Life in Smallville

First, like all good bloggers, I want to say sorry for not sticking to my deal of posting often; it has been just about one week since my last post. Honestly too, this should have been written last week too.

So we've all seen it. As we are driving, we see the person who has been pulled over. Not only were they pulled over by one cop, but there is a second police car there. As you drive by, I don't know what goes through your head, but a couple of the thoughts I have are: Gosh, they must have been on some exciting police chase!. Or, Sheesh! They must have been shooting at the police to have been pulled over. Or something equally exciting, illegal, and dangerous.

I was driving to Monument with a friend after church on Friday night. We were headed there to get his skis for a weekend in the mountains. Now, I only need to be on the interstate for a couple miles from the church to Monument. Normally I am one who likes to get from point A to point B as fast as possible; when you have good company though, it's nice to take your time. I'm driving in the right lane like a good driver and even going under the speed limit. There is a cop who had just finished pulling someone over, so he was merging back onto the interstate from the shoulder. I let him get in front of me knowing our exit was just a mile up the road and there was no sense in passing him (as i normally would). Not a half a minute later, he pulls back onto the should and slows down. I thought nothing of it as he was probably just going to sit in a speed zone to catch someone else. As I passed him, he put his blinker back on and got back on the interstate... behind me. Sure enough those red and blues started flashing. As I am pulling off I am thinking of what I did wrong; after all, I have never been pulled over from a cop that was in front of me. Surely I wasn't speeding; maybe following too close; are my lights on?!

As Dave and I are sitting there, he assures me I was NOT following too close, and I verify that my lights are in fact on. I just laugh. After we are sitting there a minute, Dave says "Did you know there are TWO police cars back there!?" I certainly didn't believe him, but sure enough as I look behind me I can see the second cars red and blues though the windows of the first car. Once again the mind starts going: Am I in a stolen car? Did DAVE do something wrong? Did I run over someone and not know it!?

As the policemen (notice the plural) walk up to the car, they flash lights in the back looking for contraband, booze, or whatever they look for. TAP TAP. The cops flashlight strikes my window lightly. As I roll down the window the man in blue asks what we are doing. I explain the situation of driving to Monument to go snowboarding for the weekend. He then starts to go into some shpeel about my lights are "legal." I assure him that I know they are because a different cop a couple years ago explained to me the difference for which were legal and which weren't. "Oh, ok" he says, "well, I'm going to need to see your license." After a bit of an awkward pause I say "Do you want to see my insurance and registration too?" (Can you tell I've been pulled over before? Or maybe I know the routine from all the times I was with Josh when he was pulled over.) "Yeah, that'd be good" he mutters. As I hand them to him, he heads back to his car; he comes back not a minute later just saying "Have a good night."

I can think of a couple times where it would have been more appropriate to have two police cars pull me over, but when does a cop call for backup when he has to slow down to pull some one over?!

Posted by supermn at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

Federal Court to Hear Schiavo Case Today (washingtonpost.com)

Voting 203 to 58 at 12:42 a.m., the House joined the Senate in approving the measure and rushing it to Bush. He signed the bill into law at 1:11 a.m., saying, "I will continue to stand on the side of those defending life for all Americans, including those with disabilities."

I had two very interesting conversations about this case yesterday; and they were both pre-mature. I say this in the sense that, before I had learned much about the case, I had made my decision. I was on the side of the husband: She has suffered enough, take the feeding tube out.

I was talking with my sister in the first conversation. We had talked about it a little back and forth and both talked about how we would not want to be kept alive if we were in that condition. For 15 years this family has had to deal with the hope of something that may never come. On top of that they have had to deal with the disagreement with whether Terri should have her feeding tube removed or not. This woman is only alive because of technology. What if it was her time to pass when she had her accident, but we intervened and kept her "alive" if you can even call that a life?

Later that day I discussed it briefly with another friend, and she make the argument that we are not in a position to "play God" by having the feeding tube removed. I argued that God was sovereign enough to keep her alive if it was His will even with the feeding tube removed. She argued that if we allow something like this to go through, that opens the door to being OK with abortion and euthanasia. Our conversation was interrupted by some other friends so we didn't finish, but it got me thinking.

