Sunday, December 25, 2005

happy holidays

This was an email written by one of my dad's pastor friends.

Please accept, with no obligation implied, implicit, expressed, or intended, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all . . . . . and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006 but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great, (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only AMERICA in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee. By accepting this greeting, you are accepting all terms intended, whether stated herein or not. Acceptee hereby agrees to indemnify Wisher other against any damages or lawsuits that may arise from someone actually experiencing merriment of any kind, whether intended, or by force majuere or Act of God. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as described in The Manual, within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish (at the sole discretion of the wisher).

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

simpleton's update

Well, I had something deep and complicated that I wanted to post about, but right now I can't remember what it was. I think being in Florida puts me in a "simpler" state of mind (and that's not a bad thing). Anyways, Jingle Ball was blast, I had a really good time. See y'all when I get back, which will be January 3rd (yes, I will be missing 2 days of school).

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

joy and money have little in common

Today was rather uneventful. Secret Santa is very fun, and I have suspicions on who my person is...but I won't guess, because that would spoil the fun of it. Thankyou, whoever you are, for the cookies today. It really hit the spot:)

You want to know something I hate? Judgement. I don't think I know anyone who likes it. But I feel like I have judged and been judged way too much lately.

Let's start with a small, miniscule example, but one that occurs nearly every day. I hate it when people ask me, "How much did that thing cost?" (referring to my palm pilot.) Why do people ask that? Is it because they're interested in buying one? Not likely. Is it because they want to be educated on the pricing of today's technologies? I doubt it. Then why do they ask? Because they want to know how many clams I've shelled out in order to get this thing (or rather, how many clams my parents have shelled out). And why do they want to know that? Let's face it. People know it's going to be expensive before they ask. But they act all surprised when I tell them, and say things like, "Man, you're loaded!" or other snide comments that do nothing but make me feel bad for owning a palm pilot. Instead of saying, "This thing is neat, it must really help keep you organized!" or other intelligent, observant remark, people resort to judgement. They judge me because I own something that is more expensive the the average person my age can afford.

Let me make something clear. I didn't wake up one morning and decide I wanted a palm pilot. I spent months not only saving up, but thinking about whether I really needed something like that, to see if perhaps my money would be better spent on something else. But after careful thought, I decided that a palm pilot would streamline my school life, and combine everything into one convenient unit that could be stored in my pocket, and cooperate with my computer. My money, that I worked for, at a job, was what bought my palm pilot, after many months of saving up and careful planning.

Now, all of this information is completely superfluous. Even if I did wake up one morning and decide I wanted a palm pilot, it shouldn't matter. God has blessed me with many things, and the resources to buy a palm pilot is one of them. The Bible says we are to rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

If I were to go to the Apple store and buy a brand new 17-inch PowerBook G4 and bring it to school, the first thing I would hear would be "Dang, that must be expensive! How much did it cost?" Am I right? Or am I right?

Not only is treating someone in this manner judgemental, it is also very rude. Anyone who knows proper etiquette knows that you should never ask someone how much something cost.

Now, I myself and guilty of this sin, but mine is more internalized. I don't say it aloud, but in my heart I think the same thing, and that is just as bad. I will admit, for a while, I harbored this resentment toward Chris because of his Segway, and the fact that they bought one for each member of the family. However, now I see how wrong I was, and rejoice when I see any of them being able to use such wonderful technology for transportation. Sure, they might be expensive, but that's really not what matters. God has blessed them, so I am glad about it.

Bottom line, I just want people to stop making me feel bad when I publicly display something that I own that is over $50 (of which there are not very many).

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

protopage

Check this out guys, Chris told me about it. I like to call it "Dashboard-To-Go." It lets you organize feeds, memos, and links on your own page and access it from anywhere. mine is http://www.protopage.com/sensesay/.
Check it out for yourself!

Also, check out http://www.pandora.com/radio/mgp.do. That page is basically self-explanatory, and it's great for us musical types:)

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

asian trix!

Friday, December 02, 2005

i have front row!!!

This is truly amazing. Apple came out with a downloadable update to their current front row software. Some guy figured out how to make it work on any Tiger mac. Guess what?? I have it on my Tiger Mac!!! I'm just tingling with joy right now.
If you have a Mac that is running tiger and would like to try it out, click here to visit a page that gives you the entire walkthrough.