The Inner Engineer

I was working out in the gym at work today, and there were two other guys in there as well. One was telling the other (a new mechanical engineer who I've talked to a couple of times) about his Nike shoes that communicate with his iPod to store his speed and other data when he runs.

The new guy (Justin) replies that he should plot the captured data in an Excel spreadsheet. I couldn't help but laugh and comment aloud about him sounding just like an engineer.

Then my inner engineer kicked into high gear, and I thought about how nice would it be to have a spreadsheet to track various aspects of one's life, just to see how they change over the course of time? You could have a tab in the spreadsheet for biological data (heart rate, blood pressure, weight, fat percentage), exercise information (including type, frequency, intensity, duration), stress levels, sexual statistics (drive, activity), financial status (debt, assets), spirituality (propensity to sin, biggest strengths and weaknesses, time spent with God, time serving God), heck even self-rated general happiness, or whatever.

Who wouldn't want to look at these charts and reflect on the highs and lows of your life, and how they compare to the present day? What do you think?

Morning Inspiration

As evident in my recent Venting and Random Rambling post, I have been feeling overwhelmed with tasks and responsibilities and generally struggling with my attitude lately.

But I have found a surprisingly adequate amount of inspiration in the past week or so by starting the day singing an old Sunday school song in my head. It's the one that's based on Psalm 118:24.

This is the day, This is the day,
That the Lord has made, That the Lord has made.

We will rejoice, We will rejoice,
And be glad in it, And be glad in it!
This is the day that the Lord has made,
We will rejoice and be glad in it!

This is the day, This is the day,
That the Lord has made.

As short and simple as that song is, it's a great reminder for me to give the day to God. It also helps me to pay more attention to all of the things that God has given me at the start of this day, such as my job (even if it's frustrating sometimes) and my health. And no matter how pessimistic or discouraged I feel at the beginning, God can still make it a great day.

Two Sides to Terrible

Stories like this and this (from my hometown of Orlando) kill me. Children are completely at the mercy of their parents. At the very least they rely on them for provision and protection. Thinking about these kids getting helplessly restrained and beaten by the people who are supposed to love and protect them just makes me want to scream.

On the other hand, this story is on the opposite end of the spectrum, where the parents do a great job of providing and protecting, but don't give them an ounce of love, attention, or affection.

Venting and Random Rambling

• Our house now has discoloration from either mold or mildew on the ceiling in the playroom, which is caused by a leak in either the shower or toilet of the master bathroom above it. The problem could require extensive plumbing and drywall repair, not to mention isolating and removing the mold.
  
• My car is experiencing excessive vibrations at over 40mph. Originally I thought it to be caused by improper wheel balancing, but have recently realized that pushing in the clutch at those speeds reduces the problem significantly. This leads me to believe that it's drivetrain (transmission, driveshaft, or differential) related.
  
• Although all of our credit cards were paid off in the not too distant past, we've been slowly slipping into debt again with them. The home and car problems mentioned above aren't helping the matter any. Not to mention still needing to pay for a rental car during the 10 days of our trip to Florida for Christmas.
  
• I haven't been able to make progress on my projects (upstairs projector, gym equipment, web site).
• Both Amanda and I are lacking exercise and I am getting discouraged and frustrated about not being able to find a way to fit it into our schedule, and/or being too undisciplined to make it happen in the little time that is available.
• To top it all off, work is frustrating me too.
  
• First, earlier this year our company stopped allowing streaming audio (no more Air1 or talk radio through the internet).
  
• Now, they are eliminating the downstairs cafeteria, where I have enjoyed eating either a meal or a side of veggies 2-3 days a week. Now I'll have to drive somewhere for lunch or settle for the unhealthy fast food that's within walking distance.
  
• I'm also in the early stages of a new project, which requires a bit of learning that is difficult and challenging.
  

Meet Matt

Our roommate Matt moved in about a month ago.

We linked up with him through our good friends who work for Campus Crusade for Christ at the University of Oregon, who met him at a summer mission trip in Lake Tahoe. I'll admit that I was a little apprehensive about having a stranger live with us, but he is quite possibly the ideal roommate for the circumstances. He's quiet (even at 5am when getting ready for school), courteous, considerate, and a genuinely nice guy.

You can see him with his pride and joy in the picture above, a 2001 Honda CBR600 F4i, which I am grateful to have ridden. He also drives a Nissan pickup, and is currently attending automotive trade school at WyoTech.