MInTheGap

Time.  It seems immutable.  We’re all clock watchers when we’re bored, and we all wonder where it went when we’re doing something we like.

Time is the way that we know when to meet and where to be.  It keeps track of how long we’ve been on this earth, and it’s used to figure out how much we should be paid.

Timesheets for Work

When I first started working, I was shown a time card that I had to fill out, and it was all a manual process.  We didn’t get any sort of time software until last year, and even then we purchased an application rather than build it ourselves.

When I started with my new company I found out that they had built their own time software—that I could improve if I wanted—and that it did the basic functions I suspected.

It’s Not the Quality

The thing that has been the same, no matter where I’ve worked, is how I spend my time.  Both places have been generous to let me be on Instant Messenger and check e-mail.  Both places have allowed me to be online as long as it does not disrupt my work.

However, if left unchecked, the Internet can be a very big time-suck, and can harm your productivity.  It’s important that you keep track of what you are doing and keep your priorities with getting your job accomplished.

Many of the time tracking software that is now on the market actually ties into projects that you have assigned, and your employer will know if you’re efficiently using your time.

In any case, it’s important to keep a good testimony, and to use your time as wisely as possible.

At my previous employer, every day before a holiday we were able to go home from work at roughly 3:00 pm.  At first I thought it was just a fluke—and then I realized that it was a standard rule.

When I started with my current employer on November 17, I didn’t know if this would be something that would happen there as well—and so you can imagine that I was pleasantly surprised when, at 4:00 pm on Wednesday, my boss came in and said that I could come home early.  He also said that while he worked of IBM they would actually play holiday music around the building to let the people know that it was time to go.

It was then that I realized that it wasn’t only my former employer that tried to be nice.

My first boss actually gave us Christmas gifts—sometimes he and his wife made them, other times they were things with the company logo.

According to a Christmas Gifts Study, many corporations give to charities both to increase their positive media as well as to get a tax break.  Generosity is always looked at as something positive, regardless of whether you’re receiving one of many different Christmas Gift Baskets, a bonus, or some time off.

What kinds of things have you seen people get or have you received?  Have you ever received some kind of Holiday Christmas Gift Baskets?

The other day we were sitting around the table and I said that I hated a certain thing—and there were gasps heard from my children.  “You’re not supposed to hate,” they told me.  I quickly explained that while it’s not okay to hate a person, it is fine to hate something.

The problem with our culture, however, is that we are much like my children in understanding the difference between hating a thing or an action versus hating a person.

Homosexuality

This came up on this blog recently when I made the case for Heterosexual Marriage.  There is a lot of hate for the Mormon church right now for the fact that they poured a ton of money into the California election to help pass Prop. 8.

For the record, I support Proposition 8 (though I don’t live in California), but I do not hate homosexuals.  I see them as confused, and sinners just like I was—until Christ saved me and changed me and continues to change me into the image of His dear Son.

The Root of the Problem

The problem is that we’ve allowed weak arguments and name calling to substitute for good debate.  We live in a world of sound-bites, and we live and make our decisions by sound-bites.  If we sat back and analyzed exactly what is being said and what is being done the absurdity of it all would be obvious.

For example:  Part of the gay-rights movement’s strategy for getting people to accept homosexuality as normal and something to be accepted rather than treated as unnatural is the attempt to have people realize that there are homosexual people all around them.  The thinking goes that if you know that your friend is a homosexual, or that your relative has homosexual friend then you will see that these people are “normal” people like you or I and then you will want them to be happy, etc.

The problem with this is that this same logic should be applied to the Mormons that funded Proposition 8.  They were people that believed a certain way, they had a certain opinion about a certain act, and they expressed it peacefully.  You know one of them, or know of someone who does, and they are not out causing hate—they are just expressing a point of view of something that they passionately believe—and believe effects them (whether you agree that it does or not).

It’s a case of what’s good for the goose not being good for the gander.

Policies, not People

The problem is that politics and the culture have attempted (with a great deal of success) to link who a person is and what their policies and positions are.  People can no longer be thought of as good or decent and still hold positions that are opposite yours.  There can be no polite disagreements—the person with the opposite view is evil, dumb, stupid, egg-headed, liberal, conservative, or whatever other name you want to throw at them.

