Kim and I technically live in the “country”, as we are ~ 5 miles from the city limits.  So, there are some conveniences that we are learning to do without.  One of those (unfortunately) is high speed internet; had to go with an AT&T “aircard” to use the cell phone towers instead  (Makes me think of the Green Acres theme song …).  Sigh.  Anyway, we now have DirecTV instead of cable and there is no natural gas utility.  Trash collection is at the end of the lane, not by our driveway, so we have to haul it a bit.

On the flip side, we are in the peaceful (and rather dark at night!!) countryside.  I see a ridge out my front door and fairly open space, although the “neighborhood” is growing.  We are on the east side of town, and there are several nicer homes that were built in the last few years — spaced out of course.  We have two neighbors — also very nice; one of my neighbors lent me his zero-turning radius mower to see if I might like to buy one (I need a wide blade &/or a fast mower to cover 3.5 acres!).  It was pretty neat, and a very nice gesture.  The kids (surprisingly, Livy & almost Anna Grace) have made instant friends with the neighbor’s two dogs — very friendly, I might add.  The other neighbor’s dog is not so friendly right away, but still is already chasing the car to “greet me” when I come home.

Also, I am now the proud owner of a 5′ x 14′ trailer with a wood floor and a ramp!  This makes me an official ARK citizen, I think (!), as most folks have a trailer of some kind.  Anyway, I will need something to haul wood for the Hardy wood furnace (used to heat the house & hot water in the winter, if we use it).  The previous owner said that it cut something like $100 / month from the heating bill.  Sounds good to me, if I can secure a supply of wood.  I will need the trailer to go get our new entertainment center — purchased in not-so-nearby Jonesboro (~ 60 miles & maybe 1.5 hours away).  We went on Saturday to make a Sam’s, Target, Chik-Fil-A, and Furniture Row run.  That SUV was stuffed on the way back.

Did I mention that the GPS cannot compute the ARK roads?!  There is just something quirkly about some of these little ARK roads — or certain changes (renumbering? road work??) that has moved things around.  Still getting used to the GPS anyway, but now I have to use a little bit of grain of salt and judgment to follow the suggested route or not.

And, I have ordered my first riding lawn mower from the local John Deere dealership.  It is a JD X340 with a 54″ blade; it can take a few attachments that we might use, but not ground engaging stuff like a tiller, plow, etc.  Mainly it can be set up to haul, to use a 150 lb. front “shovel”, and to use a front blade.  First, we will likely haul things around in the 10P cart (650 lb. limit) too.  Maybe the shovel or blade will come later, but not yet.  It is too many $$ as it is.

We are praying that the Lord blesses us with a church and friends here, and that my work will go well (it is so far, and is extraordinarily interesting too).  We don’t know how long we will be here, but we plan to engage life as we did in other places.  The homeschool community is fairly strong.  The type of church we are used to going too is a little different story, though.  It is “strong”, but not in the sense that we think is important.  I can already tell that those in town are not likely to be in our future, unfortunately.  However, we have found a non-denominational church that meets in a local school; they are doing a lot of good, and their principles seem to hold promise — we will see.  Meanwhile, we will pray and visit as appropriate.

That’s about it for the new start.  We are looking forward to things settling down a bit — again, it has been a whirlwind.

Overall, I think that the finale was good, if unconventional in elements of it.  It was rather edgy, and even uncomfortably so at times.   It tended to push the envelope in many ways; most of these are typically like the downward spiral of culture, but not all.  This is the unconventional piece.  I read a few years ago that the next wave in sci-fi would be the merger of religion and tech.  I have seen trend begin to emerge.  For example, the Matrix trilogy rang of religion at times, as in the “temple” sequences or gatherings.  Not Christianity, mind you; just religious-”ness” of some kind.

