“Healthy, Happy and Hot”

But of course the real reason for the teen pregnancy rate going up is we don't have enough sex-ed in the classroom. According to C-Fam:

According to International Planned Parenthood Federation, the brochure called “Healthy, Happy and Hot” has become their most popular publication. 

Aimed at young people with HIV, the brochure contains sexually explicit language and promotes casual sex with multiple partners, as well as oral, anal, and homosexual sex.  

“Some people like to have aggressive sex,” says the brochure.  “There is no right or wrong way to have sex.”    It encourages young people who might have sex after drinking or using drugs to “plan ahead by bringing condoms.”  Another section suggests readers visit family planning clinics for help in preventing or aborting unplanned pregnancies.   

The publication encourages youth to keep their sexual activity secret from their parents, as well as visits to family planning clinics.  “You should find out whether there are any centers near to you where you can go without needing the permission of your parents or guardians.” 

Good grief. Next thing you know they'll want to teach this crap from day one...oh, wait...

UN Agency Promotes Sex Ed From Birth

Mystery Missile Launch- Or Contrail

From CBS:
(CBS)  A mysterious missile launch off the southern California coast was caught by CBS affiliate KCBS's cameras Monday night, and officials are staying tight-lipped over the nature of the projectile.

CBS station KFMB put in calls to the Navy and Air Force Monday night about the striking launch off the coast of Los Angeles, which was easily visible from the coast, but the military has said nothing about the launch.

KFMB showed video of the apparent missile to former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Robert Ellsworth, who is also a former Deputy Secretary of Defense, to get his thoughts.

Scroll down for KFMB video showing the launch.

"It's spectacular… It takes people's breath away," said Ellsworth, calling the projectile, "a big missile".  More




Or maybe not...

Jet contrails from some angles look like missile trails 

Or maybe so kinda sorta:

a NOTAM (notice to airmen) posted in the comments over at the Danger Room would seem to indicate that something might have been planned all along...

NOTAM for LA.

KZLA LOS ANGELES A2832/10 – THE FOLLOWING RESTRICTIONS ARE REQUIRED DUE TO NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER WEAPONS DIVISION ACTIVATION OF W537. IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY, ALL NON-PARTICIPATING PILOTS ARE ADVISED TO AVOID W537. IFR TRAFFIC UNDER ATC JURISDICTION SHOULD ANTICIPATE CLEARANCE AROUND W537 AND CAE 1176. CAE 1155 WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR OCEANIC TRANSITION. CAE 1316 & CAE 1318 WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR OCEANIC TRANSITION. CAE 1177 WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR OCEANIC TRANSITION. W537 ACTIVE, CAE 1176 CLOSED. SURFACE – FL390, 09 NOV 20:00 2010 UNTIL 10 NOV 01:00 2010. CREATED: 08 NOV 20:52 2010

I'm going with contrail.....

ACORN Executive Pleads No Contest To Election Fraud Conspiracy

One down....

"ACORN executive Amy Busefink has pleaded "no contest" to conspiracy to commit voter registration fraud in Nevada, the Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting. Sentencing is set for Jan. 10.

Busefink ran the 2010 national voter drive for ACORN's notorious subsidiary, Project Vote, which was President Obama's employer in 1992...."  More here

Jihad and Stoning

Couple of articles on the President's visit to India.

Both mention his non-answer to a young woman's question on Jihad:

"...According to The Hindu newspaper, a student "invited his opinion on jihad during his town hall style meeting at Mumbai's St. Xavier's college." 

“The phrase jihad has a lot of meaning within Islam and is subject to a lot of different interpretations, but I will say that first Islam is one of the world's great religions. More than a billion people practise Islam and an overwhelming majority view their obligations to a religion that reaffirms peace, fairness, tolerance. I think all of us recognise that this great religion in the hands of a few extremists has been distorted by violence,” Mr. Obama said.

He saw isolating these “distorted notions” as the challenge before us. He stressed on practising universal principles, irrespective of one's religion or opinion of a religion.

“Whatever may be your religion we can treat each other with respect as per some of the universal principles...."  

Over at Sense of Events, they continue with this line of questioning and answers, what the president would/could not:

 "...The obvious question is, "What exactly are the 'universal principles' that will require adherents of Islam to act like liberals in love of tolerance and brotherhood regardless of religion? Those are Western principles, and a fairly late development in the West, that mainline Islam has never adopted and simply rejects today. 

