Update

Hank: He was cleared after 6 weeks of rehab. He will always have arthritis in that joint, but at least we got the pebble out!

Trixie: Well...she is lucky that she is so cute.

Eric: Working on that thesis.

Theresa: Enjoying not having school work.

Hank's OCD

Hank was diagnosed with OCD (not obsessive compulsive disorder). He had a couple of cartilage flaps in his hock (ankle) joint. He had his surgery this week and came back looking like this:

Grandma

Sister, mom, aunt, grandma
Cousin, friend, neighbor, in-law
Gladys Manthei fit them all
Now she’s heard the final Call

Aggressive cancer
There was no answer
Left us wondering
What’s the meaning

To cause such great pain
How could He gain
From taking her up
Away from us

But that’s where we stumble
For we are not humble
It is not right
That we should lose sight

For Jesus has taught
The way that we ought
To come before Him
Confessing our sin

Our Father in heaven
YOUR kingdom come
YOUR will be done

This is true comfort
That God has the reigns
When we are troubled
He tells us to pray

Now that she’s gone
We will go on
Not by ignoring
Nor by forgetting

The only way to
See this life through
Is to know Jesus Christ
The only one who
Gave up his life
For me and for you.

Lost on Gilligan's Island trying to avoid T-Rexes and King Kong

Theresa and I recently visited the island where several box office hits and other shows have been taped (Kaua'i) and here are some pictures.

We really enjoyed our time there and were never Blue (in) Hawai'i.


Us at a Luau.


Sunset on Poi'pu Beach. (yes I made it black & white...your eyes are not failing you)


The beginning of the Na Pali Coast.


Dolphins being dolphins.


A rainbow on the first day -- God welcoming us.

Doing Dishes

This is how doing the dishes works in our house...Theresa gets the pots and pans and Trixie does the rest. For those of you who have eaten at our house lately -- sorry we didn't warn you.




At least we save some money this way because our "dish washer" doesn't require electricity or a water connection!

:)

Tithing

ESPN's Outside the Lines show recently aired this video on televangelists and professional athletes. You can say a lot about the problems with the "prosperity gospel", but that is not the point of me posting the video. What I am interested in is the state of mind of some of the "ministers" interviewed as well as some of the athletes, as well as ESPN itself. Most impressive in this video is Evander Holyfield and the way he responds at the end of the video when the reporter is asking him, now with his 109 room house being forclosed, if he had the choice to make his mortgage payment or tithe, which he would do. Holyfield said he would tithe because it would be better for him in the long run.

It is very interesting to me that some "non-reformed" Christians understand this perhaps better than some "reformed" Christians. Granted the "paying off in the long run" part may look different in our minds, but you must admit to being a little humbled by the sincerity and frankness with the response. While prosperity gospel teaching organizations will continue to undermine Christ's true aim for how we should live and why, some of them at least have this much right on the button. God gets dibs first, period. Hearing him say that can be a tough pill to swallow when we are willing to shine that penetrating light back on ourselves.

The Porch and Patio are FINISHED!

We have finally finished the porch and the patio.  We want to give a big thanks to all who were involved.  We still have a little clean up, but I think Trixie will miss playing on the big piles of dirt.  Thanks again for all of your help!

ha

In case you missed it - Ryan Church missed third base while trying to score in the Mets game the other day when Angel Pagan hit a nice triple in the 11th inning. I guess the moral of the story is members of the church can't go 'home' if they are being led (albeit from behind) by pagans. Also, this must be a hard name to deal with as a child...(and as an adult)

Manny

Ok - I am pretty sure now I was duped.

Blah.

Go Rangers!!!

Baseball

Another player testing positive for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), right? Not sure. Manny claims he saw a doctor for a personal health problem recently and was taking prescription medication the doctor claimed was ok. However, the league has suspended him for 50 games for violating the substance abuse policy in regards to PEDs. Unlike A-Fraud, I actually believe this guy. Not sure why, but who knows. Let's see what details come out in the coming week(s).

Here is Peter Gammon's reaction:

Flu Hooplah

This is actually a post by me - Eric. I know I know, if it is a health related post it must be Theresa right? Well, this is my little way of educating everyone about the real killer (it ain't swine flu).

In fact, the CDC no longer recommends closing schools even if a student is suspected to have or is confirmed to have H1N1.