This morning I read the article quoted above and President Bush said it so clearly: "I will continue to stand on the side of those defending life..." This should be black and white: we should defend life.

Posted by supermn at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
-Acts 2:17 (Third Millennium Bible)

First, I would like to thank all of you who are reading and enjoying my blog; it's nice to have an audience. This time I really need your help though. I need you to comment on this post.

I have been doing a Bible study on dreams and how important or unimportant they are.

Please take a minute to comment on some of these questions:

• Does God speak to us in dreams?
• If so, are ALL dreams from God?
• If not, what are the other sources (Satan, emotions, the ice cream we ate just before bed)?
• And, how do we distinguish between those? (Distinguishing Satan and God is fairly easy, but our emotions and God is a bit more difficult.)

Posted by supermn at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments

Look both ways.

I have actually been checking this site out for years now; a fellow college mate pointed it out and I have found it to be a useful resource. Especially for Bible studies. In the day and age where just about everything can be found online (or at least where to find everything can be found online), the devotionals and Bible studies are a bit easier. For more information, visit their site, or read their mission statement:

As a Christ-centered, for-profit corporation, we will create value for our customers, employees and shareholders by:

• Bringing glory to God in all that we do;
• Equipping people to grow in their faith and the practical application of it in their lives;
• Enhancing fellowship, communication and relationship-building within the Christian community; and
• Encouraging and enabling personal involvement in the care of those who are spiritually, emotionally, physically or financially poor.

Posted by supermn at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments

Tuesday was the epitome of a Colorado day.

I woke up early yesterday to meet a friend for coffee. It was nice and sunny out when I left the house and even on my way to Starbucks. However, during the hour we spent conversing and sipping on Sumatra, I saw some clouds come over head, but didn't think too much of it. I left for work and had only been at work for a couple hours when a co-worker mentions it snowing outside. (I pretty much work in a dungeon and don't have windows near by.) Sure enough though, I get a chance to look and it's snowing. But I think it's nothing too unusual. At lunch I walk outside and sure enough it is still snowing, but the sun is shining bright. This creates my favorite weather: when the sun is shining and it is raining or snowing, I am just amazed by that. There was still snow on the cars and ground when I went back inside from lunch. When I came out a couple hours later, the sun was still shining, but the ground was dry and there was not a trace of snow! It was awesome, and it reminded me of am email that goes around... "You know you're from Colorado when..." Here are some excerpts. If you want to read the whole thing, or find the one for your city/state, click here.

You Know You're From Colorado When...

• You are the third car to run a red light after it has changed. Jesse
  
• You never plan a picnic between 3:30 and 6:00 in Spring or Summer months.
• The only RTD bus you've been on is the 16th Street shuttle.
• You have a business degree and are frying burgers at a McDonald's in Vail. Josh
  
• You have a flat tire in your refrigerator and your garage. I think they meant to say "You have a Fat Tire in your fridge and a flat tire in your garage"; or "You have a Fat Tire in your fridge and your garage"
• You are 82 years old and take up snowboarding.
• North means "mountains to the left;" south is "mountains to the right;" and east and west are where all those damned liberals keep moving in from.
• You think gun control is a steady hand.
• You're a meat eating vegetarian.
• You've been tear gassed in a riot to celebrate your local sports team's victory. I have honestly been there at the game!
  
• You can drive over a 12,000 foot pass in 4 feet of snow, but can't get to work if there are 4 inches of snow.
• People from other states breathe 5 times as often as you do.
• Thunder has set off your car alarm. Yup
  
• You've gone skiing in July. You've gone sunbathing in January. They were both in the same year.
• You get a certain feeling of satisfaction from knowing that California and Texas are both downstream
• You know the elevation of a town, but not its population.
• You can name only two people you know who were actually born in Colorado. (I am one of them!)
  
