Belgian Crockpots are now the two-time champion of team trivia. Tonight's team was made up of mostly Candler students. We beat the Dutch Ovens in double tie-breaker rounds.
Hooray for the reigning champions.
Belgian Crockpots forever.
P.S. Being crazy like this is what happens to people who go to seminary. :)
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
team trivia
Hooray for the Piette, who was a major force in our triumph at team trivia at the glorious Famous Pub and Sports Palace in lovely Toco Hills, Atlanta.
After being mercilessly beaten by the "Dutch Ovens" team almost weekly for over a year now, we were finally part of a winning team. Yeah, sure you could say we "won" all those times we came in second place (usually under the name "Second Place"), but this time we were ready. We brought in the great Piette, and we were victorious. "Dutch Ovens" did not know what hit them when the three musketeers known as the "Belgian Crockpots" came to play last week; they didn't even place.
So hooray for the Belgian Crockpots, winners of $50 house cash. I guess we'll have to share our winnings with the sad people who weren't members of the team last week. Maybe I'll hold the certificate ransom until we pick a better name than "Second Place."
Wish us luck as we fight the good fight again this evening. I'm sure the Dutch Ovens will be bringing reinforcements tonight. Damn the Dutch Ovens, full speed ahead!
After being mercilessly beaten by the "Dutch Ovens" team almost weekly for over a year now, we were finally part of a winning team. Yeah, sure you could say we "won" all those times we came in second place (usually under the name "Second Place"), but this time we were ready. We brought in the great Piette, and we were victorious. "Dutch Ovens" did not know what hit them when the three musketeers known as the "Belgian Crockpots" came to play last week; they didn't even place.
So hooray for the Belgian Crockpots, winners of $50 house cash. I guess we'll have to share our winnings with the sad people who weren't members of the team last week. Maybe I'll hold the certificate ransom until we pick a better name than "Second Place."
Wish us luck as we fight the good fight again this evening. I'm sure the Dutch Ovens will be bringing reinforcements tonight. Damn the Dutch Ovens, full speed ahead!
Saturday, March 18, 2006
it's all becoming clear
So, Amanda and I went to see my Uncle Lewis and Aunt Sharon tonight to have dinner and pick out some paintings that my Great Aunt Martha had drawn. We ended up with 17 pictures, and we're pretty excited about framing them and all. She had painted throughout her life, so we got to see a painting she had drawn in the 1928 and others she had drawn in 1998. Several of the paintings were of the lodge and the lake at Camp Sumatanga, so that was also surreal to recognize the places that she had painted. The fact that she was a preacher's kid might explain her paintings of camp, but it was still pretty neat.
What was particularly intriguing was the box of stuff that Uncle Lewis gave me as we were leaving, which he called "some Bibles and stuff." Included in that box was a Methodist Book of Discipline from 1886, an obituary of my great grandfather, and the following two articles about my Great Uncle, which might explain some of my activities from my freshman year in college:
Howell Defeats Dick Marland in Pingpong Event
Richard Morland bowed to Wilson Howell in the finals of the Y.M.C.A. Older Boys Pingpong tournament at the Central "Y" Wednesday, losing by the scores of 21-15, 21-16, 21-17. both the champion and the runnerup will compete in the annual state tourney at the Boys "Y," March 13, under the banner of the Central "Y."
Howell beats Karrh In Ping-Pong Final
Wilson Howell, defending champion, defeated Calvin Karrh in straight sets in the finals of the State Y.M.C.A. ping-pong tournament here Saturday by scores of 21-12, 21-12, 22-20.
Howell reached the finals by beating Albert McInnis, Montgomery, 21-15, 21-12. He defeated Johnny McConnell, 21-11, 21-12, in his first match.
Karrh advanced to the finals by scoring victories over Charles Prince, 21-18, 21-16, and over James Bradshaw, Montgomery, 21-13, 23-21.
McInnish defeated Bradshaw, 13-21, 21-11, 22-20, to take third place honors.
What was particularly intriguing was the box of stuff that Uncle Lewis gave me as we were leaving, which he called "some Bibles and stuff." Included in that box was a Methodist Book of Discipline from 1886, an obituary of my great grandfather, and the following two articles about my Great Uncle, which might explain some of my activities from my freshman year in college:
Howell Defeats Dick Marland in Pingpong Event
Richard Morland bowed to Wilson Howell in the finals of the Y.M.C.A. Older Boys Pingpong tournament at the Central "Y" Wednesday, losing by the scores of 21-15, 21-16, 21-17. both the champion and the runnerup will compete in the annual state tourney at the Boys "Y," March 13, under the banner of the Central "Y."
