Merely Adequate

Merely Adequate http://merelyadequate.net/ en Copyright 2008 Sun, 04 May 2008 21:44:40 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Iron Man Iron Man today. It was freakin' awesome!]]> http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/05/iron_man.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/05/iron_man.html Movies Sun, 04 May 2008 21:44:40 -0500 Weekend Movie Update The Nativity Story. It had some good acting and was mostly enjoyable, if a bit cheesy in parts. Saturday afternoon Dad and I went to see Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. It was silly fun, despite the fact that the premise could happen. How many innocent men are in Guantanamo just because they looked middle eastern and acted suspicious? I just ordered The Road to Guantanamo (2006) from the library, it is a docudrama which is the story of three British Muslims who spent 2 years in Guantanamo for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Saturday night Robyn and I watched The Lookout, which was a great film! Great writing, acting, music, and directing. We both really enjoyed it.]]> http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/05/weekend_movie_u.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/05/weekend_movie_u.html Movies Sun, 04 May 2008 08:37:27 -0500 Movie and Book update The Forbidden Kingdom and both really enjoyed it. Bill and I went on Sunday to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which was very funny. Robyn and I usually watch a movie together over the phone on Saturday nights. Last week it was Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Askaban, which she had just finished reading and last night it was In The Land of Women. We enjoyed both movies. I'm currently reading The Jesus Mysteries - Was the "original Jesus" a pagan god? It's very good so far. I already knew quite a bit of this, but it's good to have it all in one place and so enjoyably written.]]> http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/04/movie_and_book.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/04/movie_and_book.html Books Movies Sun, 27 Apr 2008 11:51:08 -0500 An old prayer...a new prayer I seek... Your will, Lord, Your humility, Your love for others, Your exposure of my sin, Your humility and your will, I can't pray these enough, Humility in all things, Everything I am capable of is only through you, Lord, Patience, Lord, while I seek your will, Your refining fire, Lord, Patience, Lord, Your will, Humility, Your walk, Lord, Humility in my love for others, Humility in my compassion and love for women, Humility, Humility, Humility in my anticipation of what you have in store for me, Lord, Humility in the work you give me, To give glory to you in all I do!! Humility in prayer, and my abilities, The ability to pray instead of tear down. Lord, help me to continue to pray, to seek awareness of your presence in humility and by your power, even, and especially when I feel well and happy, for all my well being and feelings regarding well being are a result of you. Amen. Much of that is honorable, except for the whole I-can't-do-it-without-you-God part. So my new prayer would be, as Legion Regalis put it here: What Comforts You In Times Of Trouble?, "a cry to all that is". My Prayer - A cry to all that is

I seek... To be humble, To love others, To harm none, To make well thought out decisions, To be accountable for my words and actions, To better myself, To be patient, To be focused, To seek truth in all I do, To walk a path true to myself. So let it be.

Edited to show that Legion Regalis was actually credited for the phrase "cry to all that is", not the whole 2nd prayer.]]> http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/03/an_old_prayera.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/03/an_old_prayera.html Spirituality/Religion Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:59:40 -0500 Why I No Longer Consider Myself a Christian, or Even a Theist. Sent by me as a letter to a bunch of people. Dear Friends and Family, This is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever written, as I know all of you will take this in different ways, and it may actually offend some of you, and this is definitely not my wish. If you are receiving this letter it is because you are someone who is important to me and I want to be honest with you about what I am thinking and feeling, and most importantly what I no longer believe and part of the reasons why. I know some of you will be shocked and even hurt buy this letter, and I assure you that is not my intention. That is one of the reasons this letter is so difficult to write. I wanted to write this letter because my faith was always so much a part of who I was to some people. My realization that I have never actually believed in God is something that it is important for me to share with you. I no longer believe in God, the Father Almighty, or that he is Creator of heaven and earth, nor in Jesus Christ. Jesus the man may or may not have existed, but I do not believe that he was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. I do not believe he descended into hell or that the third day He arose again from the dead. I do not believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting, at least not in the biblical sense. Yes, the above mostly came from the apostle’s creed, it seemed like a good way to get it all out of the way. I also do not believe that the bible is the word of God. Do I absolutely know that God doesn’t exist? Of course not! I would have to be omniscient to declare such a thing, and I’m barely aware of my surroundings when I get wrapped up in something, I’m far from all seeing! Am I open to the idea of God? Sure! I respect one’s right to believe or disbelieve as one chooses. I guess the next part of this letter should explain why I don’t believe anymore. I’ve been a Christian for more than 25 years, and a Bible believing biblical literalist for more than 15 of them. I used to read the Bible daily, I still do read it quite frequently, and no, not with a critical eye, but still seeking truth in it. I used to be quite the apologist, even to the point of my friends jokingly dubbing me the ninja theologian. One thing that was always lacking was a concrete feeling of God’s presence. I had lots of warm, tingly feelings that I attributed to God, but never anything real. There was never a single moment of my prayers where I felt like I was praying to anything more than the ceiling or the sky. Sure, I reasoned through a lot of problems with my internal dialogue, and sometimes things came to pass, but sometimes they didn’t. Yes, I know there are lots of arguments for why some prayers are answered and some or not. Trust me, I know most of them and probably even made up a few. You see, I always had to do repetitive things to make God seem more real to me. Constant prayer, surrounding myself with Christian music, going to Bible study and church, even putting scripture and faith words on my walls to keep the thought of God ever present in my mind. Even with all of these things, putting on the armor of God as Ephesians says to, I still never truly experienced the presence of God. Now I have acknowledged all of the arguments in my mind against God, particularly against the God of the Bible, but the biggest one, and the only one I will reveal in this letter is this: Why if God is the omnipotent, non temporally bound, omniscient creator of the universe do I have to practice all the time to make myself believe in him? I don’t have to do that to make me believe in any of you. Heck, I don’t have to do that to make myself believe in people I’ve never met! I’ve been listening to Christian music while writing this; in fact I’ve been listening to it quite a bit recently. Some of it still moves me. God of Wonders gets me every time; I’ve been singing it for weeks. There Is A Redeemer is another one, especially Keith Green singing it. A proper singing of Holy, Holy, Holy or Be Thou My Vision can give me chills. I still get emotional thinking of Rosalyn Pratt’s version of Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee, I don’t have the recording anymore, but it was amazing. You see, it’s not that I want to run and hide from God, or that I want to not believe in him, it’s just that I don’t. I’m not writing this to try and convert anyone to my way of thinking. There was a time when I wanted to convert everyone to Christianity, but gradually my thinking changed over the years, thinking that God must be much bigger than any concept we could ever have of him, and certainly he could reach through the bounds of religion and touch anyone at any point in their life. I always believed that Jesus was the only way to heaven, just that he could meet people on their terms. The thing I was always ignoring, is that God was never tangible to me, at least not in the way other people are, or even inanimate objects. The warm fuzzies were, but I think even the most faithful would admit that emotion and feelings are not enough. One of my best friends, and a receiver of this letter, told me a story once about a crisis of faith. Forgive me if I tell it wrong. He was looking out his bedroom window and spied a moth fluttering about across the street. He prayed, “God, if you are real, then make that moth fly over to my window.” Sure enough, the moth fluttered around quite a bit and gradually made it’s way across the street, right up to his window. I’ve been praying for years for God to please make himself more real to me, and at times I got the tingles, but I’ve gotten those from McDonald’s commercials too, and I certainly don’t worship the golden arches. I don't know if this letter will come as a surprise to any of you. Maybe you could tell I was heading to this way of thinking, but I didn't really see it coming. I knew my thoughts were changing, but never thought they would end up here. At one time my faith in the Bible and Christianity was so strong, but even then I had awful questions and really feel that I was making excuses for God and the Bible. All of what I have written is open to discussion and I welcome any questions you may have. I will still attend church from time to time, and will gladly participate in any sort of gathering with religious or spiritual themes. I will not be taking communion out of respect for the practice. Most churches ask that you believe to partake and since I do not, I