The Sabes are doing great, leading their series 2-1 after a great win last night! I did a search for the remaining games on OLN for this series, and posted those above. But, hopefully, if all goes well, we’ll only be playing tomorrow and Sunday’s games! Yahoo!!! 🙂
Go Sabres!
Was on a walk with the kids today and found a tree with these leaves…
Bonus points to the first one who can tell me what kind of tree it is!
The Eastern Conference Finals began this afternoon. We finished watching the game at around 9:45pm (tape-delayed by us, due to some other plans for this day). And I was just in shock. Seriously. This is nuts.
Buffalo has never won a championship. Well, I take that back… the Buffalo Bandits won the NLL championship their very first year in the league. What’s the NLL, you ask? Exactly.
But in 2006, it appears we have a very, very solid shot at this. The Sabres look to be, in my opinion, by far the best of the four remaining teams. They are playing aggressively, but smart. They are hustling all the time, making things happen. They never give up, and they never let down. Even when they were up 3-1 half way through the third period, they were still pouring it on. They have a rookie goaltender who is playing brilliantly, and though they are noted for their offensive production, their defense (particularly in blocking shots) has been simply outstanding.
If you haven’t watched the Sabres in a while, you won’t know any of the names. But as you watch them, you’ll notice that these young unknowns are quite talented, very team-oriented, and just super fun to watch!
Next game is Monday night on the Outdoor Life Network. I think you know where we’re going to be Monday night at 7:30!!
Care to read a couple articles (recaps) from tonight’s game?
Newsvine.com (AP): Sabres Hold Off Hurricanes In Game 1
NHL.com: Sabres Strike First, Lead 1-0
I know, you probably think I’m crazy. But I actually considered buying a plane ticket to go down to NYC today just to be there for the opening of the biggest and first 24-hour Apple Store on the planet. I mean, come on… it’s in my own state…
But, alas, the funds (and other obligations) prohibited me from partaking in such festivities.
Perhaps this is the next best thing?
(In case you are not prone to clicking on “hidden links”, Apple has posted time lapse “movies” of the activity outside the new store, and will continue to do so for the first 24 hours. The link takes you to the page where you can click and watch all of those hour-long “movies”. Fun!) 🙂
I was using our iPhoto app a bunch today, and I noticed that we have some really nice photos in there. I also noticed that it has been a while since I shared any photos here, so as I was about to pick some to post here, I realized that I could just use iWeb (another app that’s bundled with our Macs) to post the photos to a super cool web page.
So I did. 🙂
And I’d like to share. You can click on each photo to enlarge, or view a slideshow that in classic Apple style has lots of pizazz. There’s a cool reflection with each photo, and if you move the mouse to the top of the photo, all of the photos in the slideshow appear transparently over the top of that photo. You can then select whichever one you’d like to view next. Or, you can move the mouse to the bottom of the photo and pause the show, or go forward or backward. Neato. And really, really easy to do. Super easy.
My Dad could even do it, I bet. 😉
Well, enjoy the photos.
Have you ever wondered when Daylight Savings Time begins and ends? I found a nifty little website with a form where you can find out what the dates are all the way through 2099! Visit the website at this link: Daylight Saving Time – When do we change our clocks?
Have fun! 🙂
Cute story to start the day here…
I read a short story or two from the Bible each morning with my boys. It’s a blast. We’re still reading through Matthew at the moment. Just got to chapter ten. That was the story where Jesus selected twelve of his friends to go out and do the stuff he was doing, driving out demons and healing people.
As I was beginning to read the list of names, I think I said, “Hey, we just read the story of how Jesus asked one guy to follow him, remember? He wrote this book?”
And Alex (who is four, and quite good at putting things together) said, “Yeah! His name is Bo, right???”
I paused, not sure why he was asking that. I didn’t remember a Bo in the Bible, or anything that sounded like that…
Then I realized what he meant. 🙂
We had just finished reading the book of Acts, which was written by Luke… are you putting it together yet?
“Just the good ol’ boys… never meanin’ no harm…”
You gotta love that 80s TV influence we have inflicted upon our boys. 🙂
So, I told Alex, “Yeah! Good job, Alex! But, it wasn’t Bo… it was Luke who wrote the other book we were reading.”
And somehow, to Alex, that all made very much sense. 🙂
A bit later than anticipated, but as the saying goes, “Better late than never…” The new Apple consumer laptop is a 13.3″ widescreen computer featuring up to a 2.0 Ghz Intel Core Duo processor. Each ships with the built-in iSight camera for video conferences, iLife 06, FrontRow and remote. Fantastic computers, starting at $1099. I thought they would get them under $1000, but $1099 ain’t bad. And if you are patient, they’ll be selling refurbs for sure within 2 months. Those will be under $1000.
