area. Of course, given how far out, it is still possible that the conditions will not be completely correct and that nothing will happen. If the forecast verifies, though, we may be in for a round of rough weather, the likes of which we haven't seen in June for several years. I know that I'll be watching the development of this system with interest. Lord willing, nothing significant will come of it.

Pirates of Penzance

As a part of my dad's birthday present, we went to a performance in Wichita of the Pirates of Penzance, a classic Gilbert and Sullivan opera. As with most performances of Pirates, there is quite a bit of silliness hidden in the lyrics that the actors bring out well. In particular, these actors played the silliness factor well--none of the characters is terribly bright.
I already knew this opera somewhat well, so it was nice to see some of my favorite moments come to life. There's something that strikes a chord with me during Frederic's plea for one of the Major General's daughters to marry him in spite of his low position as a former pirate. "Is there not one maiden [here]/Which does not feel the moral beauty/Of making worldly interest/Subordinate to sense of duty?/Who would not give up willingly/All matrimonial ambition,/To rescue such a one as I/From his unfortunate position?" Something about that resonates with me. Not sure why. ;-)
And of course, my favorite song of the entire has to be the Major General's introductory "patter song," especially once the mathematical terms start flowing. "I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,/About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news/With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse..." Ah, yes, good stuff. Definitely worth seeing again, if another company puts it on somewhere nearby in the near future.

Summer

Yes, summer is officially here for me, now. Today was the last official duty day for teachers, and now I face the challenge of prioritizing my summer.
Contrary to popular belief, teachers do not get the summer off. Rather, after doing 12 months of work in 9, we get a less-structured time to accomplish everything we couldn't get done because of other commitments. So, I'm looking forward to having a little looser schedule for a while. Lord willing, it will be restful enough that I'll be ready to go by August.

Soggy Memorial Day?

Memorial Day is the traditional start of summer. This year, it also could be another in a line of rain-soaked days. The humidity here in Topeka is about as high as it's been all year, which means that there's plenty of moisture to precipitate out of the atmosphere (the technical name is precipitable water, by the way). That means that overnight tonight and all day tomorrow, any storms that form could produce flash flooding, even flooding. On top of the flooding potential, there is a decent chance of severe weather around Topeka. The Storm Prediction Center has Topeka on the edge of a "moderate" risk area for tomorrow. That is the second-highest possible rating, and they rarely use the "high" rating, reserving it for significant outbreaks. So, tomorrow could be an active weather day, one that will hinder all of my brilliant plans to do work outside around my house. [Sigh]. I guess I'll have to do what I can with what God gives me, but I sure would like to have the time tomorrow to get these outside projects done.

Only in Baseball

One of my favorite parts about baseball is the unusual trades that go on quite frequently in the game. The most common type of trade that you never hear about in any other sport is the well-known "player to be named later" trade. Team A will trade Player A to team B for a "player to be named later." Talk about trusting the other team not to stick you with someone worthless! Or maybe there's something in the trade deal that requires comparable value. I don't know.e
Well, a quite unusual trade has just been reported by the media. You can read the story here. Apparently, a minor league team in Canada has traded one of their players for baseball bats. Yes, you read that correctly: baseball bats. I guess the team had trouble getting the guy into the country, so they decided to get something of value out of signing him. Still, it is a bit odd to trade a player for bats. What next? Trading a player for catching gear?
Only in baseball can you find such unusual trades, and that's one reason why I enjoy following the sport.

I Didn't Think I Was THAT Old

The other day, I was looking in the mirror, and I noticed one hair that looked out of place. It wasn't that it was heading the wrong direction, like they so often do for me. Nor was it longer than all the rest. Instead, a gray hair stared me in the face. Now, I realize that I'm 30. I realize that I can't stay young forever, but I really didn't expect my hair to start showing any signs of gray until at least 35 or 40.
I did a little research, however, and from what I read, it sounds like the initial gray hairs are not that out of the ordinary for my age. Of course, the part that bothers me is that I'm saying things such as "not out of the ordinary for my age." I'm not that old! I can't be! Wasn't I just 27? And what happened to 25 and 26? College really wasn't that long ago, was it?
So, I should go, now, before these musings develop into a "quarter-life" crisis.

