Torn Meniscus = The Suck

To be more specific, torn medial meniscus. Here's the link so you can read the technical blather.

Anyway, I actually did this on July 1st, the Saturday of the long weekend. I dislocated my kneecap at the same time, I think. I know that it basically occurred when I was crouching down to get something in the cabinet in the island in my kitchen. (that's a lot of ins...) Anyway, I heard a massive CRRRAAACKKKK! I knew it couldn't be good. But, I just thought it was something else, and my knee wasn't really killing me - so I went out and cut the lawn. I came inside and I did this little plant of my foot and twist and I heard this "pop!" That's when I think I actually dislocated my kneecap. Unfortunately, I had dislocated my kneecap before last year and when I did, I went to the chiro and got it put back in place. I was thinking the same thing this time, but 4th of July weekend - no one around. It never occurred to me to go to the emergency room. Doh. Go figure.

Well, I had to go to Cali the following week, and I just kept getting chiro treatment for it, but I noticed that it wasn't getting better as fast as I remembered. In fact, it stopped getting better. A bunch of symptoms persisted. It still hurt. So, finally, about 10 weeks after the day - I went in to my primary doctor. He bent, asked questions and the like, then told me to get an MRI. Well, the MRI came back and sure enough, I've got it torn. Which, in my humble opinion, really bites.

So, if you've had this happen, let me know. I know that it's possible to fix the tear if it is in the correct spot, but there are few times when it works like that. And, my age is also working against me (46 in less than two weeks!) for a possible repair. The other alternative (if you followed the link) is just remove the tear and contour the meniscus. I'm not sure that helps me long term or returns any stability to the knee - which is a concern as you can imagine. But, like I said, if anyone out there actually reads this blog and has had it happen - let me know!

Till then, I'll be looking forward to meeting the surgeon next Friday.

It's my Anniversary! Yea!

It's my Anniversary! Yahoo! Yup, today in 1992 my beautiful wife Shanna and I tied the knot. Unbelievable! 14 years and 4 kids later, she looks amazing, gorgeous, vivacious and more. Me? Meh. I look older, have less hair and what I do have is going gray. Such is life ;)

Marriage is everything I never dreamed it would be. It is awesome. It's way more work than I ever thought. It's totally worth it. And, being that I know I've got God's girl for me (looooonnnnggg story), I know it's going to keep getting better.

Has it been perfect? No. Have we had disagreements? Most assuredly, we're bound to because I'm wrong so often :-p There's never been the threat of divorce - we agreed on that from the go. Homicide maybe, divorce - never.

One thing I know, I'm more in love with this incredible woman today than I was the day I married her. I love you Shanna!

So Google - Where was this picture?

Really. I got up before 8:00, went to check my mail and lo and behold NOTHING. Not a sausage! And it stayed that way pretty much until around 5:00 in the afternoon. There went my 26th! Geesh!

By noon at least the notifiers were letting me know that I had mail, but there was no luck in getting it through the web interface. I wanted to blog about it, but Blogger (where you're seeing this) was down too. I couldn't do my normal search - like on Google! - because I couldn't access the homepage either! Finally, I figured out that I could pull down my Gmail using a mail client on my Mac (Mail specifically is what I used) so then I spent the next couple of hours pulling down 6,000 (really, no exaggeration, in truth a shade of understatement) e-mails so I could see the most recent messages.

Anyway, everything is now up again but BOY man was that a scary thing. Hmmm. Maybe I'll consider putting up some of my blog stuff on my own server, and maybe I'll move my business e-mail back to my own server as well. It was just way to scary to have the interface go down like that for a full work day. I hope it never happens again!

Wonder Pets to the Rescue!

Indeed! A kiddie show to the rescue. The rescue from the mind numbing idiocy that is children's television to a large extent. In steps Wonder Pets, the operetta for the kids. No, it's not one of the masterpieces, but it is good fun and music is at the center of the action as the three pets (Linny the guinea pig, Tuck the turtle and Ling Ling the duck) go off to save other animals in distress.

Seriously, I could see this becoming a cult classic with the college age kids in the dorms across America. LOVE IT!

Two New Shows - One Stays on the TiVo

Gee, can you guess which? Yup, Heroes. I watched both Heroes and Studio 60 tonight. Both were good shows, but... I liked Heroes better... for now.

