A World of Possibilities

I’m sorry I haven’t posted more. RealLife^TM has become quite hectic with the arrival of Mount St. Ellery so… first things come first.

Tonight I want to wish each of you the best of all possible years in ’09.

Love those around you like your life depends on it and don’t forget to find the original author of that love. He’s always watching you.

Peace.

Born To Die

The baby in this picture is not dead. He was just born into a very tough life.

Another baby arrived on planet Earth some 2000 years ago with a heart-breaking mission—to die for humanity. Literally Jesus was born to die.

On this Christmas morning, take a second and remember that without his death and resurrection, Christ’s birth would be meaningless.

The greatest of all possible Christmas gifts has always been offered to you… have you received it?

Dojo Info 12/24/08

1. Music Sales Rejuvenated by Rock Band, Guitar Hero
   It’s such a no-brainer that the Led Zepplins and U2s of the world should be kicking themselves now.
2. 2008: The year in tech
   A very good review from the smart folks at ZD.
3. Rock Band AC/DC Set To Be ‘Saluted’ By Scottish Parliament
   Oh yeah… “She Shook Me All Night Long” was such a domestic encouragement they thought about making it their national anthem.
4. Celts now 27-2 after winning 19th straight game
   I used to hate the Celtics more than any NBA team. Now that Rondo is green, they’re one of my favs. And he’s been on a roll lately.
5. Screwtape on Stage
   Like Divine Comedy, this piece will give us a look into C.S. Lewis’ idea of how spiritual enemies do battle; fascinating book.

The Greatest Plastic Guitarist Ever

I’ve found him! The greatest Guitar Hero/Rock Band guitarist of all time. I’m awed by his immense talent and shamed by his incredible skills. If I could be 50% as good as he is, I’d be content.

Did you notice how he was singing along while playing? I bet he even closed his eyes for some of those “easy” parts.

Maybe he’s the cyborg experiment I keep hearing the government is trying to keep under wraps. Judge for yourself the man, the myth, the legend.

I’m thinking about planning a pilgrimage. If this man turns out to be a charlatan then I’ll send in the goons.

Dojo Info 12/17/08

1. How I Sold My ActiveRain Profile for $6,750.00
   Selling one’s profile is dishonest in my opinion. Funny what someone will publish as true only to say at the bottom it was made up. I guess that’s why he’s a search engine junkie.
2. Video game sales keep bucking recession trend
   Yeeeahhhh boooyyeeeee!
3. Wireless Controller Helps Recover Stolen 360
   See? Video games develop people’s problem solving skills. Word.
4. Palin’s church severely damaged by arson
   Stuff like this seems to happen all the time yet the Conservatives are the party of hate? Please.
5. New York considers taxing iTunes downloads
   Our government has become ever “creative” in finding ways to tax us. If this keeps up, we’re going to need another revolution.

Was Christmas Even Necessary?

This is for anyone who ever thought the idea of God becoming a man ridiculous. It was originally read on the air by Paul Harvey. Cheers!

The Man and the Birds

The man to whom I’m going to introduce you was not a scrooge, he was a kind decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas Time. It just didn’t make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus Story, about God coming to Earth as a man.

“I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.” He said he’d feel like a hypocrite. That he’d much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound… Then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud… At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.

Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it. Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them… He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms… Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn.

And then, he realized that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me…That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.

“If only I could be a bird,” he thought to himself, “and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to safe, warm…to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand.” At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells – Adeste Fidelis – listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow.

Best Ever Home Media Room

If you came to our house and I showed you our “media room” you wouldn’t be impressed. Don’t get me wrong, we have a wonderful, large TV but the rest of the room is severely lacking.

You might have a very nice media room in your house. I don’t know. You’ve never invited me, but I’ve seen a great number of them, even on HGTV.

But this one by Steve is the granddaddy of them all and deservedly wins the award of Best Ever Home Media Room. I’m literally speechless… make sure you look at all the photos on his site.

Dante’s Inferno Video Game Teaser Trailer

This clip doesn’t give us much about the video game but with IP like this, designers should be full to overflowing with level design possibilities.

