Wednesday, January 30, 2008

'Puter Problems

I... have been battling... computer issues.

Ever since making an itty-bitty change to my hardware, my desktop has imploded. I can't keep it going for more than a few hours. After flashing its BIOS--not as dirty as it sounds--and re-installing drivers that must have fallen out of a cab somehow, I think--emphasis on the word think--I have it repaired.

This is of little consolation to my public. Both of them have been clamoring for more since last Friday and, alas and alack, it's nigh on to Thursday following.

Did I mention that working on my computer makes me a little punchy?

A little patience and I'll be back to my normal, fun-loving self.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Recommended Resources

I've been doing a little maintenance to my blog. I've learned that template tinkering is just something you do with your blog and that you never really finish making changes. Among other things, I've added a recommended resources section. Instead of accepting an advertiser who gets to pick what they want to put up in their spot on my blog, I decided to create a section of resources I felt were truly helpful to my family and me. These aren't just homeschooling resources, but we find a fit well into our homeschooling lifestyle.

Add to this the fact that if you buy through this blog by clicking on the link, I receive a small commission on the sale. I'm not even close to making serious money on this, nor do I expect this to turn into a business. It would simply be nice (and a little encouraging) to have some income from something I'm already doing anyway. Incidentally, if you don't buy what I recommend but still pick up something from Amazon, I still get the referral commission.

Most of my readers subscribe to my feed, so you won't see this unless you visit waldenswits.com. Drop on by and see what I've recommended!

A Top 50 List of Homeschool Blogs

Congratulations to the Cates, my friend Gena Suarez, Principled Discovery, and Sprittibee for making this list!

Growing Older

This year, my bride and I will be turning 35. I guess that’s why I’ve been thinking of my grandma lately. It’s because I’m getting “older.” I’ve reached the place where 7 year-olds think you’re old and the really smart ones tell you that you’re five times as old as they are. Most of them live on to reach age 8.

I just finished the last of the 7UP that I picked up for our youngest who was sick yesterday. 7UP and Lays potato chips were staples on the summer days when I would come over to Grandma’s. She’d put a serving tray with chips and a small glass of 7UP on the floor where I could watch TV and she sat on the couch. She lived on a street where nothing ever happened and it was a cinch to take a walk down to the park or even over to the cemetery to plant petunias on her parent’s grave.

I never realized that she had her own plot there until the summer after Grandpa died.

Grandma passed away several years ago, but a familiar sight, sound, or in this case, a taste brings me back to that place where the days were easy and the chores were light. We’d dig up planters and weed the lawn, mow, prune, bundle, sweep, whatever until she said we were done and then we’d go in for some 7UP and some chips. It was work, but I loved showing off to Grandma how strong I was and how I was able to do more than she thought.

My son likes to do that now. I see the same smile and twinkle in his eye that I had at his age. Could it be I’m halfway to seeing my own grandkids?

I’m a dad now, a grandpa-to-be (eventually). I will be old someday, Lord willing. By that time, I will have accumulated more nuggets of wisdom like, “Just because the package says that a compact fluorescent bulb will last 5 years, it doesn’t mean that half of them won’t short out a few months down the road.” I caught myself thinking that today and it struck me how old I sounded. It was an odd feeling knowing that I was starting to think thoughts like my grandparents used to.

On the other hand, Grandma is in heaven. She’s been through orientation and is now warmly greeting friends that she hasn’t seen in decades. She’s young inside and so glad to be there. How do I know? I just do. It’s a beautiful place to be who you were always meant to be. She’s home. I don’t look back and long for the days of my youth. They were happy memories, but just that. When I cross the finish line in heaven—and I hope I finish well—I just want to be there with my family and friends. I’m not looking back; I’m looking forward. And If I have to get old to do it, bring it on.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

A Bit Of Blank Sheet Writing

I haven't done something in a long time. I haven't done some blank sheet writing. It's where you simply start writing and go wherever. It's fun, and sometimes very helpful when you're dealing with writer's block. So, here we go!

Interesting line that I read once was, "What do you add to instant karma?" I remember instant coffee from my parents' days. I'm such a coffee snob that I won't dare try the stuff. Instant anything in my mind is very sketchy. Incidentally, what happens when you add water to milk powder is not the same thing that happens when you add water to baby powder.

