Cloud cover and slight drizzling on Saturday brought temperatures down to a bearable comfortable level. This morning a little rain illuminated this spider web (one of three) in our backyard. I shot this picture, struggling to hold an umbrella and using manual focusing.
Tags: CoolPix , Photography, rain, spider, web
With not much food in the house this morning, Josephine suggested that Pourpa and I go out. So we went to our favorite. Breakfast burrito, the suggestion went. Yeah right. There would be no point. If you’re gonna go to Mr. Taco, you don’t go there to eat a breakfast burrito, even if it’s time for breakfast.
Tags: breakfast, burrito, carne-asada, carnitas, Food, Josephine_Bruin, Life, Mexican-food, Mr.-Taco, Photography, Pourpa
Perhaps we’ll see these on the new DVD.
Tags: Doritos, kryptonite, Movies, Photography, Superman
Josephine and I decided to sponsor a child through Compassion International.
Marjun lives in the Philippines. He is 6 years old, likes basketball, playing with cars, and singing. Currently, he is in kindergarten.
For a little more than a dollar a day, we pray that we can help change the eternal destiny of a young child forever. Compassion needs more people to help. Would you consider giving? It’s such a measly amount, $32/month. Change a life or two.
They even have sponsored trips so you can visit your child. Although I would prefer never to go to the Philippines again, I think it would be nice to visit “our” child and his family. That might be the only way to get me to go the Philippines again.
We take so much for granted here in this country. Most people here, even the poor, are above the international poverty line. The “rich” kids from the suburb I used to teach liked to complain about not having a car, but most poor children around the world are struggling to survive and have their basic needs met.
Tags: charity, Compassion-International, poverty, Spiritual, sponsorship
Unbearable. Today it was about 105 degrees. Yesterday it was supposedly 109 degrees. And our air conditioning is broken. Repairmen have been called, but we are dealing with incompetence right now. Hopefully, the air conditioning will be fixed this coming week. Not that we would use it regularly. But we’ve actually used it three times so far this week (and the first time since we’ve lived here the past three years). It works okay downstairs, but the upstairs is like an oven, even when the air is on. Hurry up repairman!
Tags: heat-wave, hot, Rants, summer, temperature
My iPod was just at the right volume, my full attention on John Piper’s message this morning, “He Who Has the Son Has Life”. Intrigued by Piper’s death bed visitation of one of his congregation members, I tuned in hanging on every word.
I wanted to be with John Melin when he died. I went to see him about 5:00 PM on Friday. He couldn’t live more than a few more hours, I thought. So I went back about 7:15.
Augustana home was quiet on the fourth floor. John’s roommate was evidently sleeping. I sat down beside John’s bed and took his ninety-year-old hand. His glazed eyes were half open and his breaths seemed like mechanical responses to an electric respiratory pacemaker that someone forgot to turn off when every thing else had shut down.
But you never know. Had he already been freed from the body to be at home with the Lord? Perhaps. But even if he had, I think the Lord let him on what I said.
I wanted to be with him when he died. So I prayed. Lord, take him now. Lift him right out of my hands. Let me hand him over to you—like a faithful private carrying one of his slain sergeants back to the commander. But he kept on breathing.
I love to be with the saints when they die. Its as though I get to walk up to a door that for most people is very far away, and for some very frightening. I have two motives. I want to keep vigil against the devil who loves to terrorize the saints at the hour of death. I want to stand by the wounded and fight for them with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. I want to see them safely through the door.
But I have another motive for wanting to be with the saints as they die. I have the hope that someday I may get a glimpse through the door. I think that if I stand guard often enough, I might see something of what Paul saw when he said, “To depart and be with Christ is far better.” I can’t help but think that when a soul departs from the life of a saint, Christ himself draws very near.
You sit there waiting for each breath to be the last. And your mind turns to the sermon you must preach on Sunday. You recall that it ends with the verse, “I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”
And you pray, “O Lord, what can I say to the people on Sunday that will make them feel the immensity of the value of eternal life? If only I could bring every one of them with me to this moment. If only they could all stand here and listen and watch while I recite the glorious gospel into the wrinkled ear of John Melin:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy. As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-10)
… John Melin died yesterday at 8:00 AM.
