December 2008 Archives

When you Google yourself, you can find interesting stuff. I was checking out the Cuil search engine, and put in my own name to see what turned up. What turned up, among other things, was a site called stevedennieart.com.

Turns out, I'm quite an accomplished illustrator and photographer. I live in Dallas, Texas, and I'm two year older than me. I wouldn't mind buying a painting from Steve Dennie to hang in my house.

Nice interview with Barack and Michele Obama on the People site (and probably in the dead-tree edition of People, I assume). Some things I like about them:

• I love their banter, particularly Michele's spunkiness. It's a marriage of equals.
• They clearly have an exemplary marriage. We all need that example (and, as some African-American pundits have noted, the African-American community particularly needs that example).
• Barack has been very involved in the life of his girls. That's not always true of successful dads.
• With the Obamas, there have been no rumors of any messing around. And you know the opportunities have been there. They seem perfectly content with what they have.

Here's a 20-minute video Rick Warren did for his church people, to answer questions about the controversial over his upcoming prayer at Barack Obama's inauguration.

In this video, posted on December 22, Warren discusses at length his views about marriage, gay partnerships, and related issues. "We must champion civility even when people are hateful toward us....Our nation is becoming more and more rude....Today our nation is being destroyed by the demonization of differences....I disagree with a lot of people, but I don't have the right to turn them into a caricature of what they are."

He also talks at length about Barack Obama and controversies surrounding his upcoming inaugural prayer.

"The fact that the gay community would disagree with me me--that's not news....The real story is that a couple different American leaders have chosen to model civility for the rest of the nation...that we can disagree without being disagreeable....We're both willing to be criticized in order to try to bring American into a new day of civil discourse."

"God has never made a person he didn't love. God has never made a person Jesus didn't die for."

Pam found a little cat-bed at Walgreens for ten bucks, and wondered if the kids might like it. They're usually indifferent toward gifts. But we took it home, and so far, it seems to be quite a hit. Especially with Jordi. He sleeps in it a lot. Probably because it looks like him.

Click photos to enlarge

Cats love boxes. While I was wrapping Pam's presents, with the bedroom door closed, I heard Jordi meowing outside. I let him in. He inspected what was happening, then found this box lying atop the bed. Cats love boxes. He gingerly pawed the paper and stepped into the box. And went to sleep. Ahhhhhh!

A huge ice storm rolled in Thursday night. We never lost power, but over 100,000 people in the city did. Many are still without power. And it's c-o-l-d. The temperature is dropping further, which means the ice accumulated on trees is gonna stay there for a while.

You can see what happened to the trees in front of our house. Two beautiful Bartlett Pear trees, which we planted in, I think, 1994, the year after we moved into this home. They were doing SO well. Now they're trashed. (Click the photo above for a large view)

Mom and Dad lost power around 7 a.m. Saturday morning, and it hasn't come back. They're using our generator right now. Dad says they're able to heat the house nicely, plus run the freezer, some lights, and the TV. So they're fine. Pam's sister Jodie is sleeping in a cold house again tonight.

Pastor Tim and Tara, along with their four young children, spent Friday night sleeping on the floor of the church. Tara's Mom, and her sister and brother-in-law, joined them, all having lost power. Tim called me this afternoon to talk about tomorrow's service. They were in Avilla at Tim's brother's place. As we talked, Tara called their home and said she heard the answering machine. A good sign. Was power back?

I volunteered to drive by the house, to see if lights were on. As it turned out, I ended up calling Pam, who was just going through the Scott's checkout line. I asked if she'd be willing to drive by Tim's house, which lies deep in a complex development. I'm not sure I could have found the house. I knew Pam could find it. She called me and said the Christmas lights were on. So I called Tim and told him. "You have no idea how happy that makes me," Tim said.

A section of our development just down the road got hit real hard. This section was lined with beautiful trees. That section of road is down to one lane, thanks to shredded trees. Looks like a war zone. Like a tornado ripped through. (Click the photo for a large view)

I just finished my third James Patterson book in the past week. His books read quickly, and they're always good. Always. Except for the Maximum Ride books. I read one, and didn't care for it. But everything else, I like. Especially the Alex Cross books.

None of these three was an Alex Cross book. In fact, none were actually written by James Patterson, but by two other persons who write under the James Patterson brand. Only a few writers can brand themselves; Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy are two others. Regardless of the writer, a James Patterson book includes certain characteristics--very short chapters, sparse imagery (and clutter), quick pace, clever plot, usually some kind of surprise at the end.

Step on a Crack. Most of this book is a hostage situation involving a bunch of celebrities. A very unique plot, and it keeps you hooked. No big surprises, but a thrilling ride. The protagonist, a new character who will appear in additional books, is Michael Bennett. He is widowed, with 10 adopted kids. Makes for an interesting context.

Judge and Jury. A murder mystery. I knew it included a surprise ending, but I didn't see it coming. I should have, but I didn't. Kicked myself for it.

Lifeguard. A heist mystery, or something like that. Lots of fun. Like Judge & Jury, this one was written by Andrew Gross, who has written a number of "James Patterson" books.

