ODB

Thanks to Kotya for this picture of our Mom.

Mom came to church last week and we took her with us out for breakfast then we gave her a ride home. When I got home I saw she left the newest Our Daily Bread in the back seat. This little devotional book has always been a personal favorite but recently I have not read with it. I have been reading repeatedly through the Gospel of John.

I brought this little devotional book with me on a trip into Anchorage for motocross. Sunday morning as the bunch got themselves ready for racing I sat down and read what I thought was in the right month but I was a month ahead and I read September 26.

From the devotional titled "Jesus Sets Us Free."

"I was bound by the iron chain of my own will. I was rather an unwilling sufferer than a willing actor. And yet it was through me that habit had become an armed enemy against me, because I had willingly come to be what I unwillingly found myself to be."
- Augustine (Theologian AD 354-430)

So, the grip of evil has been with us since the beginning and this quote sounds just like it could have been written now!

I like this other quote by Augustine that is evidence of his spiritual growth:

"Thank you, Lord, for granting me the power to will my self not to sin."

We will be hustling off to Fairbanks for one last State motocross hurrah. Anchorage will be hosting a fall series for motocross racing in September and then winter sets in.

Have a great weekend!

Cellphones and School

This Mornings Fog

Some schools have now banned cellphone use according to NBC's Today Show, Should Cellphones Be Banned? Having and using cellphones at school is something that brings a whole slew of problems with it that I've never even considered; I've only ever thought of the benefits of having a cellphone. There is comfort in knowing that our kids can always be in contact with us.

Some problems mentioned with having cellphones in school - unwanted picture taking. That is a horrible thought. Showering for PE was bad enough but to know that someone could take a picture? Oh my! I can see where that could be a problem! Do kids even have PE in school anymore? (Remembering Richard Simmons trying to get PE back in schools.) Snapping pictures for answers to tests was also brought up - upgraded cheating. Text-messaging during class time is a problem.

According to NBC, kids admit that they can text message without even looking at the phone; pocket messaging, ha! Now why can't we do that? It would be a good thing to learn for those of us that need reading glasses to read now.

How about that mosquito tone for making it easier to be sneaky?

When it came out in Britain in December, the Mosquito sound system was supposed to be the sonic equivalent of a "no loitering" sign. Its annoying, high-pitched sound -- which many adults can't hear but most young people can -- would act as a teen repellent. WashingtonPost.com

That is funny. I cannot hear that at all! I turned it way up and... nothing. The kids could hear it all the way downstairs!

We must make new ways to deal with new.... ways! The cellphones are good for keeping in touch with our kids and these gadgets should be incorporated into everyday living that will work for both student and teacher, parent and kid and wherever else their use may be disruptive - if used without manners.

I say kids should keep the cellphones. College kids videoed with their cellphone when the shooting happened at Virginia Tech. If they need to be taught cellphone manners then they should be taught that. Not at school, but Mom and Dad should teach them proper times when one should turn off the phone, in consideration of others.

I know that there will be those that transgress the rules, there always is. The majority of people grow up enough to abide by rules. If they won't abide by school mandated rules then yes, the cellphone should be confiscated, but only after a kid has proven that they cannot appreciate the freedom they have been given to keep a cellphone in their possession.

My phone won't work in Walmart, so whatever Walmart does, do it at school. There must be a way to make a cellphone dysfunctional in certain areas like classrooms and bathrooms.

Wow, I am using Mozilla Firefox and their browser shows up misspelled words and when I right click on it, it gives me options for words I might be wanting to use instead. It's cool! I don't even have to use Blogger's spell check! Great feature, Firefox!

Later - I think I hear my phone ringing!

Ron Paul

Have you heard of this man? He is running for President. I am sure that Texas readers have heard of him - he is a Congressman from Texas! He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, graduated from the Gettysburg College and the Duke University School of Medicine. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the 1960's. Dr. Paul has delivered more than 4,000 babies! :-) He and his wife Carol live in Lake Jackson, Texas. They have five children and 17 grandchildren! (Last she told me, my sister Millie and Adam have 17 grandchildren too.) He is in favor of bringing out troops home, I love that!

Read more about him.

I am just learning about this man. From what I've read and watched so far, I like him! Check him out! I especially like what he believes about eminent domain. I've always found it repulsive for our government to come in, say that they know best for how a private property will benefit others and then settle to pay way below what it's worth as they bump out the owners. That is so awful! Shame on our government, big town, small town and wherever else this is allowed to happen!

Quote on border control:

"A nation without secure borders is no nation at all."

Laughs

I downloaded and tried out the Firefox browser and mail program a while back. I used them for a while but because I had trouble uploading to my FTP sites I ended up going back to using IE. Tonight I opened up Firefox's Thunderbird mail program and found some old emails. Some were from my sister Millie. (Made me miss her so much more.) I also came across a few funnies that made me laugh again. Here are a few things.

Enjoy.

Two Jewish men, Sid and Al, were sitting in a Mexican restaurant. Sid asked Al, "Are there any people of our faith born and raised in Mexico?" Al replied, "I don't know, let's ask our waiter."

When the waiter came by, Al asked him, "Are there any Mexican Jews?" and the waiter said, "I don't know Senor, I'll ask the cooks." He returned from the kitchen in a few minutes and said "No sir, no Mexican Jews."

Al wasn't really satisfied with that and asked, "Are you absolutely sure?" The waiter, realizing he was dealing with "Gringos" gave the expected answer, "I will check again, Senor!" and went back into the kitchen.

While the waiter was away, Sid said, "I find it hard to believe that there are no Jews in Mexico, our people are scattered everywhere." The waiter returned and said "Senor, the head cook said there is no Mexican Jews."

"Are you certain?" Al asked once again. "I can't believe there are no Mexican Jews!"

"Senor, I ask EVERYONE," replied the exasperated waiter, "All we have is Orange Jews, Prune Jews, Tomato Jews, and Grape Jews."

A man was telling his neighbor, "I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art. It's perfect."

"Really," answered the neighbor. "What kind is it?

"Twelve thirty."