It's a long day today. I guess "Time flies...." holds true. I hate those long January days when nothing is unusual. It's such a scale-down from December. It's almost an anti-holiday month. We always wish each other Happy New Year, and then nobody has a holiday for a month and a half. Unless you count Groundhog Day. Last, I checked, I'm not one of those, so I don't have cause for a happy February 2nd. Neither did Bill Murray, but he had an awesome Feb 3rd that year.

We don't live like that, but we should. That's awfully Mary Poppinn-ish, but it's true. The problem with cheerfulness in the human condition is that we constantly take good things for granted. Like for me, I assume the coffee will be there.

God, I love coffee. I love it more than tea, but only slightly more. I think that makes me as Scottish as my roots. My friend says that his experience in Scotland right after Braveheart came out was, "Hey, you're from America! We hate the British too!" What an experience that must have been.

Speaking of the Scottish, I've been watching this new series called Hot Rocks with Iain Stewart. His Scottish brogue is warming and he somehow ties everything in the Pacific Rim to geology. Thus the title, Hot Rocks.

Speaking of rock, my friend's daughter bought a hat with "The Beatles" logo on it quite a while ago. The same day she bought it, she tacked an extra S on the end of "The Beatles." I'm not sure if she's rhythmically challenged or if she's merely grateful for enduring fewer beatings. My guess is the latter because she does play the guitar, although you never know.

My son thinks that my typing skills are amazing. He sees me typing while staring at the ceiling and thinks I'm somehow doing a trick. Ah, I remember hunt-and-peck. Thank God, I learned to type--barely--when I was 10 years old. It kept me from going insane. I had a learning disability, and writing by hand was very difficult for me.

Since we're back at the station where this train of thought began (typing), I suppose I should get off here. Free association, anyone?

Fatherhood In D

One father's musical interpretation of fatherhood. I dedicate this post to my wife who slept on the couch all night with our sick 4 year-old daughter.


HT: Henry Cate

Friday, January 18, 2008

The Secret To Happiness

A discussion this morning with my 11 year old daughter fit the last piece of a puzzle that I've been working on for a few days now. Another piece came along last night listening to Joyce Meyer. I'll do my best to summarize the conclusions I have.

What we think is determined by whatever we choose to believe. Most people don't understand this. We can choose to believe whatever we want to believe. I can choose to believe that my happiness depends on the decision of another person. If that person says yes, I will be happy. If they say no, I will be sad. By choosing to believe this, I place my happiness in the hands of another person. I may not realize it, but I've surrendered my personal sovereignty, my ability to act independent of another person. It logically follows that what we choose to think directs the way we act, and how we act changes our future.

Here in Colorado, we have over 52 mountain peaks that are higher than 14,000 feet above sea level. Before my disability, I loved to climb these mountains. Each one of these mountains is a personal challenge to one's body and one's soul. Most of them may be climbed in one day, but the earlier you start, the better off you are because of weather. The summer climbing season is also Colorado's monsoon season, and afternoon thunderstorms can turn a beautiful climb into a nightmare. Lightning from these storms claims lives of climbers every year. Experienced mountaineers must recognize the signs preceding thunderstorms, and heed their warning. It is tempting, especially for inexperienced climbers, to proceed regardless of the warning and take a chance on the weather. This is mostly because they have chosen to believe that their happiness depends on successfully reaching the top. This mistake can be deadly.

By believing my happiness depends on another person, I am doing the same thing as taking a chance on the weather, something totally out of my control and something that could change very easily. I believe that this is why most people don't have stability in their lives.

Additionally, this is a tremendous burden for me to place on the other person to carry. This leads to my selfish nature trying to control the other person (or people) in my life. I will place my own emotions ahead of the other person's benefit. This runs entirely contrary to the godly, self-sacrificing love that God has called us to.

My daughter asked me this morning, if putting our happiness on another person is foolish and and leads to selfish behavior, what should we put our happiness on? My advice to her was to put it on something that doesn't change, or at least cannot easily change. Since things in this world change, we should look toward the eternal, specifically our relationship with God through Christ. You'll notice that I didn't say how we feel about our relationship with God through Christ. That changes. Our relationship itself never changes because it's based on God's grace, not on our feelings or our actions. I should say, however, that God does hold back or withdraw from us when we do something to grieve God. You will not meet a more miserable Christian than one who is in love with God and yet in a situation that grieves His heart.