Dear people I pray that God helps you feel this morning that nothing is more important than having eternal life. Summertime is filled with subtle deceptions. We begin to think more about our bodies, for example, because in the summertime people see more of them. So we think about whether we have a tan. We think about whether we look pudgy. We can actually begin to think these things matter!
When you look in the mirror today to see how your tan is doing and whether your skin is sleek, remember John Melin. It didn’t make any difference to him yesterday morning that he had no tan. It didn’t make any difference to him that his flesh hung on his bones wet paper. One thing mattered: He had eternal life, because he had the Son. And he who has the Son has life! [emphasis mine]
John Piper, Desiring God Radio
What a great message. I can’t wait for part two on Monday.
At that moment in time the train started slowing down. It’s probably just nothing, I thought.
The conductor’s voice came over the intercom: “Ladies and gentlemen, we have an emergency crisis. We’ve stopped to investigate.”
I wondered what it could be.
Again the conductor spopke over the public address system: “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve hit a passenger. So we need to remain here and wait for the police to arrive.”
I overheard another passenger on the train a few minutes later talking about it. Apparently, someone had been laying down on the tracks. It was dark and by the time the conductor saw the person on the tracks, he honked the horn. But the person lying down on the train tracks did not move.
I reflected on this morning’s Desiring God message. I wondered who or what was speaking into that person’s ear at the time of his death/suicide. It certainly was not Piper or God. I thought how sad to be so desperate, alone, and without hope to end one’s life. But Piper’s message still rings true for that person on the tracks.
At that moment in time, the only thing that matters is eternal life. And where you will spend it.
Tags: Coaster, Desiring-God, John-Piper, Life, Reflection, Spiritual, suicide, train, transportation
Today marks the completion of the second year of blogging for me with 886 previous posts and 441 comments. The volume of posts this past year has been less I think. Perhaps because I got a little bored with politics. In the last year, I blogged more photos since my renewed passion for making photos. I’m looking forward to writing in this third year of blogging.
Tags: Blogging, site_announcements
Watching a second feature about Kyle Maynard, the congenital amputee (born without arms and legs), on the Oprah show spurred me to buy this book. As expected Kyle adeptly chronicles his journey through the course of his 19-year life via his experiences growing up, especially through his participation in organized football and wrestling. In his autobiography Kyle spreads the inspirational message of his “No Excuses” attitude and philosophy towards life– an attitude that has helped him to reach a sense of normalcy in life as an amputee with obvious physical challenges. Through Kyle’s eyes we get a glimpse of how one person overcomes challenges, like learning to eat with silverware, putting on clothes, making friends, or striving to make the high school varsity wrestling team. Kyle says over and over again that it was the love of his family and the love of his God and savior Jesus Christ who have helped him become a “champion in wrestling and in life”.
Each chapter of No Excuses: The True Story of a Congenital Amputee Who Became a Champion in Wrestling and in Life begins with an inspirational quote from Kyle. These quotables will challenge you to reflect and strive to become a better person, not to take things for granted, and most of all, not to complain about trials in life. One of my favorite quotables is from Chapter 3:
I look everyone straight in the eye, as an equal, as God created all of us. We are all created uniquely, but we are all equally precious in God’s eyes. That’s something I believe in my heart, that my faith and my family taught me over and over again.
Through the reading you’ll also get a glimpse of Kyle’s parents. Remarkably, doctors advised them to abort their child if there happened to be anhy complications, but their love and faith preclude abortion. Instead, they chose to believe that a gracious God has a master plan for their child’s life. And they taught this faith and belief in God’s sovereignty to Kyle.
You’ll rejoice with Kyle as he tells of his first wrestling victory after 35 consecutive defeats. You’ll marvel at his determination to be part such a demanding and physical combat sport. You’ll cry when he wrestles his last high school match, and cheer alongside his many fans. But most of all you will catch his fighter attitude, and never-give-up will and spirit exemplified by his slogan: “It’s not what I can do; it’s what I will do.”
The books seems more like Volume 1 as it ends with Kyle as a sophomore at the University of Georgia and a member of the wrestling team. I’m sure there will be more to follow from this remarkable young man as he brings his message to people all across the world.
