best ever deal on hp calculators (again)

I regretted not buying a 35s last month when sale prices were the best I'd ever seen. Fortunately for me, another sale wasn't far behind. I won't regret it this time because I won't miss out (I already placed my order).

Anyway, the current sale will get you 20% off of hp calculators through January 5th (I think). Check 'em out here.

Christ in Christmas

Count me as one of those folks who doesn't like "Seasons Greetings" or "Happy Holidays." Wal-mart ("Your One-Stop Christmas Shop"), Kohl's ("The Biggest Christmas Sale"), Target and other retailers are brave enough to include "Christ" in their marketing. Good for 'em. I want to be greeted with "Merry Christmas."

The word Christmas means Christ's festival. How can it not include Him? Ah, but that's where the really sad part comes in. You see, so many of us (Christians) obey the festival but not the Christ. We celebrate the birth but not the born. We give our money and our time to finding that perfect gift for each other without ever remembering that perfect gift which was given to us. We give the best tech gifts and toy gifts and food gifts and never think about giving the gift of eternal life by sharing the one gift that matters.

My favorite Christmas quote:

How many observe Christ’s Birthday! How few, his precepts! Oh! ‘tis easier to keep holidays than commandments

Ben Franklin—Poor Richard’s Alamanac

This Christmas, yes, shop at Christmas-friendly establishments. Greet cashiers and strangers with "Merry Christmas." Tell others about Christ. Give the gift that you can not afford.

Do all that and I'll let you get away with "Seasons Greetings."

Happy Holidays

venni vidi vici

I was a math major in college. I learned all about Venn diagrams when working with sets. I'd say I had a pretty good education.

Imagine my suprise a couple of weeks ago when kcrazorback daughter began (correctly) explaining Venn diagrams to me and showing me an example of one. Don't forget, kcrd is in kindergarten.

Turns out her K-teacher is pretty good with math and very good at teaching. So she and math-interested daughter are a good fit. All the kids in Ms. H's class are benefiting from this.

Daughter is already pretty good at math (at age 4, she could multiply, say, 2 x 12 in her head--actually doing the computation--I think she was making 24 imaginary tick marks in two rows of 12 and counting them--answering correctly) and dreams about numbers. But with a little bit of genetics and a teacher inspiring her, she can be great in mathematics. I always knew she would, just didn't expect it so soon.

Thank you Ms. H for breaking my preconceived ideas of what an elementary educator is capable of. Thank you also for recognizing what your little learners are capable of. Thanks for intersecting the two. Good job!

have a happy family thanksgiving, amoeba brain

For the first time in a few years, we'll all be together: my mom, her kids, their spouses and kids. It'll be great. Family sticks together. Or at least it should. Even if you're no smarter than an amoeba, stick with your family.

Have a great holiday, turkey.

fontastic hp

You guys that are really into hp calculators will enjoy their calculator font collection.

For the rest of you, clearly you don't know how cool we are.

thank you veterans

I love Veterans' Day (though I don't think I've ever gotten off of work on this day). My life has been blessed by a few veterans that I knew very well and by thousands that I never knew.

Published this post in July. However, it contains a letter to the editor written for Veterans' Day. Pointing you back to this post is my Veterans' Day tribute. Read it here.

Thank you to all of the veterans.

dream reified

MLK Jr. had a dream. Yesterday, the greatest nation on earth elected a president based on his merit.

Of course, that has happened in most presidential elections in history. The difference, this time, is that this president-elect is African American. So are his wife and children (won't it be neat having children in the White House again?). Doesn't matter. You see, that is the amazing thing about this election. The candidate that won, did so irrespective of the color of his skin.

Of course some vestiges of racism still exist in this country. But, I truly believe that most of the people, whether they voted for or against him, are extremely interested in how well he will preside over our country and don't even care about what color his skin is. I think our country has turned a corner and will never turn back.

Congratulations President-elect Obama. I hope you go down in history as one of the greatest U.S. presidents ever. Because that is what is best for our country; not because of your race.

MLK, Jr.: I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

Perhaps, yesterday, November 4, 2008 was that day this nation rose up.

great day in the history of america

Election day is here! Today is Tuesday after the first Monday of November. The harvest is in. You have no excuse not to vote. Or at least I don't want to hear it.

Today is also historic. When polls close this evening, together we will have elected our first African American president or our first woman VP. Either way, the coming January inauguration will be amazing.

We Christians are in a unique position in this country which is defined by both its Christian roots and its love of democracy. There are enough of us to make a huge difference in this country. Get out and vote, brothers and sisters. Make a difference. Vote your values. Live your values.

But don't worry about the results. No matter who wins, Jesus Christ reigns supreme--yes, over this country. The Lord of Lords and King of Kings' reign will continue.

Colossians 1:15-17 (New International Reader's Version)
Copyright © 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society

Christ Is Far Above Everything
15 Christ is the exact likeness of God, who can't be seen. He is first, and he is over all of creation. 16 All things were created by him. He created everything in heaven and on earth. He created everything that can be seen and everything that can't be seen. He created kings, powers, rulers and authorities. Everything was created by him and for him. 17 Before anything was created, he was already there. He holds everything together.

One other favorite quote, this one from John Quincy Adams:

The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity. From the day of the Declaration...they were bound by the laws of God, which they all, and by the laws of the Gospel, which they nearly all, acknowledge as the rules of their conduct.

all hp calculators on sale

Apparently all of their calculators are on sale through October 11 plus free shipping: buy buy now.

had lunch with my daughter

had lunch with my daughter
she's in kindergarten
face lit up

"I knew you'd come"
held hands in line
she paid for mine

she said hi to everyone
"I'll show you how, dad"
"can't go to the bathroom--ever"

"will you tell mom I didn't eat my fruit?"

i choose happiness

Earlier this morning I caught myself singing or humming a praise song kind of out loud. You should also know I was doing this at work in an open cubicle environment at an advertising agency. I didn't care. But what got my attention was I realized I was doing this somewhat subconsciously during the crisis of the moment.

The last few weeks have been kind of brutal. My work has been stressful. My home life has been difficult (I seem to be attracting plumbing problems at an alarming rate). My relationships have been stressful (my fault). My favorite football teams have been losing every weekend. My favorite baseball team has been awful for years. Gas is expensive. Everything else is too. I still don't have a Nintendo Wii.

DON'T MISUNDERSTAND: I know that many other people have it much worse than I do. I'm NOT complaining. I just wanted you to know that--if you're looking at me saying "He's got it all together"--you're only partially right.

If we choose God, He will make joy complete. If we praise Him no matter what the circumstances, His favor will dictate what happens in our lives.

I choose joy. I choose praise. I choose God.

Go. Read John 15. Have complete joy.

nuon, the best gaming system nobody knew about

You probably know this about me already. As I noted in this earlier post, I'm a gamer. Which is tough, because I still don't have a modern gaming system.

At the beginning of this decade/century/millenium, I rolled the dice and missed on Nuon (see the Dome for more information about what Nuon is). Nuon was a game chip produced by the now-defunct VM Laboratories to go into DVD players. A few players were produced, primarily the Toshiba SD-2300 and the Samsung N501 along with a couple of other models. It was a DVD player that was also a game system (compare to Playstation 2 which was a game system that also played DVDs). I have one Toshiba and one Samsung.

There were only 7 commercially produced games released for this system. One of those, Iron Soldier 3, was the rarest and is still very hard to get. It is the only game that I don't have. I was the 2nd highest bidder about 3 times in a row at about $60 years ago. The price skyrocketed after that and I've never gotten one. But I have had all of the others all along.

Nuon was a good system, IMHO just as good as Playstation 2. It's still the best game system I've got.

Tonight, 5 year old kcrazorback daughter asked if she could play the game with the "animals that drive the cars." The flagship game for Nuon was Merlin Racing. This game is cart racing at its best. It is a fantastic game--unfortunately, the others weren't all done with the same quality. But a quick shout out to two of those other games that were well done: Tempest 3000 is Tempest like you remember from 25 years ago and very well done while Freefall 3050 AD is unlike anything else you've ever played, is very challenging and I have not really learned to play it yet.

There is a very small number of developers cranking out homebrew games which do work on some Nuon players (not the Toshibas). There were lots of other commercial games in development at the time the system went belly up as well--who knows maybe someday some of those will be distributed. I doubt it because the folks with rights to them are out of business, but you never know.

If you find a Nuon system on the cheap (ebay, garage sale, thrift shop, whatever), grab it and find out what the rest of the world has been missing.

Meanwhile I've got to go get kcrazorback daughter more interested in gaming if we're ever going to talk mom into getting us a Wii.

ms hachinsky's kindergarten class

I just thought you might like to see kcrazorback daughter's class. Here it is.

the very scary football schedule

Sorry, unplanned sports post warning: If you know me at all, you know that for my 40+ years I have been a pig--a big one too--a gigantic University of Arkansas Razorback. I lived and breathed Hog football even before I ever went to school there (which I did and received a Master's degree in statistics 18 years ago).

There have been good teams and bad teams during all those years. But, this year's team is possibly the worst. Yeah, it doesn't make much sense to say that about a 2-0 college football team. Those two wins shouldn't count. One was a fourth-quarter come-from-behind-and-barely-hold-on-to-win heart-stopper against the Leathernecks of Div. I-AA Western Illinois. The other win was a one-point victory in the same manner against another supposedly inferior opponent--Louisiana-Monroe. Both games could have easily been losses.

IMHO, Coach Bobby Petrino does not have this Arkansas team prepared to win against the big boys. Of course it doesn't help that the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys are suddenly both better because two of the five best running backs in the country last year don't play on the same team in Fayetteville any more.

So, how will the Hogs do against the big boys? We're about to find out. Over the next four weeks, Arkansas will play the (current) AP-poll #9 (Bama), #7 (Texas), #4 (Florida) and #10 (Auburn) ranked teams back-to-back-to-back-to-back. I'll admit it. I am very scared. Four top-10 opponents in 22 days--are you kidding me?

Go Hogs! Allay my fears! A 6-0 Arkansas team this year would be the biggest suprise I can imagine. Of course, my understanding of inferential statistics doesn't allow me to be too hopeful. As soon as the next game starts, though, my optimism will overwhelm my lack of hope and the long odds and I will root hard for my team. Win or lose, I'll do the same the next week. And the next. And the next. And next year. And the year after that. You get the point.

children are amazing

At Barkley's annual Creativity Symposium last Friday, our CEO Brian Brooker talked to us about children. In our awful state of grownuppiness, we forget to be creative like children--to ask questions like children--to pick our noses--etc. Anyway, it was an inspiring talk that ended with 300 employees going out to the parking lot for recess--seriously, playground balls, ultimate frisbee, jumpropes, dodgeball, girls playing Miss Mary Mack...

I sometimes think that God gives us these little super-creative humans just to amaze us and remind us what is possible. My kid is ultra-creative. She doesn't let not yet knowing how to read prevent her from writing. She doesn't let potential messes stop her from creating art. In a mixed media masterpiece, she colored on the TV screen (she got in trouble for that one--parents weren't seeing through child eyes). On and on the list goes.

Her wise and beautiful mother gave her a digital camera and creative freedom on a recent walk at the park. She documented the photographer's trip on this blog post. The deer that ran by were too fast for the young photographer to shoot, however she did capture amazing images that we were too grownup to see. She took a picture of a leaf. She took a picture of a slug. She took a picture of her dad from an angle no one should be subjected to. She got down in the cattails at a park pond and took a picture through them of a fountain. She took lots of great pictures. Thankfully, she is a child.

The Greatest Creator created all of this beauty. Thankfully, He also created children (specifically this photographer) and, as an amazing gift, gave us creativity as well.

old hundredth

Post #100: Wow, I didn't know I could do that. One year ago I had never written a blog post. This is my 100th--in just under a year. I never intended to keep it up. But it's been a fun outlet. I've had a couple of dry spells this year because I was very busy at work. But I hope to gradually increase the number of posts without taking it too seriously as a goal.

last swim of summer

It's an early fall in Kansas City. Unusually mild temps in August are leading to some colorful trees already. I wonder if we're maybe a month ahead of our typical color schedule.

Our family swims every summer--a lot. Kcrazorback wife and daughter are both excellent swimmers and I can make a relatively large splash. We have a pool in our homeowner's association that we use almost daily during summer. We also have a membership to the city's two pool complexes (think small water parks).

For a month now, the water in the pools has been a little chilly. Usually, it's like a hot tub in August, but not this year. We've had the place to ourselves on a number of occasions because our neighbors apparently prefer to swim in warmer water. Oh well, more for us.

Now that September is here, though, the water temperature and the air temperature both appear to be headed down. We're pretty sure this is the last week before they shut the pools down for the season.

Last night, we went swimming as a family. Already, a cold front from Canada was moving in and since then rainy remnants from Gustav have moved into KC. We won't be able to swim today. I suspect that we won't be able to swim again this summer. It's gone.

Goodbye swimming. We'll see you again in May.

nationwide and cdot

Author's note: I started writing this blog last November and never completed or posted it. Here it is.

I have siblings. Lots of people do. No matter how mature you are as an adult, when you get together with your siblings, you tend to act like you did back in the day. It is pretty disgusting to act your age minus 30 years.

When my wife and I were first married (a very long time ago) she would get very upset with my behavior at family functions when my sibs and I reverted to our adolescently determined patterns. Of course, when we visited her family, she and her brothers did the same thing. None of us have grown up too much since then. It is fun, though watching the next generation establish their behavior patterns and drive their parents (us) crazy.

My brother is Nationwide. Read through some of my old posts and you'll learn quite a bit about him, especially about the best wedding gift we ever received. We are twins. Growing up with him was a real adventure. He and I have been known to get up before dawn and ride our bicycles to a pond to fish as soon as the sun came up. He did all kinds of crazy stuff as a kid. He once fired a shotgun inside the house. I don't think he meant too, but... My brother is a great example of someone who has overcome bad circumstances and adversity in his life.

My sister is Cdot. She was much younger than her two brothers but thought she could do anything. She usually did. This sweet little girl flew under the radar avoiding getting in trouble most of the time. She's had a dichotomous life. All of her life (to me) she's either been a precocious 7 year-old or a 30 year-old mother of twins herself. She's done a great job. She recently stole our very young mother (recently retired from teaching) to come and help out with the kids and be close to them. My sister is a great example of someone who has overcome physical and medical setbacks in her life.

My respect for both of them is many times greater than it ever was when we were kids.

However, when we get together for the next family holiday, expect the return of 1983 and "you better take that back" and "Star Wars is way better than Superman" and "who is Debbie Gibson" and "Michael J. Fox is a hero" and slapfights and shoulder punches and "mom and dad didn't love you" and "the five minutes before you were born were the best five minutes of my life" and "mine, too" and "you two were the wonderful children" and...and three very disgusted spouses/in-laws.

They say you only hurt the ones you love. Watch out siblings, I love you.

where was God?

It seems like we've had a lot of tragedies, maladies, etc. lately. And I bet you've heard someone ask something like "Where was God?"

Rhonda was terminally ill. The last few years, she was confined to a wheelchair. It was difficult for her to get around. Bodily debilitation continued to accelerate. Rhonda continued coming to church every chance she got, even when she had to completely rely on others to get her there.

Let's be clear, salvation has nothing to do with church attendance. Salvation has everything to do with your faith. It's who you trust, not what you do. If ever there was someone who could be excused from attending church, she was Rhonda. She kept coming.

One time, the preacher asked her why she kept coming. She felt closer to God where God was being praised. What an amazing response. What a spiritual response. What a scriptural response.

Yeah, that's a scriptural concept. God may have sat on the mercy seat in the temple, but His throne is where His people are praising Him. Psalm 22:3 says "yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel." (NLT)

You want to be where God is? Want to know where God is? Praise Him. Don't neglect praising Him. Go to church where you can join with others in lifting up a throne of praise for Him to sit on.

Where was God when tragedy XYZ struck? Where was God when Rhonda died? Where was God...? He was there. In our fallen world tragedy strikes, but God is there. He's comforting. He's answering prayers. Do you continue to praise God when the tragedy comes?

Rhonda was 34 when she died. She was the mother of one of the girls in our youth ministry. When she couldn't speak, her very presence glorified God. Because of her drawing close to God, she will be close to him for all eternity. In tragedy, she drew closer to the God that she knew was there. I think she may have asked why, but she didn't ask where.

michael phelps, watch out

Kcrazorback daughter "practicing for the olympics." I'll be sure to show this video 16 years from now when she wins her medal.

first day k pictures

OK, so a good night's sleep makes the pictures upload the very first time. Well, it would've been a good night's sleep if kcrazorback daughter had not wakened him at 1:24 AM to show him what the tooth fairy brought. Here, 15 minutes before first bell, daughter is excited about first day:

School is about 1/2 mile uphill from home so we walked on first day. There is one street to cross without a crossing guard so the kids hold bright yellowish green flags:

After transferring the backpack to the student, Dad got to walk her up the school's front walk:

Once inside, the reification of full-day kindergarten brought a sad, pensive look to the face of the previously excited first day-er.

Five minutes later, however, she would be sitting front and center while teacher covered calendar issues for the day. All in all she had a great day and was actually observed hugging teachers before going home at the end of the day.

can't upload pictures

Sorry, I've tried for 30 minutes and can't get the first day of kindergarten pictures to upload. I'm giving up, but only temporarily.

Meanwhile, check out the school here.

first day of kindergarten

Those of you that know kcrazorback daughter well know that tomorrow (less than 12 hours from now) is her first day of kindergarten. I am certain the waterworks will flow after her mother and I drop her off at 8:10 in the morning. Her mother may even cry as well. Tomorrow I plan to post a first day picture and tell you more about her school, etc. in time.

There's something special about starting formal education. If she's like either parent, she'll be getting out of school in about 19 years. I'll be in my 60's when that happens so I hope I'll be able to remember these first five years. So, upon this important commencement, let me honor her first five years with this blog post.

Actually, you're five years old, but God made you almost exactly six years ago. During those almost-9 months before birthday, you were the life of the party. You danced if there was music, twirled if Mom had cake, loved the voices of friends and family and had a special bond with your mother. Even before you were born we got little peeks into your personality which is much like hers.

You were injured at birth during a traumatic delivery and fought for your life for about 30 minutes. You won that fight and have lived life more passionately since then than anyone I've ever known.

I remember so many things about you when you were a baby. You were such a good sleeper. You were a daddy's girl from the start. Your smile was contagious. You made a guttural click when I walked in the room and to say 'goodbye' and 'I love you.' When you could eat real food, you did. And you still eat with a passion. What's funny about that is you're still skinny.

You stole our hearts at the very beginning, but you kept them with your bouncy-seat bouncing, dancing, singing, 'running and reading,' Noggin, praying, talking (and talking and talking and talking), gymnastics, piano, ice skating and many other activities. There are so many other reasons as well: baseball, cotton candy--wait, those are the same activity. And, the big one, of course, swimming. You are the best swimmer for your age. We have a video of you in the swimming pool saying you're training for the Olympics (shot about an hour ago)--I plan on showing that video 16 years from now when you get your Olympic medal.

Of course, by then you'll still be in school. So, enjoy the next 11 hours because a super huge adventure is just about to begin. (I'm glad you're still a good sleeper.)

which cat engineer is real?

OK, so one of you forwarded me a funny video. Don't do that. Anyway, this time I clicked on it and watched the first minute or so before getting tired of it and shutting it off. In that first minute or so, though, a hp calculator made the cut. Stay tuned.

Here is the video. It is about two engineers explaining what cats are. Now, if you happen to like engineers or (dare I say) cats, you might find this video amusing. I don't like either and I did not care for the video. (OK--I kinda do like some engineers--I don't like cats.)

But note the two calculators in the calculator duel scene early on. The guy on the left (an engineer?) appears to be holding a TI graphing calculator.

But, look closely at the other calculator--the one on the right. It's one of the late '80s clamshells--the hps without a family name. I'm not sure exactly which model it is, but I'm guessing 28S (orlando for you guys that know your hp names) or 28C (paladin). These first RPL programmables are super-cool. I've got a couple.

Obviously, the guy on the right is the coolest cat-explaining engineer this side of Palo Alto. Moral: Cat engineering can be done with any old calculator, but...um, ok, so maybe I don't know the moral, but it's nice to see an hp in the movies.

my very hard decision

When the family gets a new dog, it seems to bond with exactly one family member in a special way. In June of 1997, six-week old Polly picked me. This is the only family pet that has ever picked me.

On Tuesday, I made the decision to put her to sleep. It was a difficult decision because most of the time she seemed to be a perfect cute little dog just laying on the floor. Unfortunately, she laid on the floor almost all the time to avoid respiratory distress caused by congestive heart failure and tracheal collapse. It was a very difficult decision because she could have lived on for several more years.