We’ve been reduced to children, attempting to bully each other with name calling and believing the names we call others.  We choose not to hear because of the names.  We choose not to see the person, only the idea that’s been banged into our heads continuously that they’re liars and we’re truth-tellers.

And like many circumstances, there’s truth in both.

Christ calls us to be more than this

The liberty in Christianity is that God tells us that we’re all sinners.  We’ve all fallen short.  We all have temptation, and we’ll all fall.  Each of us has a sin—and probably many—that we struggle with, even if they aren’t the big ones you hear from the pulpit.  We all have a long way to go to be like Christ.

The challenge for the believer is to not look at the person that disagrees with the Bible as anything but what Christ sees.  Christ came to Earth to die on the cross for that Atheist, Agnostic, Homosexual, etc. person.  God loved them enough to send His Son.

Let that be on your mind as you discuss your differences of opinion.  Speak the truth, but speak it in love.

Well, any time is really a great time to be pregnant, but winter especially so.  Why?  Because the baby helps to keep you warm!

But seriously, we live in a great time for mom’s and babies in the sense that there are many things out there to help a mom through a pregnancy.  Whereas before, dad couldn’t even be in the delivery room, now dad is supposed to be there at every step.

And when it comes to clothing, having a baby bump is an “in-thing” with many companies vying to help you look the part of the glowing mom.

Most retailers are now targeting women with child, some opening stores and websites specifically to cater to this period of time in a woman’s life.  They carry everything from clothing to new parents gifts!  This particular one has free shipping for the holidays using the checkout code”BLOG1″.

That’s one of the things that dads are just now getting into.  I got at least a couple of books as we had our first two children, and I know that my wife got things for her as well as for our baby.

There are so many neat things out there too… From Books and Journals to gift certificates there are DVDs to watch, and slings and Diaper bags to get.  It’s crazy the things that people will get and give at this neat time of year.

And why not celebrate?  Bringing a new life into the world is a magical time, and beautiful beginning, and a journey the parents will never forget.

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What does The Last Battle of the Chronicles of Narnia and Global Warming have in common?

The past few months I’ve been reading to my boys the Chronicles of Narnia—starting with the first book around the time Prince Caspian came out in the theaters and today we’re on chapter 10 of The Last Battle.

– Spoiler Warning –

The Donkey Dressed Like Aslan

To catch you up, Shift the Ape thought it would be neat to dress his friend the donkey in a lion’s coat and pretend he was Aslan.  Tirian, King of Narnia, and Eustace and Jill end up discovering this ruse, but just before they’re about to reveal the fraud, the monkey comes out with a clever line, stating that there is a donkey dressed as Aslan, and that it’s not the real one.

Global Warming

For years we’ve heard that Global Warming is not only happening, but that it’s all our fault and that if we don’t do something now, we’re doomed.  We’ve heard reports.  We’ve seen studies.  We’ve had former vice presidents spewing gasses into the air while profiting off of carbon credits.

And this year seemed to be a good year for this kind of thing.  October came back higher than average.  And yet, it didn’t mesh with people’s actual experience:

On Monday, Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), which is run by Al Gore’s chief scientific ally, Dr James Hansen, and is one of four bodies responsible for monitoring global temperatures, announced that last month was the hottest October on record.

This was startling. Across the world there were reports of unseasonal snow and plummeting temperatures last month, from the American Great Plains to China, and from the Alps to New Zealand. China’s official news agency reported that Tibet had suffered its "worst snowstorm ever". In the US, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration registered 63 local snowfall records and 115 lowest-ever temperatures for the month, and ranked it as only the 70th-warmest October in 114 years.

It seems that there was bad data posting from Russia, and the governing body was quickly trying to justify their proclamation, even as the data did not support the conclusion.

This wasn’t truth, or searching for the truth, this was denial.  This showed that it was more important to these scientists that the data support their conclusions than to go with what the data said.

Which leaves us again with the question—if they’ve shown that they’ll preach global warming when the data says the opposite, why should we believe them?

