The Thinkulum is back!

Posted on September 5, 2005 by Andy

As you may have noticed, my site was down from 8-27 to 9-2. This is because my webhosting got renewed automatically but my domain did not, and I didn’t realize that until it disappeared. And then the domain took a while to resolve after I paid for the renewal. But now that’s all fixed. I meant to write this on the day my domain came back, but I didn’t get around to it. I did write about it on my Xanga blog, however. So let that be a lesson to you! Pay attention to your renewal dates!

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What is it I have against writing?

Posted on August 20, 2005 by Andy

I used to be good at staying on top of my e-mail. I wrote to people constantly. If communication dropped off, I was always the last person to send a message. I was always doing research and writing essays on my favorite topics. When I wasn’t doing that I journaled.

But now when I have something to write, I put it off for weeks, even months. It’s like I can’t be bothered to think. Why do I do this?? This is not good for my future! I believe the thought process goes something like this:

– I don’t have as much time as I used to.
– I’m a slow writer to begin with.
– Everything I want to write about seems so much more complicated now and would require so much more thought to write well about it.
– I have a bunch of other stuff I want to do, too (things that take less work!), so I don’t want to spend all evening writing one little thing.
– My mind feels blank, as if I have nothing to say.

I need to get over this. It worries me. Sometime later I’ll write more about why. (haha)

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RSS

Posted on August 16, 2005 by Andy

Studyhound, thanks! You’re absolutely right! That honestly never occurred to me, but I’m behind on my RSS awareness. I now have an RSS feed! (The link is at the bottom of the page.)

Incidentally, here’s the info for TWeb’s RSS feed. Why does everything on that site have to be buried, disguised, or hidden??

Why, oh why, did I ignore RSS for so long, when it’s so useful? Because I thought it would be hard to figure out, even though it’s called Really Simple Syndication. I didn’t believe the name. Actually, I still wouldn’t if WordPress didn’t create the feed automatically.

For my own RSS aggregation, I’m using RssReader because that was the first one that came up on Google.

Posted in Site updates | 4 Comments

Work is fine

Posted on August 14, 2005 by Andy

To answer April’s question, work is going well. I’m starting to get my schedule back under control, so my work hours are more normal and I can leave at a decent hour. Last week I was getting there at 9:00 or earlier, which is the time I’m supposed to be there. Friday we finished our impossible Bible project–or at least the phase of it that I’m involved in–and it isn’t due until noon tomorrow. No other huge, urgent things are hanging over my head at the moment, and no interpersonal strife is occurring that I’m aware of. And when those two conditions are fulfilled, work is good.

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War of the Worlds

Posted on August 14, 2005 by Andy

Thursday night I went with my brother and my friend from work to see War of the Worlds. What a movie! I was expecting it to be kind of boring. I had only heard the radio play before, and I couldn’t think of how they would make that into a compelling movie. Was I ever wrong! It was scary! Even though it said his name at the beginning, I was completely unconscious throughout the whole movie that it was by Steven Spielberg, and I was surprised to learn at the end that the music was by John Williams. It certainly contradicted the “family fun” associations I have with those two. I was happy to learn that the critics also liked it–it got 72% at Rotten Tomatoes.

I was especially intrigued by the scenes from the time when the storm first appears to the time the destruction starts. First because I love strange, dramatic weather. But more than that, they distinctly reminded me of the kinds of weird things I imagined when I was little–bizarre events that progressively turn an otherwise normal day into the Twilight Zone. I also thought it was interesting that they set those first scenes in a suburb where the robots would tower over their surroundings rather than in a big city with tall buildings. That’s the kind of setting I probably would have picked because it emphasizes the surreality of the scene and because, well, I grew up in a suburb. Apart from those things Spielberg’s imagination diverged from mine.

I also forgot about the fact that it was Tom Cruise playing the main character. He wasn’t his normal, suave self in this movie. He was just an ordinary guy trying to stay alive and protect his daughter.

Posted in Aesthetics | Leave a comment

Name change

Posted on August 6, 2005 by Andy

I forgot to mention that on August 2nd I changed my name on TheologyWeb from trialvironite (which no one could pronounce or understand) to Taran Wanderer. Taran is the main character of the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. He’s called by that name in the fourth book, Taran Wanderer. Disney made a movie based on the series called the Black Cauldron, which is the title of the second book. And his name is pronounced TAH-ran. Take a look at the Prydain Guide.

I’ve updated the Christianity page with my new name.

Edit: Oh yeah, and a nice TWeb administrator changed my name for me. I’d like to thank him. If only I could remember which one it was … hehe 😉

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The joys of online transactions

Posted on August 6, 2005 by Andy

Yesterday I came home to a folded piece of paper wedged between the doorknob and the door frame. It was written in legalese, so it took me a minute to figure out what it was. It was an overdue rent notice. I was immediately enraged. I paid my rent online! Six days ago! Just to make sure I wasn’t crazy, I dashed to my computer, looked through my old e-mails, and found the receipt they sent me. It was an automatic payment. I have it set to pay my rent on the last day of every month just so I can make sure nothing goes wrong before the rent is due on the first. It seemed to work, but then I got this nice little note, so obviously the system is messed up. I calmed down a little, printed out the receipt, and marched over to the office to inform them of their incompetence. Nicely and politely, of course.