If you knew her, you knew that this little active dog would never have real quality of life when forced into inactivity. I will always remember a very vivacious dog who greeted each day with zeal. So, I'll honor that life by telling you just a few things about her:
1. One of my nicknames for her was Discount Dog because we got her from a dealer for much less than the going rate for purebred Pomeranians because her ears curled over instead of standing straight up. Susan saw her the first time and said "you watch, those little ears are going to pop right up." They did, almost immediately when we got her home at 7 weeks old. They stood straight and pointy until the moment she passed away. See her ears in the picture above taken with newborn Olivia in 2003.
2. Cottage cheese. Her early diet involved a lot of cottage cheese. I remember looking at this little blonde face covered with cottage cheese every time she ate.
3. We drove up at our Walnut St. house with her the first time, set her in the grass where she peed immediately. From that point on she was essentially potty trained.
4. She was truly kennel trained. The first two years of her life she slept in a kennel on the floor right next to my side of the bed. Her job was to wake me up.
5. She adored our first Pomeranian, Niki (Niki just died in 2007 at almost 18 years old) but Niki only tolerated Polly.
6. My other nickname for her was Double Dog. Because our only other dog at the time weighed about 5.5 pounds and then came Polly at a whopping 11 pounds.
7. A couple of months after she came to live with us, Polly broke a leg. I'll never forget her little pink cast. When it came off, the leg was atrophied--half the size of the other front leg.

I'll miss Polly. She was a good dog. I wish the decision had not been necessary.

best price on 10bII

Generally speaking, the hp site is the best place to buy new hp calculators, but I happened to walk by the calculators in the local Walmart store tonight. If you're looking for a good deal on 10bII, this $29.99 calculator is available at one Walmart for only $20. Can't beat that anywhere else.

pricing update for new models

I told you in this recent post about all the new calculator models that hp is going to market with. Seems that they have rolled out their prices. Couple this with the earlier post and start buying:

1. 20b $39.99
2. 40gs $99.99 (note: check the earlier post, I guessed $99-110, that's right--I'm real good)
3. OfficeCalc 100 $14.99
4. OfficeCalc 200 $19.99
5. PrintCalc 100 not yet priced
6. QuickCalc $5.99

IMHO, these are great prices. Start buying. Oh yeah, send me one (of each). I'm still waiting.

If interested in buying, start here.

letter to the editor

Mom was the scribe in the family. If anyone was going to write a letter I'd have expected her to. However, on a recent trip back to the family home. I discovered that my dad wrote a letter to the editor of the Nashville News (probably) in the late '80s. It was published with the headline "Ordinary men were greatest WWII heroes."

For Independence Day, I am reproducing his letter to the editor here.

Dear Editor:
I am enclosing a copy of an article from a book entitled World War II Fighting Men of Arkansas published shortly after the end of the war. The man pictured was my father Brooks Ayers Tolleson. He was born north of Nashville at Mount Pleasant and was raised in the Highland/Nathan/Center Point area.
The approach of Veterans Day prompts me to highlight his contribution to that war along with those of many others from this area.
Brooks married Katherine Wood and had three children before being drafted into WWII from Pike County and another child after returning home.
Just at the end of the war, he was captured and held as a POW in a German Stalag for over six months. Even after suffering as a prisoner, he never held an anomosity toward anyone.
He was always proud of his country; he never failed to vote. He was proud to have been part of the process of freedom and protection this country offered, and he honored the flag and other veterans every chance he had.
Brooks lived most of his adult life in Clark County working in the logging industry. After suffering an initial hear attack in 1975, he and Katherine returned to Howard County in the early 1980s.
He applied for and began receiving veteran benefits of only $16 a month. I thought this was a disgrace because much of his disability was the direct result of his injury while a POW, but my dad received it gladly.
My dad was the most honest person I've ever known, and he was only one of many of his generation who did what they believed to be right. Ordinary men like him were truly the greatest heroes of the war. America needs more heroes like him today.
Sincerely,
Ronnie Tolleson
Mineral Springs

Mom has the original handwritten letter as well as an original clipping somewhere. We'll try to preserve them. I can't locate the book the letter references, but will try to at some point.

Raise your flag this week. Honor a veteran this Independence Day. Vote this fall. The price that my grandfather and many others paid make the examples that they lived worthy of following.

eating a rainbow

Took kcrazorback daughter to a baseball game today. It's amazing how a 5-year old girl can eat for three hours straight. She's definitely my kid.

Course #4 was a gigantic snow cone. Of course, ice chunks with multi-colored sugar syrup on them can occupy a kid for a while. Two-thirds of the way through this frozen sugar bomb I looked down at her. She looked back up at me and said "I'm eating a rainbow."

6/26 Added photo: Thanks to my friend Wendy (2nd from right) for sending me this photo which shows the little rainbow-eater (right), although it doesn't look much like a rainbow on that little tongue.

merry Christmas

OK, I know it's not really Christmas. But any day I hear about new hp calculator models feels a little like Christmas morning. And so, today I present the new models I've heard about:

I've always been a really big fan of hp financial calculators. Financial professionals seem to love 'em as well. This new model, the 20b seems to be the perfect basic scientific. What? Oh yeah, it is a financial calculator--it also calculates IRRs and amortizations with classic 12b ease but it's combined with basic trig functions for example. I think it will end up being a great one for your student or consumer who just wants the power of a financial calculator occasionally to calculate car payments, etc. Of course, soon, the car will be free with each tank of gas purchased.

Check out the new graphing calculator, the 40gs here. I'm not much into the graphing ones so won't offer much of an opinion. It looks like it'll be a midgrade (maybe in the $99-$110 range) that will be a fantastic choice over the $150 version.

Wow, it looks like our old calculator company is introducing a whole new line of products: the Home and Office category. With three new calculators that give you the feel of an old-school adding machine and one really cool looking basic (think 4-function) model, there is something for almost any office or retail environment. If you don't have to calculate payments or IRRs, consider one of these:

The OfficeCalc 100 appears to be your basic adding-machine but it's all hp under the hood. The OfficeCalc 200 looks like the 100 but is actually quite a bit bigger. And, if you really need the register tape on your adding machine, check out the PrintCalc 100.

Out of all the new models, though, my very favorite may just end up being the QuickCalc. It looks really cool. It is rugged. It goes anywhere. It's magnetic. In short it's just like me: attractive, simple, rugged, magnetic. OK, I'm not really magnetic. But this calculator looks like it will be great. The design is creative.

OK, so my Christmas gift to you is a blog post. Well, it's not really Christmas either, is it? So, stop your complaining. If you want to get me a gift, I'll take one of each of the products listed above.

the incredible heaviness of being

OK, I've been a member of a health club for a week and a half. With membership comes two personal trainer sessions.

The first one, last week, basically went down like this: the trainer did a fitness assessment involving a scale (ugh), a tape measure (double ugh) and a long questionnaire about what, when and how I eat. I am one messed up puppy. The good news, though, is it doesn't matter where you start, but where you end up. The first session ended with 10 minutes of core muscle exercises. I didn't know I had ab muscles. Maybe I don't. It was almost enough to make me decide not to return.

