Not So Famous…

When I started playing more games online, I was introduced to a bastardized form of communication entitled 1337-$p33|< . I'm not even going to attempt to translate that, as I feel translating this corruption of the english language sort of removes most of the point of communicating in this degraded written language.

Microsoft, on the other hand, apparently has decided that this kind of crap needs to be translated, so they wrote a primer on l337. Read and laugh.

Microsoft’s Primer on “Computer Slang”.

Or not…I don’t really know what my problem is. My normally-rampant enthusiasm is somewhat dampened, I’ll admit that much. But I can’t look at my life and point at anything that is bringing me down. I’m just down.

I don’t know what the deal is. But it will get better. If there’s one thing that living almost 29 years has told me, it’s that things suck sometimes. Furthermore, Christians are not immune. I think I’ll turn this into a rant right now, because here’s something that has annoyed me in the past: Christians are not immune to depression. And you know what, there’s nothing in the Bible that says Christians should always be happy-clappy. I’m sick of people looking at a Christian who’s just down and saying things like, “Well, if they were letting the Holy Spirit work in their lives, they’d be happier.” Or, “If they only read the Word and prayed every day, they’d be happier!” And then there’s the people who say things like, “They’re not happy because they’ve got demons in their lives. Get rid of the demons, and they’ll be happy again”, etc.

I’ll say this once…just because a Christian is not happy is no reason for everyone to imply that they’re not really a Christian. How about you do what the Bible says and walk alongside them for encouragement. Ask if there’s anything you can pray for them about. Tell them you’re there if they need to talk. Be a friend to them. But don’t patronize them and indicate that they’re not a good little Christian because they’re a little bummed right now.

Here’s a question, O Happy Little Christian: How can you live in this world, look around every day, and still be happy??? Huh???? This world SUCKS! You’re surrounded by people who hate the God you serve, and they hate you a little more each day because of Him. Everywhere around you is death and disease, flying in the face of the way God created the earth!!! Everywhere around you are people who flaunt their disobedience to God in their sex lives, how they choose to behave, and rejecting the leaders that God has put over them. So let me ask you…when creation itself groans in travail, how can you be happy? When people take every opportunity to spit on Jesus, how can you smile? When people flip God the bird, how can you grin and bear it? Maybe you’re the ignorant ones…not those who are saddened by living in this world of sin!

What I’m saying is probably more reactionary than anything else, but I don’t really see a problem with it. I don’t see a problem with being a little down here and there, and I don’t think you should see anything wrong with it either. I don’t think you should disparage your brother because he’s not feeling too great. I think you should BACK OFF, and just be there for them if they need to talk. I think you should make some attempt to see the world from their point of view. And then maybe when you feel crappy next time, you won’t have to expend so much energy pretending to feel happy when you really feel like crawling back into bed and sleeping for a week or so. Maybe you will end up surrounded by Christians who can say, “You know what, man? I know how you feel. And it’s ok. I’m not pressuring you, but if you feel like you need to talk, I’m here to listen. Wanna go grab a burger and beer?” And then you will appreciate people who are caring, understanding, and above all, real.

Driving into work this morning, I was struck by sudden inspiration.  I’m not saying this is a NEW idea…I think it very likely that it’s already in existence.  But it made me laugh.  Here it is:

“Support your troops…shoot a terrorist.”

And before you write a comment telling me how racially and politically insensitive that is, you should know that I’ll just delete it. This blog isn’t for your free speech…it’s for mine.  :-D  HAHAHAHA!  (Just kidding…I’ll display it.)

Interestingly enough, I found a new addiction. Cut to a family function wherein I bought a magazine subscription from one of my little cousins. I decided to get Computer Gaming World. (Should I have done this?? No idea.) Last month, they ran an article listing 100 cool games for FREE. Heck yeah!

So yesterday I downloaded a game, which is listed in my title. Mexican Motor Mafia. This game is a great driving, Grand Theft Auto 1 & 2-style game where you hunt down the bad men who killed your cop brother. You never get out of the car, and yet it’s way fun for a couple hours diversion. And heck…you can’t beat the price. Visit the link below and check it out. If you like it, comment on this blog entry! :)

Mexican Motor Mafia

Just a note that not everything in my blog happens at the time I post it.  Often, I have a topic kicking around in my head for awhile, and type it out here and there in Word.  Eventually, I’ll finish with the topic and then I’ll just paste it into the blog.  Sometimes it’s just when I have a spare moment.