Certainly, it's difficult to make the transition, and I'm not sure of all the steps involved. But I do know that this is a much better way to live than my old life. Basing it on the grace given to me by Jesus Christ gives me much more stability and freedom to give to others. It's what I need and what I want.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Bullied To Death

I have long argued that the high incidence rate of bullying, rejection and other forms of intimidation inherent to class-based education is reason enough for parents to consider homeschooling their children. Fox News is reporting today that one parent is convinced her child was bullied to death and she is taking the school to court over the loss of her son.

A Top 10 Of...

Here's a list of the Top 10 Things Not To Say To Your Wife In Her Last Week Of Pregnancy. Some of the comments are pretty good too.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

CBS Report On Disability

Last night, CBS aired the first part of Armen Keteyian's report on Social Security Disability and the veritable hell people go through to get disability benefits. My name is not Scott Watson; it's Steve Walden, but this has been my world for the past two years.

How do I feel about all this? I feel angry and frustrated that a government I paid involuntarily for years while I was employed, working despite continuing pain and exhaustion, that government has denied me the benefits I paid for. Like Jerry Rice in the report said, "I'm not asking for welfare. I'm asking them to give me what they promised."

I don't mean to sound bitter. I know that the last thing we should do is look to the government to save us. In a very real way, I could be accused of doing that. Instead, I hope that I am looking to God to provide for us. We prayed about filing for disability and felt God leading us to do that. Now, 18 months later, I can say that God has continually provided for us. We are nearing the end of any resources we have to our name, but God is continually reassuring us of His promises to us. We are waiting on God to act, not the government. God may act through the government, but we are letting Him have total control and do what He wants with our lives, our home, and our future.

I still plan to watch the other half of the report, although I know what they're likely going to say. The reason behind the high rate of disability claim rejections is not that the applicants didn't know what they were doing or that they weren't really disabled. No, the reason behind these claim rejections is that Social Security does not have the ability to pay out all the claims. The baby boomers are retiring now and Roe v. Wade has eroded the population that can support the burden of it's progenitors sucessfully. Much like the insurance companies in the Gulf Coast after Katrina, they are going to lose their shirts and no bureaucrat wants to be the one who is accused of killing the company, or in this case, the Social Security Administration. They find choking on paperwork and endless court delays preferable to paying the claims.

There is a huge backlog of cases. There is endless bureaucracy and inefficiencies. There is a disturbing amount of suicide and other signs of despair among the applicants desperate to get in. We need help and we need it now.

Follow Up: Here's part 2 of the report.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

What Makes Jesus So Unique

The uniqueness of Jesus Christ in the human context and by extension the Christian faith among the religions of the world is something I will never get used to. I still get gooseflesh when I see very simple and clear illustrations, such as this one.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

SWAT and Your Family's Home

SWAT stands for Special Weapons And Tactics. They are the police officers that get to wear all the soldier-like garb that would not look out of place in Baghdad with the combat helmet, flack vest, boots and assault rifle. They're the ones planning ambushes and then storming crack houses with tear gas and barking orders, "POLICE! Get on the ground NOW!"

What if they used these tactics on my family? I don't really have to wonder, thanks to the Shiflets, a Colorado family near New Castle in Garfield County. The county seat is in my favorite town of Glenwood Springs, where presumably a judge signed an order granting the Sheriff's office permission to search and seize. After the family had returned for the evening from a shopping trip to town, between 10 and 11 p.m., a sheriff approached the home, asked the dad some questions and after a few minutes with the dad trying to resolve things, a SWAT team appears out of nowhere, breaks down the door and holds the man, his wife and children at gunpoint, physically restraining everyone and seizing one of the children. This child is taken against his will and the will of his family and sequestered at a secret facility nearby.

The family's offense? Recognizing an accidental bump on the head as just an accidental bump on the head.

For more: The detailed story on what happened has been picked up by the Associated Press and was first reported in World Net Daily.

Why did they use SWAT? asks WND. The response:
The sheriff said the decision to use SWAT team force was justified because the father was a "self-proclaimed constitutionalist" and had made threats and "comments" over the years.
Holy smokes! You mean the guy actually believes in the United States Constitution? By the citizenry and other holy establishments, we must make an example of him by making him stand trial and executing him with the guillotine!

Excuse the sarcasm, but you get where I'm going with this. When people don't want the government intruding in their affairs, aren't they simply going with what the Fourth Amendment says? When confronted about a violation of rights, namely a phone call, the family was told that those rights are "only in the movies." I went to Washington DC just over ten years ago on business. When I had a free day, I didn't go to the Lincoln Memorial or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I didn't visit Arlington, either. No, I went to the National Archives, to see with my own eyes this scrap of paper, yellowed and faded with 210 years of age, the Constitution. It's not a movie prop; it's something those men at Arlington and elsewhere have spent those two centuries defending. It was the reason I grew up in freedom, and if I can do anything to protect such freedom for my children, I will.

