Xagronaut

I realized today what some of the appeal of the new H2 Hummers might be.  I momentarily mistook an armored car behind me for a Hummer today.  After realizing the true nature of the vehicle, I surmised that there might be something subconsciously comforting to today’s SUV driver.  Power, stability, security.  And you don’t have to worry about being hijacked for the cash on board.  Odds are that you’ve already spent your money on the car payment.

David Meece was the first artist I listened to as a teen in the 80’s.  I come from a traditional Pentecostal background, and “Christian Rock” was labeled as “rebellion” by many of the adults I knew.  So for me, contemporary Christian music with a heavy beat and grueling guitar (or so I thought) was a way for me to push back at the rigorous traditions that I felt had been forced upon me.  I bought David Meece’s recording (called “Seven”).  I really dug the song “Unknown Soldier,” especially since I had first been introduced to it during the local skating rink’s Christian skate night.

I felt like I had picked a really good hero.  He was a gifted pianist, a childhood prodigy.  His Christmas songs are his most recognized contributions to the CCM industry: “” and “.”

The last album that I bought by David was “.”  I saw him in concert in the early 90’s at Cooper Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.  Then nothing.  For 10 whole years–nothing.  (Actually, in researching this post, I found that it wasn’t 10 years.  He actually released “” and a greatest hits collection, ”,” in the time since “Learning To Trust.”)

I did a spontaneous for his name recently and found his .  He has a new project called “.”.  I haven’t heard it yet, but you have to wonder how an artist’s music changes after so long.  I’m definitely excited to hear the new stuff.  Glad you’re back, David.

is a war blog that was recommended by a friend for good coverage.

Whether you love hearing stuff about the war or hate it, (formerly Roogle) has a filter that lets you search RSS feeds

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From USA Today:

April Fool’s (maybe)

I first spotted this article on the front page of USA Today for April 1, 2003.  The teaser read like this:

u r what

u write
Language of online chat mangles grammar and omits punctuation - 9D

After turning to page 9D I quickly saw that there was no article by that title.  I couldn’t find it on the next page either.  I’m thinking, “How cute!  USA Today made a funny on April Fool’s day.”  As it turns out the article was at the top of 8D instead.

Ah, yes, irony.  An article about English skills is put on a different page than advertised.  The problem with being a pedant (as I well know) is that every time I take an opportunity to criticize and critique, I usually make mistakes in or near my critique.

On to the article

You can find the of the article at .

My favorite quote:

A father realized that his son put this on his job application: “i want 2 b a counselor because i love 2 work with kids.”  The father immediately yanked AOL instant messenger from their computer.  Yikes!

Funny fingers

I tend to be a perfectionist about all of the grammar and spelling rules that I can remember from school.  I even bought an American English usage guide recently so I could refresh my skills.  Strangely, though, my fingers seem to have a mind of their own (some might call it “muscle memory”).  I often find that my fingers have typed letters or words that sound the same as the word I am thinking about.  (Examples: “there” for “their,” and “no” for “know”)

Fear of the future

Sometimes I worry that the new “script kiddies” with their “k3wln355″ (coolness) will eclipse technologists with more experience just because they are able to tackle the new, cool stuff quickly.  But then I think, “It will still be a while before the generation currently in charge will hand over big corporate dollars to these ‘dudes.’”