• You don't have AC in your home, but you use it in your car all winter long.
• If it snows in the morning you expect it to be gone by lunchtime.

Posted by supermn at 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments

Long ago I vowed to myself (and possibly to some of you) that I would never again buy, let alone wear velcro shoes or striped socks. Well my friends not only have I bought and worn both but I have worn both together!

OK, so the ones in the phone aren't exactly what I am wearing. Here is a better picture of what I got. Now, just for more reference, I did get these at ROSS, so I am not paying anything close to full price and it has been probably over a year since I got a new pair for shoes. We are getting off topic though.

Really the point of this post was to talk about fashion and how we subconsciously allow other people to tell us what is cool. For instance, many of you have no doubt noticed the young teenie-boppers wearing their belts off to the side. I mean, really, who woke up and thought that would look good?! Some one who once thought something looked good and was right, now has all the power. They are believed that things look good just because they were right one or two times. I am certainly guilty of this (see the 3 pink shirts in my closet). Some of it makes sense to me, and some of it doesn't. I should just go consult my fashion coordinator Jesse.

Posted by supermn at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I was sitting around talking with my sister and mom, and we decided it would be a good idea for the state and nation to start charging people when they are naming their new born.

My sister Elizabeth works in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in a hospital in Denver now, and she has worked in many NICU's around the United States. She said it never ceased to amaze her the names that parents would come up with to name their children. I am sure you all know people or have heard stories too, but here are a couple examples:

• A child named ESPN -

An ESPN film crew is coming to this Panhandle town next month to interview the family of 2-year-old ESPN Malachi McCall for a feature on several children around the country named after the network.

• A child named Snow - OK, that may not sound too bad, but this is straight from my sister. A family came into her hospital and had a baby. Their last name was Christmas. So what's so bad about 'Snow Christmas' as a name? Well, for a middle name, they chose White; Snow White Christmas is the child's name.

The list goes on as I am sure you know. Especially with celebrities; they pick the oddest names and somehow think the child will end up normal. So, we devised a solution: names cost money. Now hear me out, this really could work.

The government could charge families different amounts of money depending on the name of the child. The more outrageous the name, the more you charge. We understand that not everyone can pay for names, so the government will rotate a list of "free" names; somewhat normal names like John, Mary, Joseph, Michael, Sarah, Katie, etc. Now, this rotation would have to be carefully thought out; it couldn't be every year because then when the child is in school, half the class will have the same name as him/her. Maybe rotate it by day of week they are born, or week of the month. For example, every first week of the month, the names John, Mary, Matthew, and Emily will be free. The second week, David, Brittany, Christopher, and Rachel. And so on. This ensures that wealthy people like Michael Jackson who want to name their child Blanket will have to pay and exorbitant amount that can be used for a better purpose and said parent will think twice.

Since I don't think this will go into effect, I am working on names for my future children: iPod Schierholz, Who-Wants-To-Marry-Me Schierholz, and American Idol Schierholz.

Posted by supermn at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments

Bloggies.

Where can you find the most interesting weblogs? Which blogs have made their mark this year? Who will do anything for a nomination? Those questions will be answered in the one and only... [the 5th annual weblog awards - the 2005 bloggies].
The Bloggies™ are a set of 30 publicly-chosen awards given to weblog writers and those related to weblogs.

I came across this site this week and it certainly kept me busy. This site has this years nominees for national blogs like Best Australian or New Zealand Blog and Best Canadian Blog. Also topical blogs: Best Food Weblog and Best Weblog About Politics. Most Humorous, Best Community, Best New, and Lifetime Achievement are a few more to mention. And what would an awards ceremony be without a Weblog of the Year category.

The voting is closed now, but the winners will be posted at http://2005.bloggies.com on March 14th; and even if you are not interested in the winners or awards, there are the links to all the nominees - some really good reads!

And the nominees for Weblog of the Year are...

• Gawker
• This Fish Needs a Bicycle
• Wonkette
• Boing Boing
• The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog
• Gothamist

Posted by supermn at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments