Get your guns!

The Supreme Court just put out a decision, their first in two centuries concerning the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment is the one that says "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." The Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, has said that law-abiding citizens of the United States of America have a right to own and have guns in their homes for the purposes of self-defense.

The case came out of an appeal filed by a man living in Washington, D. C. Washington, D. C. probably has the most restrictive gun laws in all of America (remarkably, they also have one of the highest crime rates in America, despite having such restrictive gun laws). The man, a guard who lived in the city, requested a permit to own and have a handgun in his home. His petition was rejected, and he appealed the decision. The Court of Appeals agreed with him, and said the city had to give him a permit to own a gun. I am unclear on the other details, however.

What it comes down to is, those cities that have similar, restrictive gun laws, are going to have to relax their restrictions. People in the United States of America have a right to defend themselves and to own guns in their own homes. Deal with it.

Go here to view the story.

Soul searching

My last day is rapidly approaching. I face it with a certain degree of trepidition. I don't quite know what I am going to do after that. That is, I know, but like a man who has fallen off a high cliff, the ground is still a bit too far away to make out clearly. What can I do but fall?

I have heard that it is a good idea to write a eulogy for yourself. There are two methods: What would be said about you if you died tomorrow; and what would you like to be said about you at the end of your life? It gives you perspective, which is a good thing to have.

What would someone say about me? "Here lies Michael, a liar." That is not what I would want, but it would be honest. I want to be honest in everything. Christ was honest, and I want to follow Him. What I want is not always what I want, though.

What would I like said at the end of my life? "Here rests Michael, a follower of Christ." That would be enough. What about, "A loving husband and fater."? Yeah.

Now I have said that, what will it take? Being honest with myself and with my wife and my God seems like a good place to start. I vow to never lie and to always be honest, no matter the consequences, forever. I can already feel my gut twist. I get in far more trouble avoiding trouble than I ever do accepting the trouble in the first place.

So, what happens when I don't want to do something? I talk to my wife about it. If she wants me to do it anyway, I will not lie and say I will do it, and then not do it. I will tell her I am not going to do it, and then accept the consequences. That is how to through life honestly. I need to examine an issue, then determine if not doing it is better than doing it.

It isn't perfect, but it is a start. I will need to do more, but for now, I will keep my expectations low.

Tahoe Lake is really cold

So, last weekend, I got baptised in Meeks Bay in Tahoe Lake. It was actually really amazing. A lot of people from our Church were there, as well as my wife's parents. We took a lot of pictures.

Oh, and Tahoe Lake is really cold! I went into the water a little ways to see how bad it was, and my toes began to hurt! I have never experienced such pain. Well, once when I broke my arm, but this was terrible. Normally, I have a problem going into water that cold. When it came time for me to go out there, I just ran on out. I'm still suprised at myself. When the Pastor dunked me, I floated to the top. He had to dunk me twice, and I almost dragged him under with me.

Of course, it didn't matter that he was spared. The Deacons all ran into the water and dunked him. Someone commented that it wasn't a real baptism, and one of the Deacons pointed out that he had raised his hand. Heh. It was a lot of fun.

What else has happened this week? Let's see, I finally got caught skipping out on classes. It was very painful, but it looks like I'm going to pass at least one of my classes. All I have to do is write a compare and contrast essay before Tuesday. No small feat, but I'm a pretty good writer. As to the other classes, I have no idea, yet. I still have to talk to the Dean of Technologies at the school. We'll see how that goes. Cross your fingers.

Right now, the baby is teething, and crying. Unfortunately, while she is normally a very calm baby, she also has a terrible temper. Once she is in pain, or over-tired, she gets mad. Once she is mad, the tantrums start. She screams, swings her fists around, and generally carries on in a very undignified and unlady-like manner. My wife handles it like a saint (Yes, she reads this post, but I'm being perfectly honest). I, on the other hand, get a little ticked. Together, we deal with it.

Cora gets her temper from me. She gets her willfullness from her mother. She gets her laid-back attitude from me, which is nice. As I said, most of the time she is calm and pleasant, until she gets tired or hurt. Then it is a battle that has only one ending: she falls asleep. Getting her to that point of falling asleep is the trick.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to post as often as I would like. Work, school, the baby, and other matters have drawn me away. Right now, I have to go write that essay. Here goes. More later. Hopefully I pass.

Brain Jello!

So, one of my readers had a problem with brain vomit. I can understand. While it is an excellent name, it is a bit offensive. Now, I don't really mind offending people, but as this person makes up a significant portion of my readership, I figured I should probably do something about it.

So, as suggested by another reader, I have changed the name to Random Thoughts and Brain Jello. I kinda like it. Mmm...brain jello.