Enjoy

Favorite Block Ever

Ok so many of you who are fortunate enough to have talked NBA with me understand my feelings that Jordan is and was the best ever - period.  Also along those lines, some of you may have heard me talk about my favorite block ever which just happens to be by Jordan.  Well, after spending sometime tonight dreaming and watching old videos I actually found a clip of it!!!  It is actually a clip from Sportscenter I think - but it will do!

Oh yeah, and Jordan is playing with a sinus infection in this game...but who cares when you are the best ever and you can turn it on whenever you want???

Check it out:

Meet Trixie

The shelter said that she was a shepherd mix, but I don't think she is. She is only 4 months old and is already half the size of Hank. What do you think she is?

Our World

Privatization of water markets leads to strikes in Peru.





The new (old) idea to fight piracy - let these ships defend themselves! What I don't get is why this is a difficult decision. Gold miners have been doing this forEVER in nations where there is unrest and the threat of being attacked.



With the rash of home burglaries that has been going on in B/CS lately, it is nice to see one get stopped.

Public Health Week

Here is a great video that depicts the improtance of Public Health. I love my job.

For Matt Lee - Can YOU Do This?

This video maketh me smile.



Hopefully you too.

:)

Public Health Week

Next week is Public Health Week. The Brazos County Health Department is going to offer some special and reduced fee services. Here is a listing:

$5 Private Water Well Testing
April 6-8, 2009

Free Foodhandlers Classes for the First 50 People to Sign-up
Beginning April 6, 2009

Snake Bites: Don’t Get Rattled
Presentation by Dr. Gary Gore
Tuesday, April 7 at 6:00 p.m.
Brazos County Health Department

Free Immunizations for 18 and Under
$10 Immunizations for Adults
April 6-8, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009 from 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 from 2:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 from 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

SOLD!

We found a taker for our boxes. I am ready to get my dining room back!!!

Boxes, Boxes, Boxes!

We have a bunch of boxes. Please contact us if you or someone you know needs boxes. We will be glad to give them away free. Most of them have been through several moves but are in good shape. We will go recycle them in a few weeks if no one claims them. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!

Nascar Strategy

For you Kevin Ayers.


NASCAR Coach Reveals Winning Strategy: 'Drive Fast'

Done!

Thank you to everyone that helped us during the moving process! All of our "stuff" made the 8 or so mile venture unharmed!

In Memory

Grandma Sally Patscheider (far left, next to Theresa)
03/08/1925 - 03/14/2009

Bailing out a Bailouter?

According to the NY Times, yes it is my favorite current newspaper, the FDIC is going to require banks to pony up more $$ in insurance deposits because they are forecasting over 86 more banks to fail this year alone (14 have done so already and over 100 total for the year are expected).
So essentially the government is giving banks money, then forcing them to give portions of it back, just so the government can then give it out again. I wonder how much of this money is getting lost through transaction costs, overhead costs and other misc. costs. Seems to me if you are going to hand out my money, at least just do it in one transaction, not a series of 3 where everyone skims something off the top. What is this, a boot-legged "charity" with high "administrative" bills?

Produce The Note

While I don't condone the activity of fighting the foreclosure of a home where an individual can no longer pay the bill - regardless of whether or not they should have been approved for their loan or not - I certainly don't condone the actions of the banks to sell off loans and mortgages in the form of bonds and other bundles with reckless abandon. Should you be facing foreclosure, there is an interesting option that many people have been taking advantage of: simply ask the bank trying to foreclose your home to produce the note which you signed and they signed showing they actually have a right to your house.



On another note, if we are trying to increase accountability within the economy, how is this supposed to help? We have the people owning the mortgages without care and without anyone honestly regulating their business practices and we have people in homes that are getting free passes and their $200. Is it surprising Wachovia, the bank in question in this video, was taken over by Citi a few months later after it promptly failed?

Don't Waste Your Life?

Well, the message here is a little different than the message in John Piper's "Don't Waste Your Life", but this video is equally interesting...especially for those of us in academia.

*Update

Remember the story about the football evangelism of sorts I posted a while back? Well, turns out Troy Aikman, Roger Goodell and others noticed it too - check it out.

Who woulda thunk?

Adam Smith gets the last laugh
By P.J. O’Rourke

Also, for those of you with particular interest in the evolutionary belief system of the world, here is an interesting chart with special reference to Darwin.

I don't wanna grow up...