Heroes was good (except the little Ali Larter strip scene at the beginning), had suspense and seemed cool. My only issue was that these heroes just so conveniently kept running into each other, but I'll cut some slack because I know they only have so much time to develop a plot.

Studio 60 was good. Loved Matthew Perry in it. And the other guy from the West Wing. Amanda Peet did OK. Of course I found the Crazy Christian bit interesting. Odd thing is, what they were saying was primarily true. But, you know, as a Jesus Freak, I'm not so sure I would care about someone having at (poking fun of) Christian doctrine on a comedy show, at least nothing quite so ancillary as the Rapture. Sure, if they got rude like Madonna is planning on doing on NBC (I think it's NBC), coming out on a cross and the like - yes, then I get upset. Listen, I think Madonna is a whack job who follows the virtually occult like Kabbalah teachings, yet another teaching that's all for accepting all religions and beliefs - except Christianity of course. That's OK with me, but don't go dissing my belief in a artistic presentation where you can't be touched, if you're going to dis me, do it to my face and lets have a chat. But I digress.

Anyway, both shows were good. Heroes has potential and that's the one I'm going with for now. Studio 60 has good actors, I just don't know if I can hang in with the show premise for that long. Of course, there are a lot of "old friends" in the cast like Timothy Busfield (30 Something), the guy who played the younger brother on Wings and others, but I don't know if that can get me to hang around.

That's my take. What's yours?

Shiver Me Timbers with a Bottle of Rum

Yes, yes. I know speak like a Pirate Day is now long past, but I couldn't resist putting this up anyway.

As for the rest of life... like what I've done most of the month: Went to Houston, taught Photoshop and InDesign, had an AWFUL trip, got a nasty cold (which I'm just finally getting rid of, I think... Lost 5 days of training revenue (which TOTALLY sucks), got an MRI on my wanky knee that I hurt on July 1st and cut the grass which was so long it took 2 1/2 hours.

Other than that... everything else is great! We had a guest speaker in to the church, a dude named Fergus McIntyre. Dude rocks. I was bummed that I had to leave before his last meeting to go to Houston. God has been good too, Halle had a birthday (which I didn't get to celebrate with her because I was in Houston - unfortunately), I got two teeth worked on - I know, most people don't celebrate that but I really needed the work on them! - and I'm prepping for my 14th wedding anniversary on September 27th. Yikes, was that fast!

Have a happy - and don't forget to check out my new podcast! http://biographypodcast.blogspot.com

I Like Vista - Not Love - Like

Blasphemy you say? No. I'll say it now, Vista (even Vista Ultimate) will never be OS X Tiger - never mind Leopard. But, having said that, I will say that I do, indeed, like Vista.

Maybe it's because I've been forced to use XP on a daily basis over the past 3-4 weeks, but I really noticed that Vista is a significant upgrade (at least if you've got a 2ghz machine with 2 gig of ram and a sick resolution - like the Dell laptop I get from work does) in elegance from XP. And, even if you don't have a great honking machine, the usability is still an improvement. Of course, you can credit that usability benefit directly to the fact that Vista liberally "borrows" from the Mac for it's interface. Even in elegance, Vista does borrow from OS X, specifically the effect it has when opening and closing windows. But, that isn't all the Vista has going for it.

First, Vista does carry several things that I've always liked about Windows and ALWAYS wished that the Mac had, into this century. Simple things like one click navigation or launching as an option. Honestly, it is the singular biggest thing I miss for the Mac and I've been hoping desperately for 4 years that someone would create a hack for me!!! That and the faithful Alt+Tab is still around - but now provides you with thumbnail images instead of just the logos of the app. Heck, that's better than OSX. And, as someone who is older, stares at a screen all day and wears glasses - I LIKE that feature. In fact, even with an Expose' like feature provided in the OS (and software that does it for me in XP) I think that if Alt+Tab worked like it does in Vista on a Mac - I wouldn't use Expose. So, what do you think of those Apples?

I know, I know. You all think I've taken leave of my senses. Don't worry, I'm only talking about a couple of features here! Regardless of how much I like the new look of Vista (and - I DO - including how customizeable it is PLEASE TAKE NOTE SOMEONE AT APPLE), I still far prefer OS X and Apple hardware.