This played out in a very interesting way in BG.  I actually was impressed — at the end — with the writing of the finale.  On the whole, season 4 was a roller coaster:  first too much shock effect, then some decent writing; then, back to shock but flowing to a decent ending.  The end was somewhat foreshadowed, but the how of the trip was pretty fascinating, as well as some of the details of major characters and “behind-the-scenes” information.

In summary, I think the new BG does tend to provoke thought and reflection.  It is a good extension of the past BG and was (IMO) obviously dependent on more recent sci-fi traditions (e.g., Babylon 5) for themes or story details to convey the overall story in mind.  Now that is OK; but I just noticed interesting dependencies that logically appear in the story.  Lastly, I do wonder if the writers had the end in mind at the beginning.  If so, then they somehow deserve an A+ for bringing everything around to a fairly suitable conclusion.  And if not, well … that’s OK; that’s the more plain and typical route, but still well done in my final analysis.

And I must say that in the brief period of time I have owned it, I am getting a kick out of it!  I only wish we had it on our 2 trips to Arkansas.  There is hardly a straight path anywhere with many doglegs, road unions and divisions, turns, spurs, business routes, etc., in the backwoods.  I am sure for the folks that live there it is as easy as the back of your hand, but for a “foreigner” it can be a challenge. 

I like using it (for the moment) on routes that I normally drive.  It is curious that I don’t always take the shortest route.  I am not sure of the algorithm, but I am guessing that it the primarily goal with a GPS (as opposed to minimizing time).  A friend told me some good advice:  you drive the GPS; don’t let it drive you.  And that is true; you can ignore its suggestions, and it will pause for a moment, then say, “Recalculating.”.  Then, POOF, a different route (sometimes a U-turn!) appears.

This is really an amazing device.  My dad, were he living still, would have been amazed and nearly creeped out at this thing.  I can just imagine him getting a laugh each time the GPS tells you how to go here or there.  That was just dad.  The creeped out part would be from the fact that you have a wireless device instantly report your position AND plan a route to go somewhere, estimate the TOA, and take you pretty much anywhere in the US, if you so desired.

That being said, it is safe to say that I am a big fan.  I can’t wait to try it in the land of crooked roads of AR!

Kim and I praise the Lord for the success of the search in difficult economic times.  I do not take it lightly that I got even one offer (much less three!).  Now we again pray for the Lord’s guidance and favor in making the move.  And so it begins …

Inside, the weather was rather hot, as in firing-hot.  My organization decided, in the wake of one of the worst quarters ever in the history of the business (one newspaper article used the phrase “global demand collapsed” … and this was not an exaggeration) due to many factors, not the least of which was the financial meltdown and credit crisis which started toppling several dominos.  At any rate, the technology group I am in was significantly downsized, going from around 330 positions worldwide to around 225 — for a total of 32% reduction in total technology staff.  However, approximately 50% of this total was from my home base near Chicago.  The group will not be the same for a while, if ever; my company is pretty much walking away from their tech in one business segment.    So, I (in the unlikely event of surviving the “selection” process and having to move to the Chicago area — brrrr!) have started a job search about 1.5 years after getting this one.  That initially seems too bad, as I really enjoyed the work.  

However, Kim and I are choosing to trust the Lord and we have been very peaceful overall about this.  It really helps not to have a bitter attitude; in fact, it is a chance to show the calm testimony of a Christian in turmoil.  There will be good days and bad days, but again, we are trusting in the Lord.

Of note, there was a blessing from the Lord already — if only for encouragement.  The day after the news came, I received an email from an old boss; his computer was attacked by a virus, so he hadn’t replied to a recent email.  He started with typical greetings, then said that he knew a manager — in the plant down the street – who was looking for a candidate to fill a position!! Praise the Lord for that note! 

So, whether that job works out or not is sort of beside this point.  If it does, it does.  If not, then we will trust in the Lord to bring something good out of our situation in a different way.   We definitely solicit the prayers of our friends as well.