I did go back. The second session also ended with 10 minutes of ab training. But instead of sitting at a desk for 40 minutes, I lifted weights. My muscles did not appreciate this at all. They haven't voluntarily lifted anything in a while. It felt good. I think I'm on the road to making it for the first couple of months.

During the first week, my eating was quite good and I exercised moderately. As I add in core and resistance training (oooh, sound like I know what I'm talking about), I hope you'll see more improvement and less kcrazorback, weigh less. The PT will bring me in for a followup assessment in one month--the whole scale & tape routine. I'll let you know how it goes.

hpanda

Saw the Kung Fu Panda movie with the fam last night. It's not the greatest movie, but it is entertaining and worth the $8.25 to plunk down imho. If they had just made the entire movie as humorous as the big battle at the end was it would have been really good.

Also stayed through the credits hoping for really cool animated outtakes, etc. Didn't really get that but did get to see the hp logo quite prominently after the credits. So, later I checked out the movie's official site and clicked on the list of partners. Unfortunately the hp logo is not a link on the official site, but almost all of the other partner links do work.

Note, however, that the hp site does have some pretty cool kfp related content. Check it out here.

Peace to the valley.

rooting irrationally

If you aren't yet subscribed to the hp calculator newsletter HP Solve, check out the newest one here. Then sign up here if you want.

For the real math geeks, this month's issue takes you through the calculations your calculator does when calculating the square root of 2. Cool.

On my first day of graduate school, my instructor proved that the square root of 2 is irrational. On his first exam, he asked us to prove that the square root of 12 was irrational. Out of some 40 math students in the room, I was one of only two or three (I think) that got it right. Can you prove that the square root of 12 is irrational?

fit all day long

OK, I admit it, I'm out of shape. In fact, last fall when I left AAFP in order to take a job at Barkley one thing I left behind was an exercise facility right there in the office that I had used for ten years. My fitness level during the last 9 months has taken a serious nosedive.

Barkley doesn't have an exercise facility in the office. But it does offer a great benefit--monthly health club dues reimbursement.

So, I did it. Last night I joined a health club. I'll keep you posted on how the whole thing works out. I expect to stick with it. If I can do that through the first couple of months, I should be alright.

I wonder if the club will mind if I run on a treadmill while eating Doritos.

today's mercy seat

My employer, Barkley, is located in the Crossroads Arts District of downtown Kansas City. It's a really cool neighborhood to walk around in at lunchtime. Among many local interesting, even odd, businesses, there is a tattoo and piercing parlor by the name of Mercy Seat Tattoo.

Mercy Seat's logo is a drawing that appears to be an electric chair. I have no idea how they came up with that logo or what it means or anything.

But, it started me thinking about THE mercy seat and the fundamental misunderstanding that so many have of their relationship with God. Too many see God as a merciless judge who is just waiting for a slip up so he can show them straight to the electric chair. But the God I know is a God of mercy. He sits and waits, not for the slip up, but, anxiously, for the opportunity to show mercy. The very name of the place where he sits is the mercy seat.

The mercy seat of the Old Testament was in the most holy place in the tabernacle. It was gold-plated opulence. Only the High Priest could approach the mercy seat once a year with a blood offering for the atonement of sins.

Today's mercy seat is different. You see, something, amazing happened at the crucifixion. As His (Jesus, the Son of God) blood poured out as an atonement for sin for all of time, the temple curtain separating man from God was torn apart (from top to bottom). Any of us, no matter how lowly or sinful can approach the mercy seat and not die, but receive mercy and live eternally. Jesus, through his own blood, made atonement as a High Priest, before the true mercy seat of God which is in Heaven (Heb. 9:11,12).

He chose to do this. The Lamb has been slaughtered. The sacrifice has been made. The sins are forgiven. Salvation is provided. FOR those who come to the Father through the Son, Jesus. Coming to Jesus is easy. Jesus (Emanuel--God Incarnate--God with Meat) came to us. All we have to do is believe his message and accept his free gift.

There is a judgment seat in the New Testament. It's found in Matt. 25:31 and following. Jesus sits on the judgment seat. That's right--the great High Priest who made atonement for my sins. Vs. 46 says that the righteous will enter into eternal life and in Heb. 10:10 "we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. (Heb. 10:19-23, NLT)

we remember

Today is Memorial Day. Our flag is out.

I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud to be the son of a U.S. Marine, the son-in-law of a U.S. Army officer (Vietman veteran), the grandson of a WW II P.O.W. (6 months in a German prison), the nephew of service men (by now we're up to all branches of the armed forces). I come from a long line of men and women who have served our country in peace and war times.

I'm proud of my great-grandparents and their generation who raised the "Greatest Generation." Their are many parallels between their generation and the young adults who are now referred to as Generation-X. Similarly, their children (the Millenials) are being called by some the "2nd Greatest Generation."

I never served in the United States military, but I have the greatest respect for those men and women who place it on the line every day. Regardless of politics, you Americans serving all over the world--especially in Iraq--right now are to be respected, commended and supported.

More than 4,000 of your colleagues have died in Iraq. The price of your sacrifice is hard for us to understand. Thank you for protecting freedom. Thank you for serving. May God bless you all and bring you home soon.

captivated on captiva

Mrs. kcrazorback and I just returned from a long weekend in Florida--a long kid-free weekend in Florida, that is. Kid-free weekends are the best kind. Don't get me wrong: I love my kid.

But I love my wife, too. In fact, I don't get enough time with her. In those rare moments that we have that aren't dominated by the concerns of this world--work, kid, home, cars, paying for gasoline, whatever--those old college days come flying back.

We were college sweethearts, you see. We've now been married for 19 years. But, every time I look at that girl I see my college sweetheart--just as she looked in 1986. One of my strongest memories is what her perfume smelled like in college. I hear her voice and summer of 1988 late night phone calls come to mind. Her every touch reminds me of two decades ago.

I still love: walking with her, talking with her, eating out together, traveling with her, making plans with her, laughing together. I can't get enough of her. I never will.

I'm so thankful for last weekend on Captiva Island. Florida is wonderful.

Thanks to my inlaws for watching our daughter for the weekend. I enjoyed watching theirs.

spare $13.9 billion laying around?

Nothing to do with calculators here--except for the need for a good 12c to analyze this deal: hp is buying EDS for a sweet chunk of change, I've seen $12.6 to $13.9 billion. That's quite an acquisition. See EDS or hp for more info. Opinions on whether this is a good deal for our calculator company, please comment?

skin is in

It's not my deal, but I know lots of folks who put skins on their mobile devices and iPods, etc. Now, however, I may have good reason to start.

Skin It is now offering skins for hp calculators. Wow. I did notice, however, that my alma mater Arkansas was not listed among the long list of colleges with skins available. Thanks to Wing Kin Chueng's hp blog for the heads up. Also, I noticed that my beloved 33s is not one of the models available as well.

So, Skin It, as soon as I can dress up my 33s in a little Hawg outfit, you might get my business. Until then, probably not.

five is just too old

I suppose it's not really too old. But for mom and dad it comes too quickly. We see our sweet little kcrazorback daughter growing up too fast. Before we know it, she'll be in kindergarten, um, grade school, really, high school already, you mean she's in college, I mean home from college...