Tags: Books, book_reviews, Christian, faith, Kyle-Maynard, Spiritual, Sports, wrestling
As I was perusing some blogs, I came across this link for Church Report magazine’s list of the nation’s Top 50 Most Influential Churches.
It’s pretty cool that Josephine and I attend #10 and I listen to #42 Monday through Friday.
h/t: Justin Taylor
Tags: church, North-Coast-Church, quick_links, Spiritual, Worship
On my day off, I watched Superman Returns successfully without having Rhea with me or any other physical problems. 
It was good to see it from beginning to end. I still have the same opinion on it as for the first time I saw it.
There weren’t that many people in the theater, but unfortunately there was a group of village teenage idiots who would not stop talking for most of the movie. I ended up calling the theater during the movie to complain. Some theater personnel entered the theater occasionally, but each time they did the four idiots would be quiet. I think someone else had complained because in the last hour or so of the movie, one of the theater personnel came inside and sat down to watch. But it was too little too late because, thankfully, the four idiots left the theater. So we were all able to enjoy the last segment of the movie in peace.
Tags: Movies, Rants, stupid-people, Superman
It’s difficult for me to sleep on planes. The seats are very uncomfortable. Fortunately, the flight home was about 2 hours and 10 minutes long, arriving in San Diego about 10 minutes earlier at 10:35 PM. Josephine picked me up at the airport. Yeah Josephine. I’m happy to see you again!
Airport traffic was horrible. I guess whenever flights arrive, the traffic worsens. Imagine if it were during the day when there are also departing passengers leaving. So we made it out of the airport and headed home northbound on the 15. But because of freeway construction, there was a several mile detour…
My head was spinning when we got home a little after midnight. Thankfully, I’m able to take today off and recover, letting life get back to normal where I don’t have to live out of my suitcase or in a strange hotel room. Yes.
Tags: airport, Career, Josephine_Bruin, Travels, work
2:09 PM CST
After packing all my things, eating a “Deluxe Continental Breakfast”, and checking out of the hotel, I still had 30 minutes left to spare before I was due to arrive at the schoolhouse to finish the training session. To kill time, I thought I would just hang out in McDonald’s with a drink or something, but as soon as I parked, a black transient on a bicycle came up to my car talking to me, probably asking for money. But I could not hear anything he was saying, nor did I want to hear. So I just drove off and went next door to the gas station to fill up, but I had some trouble finding where the gas tank was located on the car. So I decided to just fill up after the training.
I arrived at the schoolhouse, again entering with no glitches past security. The training started on time and lasted for about two hours. Again the session went very well. I had the instructors engaged in the content. I had a gut feeling that despite them telling me that they knew this product, I just knew they did not have a realistic grasp of how difficult it would be to use this product without experience. So I had them try to set up a communications circuit. That activity lasted about 45 minutes. And I think only two or three of them were able to successfully complete it. I was not surprised by that result and I think it had the desired effect: they realized that they need more time in the virtual learning environment practicing so that they are comfortable with the virtual gear.
I wrapped up the training with a discussion about scoring and assessment, as well as future revisions to the product.
All in all, I received very positive feedback; they told me my training was helpful and useful to their needs.
I had lunch at Popeye’s chicken for the first time ever. I tried it because one of the Navy guys that I work with swears by its chicken. I didn’t think it was that good. KFC still rulz.
So I’m here early at the Pensacola Airport trying to fly standby early. There’s some room on a couple of early flights to Dallas, but the flight that I have a seat on right now has some maintenance problems. They’re checking it out and hopefully everything will be okay. I don’t expect that this will be my final post or something. I’ll write more once I get to Dallas.
3:07 PM CST
So I was listening to one of the pilots of this flight with the maintenance problem. He was telling another passenger that there was a computer glitch and they had turned the power off, then reset the computer and turned everything back on. So now they were waiting for maintenance to sign off on the computer. My problem with the whole thing is that the pilot says that this particular computer monitors the status of one of the engines. I don’t have a problem with computers that start working properly again, unless of course they are the computer that monitors the status of the engine on a jet! So I decided to give up my standby seat and just wait for the next plane, which should be arriving in a few minutes anyways. One of the agents was telling me that it’s okay to board the plane. But I insisted: “I’m not getting on that plane.” And so they are assigning me to a new plane. They even had a final boarding call for me over the airport intercom. I heard my name twice. “Passenger JoeBruin88 this is your final boarding call for Flight 3888 to Dallas.” I said, “Go ahead and take off without me.”