So here is part one of a three-part series on what is jihad as Islam defines it, not as tolerant, live-and-let live Western politicians imagine it to be. Whatever jihad is, it does not include tolerance. What exactly is jihad and where does it fit into Muslim theology?....


You can go here to read the answers.




Over at American Spectator, they took another tac:


:...If one is to accept President Obama's argument that jihad "has a lot of meanings within Islam and is subject to different interpretations," then one must wonder what Obama thinks about its meaning and interpretation in certain parts of Indonesia. After all, Obama did spend four years of his childhood in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. As a presidential candidate, Obama made the argument that his time in Indonesia rendered him more qualified on questions of foreign policy ..."


"...So as President Obama proceeds to the country he once called home for the next leg of his South Asian tour, one wonders if anyone will ask him what he thinks of that meaning and interpretation of jihad which sanctions death by stoning against those who commit adultery. To be precise, will anyone ask him his views of the stoning law that was unanimously passed in the Indonesian province of Aceh in September 2009? Some of the other sanctions covered under the law in Aceh are public caning for activities such as non-marital sex, drinking, and gambling. Anyone caught engaging in homosexual behavior is also subject not only to caning but a minimum of eight years in prison.

Aceh's harsh sanctions against homosexuality are noteworthy when one considers what President Obama had to say about Uganda's proposed anti-homosexual laws. ..."

New York to Sydney in just 2hrs 30mins

NASA is planning to build hypersonic jets that will fly through the Earth’s atmosphere and slash flight times around the world to a few hours at most.

The US space agency wants to manufacture a craft that would travel at five times the speed of sound and bring in a new age of aircraft akin to a turbo-charged Concorde.

Travelling at such speed would reduce the flight time from New York to Sydney to around two-and-a-half hours, from the 21 hours it is now.

The project is thought to be aimed at making a reusable aircraft that could fly to Mars but, as with previous space technology, it could have a huge impact upon passenger transport too.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1326618/Nasa-develop-hypersonic-jets-travel-5-times-speed-sound.html#ixzz14jRlVXWo

Taiwan woman 'marries' herself

The headline says it all....

"...We must love ourselves before we can love others. I must marry myself before marrying the special someone," she told AFP...."


Blech!

The Value of Marriage

From the AP:


"...in 1965, when a now famous government report by future senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan described a "tangle of pathology" among blacks that fed a 24 percent black "illegitimacy" rate. The white rate then was 4 percent."


"...The black community's 72 percent rate eclipses that of most other groups: 17 percent of Asians, 29 percent of whites, 53 percent of Hispanics and 66 percent of Native Americans were born to unwed mothers in 2008, the most recent year for which government figures are available. The rate for the overall U.S. population was 41 percent...."


"...Statistics show just what that fullness means. Children of unmarried mothers of any race are more likely to perform poorly in school, go to prison, use drugs, be poor as adults, and have their own children out of wedlock...."


Ah... the fruits of the sexual revolution. Rarely has so much information been packed into a news article. The failure of sex education in the public schools, the failure of a contraceptive societal mindset, the false idea that every family, no matter how defined, is the same, the failure of a welfare state that discourages traditional family, and the lie that marriage doesn't matter, all tied up in one article. Let's pray that the public discourse continues. But of course the article also proves that there are some pretty stupid people discoursing and missing the obvious.

Prayers

A while back a little blogging chain letter of sorts was going around and I was included. I have mixed emotions with these contrary to  an e-mail of similar ilk. For e-mails I feel very little guilt at not responding/forwarding. Even when they try to guilt you into forwarding by sicking Jesus on you. You know the sort, "If you love Jesus, you'll forward this to 1200 of your closest friends..." These chain letters simply bog down the internet and so I refuse on principle to be involved with the vast majority. I do forward on one or two every now and again to one or two friends ( I mean its Jesus after all) but I try to clean it up, removing the other forwarded addresses, and I remove the threats (e.g. forward this or you'll grow man boobs and the like- (which would be particularly threatening if I were a woman))
Something similar happens for blogger although these are typically more interesting and don't include the threats. This is where I have mixed emotions because on the one hand its nice to be thought of by other bloggers, sort of a "hey, I'm one of the guys" kinda thing, but on the other hand there is that request to forward it on to others, which is a bit like selling Amway- to me any way, so I don't want to do that. (no offense to anyone out there who sells Amway.)
One of the more interesting ones I have received was sent by MC over at Bedlam and Parnassus (some time ago I'm afraid) asking us to state our three favorite prayers and state why. So, belatedly, here are mine:

The Jesus Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.