I know, between now and then there will be a million soccer games, sleepovers, lemonade stands, skinned knees, church camps, school days, sick days and snow days. I know she'll still need us. But the need will be different.

Until now, in a lot of ways, we were her world. From now on we will support her, help her, protect her and even lead her in her own world--not ours, but hers.

It's supposed to be this way. What good would it be if 13 years from now she went away to college still dependent on us? Still, our co-dependence is hard to lose. You see, she doesn't need me in the same way anymore. But there's not a switch to turn it off in me.

We are learning new ways to communicate. This weekend I opened something for her as she protested "Daddy, I can do it." I said "I know you can. I just wanted to do it for you." We've entered a new stage--a good one.

I really am happy for her--but, five is just too old.

great sports quote

This Yahoo! sports blog, Shutdown Corner, contains your great sports quote of the day. It's about the San Diego Chargers' decision to draft Ryan Leaf to play quarterback 10 years ago:

They literally would have been better off drafting an epileptic plumber who can't read, and just paying him to stay home and watch cartoons and play with his wrench.

it's not our fault

On Friday morning, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake shook the midwest. Though it was centered in southeastern Illinois, it was felt as far west as Kansas.

Well, I did not feel the quake. But it did wake me up--in Kansas. At that time Friday morning, I was awakened by the sound of rattling--not sure if it was a chandelier or barrister bookcase doors or something else, but the rattling seemed to last for a long time. I looked at the clock and fell right back to sleep. Only later in the day, when I read the news, did I realize what it was that caused what I heard.

the champs

Sure enough, the Kansas Jayhawks won the NCAA basketball championship last night. Awesome! If you recall, the football team won the Orange Bowl in January and finished with the best record in all of college football (and except for one unfortunate loss to the University of Missouri, could have been national champs in football as well). KU is on a roll.

shoe-wearing birds fly

OK, so I said I would leave sports out of the blog after Houston Nutt resigned.


Well, now you can't hold me to that when a school we are connected to is playing for the national championship in basketball tonight. That's right the Kansas Jayhawks could win it all tonight by beating the Memphis Tigers. GO KU!


How are we connected to KU, you ask? OK, well Mrs. kcrazorback has a Master's degree in integrated marketing communications from the University of Kansas making her a real Jayhawk--even if her classes were in Overland Park and she's never even been to the main campus in Lawrence except for a football game. Worse, she's not even a fan.


Secondly, kcrazorback himself has a University of Kansas mini-MBA--which is not really a degree but it is branded Jayhawk. Not to mention the fact that we've lived almost our whole adult lives where Kansas is the closest major university.


So, it's a little bit of a stretch, but we're Jayhawks. Rock! Chalk! Jayhawk! KU!

the best wedding gift

OK, this family story requires a lot of setup. Mrs. kcrazorback and I got married in 1989. We were way too young for such a crazy action. We got married on her graduation day from college (black gown in morning, white gown at night). After graduation, she would be unemployed for a few months and I would drive a delivery truck that summer making next to minimum wage. During the following school year, I was on a graduate teaching assistantship making a smooth $7200 (yes, that was a year's wage for me). Needless to say, we didn't have a lot that first year of marriage.

Meanwhile twin kcrazorback brother was not really getting rich either as he worked in a poultry processing plant in SW Arkansas.

Bride's home church had a shower for us and gave us an unbelievable number of towels and stuff. My home church had a shower for us and gave us a bunch of towels and stuff. Friends and family from all over gave us towels and stuff. Being a young couple that didn't have much, we really needed and appreciated all that we were given.

However, the very best gift that we were given came from the most unlikely source, my brother. I love him for doing the best he thought he could. But I don't know if he realizes that he was also providing what we really needed. You see, 19 years ago my brother didn't have much in the way of resources. But he could shop at the company store. So, for our wedding gift, he got us big bags of frozen chicken, bags of fajita meat, several Cornish game hens, boxes of frozen chicken nuggets (dixie fritters for those in the know), etc. My brother, in spite of his own poverty, fed this newlywed couple for months at the very time we most needed it.

My dear brother, thank you for your wonderful gift. I probably never communicated to you how much I really appreciated it. I doubt that I've ever given you a gift so valuable. You are a good friend and a great brother.

hp calculator newsletter

For those of you interested in hp calculators, they have recently started a very good newsletter, HP Solve. Click here for the most recent version. This issue focuses on financial calculators with an offer of a 20% discount on the 12c. I have really been impressed with both issues so far and hope that they keep it up going forward. If this is your calculator brand (I can't believe it wouldn't be), be sure to sign up for a subscription to Solve.

He is risen

I serve a risen savior, He's in the world today. I know that He is living whatever men may say...He lives, He lives. Christ Jesus lives today...You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart.

The old hymn is so true for me. I know He lives in my heart. My personal relationship with Him forces me to witness to a relationship with a living God.

But that's not all, I know that He lives because His resurrection satisfies all Old Testament prophecy. That's what "according to the Scriptures" means in "that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (I Corinthians 15:4)

I know that He lives because it satisfies what He said He would do.

I know that He lives because of the empty tomb.

All of scripture testifies to His living. Angels delivered the He is risen message. Thousands witnessed Him alive after the third day. There is no body in the tomb. Millions have given all for Him. My own heart sees Him.

The salvation I blogged about in Friday's post is possible because of the death. The Savior's power to save is illustrated by His conquering death.

He is risen.

have a good friday

Today is Good Friday. In the Christian tradition, this is the day we recognize that Jesus died on the cross. If you aren't Christian, please keep reading anyway.

In giving his law, God describes Himself as a jealous God. He desperately longs for a people who obey Him. But people are human. We disobey. On that amazing Friday afternoon 1,979 years ago (plus or minus 5), He was satisfied. On that day, all of us who believe were brought into a relationship with the very God who so desperately longed for us.

Jesus longed for His people (Luke 13:34) in the same way.

Whether we knew it or not, we needed His amazing sacrifice.

For all parties involved, the terrible thing that happened that Friday afternoon so long ago was the best thing that could have ever happened. Our God and our Lord should never have had to make the sacrifice that He did. But I am so thankful that He did. He died for me. He also died for you. If you believe that, you are saved. If you don't, please let me study this topic with you. I will never force you to believe, but I'd love to share my story with you.

Have a wonderful Good Friday.

making peace with my hair color

Apology: I've been really busy the last two weeks (more so than at any other point in my career it seems) and I've been sick for a week. So, I've neglected the blogs. Check back here frequently this weekend. I am planning a couple of posts related to Good Friday and Easter and one really good post about hp calculators as well as officially launching the family blog this weekend. Whew!

Hi, I'm Greg. I have gray hair. My virtual world avatar has gray hair. I have admitted it, accepted it and even begun to appreciate it. If you haven't seen me recently, see my profile picture (that was one really talented photographer or lighting was tricky to make the hair look darker but the face bright) to the right.