It's Not to the Level of a Faramir, But...

I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Capsian tonight, and I was disappointed. Now, I knew coming in that they had made some changes. (Tangent: Why screenwriters feel that they need to make significant changes to books when they adapt them to the screen is beyond me.) However, I was not prepared for the severity of the changes.
Don't get me wrong: the movie as a movie is a good movie. Most people, who don't know the book well, will find it enjoyable.
On the other hand, those who know the book will probably find the amount of changes to the storyline (for no apparent reason) disappointing. I won't put any spoilers in the regular post, but I will leave one comment that contains a spoiler, so be warned.
So, was it a good movie. Yes. Was it as good as The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? No. Let's hope that this movie grosses enough that the Hollywood big-wigs will decide to make Voyage of the Dawn Treader into a movie. And when they do, let's hope they hire a new writing staff: one that knows how to adapt a book without messing with the plot.

Amazing Weather

It's been a wonderfully-cool spring so far. By this time last year, it was already in the 80s on a consistent basis. This year, though, it's been cool and enjoyable every day. Praise God for this nice weather.

Weather Tomorrow

Tomorrow has the potential to be a bit of an interesting weather day. A cold front/dry line appears poised to move through the area tomorrow. Depending on its timing, the Topeka area could see strong/severe storms. At this time, the Storm Prediction Center seems to think that the best threat for severe weather lies to the southeast of the Topeka area. That could change, however, depending on the timing of the system and the state of the atmosphere tomorrow. The only way to be more confident of the exact timing/details of the storm system is to wait until tomorrow. Hopefully, it all comes to nothing. The area in SE KS and SW MO has already had enough rough weather in recent history.

Bye, Bye, Cox Cable

My experiment with over the air digital television has been an astounding success! I get great picture and sound with just a small, indoor antenna, so there's reason to pay $14 a month for what I get already over the air. I've not been pleased with Cox's services, anyway, so I'm glad that I have an option that doesn't cost me anything.

Washington, DC

I usually don't talk about school-related items on this blog, but I'm going to make an exception because this past week involved more than the usual school-related activities. It was Tours.
As most of you know, the Tour week is a standard part of the education at Cair Paravel, where students from 7th-12th grade (in groups of 2 grades each) travel to different parts of the country to learn by experiencing what God has made.
This year, I went with the freshmen and sophomores to Washington, DC. This DC trip is quite familiar to me, since this trip was #4 since 2002. Even though many elements of this trip were familiar, traveling with a different group of students made the trip different (and enjoyable). Although no single event served as a highlight this year, I enjoyed getting to visit places like the Capital, the Smithsonian Museums, the International Spy Museum, the Memorials, and Mount Vernon. Seeing a baseball game at Nationals Park was also great, especially since the game took only 2 hours, 4 minutes, and we got a free bobblehead out of the deal. :-)
Despite the adventures at the beginning, by God's grace, it was a great Tour, and I'm looking forward to finishing off this school year.
The pictures that I took while on Tour can be found here.

Lawn Work

So, yesterday, I went out to mow my front lawn with my little push mower. My neighbors were out working on their lawns, and one of them offers to let me borrow his gasoline-powered mower to trim my Bermuda-grass front lawn in order to help it warm up. I took him up on the offer, and I'll tell you what: my lawn looks really good right now, just by how it's clipped. I'm thinking I might have to invest in a gasoline or electric lawn mower just to make caring for my minuscule front lawn a lot easier. The old push mower that I have just isn't cutting it (pun intended). But, there are bigger fish to fry around the house: the garage needs to be re-roofed and the whole exterior (including the garage) needs to get re-painted. We'll just have to see whether the funds will be there or not.

