I'm an Olaf fan

I just watched the movie "Frozen" last week or so. My favorite character is Olaf. I think I'm in love. I'll have to keep an eye out for a REALLY GOOD action figure of this little guy. A quick browse through Amazon tells me that this could be difficult to find.

hmm...here is one
http://www.lazzee.com/plush-toys/frozen-olaf-action-figure-doll.html

cardboard deer head trophy

One of my co-workers has a cardboard deer head trophy, medium and small sizes. It is very good looking.

So I found it online. There are other trophy head designs available such as moose, rhino, giraffe, elephant, and more; some in different colors. The store also has these handsome rhinos:

 

little speaker

Have you heard of the 808 CANZ portable speaker? It can be had for around $30. Check it out at Amazon. I'm not saying it's the best thing around, just that for the price, this little baby is satisfactory for toting around. You might find it at your local Sam's Club, Walmart, or Office Depot.
I also ran across reviews of the Logitech Ultimate Ears (UE) Mini Boom speaker. Seems like a good product. Pricing around $100. I'm just not willing to shell out that much, but if you are, check out the reviews for the Mini Boom.

need some feet?

 

If you are into 3D printing, then you probably already know about Shapeways. You can get the litte feet here.

toy car

From the MOMAStore. I like it. Normally $30USD.

paper space shuttle

From the MOMAStore. You can get it here. $24USD

you can be whatever you want to be

"You can be whatever you want to be." I'm sure you've heard it a bunch of times. It's not really true, is it? You can try your heart out, but it may not be the best use of your time and effort if you're no good at it.

Be what God intended for you to be. For those who would rather not put it that way, then here is another way to say it. Discover your gifts, find what you're good at and what you enjoy doing. What are you passionate about? Develop those gifts. Because you are gifted in that way, for the same effort, you will be better at it than one who is not gifted in that way. In other words, you will have a greater return for your efforts.

Now if you are exceptionally gifted and society does not have a nice little niche for you, then you may just have to carve out a niche for yourself. But until you have the resources to carve that niche, you may have to work at something you're not so passionate about. That's OK. If God intended a path for you, walk in faith and you will get to your destination.

Please don't just "be whatever you want to be."  Be what God intends you to be.

intrinsic value

Depending on which way I take to go home, I sometimes pass the large Planned Parenthood building.

There is a Catholic church on the left, then shortly after, the Planned Parenthood on the right, and during these several days: a bit further and there's a billboard on the left with the message "He is Risen!" advertising a Christian radio station.

On this particular day, my mind stayed on the thought of abortion as I pass through that corridor. I was reminded of a sermon by Joel Osteen of Lakewood Churh on what I will call "intrinsic value." I will summarize the idea here, but I assure you that his presentation was much better. As an example, he asked if he were to take a $20 bill (or some such money) out to the parking lot, throw it on the ground and stomp on it and get it dirty, how much is it worth? Would you still want it? What if he were to then crumple it up and get it all wrinkled, what is it worth? What if that bill went through the laundry became all faded? What if it had a small piece of the corner torn off? In fact, what if it were torn to several pieces and then were carefully taped back together? (or like some bills I once received as change: What if it reeked of cigarette smoke?)

The point is that the value of the $20 bill is backed by the US Treasury and it holds it value regardless of what it looks like (within limits, of course). We humans have a value that is backed by God. Regardless of how beat up we may be, our value does not diminish. The same value holds for that child in the womb.

In the story of Jonah, God raised a gourd plant that shaded Jonah for a day but then the plant died. Without the plant to shade him, Jonah then suffered from the scorching heat. God made the following point with Jonah:

But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry over the gourd plant?” Jonah answered, “I have a right to be angry—angry enough to die.”

Then the LORD said, “You are concerned over the gourd plant which cost you no effort and which you did not grow; it came up in one night and in one night it perished. And should I not be concerned over the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot know their right hand from their left, not to mention all the animals?”

We may have people, pets, plants, and so forth whom we love and care much about. But so much greater--"beyond our imagination and understanding" greater-- is God's love and concern for every one of His children. I believe that we wound Him when we harm each other; we wound Him when we have abortions.

Hola

I received an inquiry from Lisa asking whether I am still blogging.

I am a lazy blogger. More absent than not. I've thought of you often ... it just never made it to the blog. Happy Easter to all. On the spiritual side, I've been sleep walking. So far I've not missed Sunday Mass. If I've missed any Holy Days of obligation, I am not aware.

For Lent, there was an opportunity to volunteer and I did one outing where we went and built a ramp so the homeowner can get in/out of the house. For some, stair steps are a physical barrier. We volunteers didn't finish the ramp but we did help much. The ramp builder (http://www.texasramps.org/) more than likely finished it by the end of the day. It was fun.

I planted a tree but slogging through its roots to examine its root structure, I ended up removing practically all of its roots because they were deformed from the start. Cutting roots at the point before it got deformed left a mere 4 inches or so of woody root. Needless to say, I now have a very dead-looking tree planted for all to see. I don't know if it will recover. Please pray for my tree. It was beautiful, full of newly sprouted fresh green leaves when I purchased it for a pretty penny. Now it isn't so beautiful. Just another ordinary folk with an ordinary struggle. Life can be hilarious.

dozen

How many inches are in a foot? One dozen!
How many months are in a year? One dozen!

...move along now, there's nothing to see here

random thought

Dear Lord, when people see me, may they be inspired to be holy ...


... not ...


sexy.

Mary with infant Jesus

I received this invitation from a friend Religious in the Phillipines. Here in the USA, the images of Mary and infant Jesus are of a European flavor. This image here gives a different perspective that I thought you might enjoy.

