Things Are Looking Up?

Well, the car is in good shape after Friday's incident. The scratches on the rear bumper are the only damage. So, no work needs to be done.

On another note, I was supposed to get a take-home final today. It has yet to be posted to the website. (Granted, this is the same professor who has not given us any assignments this semester.) But I did finish the last assignment for one of my classes. One down, two to go.

On that note, May 18th will be fun. I have my one final that is after the last day of classes at 8 a.m. At 10 a.m., we have a course meeting to pass back exams and set grade lines. Then I have two hours to put the exams together, total the scores, get grades submitted, and turn all the paperwork into the undergraduate office. If it were a Friday, there would definitely be some drinking with friends that night.

And since all of this goes down on the 18th, I will (provided no snafus occur) be down for graduation at St. Mary's on the 16th (and the night of the 15th). It'll be a respite before the storm.

And don't forget the shuttle launch of Atlantis this coming Monday. It is the last Hubble mission. And the last time two shuttles will be on launchpads at the same time (Endeavour is on rescue-mission standby).

Under Construction

I apologize for the changing formats to this blog. I'm trying to find a template I like. The plain black-and-white one is too Spartan, even for me.

Sadly, my St. Mary's trip for the weekend was aborted. Someone rear-ended my car Friday evening as I was going to get groceries. So tomorrow, I get to take the car up to my parents so that they can have the shop look at it. I only saw some scratches (hard to see ones at that) on the rear bumper, but I do want to make sure there is no frame damage or anything.

However, it does appear that I will be able to make it to graduation at St. Mary's, provided my numerical analysis final is not that weekend. So there may be one last trip after all.

Oh, could we please stop the hype about H1N1? So far, more schools have closed in the United States than there have been confirmed cases of the virus. More people are going to get sick stressing out about this than are actually going to get the virus if this keeps up. If you get it, see your doctor, get the antivirals, and recover, like everyone else from the United States.

So please, no panic. I already have enough stress with the end of the semester coming up. Although, I did get an email this morning saying that my study plan was approved. So that's one bureaucratic hurdle down on the way to a PhD.

Some of Our Churches are Failing

Before reading this post, read the story at this link . Don't worry; I'll wait.

Now that you are upset like me, you will be able to understand this post. How can any group of Christians be the MOST in favor of torture among all religious groups. Weren't the evangelicals the ones who wanted us to go see The Passion of the Christ so that we could see the brutality? And now they support the same brutality people were supposed to be appalled by, so much so that they would come to Christ?

Throughout history, and even today in some parts of the world, Christians are persecuted. Yet, here some of us are calling for the same kinds of torture. Do they still teach the Golden Rule at evangelical "churches", or are they too busy dealing with just gay marriage, abortion, and yes, that Satanic theory of evolution? Or, have they so completely sold their souls to the Republican party that they cannot call out the sin for what it is and must quietly follow in lock-step behind it? I don't know. I wish I did. Then we could figure out a way to get this sickness out of God's church.

It is clear by these numbers that it is not just a handful of evangelicals who believe this. This points to a failure of their preachers and leaders. And it means that those of us who are Christian, but not evangelical, have failed. We have failed to make God's message heard over the din of false prophets (remember that tsunami Pat Robertson predicted would hit the East Coast in 2005). We must do better. People will not want to be saved if they believe that this kind of torture is what Christ wants.

Okay, the rant is finished. Let's hope my preacher doesn't find this post and decide to have me give a sermon on it.

"What You Do Now Will Change the Future. Don't Fail."

My Facebook page will give you the reference for this entry's title.

Many of you have asked what I'm considering that could be a bad idea. Actually, I have been considering several things. Some are trivial; some are not so trivial.

1. I was considering giving my students a really hard quiz. I decided against that.
2. I have been toying with the idea of online dating. Right now, I am very much in the "no" column, but I am certainly more open to it than a year ago.
3. Something else that I'm not yet ready to talk to others about, at least not until I figure some things out for myself. (For the record, I am not renouncing my faith, and I am straight, so it's nothing like that--sorry Jon.)
4. St. Mary's trip(s) for commencement and maybe a couple of SMP presentations. I can't say that I will be able to make it for graduation, as I have my own finals to give and to take, but I do plan to make it down there at least once before the end of the year.
   

And at least we made it through one of the more depressing weeks when it comes to anniversaries. Although, Frederick County did add one event to the list for this year.

Well, at least the weather was really nice this weekend (and I do NOT have anything to do with it).

Back to the Grind

The next two weeks will be busy.

1. Tomorrow, I have my first of four exams this semester. Yes, it is on the day we get back from break.
2. I have to make the answer key for the exam for the class I teach this week, once I get the exam from the course chair.
3. I have a homework set due on Thursday. The middle of the week will be spent on this as well as working on the homework set due next Monday.
4. I have an exam the first Thursday in April. So I will be spending next weekend studying for that, which means I will be bringing work with me when I
   
5. Visit St. Mary's next weekend (provided things work out). I don't know if I will make it down Friday night or Saturday morning, though.

Also, I had a very enjoyable day yesterday with much of the group as we toured the national zoo. A lot of walking, but quite enjoyable. The only snag was that my SmartTrip card has apparently died. I'll have to see what can be done about that.

Some Thoughts From the Weekend

1. It's spring break. So now I can relax a bit before two weeks of exams.
2. I found out that my denomination has its General Synod at the end of June. Fortunately, it is not over a week my church has service, so I will not be called upon to preach. However, I would not be surprised if my preacher tries to convince me to go.
3. How on earth the Terps earned a ten seed in the NCAA tournament is beyond me.
4. At least Discovery was able to launch.
5. NASA is letting people vote on the name of one of the modules for the space station. The leading name thus far is Serenity. I wonder how high up NASA's chain of command knowledge of the reference goes.
6. My sister's cat has learned to play fetch. With crumpled pieces of paper.
7. Is Dougherty really the best the Democrats can do in Frederick City?
8. Why does Cheney think that Obama should even dignify Rush Limbaugh with a debate? Will any private citizen then be able to challenge the president to a debate? If that happens, watch just how little work can get accomplished in Washington.

Yes, I realize this post is disjointed. I'll try better next time.

Maybe.

Frederick County Needs a New State's Attorney, Part II

Several months ago, I wrote about how Frederick County State's Attorney Charlie Smith (Frederick County's version of Jack McCoy) was accused of not paying child support, and how the facts of that allegation showed that Smith needed to go from office. Well, his office hit a new low of incompetence.

Last year, a woman in Thurmont who had already been cited for driving with her kids in the trunk of her car, was arrested for providing alcohol to a young teenage girl. The girl subsequently had to go to the hospital for alcohol poisoning. Well, the State's Attorney's office had her plead guilty to a count of providing alcohol to a minor that only businesses can be guilty of. So the judge had no choice but to throw out the guilty verdict and let the woman go. D'oh.

The new proof that Charlie Smith needs to go is trivial. Although the kicker is that people are complaining about the defense attorney bringing it up, even though he'd probably be disbarred if he did not, and the judge for throwing out the case, even though the judge has to follow the law and must overturn the verdict as under the statute, the woman cannot be guilty of what she plead to. Let's put the blame where it belongs: with the State's Attorney's office. And since Charlie Smith is the State's Attorney, the buck should stop with him.