I’m surprised somebody over at Industrial Light & Magic hasn’t pushed through a concept for a film on this amazing piece of literature—Divine Comedy. [via kotaku]

Our 2-Year Old Is Hopelessly Addicted to Rock Band

Barret can’t write his name or say the alphabet but he can throttle some Angels & Airwaves on Rock Band.

Dojo Info 12/12/08

1. Gamespot’s Holiday Gift Guide 2008
   Seriously… what is Christmas without video games? (I’m so immature.)
2. Bill would force college football playoff
   I don’t know this “Bill” personally but I’d support him.
3. Melo scores NBA record 33 in quarter as Nuggets cruise
   33 points in one quarter?! How is that possible?!?
4. Blagojevich’s corruption: a warning for Democrats
   Wow! And this coming the the L.A. Times of all places. He must be really wrong. How is this not all over the place?
5. The Money-Back Guaranteed Tithe
   Wow. That’s ballsy. This concept references: ” ‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’ ” -Malachi 3:10-11

Greatest Shot in Basketball History (Recorded on Tape)

Live or Memorex? Outstanding! More »

Blagojevich Has Ties to Obama; Aide Confirms Then Denies

Does anyone believe anything coming out of the mouth a politician or his people?

President-elect Obama has called on Governor Rod Blagojevich to resign for allegedly trying to trade favors for Obama’s vacant Illinois senate seat. Although Obama says he had no contact with the governor or his office on the matter, in an interview last month on Fox News Chicago, top Obama advisor David Axelrod said otherwise.

“I know he [Obama] has talked to the governor — and there are a whole range of names, many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them,” said Axelrod.

Yesterday, Axelrod issued a retraction, saying “I was mistaken….They did not then or at any time discuss the subject.”

Astounding, but not really. [link]

Love Revealed in Lifechanging Plane Accident

Dong-Yun Yoon. Stop for a second and stay that name out loud.

Here’s what happened. The man moved to America four years ago. He and his wife had a 15-month-old daughter and a 2-month-old daughter. His mother-in-law was also visiting from South Korea.

He moved to this new home only one month ago.

In a moment’s time, he lost it all. His new wife… his two baby girls… his family… his house… all of it to a freak plane crash that struck his home and killed everyone but him.

How does he respond to the pilot who’s plane caused all this destruction but who himself was uninjured? What are the first words out of his mouth?

“I heard the pilot is safe. Please pray for him not to suffer from this accident.”

Could Mr. Yoon sound any more like the Jesus he worships?

Dojo Info 12/10/08

1. Chef dies after eating ‘superhot’ chilli for bet
   Then I guess there is such a thing as too hot.
2. Abortion not seen linked with depression
   More junk science (dishonesty!) as 3 of the 4 authors work for the university department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, which just happens to be funded by Planned Parenthood of Maryland. Disgusting. And they claim to be supporting the mothers. How about you lie to the pregnant mothers about anything negative with abortion just so you can make more money. If that’s not evil, than evil doesn’t exist. This stuff makes my blood boil.
3. Rock Band 2 to get new instrument
   Wha?… they keep us hanging on when we all know what we need is more cowbell.
4. ComScore: 100 million YouTube viewers in October
   On demand video? What a novel concept… I seem to remember hearing about this, oh, a decade or so ago. (Ok, I’ll stop being snide now.) The real question is how long before YouTube actually starts making a profit? (As a company, not just the executives.)
5. Justice in Iraq: Moral progress since the days of Saddam.
   This coming from the WSJ. Once Obama pulls us out of Iraq, how long before the evil influences find their way back to power?

Google Ads Are Swimming with Meds

Man, I had no idea that so many of my Google ads were placed by drug companies. Look at all these sites I just now blocked.

usmedcenter.com
netnutri.com
Hitech-Pharmaceuticals.com
discountprescriptionmedications.com
eDietPillShop.com
BestPhenOnline.com
fastin-direct.com
CanadaPharmacy.com
Elite-Drugstore.com
CanadaDrugs.com
Drugstores-Online.com
fastinsales.com
TurnToHelpNow.com
WholesaleHealthDirect.com
AccessPharmacyGroup.com
ordermedsfast.net

I bet the Feds are flailing in the water trying stop the flow of illegal drug eCommerce. After all, there’s a lot of sales tax they won’t be collecting.

(Chances are my posting these domains isn’t helping my cause either.)