Props out to where it is due though - Vista takes big steps in making the experience better. It's good at recognizing the hardware (at least on this box) and it works nicely, while also providing a nicer environment - including getting rid of that hideous Start button!

So, after all that, why still on my Mac? Start with the hardware. Gosh, my PowerBook is so much nicer to use. Better track pad, better keyboard, better touch. Screens are now a wash though because this Dell I'm using actually has at least as good a display as my PowerBook (but not as good as a MacBook). Then, procede to the OS. Even with being gussied up and made a bit more friendly, Windows is still Windows. I was trying to fix a partition (which I blew up while trying to adjust it so I could install Vista - that's a 3 day oddesy for you), and I HAD to go out to the command line to do it. I'm still working on that. It's also still Windows when it comes to how and where things work.

Lastly, and importantly, I'm also NOT planning on dropping $400 to get Windows Vista Ultimate. Oh, sure. By the time I get done upgrading to Leopard I will have spent that on Mac OS X - but if I had skipped all the other releases (which many folks do), the upgrade would still be $129 NOT $400. And, if you don't get Ultimate - or close too it - you loose some of the cooler features and connectivity of Vista. That SUCKS doesn't it? And that is why Windows is still Windows, Microsoft is still Microsoft and why I'm going to happily upgrade to Leopard and put it on my MacBook Pro :-) (when I get it that is) Then I'll install my copy of XP to run the one or two apps I need in Windows until all the pricing comes down!

So, there you have it. I like Vista, but I don't love it. It's good, and if you're stuck in a Windows world it at least gets you closer to the Mac. But as for me an my house? We'll take the Mac thanks!

Delicious Irony

So, I'm here working on my super-secret gig here at the Dark Tower and I need to run out from the lab I'm in to grab my glasses which I had accidentially left out in the car. As I'm heading out of the secured area I look up and I see a commercial on CNN. Like to take a guess? Yup, one of the new Mac ads.

More irony next post!

I'm worried for the Pats!

I know. They blow out the Redskins 41 to ZIP in the pre-season and I'm worried. Yup, you bet. Here's why (in the abreviated form - I've got to sleep!)

* They didn't have a wide receiver other than Troy Brown that could get open (read: create separation) against the 1st string defense.

* When one of the other guys did get open - they dropped the ball. (Rechee Caldwell anyone?)

* The running game was non-existant. AGAIN. At least not till the scrubs were in.

* Thank goodness that Maroney got in the endzone - the rest of the goal line running offense was pathetic.

OK. Now something I'm happy about, even though I'm reluctant to admit it. Junior Seau did well. He was a far sight better than anything I've seen out of Bisell in 2 years. He goes up field, maintains his gap and attacks the ball. I couldn't really see how he did in coverage while watching on TV, but if he can bring what he did tonight for the season to spell the other guys as part of the rotation - we'll end up surviving the year. And that I think is because Tully Banta-Cain is ready to contribute on the outside as well as Rosy Colvin.

GO PATS!

I'm going to Be a Life Coach!

OMG. What a scam. I'm watching 30 Days right now, the edition with the guy doing the 30 days of New Age stuff to try to deal with his stress and angry temperament. The first person he goes to is some life coach. What a deal! This chick gets paid (and life coaches can make from hundreds to thousands of dollars per month from their clients) to spew out both sides of her mouth the New Age clap trap. Listen dude, I can do that and instead of clap trap I can give you straight up truth! Help you find accountibility for your life and actions, then get you plugged in to the Mas Pappi of all life! Man, that's a way better deal! So, I'm going to be a life coach that actually gives life, not just some scam artist. Ha!

Ohhhhh. I've done it! I've insulted the New Age movement. Shame on me. OK. Listen, if you don't want me to offend your sensabilities because I don't respect the New Age then you should stop reading now. BUT, if you think you have the fortitude - or at least the strength of your convictions - then please, continue a bit.

Me and the New Age

First, I love the people that are life coaches and are into yoga, shakra's and every other thing. Really, I do. Most of them are people that are genuine and they are searching to fill a void in their spirit - they recognize they are spiritual and they are trying to find the solution. That's where the love ends. Why? Because the new age (of which most things aren't new at all) is not the spiritual solution that people are looking for. It's a melange of anything and nothing, asian, Indian, Native American and whatever "spirtuality" that does nothing but invite (or open up a soul to) every wicked spirit that can come in. And yes, that's narrow minded! Now, come on, ask me the question... how do I know?