Digital Television Experiment

For months, I've been hoping to use an antenna and a digital converter to get television over the air instead of paying money to cable for basically nothing. Monday, the coupon that I've been waiting for from the government finally arrived, and today I hooked up the new digital converter box to my old, analog television. So far, the results have been good, even though I'm using only a small, indoor antenna. Every station seems to coming in relatively well, although I do have to re-orient my antenna to get the best signal. Still, the results have been quite satisfactory, even with thunderstorms in the area. I'm going to give this experiment a two or three week run before I finally pull the plug on cable, just to make sure that everything will work satisfactorily. Then, if all goes as expected, I will happily stop paying money to Cox.

Spring: This Time It's for Real

After a couple of false starts, Spring has finally settled into the Central Plains. These past two days have been beautiful, with sunny, warm weather. It looks like the abnormally-cold start to Spring is finally over with. While I've shivered a lot at soccer games so far this season, there have been two tremendous benefit to this cold start to Spring: minimal yard work necessary and no mosquitos. Normally, everything would have already bloomed two weeks ago. Instead, everything is blooming now, and it is beautiful. What more can I say but thanks be to God!

Taking Things a Little Too Seriously

If you want to read about a situation in which someone had his priorities a little out of whack, read this story from the AP about a construction worker who tried to curse the NY Yankees' new baseball stadium by burying a Red Sox jersey in the concrete. I mean, I understand his desire to see the Yankees lose. I'm no fan of NY and the destructive effects its overspending has had on Major League Baseball as a whole. Still, an action such as this one, which could likely result in criminal charges, is a bit over the top. Baseball, after all, is just a game. In eternity, we're not going to care whether the Yankees (or Royals) won the World Series in a given year. All that's going to matter is what we have done for Jesus Christ. And I know that I fall far short of serving Him as I ought. So, I'm going to take this as an object lesson for myself to continue to work on getting my priorities straight, putting the eternal first and the temporal second.

I Spoke Too Soon

With a forecast high of only 49 for Friday, it appears that my declaration of Spring's arrival was premature. The average high for this time of year is about 60-61 degrees. For most of this month, we've been stuck in the 50s or lower. It has been a cold, gray, rainy start to "Spring." The nice part about this cool, rainy weather is that it helps keep the bugs under control. It's been too cold for mosquitos and flies to become active, meaning that as long as one dresses properly, it is enjoyable to be outside. In fact, I think I'll do that right now. I feel the need for a nice, easy jog.

Finally, Spring!

The nice weather that I've been waiting for has finally arrived! Today feels like Spring. The temperatures are in the 60s, thunderstorms are in the forecast for the coming days, and I've got the windows open, enjoying it all. I can hear the roar of lawn mowers and smell the freshly cut grass from one of my nearby neighbors mowing his lawn. I can hear the birds singing with gusto. My cat is going nuts, running between the windows while trying to keep an eye on all the birds and squirrels. Ah, yes, Spring is here!

The Royals Start 2008 Well

Just have to publish this because I'm a bit surprised to be writing it and because I want to savor it while it lasts: the Kansas City Royals have a winning record! After 2 games, the Royals are 2-0. Today's game was a 4-0 blanking of the Detroit Tigers, a team that is expected to compete for the AL Central. The Royals, if all goes well, will avoid the cellar, but it is unrealistic to expect much better than that. Still, it's exciting now to have a couple of good wins to kick off the season.