Howell beats Karrh In Ping-Pong Final
Wilson Howell, defending champion, defeated Calvin Karrh in straight sets in the finals of the State Y.M.C.A. ping-pong tournament here Saturday by scores of 21-12, 21-12, 22-20.
Howell reached the finals by beating Albert McInnis, Montgomery, 21-15, 21-12. He defeated Johnny McConnell, 21-11, 21-12, in his first match.
Karrh advanced to the finals by scoring victories over Charles Prince, 21-18, 21-16, and over James Bradshaw, Montgomery, 21-13, 23-21.
McInnish defeated Bradshaw, 13-21, 21-11, 22-20, to take third place honors.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
more internet investigatin'
We have found some additional information on our potential future residence.
I used this website to find out if there were any wi-fi hotspots in the area, and if so what they were.
Peter went here to find what stores sold Milo's tea in the area.
Sperling's Best Places is a website that lets you search for lots of data on cities or neighborhoods (zip codes), not just the demographic data we saw before from ePodunk, but also unemployment rate, job growth, precent 'religious' and protestant, air quality, water quality, physicians per capita, climate, percent of each political party, and cost of living.
This site will identify the biggest polluters in your area, by zip code.
A lot of these websites I found from Hometown Locator.
That's all for now. Next time you're bored and googling you name, look up information on your hometown or somewhere you want to live.
A
I used this website to find out if there were any wi-fi hotspots in the area, and if so what they were.
Peter went here to find what stores sold Milo's tea in the area.
Sperling's Best Places is a website that lets you search for lots of data on cities or neighborhoods (zip codes), not just the demographic data we saw before from ePodunk, but also unemployment rate, job growth, precent 'religious' and protestant, air quality, water quality, physicians per capita, climate, percent of each political party, and cost of living.
This site will identify the biggest polluters in your area, by zip code.
A lot of these websites I found from Hometown Locator.
That's all for now. Next time you're bored and googling you name, look up information on your hometown or somewhere you want to live.
A
the dawn of a new day
Well, Amanda and I just did something we'd never done before: we watched a sporting event live over the Internet. Alabama just barely held on to beat Marquette, and we got to watch it via CBS's internet feed. It's actually kind of cool - you watch a couple of commercials each commercial break, a couple before you get started watching it, and then when they don't have enough commercials they just stick you on a backup feed of the game. So during one timeout, we got to watch Chuck Davis stare blankly at the floor for 2 minutes. We also got to hear the entirety of Rammer Jammer, which was particularly enjoyable as we tried to figure out what Marquette's mascot is. I knew once, but I don't any more.
One thing that was slightly annoying but also pretty smart was the way that CBS limits the number of people getting the live feed. When you first log in, they have a "waiting area" which is basically a lame graphic showing you how many people are in front of you, when they're next "admitting" people (at 1 minute 30 second intervals), and encouraging you to register earlier by talking about the benefits of being a "VIP" member. That was slightly annoying, but the fact that they're forward thinking enough to make sure that some people get a decent connection, rather than just having it a free for all and having their servers fail, shows that at least somebody there has a brain.
One thing that was slightly annoying but also pretty smart was the way that CBS limits the number of people getting the live feed. When you first log in, they have a "waiting area" which is basically a lame graphic showing you how many people are in front of you, when they're next "admitting" people (at 1 minute 30 second intervals), and encouraging you to register earlier by talking about the benefits of being a "VIP" member. That was slightly annoying, but the fact that they're forward thinking enough to make sure that some people get a decent connection, rather than just having it a free for all and having their servers fail, shows that at least somebody there has a brain.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Newlywed Lesson of the Day
When something happens to one of your major appliances, say your clothes dryer, do not take it apart to try to fix it yourself. It will take twice as long to put it back together as it took to take it apart.
Friday, March 10, 2006
we're moving to . . .
So, I've now had my first taste of the appointment process. After being sworn to secrecy on the life of my wife, mother, and firstborn child as to where I'm projected to be going at this point, I was tempted not to mention anything about it. Matt Reed had some thoughts on this and its implications, which you can read for yourself. But, I figured I could talk about all the fun things that we found out about our prospective dwelling place.
*Note* - in lieu of the word city or town, I will use the term "community." So stop trying to figure out where we're talking about, 'cause we can't tell you.
Here is our journey of discovery:
First, we looked at the church website. From there, we found out the number and type of services the church has, the size of the staff, how current staff members define their jobs, what programs the church has, and a brief history of the church.