I learned this prayer when I was studying the Eastern Orthodox faith. I love it because each word/section can be mediated on separately or as a whole. It is easily committed to memory and thus can be said at any time during the day e.g. waiting in line at the grocery store or waiting in the doctors office.


Glory Be


Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.


Trinitarian and can be sung or spoken. It was part of my growing up in the Christian Church Disciples of Christ. (sung) Its now part of my prayer time/daily devotional/Rosary.


Lord Jesus, come Yourself, and dwell with us, be human as we are, and overcome what overwhelms us. Come into the midst of my evil, come close to my unfaithfulness. Take my sin, which I hate and which I cannot leave. Be my brother, Thou Holy God. Be my brother in the kingdom of evil and suffering and death. Come with me in my death, come with me in my suffering, come with me as I struggle with evil. And make me holy and pure, despite my sin and death, in Jesus' name.


This prayer is by Dietrich Bonhoeffer Lutheran Pastor. Hung by the Nazis in WWII.


This prayer speaks deeply to me of personal sin and our inability to overcome it on our own. It reminds me that we worship a God who does not stand far off, but stands with us and holds us, and bears us up not when we have reached some point of perfection but while we are sinners. Our God comes to us in our evil and cleans us.

Back

What does one say after being gone so long? Or is there anything that needs to be said at all?
I've thought of you often over the last few months- those twos and threes that used to stop by often. Those tens who stumble by by accident. I've come to the page with all intention of posting....but the fire was not there- not even an ember.

Blame it on a mid-life crisis of sorts. The months leading up to retirement were hectic. Excitement of new beginnings became anxiety and doubt. A man defines himself by his work and thus sentences himself to a hellish sort of non-being when the work is done.

Blame it on medication. Since I returned from Iraq sleeping has been a challenge. Its always been a challenge but made more so since I returned. Conversely, staying awake during the day has also become a challenge. So a sleep study and diagnosis of narcolepsy and a few handy dandy drugs- some to go to sleep and some to stay awake and things are great. Till I start taking them regular. And it turns out that one or both tend to conjure dark clouds.

Blame it on a spiritual malaise. For many months I have dealt with my own time in the desert. A time of silence from God. Never in doubt wherein lay my salvation and my strength but far from the warmth and assurance. No doubt that this was much my own doing in many ways.

But blame takes space and time that should better be used to apologize to friends for the silence and missed e-mails and absent responses. And so we begin again.

Words

From Radio Lab -excellent Podcasts as well.. Well worth the listen.

68+ Miles, 55lbs, 11 Days

I just finished a Philmont hike with my son and others from his Troop. That's where I've been. Apologies for comments and visits that have gone unnoticed, for comments unapproved for so long, for the absence of posts. Between digging ditches in Costa Rica and the hike through the Northern New Mexico mountains, this Summer has almost killed me. But it wasn't me that had to be carted off the mountain. Nor was it me, who opted out of certain hikes (though I thought seriously about it- and often) Yes, my knees gave out the last half mile or so and I hobbled through the gate, but I did it with a full pack with no one's help. I am officially old. And the Tooth of Time has indeed chewed on me. Here are some pictures. More details later.

Geography 101

Innocent Bystanders reports on this gem from County Supervisor Peggy West of Milwaukee in discussions on whether the City of Milwaukee to boycott Arizona over SB1070. It appears that this official would have less of a problem with Arizona if only it were a tad closer to Mexico....huh?

“If this was Texas, which is a state that is directly on the border with Mexico, and they were calling for a measure like this saying that they had a major issue with undocumented people flooding their borders, I would have to look twice at this. But this is a state that is a ways removed from the border,”

Now after reading and perhaps even viewing such a pathetic statement one needs (besides a stiff drink) a bit of comic relief. May as well laugh as cry. Or laugh AS you cry over the state of education in our schools. Bride of Rove provides both with a comment left at HotAir who is also carrying the story.

True story. I was volunteering in my son’s fifth grade science class with two other moms and the topic of the day was the moon. I asked why there was no material on astronauts and moon landings? The two moms said they were relieved that fiction wasn’t being taught to kids.