17th century music at Mass

At our parish, we are held hostage to 17th century (or some such ancient) music during Mass. It doesn't matter which Mass I attend, the format is the same and the music is the same. At least it all sounds the same to me; it's probably all in Latin. The congregation is invited to participate for the gathering hymn and the recessional hymn; although they're in English, usually it's a selection that we're unfamiliar with. When we're invited to join for the communion hymn, if it happens it's after the mind-numbing motet and whatever Latin selection, and communion is just about over. At that point we pretty much just have the attitude of "why bother;" most of the time, it's another unfamiliar selection anyways. We've been trained not to participate in the music. And when we have visitors, I hope that they're not put-off by the music. While I don't apologize for the music, I do encourage new Catholics to visit other parishes, lest they leave the faith altogether.

Since the music is of the same format during all Masses at this parish. I have no choice as member but to endure it; a penance during Mass.

The saddest Mass I've attended at this parish was when they did it in Gregorian Chant. Most people were confused. The congregation was generally unable to participate, even on the responses. It was a very quiet Mass.

remembering

For all you religious communities out there, please know that the time you spend hosting inquirers is not wasted. Though that chapter in my life is practically closed due my continuing negative financial income, please know that the visits to religious communities continue to benefit me. I do look back on those experiences, try recall how I felt and in so doing, hope to center myself. It helps to calm me and put me in a more spiritual state of mind. Mass may be our greatest prayer, but it sure is a busy prayer. The religious communities are "houses of prayer" and I can really sense that in the rhythm of life in the communities.

So thanks. And keep on trucking.

I recommend Laudate app

I recommend the Laudate app. It's available for both Android and iPhone.

Somebody's review here:
http://catholicapps.com/laudate/

I don't use all of its features. Mainly I use the daily readings and the Bible. I can read the Bible in bed at night without having to turn off the lights when I'm ready to call it quits (because the lights are already off). No need to carry around the pocket New Testament; I have the whole New American Bible there in my pocket. Sad to say, though, Soduku gets more attention from me. Still, I open the Bible sometimes.

It also puts some of the Vatican documents at your fingertips. Also some prayers, some in Latin if you're into that. Anyhow, check it out.

So what's your work day like?

"Marketplace wants to find out what our listeners do each day to earn a buck. Maybe you're a farmer, an attorney, a teacher or a yoga instructor - we want to hear from people of all walks of life and working in many different fields."

https://www.publicinsightnetwork.org/source/en/marketplace/insight/7b72cafac95a/tell-marketplace-what-your-work-day-is-like

Go ahead ... tell 'em what it's like.

nun's CD tops billboard

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1303512.htm
hmm... I might check it out

Congratulations to both orders.

portable fan

Honeywell TurboForce HT-900
This portable fan is approximately 10.5"Wx11"Hx6"D

I had been all over town over the past several weeks looking for this fan. I bought the first one at Target and brought it home to see how well it worked and how loud it is. I was quite happy with it. It is not too loud, has a carry handle, easy-access/easy operate three-speed control, and yes I could feel the air. The head swivels up and down but no oscillating option. All for the very palatable price of $16.

I wanted another one. So the following week I returned to the Target where I got it but they didn't have any more; they only had them in white. Same story with the next Target I visited. The next two Target stores didn't have them at all. (The nice thing about working so far away from home is that I can try another store location if the one by my house doesn't have in stock the items I'm looking for. It's like trying another town for your supplies.) The two Wal-Marts I visited didn't carry them. A Home Depot I visited on the way back from a hair appointment was out of them. Finally, I tried the Home Depot by the house and lo and behold, they had a whole stack of these fans. So now I have the second one. Thinking of getting two more...

electrical outlets and switches

I am slowly changing out the outlets and switches in my house. It is taking longer than I thought it would. I tackle one room maybe once per month if not longer. Even worse is that some of my first attempts resulted in the switches being installed upside down. It works, but it's backwards as far as the on/off operation. (Right, I didn't read the instructions.) At some point I will back track and fix them right side up.

Today I tackled the kitchen. I learned that the kitchen electricals are on three separate breakers: one for the lights, one for the outlets by the stove, one for the outlet by the sink, and one for the garbage disposer & dishwasher switches.

Changing out the light switch was easy enough. Changing out the outlets were a huge pain. The wires were extraordinarily tough to manuever, plus I am having to reach across a counter. I changed out three outlets when I had a realization: except for the lights, all the other breakers involved were 20 Amp breakers. Every switch and outlet I purchased were rated 15A. Arrrgghh! The safety margins are probably sufficient to leave it alone, but I prefer the margins provided by 20A outlets and switches. With the wires being so difficult to work with, I'm guessing that they are larger wires and therefore have been sized to handle 20A.

So I will be undoing my work in the future. Fortunately, we're not using those outlets much right now. A toaster on one, a night light and under counter light on another. I don't have transportation today, so I can't just run out and get my replacements. I think the local store has the gray outlets I want. I'll probably stick with the toggle switches for the diswasher and garbage disposer, though I'll change to gray ones.

So... The breakers for your kitchen are probably the 20A ones. And if you're changing out the outlets and switches, check to see if they should be rated for 20A (matching the breaker), even if your current ones are not. No need to risk an electrical fire. And of course, turn off the breakers, verify no power to your outlets and switches before you begin work on them.

Band of Sisters trailer and nuns on the beach

http://youtu.be/e7U3hptDHtM

I don't know anything about the film, but it seems interesting enough.

nuns on the beach story:
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/08/19/nuns-find-salvation-in-surf-t-shirts/