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A Little Soggy, But Free!

Want a free pair of Nike shoes? If you can get to the west coast and find a matching pair, they're all yours! Check it out!

Quotation of the Day

I link, therefore I'm spammed.

--Lance Webel, webeldotnet

Hi, Ate Us!

I'm going to be out of town for a few days, and I'm not really sure if I'll be online at all, so I apologize in advance for leaving any threads of discussion hanging out there. I'll be attending the CCI-USA Ohio Chapter Conference up in Massillon, Ohio. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

Uh-huh.

Virtually M$

Microsoft Corp. has acquired the Virtual Machine assets of Connectix Corporation. Most notably, Connectix is the maker of VirtualPC, a program that allows Mac users to load Windows (and run all of that software) right on their Mac. This has long been a mainstay of the Mac's superior abilities ... we can easily run any Windoze application, but they cannot even begin to be able to run a MacOS). Now the future is uncertain.

Of course, Microsoft now has total control over this sector of the market (and they'll probably do their screwy invasion of privacy thing once again), but is that a good or a bad thing? Will that cause more people to just give up the Windoze cause and migrate to OSX altogether? Or does this just mean that well-minded people wanting to use Macs but needing peecees for select applications (usually something they've already purchased or something for work) will be hesitant about using the Mac in the first place? Probably the latter, I fear.

Here's a quotation from Microsoft's press release by Bill Veghte, corporate vice president of the Windows Server Group at Microsoft:

"Our customers told us they wanted a best-of-breed virtual machine solution that enables them to run their legacy Windows applications, even as they migrate to more modern operating system technology."

I couldn't have described it better myself ... "even as they migrate to more modern operating system technology." Good thing you guys can just buy up whatever you want, M$.

webel.cjb.net

I just found out that several of you are visiting this site through webel.cjb.net ... if you are, can you please update your links/bookmarks? The real web address is just webel.net ... and the webel.cjb.net (which I used to use a couple of years ago) throws advertisements (pop under ads) behind my website. Me no likey ads.

My Little Rant.

Sometimes I get just so absolutely tired of technology. Wait a second, let me rephrase that. Sometimes I get so absolutely tired from technology. It's exhausting to always be keeping up, not just because everything is always changing, but because so much of technology is staying the same. I love keeping current with new gadgets and software that comes out, but fixing the old is starting to wear me out.

Don't get me wrong ... I don't mind using computers ... in fact, I love it. I love little personal projects, like this website, where I can creatively and analytically control little microcosms of creation and communication. But when it comes to making everybody else's junk work correctly, it just starts getting old. And a lot of the novelty I had last year (ooh, look what this new computer dude can do) is really starting to wear off and people at school are starting to expect certain things. I can't stand that word ... the dirty "e" word.

We have about 250-300 computers in the middle school that I'm responsible for keeping running ... sure, I'm not the final technician for all of our problems, but I'm the go-to guy, the first line of defense. Juggling that and teaching 20 classes, making purchase orders, managing the computer lab, training myself (and teachers), and simply keeping up with new technology really fills up the schedule (and wears me down emotionally). Today I actually felt myself at a point where I honestly wanted to cry. You know that feeling where you can sense tears welling up in the glands behind your eyes? That was me.

When this summer comes and I get to live outside 24/7, spending about an hour per week on the computer (exactly the opposite of now), I will be so thankful. And when I do use a computer, most of the time I'll be able to use my streamlined little iBook, producing videos, slideshows, websites, audio cd's, and d.j.ing parties on the fly. And I won't have to fix one thing. Amen to that.

Huh?

I snapped this picture last week while waiting at a stop light.

Does anybody know what an "Exempt Crossing" is? It was one of those totally confusing moments where it made me do a double take (and then grab my camera).

It just sounds weird to me ... like accidents at this intersection are non-taxable or something. Any ideas?

Now That's Grace

Yesterday I got to tinkering with the code and look of this site, not realizing the deadly peril I was getting myself into. I love doing this stuff, and it can literally consume my day if I'm not careful. I ended up not being satisfied until 2:30 in the morning (and you can tell that the changes were relatively minor). It's a total disease ... and I ended up not getting to bed until 3am because of it. My lesson plan for today wasn't even complete yet (I was counting on my planning bell first period) and I didn't even start working on that presentation on web design for for next week's CCI conference.

I awoke this morning and somehow had the wherewithall to call the Snowday Hotline (a nifty service that the local PBS radio station offers to inform people of snowdays ... the number is 513.784.6837 fyi) ... and I found that school had been cancelled! Halelujah! I could sleep to a reasonable hour, come in to school and finish up the camp packets that will be passed out to 1500 students tomorrow, tinker a little more with the site, round out my lesson plan, and get started on the CCI presentation.

Oh, and I get to wear my bibs as well. Osh Kosh B'Gosh!

Bloogle!

Google has purchased Blogger! Although that may sound like absolute nonsense to most of the world, it could be extremely significant. According to this Yahoo news article, Pyra Labs (who created and maintain Blogger) has been aquired by the best search engine around, Google. I use Blogger for my own website, which you're reading, and I'm very interested to see how this might affect their service and interface. Google is traditionally quite minimalist, with a smart and fast infrastructure. But they've been expanding to include news services, Usenet groups, and quite an impressive list of job perks. What does the future hold?