Today was my first day at my new job.  Yes, I was unemployed for all of two days, and now I’m back at it—building websites for customers.

This new company that I’ve joined does a lot of client work, and though it’s small it is growing well.  There are a lot of new faces—even for those that have been there a while, and I would think that these are one of the times that finding some good Business Christmas Cards would be in order.

There are some great cards for you—if you want to celebrate Christmas or even wish someone the more generic “Seasons Greetings”.  The gallery collection does more than that as well, giving you the options for all purpose cards, birthday cards, and even thank you cards.

Their selection is very good and I’m sure you’ll be pleased with your selection.

What’s really neat is that this company is giving a donation to the Soldiers’ Angels military support program, Project Valour-IT.  This program helps soldiers get laptops so that they can communicate with loved ones back home.

What better way to say “Merry Christmas” than by sending a card and helping soldiers that may not be home for Christmas!?

Did you hear that Gov. Sarah Palin thought that Africa was a country?

If you answered yes, and you believed it to be true, you aren’t alone.  Turns out that some people will believe anything, based on what they think about a given person, and a couple people decided to see just how far the media had gone from journalistic integrity:

Who would say such a thing? On Monday the answer popped up on a blog and popped out of the mouth of David Shuster, an MSNBC anchor. “Turns out it was Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, who has come forward today to identify himself as the source of the leaks,” Mr. Shuster said.

Trouble is, Martin Eisenstadt doesn’t exist. His blog does, but it’s a put-on. The think tank where he is a senior fellow — the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy — is just a Web site. The TV clips of him on YouTube are fakes.

And the claim of credit for the Africa anecdote is just the latest ruse by Eisenstadt, who turns out to be a very elaborate hoax that has been going on for months. MSNBC, which quickly corrected the mistake, has plenty of company in being taken in by an Eisenstadt hoax, including The New Republic and The Los Angeles Times.

Just another friendly reminder that you should verify your sources before publishing to the world.

Since Proposition 8 passed in California, once again marriage is to be defined there as between a man and a woman.  This has lead to outrage to those that deem this unfair and discriminatory, and has caused more anger to boil.

Why should marriage be limited to one man and one woman?

Arguing From Creation

First and foremost, the reason that marriage has been, by definition, and institution between a man and a woman has roots in what the Creator of the World has proclaimed—way back in the book of Genesis.  In Genesis 2, God noticed that man was alone in the Garden.  To remedy this situation God created a being out of Adam’s side—a woman, Eve.  And Adam states in Genesis 2:24 that a man would leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and that two would become one.

From the very beginning, God stated that the pattern was one man and one woman—and this arrangement is duplicated throughout scripture (most notably in the giving of the Mosaic law in Exodus).

This exactly effects America because of the Declaration of Independence.  When our country was founded and we left the British Empire we justified doing so because all men were given by God rights that were unalienable—that did not derive from government, but from God.  The basis of American freedom rests in the idea that our rights to life, liberty and property (later changed to the pursuit of happiness) are not defined by a government, but defined by the Creator.

Therefore, by the very fact of that foundation, this line of argument is relevant to the discussion.

Arguing From History

Never, in the history of the world, has marriage been defined as anything but a union between a man and a woman.  Now, it is true that marriage has been defined as a union between a man and multiple women (we see that all throughout history from the early records all the way to prior to the homosexual marriage debate), but never as a same sex couple.

Up until the latter half of the twentieth century, homosexuality was considered to be a mental illness.  It was something for which a person was hospitalized.  It was only relatively recently that homosexuality was seen to be something that we could consider natural and something that wasn’t to be treated.  Indeed, there are still some that are treated today, and some that claim to come out of homosexuality.

This is not meant to be a judgment on homosexuality, per se, but instead an argument for heterosexual marriage.  Indeed, there is more support historically for polygamous unions than there are for same-sex unions.  However, it has been, and still is against the law to have multiple wives, but in multiple states in the nation same-sex marriage or civil unions are available, and polygamous unions are kept in secret, done only ceremoniously.

The historical argument also verifies the argument from Creation.  Since the Founders would not allow Utah to become a state in the Union without outlawing polygamy, it stands to reason that they would also oppose same-sex marriage on the same grounds.