Me: But. Lovell’s book Lost Moon. NASA. All of the video and science that has resulted in from the space program … velcro and Tang for crying out loud … do you really believe it was a hoax? Mrs. (teacher) help me out here.




Teacher: I don’t believe we actually went to the moon either so I don’t teach it.


Me: Interesting. So somehow all of those companies were in on the biggest lie ever perpetrated on the world.



I was unable to change their minds, though I made a valiant effort.

But the best is yet to come...for the punch line you have to visit the site. Made me laugh.

There Are No Accidents

Man- You know things are bad when your own dog runs you over with your own truck...

A Florida man was run over by his own pickup truck after his dog put it into gear, according to reports. (more)

Sharia Law in America

Under Sharia law non-Muslims are not allowed to proclaim their beliefs to Muslims. Nice to see they have the Dearborn police to help them enforce this.

If this is what it looks like, replete with cops confiscating video cameras to keep what happened off the record, it’s one of the most ridiculous First Amendment violations you’ll ever see. H/T  and more over at HotAir

This is an ongoing issue and you can read more details at WND and a link to last years video which is even more disturbing.

Some color for the story over at Touchstone:

"...There are no Muslims who do not need the Gospel, and no Christians, Arab or otherwise, who can live without it. Why should we be silent? The Gospel can be shared always, but not always welcomed. Jesus wasn't in the end; why should we be?" More

The Never Ending Game

Lost in the headlines of oil spills, replacement of generals etc. is a bit of history being made in the sports world-and its not the World Cup. (yes, I watch the games when I can- and I enjoy them.)

A RECORD-SETTING MATCH THAT'S NOT OVER YET


Previous full-match time record: 6 hours, 33 min. at 2004 French Open
playing time during 5th set: 7 hours, 6 minutes

Total playing time: 10 hours

John Isner had 4 match points in the 5th set


Just in the 5th set: they played 881 points

John Isner has hit 98 aces


More aces: Nicolas Mahut has hit 95 aces

previous ace record at any match: 78


Total games played: 161 (118 in 5th set)

Longest known tennis matches

10 hours - John Isner vs. Nicolas Mahut, 2010 Wimbledon (in progress)
more here:
http://www.statesman.com/sports/10-hour-wimbledon-match-shatters-all-records-765628.html

I'll be in Costa Rica for a few days. Working on a
mission trip. More later and soon

Controlling the Thinking of Others

On Politics and the Arabic Language from Porphrogenitus

(Required reading)

Musing a bit further on this article, particularly this section:

Next, our counterterror adviser evokes the perverse logic behind the administration’s recent decision to censor words offensive to Muslims (which I closely explored in this PJM article):

Nor do we describe our enemy as “jihadists” or “Islamists” because jihad is a holy struggle, a legitimate tenet of Islam, meaning to purify oneself or one’s community, and there is nothing holy or legitimate or Islamic about murdering innocent men, women and children.

Inasmuch as he is correct in the first clause of that sentence — “jihad is a holy struggle, a legitimate tenet of Islam, meaning to purify oneself or one’s community” — he greatly errs in the latter clause, by projecting his own notions of what constitutes “holy,” “legitimate,” and “innocent” onto Islam. In Islam, such terms are often antithetical to the Judeo-Christian/Western understanding. Indeed, the institution of jihad, according to every authoritative Muslim book on Islamic jurisprudence, is nothing less than offensive warfare to spread Sharia law, a cause seen as both “legitimate” and “holy” in Islam. As for “innocence,” by simply being a non-Muslim infidel, one is already guilty in Islam. Brennan understands the definition of jihad; he just has no clue of its application. So he is left fumbling about with a square peg that simply refuses to pass through a round hole.

Until the recent "troubles" it wasn't just Islamic jurisprudence that properly understood what the term Jihad meant; it was universally understood throughout not just Islam but all cultures that had contact with Islam to mean warfare, specifically directed at non-Muslims or those declared heretics and thus deemed to be un-Islamic. (more)

On the Flotilla Disaster

From CommentaryMag

...Those who sent an elite unit into a hostile confrontation armed with toy weapons made an incredibly stupid decision. And a uniquely Israeli one. In recent memory, Israeli military action has been violent but not decisive, bloody enough to provoke the outrage and condemnation of the world (at this point, a stubbed toe will do), but not enough to actually change facts on the ground (the Hamas and Hezbollah wars being prime examples). These halfhearted wars and battles have earned Israel demerits in world opinion without enough to show in improved strategic position. Exit question: How many new flotillas to Gaza are being planned right now in Europe, Turkey, and the Middle East?