Having said that, I recently noticed that there are times when I can’t think of anything good to say or think about people.  Sometimes I just get angry.  Is this a sign that I need a vacation?  Just a minute there, Turbo.  I didn’t say that these feelings necessarily happen at work.  What if I’m pissed at society?  Do I need a society vacation?  Is there somewhere I can go where I don’t have to deal with other people?  I’m sure there is.

Here’s something else.  If I end up somewhere where I am away from people, will I be free of the anger at idiots, or will I merely bring those thoughts to mind?  Will I draw upon my memories of idiots and then be plagued again?

Do I bring on my own feelings of annoyance?  Should I let more just roll off my back?  Maybe.  But if I did, I might not have this blog, and that would be a bummer, I think.

After pushing everyone I could to use Firefox, my own blog was not allowing people who use the Firefox browser to make comments. I rarely comment on my own blog, and definitely haven’t since I changed the style and upgraded the database, so I suppose there is SOME excuse for this oversight. I believe I have fixed the problem…go ahead…post a comment. :) I dare ya!

By the way, it won’t let you post a comment without leaving your e-mail address. Your e-mail address will not be displayed to the world. So just put your address. :)

What does this mean? Well, it means a few things. I can wear plate mail armor…this is way cool! Also, I get a mount! Mounts mean faster travel, and Blizzard has done a phenomenal job at creating this sort of “coming of age” sort of feel around the whole mount thing. So to celebrate, here are some pics of me on my new holy warhorse. :) As well as a couple others I had laying around. Click on each thumbnail for the full size image.

Yay for my new horse! Here are a few of me and my wife in WoW.

WOO! World of Warcraft is definitely the coolest game I’ve ever played. I like MxO, but it really is far more buggy than WoW. WoW has its own issues, but the game is amazing.

I don’t ask that people know all about computers.  That would be unreasonable!  But is it unreasonable for me to expect that when someone receives a message saying to log off their computers and log right back on, they should read the whole freakin’ thing??  In fact, I actually had someone tell me this, today:

“You should put ‘Please Read All of this Message’ at the beginning of the message.”

Excuse me??  I actually need to TELL people this?

In the interests of public safety, here are a few things I’d like to tell everyone.

1. Please read the entire message that your IT department sends you.
2. Please do not poke yourself in the eye with hot metal rods.
3. Please do not pull your eyes out of their sockets and smack the crap out of them as they dangle on your cheeks.
4. Please do not stick your hand under a running lawnmower.
5. Please do not chop your fingers off.
6. Please do not drink 90% HCl acid.
7. Please do not shoot yourself in the head with a gun.
8. Please do not jump off a 100 ft. cliff with no means of slowing your descent.
9. Please do not jump from a car travelling at 90 mph.

and finally…

10. Please wipe your butt after you take a crap…not before.

This message has been brought to you by people who think you should use the brains that God gave you, and don’t expect everyone else to do your thinking for you.  It used to be called common sense…too bad it’s not so common anymore. Thank you.

I have nothing concerning me but the petty issues of the day. While this could be construed as a good thing, I don’t know that I see it as such.  After all, a man wants to fight the good fight.  We want to crusade for…SOMETHING…A cause greater than ourselves.  In high school, that cause was Christianity.  Of course, I no longer believe as I once did, but Christianity is still something to be fought for…something to contend for, as the apostles would have said.  Is it not so? To earnestly contend for the faith is a lofty, admirable goal.  However it is too big…too vast.  How do we comprehend the fact that our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces?  We could go the Neil Anderson/Deliverance path, but I do not see Biblical support for his/their beliefs.

God uses means.  Doctors heal the sick, and yet God is sovereign over all. Pastors preach the word, and by their words, men are converted to the cause, and yet God is sovereign over all. We can contend against principles…we can contend against the means of the other side…the means by which Satan wishes to control the world.  What greater method does he have at the moment besides the Internet?

The Internet is masssive….more massive than I can describe, and the number of websites, and domain names that have been created and registered are more than I care to think about. Another statistic that is mind-boggling, I would suspect, is the percentage of sites out there that are dedicated to things that are wholly against Christianity…against the law of God. What does that tell you about the depravity of man?