I am one of the older people at the ad agency where I work. I hope my hair color speaks to my wisdom (heh heh heh).

Many other men my age have dark brown hair. Some are prematurely gray. But that's not my term for it. I have decided that I am immaturely gray.

hp calculator blog by hp

Well, it's about time. The good folks over at hp have started their own official blog about hp calculators written by Wing King Cheung. See Mr. Cheung's blog here.

the youngest author

Ironically, 4-year old (almost 5) and pre-reader kcrazorback daughter has now authored her first children’s book. Sunday evening she sat down and first illustrated the story and then added the words—very smartly drawing on the right page facing you and writing on the left. Her very patient mother spelled the words verbally, but the content is entirely daughter’s. Mom’s role as book binder was also important, having ‘stitched’ the pages together.

It is really amazing what effect the creation had on daughter’s self esteem. This kid walked 10 feet above the ground all week. Wednesday is her preschool’s regular show and tell day. She asked if she could take her book on Monday, though. Mom and I, being extremely wise (read: old) immediately replied: absolutely.

Before school Monday morning, daughter was observed reading her own book while singing aloud a new tune with the lyrics “it’s all about me” repeated over and over again. You see, she is not just the author but the basis for the lead character in a fictional story about a girl named Olivia going to space in a rocket ship. The plot of the story takes an interesting twist with the presence of duck tracks. The duck tracks, not being completely explained by the remainder of the story, lead me to believe that there will be a sequel released soon.

As I delivered child with manuscript in hand to her classroom, she held it up for Ms. Bernadine to see. Ms. Bernadine, most perceptively welcomed the young authoress into the classroom and allowed/encouraged her to read her book to the entire class at the podium during class which she did with great success. (Thank you so much, Bernadine, for recognizing what is really important during the school day.)

I’ll try to represent the book here some other time. I’ll let you know about a publication date, etc. Meanwhile, perhaps the publisher can use this author picture on the dust jacket.

welcome home, don gibbs

Most Christians just don't get it. It's not that we're less saved than other Christians. We just don't fully comprehend the weight of the sacrifice that our God made for us.

Don Gibbs got it. He didn't just acknowledge faith in God. He knew his God. He knew and taught scripture so very well--especially Isaiah. He didn't just know the prophecy of the Messiah and Savior. He knew Him as his personal Messiah and Savior.

With all the amazing knowledge he had, what really amazes me is the level of his humility. Don was perhaps one of the most humble men I've ever known.

Don, thank you for your example. Thank you for your teaching. Thank you for showing us how to be humble. We will miss you.

surely there's a big word for it

The Sesquipedalian. That's the name of the family newsletter. Yeah, I come from the goofy family that has a family newsletter. I do love it. To my suprise, the family matriarch (my aunt Barbara) included this blog in the most recent version of the Ses. Thank you aunt Barbara for the reference, you geaux girl.

So, for those of you who are new to this blog as a result of seeing it in the Ses, welcome. You'll find some of the earliest posts of interest and quite a few posts about family (especially my dad). Except (possibly) for J.R., most of you will probably want to skip anything about hp calculators. If you want to know me better though, this blog is a great place to start.

Of course, sesquipedalian means given to the use of long words. This family does use long words. With a special ability to find 7- and 8-letter words--thanks to Scrabble. Yep, we're a Scrabble-nuts family. Maternal grandmother Hazel was top nut for a very long time. At family reunions we recount old family Scrabble games. I still recall games where I scored more than one 50-point bonus for using all 7 letters in my rack and still lost the game. It's not true that this family will do anything for each other. We will--except, that is, show mercy on the Scrabble board.

I would think it would be really cool to see our family word end up on a family Scrabble board. So next time you see PEDAL on the board, add your IAN to the end. It just may happen that Barbara has SESQUI ready to append to the front. Oh, and don't challenge PEDALIAN, you'll lose a turn.

Sorry for a blog post that was a foot and a half long. Welcome all Holts.

esquire, you gotta be kiddin' me

Esquire magazine recently listed the best sandwiches in America. Close examination of the list reveals the McRib sandwich as one of the best. Now, I'm pretty sure that the other sandwiches on the list--most of which look awesome and are not from chain restaurants (except for the Chick-fil-a sandwich)--are all much better than the McRib--even the Chick-fil-a sandwich is much better than McRib.

If you are what you eat, I am (at least partially) a barbecue sandwich. It's enough that you've insulted me by suggesting that McRib is one of the best, don't trash Kansas City because we love pickles with our sandwiches. (We do.) Think about my handle, kcrazorback--I mean, I am a combination of pork and Kansas City. Esquire has obviously launched a personal attack against me (just kidding, of course).

My readers will remember one of my earliest posts which contained the family's McRib story. Hmmm? Perhaps, to at least one family member, McRib was one of the best.

presidents' day salute to you and me

Today is Presidents’ Day. You know we’ve only had 42 of those guys. And, it is appropriate to salute them. So, salute! On our next President’s Day, there will be a 43rd.

With just 42 presidents today, though, we could spend an entire half-hour saluting each one of them and still get 3 hours of sleep. I don’t propose that, but I do propose that we extend Presidents’ Day honors to anyone who has served as president of any organization. You were president of the student government in 8th grade, salute! You are president of the local chess club, salute!

At one time, I was president of the Kansas-Western Missouri chapter of the American Statistical Association—top plains geek, sort of. I have also been president of my local chapter of the Future Farmers of America (my future did not actually end up in farming, except that one day I spent branding beef cattle, but I do support agriculture by eating). I suspect there have been other presidencies that I’ve forgotten. I could be president of the failing memory club.

All of us who have served as president should be honored today. Please comment and let me know of your presidencies, and, hey, salute to you!

taz the tomato

Four-year old kcrazorback daughter knows the word tornado. However, when she's talking fast, and she does talk fast when she gets going, it comes out sounding like tomato. But it's not how she says tornado that's funny. It's her dramatic presentation of a tornado that is really funny. She spins into the room much like the Tasmanian devil from the old Bugs Bunny cartoon and announces the tomato.

valentine's day salute to my sweetheart

Mrs. kcrazorback generally does not want to be mentioned in my blog or Facebook page or personal Web site or anything else. Offline, she is the greatest support for this husband that a guy could have.

To my wife: You are beautiful and wonderful and altogether fabulous. You are funny and smart and capable of anything. You are a fantastic wife and a better mother. You are sweet and beautiful (redundant, I know). You are honest and genuine and even brutal when you need to be. You are incredibly passionate for (or against) almost anything. You are the only one I want to spend my time with--whether 20 minutes for lunch or 40 more years of growing older together. We have been together for 22 Valentine's days--19 of them as a married couple. I am so thankful for every one of them. I thank God for you.

the mav, um, chick magnet #2

I told you about my moped in this earlier post. But upon turning 16, suddenly car trumps moped. So, the question is, what kind of wheels could possibly replace the chick magnet.

You've got it. The same Ford Maverick that was the setup for the punchline in another earlier post would become "the Mav," my 1976 Ford Maverick. In fact, I even bought the thing from my parents. They should've paid me to take the thing off their hands.

