A random update...

First, to the random: I'm now running the Windows 7 Release Candidate... I'm sure that went over most of your heads, but it's mostly a note to those who know what it means. (It's a rather geeky statement.) It seems pretty cool... so far anyway.

Other than that, Love's Labour's Lost is premiering today. It'll be fun, I think... provided we don't seriously abridge any of the lines.

And... it's lunchtime and I can't think of more to say.

The Tractor

I felt the need to post... so here's a picture:

If you say too much...

...when the time comes to blog, you'll have nothing to say!

It appears that I'm in such constant communication with my friends that, when I sit down to blog, I have nothing left to say... or, I could always re-hash the things I just said, but that doesn't do much good.
I really should at least post photo highlights from my week, or something- my pictures don't do much good on my hard drive.

If anyone has any suggestions, comment away!

Time fritters, anyone?

"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. [...] For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. [...]
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 7:15-8:1)

Wow. If I were to write a theme song for my life, that would probably be the gist of it. Or, to borrow DC Talk's wording:

"What's going on inside me?
I despise my own behavior.
This only serves to confirm my suspicion
that I'm still a man in need of a Savior."

I must confess, my personal battle between the "inner man" and "flesh" is very much a "cold war" at a standing aggression. My inner man has not yet declared full-out war on my flesh, but rather has been very diplomatic. It is as if the inner "City of God" has not been convinced that the "City of Man" is deserving its destruction, and the City of Man is running its errands just enough to prick the City of God's Conscience- to warn the town watch that they are still there, if you will, but not enough to spark conflict. The City of Man knows it has no defense once the City of God is awakened to war, and I suspect that fact also does not help motivate the God-ward. As Screwtape repeatedly notes to Wormwood, the lies have no defense except other lies, and the most basic lies are only covered by the convenience of their implications. He instructs Wormwood to distract the Christian from analyzing the lies at all costs, because they fall apart quickly under examination.
What are some of these distractions? If I'm to be honest about it in regards to my life, they are things I know have a tendency to seize my time and waste it. My computer has this propensity:

• Twitter (Eh, not so much, I use it fairly moderately... update it every couple days.)
• Email (I should ignore it for a day and see how many emails I get- I suspect about 50.)
• Facebook (What does one actually do there? Nice as a tool, Applications are rather silly.)
  
• IM (Where you must message back instantly. Little wonder my parents aren't fond of it.)

All told, I've had a rough estimate that I spend about 4-6 hours a day on the computer... frittering time. All that while I have worthy things to do- work on our church website, blog, write, compose music, tend to the health and appearance of my dog (who is at present a grunge collie), the state of our house, theater, actually get homework done... noble intents, a poor success rate. (My room could use cleaning too...)

I am pretty sure I'm not the only one who's like this... from "business" to "ADHD", it definitely seems like it's just it's an excuse for being distracted. (Granted, there are people busy with good things, and some people probably have naturally shorter attention spans- but it just makes it easier for them to be distracted by what dosen't matter.) Americans tend to be wrapped up in things that are distractions- it's not bad to like new stuff, but when we get new stuff and then waste time by playing with toys the old stuff didn't have... we start wasting our lives chasing and playing with fluff. Lovely, technological fluff... and the tiniest thing that disrupts our fluffy joy is a huge disaster... (How do you react when your internet goes down?) momentary glee may be found in technology, TV, movies, listening to music, but it's not going to bring lasting happiness. There comes a time when we just need to put down the netbook and iPhone (And yes, the velociraptor.) and engage real people in real conversations... beyond small talk.

Easter, etc.

Hey everyone, have a blessed Easter! It struck me as odd how much greener all the organic stuff is looking... (I know there are people who would razz me about saying "everything"... so... everything that is supposed to be green- grass, trees, etc.) and the skies are looking impressively blue, with the puffy white clouds seeming to add balance to the sky.

And my dog is still really pretty.
I never did get around to blogging about my birthday, so I'll just throw on a quick note: It was good. Busy, yeah, but good.

Now it's time for me to finish getting ready for our "normal" Easter service... so I'll bid you all adieu!

Letters, etc.

So... I was rummaging in my desk, and came across a letter. I got it in June of '08, and never replied... I'm sure I had an excuse- but really, it could not have been a good enough one. It was from a rather dear friend, and she had written it before I went on a trip to Texas- and she wanted a letter back about the trip... I never wrote it- honestly, I should have written a half-page on each day I was down there... it would have been the same length.
I don't know why- but there's just something about non-digital life that's so neat. I suppose, in part, it's being able to sense the emotion so much easier... if they're crying while writing... it probably will show up, stuff like that. (And I hear with love-letters, it has an amplified effect- however I think the lovers' senses are aided.)

Anyhow- it also reminded me of Spencerian Handwriting (something I totally flubbed- I now print... messily.) And... how much better writing letters would be for the brain than emails... really.

I also decided that I should be writing my ideas down more, so that I can write up a blog post, and post it when I have time. Yeah.

Clean house...

I was just rummaging around my computer, and realized just how much "stuff" there is there... I suppose I'm a virtual pack-rat of sorts... scratch that- I just realized how much I pack anyway... it would seem it's time for some cleaning.
I've got clutter... plenty of it... and I've been bugged by it a long time- whether it's the cornucopia of files that swamp me from being able to find stuff I actually want; habits I formed because of certain circumstances that no longer apply; or the "real" clutter- the stuff that I have no use for, but still never get rid of... some of it's got sentimental value, but half the stuff I should just... get rid of.
Here's a short list:

• My computer collection in our basement- of parts probably 11 years old on average.
  
• The radio-controlled truck I never managed to get running.
• My TaeKwonDo uniform... the belts, sure, the uniform won't fit me again until I'm 80.
• The remains of the balsa plane that the cat lay in and crushed... yeah.
• The clothes that I've never put in the rag bin when I was done with them.

That's just 5 "real" clutter examples... and... then my room will probably be cleaner than the mess of files that I need to go through, and the habits I'll need to be disposing of.

And... then I have the "constructive" cleaning... or, making more presentable... things I should be doing that I haven't been. (Again, a short list of 5)

• Practicing guitar. (I play about 2 times a week at present... it should be at least 5)
• Exercising. (Not talking just building muscle- coordination is a must too.)
• Taking better care of my dog. (Yup... it's lacking.)
• Spending more time with my family and friends... in person.
• Put way more effort into my relationship with God... it lacks.

Give you any ideas? (And by that I don't mean for inviting me over.) More like... how clean is your house? I was amazed when I went to Texas last year, leaving my "clutter" in Maine. I was pretty stunned at the results... if I had that lack of clutter all the time... let's just say I'm gonna try to recreate that bit.