Grammar Rant

<rant>I think that we can emphatically say that the American education system is completely worthless. A billboard along a major highway here in Topeka has emblazoned on it in gigantic letters, "Topeka: The skies the limit!" If you don't see what's wrong with that statement, go back a re-read it. If you still don't see what's wrong, grab your nearest dictionary and whack yourself firmly in the head with it (just kidding). The problem is that whoever wrote the billboard's text confused "sky's" (the contraction for "sky is") with "skies" (the plural of sky). The statement, instead of meaning that the sky is the limit, mentions multiple skies (and last time I checked, there was only one sky here on Earth) and a limit, but has no verb connecting them. In a twist of bitter irony, this billboard that attempts to make Topekans feel good about their city is instead confirming about every stereotype about the city. </rant>

Oops

Looks like I forgot to post on Wednesday night. This week has flown by after Spring Break, mercifully, passed by quite slowly. By the time I realized that it was Thursday, it was Friday, so I completely spaced the need to post. Of course, I have very little to post right now, as you no doubt can tell by how pointless this post is. I'll try to having something substantial to post next time a post is due.

Global Warming (Again)

Here's an interesting op-ed piece out of Australia regarding the possibility that we might not be seeing global warming now. You can read it here. Remember that it is an op-ed piece in the British style, so there is some "the other papers are idiots" stuff at the end. The initial information, though, refers to other points besides the author's and should be consider as we evaluate the entire global warming situation and what we should (or should not) do about it.

NCAA Round 2

The second round of the NCAA Men's Tournament is here, and both K-State and KU are still going. K-State faces the tougher of the two games this afternoon, playing a Wisconsin team that is one of the best defensively in the country. K-State is going to have to shoot at least as well as they did against USC if they hope to be able to win the game. K-State is also going to have to rebound well, like they did against USC, a team that does not rebound well. Wisconsin, I have a feeling, will be a bit too much for K-State, and the Wildcats will probably lose. Then again, I thought the same thing about San Diego. And I hope I'm wrong about K-State's chances.
KU has a bit of an easier game against UNLV, but the Running Rebels are well-coached and used to tough games in the tournament. As long as KU plays solid defense and shoots average to above average, they will win. It will probably not be a blow out game, though. Both games should be entertaining.

K-State and KU, pt. II

The K-State game has just ended, and they played the kind of game that they needed to play in order to advance beyond the first round. They played great defense, wore USC out, and found ways to score with Beasley in foul trouble. KSU proved that they deserved better than an 11 seed with that performance. K-State's next game is probably going to be against Wisconsin, and that's going to be a much more difficult game. If they play the way they played tonight, though, they have a chance at winning. I was impressed with K-State's play.
KU, in its game, looked like a #1 seed. They will face an actual challenge from UNLV. Still, it should be a challenge that KU should have minimal trouble meeting.
Of course, there's a reason that we play the games: Belmont nearly knocked off Duke (and messed up 3/4 of the country's brackets). Ah, March Madness!

Thoughts on K-State and KU in NCAA Tournament

For K-State and KU, their NCAA basketball tournament runs start today. Just how far they get is anyone's guess. The media "experts" have K-State losing to USC in the first round and KU going various distances, usually quite far. I don't agree with the "experts." I can see the possibility of K-State winning their first round game if they play well as a team. Too often, K-State has been a one-man show, 4 of the 5 guys on the floor for K-State stand around waiting for Beasley to do something. That can't happen tonight. K-State is also going to have to shoot well from three point range. This team seems to like to take threes, and they also seem to like to miss them. A solid night shooting from behind the arc will open up the middle for Walker (and for Beasley). K-State might make it past the first round, but I don't expect them to go much farther unless the team manages to put together two consecutive games like the game they had against KU in Manhattan.
KU, on the other hand, has what should be an easy first-round game. That means, of course, that they could struggle for the first 15-20 minutes because they underestimated the determination of their opponent. Some people seem to think that KU can win it all this year. I would be surprised if they do. This KU team has had some off games this year, and if they play only as well as they did against A&M in the Big XII semi-final round, they will be gone by the Sweet Sixteen. I expect them to make it to the Elite Eight this year before their tendency to have an off game catches up to them. (Unless, of course, there is a team whose name begins with "B" playing them sooner, in which case, they're done.)
Of course, all of this is speculation. There's a reason that they play the games instead of just handing the trophy to the overall #1 seed. It should be an interesting tournament.