I know because I know the New Age. I was a devote before I was saved AND I actually use some of the same (sane and healthy) principles of stretching and alternative health care as the New Age does. How can I condem it then? Simple. I condem it because from a spiritual perspective it's garbage. There's a difference between knowing that stretching is good for your muscles and your health and claiming that you're "cleansing your spirit." You know, that whole "breathing out negative energy thing." I'm not breathing out negativity, I'm breathing out air and allowing the muscle to stretch more. If I want to get out "negativity" then I submit my mind and my heart to the Holy Spirit and HE then cleanses me of my SIN which allows me to have more intimate fellowship with almighty God.

So what's the Difference between Cleansing Breath and Cleansing from Sin?

So, you may be asking, what's the difffernce - it just sounds like a different way of doing the same thing. Ah, but it isn't. The New Age stuff is all about you. What you do. Or, in some cases what your spirit guides (read: deamons) tell you to do. It's about "moving your energy" and aligning your shakra's and the like.

Quick time out...

Wait... Before I say any more, let me say this. I do believe in accupuncture and accupressure. Why? Because they've proven that the physical manipulation of the body through these practices is the real deal. In fact, energy does flow through your system. You're like a closed loop electrical circuit almost. I don't believe this "energy" is spiritual at all. I think it's functional and part of your body. This isn't the "energy" that you give off - that's (as they say) a spiritual vibe. And, there are only two sources for the spiritual. God (and in you the Holy Spirit) and the enemy of our souls - Satan and his demonic hoard of followers.

Back to the Spiritual Stuff....

With the New Age, they try to tie these physical truths of stretching and the functions of the body to a spiritual practice. That's where they fail. And, if you follow the exercises - including by the way deep breathing which does wonders for you in getting you breating again they way you did as a child, allowing that oxygen to get into your system - you'll see the physical benefits. All of it works completely independant of the other spiritual stuff. That stuff is just ritual to "dead" gods that aren't even really gods. It's superstitions that they associate with good physical practice. Christianity, and specifically relationship with God Almighty, is not that same thing. And that's the difference.

No, Christianity doesn't prohibit you from doing the exercises, like I said, they're good. But instead of doing rituals and pulling tarrot cards (OH WHAT A LOAD OF BULL!), what a Christian does is enter a conversation with a loving God who then takes the old nature of the person and because of a loving sacrifice, exchanges that old nature with a new and loving nature born in the heart of God. That's not breathing out "negative energies" that's being reborn in your spirit man. That's having sin washed away. That is having God impute (or give directly to you as if it was your own) HIS righteousness to you.

More spiritual stuff - What's the difference between Tarot and Prophesy?

Instead of tarot (a bad rip-off of the prophetic voice of God), the true God speaks in and through the gift of prophesy. What's the difference there? Simple. With tarot or mediums they're relying on chance and a "skillfull interpretation of the cards (can you say MANIPULATION OF THE OBJECT with vague enough speech) to direct someone. For a Christian who shares a word of the Lord through the Spirit of Prophesy, word of Knowledge or Widom or by a Prophet - there's no guess work! God isn't into 50/50 prophesy and neither are his servants. The Lord knows the beginning from the end. That's the reason why he is called the Alpha and Omega. When he provides a word through any of his children (those who are Christians), then it should be accurate - not guess work.

Again, how do I know? (a) Because that's the way scripture says it should be. (b) Because I operate in those gifts. Also understand, prophets don't prophesy "on demand." Unlike the false prophets, mediums, and tarot card readers, the person with a gift of prophesy only speaks if the Lord speaks to them. It's different right from the start. And, usually, the Lord will speak to you during a time of intimacy with him - also called PRAYER. And so, there's no guess work on the part of the person that shares a prophetic word. I can tell you honestly, if I'm praying for someone and I have a word from them, I have no idea what to say other than what God tells me. And so far, by grace, I've been accurate and specific. By the way, to be clear that's not tooting my horn. I know other good men and women of God that are also very accurate in their ability to hear the voice of the Lord as well. What I'm really trying to convey is two things. (1) No gimmicks, no guessing. (2) Accuracy. Something the New Age can't lay claim to. One last thing. Have I been perfect? NO. Being that I'm a falalbe human being who isn't perfect, neither is my ability to hear the voice of the Lord. But I know, along with many others, that I'm way more than 80% accurate (which still would not pass the test for Old Testament prophet by the way - that was 100%) and I know I'm way ahead of the New Age practitioners.