Next, we used whitepages.com to find out where the current pastor lives, our potential future parsonage.
Then, we used Google Maps to identify where that is in relation to the church and the community as a whole.
Then, we found information from the tax assessor posted online that identified the value of the parsonage, the size of the lot, the number of rooms, the type of building materials, when the church acquired the property, and who owns the neighboring properties. We also saw what is allegedly the shape of the house.
We then tried to get a view from the sky, but both Google Earth and terraserver didn't have detailed enough satellite imagery to see anything much.
We moved from there to Yahoo maps, where we determined how close the church and parsonage are to restaurants, bookstores, malls, Wal-Mart, banks, grocery stores, drug stores, and hospitals.
Then, we went to the Conference website, where we found the 2005 Conference Journal. From there, we were able to determine the number of church members, the change in size of the church last year, how many people go to Sunday school, how many people are members of United Methodist Women and United Methodist Youth Fellowship, how much of their apportionments they pay, how much the parsonage is worth, the value of the church building and property, and the amount of debt the church carries.
Then, Amanda showed how well she knows me - as we were going to bed, she went to This is Cable, which redirected her to another site where she determined that we could in fact get both cable and high speed internet at the parsonage.
This morning, we looked on e-Podunk (thank you Bart Styes), which provided us demographic information about the community and county such as ethnic origin, education level, marital status, industry, median income, median cost of housing, as well as a history of the community and a list of festivals that are important in the community, as well as historic sites and museums. We also got a link to the community newspaper.
It's amazing that in less than 4 hours, we found out all this information without leaving the couch or talking to anyone, either in person or on the phone. In some ways, it's kind of creepy, like spying on people, but it's also a little better than harassing the current pastor to find all this stuff out. We're so used to looking up information, we can't imagine not knowing at least some of this immediately.
I've been told that the next two rounds of appointments are in early April and late April. Sometime after the third round I might actually be able to tell people. And if the appointment changes in the next two rounds, we'll get to do this information investigation all over again. Joy.
*Note* - in lieu of the word city or town, I will use the term "community." So stop trying to figure out where we're talking about, 'cause we can't tell you.
Here is our journey of discovery:
First, we looked at the church website. From there, we found out the number and type of services the church has, the size of the staff, how current staff members define their jobs, what programs the church has, and a brief history of the church.
Next, we used whitepages.com to find out where the current pastor lives, our potential future parsonage.
Then, we used Google Maps to identify where that is in relation to the church and the community as a whole.
Then, we found information from the tax assessor posted online that identified the value of the parsonage, the size of the lot, the number of rooms, the type of building materials, when the church acquired the property, and who owns the neighboring properties. We also saw what is allegedly the shape of the house.
We then tried to get a view from the sky, but both Google Earth and terraserver didn't have detailed enough satellite imagery to see anything much.
We moved from there to Yahoo maps, where we determined how close the church and parsonage are to restaurants, bookstores, malls, Wal-Mart, banks, grocery stores, drug stores, and hospitals.
Then, we went to the Conference website, where we found the 2005 Conference Journal. From there, we were able to determine the number of church members, the change in size of the church last year, how many people go to Sunday school, how many people are members of United Methodist Women and United Methodist Youth Fellowship, how much of their apportionments they pay, how much the parsonage is worth, the value of the church building and property, and the amount of debt the church carries.
Then, Amanda showed how well she knows me - as we were going to bed, she went to This is Cable, which redirected her to another site where she determined that we could in fact get both cable and high speed internet at the parsonage.
This morning, we looked on e-Podunk (thank you Bart Styes), which provided us demographic information about the community and county such as ethnic origin, education level, marital status, industry, median income, median cost of housing, as well as a history of the community and a list of festivals that are important in the community, as well as historic sites and museums. We also got a link to the community newspaper.
It's amazing that in less than 4 hours, we found out all this information without leaving the couch or talking to anyone, either in person or on the phone. In some ways, it's kind of creepy, like spying on people, but it's also a little better than harassing the current pastor to find all this stuff out. We're so used to looking up information, we can't imagine not knowing at least some of this immediately.
I've been told that the next two rounds of appointments are in early April and late April. Sometime after the third round I might actually be able to tell people. And if the appointment changes in the next two rounds, we'll get to do this information investigation all over again. Joy.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
I did my civic duty.
About a month ago, I got the wonderful piece of mail every American dreams of. No, not the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes entry form - jury summons.