will not. Lastly, I am not sad, depressed, angry, or in any other way distressed. Quite to the contrary, I am happy and feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest. I never had a miraculous, emotional conversion to Christianity, but this feeling may be what it’s like if you do. I feel like my eyes have been opened and now I can truly appreciate people for who they are and life and the world for what they are. I’m not going to run off and live a life of immoral debauchery. In fact some of the atheists I know are incredibly moral people and I respect them every bit as much as I do those who I previously called my brothers and sisters in Christ. As I reach the end of the letter I still have the urge to sign off with “God Bless” or some such thing, but that would be ridiculous given my lack of belief. I sincerely apologize if this letter causes you distress, but I had to write it, to be honest to both you and myself. This may seem like I came to this decision overnight, but I assure you it is the result of many years of study, prayer (unanswered), and meditation. I have no idea where my life's journey will take me. If a deity reveals him or herself to me I will not ignore them. I just know now that none have ever truly done so for me before. Wishing you many blessings, regardless of their source. Mike For now Agnostic/Atheist Sites I frequent: http://www.ex-christian.net/index.php? http://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/manufall.html http://ffrf.org/ http://www.beliefnet.com ]]> http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/02/why_i_no_longer.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/02/why_i_no_longer.html Spirituality/Religion Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:12:16 -0500 I went to the doctor on Wednesday I went to the doctor on Wednesday and they called today with the results of my blood work. They said my sugar, cholesterol, liver and kidneys all looked great and I should just keep doing what I'm doing. I know I could still eat better and I really need to start doing more exercise than the walking I do at work, but it's nice to know that my sugar is back under control and that everything else is good too! http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/02/i_went_to_the_d.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/02/i_went_to_the_d.html Health Fri, 01 Feb 2008 10:50:43 -0500 HTC Touch Outlook Issue da.bell, and djwhitey over at sprintusers.com answered my question. When using Windows Mobile and Microsoft Outlook Mobile on an HTC Touch, one may find that the email button on the HTC Home screen will cease to function. This can happen if you have a Micro SD Card inserted. The directory that Outlook places on it may become corrupted. It called inbox_something where something is a bunch of numbers and letters. It can be found at the root directory of your Micro SD Card. Delete this and do a soft reset. To avoid this in the future you can tell Outlook to not store attachments on the external card. This can be found under storage in Outlook's options.]]> http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/01/htc_touch_outlo.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2008/01/htc_touch_outlo.html Gadgets, Technology, and Software HTC Touch Micro SD Card Outlook Windows Mobile Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:42:13 -0500 Collective effort restores David Airey.com Collective effort restores David Airey.com]]> http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/12/collective_effo.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/12/collective_effo.html Society and Civics Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:25:41 -0500 December 2007 Christmas Plus Robyn! December 2007 Pics]]> http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/12/december_2007_c.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/12/december_2007_c.html Pictures Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:45:15 -0500 From David Airey " WARNING: Google’s GMail security failure leaves my business sabotaged" LifeHacker. It seemed worth sharing. It is really only relevant if you are a Gmail user, which I am. From David Airey " WARNING: Google’s GMail security failure leaves my business sabotaged" ]]> http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/12/from_david_aire.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/12/from_david_aire.html Society and Civics Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:14:14 -0500 "Now I'll be famous." I'm sorry sir, but no, you will not be famous. Can anyone name any of the gunmen who went on shooting sprees within the last 20 years? Maybe one or two, but I can't think of any off of the top of my head. I won't name the gunman who killed eight people and wounded five others in Omaha, Nebraska yesterday. I won't list the date even. I'm not even going to call it the worst this or the bloodiest that. I'll tell you who will be remembered. The ones he killed. They will be remembered and mourned by their loved ones. No, Mr. Gunman, you will not be famous. You will just be remembered as another sad, pathetic person who couldn't deal with life and took out your frustrations on those around you. http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/12/now_ill_be_famo.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/12/now_ill_be_famo.html Scribblings gunman pathetic sick Thu, 06 Dec 2007 06:52:33 -0500 New Glasses Me Glasses