Note: There are people that not only have the gift of prophesy, but are actual prophets. Those rare individuals operate in a different level of gifting that in many ways can allow them to "prophesy on demand." Of course, the accuracy of their gift is also dependent upon their relationship with God - so that's no different. But I wanted to note that just in case anyone may have seen someone like that practicing their gifting.

Time to Wrap This

OK. I'm done with this rant that started with the life coach business. I guess I shared this much because I saw the "life coach" pull a tarot to start with the guy (barf) so I wanted to address that and I wanted to point out differences between getting rid of negative energy versus having your sins forgiven. Listen - anything the New Age offers is a hack of true relationship with God. You want peace? Stop trying to chant your way out of it - instead, repent of your sin, trust in God who promises to be your savior, your provider, your strong tower, your peace - and then you'll have peace. It's not about the chanting baby - it's about the relationship and the LOVE of God. Know that, know Jesus and you'll know peace!

Well, I'd like to go on more here but I'm getting cross-eyed and need to sleep, but if you need a life coach, call me! :-)

Pardon Me While I Puke

i just got done watching a lame attempt at humor on the Comedy Channel. It was called a roast. Let me tell you, it wasn't a roast - it was a profane spewing of insults. Sure, roasts are all about poking fun of the roastee, I get that. But this - it was lewd, gross and primarily disgusting. And, after getting done with fast forwarding through a large part of it, I still feel like I need to take a spiritual shower to get the CRUD off me. And yes, it really did make me feel ILL. I did think I was going to throw up. The first time I think I ever felt the grieving of the Holy Spirit so strongly that I felt physically ill. Ewwwww. GROSS.

Do yourself a favor, don't watch this piece of garbage. I know, you maybe wondering "what, did they drop some f-bombs? What's so bad about that. Listen, for a couple f-bombs I don't think I would feel like puking. No, this was a display of referencing to body parts and what orafice they could ever possibly go into, profanity on a grand scale, beyond what I even experienced in college. It was gross.

So, I have one request. Can someone out there please prove to me that you can be funny? Thanks. Until then, pardon me, I'm going to be hanging over a toilet bowl.

My kid keeps telling me I'm Goofy.

Seriously. Every time Chloe (the 3 year old) watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, she says "Daddy, you're Goofy." I don't know why I'm not Mickey or Donald or even Pluto. Nope, always Goofy. Is Chloe tying to tell me something?

Ah, to be Home on my Mac

Well, I know I haven't posted anything about the current gig I'm on (but I'm sure it will show up somewhere in one of my podcasts!) so you may not have context for this - but man. Am I SOOOOOOOO glad to be home on my Mac. The short version...I have to work on a Windoze PeeCee all day long right now. So dude, when I get home, I'm ready for the Mac experience.

Sure, I've got a new Dell Latitude D820 with some sick resolution and it's pretty well tricked out on the inside. BUT. It just feels like a cheap piece of crap. The keys are cheap plastic, I'm always catching the edges when I'm typing, the mouse pad (and believe me it is NO Trackpad!) is too small and doesn't scroll like my Trackpad does (though according to the drivers it can be set up that way, but of course like a typical Windoze machine - the drivers don't work!)

But that isn't all. Everything is so damn ugly. Eventhough I've got it skinned with a Vista look and feel (hey, almost anything beats XP), the apps are just ugly. Look at Gaim (for Windows) compared to Adium X or Fire. Ewwww! AIM versus iChat, and on down the line.

I've even got software to make it feel more like a Mac, apps that serve the same functions as Spotlight and QuickSliver and Expose - and they're not bad... but they aren't my Mac.

So, when I finally get home it's nice to take out my Mac, feel the Mac and do some stuff. And I haven't even told you the half of it. So, if you're reading this on a Mac, then go thank whoever it was that got you to buy it!

Pecos Phil Makes it on Buzz Out Loud!