(more…)
Tags: airport, Career, Dallas, Navy, Pensacola, Skylink, train, Travels, work
After returning to my hotel room, I relaxed for a little bit and chatted online. One of my buddies said:
So let me get this straight. You’re in Florida, and you’re IMing instead of at the beach.
So I decided to be adventurous instead of being a hermit at the hotel; I actually drove myself to Pensacola Beach. Even with Googling directions I stil got lost because I missed one turn due to not seeing the sign. The street signs and street lights in Florida are kinda lame. The lights are weird: each lane appears to have its own stoplight.
I decided to eat at the same place as the last time I was here– at Flounders. Dinner was great. I had Shrimp Po’ Boy sandwich, fries, and a drink called a Bushwacker. It tasted like a Starbucks frapuccino with alcohol.
After dinner I walked around a little bit, but then I decided just to head back to the hotel. In case I get lost on the way, I would be able to navigate while there was still sunlight.
I wish Josephine was here to have eaten dinner on the beach with me and appreciate this view with me. I miss her and can’t wait to come home tomorrow!
Tags: Career, Flounders, Josephine_Bruin, Navy, Pensacola, Travels, work
9:00 PM CST
First the clock radio in my hotel room went off followed by my cell phone alarm at 0600 hrs. I wanted to sleep in for a few minutes, but the annoying tada.mid sound from the cell phone would not shut off by itself so I had to get up and “acknowledge” the alarm. The day also welcomed me with a headache. I went to the hotel’s “Deluxe Continental Breakfast”, which totally stunk. Wow. I’ve just been writing a bunch of complaints. Switch gears.
Off to Corry Station, which is just down the road from the hotel. I could actually walk if I wanted to, but it was already 85 - 90 degrees Fahrenheit at 7:30 in the morning. So I drove in the comfort of my air-conditioned rental car. At the security gate, I was not even asked for some kind of verification or authorization. They took a look at my CAC card and just let me through. Good. I was slightly nervous, not about my presentation content or delivery, but whether or not the technical/computer gear would work. That’s why I planned for an extra hour to check out the classroom and get the glitches worked out.
And I’m glad I did because the image projected on the screen was upside down! It took some time for it to get worked. Then the next problem was that the presentation slide show would appear on the primary monitor but not on the computer screen. And that took another chunk of time to work out. The Navy instructors rolled in around 8:45 AM and I think we started at 9:00 AM. Today was also the first day of students starting their IT classes so they also had students to manage.
I felt good now that the equipment was working and began my talk. I find it interesting that once I got started I diverted from what I planned to say in my written-out notes and just decided to go impromptu based on what I had on the slides. I felt like the audience was tracking with me, nodding their heads. But after maybe fifteen minutes, I could tell that they were b-o-r-e-d. I mean blank stares. I surmised that they already knew what I was talking about.
After about an hour and finishing my second topic, I sent them on break. I then talked with one of the instructors I knew and he confirmed that they had been playing around, exploring the product on their own for about a week. One of the chiefs also confirmed this and so I planned to switch gears before the whole thing turned out to be a wash. I was able to touch base with my manager by phone and she confirmed that I was on the right track by wanting to shorten the training to one day, condensing the info since many of them already knew it.
After the break it went much better. I got the instructors to log in and go into our product. We worked on a few learning activities; they also had the opportunity to ask me questions on how to do things as they were in the middle of the activity. I thought this was going much better. They were engaged, no more blank stares. They had good questions. And I was still going through all the content I had planned, in a faster and more engaging way.
For lunch I went to the Chinese buffet place that I’d been to the last time I went to Pensacola. The place had changed ownership so now it was Japanese, called “Osaka Buffet”. At first I thought it tasted good, but then towards the end of lunch I started not to like it, very salty.
After lunch there was a Ribbon Cutting ceremony since today was the first day the schoolhouse had students. So I planned to continue after the ceremony and wrap everything today instead of having a second day of training, but only four or five instructors returned for the afternoon session! So I just suggested we continue tomorrow morning since what is left to go over is the most important part of the training.