There are also a HOST of other shows.  For example, A Christmas Story, Mickey Mouse’s adaption of the Christmas Carol, et al.  The Charlie Brown Christmas show was especially good, as I watched it with the kids the other day.  Charlie Brown is plagued by the commercialism of Christmas (and that was 1965!) and he wonders aloud if anyone knows the real meaning of Christmas.  Then Linus steps forward and recites the narration of Jesus’s birth from the account in Luke.  This show did a good job bringing home the true intent of the Christian holiday, however it was polluted with secularisms and myths down through the years.  Good job.

Merry Christmas … from TV (or TiVo) Land!

One more comment about the first week:  it is really neat to have a newborn around again.  All the little sounds and behaviors of ones so small — how quickly you forget these things after the first month or so.

Every team goes through a down cycle.  UT’s football program has been sliding that way for a while.  And, most teams usually rise back up again after a few years.  There are several stories like this all the time — particularly in the SEC.  Coach Fulmer is full of surprises so, as always, you can’t tell how things will go.  But I had enough misery in 2002 & 2005 watching UT.  There is no point in repeating that cycle again.

Regarding Phelps, it was great to follow the 8-gold saga.  Probably, the more exciting finish was in the 100 meter butterfly race.  Given today’s technology it really is possible (along with the 1/100 th photos) to believe a 0.01 margin of victory.  That was a fantastic finish!  The whole of the swimming part of the olympics really has given me a picture of how dominant the US is in swimming.

Great fun!

And, there were a few other (long-winded) observations I had in general: a) The movie had a very existential philosophical outlook:  making choices is the only outlet (a pagan) world has.  The view is that our choices give our lives meaning ‘in-life’ (even if the skeptic sees no meaning ‘to life’).  b) In my opinion, there was ultimately an attempt to disgrace all those who are esteemed as great ‘doers of the good’ (Someone else may watch the same sequence I’m thinking of and think the complete opposite; I’m OK with that — it is an ‘art’ form after all); i.e., cover up a ‘hero’s' wrongs and let people think that s/he was an idealistic ‘do-gooder’ until the end.  This casts doubt on every real ‘hero’ out there in my opinion.  I strongly feel that, although this may happen at times, it does not have to be the truth in all, or even most, cases.  There is simply a ‘conspiracy mentality’ that is endemic to Americans, I guess.  Well, I’m here to say that: NOT everything is a conspiracy!!  c) Ironically, there was the exact opposite point as b) conveyed (!):  The hero becomes the ‘villan’ (at least in image).  My question is: Why?  In the specific sequence I’m thinking of, there was no need for this!  The numerous other criminals who did wrong were still guilty and got a deserving punishment.  Why blur the lines between good and evil?  It is nonsense, in my opinion.  d) We live in a paradoxical age; people are portrayed to have solid notions of what is right and wrong at times, and yet practice moral relativism when it is convenient.  That is, in the movie, people’s impulse to do good or evil sometimes just hangs on a whim; people are shown as morally ambivalent at times.  Or, said another way, the dogged moral pragmatism of Americans is underscored.  If it is going my way, it must be OK; but if it is not, I will choose self-preservation of life, comfort, and my own personal happiness over doing the good. e) There is nowhere to hide from a true agent of chaos in our society:  anyone or anything can become a victim due to another’s evil choices; the Joker is an exaggerated case in point.  f) Lies are shown as becoming ‘good’ (or ‘necessary’) things at times.  Since honestly is one of the foundations of a stable culture, this is particularly subversive.  g) The movie was very much a reflection of the moral culture that is ‘out there’.  [Christians are called to a higher standard, though!  The early Christians lived in moral and social conditions that have several similarities to our time.  We can still choose to follow Jesus and be light in a dark world!]

Lastly, the major point still vividly remains (to me) from a quote at the end: “But he didn’t do anything wrong.”  That is what I can’t forget.  The question is: will there be any redemption (or truth) in the future?  I sure hope so.