Therefore, it stands to reason that there is no historical grounds for same-sex marriage—only for monogamous heterosexual unions.

Argument from Nature

Some arguments that have been made along this line are unfruitful and miss the whole point of this argument.  Let me dispatch them in a quick fashion.

Arguing over whether animals exhibit this behavior.  Who cares?  Most agree that animals do not possess the minds that men do.  It’s easy to try to find a case that violates the premise in either case.

Arguing over whether there is a “gay gene.”  If there isn’t so what?  If there is, that still isn’t a problem for the argument.

The point of the argument from nature also doesn’t care whether you believe in Evolution or Creation, it’s just as strong either way.  I look at this argument in two ways:

1. There is no natural benefit from the union of two same-sex couples toward the race.  Population control isn’t a benefit to the race, since the race need population to survive—so throw that one out immediately.  The natural benefit of a heterosexual union is the production and raising of offspring and the effect that the monogamous relationship has on those in it.  While it may be possible for the effect to be achieved in another kind of relationship, same-sex relationships do not, naturally, produce children.

2. Inclinations and desires are not always right.  From the day that a child is born, it seeks to exalt self.  It cries when it doesn’t get its own way.  It fights with its siblings.  It wants all the attention.  Through child training and instruction, parents combat these natural inclinations and train the child to do things that are right.  So, stating that “I was born this way” is a foolish argument and against natural training.  It would be the equivalent of an adult throwing a fit in a store demanding that they get something because they saw it first, and when told that they were wrong, saying that they shouldn’t have to give it back because they were born that way.

We’d laugh if a thief tried this argument, or a murderer, but when it comes to something that culture is trying to tell us is right, we attempt to justify it with this same lame argument.

There is no natural reason to favor same-sex marriage.  There is no indication that it is a positive thing for the race as a whole, or the people in particular.

Argument from “The Majority”

So, say you disregard the previous arguments, and you skip right to the societal argument—the foolish notion that we live in a democracy and that the majority (or minority) on any opinion makes something right.

Some would suggest that the right way to get same-sex marriage into law is by using the courts.  Some would suggest by influencing the electorate and waiting for the people to use democracy.  In either case you’re putting something up to a vote that I don’t believe can be voted on—the morality of an issue.  It’s just a matter of how big or small the sample is for the vote.

But suppose we put that aside for the moment and actually look at the societal argument.  Majorities can be wrong.  A majority of the Southern States before the Civil war believed that slavery was good.  A majority of the U.S. government believed it to be right to invade Iraq.  Majorities don’t always make the right decisions.

However, where does the argument from society cease?

I am left handed. The world is designed for the comfort and convenience of right handed people. Thus is has always been and thus it will always be. Perhaps the cruelest part of this fate is that were I to define myself as a member of an oppressed group, I would receive nothing but condescending smiles. The fact that left handed people at all ages of life die in larger number than right handed people is greeted with a bland shrug. I am pushing to get the Social Security entitlement age lowered for left handed people in sensitivity of our earlier deaths. This fair minded proposal has met with predictable ridicule from righty bigots and self loathing lefties. Our only hope is that a fair minded jurist takes up our cause. – William

The point is that there will always be people that feel that they have a right against the majority.  Currently, the overwhelming majority of this country is heterosexual, and seeking out a heterosexual marriage.  Since that is the reality, it does not seem logical to enact something that goes against the majority of the people, that would effect the majority of the people and set up problems with the majority’s rights.

Argument from Society

Lastly, the argument from society.  One of the biggest complaints from those that seek legal same-sex marriage is that their union does not have the advantages of the heterosexual union.  Missing from their argument is why they deserve such rights.

We’ve already listed multiple reasons why a society should seek to encourage heterosexual unions:

• The Creator endorsed and established such unions.
• Historically such unions have been standard issue.
• Naturally, such unions are required to naturally further the race.
• Heterosexual unions, and those that would enter into these unions, vastly outnumber those that would benefit from the creation of other unions.

And to that we can add studies regarding the raising of children in homes of same-sex parents vs. opposite-sex parents, etc.