Anyway, that's the new title. Enjoy!

The Doctor Steel Show!

So, I want to plug the amazing and brilliant (and mad) Doctor Steel. He wants to take over the world, with robots. It is impossible to overstate the awe and majesty one feels when one comes face to face with the glory of Doctor Steel.

Okay, so maybe it is possible.

Anyway, Doctor Steel is an amazing artist who does concerts. I know of only two concerts he has done so far, but I am looking forward to more. I would love to go to one of his concerts, in fact. Unfortunately, I am cash-impaired at the moment.

The website is wonderful, I suggest you check out the Laboratory (clickable links, hidden in the picture). Watch out for the doll, though. *Shudder*

The basic premise is this: Doctor Steel is a mad toymaker who was fired from his position at a toy factory. Vowing revenge, he sends modified toys to burn down the toy factory. His plan? To make the world happy by giving everyone toys. But first, he has to rule the world. So, his plan is thus: Become rich and famous through rock music; use the money to build robots with laser guns; take over the world. As you can see, this is a fool-proof plan!

Inside the website, you can listen to and buy his music, see some live video clips of his show, and join to become a Toy Soldier, and help Doctor Steel take over the world. Go check it out!

Random Thoughts, refined

I have created another journal, called Musings by a Layman. It can be found here. There, I will be putting up musings on many topics, ranging from psychology to biblical theory to futuristic technologies I hope will be invented. I hope you enjoy it.

Babies are cute?

So, the other day, my wife and I were between social engagements, and she was nursing the baby in the car. The baby is watching her as she nurses and smiling and happy. My wife is watching the baby, and smiling in a motherly fashion.

She suddenly looks over at me and says, "She cuter then she was last week! She wasn't this cute last week."

I had to laugh. I guess babies just grow on you. Ahem, sorry for the pun, but it had to be said.

Brain Vomit

So, my wonderful wife Jessica has given me an idea for a new title of my journal. She asked me to call it "Random Thoughts and Brain Vomit." Which, as you can clearly see, is an awesome title. And so, I'm going to change it.

Also, I am considering making a second journal (have I mentioned how much I abhor the word blog?) with all of my personal Exalted Houserules, Exalted Houserules I've taken from others, Exalted Charms not listed in the books, and Characters I have made. I'll put a link in here somewhere if I decide to do it, so that those who are interested can go check it out.

Also, I'm going to check out getting a counter program, so I can know if anyone is actually viewing this journal. I think I might get more self-conscious if I thought people were. Ah well, if my work suffers, will anyone notice?

Time

It always seems like there is not enough time. Life is the longest thing human beings do, and yet we can never seem to find the time to do everything we want to do.

Which is, of course, just the problem. You can't do everything you want to do. Moreover, if all you ever focus on doing is the stuff you want to do, then you won't take enough time to do the things you have to do. And if you don't do the things you have to do, life will be very hard for you.

Most people take the time to do the things that need doing, and reserve some time to do the things they want to do. This works, but it leaves one feeling that there is not enough time to do the things one wants to do. Of course! Because you are busy doing the things you need to do.

On the other hand, if you change your attitude, and make it so you want to do the things you need to do, then you will take care of the things you need to do, and feel like you have done the things you want to do. Of course, this isn't always easy. But, who said life was supposed to be easy?

What takes up my time? Gaming, reading, watching movies. No, those are the things I want to do. What takes up my time is going to work, going to school, helping my wife with our baby girl, and going to church. Also, meeting with our friends for social functions.

I need to alter my attitude, so that I want to do the things I need to do. It has worked before, and I am sure it will work again. We'll see how successful I am.

AUGH!

Many of you probably have never held a baby while it is screaming at the top of its lungs.

This is good.

I, however, have held a baby that was screaming at the top of its lungs.

I am scarred.

The other day, I was holding my daughter while my wife was getting ready for bed. Well, baby-girl didn't like the fact that mama wasn't there, and she let me have it. I can still hear the ringing, when it is quiet. I got frustrated, and finally just laid her across my legs and put my hands behind my head. I couldn't take it anymore. But, my wife couldn't hear me calling to her, so I just waited until she came back in the room. After a little while, she came in and took the baby from me, giving me a tired and sympathetic look.

Ah yes, the joys of parenting. I love my little girl, she is so cute. Everyone says she looks just like me, which is strange. I can't see it. I know for a fact I'd make an ugly woman, so I kinda feel sorry for the tyke. But, when she's screaming away, I just don't know what to do! I hold her, try to comfort her, but the fact is, I am the source of her crying.

Nothing I do at the moment will comfort her. I have accepted this, now. I will wait until she is of such an age that she will recognize that she doesn't have to be held by her mama every second of every day.

Babies. Yeesh.