Of course, it’s likely that you do not believe in God.  Or if you do, you do not believe in the God of the Bible.  You say there are many interpretations, as a friend of mine is wont to say. You think there are many paths to get to heaven, not the dichotomy of paths which is found in Scripture: a right path, and a wrong path. A path that leads to heaven, and a windy, twisty, admittedly fun path that leads to hell. Heaven and hell: two words that seemingly are somewhat short, and yet have contained in them the whole of eternity expressed in bliss or torture.  The path is really the short word, there…its 4 letters do not bely the brevity of the idea it expresses.  However eternal damnation, or eternal rejoicing in the glory of the Father…these are things not to be trifled with.  However, I accept that I cannot argue you to the Cross…the Lord will draw you or not, but friend…I am praying for you.

Back to my fight…my contention. The Internet…a cesspit of filth and depravity.  The anonymity of the Internet affords people the opportunity to engage in so much disgusting filth that if we comprehended the enormity of it all, we would empty our stomachs, and never be able to sit peacefully again, I think. However, Christians are out there partaking in its horrid, disgusting, nastiness.  While there are likely Christians out there who don’t know what I’m talking about, I think there are a great many Christians out there that DO know what I’m talking about, and are shuffling their feet in embarassment.

To that Christian: God is of purer eyes than to behold your iniquity, my friend. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Go, and sin no more. These words are to me as much as they are to you.

Allow me to say this: “Indeed, it was!” Which isn’t to say that everything went perfectly. I did not meet one of my goals for the weekend, which was to hit level 40 on World of Warcraft. However, I had plenty of time to try, so it wasn’t all bad. I was able to enjoy time with my wife, and everything around the house worked!

By this, I mean that setting up my TV worked as close to perfectly as I could have hoped. Kim and I spent a lot of time removing my old TV, and rearranging the entertainment center to facilitate the new TV, and its space requirements. An LCD TV takes up quite a bit of horizontal room, so my Playstation 2 definitely needed somewhere else to sit, and the VCR lost its honored perch on top of the television, since nothing can sit on a television that is only about 3-4 inches thick. I have a feeling that the PS2 is rather angry at me at the moment, since it has been relegated to the bottom shelf of the entertainment center, just below the XBox. I keep telling it that I can play it just as well from the bottom of the shelves as I can from the top, but there’s just no reasoning with the jealousy of electronic devices.

Let’s be honest here…All of my game consoles have some reason to be angry at me. I have most definitely neglected them since I started school, and now that I am finished with school, I show no signs of returning to my old ways. Oh, to be sure, I have grandiose plans for all-night PS2 and XBox sessions. (sigh…) But it looks as though I have found a more constructive use of my time…namely, World of Warcraft!!! (What, did you think I meant something other than drinking beer or playing video games?? Nay!!!) Anyway, I do plan on playing my PS2 and XBox, but I don’t know when that will be.

My VCR appears to be just as happy in the computer room, having been moved along with its old friend, the old television. In fact, I think the VCR is just happy to still be in the house. Ever since the arrival of the PS2, which can play DVD’s, it has seen its usefulness decline slowly until the only use I can think for it is watching French Kiss, which we only have on VHS. (psst…don’t tell the VCR this, but Kim is asking for a DVD version of French Kiss for her birthday, I believe.) At any rate, I have no plans to toss the VCR…we have a history together. I never used it as much as I use my DVD player now, but without it, how would I have watched The Mask…Highlander….French Kiss….Veggie Tales…and the greatest of all movies, “I Have No Legs”, and “Mission: Improbable”? (Don’t look for them at your local video store…they won’t have them. Rest assured, Matt Montomery, James Allison, Matthew “Buddha” Kline, and the late Justin Wells give wonderful performances…if only an idiot named Chris Dow playing Leeroy Brown didn’t spoil the show.  edit: And don’t forget about the great cameo performances by Steve Houser and Billy Montgomery! Bravo!!!) :-D

At any rate, as I stated before, I didn’t make level 40 on WoW, but it was not for a lack of trying, which was a lot of fun. I didn’t get as much time to play WoW, as I thought I would, but I also was able to watch some Fight Club at my in-laws’ house, and spend much-needed time with Kim. It was a good weekend, though not even 3 days was enough. Looking forward to the vacation this summer, which is the first family vacation I’ve been able to attend in years.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, the first movie I watched in its entirety on my new TV? Take a guess!

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Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Collector’s Edition, which means Widescreen! It was breathtaking. Furthermore, I was able to watch it with a friend who had not seen it. How awesome is that? A wonderful weekend, indeed.