There was a questionnaire to fill out and send back in to the court; I thought about checking the box that says I no longer live in DeKalb county and getting out of it. I didn't. Anyway, the paper had a tear-off part to keep, with instructions and a phone number to call the night before your date to find out if they actually need you to come. My number was 88. I called, and they were wanting numbers 1-91. So close.
So this morning I reported to the DeKalb county courthouse jury assembly room at about 8:00am for the 8:15 call time. I was amazed at the number of people who did not call last night to find out whether or not they needed to report. They made that trip only to be told they could leave immediately. I was also amazed at the number of people who were really late.
About 8:30, we started orientation. A judge came in to tell us how we were doing the highest civic duty. We watched a video about jury selection. They told us a few more things, including how often the cases settle before going to trial just because the jurors are waiting in the assembly room. I guess that the people are procrastinating, thinking the other side will back down, up until the last minute, and then decide they really don't want whatever they are asking for or trying to keep that badly.
They called out 15 names and said the rest of us were free to go, that the other cases had been settled. I left the courthouse about 9:30.
Not too bad for $15. I think I actually made more per hour with jury duty than I did working at the bank.
So that was my jury duty experience. Nothing exciting. I did get to wear a snazzy blue sticker that said "JUROR DeKalb County" on it. That's about all. Moral of the story: don't be afraid to do your civic duty. It's probably not as painful as you think.
There was a questionnaire to fill out and send back in to the court; I thought about checking the box that says I no longer live in DeKalb county and getting out of it. I didn't. Anyway, the paper had a tear-off part to keep, with instructions and a phone number to call the night before your date to find out if they actually need you to come. My number was 88. I called, and they were wanting numbers 1-91. So close.
So this morning I reported to the DeKalb county courthouse jury assembly room at about 8:00am for the 8:15 call time. I was amazed at the number of people who did not call last night to find out whether or not they needed to report. They made that trip only to be told they could leave immediately. I was also amazed at the number of people who were really late.
About 8:30, we started orientation. A judge came in to tell us how we were doing the highest civic duty. We watched a video about jury selection. They told us a few more things, including how often the cases settle before going to trial just because the jurors are waiting in the assembly room. I guess that the people are procrastinating, thinking the other side will back down, up until the last minute, and then decide they really don't want whatever they are asking for or trying to keep that badly.
They called out 15 names and said the rest of us were free to go, that the other cases had been settled. I left the courthouse about 9:30.
Not too bad for $15. I think I actually made more per hour with jury duty than I did working at the bank.
So that was my jury duty experience. Nothing exciting. I did get to wear a snazzy blue sticker that said "JUROR DeKalb County" on it. That's about all. Moral of the story: don't be afraid to do your civic duty. It's probably not as painful as you think.
Monday, March 06, 2006
hard out here for a pimp
ever since watching the oscars last night, neither Amanda nor I have been able to get this freakin' song out of our heads. since i've been sick and laying around the house today, it's been particularly annoying. anyway, it's gettin' easier and easier to be a pimp.
Friday, March 03, 2006
march on
So March is here, and my thesis is kind of done. I've sent it to Dr. Runyon and Dr. Erskine, and they'll email me in a week or two with suggestions. So that's kind of relieving, but still kind of stressful. Also waiting to find out how the appointment will go, and I have no idea about that.
In other news, not long until Amanda's birthday. Hopefully I'll find a present that is pleasing in her sight, an acceptable sacrifice, whatnot. I don't tend to thrive in gift-giving occasions. We did find out some good news last night - moving day is the Wednesday after our anniversary, which means that our anniversary will not be my first day serving as a pastor. So that was good news, means we might actually celebrate our anniversary rather than Amanda trying to keep me from burying my head in the sand.
Amanda's been getting all sorts of advice from preacher's wives in North Alabama, so that's been kind of fun. She sent an email to a clergy spouse listserv, and has gotten about 10 responses back.
That's about all for now, there's food to be et.
Peter
In other news, not long until Amanda's birthday. Hopefully I'll find a present that is pleasing in her sight, an acceptable sacrifice, whatnot. I don't tend to thrive in gift-giving occasions. We did find out some good news last night - moving day is the Wednesday after our anniversary, which means that our anniversary will not be my first day serving as a pastor. So that was good news, means we might actually celebrate our anniversary rather than Amanda trying to keep me from burying my head in the sand.
Amanda's been getting all sorts of advice from preacher's wives in North Alabama, so that's been kind of fun. She sent an email to a clergy spouse listserv, and has gotten about 10 responses back.
That's about all for now, there's food to be et.
Peter
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