Just wanted to let you know that I’ve joined Twitter, but I will continue to blog from time to time on here so that I won’t be a stranger to you either way. Of course, if you would like to join my Twitter “circle”, please feel free to drop me a “follow” request on my Twitter profile. In the meantime, have a safe, restful and happy Memorial Day weekend! Don’t forget to thank the ones who have served our country in the past and to pray for the ones who are overseas protecting our liberties. God bless you and may God bless America!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Lose My Soul
This is one song that both of my kids and I enjoy listening to and singing with each time it comes up either on the radio or on my Blackberry: “Lose My Soul” by tobyMac with Kirk Franklin and Mandisa. tobyMac has been a favorite of mine since his days with dc Talk and, nowadays, my kids have really enjoyed some of his music as well. I guess there’s just something about his music and ministry that attracts people both young and old. Anyways, I hope you like…
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The Weather Outside Was Frightful….
What started out as a prediction for a light dusting in our area turned into a significant snowstorm throughout most of North Georgia. Nearly ten inches of white powder fell in Franklin Springs on the night of March 1st. By the time that night fell on our area, most homes and businesses were left in the dark…thanks to the fallen trees and their limbs that snapped power lines to roughly 60,ooo electric utility customers. Though our house had to endure one night of candles and flashlights, it was a walk in the park compared to a few places that did not have electricity until four days later. All in all, it was an exciting event in one way or another for many people. It also gave me a great opportunity to take a few snapshots of the blessed weather event. Hope you enjoy the following photos. (Click on the thumbnails to see a full-size image.)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Brand New Poll…
The results are in from last month’s poll and, based on the one person who voted, it looks like the Super Bowl between the Steelers and Cardinals was NOT the best one played in NFL history. I guess everyone was distracted by the Super Bowl ads, instead.
Anyways, a brand new poll is up for anyone who’s interested. The month of March usually means college basketball tournament time, so I thought I would see how many people will be filling out brackets this year for a contest–whether it would be by way of an office pool or an internet tournament challenge. I’m sure that I’ll be one to fill out a bracket one way or another…but I’m not holding my breath on winning anything.
Thanks again on your participation in the polls!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A Stimulating Message….
Shawna had told me about this sign yesterday, so I had to check it out and take a photo of it myself. Just a thought for you to ponder.
P.S. I wasn’t intending on plugging ServPro in this post, but if ever you’re up in the Royston area and you just might have a house that needs serious cleaning….
Monday, February 2, 2009
Would you like to take a survey?
Starting in February, I will be creating different polls to post on my blog. The polls will vary in topic and are not intended to indicate as to who’s right and who’s wrong on different subjects. Most of my polls will be light-hearted in nature, but there will be a few that will make y0u think and consider all the choices before choosing according to your convictions.
The first poll is in regards to yesterday’s Super Bowl contest between the Cardinals and Steelers. Was it the best ever? Let me know! (btw, congrats to the Steelers on their sixth Super Bowl title….and congrats to the Cardinals on an amazing postseason run)
Each poll may last about a month, but that’s only speculation on my end. At the end of each poll period, I’ll be more than happy to post the results before setting up a new poll question here on my blog.
Hope you enjoy and thanks in advance for your participation!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Sunday Snapshots….
Sitting in the office of my parents’ house in nearby Jefferson (GA), I had a few things in mind as our family had our little get-together for today’s Super Bowl game. Nothing extravagant, but I’m just in a little bit of a sharing mood:
- Since this is Super Bowl Sunday, I’m thinking about a trip to the store to get any leftover 3-D glasses they have available to watch some of the 3-D effects they plan to show during the game. Yeah, right. Actually, as far as the game is concerned, my heart’s saying Arizona but my brain’s going with the Steel City.
- Rumor has it that Bob Knight is considering a return to coaching…and that he’d consider coaching in Athens at UGA. Positives of the General at UGA: a proven winner who stays within the rules of the NCAA. Negatives: anger issues and age. Bottom line: go ahead and bring him in, but be on your best behavior when doing so.
- No, I haven’t forgotten about the pucks, but the Thrashers still have a ways to go before they deserve any kind of serious coverage on here. I did find it interesting that they named Ilya Kovalchuk as the captain of the team. Personally, I would have chosen Slava Kozlov, but I guess they are serious in keeping Ilya here in town as his contract ends after next season. Also, I’d give new coach John Anderson some grace for this season (his first season) before we start any kind of serious scrutiny on his job performance in 2010. By the way, kudos on the NHL’s decision to have these Winter Classic games during the New Year holiday. My prediction for the next Winter Classic site: Boston’s Fenway Park with the Bruins and Rangers.