From the Volokh Conspiracy:

Net result of the “peace/humanitarian” mission: dead activists, wounded Israeli soldiers, no more humanitarian aid to Gaza than if Israel’s offer to transfer the aid to Gaza from Ashdod had been accepted, and a likely breakdown in the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks that were about to start. Congratulations. 

UPDATE: Reuters: “Greta Berlin, a spokeswoman for the Free Gaza Movement that organized the convoy, said: ‘How could the Israeli military attack civilians like this? Do they think that because they can attack Palestinians indiscriminately they can attack anyone?’” Here’s a hint, Ms. Berlin: when you try to run a naval blockade, and then attack the blockaders with weaponry, “civilians” is not an apt description.

Allison Kaplan Summer (via Instapundit): “Israel appears to have stepped directly into a trap of a carefully planned suicide mission dressed up in the clothing of a humanitarian effort.”

Saturday Night Part 4 - On Desire

A two part question for a two part definition- h/t MWebster (see below)

Regarding "desire" as a sexual urge or appetite. We have heard it said that, for example one can have homosexual feelings but not act on them and thus not enter into sin. That is, it is the acting on the thoughts, rather than the thoughts themselves that is the problem. Presumably this would also work for heterosexual thoughts as well. Yet, we are told in Matthew for example, that to even look upon a woman with lust is to commit adultery. Is this a question of intent i.e. the thought, matched with the intent (desire?), makes the sin or is it the thought itself regardless of intent?  This seems to be an interesting question on a number of levels including but not limited to matters of linguistics, etymology and of course theology.

Next part, separate question. Regarding desire in relation to a longing or hoping. How much weight do you think should be given to those feeling that arise inside of a person to do some specific thing? For example, if one had a desire to write, a lifelong, unrealized ambition to do this thing, how serious should that individual take that feeling? Should they pursue it? You can insert any particular in the above example. I am reminded of the early try outs of "American Idol" here (the only part I'll watch but only by accident). Lifelong desire meets hard reality in many cases. Did no one tell them they couldn't sing? Or did someone tell them but they ignored it? Obviously this is part of the answer. Like Spiritual Gifts, such desire requires some community affirmation. But is there something more to say here? 

Main Entry: ¹de·sire 

Pronunciation: \di-ˈzī(-ə)r, dē-\

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): de·sired; de·sir·ing

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-Frenchdesirer, from Latin desiderare, from de- + sider-, sidus heavenly body

Date: 13th century

transitive verb1 : to long or hope for : exhibit or feel desire for
2 a : to express a wish for : request  b archaic : to express a wish to : ask
3 obsolete : invite
4 archaic : to feel the loss ofintransitive verb: to have or feel desire

Main Entry: ²desire

Function: noun

Date: 14th century

1 : conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment
2 a : longing, craving b : sexual urge or appetite
3 : a usually formal request or petition for some action
4 : something desired

Saturday Night- Part 3

Speaking of culture, is there, or has there been, a distinctively American culture and what are its challenges?
Have we lost it? Are we losing it? If we are losing it then how do we begin to bring it back?
And how does this mix/clash from a Christian point of view?

A recent review in Touchstone seems to ask a similar set of questions. George Barna, "The Seven Faith Tribes" appears to have written a thought provoking book on confronting the concern that "America is being torn apart by our failure to talk and work together toward a desired set of outcomes, based on a common set of values we possess."
Barna used data gleaned from 30,000 interviews and concludes that the problem with American culture is directly related to the loss of an American experience of community over and above our individual experiences of community.

Barna goes on to identify the existing values shared among the different world views or "tribes" and to build (rebuild?) our common life as a nation on them. He names twenty that can form the basis of genuine civic community according to the Reverand Thomas A Baima who reviewed the book, among them:
"to represent the truth well" (honesty)
mutual respect for human rights
civility

What values do you think are or should be on such a list?

