The Immortal Grey

Well...where do I begin? Let me try to summarize. Tori and I like animals. One day we decided to get 2 hampsters. The hamsters bred...possibly because there was not too much else to do except run on the wheel. They probably had about 5 litters. We would take the chitlins to the pet store and sell them or give them away. In one litter, the magical grey hamster of immortality was born. While taking that litter to the store, he escaped in the car. In the deat heat of summer, he survived 5 days in the 100 plus degree inferno heat of the car. I found him after returning from a vacation. He was dehydrated and pathetic looking, but alive. Later, Kiley Toto (my in-laws dog) and Snickers (my dog) knocked off some of the cage's tubes and ate the matriarch, patriarch and many chitlins. The magical, indestructable, immortal grey hamster was in the tube but knew not to come out. He lived. He was dropped at least twice from a high altitude. He was bitten by a dog. He saw his parents and siblings perish. Yet he lived. He emitted an aura of invincibility. If I had jumped out of a plane without a parachute, if I held him in my hands, I would somehow land on a hotair balloon and decend to safety. In the world of the mini-mammal, he was..."the one."

Below are pictures of the massacre. But this blog entry is a tribute to my hero...the magical, indestructable, immortal Grey hamster. **Which was given to the pet store so that his immortal reputation will forever remain intact and honorable.

The culprits

Forensic Evidence 

A possible accomplice? 

Together in Hampster Heaven 

The fallen 

Like an old western dead man line up 

Yes, it's to scale

Miami Heat (news) center Shaquille O'Neal (news) (32) walks next to Denver Nuggets (news) 5-foot 6-inch guard Earl Boykins (news) (11) during a timeout in the second half Friday, Dec. 17, 2004, in Miami. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Well, I thought I was going to be painting the nursery today. I underestimated how much prep work had to be done. We had put up a ton of pictures in that room and there were nail and tac holes all over that had to be spackled. Then I discoverd how dirty the bottom of the window seal was. There was a bad case of mold there. I had never seen it before because the blinds had been covering it. So I had to scrub that clean. So I'm not painting yet, but at least I'm headed in that direction. 

Nursery -- The Before photo 

Here is Tori enjoying one of her favorite activities...registering for baby stuff. You can't see the back of that scanner gun, but there's a tube running into an I.V. in her arm. She's a happy camper. 

President George W. Bush (news - web sites) and Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua Bolton (C) talk to conferees, above a misspelled sign, at the White House Conference on the Economy in Washington, December 16, 2004. The White House went all out to showcase the advantages of U.S. President George W. Bush's ambitious financial agenda this week, but in the end the 'challenges' proved too much. The word 'challenges' -- a main theme of a two-day White House economic conference that ended on Thursday -- was misspelled on a large television monitor that stood in front of Bush during a panel discussion.REUTERS/Reuters TV 

I love technology-- Here are the painting possibilities!

Technology is straight awesome. I thought that surely somewhere on the web, on some painting website, I can choose colors and they can simulate it on a picture of a wall. Sure enough, through Home Depot's website, I came across a cool Behr website that does just that. Of course, then it wouldn't let me just save the picture to my computer...but my Paint Shop Pro 7 allows me to do screen captures. So I captured the photos of the different colors and then cut and pasted my border in. Now the border is not as big as it appears in these photos. I allowed it to be a little bigger I could get a good look at the contrast.

Well, now that you can scroll down and see the options...are your opinions still the same?

(P.S. YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO SEE A LARGER VERSION.)




Pale yellow

Make your baby take anti-spaz medicine yellow 

Light Blue 

Light Green 

I need your advice...

The border for Micah's nursery.

Well, this is picture that is actually two merged pictures. One is an overall shot of the border, and the other is a closeup of the yellow block. It is a cool border and isn't rectangular shaped but is actually cut out so the block have their regular shape and aren't on a background.

But here is where I need some advice... I am thinking about painting the nursery walls a light yellow. Because the red, blue or green might be too dark. Now if I use a yellow lighter than the yellow on this block, will that still look O.K.? Will those yellows clash and look wierd? If I use the same yellow as the block, will that look wierd because the yellow blocks will all blend in with the wall and look half-invisible? I know that may seem like a crazy question, but I don't want to do all this work and then have a retared look. If you have been to my house in the last year or so, you know what I went through with that red bathroom of mine. (Which now, by the way, will be converted to a Winnie the Pooh bathroom so I can keep the red.) Ok...so what do you think? [Also, this border will actually be in the middle of the wall, not up by the ceiling, so it will be noticeable.]

By the way I just installed my Paint Shop Pro 7 software and it is the bomb pic editing, etc. software.

Study: TV Show Negative Image of Religion

On "Drudge Report" (see Charlie's Links) or click here to go directly to the article.

New Evidence Reopens Debate about the Shroud of Turin

Interesting. I'm not sure what to think about it. Doesn't really matter I guess...but interesting.

Click here to read the article.

Just curious

Does anyone want to admit not getting the binary joke? It's ok. The people who comment on my blog never make fun of anyone. Open up...be vunerable.

Children's Choir Christmas Performance

Just got back from church. We've been practicing this little Christmas singing gig with preschoolers. They did a pretty good job. I played the piano and Tori and a couple other ladies directed. Those kids are a hoot. This is a picture of one of the older groups singing. ( I took this picture with my phone...sorry about the quality.)

Michael's "dying wish"

Go to Michael's blog (see my "Recommended Blogs" section and click on "my drivetrain of thought") and read the story "dying wish". I thought it was funny and true.