- Since my last post, I’m still trying to keep track on all the news in regards to the Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise and whether or not we’ll see a sequel to FSX. Meanwhile, Austin Meyer, creator of the X-Plane flight simulator, is taking the opportunity to reach out to the veteran MSFS flight simmers (me included) and show them his alternative to the mainstream Microsoft program. (You can find his “letter” to the MSFS devotees here.)
In closing, the picture on the blog header is that of the Cumberland River in Somerset (KY) taken by me during our family’s Christmas vacation to Shawna’s parents. Though I don’t necessarily consider photography as a serious hobby, it is something that I enjoy doing and will hope to share along the way with more photos of some great landscapes to post on here. I hope you enjoy.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Flying Into Turbulence….
Before I start, I thought I would give a nod to the blog entitled Flying Into Action by Todd Strickland. He’s got a great blog based on his viewpoints as a manager of a very popular cellular phone store and as a ministry leader at my home church. Now, based on the title of this particular entry, you would think that I would be trying to infringe upon any copyright laws and steal his thunder, but I’m honestly not. Instead, I just thought I would recognize his great blog and consider it as recommended reading. Thanks, Todd, for your insights and reflections from your site. God bless you.
One of the things that I find most enjoyable during my free time is anything in regards to aviation. The love of flying for me started when I was young and my father worked for Dobbs Food Service at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport back in the late 70s-early 80s. Every now and then, I had the opportunity to meet up with my dad at his workplace and be able to view all the different airliners take off and land at one of the world’s busiest airports that used to be an old dirt track in southwest Atlanta. Though he didn’t stay for long in that environment, I was immediately hooked on the idea on “earning my wings”.
From that point on, I did just about anything that I could do in regards with airplanes. I had a shortwave radio that picked up transmissions from Air Traffic Control that I listened to for hours on end. I spent some of my summer days sitting out in the front yard looking for airplanes with my binoculars. I read and studied different aviation books that I checked out at the local library (and still do to this day). If anything was a hollow metal tube with wings on it, I was all over it.
Fast forward now to the early 1990s where I went with my parents to pick up a brand new Windows-based computer at a local computer store (either Computer City or CompUSA–I’m not really sure which one). The store had a display for a computer program that went beyond my wildest dreams: Microsoft Flight Simulator. Though I was unable to purchase the program at the time, I had the opportunity to fly a Cessna 172 for a few minutes around the virtual skies of San Francisco. It was an absolute blast and one that I wouldn’t soon forget.
Soon after Shawna and I got married, we purchased our own computer and the ‘98 version of Microsoft Flight Simulator. I was finally able to fly on my own on all the different aircraft that the simulator provided. The love of flying continued to grow later on as I had the opportunity to finally sit in the right seat of a cockpit of a Cessna 140, flying around northeast Georgia as a sightseeing passenger and learning a few basics on piloting small aircraft. In addition, I was part of a three-man crew that flew a Cessna 172 from Athens (GA) to St. Augustine (FL) and back.
I love to fly–whether it is in the virtual skies of Microsoft’s Flight Simulator or in the real skies flying actual Cessnas. While it has been a number of years now since I last went up in an actual plane, I’ve been desktop flying for almost ten years now as I have remained dedicated to the Flight Simulator franchise (I’ve purchased FS98, FS2000 Pro, FS2002 Pro, FS2004: A Century of Flight and FSX Deluxe). I’ve also purchased other flight simulators along the way including the most recent purchase–X-Plane 9 by Laminar Research.
Today, the realities of the economy have resulted in the job losses of many different corporations. This past week, Microsoft announced the layoffs of 5000 jobs in their company–including all developers of the Flight Simulator program. This has left a lot of doubt into the future of the Flight Simulator franchise. For me, it is somewhat of a concern, but I thank God that He remains in control of the situation. See, I don’t necessarily just consider flight simulating as a source of entertainment but, more importantly, as a tool to help me in my studies of aviation with future aspirations of obtaining my own pilot’s license and, with God’s grace and provision, as a tool to prepare me for ministry in the aviation field.
In closing, let me share with you a vision that I had a few months back as our church was discussing a recent mission trip to Nicaragua:
As we prayed for the nation of Nicaragua, I had a vision of a plane filled with supplies for different nations to take to distant lands–like Mexico or Nicaragua–possibly to deliver during the times when the different mission trips were held from our church. I feel that God could use me as an important tool for our church in delivering these essentials whether it would be food or supplies in a plane rather than having to make stops in Texas (by car) for these items. May God open these doors!
It is a dream and a vision that I’ve had for a while that has yet to dissipate for any reason–and it is my prayer that God would grant this dream in my life and for Him to open the doors to allow this to happen.