Pam is part of a businesswomen's group in Fort Wayne. They call themselves 3W3, which basically says when they meet--the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 3:00.

Yesterday's meeting was a Christmas gift exchange. Each person brought a gift of around $20. Then they took turns drawing a gift, with the option of taking a gift somebody else had already opened. You've done this before.

Here's the gift Pam opened: lottery tickets.

Fortunately, somebody (who is probably a million dollars richer now) stole it from her. Instead, Pam brought home a stoneware pie dish.

Just stumbled across this. Well worth considering (but too late this year).

ReadWriteWeb published a series of "Top Ten" lists of the best web products of 2008. So many products and services are moving to the web, as opposed to computer-based programs. And with high-speed broadband, they work great.

I read lists like this with great interest. Maybe you do, too.

• Top 10 Consumer Web Apps
• Top 10 International Products
• Top 10 Semantic Web Products
• Top 10 RSS and Syndication Products
• Top 10 Enterprise Web Products
• Top Ten Mobile Web Products
• Top Real World Apps

I liked Campbell Brown, whose CNN show airs opposite the two juggernauts, "Countdown with Keith Olberman" and "The O'Reilly Factor." The other two are terribly partisan, particularly Olberman (O'Reilly is imminently stomachable compared to the rabid Sean Hannity, whose singular I-Hate-All-Things-Democrat makes me wretch).

Campbell Brown anchors a good, balanced show. She also writes good commentary pieces every week for CNN Online. And she's pretty. So who, exactly, is she? I went to Wikipedia to find out.

• Grew up in Louisiana; her dad was a State Senator, Secretary of State, and Insurance Commissioner. Raised Catholic.
• After graduating from Regis University, a Catholic school in Denver, she spent a year teaching English in Czechoslovakia.
• Married the president of a realty company. It didn't last.
• Married Republican consultant Daniel Senor, and converted to his religion, Judaism. So Campbell is obviously a woman of deep religious conviction...NOT.
• Is currently pregnant with her second child.
• Began her journalism career with the NBC affiliate in Topeka, Kansas, then went to the affiliate in Richmond, Va.
• Joined NBC News in 1996. Was asssigned to the Pentagon, covered the Kosovo war, and later became NBC's White House correspondant.
• Covered politics for CNN, and became Brian Williams' main substitute.
• Left for CNN in 2007.

Finally checked my table tennis rating with the US Association of Table Tennis (USATT). I knew I lost some points, and didn't want to see how much. Turns out it was 55 points. Not as bad as it might have been. My brother, Rick, who had been just a dozen points ahead of me, jumped 40 points, putting him about 100 points ahead. Little brother. This should not be.

I guess I'll have to work extra hard for the upcoming spring tournaments.

Just finished watching the 90-minute documentary film "Who Killed the Electric Car?" Fascinating, and infuriating. GM had a viable electric car, with avid and devoted users. It could have revolutionized the car industry and helped break our dependence on foreign oil.

But they killed it. In fact, they apparently never wanted it to succeed. The 800 cars, called the EVI (Electric Vehicle 1), were only leased, never sold. When the leases expired, GM collected the cars--over the objections of the owners, who loved their EV1s, which were still running great. They hauled the cars away, and had them crushed. Destroyed the evidence of their own success.

And now GM wants a bail-out.

So who did kill the electric car? The film scatters blame around. GM played the largest role in killing it. Oil companies did their part. So did the Bush Administration, which has always been in the pocket of Big Oil (just one more way Bush has severely damaged my country). Consumers helped kill it, too.

The film made some real interesting points I hadn't thought about before.

Car companies, like GM, make huge profits from car repairs and part replacement. The EV1 had few parts, and required practically no maintenance. Consider that it didn't need a muffler or tailpipe--that's a multi-billion-dollar industry. Cars were charged overnight at home--no need to visit a gas station.

The EV1's limited range was due to battery capacity. But that's just technology. GM bought a controlling ownership in a company which made high-capacity batteries that would have worked great in electric cars. They later sold it all to Chevron Oil. The oil and car companies are no doubt sitting on all kinds of patents for breakthroughs which could reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Did you know that GM killed the electric trolley system in cities throughout the country? They bought up the trolley systems and replaced them with gas-guzzling buses.

But hey--GM really has the country's best interests at heart...right? So let's bail them out.

I highly recommend "Who Killed the Electric Car?" It'll make you mad, and that's good.

One of the 3 or 4 top reasons I voted for Barack Obama is my conviction that we MUST do something about energy independence. McCain talked big, but I lacked confidence that he would follow through. But I'm hopeful about Obama. He might disappoint me, but for now, I'm hopeful.

The domain GeorgeWBushLibrary.com had been owned by Yuma Solutions, which has been a contractor for the Bush family for some time. However, Yuma accidently let the domain expire.

A company called Illuminati Karate promptly swooped in and reserved the GeorgeWBushLibrary.com domain. Then they sold it back to Yuma for a cool $34,990.