HEHE. Check out Friday, August 4th's Buzz Out Loud (http://bol.cnet.com). You have to listen all the way to the end, but our favorite crotchety desert dwelling dude - Pecos Phil makes it as a call in. :-) ALL the way at the end mind you - after Tom and Molly say goodbye. Hehe. :-D

Who's Pecos Phil? Well, he's a character from the "MacNation - One Nation Under Pod" podcast. If you want to know stuff about Macs, then you should check it out! http://macphilly.com/wordpress

Rash Wars - Part II: The Rash Strikes Back

So, against my better judgement and along the lines of the instructions from the ER doctor I started and finished my course of steriods that aleviate the symptoms (but not the cause) of my rash. I won't go into detail on the hows and whys steriods work - or even what the side effects listed were (knarly dude!) - but they don't do anything FOR the rash itself.

So, I finish that, I'm using my prescription cream and BOOM a rash explosion 2 days after the steroids flush from my system. Oh LOVELY. Just what I was hoping?

So, what do I do? Well, being that I'm mostly broke I did the only thing I could do - I went to the doctor in my healthcare system. That isn't what I wanted to do - I wanted to go to a homiopathic doctor. No such luck. So, what does my primary doc say? Well, that the ER doc had it wrong (he was treating for candadiasis - fungal - that's what the cream does) and that the rash was from a food allergy. Then he prescribes the EXACT same steriods, except for at DOUBLE the doseage! E-gads man! I asked him if they actually did anything and he said no, they only treat the symptom of the rash. So I asked him if I removed anything possibly in my diet that had changed and just let the rash flush out normally if that would be OK. He didn't even understand my question! so, I spent the next 5 minutes or so trying to convice him that I didn't want more steriods and I wanted to let the rash go away by itself! And that's what I'm trying.

The thing is, I can't figure out what it is!!!! I've check for symptoms regarding cashew nuts, soy and tahini (pureed sesame seeds) - none really match. But I sure do have the rash! Well, I've already cut out the cashew butter (which I miss dearly) and as of tomorrow no more soy or tahini. I'll see what happens.

In the mean time, I am going to schedule an appointment with an allergist for the scratch test so we can figure this out! I'll keep you posted.

Ciao!

Why Loving Parents Must Discipline

Being that my last post was about parenting, how much I love parenting and being a dad, I thought this post would be a follow up along the theme. Parenting.

One of the primary responsibilities - hand in hand with LOVE - is discipline. As parents who want to create a loving environment that a child feels safe in, discipline is key. In fact, scripture says that a parent that doesn't discipline his (or her) child doesn't love them! Along with that is also CONSISTENCY, which is crtical! But that's a topic all by itself. For now, I'll stick with my primary thought on discipline and why it's so important for a loving parent to discipline their children.

First of all, we all must have discipline for the purposes of self-governance even at it's most basic level. Discipline to take care of our own hygiene and feeding to say the least, not to mention disciple to clean our environment and take care of all the other things that life requires of us. Without discipline of some type, we would be unable to perform as a functioning member of society around us. This, even if we throw out almost everything else would be enough reason to discipline a child and teach them self-discipline. And yes, they go hand in hand once the child becomes old enough to start to train.

But, especially being a Christian, I believe that I have an even more important function and role in the responsibility of disciplining a child, and that is, we need to train our children so that they know how to properly hear and respond to the voice of God speaking to them. This is our most important job. So how do we do that? And how does discipline come into play?

(By the way, this is the extremely SHORT version of this topic. So, let me say this. Assume that everything that is being done is done in LOVE and in balance. Thanks).

Discipline is tool that is used to teach our children to hear and respond to our voices first. And, again, that alone is critical. My goal is to train my child so that when they hear my voice they immediately stop and listen. Not me screaming or yelling. Just when they hear me say their name. And, as a parent I can only tell you how many times just that alone has been worth the effort. Say, for instance, when I call my child's name just before they're about to chase a ball, or step in the way of someone walking quickly with a shopping cart that might just plow them over. I can only feel that of my three older girls, at least one time serious injury has been avoided because they know they voice of their father (or mother as the case may be) and have learned to respond to it. Discipline is used to teach our children to listen to the voice of authority and respond.

As parents, we have been given the gift of our children. They are not ours. They are on loan from God. Created for his purpose. We are their caretakers, their stewards and they are given into our custody for the purpose of training them as eternal beings. And thus comes the longer term and more significant purpose of discipline that we aim for - training them to hear the voice of God and properly responding to him.