On that note, my own call to the sheriff's office in Glenwood Springs to get a comment from Sheriff Valerio wasn't exactly fruitful. Valerio is out of town and working with a Public Information Officer to create a new press release today. They're clearly in damage control mode, setting spin on whatever they have. Counterspin: Although I've been unable to confirm it, their night vision goggles and other high tech investigative equipment (purchased last fall with $10,000 from the Department of Justice) were probably in use during the raid.

There are two ways for the Sheriff to play this situation. He could possibly come forward and admit his decision to execute the order using the SWAT team was absolutely out of proportion to the situation. This would be an honorable and graceful way to handle it. On the other hand, it seems to be that the Sheriff is circling the wagons and using half-truths to support his story and defend his actions. If it gets that far, I doubt that it will hold up under scrutiny.

HT: Tia, HWTB

Afterthought: Even the most grievous error can be tamed by honesty and accountability.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Licking the Tin

I've been mulling over an expression in my mind. That expression is "licking the tin." Odd thing, huh? To me, it means to use all you've got, leaving nothing to waste. Licking the tin means foregoing dignity and even good manners to get every last ounce of nourishment. It's what I want... and I think it's what I am. I want to know God in every way possible. I want to grab all I can from Him and take it in, leaving my dignity and pride at the door and crawling to the altar of grace. I want to lick the tin.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Dad Says So

One thing I've discovered as a father is that your children view you as the ultimate authority. Much as it was for me growing up, the phrase "Dad says so," is the ultimate trump card for my kids. It's game over for whoever dares to oppose the just and true holder of the Dad Says So.

We don't know the power we wield. Our children are looking to us for definite, authoritative statements. This is how God designed our kids. But it's not just about questions like "Who gets the DVD player?" or "Who has to help clean up?" Our children are asking questions that matter on a much more foundational level. The young girl dressing up in dresses and ribbons asks her daddy, "Am I pretty?" The reader looks up from their books and asks, "Am I smart, Daddy?" The boy who wrestles and tousles with his siblings wants to know, "Am I big and strong like you?"

They seldom ask directly. More often they wonder what we think of them and, if we're not careful, the enemy slips in his own accusations and signs it in daddy's name. "You're ugly! You're stupid! You're pathetic!" The devil shouts this at our kids from even the earliest ages. Even if he doesn't, why let your children sit in doubt? Why not tell them how you feel? Your girl is the most beautiful princess in the land! The studious child is smart and intelligent! The boy is a powerhouse machine ready to tear a house down! How can they not believe they have value if their Dad Says So? That's all that matters.

Friday, January 4, 2008

More Fish, Please

I'm a food tourist. If I'm someplace unique, I like to try the most unique thing on the menu that the region is known for. I've eaten Dungeness crab in the northwest only a few miles away from the bay they were caught. I've had alligator tail and frog legs in Florida and grits and gumbo in N'awlins, Louisiana. I've also had the unique experience of sampling habanero (HAH-bin-yerro) salsa in the southwest. Jalapenos, even at their fire-roasted peak, don't come close to the heat and outright discomfort of those peppers. I still like local delicacies like elk, venison, and my favorite, buffalo jerky.

I don't travel as much as I used to, however, and my odds of traveling to Japan in the near future are very remote, so I availed myself of a sushi bar nearby when we went to celebrate a friend's birthday. I ordered sashimi, the real deal. No rice and fish skins, this was raw fish with wasabi (not likely hon-wasabi, though). I actually can understand those people on this side of the Pacific that enjoy such a meal, provided it's clean and boned well. Mine was, and it now has me wondering if I can make it back there some time to sample some more tasty fish. I couldn't help but think of the Lord of the Rings films and Gollum's preference for juicy, sweet fish.

Food tourist? Yep. Risk taker? Maybe. Gollum? No.

Peering Into the Futility Closet

One of my favorite bloggers is Greg Ross from Futility Closet. He posts the odd and little known factoids in life, like this one. You'll see my answer to the post if you highlight the following text:

You can type the entire line using your right hand exclusively, for qwerty keyboards anyway.

Pretty nifty site all around, although sometimes I don't get the "bizarre" fact stuff. Seems pretty normal to me. Does that... nevermind.