Random Thoughts: November 2004

Sunday, November 28, 2004 

Christmas Tree


trees
Originally uploaded by hichris.
We put up our little Christmas Tree last night after making the chocolates. You can see what it looks like in the light and in the dark.

I know it's almost a month a way, but Merry Christmas. Of course that reminds me, that I still have a lot to do at work before the end of the year!


 

Chocolate Candy Making


Chocolates
Originally uploaded by hichris.
Anita and I made some chocolates to bring to a Christmas party next weekend. We're going to make more for Christmas gifts soon.


Thursday, November 25, 2004 

Thanksgiving Day Proclamation

Happy Thanksgiving! I think people all to often forget the real purpose of Thanksgiving. I hope you will read this and thank God for all he has done in your life and for the United States. Feel free to share any thoughts in the comments.

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation



Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted' for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have show kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d dy of October, A.D. 1789.

(signed) G. Washington




Tuesday, November 23, 2004 

Back from Ohio!

Here's a picture from the Rustbelt RNA meeting this past weekend. Chappie, Chris Spedaliere, Maggie, and myself all attended. We stayed in Columbus Saturday night and watched the OSU game from right outside the stadium.





Wednesday, November 17, 2004 

My week!

Well, it started busy and will probably stay that way. I've been working on my poster for my presentation this Friday. I'm just about done, and will print out the "big" version this afternoon. Hopefully I won't run into any problems with that. I also need to grade a Chem exam tonight, so I'll be working late again (3 days in a row!).

A few other things:

Listened to a great C. Spurgeon sermon this Sunday on the Holy Spirit you can find it here

I've noticed that my Links don't show up for people using older versions of Internet Explorer or Netscape, I'm not exactly sure why. They are from a Blogroll using javascript, so it's possible there may be an incompatability or perhaps security issue. If you don't see a list of real links, change your browser or upgrade--if that doesn't work check your security settings. In the mean time I've put a compressed list of links, it looks like . . . . . . , almost all the links are there--each one is a period.


Saturday, November 13, 2004 

Busy day!

Well besides posting to this blog, I've been working on my poster presentation for the upcoming Rustbelt RNA meeting in Ohio. I have to finish it up by Monday evening, so I have time to print it before we leave on Thursday. It's a lot more work than you'd think, and sitting in front of a computer for hours designing, writing, and reworking it really drain you. The conference should be good though--as long as I can get over this cold I'm coming down with.


 

InterGrad Group Photo



This a photo of the Wednesday InterGrad group at the University of Delaware. InterGrad is the Graduate Student chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. This was taken a few days ago and was the last day for Steve Tait--who headed back to Australia today!

To see more pictures go here


Wednesday, November 10, 2004 

Why does America think Christians are Stupid?

I've pondered this question lately and had several discussions on the topic. I'm sure there are many reasons, but here are a few. They all deal with things (both positive and negative) Christians (or those portraying Christians) have done and/or they deal with non-Christians misunderstanding what "real" Christians believe and why.

Christians are called to spread the good news, which when done properly with the Holy Spirit can bring about wonderful things. However, when people become overzealous and try to shove religion down peoples throats, they are left with a sour taste for Christianity. There are those TV evangelists who beg for money and shout fire and brimstone, what is a non-Christian going to think when they see these people on TV? They think who can be so stupid that they believe these guys and send them money. They think that's what Christians believe, send a minister some money and you're saved. Praise Jesus on camera and you'll be healed. Christians know that this isn't the way to Christ and that 90% of those guys on TV are there to exploit people for money.

Christians can be a vocal group, protesting abortion, fighting gay marriage, etc. These are things that Christians believe are sinful and don't belong in our society. However, many non-Christians don't understand why, and telling them it goes against God's law doesn't convice them. They look at Christians and probably think they are stupid for believing some 2000 year old book could be relevant to people's morals today. I've heard some express they believe Christians just do what their preachers tell them to, because they don't know any better. This also relates to the recent election. Many non-Christians on the left are blaming the Evangelical Christians for giving Bush the election. They just don't understand that morals and faith are things which are very important to Christians. I know Bush isn't perfect, he has a number of ideas I don't agree with. However, I as well as many Christians see him as man willing to ask God for help and to stick to his convictions.

Non-Christians only see this world when they make their decisions and live their life, while Christians look to the life ahead. Non-Christians don't know the truth, so when Christians live by the truth and share the truth with nonbelievers, it is seen as silly and stupid. They don't see the consequences of their life and the punishment ahead or understand the reward that awaits them if only they would come to Christ.

The short answer to my question is that most of America doesn't understand Christianity. America forget how most of our founders were devout Christians. The American revolution only happened because a corrupt government abused its colonies, which Christians knew was wrong. They had faith in God and were led by the Holy Spirit to declare and fight for Independence, because their God-given rights were impeded by the authorities. Few Americans think of the founding fathers as stupid.

Christians need to come together and remind America of its roots and let people know what Christians really believe and pray that the Holy Spirit might work in the hearts of Americans to bring them to Christ.


Tuesday, November 09, 2004 

Working hard, but accomplishing little

Or at least it seems that way. My week always starts off with my teaching duties, so I never get much research done on Mondays or Tuesdays. Which means I try to cramm a weeks worth of work into 3 or 4 days. Well, I'll keep on working--I know Anita would like to know when I'll be done or at least know where I'll be working next. Unfortunately, I don't know either of them.