By training our children, in a LOVING environment, by using discipline we teach them that there is a voice of authority that loves them and cares for them. We teach them that the voice they are hearing can be trusted, that is for them and is looking out for their best interest. We let them know that there is someone "bigger" than them (in the physical, at least older and wiser) that they can learn to hear and trust to help them. And, in this way, we are modeling for our children how to listen and to trust the voice of God.

And, this then is how we see that what scripture tells us is true. As I mentioned at that top, scripture says that a parent that doesn't discipline his child doesn't love them. And if I didn't discipline my kids, and teach them how to listen to my voice and hopefully the voice of their REAL father in heaven, then I wouldn't really be loving them. Because in the end, whatever my kids choose to do, they aren't going to have to give an account before me, they have to stand before the Lord. And what kind of parent would I be that wouldn't prepare them for that day? Certainly not one that loves them.

And so, that's why loving parents must discipline their children. Because by discipline, then teaching them self-discipline and proper response to authority, we are teaching them how to respond to the Lord. How to help them listen and get into the best things that an almighty and loving creator and savior has for their lives. And, of course, at the end of it all, we're even teaching them the very thing that may save their life not just here on earth - but for all eternity.

Next time, maybe I'll talk about what discipline really "means" - or in other words - HOW do we discipline our children. And folks that is a topic that I'm big on!

Ciao!

The Best Part of Being "Dad"

You know, there are probably a lot of "best" parts that I haven't mentioned, but there is one part that can only happen late at night that leaves you with a feeling of love and of responsibility that makes being dad worth being dad.

Tonight, I had one of those moments with daughter number three: Chloe. Was it a big thing? Well, to a three year old it was. She woke up suddenly, scared and calling for me. Not mom, me. Yup, good old dad. So, there, on the stairway, in the dark with the wind whipping all around the house, Chloe found comfort in daddy's arms. With blankie by her side, twiddling her "pony hair" and cuddled up next to me - Chloe found a place of safety, a place of peace. And boys and girls, that's when you know as a parent you've done a good job. When the babies are ready to run to your arms and trust you. Sure, kids always WANT to do that with their parents. They hope for it and yearn for it. The thing that's great is when YOU know that you've really provided it for them.

Thanks Chloe. It's great being your dad.

The Burbank Chronicles - Conclusion

Hey all,

OK, it seems I've got a lot of rants off my chest lately, so how about a happy post. That is for the two other people that read this blog anyway ;-)

So, Disney. I made it back after the 4th of July. Finally. I can't recall if I had mentioned that I had subluxated my knee-cap or not, but I was dying out there. Yes, finally after having my knee-cap out for 5 days it finally got put back in (THANK YOU SHADI!), but my leg was still killing me!

Anyway, there's lots more to that story, but the end of it was that I got my leg worked on while I was out there, could walk much more like a normal person, did 5 presentations of the findings for Disney AND I got to go to Disneyland! Unfortunately, I didn't have all the pictures cleared out of my phone so I didn't get a lot of the pictures I should have! But, I have finally gotten the pictures off the phone (yea for AppleCamp - more on that another post or podcast) and YOU my friends finally get to see what I snapped! Enjoy the pics :-)

In Hollywood: Graumans Chinese



A view from the office that I stole for a couple of days.






Hollywood and Highland (around the corner from the Walk of Fame and Kodak Theater)



The WB Studios as I drove Past



What Jenna had for dinner at the OUTRAGEOUS Restaraunt at Disney Land



Not from LA LA Land - but this is what I was missing. No wonder I couldn't wait to get home! Chloe (3) and Sophie (3 1/2 months)

Right - the Founding Fathers Believed NOTHING Like the Liberals do now.

I know you can see the image below my notes already. I felt compelled to add this even though it's a bit past the 4th of July. This topic is one that totally frosts me. When you read below you will clearly see an example carried out by one of the sons of the founders (John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams) that the founding fathers considered Christianity (not just the tenants of Christianity mind you) not separate - but the foundation of our nation. Anyone who says that this was a secular nation and says that the founders were deists or that there should be a wall of separation (which is NEVER said ANYWHERE in the Constitution, Declaration or any of the Bills) is seriously in denial of what the founders of our country WROTE repeatedly!

OK, enough blathering - here you go - read for yourself!