It’s official. The first of two books that I am hoping to publish this month is to the printer. I am going to do this one the same as last time. Print on demand. I will be getting 25 copies, will maybe order another 25 or so, but then all the rest I will sell via online stores, one at a time.
The other book, “There’s The Steeple… Here’s The Church” I plan to print the traditional way, making several hundred copies. That will make the book slightly cheaper, and I’ll be able to give it to people in person, when we’re on that subject.
So, just wanted to share the fun. Look for Rearview Mirror to be available online (or in my hands) by early June.
I have just watched the most appalling thing I have ever seen. That was not written for “shock factor”. I believe it’s true. I have seen some pretty amazing movies over the years, that depict in vivid, gut-wrenching detail the failures of people through the ages. Failures, and heroics. Some that I have commented on include Kingdom of Heaven, and the insanity of killing religious enemies, and Cold Mountain, where brother was turned against brother. People who both bore the name American, and only a few generations earlier had stood side by side, giving everything they had to win the freedom to be brothers in a new land. Only to tear the other down in bitter hatred mere decades later.
A long while back I even watched Saving Private Ryan, which in some ways pales in comparison to the movie I just finished. The visual effects still linger in my mind from that movie, but the goodness of humanity managed to outlast the vicious evil we are also capable of.
Hotel Rwanda was in my DVD slot tonight. I had seen a good review of it by a friend of ours, and Ian and I are going to learn about that country next, so I figured I would watch and learn. Even though I was prepared for a troubling story… I was not prepared.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if there is even one with real understanding, one who seeks for God. But no, all have turned away from God; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not even one!
Psalm 14:2-3
Not one. It was easy to see that tonight. All of us are on the brink of heinous crimes. We could so easily be pushed over the line to do something unthinkable. Close to a million people were just slaughtered in the 1990s because they had the wrong “background”. A name applied to them that would suppose to define them. But, other than that externally imposed difference, the people were indistinguishable. They were brothers. Sisters. Family.
Atrocity. Perhaps the word is over-used these days in our sensationalistic, 24-hour news media. But perhaps not. The movie referenced a web site before it began. Amnesty.org. I can not verify the accuracy or veracity of the content of the site, but for now, I am assuming it’s true. These things are still happening. People are killing people because of some lie that has poisoned their mind and soul. To believe that another human being is less deserving of life than you are is a despicable lie from the Father of Lies.
I am just at a loss. Really.
I sit here in my fully-equipped, air-conditioned office, at my brand new $1300 computer, having just watched on my $2100 lap top a DVD (that I got for free from my library). I know nothing of trouble. I know nothing of the pain that so many deal with, that has been inflicted on them by their own people. Their own family. Sure, I have trouble… who doesn’t? But mine (and ours?) so pale when placed along side the genocide of Rwanda, or the civil unrest of Sierra Leone, or Ethiopia. (Not to mention Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Israel, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, etc, etc, etc.)
My gut aches at the powerless feeling that overwhelms me right now. I think, “God, why do I get to just worry about if my sports team is making the right decisions in the off-season? Why do I get to be so wealthy, and complain about not paying my bills on time?” I figure, I need to sell everything and give all the money I can to the effort to bring justice to the world. Organizations like Amnesty International are trying to do that, right? They could use my money to end injustice.
Wrong.
I’m not saying they are not worth supporting. And perhaps we will. But that is not the answer. It’s just not. “There is none good, not one.” It is the human condition. Amnesty has pleas on their website for government intervention. If the federal government would just step in, all would be well. But it won’t. It would be quieted for a time, perhaps. But hatred will once again prevail. Bigotry and fear will once again cause one human being to loathe and despise another, eventually snapping and taking action on those emotions. Put enough of this together, and you have the genocide that occurred in Rwanda.
This may sound fatalistic, but I don’t believe there is an answer. And I don’t believe we are protected either. Yes, for the moment it seems as though we are. But we are not. The enemy only lives to “steal, kill, and destroy”. That does not just mean in Africa, or the middle East, or Asia. That means we here in the US as well. Perhaps he is doing it silently at the moment. But he is doing it. And will do it.
The only thing we can do is this:
The LORD God has told us what is right and what he demands: “See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.”
Micah 6:8
Love God, and love the people around us. No matter what we may think about them. All are created equal. God has knit each one together in their mother’s womb. Be they welcome members of a family who loves them, and loves God (like we are learning, longing to be), or even an outcast because of physical or mental limitations, or, dare I say, even a child born of rape or some other despicable act. I do not think God wills those things, but everyone who has been given breath is a child of the King. And they deserve to be treated that way.
Our condition is bleak, but I suppose that’s the message of the gospel. God loves us despite our ugliness. He must cry just like I did at the limitless depths of our depravity – like the hateful killings in Rwanda. But maybe he also glows with fatherly pride when one of us lives those words above. Justice, mercy and humility. The hotel manager in Rwanda understood a piece of that. I can only hope that I would as well.