]]> http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/11/new_glasses.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/11/new_glasses.html Scribblings Mon, 12 Nov 2007 20:36:08 -0500 Why Flying Now Can Kill - By A.L. Bardach - Special to The Washington Post Why Flying Now Can Kill By A.L. Bardach Special to The Washington Post I am haunted by the death of Carol Anne Gotbaum. I didn’t know the mother of three who died shackled to a bench in the Phoenix airport on Sept. 28, en route to an alcohol treatment center in Tucson, Ariz. I don’t know, beyond what I read in the newspapers, what troubles weighed on her. But I do know this: Based on my own recent flight experiences, hers was a death foretold. There’s every reason to believe that Gotbaum would be alive today if she had been allowed to board her flight to Tucson and take her rightful seat. While her tragedy has been a Page One story in many newspapers, few reports have focused on the fact that the airlines involved, US Airways and its subcontractor, Mesa Airlines, are notorious for overbooked flights. According to The New York Times, US Air had revenue last year of $11.56 billion. Of that, $1 billion was the result of diligent overbooking. The stressful, often incendiary situations created by overbooking infuriate perfectly healthy, well-adjusted passengers. It’s not hard for me to imagine that an emotionally fragile, vulnerable person like Gotbaum could have felt absolutely desperate. Gotbaum wasn’t late for boarding. She didn’t forfeit her place by ignoring the airline’s procedures. Her only mistake was showing up at the US Airways gate and believing that her paid-in-full, reserved-seat airline ticket meant that she would have a seat on the plane. We made the same mistake. In May, I was to give a speech in Washington. I was recovering from a health problem, so I asked my husband to accompany me on the trip. We purchased plane tickets on US Air. Together, the cost of our flights came to close to $1,500. Bob and I had never flown US Air before, and we just laughed when the friend who dropped us off at the Santa Barbara, Calif., airport barked, “Don’t do it. It’s the worst airline in the history of aviation.” But then we saw the long, snaking lines at the counter, which was attended by just two employees. When we finally reached the counter a half-hour later, the ticket agent told us that the plane had been overbooked and that there were no seats for us. I explained that I had an appointment in Washington and was also dealing with a health issue. The staff, who seemed exhausted and overwrought, were not especially sympathetic: The flight was overbooked, they said, and that’s all there was to it. What I didn’t know then but learned later is that many of US Air’s flights are subcontracted to the ultra-economy Mesa Airlines. Both Mesa and US Air are based in Arizona, and Mesa, we would learn, is famous for its penny-pinching, understaffing ways. My husband and I, as well as Carol Gotbaum, were dealing with Mesa personnel, although the airport signs were for US Airways. Initially, we were told that we were being denied boarding because we had bought our tickets on the Internet. But that wasn’t true. Then the counter person said that we were the last to check in when, in fact, there were half a dozen people behind us — also with reserved seats. Finally, one staffer leveled with us and said: “Look, they (US Air) overbook all of our flights.” Not only could we not get on our flight, but the next flight was also overbooked, and the one after that. There was simply no guarantee that we’d be able to get out that day. Other passengers stepped up to help. Three people who were traveling on vacation offered to switch with us, preferring to get a free plane ticket for volunteering to be bumped. But we watched incredulously as the Mesa counter personnel talked each one out of switching with us. Much the same thing happened to Carol Gotbaum. A great deal has been made of the fact that she was on her way to an alcohol rehab center, but no one has come forward to say they saw her drinking that day. The only difference between her and us was our reaction. We didn’t lose control, but we were plenty steamed. When we learned that all the flights had been overbooked, my husband confronted the counter staff while I sat down and cried. That’s why I can imagine the desperation the situation would evoke in someone who was ill, disabled or distraught. I only had to get to Washington for a conference; Carol Gotbaum’s health and life depended on her getting to Tucson. We eventually made it to Washington after Mesa/US Air dispatched us to another airport 100 miles away in a speeding taxi. The experience, however, stayed with us for a long time afterward, especially as we experienced more overbooking problems — as well as lost luggage, delays and rerouted flights — on every leg of our trip to and from Washington. At various airports, I interviewed any US Air/Mesa staffers who