Yuma originally bought the domain from a "domain squatter" in 2007 for $3000. Now they've had to eat nearly $35,000 because somebody wasn't paying attention.

Clockwise from top right: Chuck with his three kids (Jim, Pam, Jodie). Chuck with Pam and Jodie. Chuck and his siblings (all of whom are still living). Me and Chuck figuring out a Christmas toy. Chuck at our wedding in 1989. Pam and Chuck. (Click photo to enlarge)

A year ago my father-in-law, Chuck Wilkin, was still asleep, and he shouldn't have been. He had undergone emergency surgery three days before, on December 7, a Friday. On Monday, the 10th, he hadn't yet awakened, and the first bit of concern was arising. But we all figured he would awaken soon. There was hope, and hope continued for several more days.

Pam and I, along with Chuck's brothers and sisters, kids, and grandkids, spent countless hours together at Lutheran Hospital during that week. We all made periodic treks to his bedside, and then returned to the waiting room, which our group pretty much commandeered.

In that waiting room, we had a great time, all things considered. Everyone in the Wilkin klan gets along well. They're a lot of fun, and one of the many benefits of being married to Pam is that I get to be part of that family. I certainly got to know them much better during that long week.

Chuck never woke up. On Friday, December 14, life support was removed. Chuck was then officially gone, though tests showed that brain function had ceased well before that.

December 14 will be Sunday. The worship team is coming to our house for a Christmas get-together.

I know this is a difficult week for Pam, and for her sister, Jodie. Pam doesn't show it, but I'm sure the events of that week one year ago are fresh in her memory. Chuck went unexpectedly, too young.

Chuck was a great guy. He'd do anything for anybody. He was smart, well-read, a successful businessman during his career with Navistar. An Army vet. He was a wonderful brother, a beloved grandpa, a loving father. We all miss him.

Last Monday, Pam and I went to Indianapolis to see a specialist for my Meniere's Disease. I wasn't happy with the guy I'd been seeing in Fort Wayne. I asked my family doctor for a recommendation, and he referred me to someone several other patients were seeing.

Dr. Jerry House was great. He clearly understood what I was experiencing, and relieved some of my anxiety over the two issues confronting me:

1. My continued vertigo and how to deal with it.
2. The hearing loss in my left ear. I basically can't hear anything from that ear anymore. Might Meniere's also invade my right ear?

He pretty much recommended that I try one of the two low-risk options he explained. One involves a shunt behind the ear. It won't eliminate vertigo, but will probably greatly decrease the number of vertigo episodes, perhaps by 90% (plus stop the hearing loss). Sounds good to me. I'm considering having that done in early 2009.

As for the hearing loss: I'm at 40% in the left ear. The constant humming makes it seem like 100%, but that's not the case. A hearing test administered before seeing Dr. House provided the data.

Will Meniere's spread to the right ear? That happens in only 1-2% of cases. I am, of course, an exceptional specimen of a human being, so I could potentially fall within that privileged 1-2%. But should I turn out to be merely ordinary, my right ear doesn't appear to be threatened.

For the first time, my ailment and my options were explained clearly to me. So the trip to Indy was well worth it.

Last week, Pastor Tim started preaching from Luke, and challenged people to read through the Gospel. So today I read Luke chapter 1. Here are some thoughts and observations.

• A miscellaneous, unnamed angel appeared to Zechariah, but the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. Yet in what's recorded, Gabriel didn't identify himself. On what basis did Luke identify the angel as Gabriel?
• When Zechariah questioned how he and his wife could bear a child, since they were old, he was struck deaf and mute. But when Mary questioned how it could happen, since she was a virgin, Gabriel's response was more like, "Good question. Here's how." Is that fair?
• On the other hand, Zechariah's specific question was (in the NIV), "How can I be sure of this?" So he had some skepticism. Whereas Mary asked, "How will this be, since I am a virgin." She perhaps didn't doubt that it would happen. She was just saying, "I believe you. Could you tell me how this will happen?"
• When did Mary actually become pregnant? After seeing Gabriel, Mary went to see Elizabeth and stayed with her about three months (at which point, Elizabeth would have been 9 months along). Did Mary become pregnant after Gabriel's visit? At Elizabeth's home (missed a period, and ended up sticking around for three months)?
• In greeting Mary, Elizabeth said, "Blessed is the child you WILL bear." Does that mean she wasn't currently pregnant? Or does this really mean "the child you will eventually give birth to"?
• Why did Mary not stick around for the birth of John? She was with Elizabeth right up until she was ready to give birth. Why leave then?
• Imagine this old lady, Elizabeth, a first-timer when it comes to pregnancy, coaching Mary through her earliest months of pregnancy. "Yes, Mary, I remember when I went through what you're experiencing...just six months ago."
• We always think of Zechariah not being able to talk. But he also couldn't hear. So when the angel said "You will be silent," it meant not only that he wouldn't make sound, but that he would live in silence, unable to hear sound.
• Did the angel have the authority to strike Zechariah silent? Was this a unilateral decision on the angel's part? Or was there a prompting from God himself?