Where’s the reasoning behind why the state should sanction other unions besides the belief that “we deserve it”?  Arguing that “it’s not fair” is amusing.  As I was reminded multiple times by my mom when I was younger, “Life is not fair.”

And if that’s the main logic, which seems to be in the foreground of all the litigation regarding the equal opportunity clauses in the U.S. and State Constitutions, then we have a logical dilemma.  Once you agree to the validity of this argument, what is to stop others that have other types of unions from attempting to exercise this right.

Why wouldn’t the polygamist demand multiple marriages?  Why not allow marriages to animals and plants?  Why not allow marriages to dead beings, etc.?  Why not allow marriages to self?

I’m not attempting to use the slippery slope argument in a moral sense, but in a practical sense.  If the state has a vested interest in encouraging a union between heterosexual couples to promote the general welfare:

• Couples in a marriage live longer.
• They’re more stable.
• They produce children that build the country.

Then if that incentive is removed because either every union is rewarded—or no union is rewarded—how has that benefited society?  In fact, it will have actually have harmed it by further removing the incentive to get married—something that it already started with rewarding cohabitating couple to get many of the marriage benefits and punishing one sex should a marriage end in disarray.

Conclusion

Heterosexual marriage in the United States has its problems, to be sure.  There is much to be done to repair the broken system.  However, there is no good argument for another system, and no good argument for why this country, or any state for that matter, should seek to accept any addition to traditional marriage.

November 14th is my last day of work.  In preparation for this, I’ve started to look at the options for what I can do to make money and put food on the table.  Along with job hunting, I’ve been researching freelancing opportunities, and one of the things that I’ve found is that there are some great opportunities for those who know how to make WordPress templates and set up blog hosting!

The neat part is, with some of these jobs you can offer to be the webhost, and you can make money past the time of completion.

In any case, this leads us back to the question of how to find the best web hosting and what it entails.

Over the past year or so I’ve shown you multiple different sites that you can go to in your quest to find a good site.  Today I want to introduce you to another one—Web Hosting Report.  This site helps people find the hosting provider they need by providing a good interface and ratings.  This site ranks highest by price, but also has other ratings to help you make a comparison.

So, whether you’re looking to move your blog off of the shared sites to your own site, or looking to start a business, you’ll want to check these rating sites to make sure you’re getting the best deal, service, and space.  Otherwise you may be missing out!

The common refrain from the younger generation regarding sexual activity is that it is impossible not to become sexually active.  In fact, it’s usually not a question of if a person will have sex before they are married, but a question of how young is too young.

However, like many things, if we were to set our mind to it, and consider it a worthwhile goal, we could accomplish anything—like Charlotte Baird, who is a virgin at 36.

Before you start criticizing her or making fun:

Even though she’s now 36? A 21-year-old virgin is a pure, unsullied young woman, but a 36-year-old virgin, well, it’s not quite the same, is it?

But Charlotte is not one to be pressured into conforming to perceived norms. She also confounds expectations of what ‘a 36-year-old virgin’ might be like. Charlotte isn’t a frumpy spinster leading a lonely, eccentric life with her cats.

She is an actress turned theatre producer and also works as an artists’ agent. After studying English, drama and theatre at Bedford College she spent three years at an acting school.

The truth is that we all can wait for the appropriate time—within marriage.  The lie is that we cannot control ourselves.  You see, we’re all for telling kids that they can control themselves when it comes to things that we believe they can do.

We tell them that they can wait to go to the bathroom, that they should not interrupt when someone else is talking, that they don’t have to have a snack until dinner, and that they don’t need a glass of water when they go to bed.  We tell them that they have to go to college and get good grades so they can get a job.  We teach them the process of making choices.

But when it comes to sexual activity, parents have decided that they just can’t teach this.  I mean we believe that we can teach them that smoking is wrong, and “just say no” to drugs, but in the area of sexual activity—that’s something fun that we they’re just going to do.

What hypocrisy.

Miss Baird makes the point abundantly clear.  It’s not a question of whether or not you can wait.  It’s totally a question of will you wait.  You have the ability, now take the responsibility.

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