I told the lady at the desk that I had just gotten this overdue rent notice but that I had paid my rent online. She was friendly and said that they must not have gotten the e-mail. She took the notice and my receipt printout and acted as if it would be a snap to take care of, so I thanked her and left. I guess I should check back in a day or two to make sure they got it fixed.

On the mailbox where we leave our rent checks, there’s a sign that says, “Save time! Pay online!” It doesn’t save time if I have to go to the office anyway to fix mistakes! There’s also a $2 convenience fee. Plus a heart attack when they get things wrong.

Anyway, I felt better immediately after handing the problem off to the office. I just thought it would be a good blog story. 🙂

Posted in Life maintenance | 1 Comment

Metropolis

Posted on August 1, 2005 by Andy

I just finished watching Metropolis. It was weird of course. I mean, it would hardly be anime otherwise. As usual it had robots, some sort of family issue, elaborate machinery, and military tactics. I always have to struggle to understand the tactical side of a plot. I just don’t have a military mind. It’s kind of frustrating. I didn’t understand everything that was going on in Batman Begins until the second time through. I have trouble grasping the strategies of business and politics too.

But I understand the personal and philosophical sides of a plot easily, as long as they actually make sense. Unfortunately I often don’t understand them when they’re buried in symbolism, which seemed to be the case with the end of Metropolis, so it left me a little confused. The upbeat jazzy music totally didn’t fit the tone of the events, so I suspect the director was trying to make some kind of point, but what that was I could only make the most uncertain of guesses.

Posted in Aesthetics | 1 Comment

A bullet point update

Posted on August 1, 2005 by Andy

Hello. I’ve been kinda busy the last three weeks! Here are some highlights.

– I finally finished reading the Sluggy Freelance archives, and it is now tied with GPF as the best webcomic in the universe, or it’s a close 2nd. It was kind of depressing to realize I wouldn’t be able to sit and read it for hours anymore, but then I remembered that I wanted to read MegaTokyo, and that cheered me up. It’s putting me in the mood for anime.

– My programming tasks at work continue to expand, which is great. People are starting to bog me down with editing stuff, but a lot of times I can turn those into programming jobs too. 😉 Eventually I will work my way into every aspect of the company. They won’t be able to operate without me, and the place with be mine!!!! Hahahahahahaaaaaaaa! Okay, not really. Running the whole company would take too much work.

– My brother Michael came back from France the Wednesday before last and has been staying at my apartment. Mostly we’ve been watching DS9. We’ve gotten through the whole first season. I’ve also gotten him hooked on TheologyWeb. Tomorrow he’s moving into his new place.

– Our mom came to visit us last Thursday and stayed until today (well, technically yesterday). It was nice having her here. Friday we went to see Batman Begins (which I’d already seen but enjoyed the second time, too), and Saturday we went to the Macaroni Grill with our friends from our old church. She also helped Michael with his car shopping, which was a relief to me. Since I had bought a car for the first time earlier this year and this was also his first car buying experience, somehow I felt responsible for making sure he knew what he was doing and made a good decision. I felt like I was buying a car all over again. I took him for his first test drive, but she went with him the rest of the time, and not being there for all that took the load off my mind. It seems to be turning out okay.

– Today for lunch we went to the Cracker Barrel, which was a surreal experience. I didn’t know there was one in the area. The Cracker Barrel for our family has always been a Southern road trip restaurant. I felt like we must be in Tennessee on our way to visit relatives. It was weird to realize I could just go there anytime. And the country ambience seemed very out of place in the Chicago suburbs!

– Today I also got to see my friend Tim again. He’s so busy these days that it’s hard even to get ahold of him. But his schedule is more relaxed this month. We watched part of Metropolis, but we got started late and didn’t finish it.

– Last week via an office birthday party I discovered Dove ice cream bars. They’re vanilla ice cream covered by a thick shell of dark chocolate! Yum!!! So I’ve been buying them to share with people. If you try some, get the kind with “Original DOVE® Chocolate.” That’s the dark chocolate kind.

– The week before last a book I ordered two months ago finally came in the mail. It was pretty much my own fault, though. I ordered it over Amazon and accidentally had the seller send it to my old address. The post office forwarded it to my current address, but for some reason I didn’t see the slip telling me to pick it up, so it got sent back to the seller. Meanwhile I was writing back and forth with the seller trying to resolve things. He was going to send me another copy, but then the book reached him and he mailed it back to me, with the correct address this time. So now I have it: From Minister to Honest Doubter: How I Changed My Mind by John Loftus. He has a similar educational background to mine, so it’ll be interesting to read his arguments. I found out about it through TWeb, and JP Holding has already posted his rebuttal/ridicule page. I want to finish reading the book before reading it though.

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Home again, home again, jiggety-jig!

Posted on July 20, 2005 by Andy

My brother’s coming back to the US today! He’s been teaching English in France for the last nine months. His plane gets here at 6:30, and I’ll be picking him up from the airport. Then he’s going to stay with me for about a week before moving into wherever he’s going to live this year. I’m happy. 🙂

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