would talk to me. On one flight segment, we sat with several Mesa/US Air staff members and a pilot and heard quite an earful. This small group said that to increase profitability, Mesa understaffs all its sales counters, baggage staff and other personnel and slashed health care and pensions, while US Air overbooks all flights and often issues duplicate seat assignments. We learned that the staff and the pilots were virtually at war with Mesa’s chief executive, Jonathan Ornstein. We listened as one flight attendant told us that they have schemed and dreamed of “flying over his home and dropping the lavs,” referring to the airplanes’ toilets. The pilot told us they were terribly underpaid and overworked and that flying conditions were unsafe. Some pilots, he said, made only $19,000 a year and did not have adequate training. Other staffers told us that many US Air/Mesa personnel were dispirited and overworked, which often led them to vent their frustration on passengers, in a sort of “kick the dog” syndrome, especially in Phoenix. One flight attendant said she had once seen five people arrive a few minutes late at the Phoenix counter and be denied the right to board even though the flight attendants and pilot were willing to allow them on. In this rare case, the plane was not overbooked, and the passengers’ seats were available. Still, the counter staff wouldn’t let them board. Some of what we heard from such disgruntled personnel was later confirmed in The New York Times. On May 30, the newspaper ran an article looking behind the scenes at the airline practice of overbooking in which US Air figured prominently. It quoted a US Airways official as saying that employees called in sick because they didn’t want to deal with overbookings, and a Boston gate agent complained, “You know you’re going to be yelled and screamed at to the point you have to call the police.” But what about the passengers? US Air has said that it gave away Gotbaum’s seat on a connecting flight because she arrived at the gate with only 25 minutes — instead of 30 — to spare. But she had already checked in for that flight at John F. Kennedy airport in New York. You don’t have to check in again in the connecting city, as I understand US Air’s regulations. The rules as posted on the airline’s Web site also state, “Reservations are subject to cancellation if you are not checked in and at the departure gate at least 15 minutes prior to departure.” Gotbaum was still covered. She’d left 25 minutes to spare. Still, she was denied her reserved seat on the 1:30 flight. Nor did they allow her to board the next flight at 2:58 — which, of course, was also overbooked. Finally, Mesa’s counter personnel refused to let willing passengers switch with the clearly distraught Gotbaum. When she began to weep and protest, they called the police, who handcuffed her arms behind her back and dragged her away to a holding cell. They left her chained alone to a bench, crying inconsolably. Not long after, she was found dead, the chain shackling her to the bench stretched across her throat. Surely US Air/Mesa employees aren’t bad people. They’re doing their jobs — understaffed and underpaid — in an industry with seemingly no oversight or accountability. My husband and I didn’t just get mad, we got even. Upon our return to Santa Barbara, we filed a complaint in small claims court for $7,500, the maximum allowed. US Air settled with us in June. Carol Gotbaum’s family may be getting ready to sue, too. But it’s too late for her. - - - A.L. Bardach is the author of “Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana” and the forthcoming “Without Fidel.” Her e-mail: bardachreports(at)aol.com.]]> http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/10/why_flying_now.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/10/why_flying_now.html Society and Civics Thu, 18 Oct 2007 11:51:09 -0500 No posts for months and then two music posts Blender "magazine". It was titled The 40 Worst Lyricists In Rock and they had some interesting choices. They called one of my favorites, Sting, THE WORST LYRICIST EVER(All caps was them, not me.) Of course they also have this at the bottom of their web site: "Top Artists: Britney Spears¦Paris Hilton¦Kayne West¦ Justin Timberlake¦Diddy¦Jay-Z¦Beyonce ¦ Jennifer Lopez ¦Michael Jackson¦50 Cent ¦Madonna¦R Kelly¦Fall Out Boy" So take what these "journalists" write with a grain of salt. If you enjoy music, listen to it. If you like a lyric, enjoy it. Don't listen to the sad, lonely souls that must be critical of everyone and everything just so they can feel better about themselves. Music is only good if it moves you. If it moves you and only you it doesn't have to move anyone else...It has met it's goal. Enjoy it. Internalize it. Make it a part of you. ]]> http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/10/no_posts_for_mo.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/10/no_posts_for_mo.html Music Tue, 09 Oct 2007 19:40:35 -0500 Joni Mitchell - Shine - 2007 Joni Mitchell - Shine at Amazon.com ]]> http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/10/joni_mitchell_s.html http://merelyadequate.net/archives/2007/10/joni_mitchell_s.html Music Sat, 06 Oct 2007 14:45:36 -0500