Man Have I got a... well, OK, this is the last one!

So. I finally got home (without completely scratching every part of my body) late (very) Friday night (almost Saturday morning). Alas, my sister had shown up at my mom's house while I was gone for the week and had organized a little family get together (Italian family get together = at least 30 people and food for 60) for that Saturday. And, being that I'm the dutiful brother - or something like that - I was obligated to show up.

Unfortunatly, because I had to show up, I also didn't have time to get my hair cut, my lawn mowed or the damn RASH looked at.

Fast forward. Saturday night (early Sunday morning) and my hands are suddenly covered with bumps, and the rash is now on the inside of my thighs (oh, stop that!) and on my waist. I was freaking. I thought for sure the closest thing I could find to what I had was Scabies. I figured I had gotten it while on one of my recent trips. Really, I was freaking.

So, Sunday morning when I get up, sure enough everything is still really bad. So, off to the emergency room (but hey, this is my emergency room now - not some ER in Burbank!) to have my rash looked at. Do I feel like an idiot? SURE! But damn, I was really concerned.

So, after reading through a chapter or so of my UltraMetabolism book while I was in the waiting room (and listening to a few podcasts), I get called in. The doctor looks me over, thankfully nukes the thought of Scabies (if you don't know what Scabies is by the way, it's a nasty rash that's caused by little mites that infest you and burrow into your dead skin cells. It's a royal pain in the BUTT to get rid of and you can infest your whole family - something very scary to a man with a 4 month old baby that sleeps in the same bed with him) and tells me it's either a reaction to some plant, but more than likely he thinks fungus. Which gets me to thinking.

So, off I go to the pharmacy with my prescriptions for Prednizone and some other steroidal topical ointment. Get the stuff, read the indications (God! Am I sure I really want to take this stuff?) but then, like the good little boy, I pop the pills.

Then I start doing more research. First of all, steroids in this case will inhibit my immune system from responding properly to the allergens in my system. This is why the bumps all over my hands will go away. The bad part of that is that my system was doing what it was SUPPOSED to do. Damn, I'm in a DETOX. So, as a person with diary allergies (mild), wheat allergies (not so mild) and candadiasis (candida albicans) who's detoxed before - I should have realized that the rash was because I had all the yeast in my system that was no longer getting fed being flushed out! And, then I looked at the topical cream and sure enough - it specifically mentions candadiasis!

After this I tracked down the book that I used to detox about 12 years ago. Sure enough, one of the indications/symptoms is a rash. However the book cautions that you shouldn't take any medications to stop the rash because they'll cause the toxins to end up burried in your system. Great. So I'm not really dealing with the toxins, so where the hell are they going?

Well, again, I went back to the warning labels on the steriods and the cream. Based on what I read, it seems like my body will essentiallly funnel out the toxins through my, uhhh, excretions. It's one of the side effects. Still, I'm not completely jazzed about the whole thing. After all, I don't want to detox only to find myself more ill because I kept the toxins in. Sigh.

Finally, Monday morning comes and along with Monday morning do many of the bumps on my hands again. Well, I called the pharmacist, found out how fast I could taper down from the mega-dose I was on. Pretty fast as it turns out. But what to do with the rash. I don't have enough time to track down how to handle it with a more natural method, I don't have a doctor I can go to without a referral from my primary doctor, not to mention I'd have to make an appointment. So, I'd have a rash, not know what to do with it and I was going to an interview in the morning on top of it.

I did what any good pill popper would do. I took the drugs. Of course, even though I'm on steriods I still haven't started lifting weights to take advantage of it. Heck, the way my knee has been I haven't done much at all. Though, I will admit, the steriods have really helped my knee feel better too. Sigh.

So, I'm three days in. I'm taking the last of my large dose this morning. After that, I think I'm going to taper down. I'm hoping that the worst of the detox is over (though I'm in the 3rd week now) and that the rash won't come back with a vengence. At the same time, I'm concerned about the fact that I've prohibited my body from cleansing the way I'm suppposed to. Damn, it's complicated! I'll figure it out sooner or later - but I don't know which yet. I'll let you know on my final decision - but until then, it's great not being covered with a itchy, hivey rash!

Now to bed, then to Apple Camp with my oldest daughter Halle in the AM. I'll have pictures of that :-)