Blog-evolution

Whew! Who invented HTML anyway? Case sensitive stuff is enough to make you go mad. I've been trying to change a few things around on here...add some color, etc. But you make one little mistake and BAM...all you can see is text on steroids. I'm going to try to give the blog a Christmas theme, but that'll have to wait until tomorrow...It's 11:30 and time to go to bed.

Car trailer 

Kelly's Kennel

While emailing Michael the other day, I was reminded of an old defunct website of mine. It is from a stint when Tori and I had plans to breed our Golden Retrievers and make tons of money. Our female had been "gotten to" by a stray dog before...and the puppies were beautiful, but we gave them away, so we decided to buy a male and make some green. However, it turns out that our male dog was either homosexual or asexual. So much for that plan. The dogs ended up being too much upkeep, they wouldn't stop barking at night, and they had to spend too much time in a (rather large) pen, so we sold them. Why do I feel like I should be wearing a leopard hat with a feather on it?

If you wish to see the site, click below:

Kelly's Kennel

How do you like our logo at the bottom? I made it myself. How cool am I?

After reading Michael's previous "Santa" blog (www.drivetrain.blogspot.com), I decided to contact David Hammack, a pilot buddy of mine to take care of our little jolly red problem. 

Credit Card Shotgun

MINNEAPOLIS -- A new twist on the idea of concealable weapons, the credit card-sized shotgun, is shown at Koscielski's Guns and Ammo, the only gun shop in Minneapolis. It's a two-shot weapon machined from a block of metal the height and width of a standard credit card, and about a half-inch thick. Each barrel fires seven standard steel BBs. It will retail for $100. Mark Koscielski, owner of Koscielski's Guns and Ammo, and Patrick Teel, who makes the guns in suburban Blaine, gave The Associated Press a preview Tuesday night ahead of a news conference scheduled for Wednesday. They said the guns are meant to be used only for close-range self-defense and wouldn't be effective as offensive weapons. (10/05/04 AP photo)

Slightly crude....but so hilarious I couldn't help myself. 

Finally got the computer

Well, I finally have it. I finally have my new computer. It's been five years in the making. Well, sort of. At least its not smokin' yet.

It can burn cds, dvds, edit video and make bananna pudding.

Redneck Car Alarm 

Ironic 

No explanation needed. 

79% say they believe in the Virgin Birth

Not that I believe that all (or even most) are truely Christians, but it was nice to see such high numbers anyway.

The Christmas Miracle

Most Americans believe the virgin birth is literally true, a NEWSWEEK poll finds

WEB EXCLUSIVE

Newsweek
Updated: 2:08 p.m. ET Dec. 5, 2004

Dec. 5 - Seventy-nine percent of Americans believe that, as the Bible says, Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, without a human father, according to a new NEWSWEEK poll on beliefs about Jesus.
Sixty-seven percent say they believe that the entire story of Christmas—the Virgin Birth, the angelic proclamation to the shepherds, the Star of Bethlehem and the Wise Men from the East—is historically accurate. Twenty-four percent of Americans believe the story of Christmas is a theological invention written to affirm faith in Jesus Christ, the poll shows. In general, say 55 percent of those polled, every word of the Bible is literally accurate. Thirty-eight percent do not believe that about the Bible.
In the NEWSWEEK poll, 93 percent of Americans say they believe Jesus Christ actually lived and 82 percent believe Jesus Christ was God or the Son of God. Fifty-two percent of all those polled believe, as the Bible proclaims, that Jesus will return to earth someday; 21 percent do not believe it. Fifteen percent believe Jesus will return in their lifetime; 47 percent do not, the poll shows.
When asked if there would be more or less kindness in the world today if there had never been a Jesus, 61 percent of all those polled say there would be less kindness. Forty-seven percent say there would be more war if there had never been a Jesus (16 percent say less, 26 percent say the same); 63 percent say there would be less charity; 58 percent say there would be less tolerance; 59 percent say there would be less personal happiness and 38 percent say there would be less religious divisions (21 percent say more and 26 percent say the same).
Just 11 percent of those surveyed say American society as a whole very closely reflects true Christian values and the spirit of Jesus; 53 percent say it somewhat reflects those values. But 86 percent say they believe organized religion has a “a lot” or “some” influence over life in the United States today. Nine percent say it has “only a little” influence.
Sixty-two percent say they favor teaching creation science in addition to evolution in public schools; 26 percent oppose such teaching, the poll shows. Forty-three percent favor teaching creation science instead of evolution in public schools; 40 percent oppose the idea.
For this NEWSWEEK Poll, Princeton Survey Research Associates interviewed by telephone 1,009 adults, aged 18 and older on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
© 2004 Newsweek, Inc.URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6650997/site/newsweek/?GT1=5936

LOS ANGELES -- Six nails embedded in the skull of construction worker Isidro Mejia, 39, after an industrial incident caused a nail gun to shoot nails into his head and brain on April 19, 2004, are seen in this X-ray image. Five of the six nails were removed in surgery that day and the sixth was removed from his face on April 23, after the swelling went down. (05/05/04 AP photo)
 

Outsourcing Comments

This entry is to encourage my friends who read my blog, to check out another couple of blogs. (I am mainly speaking to Jared and David). Michael's blog is interesting and he is always bringing up good topics. And I've starting checking Rick's too. It's pretty cool, because its like a ministry worker convention. Most all of us work in the ministry on some level. So it's neat to hear the ideas of others with similiar lives and issues. So check them out.

Michael's is www.drivetrain.blogspot.com

Rick's is www.coupleofwords.blogspot.com

LAS VEGAS -- Rick Roufus, left, delivers a blow to the body of Taro Akebono of Japan during the third round of the K-1 Battle of Bellagio III at Bellagio in Las Vegas. Roufus won the fight by a unanimous decision. (08/07/04 AP photo)