 A few years ago while traveling between San Angelo and Austin, I came upon a stunning field of yellow flowers. Now Spring drives through the Hill Country in Central Texas are known for their wildflower extravaganzas but this was truly special. so much so that it conjured an attempt at poetry.

Today I made that same trip to San Angelo and back on the occasion of my mother's 80th birthday and was astounded at the miles and miles of yellow flowers. While it is true that it has been many years since conditions were right for such a wildflower display but (except for the Rape Seed fields in Britain) I cannot remember ever seeing such a thing in my life.  Not only the roadside and many meadows but often entire hillsides and from the road as far as the eye could see, carpets of yellow broken only by the green dots of oak or mesquite trees. Sections of the road were so crowded on both sides with flowers so as to create a glow inside the vehicle and cause one to squint with its brightness.

And me without a camera.

So I've attached a couple of links of pics which come close- close, mind you, to what I saw today. Go visit the photographers sight 
 My oldest son took some video on his phone toward the end of the "yellow bricked road" but I don't know how well it came out. We'll see.

Saturday Night With a Beer (or whatever) -Part 2

We went on a kayak trip down a rain swollen river today, the scout troop and I, and save for a nasty sunburn on the top of my foot (actually both-but one is decidedly worse than the other)  I fared fairly well. The water was moving faster and higher than we had ever seen it on our annual trips down the Guadalupe, taking almost two hours off the trip (though part of that was due to the fact that we did not stop and swim as usual).
Good fun but I am fairly whacked.

Still, I cannot forgo a new tradition on only its second night, so here we go.

Here is tonight's question. Once again, feel free to change the question around or add your own completely different question.

France and Belgium have recently gone about banning, or attempting to ban the Muslim veils. Switzerland has passed legislation in the the same regards concerning new Minarets.
Do you think this is a result of a position against Muslims, a security issue or an attempt at preserving specific cultural identity? Or perhaps a combination of all three or some thing else?

I'm working on getting chat added to the blog to make these discussions easier but until then, we'll have to make due with the comments.

BREAKING: Oliver North Confirms Mullah Omar Capture

This has been talked about for a few days. The article provides interesting perspective on behind the scenes complexities of approaching peace talks etc.


Mullah Omar Capture

Holder hasn't read Arizona law he criticized - Washington Times

I don't know why this should surprise me but it still does. Most disturbing is his statement that he has gotten his information from the newspapers and TV. Good grief.


- Washington Times

and if that wasn't enough...

AG Eric Holder Refuses to Say 'Radical Islam' Is a Cause of Terrorism Committed by Muslims

Total incompetance or ignorance, or both.

NRO asks the very relevant question:
"How can you ever hope to stop something when you refuse even to speak its name?"

This is something right out of "Harry Potter."

Read more...

Saturday Night With a Beer (or whatever)

Was watching Lark Rise to Candleford. Our Saturday Night at the movies kind of thing. Tonight there was an interesting thread on duty and responsibility but I could not watch it all because a neighbor came by. Her husband is in France right now tending to the details of his elderly mother's death. She (our neighbor) is upset because she could not be with him while he goes through this difficult time. Hmmm- the thread stretches on.

Question for tonight- Does the current trouble that Greece is having, portend teh doom of the EU?

or any other you'd like to throw out. The beer is cold.

Saturday Night With a Beer (or whatever) Good Friends and Good Conversation

Many years ago, a couple of friends and I would meet at the Dog and Duck Pub and drink a few beers and discuss matters of great importance. Usually it was theology or at least led to theology (natural since Theology is the mother of all 'ologys after-all) There were some good times and I listened (but not enough) and learned and grew. Times change of course and life took away those moments (and friends moved off to Indiana- (damn it MC) ) And I miss those times.

Something occasionally happens like that on these blogs. A point of contact, an insight, an inspiration and even, dare I say, friendships.

So I thought I would try something for a few months. Every Saturday evening I can, I'll post a topic or question for discussion. I'll do it around 9:00 pm central time. and maybe we can discuss them in the comments section. I'll leave it up all week so if you can't make it Saturday evenings then you can stop in later. You can also add your own questions via e-mail or this blog if you would like. It can be about anything that would make a good conversation.

I hope to "see" you here tonight. I'll try it for a few months and if it works, then great. If not, oh well. I'm still drinking the beer.

(I know some folks don't drink and that's OK- sip on something else. If you do partake, please share the name so I can put it on the shopping list) :-)