Barring a failure of congress to pass a spending bill by then end of January, I should finally get off my Teaching Assistantship and move to a Research Assistantship which means I can devote more time to research. If my research takes off, I should be able to wrap up this PhD in the not too distant future.

This past Sunday evening in Church, the sermon was on Colossians 3. Two verses stuck out to me:

8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

I thought of my sister with verse 8, she can definately have a temper and doesn't watch her lips all the time -- which has come back to haunt her more than once.

Verse 23 is a reminder to me to work hard and do my best in everything. It's somthing I've always known and believed, but it's still good to find some encouragement--especially when things are taking longer than you'd like.


Saturday, November 06, 2004 

Some links from across the Blogosphere

Not much to report from here, but here's some interesting finds

You know your a liberal if:
http://whereismichaelmoore.blogspot.com/ <-funny address Did I ever tell you I met Bob Dole about ten years ago? Well check out this blog to see a Taxi Driver who met him recently:
http://joannrides.blogspot.com/


Want to know the favorites for the 2008 presidential race:
http://www.davidwissing.com/


Thursday, November 04, 2004 

4 more years!

Kerry conceded, Bush declared victory and now we can move on and I can get some work done! I hope over the next few years that America will grow stronger and the rest of the world will begin to realize we were right all along. George Washington, our first president said, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible". Unfortunately, the left and most of the world do not follow Washington's advice.

As for me, following the election consumed much of my time and October sure went by fast. Now I have a lot to get done research-wise and prepare for a presentation in two weeks!


Wednesday, November 03, 2004 

Bush 286 Electoral Votes

While the Media may be afraid to call it, I have no problem seeing the result. Bush receives 286 electoral votes--I guess my brother was better at predicting than I. Ohio should have been called and Iowa and New Mexico will both go to Bush. There are rumors of a Kerry concession today--since it is obvious to everyone that Kerry can't win Ohio.

Bush has also received more votes than any other Presidential canidate in history -- let's see if the liberals will talk about that! He has done what Clinton couldn't do and won more than 50% of the popular vote, which hasn't happened sine 1988 with the first Bush!

The Senate has an even larger margain now and Tom Daschle went down! This is a great opportunity for America, so don't screw it up Republicans!


Tuesday, November 02, 2004 

11:30 PM

Well it's not over yet, BUT things are looking great for BUSH. I'll have to wait and see. If Florida and Ohio go to Bush I think it's all over!

Too bad I'm not a gambler, tradesports.com had Bush at ~2:1 odds this afternoon. Could have trippled up! Well, I'd rather have Bush re-elected than to make some money.


 

Election day -- Vote BUSH!

Well, it is way too early to tell where things are going to end up. Bush definately has the advantage, but it doesn't mean anything until the votes are counted. I stand by my predictions on the presidential race, but I think the Senate may be 53 or better for the GOP. My brother predictied 284 EV for Bush. He said it was just a random number that sounded good and gave Bush enough to win, but who know he could be right.

I voted at about 7:50 this morning. Cast my ballot for Bush/Cheney, EJ Pipkin, and Jane Brooks. The electronic ballot was so easy--why did they spend so much on training people to use them? They actually had a video on public access cable demonstrating it. Maryland won't go to Bush unless there was a massive surge last night and I missed it.

I hope I can get to bed by Midnight tonight!


Monday, November 01, 2004 

Last day before the election!

Well, it still appears to be a close election. While the polls are bouncing around a bit, there doesn't seem to be any real movement. So I stand by my prediction that Bush wins, he may even pull a few more electoral votes (but that may be wishful thinking). The GOP gets a least 1 pickup in the Senate (as I have it below), but could get another if Bush has good coattails to follow in Colorado or if enough democrats stay home in Louisiana.

If you leave me you're predictions I'll put them on the page either leave them in the comments or email them to me: hichris @ udel . edu

I hope that there aren't any major problems tomorrow and that the numbers come in quick. I won't be able to sleep if I don't know who won! I'll probably stick with Fox News most of the night, but CNN.com looks to have a really good web site setup so that you can see numbers as they come in -- and look at exit polls. I may flip around a bit though, especially if networks are afraid to make any close calls.


 

Blogshares Industry Idea for Contest #3

Blogshares Industry Idea for Contest #3

Proposed Industry: Law Enforcement

It could go under Society like the Military Industry or Under the Law Industry--although that appears to be more Legal


Law Enforcement: Organizations given authority by the government to maintain law and order. Officers put their lives on the line to capture the bad guys, thereby promoting safety and security.


Info on Law Enforcement: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police

History: Before law enforment officials people enforced the law themselves or let the military handle the situation. The Romans had the first non-military police force the vigiles under Gaius Octavius. Throughout the Middle Ages law enforcement varied widely with different systems in use, the English systems had sheriffs and constables. The first professional Police group were the London Bobbies in 1829 (after Sir Robert Peel).

More history: http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/205/205lect04.htm

Blogs:

http://eastpointpolice.blogspot.com/
http://www.nola.com/newslogs/nopd/
http://policepigpen.blogspot.com/
http://lawofficer.blogspot.com/
http://wiredpig.blogspot.com/


Possible Sub-Industries:
International--would include CIA, InterPol, EuroPol, KGB etc
National--FBI, DEA, Secret Service, ATF, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, etc
Regional--State Police, Provinical Police, County Sheriffs, etc
Local--NYPD, LAPD, etc.




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