After a couple of days of negotiating the price of a home Theresa and I have been looking at - we have reached an agreement with the seller.
For those of you with a list of things young married couples should do, the only remaining thing now that we have full time jobs, are in the process of buying a house, etc, is to have some _______. We don't need to go there just yet...let us enjoy this step for a little while first please. :)

Golden Boy inserts Golden Foot into Golden Mouth

So what does Peyton Manning do now that he lost his head football coach? Throw the blood-sugar monitor of a Type 1 Diabetic into a swimming pool...nice

BOOYA!

Elihu 1 - Job 0 (God infinity)
'Check it'
- For has anyone said to God, 'I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more; teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more'? Will he then make repayment to suit you, because you reject it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore declare what you know. Men of understanding will say to me, and the wise man who hears me will say: 'Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight.' Would that Job were tried to the end, because he answers like wicked men. For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God. . .Job opens his mouth in empty talk; he multiplies words without knowledge.
Job 34:31-37, 35:16.
(please note i am not advocating ripping everyone you know of sinful behavior...this is simply a short segment i really enjoy reading 'kinda' like some other passages just for the power and direct nature of the language)


Please check the link for a great event that happened a short while back.

High School Football Evangelism?

This is very very very awesome.

Re: Community Group

This is what I was talking about Wednesday!



Also, check this one out:



:)

Revisiting Old Treasures

What an experience to be had!
Here I was perusing articles and journals this afternoon on A&M's "library" system the only way my generation knows how, using the inter-web, when one particular book kept showing up. So naturally I attempted to find it on the web in a .pdf or other down-loadable format. As the Lord would have it, the only version of it available to me was the PRINTED version in the true "library" - you know, the one where you walk in the doors and there are actual books and periodicals around you?
So, using the knowledge ascertained via the inter-web and remembering where the elevators were thanks to having to go in there to meet Josh once or twice before I found my way to the 5th floor. Thankfully the web not only had a map of the facility so I could find the elevators, but also a map of where on the 5th floor my book would be located!
By this point I am beginning to feel a little proud of myself for thus-far accomplishing such a feat (finding a book in a library). Why, you ask, is this of any consequence at all? Well allow me to tell you: this is the first book I have checked out since the 6th grade when I used to frequent the library to win points for the "AR" program at my school! That is right, not for high school, my undergrad or even my masters had I been required to check out a book. Everything was either available electronically or it was not required for extended use so I could simply borrow another's for a couple of hours.
After searching the shelf for a few minutes and seeing many other interesting titles, I found it!!! Oh the feeling of pulling it off the shelf! What accomplishment! Job well done!
Now the dilemma -- where do I check out?
I searched around the 5th floor briefly before I figured there was no place up there for a check out station and it wouldn't make sense because what if you got your book on another floor? So I made it down stairs and figured it must be near the door. This is where the library personnel, yes even you Adam, think it is fun to play games with people. You see, near the door there are THREE different desks. I felt like those shows where you have to pick behind a door to see if you win the prize. After slowly walking around them I noticed a little sign that said "Check-Out Desk" above one of them. Whew! Embarrassment averted!
Further amazement came when the young man, (I can say that now since I am quite a dignified adult now with my book-checking-out abilities), informed me that I had until May 15 to enjoy my hard-copy. I could not believe my ears! Apparently that is one of the benefits of being on A&M's faculty. Nifty - I may try this more!
I eventually managed to make it out of the library and head back over to my office, book in hand. The feeling of pride and giddiness so radiating from my very essence, I felt the need to share it with you.
I hope this story finds you well and perhaps one day you too shall feel the victory and glory I felt by checking out a book.

Eric

A few notes:
The book I checked out today - "Jay Cooke's Gamble" by Lubetkin...it is about Jay Cooke and the financial Panic of 1873
The books I used to read when I was a top dog in the "AR" program were the Tolkien books, Redwall Series, and whichever other books could potentially give me the most points (Anne of Green Gables, Lord of the Flies, Moby Dick, etc).
The last book I read cover-to-cover was "Sea of Glory" by Nathaniel Philbrick about 6 months before Theresa and I got married on a trip to North Carolina with her mother and sister to Emerald Isle. Matt was stationed at Camp Lejune at the time.

2008 - Year In Review

Enjoy!



Football fans look at this.

For those that remember my World of Warcraft story, well, here is one that goes into greater detail and has a lot in common with my story (only my "girl" didn't break up with me, fortunately).