Not only was it a really cool car, but I got to share it with my twin brother while we were in high school. But due to my really cool paper route (that I kept until age 18), I probably got a lot more behind the wheel time.

Really, this kind of car is the best for teens. I mean the maximum speed was about 55 mph--not the speed limit (OK, it was the speed limit at the time), but the car's maximum speed. Above that, it would start to shake pretty good. I did get a speeding ticket one time for going 71 mph. I don't know how I did it.

It took its last breath on Sycamore St. in Fayetteville, AR in late 1989. Sold it for scrap. But that was not until after it saw me through high school, college, most of graduate school and marriage. I'm telling you, that car really was a chick magnet. My college sweetheart liked it.

It's funny how college sweetie and I have now been together for 21 years and married for almost 19, but that car has been gone for a very long time. I wonder if, perhaps, it was me that she liked and not the car. Nah...

cinderella

Our town does a really cool thing each winter: Cinderella's Ball. If you can imagine hundreds of little girls and their dads eating, dancing, etc. at a big party you've got the picture.

Four-year old kcrazorback daughter and I attended a week ago. It was really cool. I danced with my daughter. I had fun with my daughter. She had fun with me. It was a very special evening (friends and family can see pictures and a video on my Facebook).

Contemporary Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman has a really great song called Cinderella (hear it here). You see he knew something the prince never knew. I know the same thing. Midnight arrives too quickly. Cinderella will be gone. The song brings a tear to my eye. Actually, the truth to the song brings a tear to my eye. I know my little girl won't be little for very long.

I have to treasure every moment. I have to dance with her at every opportunity. I have to. I don't want to miss anything. Midnight is coming.

i was talking to you, daddy, not God

Four-year old kcrazorback daughter came into the kitchen and said, "Don't watch me."
Of course, knowing that she was up to something, I said, "Honey, God is always watching you."
"I was talking to you, Daddy, not God."

my favorite Bible verse

My favorite verse is from prophecy. However I believe that the truth that it reveals about our God's personality can teach His people today. It's the second half of Daniel 11:32

Daniel 11:32 (New American Standard Bible)
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

32"By smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.

"...the people who know their God will display strength and take action." Our God wants a people who will boldly display their strength. He wants a people who will rise to act. Meekness is a virtue, but weakness is not. Action must be taken.

In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, Paul teaches us that we are 'created in Christ Jesus for good works' (Eph. 2:10). Note: Paul is not saying that we can be saved by works--in fact, he clears up that issue in the preceeding 2 verses. Read Ephesians 2:8-9 some time. There is nothing I can do to be saved outside the grace gift of God. But, knowing God, I know that He calls me to work and I desperately want to please Him.

So, if my God has created me for good works and prepared the works for me, I must rise to the challenge and do what He calls me to do.

Christian brothers and sisters, seek ministry, be strong, step out in faith and do what he calls you to, go on that mission trip, become a youth sponsor, send an encouraging note to your pastor, plan a retreat, lead a small group, commit to worship all-out, restore your personal bible study, teach a class, take the single Mom's kids for the day. Just do it--whatever it is.

In Daniel 11, the physical nation of Israel would soon face a threat from a foreign king. Their lesson was to prepare to display strength and rise to action. Should not we--the spiritual nation of Israel--learn the same lesson and display spiritual strength and rise to action also. It is how we will stand against the threat.

best price on 39gs

If you're in the market for an affordable graphing calculator, act now. The folks at hp have the 39gs on sale with a $16 instant rebate. You can't beat this price anywhere else, so buy it here.

I don't have graphing calculators, so can't speak to the 39gs, but I suspect this is a bargain.

kcrazorback presidential poll results

First, thank you to all 5 of my readers for voting in the poll. You were great.

Three of you participated in the Democratic caucus with Hillary Clinton edging out Barack Obama 2 to 1.

You two Republicans are deadlocked with one vote each for Mike Huckabee and John McCain.

Voting for your college graduation speaker (I know--I was there) was not encouraged, but was allowed. Look for future polls.

it was just going to blow away anyhow

Dad was never rich. But he did work hard for his money. When I was little, he worked rotating shift work at a cement plant in southwest Arkansas (see this earlier post). This meant that he worked the day/evening/graveyard shift every third week.

Paychecks were distributed on Friday mornings. When he worked the day shift or the graveyard shift his supervisor would hand him his paycheck. But on those Friday mornings when he worked the evening shift he would have to make the 8-mile trip to pick up his paycheck in the morning if he wanted it to be in the bank before Monday. Frequently he'd take one of us kids with him on the special trip. On this particular Friday morning, I accompanied him.

Inside the office building at the plant, there was an old-fashioned teller's window with a slot through which the office staff passed the paycheck to the employee. Just as Dad was reaching down for his, quite by happenstance, both the front and back doors of the office building were opened at the same time creating an amazing draft through the small slot in the teller's window. The wind blew his check through the slot and out the front door. Dad said something to the effect of "Oh well, it was just going to blow away anyhow" and turned around and walked out.

I think I chased the check down for him.

he had a dream

It's going to be an amazing election year. I can't stand election years. But, this one will be special.

Never before has an African American had a real shot at being elected president of the United States of America. Neither has a woman had a real shot at it either. This year a black candidate and a female candidate are legitimately capable of winning this whole thing. It's about time.

What's really cool is that either one of these folks could win (or lose) this whole thing based strictly on their merit--not on their skin color or gender. OK, yeah, I know it's more complicated than that. However, this year, perhaps, the majority become more moral than that. Perhaps this is the year that we can turn the corner on King's dream. Whether Obama wins or loses, I hope we can look back on it having forgotten the role that race played. Whether Clinton wins or loses, I hope gender has nothing to do with it.

Both Clinton and Obama are reaping the benefit of King's vision and dream. We all are. We must continue to make progress. We must judge others by their conduct and their character and not the color of their skin. It must be our dream--not just Dr. King's.

See this earlier post in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Please vote in my poll to the right.

hp handheld history on hp.com

Hey, it's time for another hp calculator post. You might recall this earlier post pointing you to the hp museum site. But hp has its own history page that's pretty good as well. Check out the hp calculator history and educate yourself a little bit. HP is the market leader in financial calculators and their scientifics aren't too shabby either. I like all of the pictures of different models that represent the different lines. I also like the fact that they didn't go overboard and try to display everything. It's well done.

Now, why do I still not have my very own 35s?

the case for religious extremism

Warning: extra long post.

Less than a month ago, Fouad al-Farhan, a Saudi blogger, was arrested for posts which were critical of religious extremism and is still in jail.

When I heard about this story, I thought of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s letter from a Birmingham jail, excerpted below.

But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus and extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal . . . ." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvery's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime -- the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth, and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation, and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

May we all be extremists like MLK Jr. May we emulate his peacefulness. May we emulate those that he referred to in this paragraph. May we answer his questions by being extremists for love and the extension of justice.

I hope that al-Farhan is released soon--he should be. I hope people of all nations and religions exhibit the kind of extremism modeled by King, Jr. Those of us who are Christians should take the lead.