Quotation of the Day

"I don't have the first clue who he is talking about, because all I worry about is Jerome."

-- Seattle SuperSonics center Jerome James, responding to coach Nate McMillan's charges that he is selfish

A Few More Details

Yesterday I cut a cd for this coming summer's camp season. All of the songs reflect either our theme (SuperHeroes) or the general theme of summercamp. The songs will be used in videos, at camp parties, and by counselors who are trying to convey messages to campers. Here's what we've got cooking:

God-Man (Jesus Is My Superhero), by Cadet
Hero, by Superchic[k]
Superman Soup, by Buck Enterprises
Superhero, by Flight 180
Original, by Superman Pillar
Summertime, by Audio Adrenaline
Superpowers, by Five Iron Frenzy
Playground, by Plankeye
Supernatural, by dc Talk
I Need A Hero, by Chris Rice
age six racer, by Dashboard Confessional
Superhero Slim-Down Remix, by Veggie Tales

And today I took a major step in my process of gradual domestication. I finally became convicted by the scripture that says, "Man cannot live on microwavable food alone" (or something like that), so I went out and bought a toaster oven. Being the frugal Webel I am, I shopped all over for this thing ... at Target, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Sears, Home Depot, hhgregg, you name it. The major requirements were:

1. It had to be quality.
2. It had to be inexpensive.
3. It had to fit a medium-sized pizza in it.

I finally found my toaster oven ... a 6 slice wonder that was only $39.99 at Meijer's. And boy can this thing cook ... it's one step short of that machine that made meals on the Jetsons. I also sprang for an electric range ... one of those single-coiled dilly-o's, but I don't know if I'll end up keeping this. My one fatal error was forgetting the coupon that the Post Office sent me (when I moved for the 5th time this year) for a free $10 Meijer gift card with any purchase of $50 or more. So tomorrow I'm gonna take the items back and buy them again to get the gift card. Hey, you can't beat a free $10, especially if it can be used on gasoline! And with our current global situation, that's almost a full two gallons!

Yesterday Steph and Amber came to visit ... it was great to have some guests in my new apartment. It was kinda hard to tell what they thought of the place ... I'll readily admit that it's not your "normal" dwelling ... but I still think it rocks. We had dinner, learned about carbohydrates, watched Men In Black II, stapled about 1,200 brochures, washed my towels (a la The Lonely Guy ... interestingly, I just found out that there is a movie with the same name starring Steve Martin), burnt everything we could in the fireplace, and shot rubberbands at each other. I'd say it was a pretty productive evening.

I'm supposed to be presenting at the 2003 Christian Camping International Ohio Section Conference next week. As you can see on this page, my presentation is entitled "Designing the Ultimate Internet Experience." That's news to me (it's also news to me that my name is spelled Lance Woeble). A few months back David (PVM's camp director) asked me if I'd like to talk a little bit about our website at this conference. I obliged ... and now I have to put something worthwhile together. Tomorrow. I don't think I have the heart to do anything worthwhile today.

Except watching Le Fabuleux destin d'Am�lie Poulain. That was well worth it. It's filled with suprising visual, thematic, and miscellaneous twists and joys, revealing both reality and fantasy (and the importance of both). Sure, it ultimately is a feel-good rose-tinted foreign date movie, but it's also a call-to-arms for artists, dreamers, do-gooders, and the insecure. I enjoyed it, and I look forward to watching the special features (I love DVD's) tomorrow, cuddled up in my pink bowl chair with a ton of blankets and a freshly-toasted ham and cheese sandwich.

Ok, I'm going to go to a public place and walk around a little more, pretending that I'm looking at inanimate objects (while secretly watching the people who really are looking at inanimate objects. He he he ...

Quotation of the Day:

We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.
-- Winston Churchill

Slippadeedoodah!

So I'm smack-dab in the middle of a long weekend. It's been a fun one. Cincinnati is currently iced over ... if you're anywhere in this area, you know what I'm talking about. I spent 3 hours this morning looking for an excuse to drive around the city. It's so much fun to drive Louie on the ice! Doughnuts in parking lots, skidding around corners, guessing how much you'll slide in each direction.

This morning I went to Hope Church up in Mason to catch the 10:40 sermon. I arrive to find an empty parking lot and a minivan exiting, the driver laughing to me like he just discovered the same cruel joke I did ... church was cancelled. So I resigned to 10 minutes of backwards doughnuts (that's what you do in front-wheel-drive vehicles) in the parking lot to AudioA's Summertime. I then went out shopping for some kitchen goods (more on that later) before heading to Tri-County for the Vineyard service at 11:30. I got stuck in my parking spot at first. This dude that was trying to help me out ended up getting sprayed by my spinning front tires when I finally caught some friction ... and we both burst into laughter. I'm glad he was that kinda guy.

My Beloved Blog

In the last few days, I can count at least twenty or thirty times that I've had an inspiration for a blog entry ... an amusing picture I snapped; an interesting observation about the people around me; a great quotation; one of life's little awkward moments. Five minutes ago, as I jumped in the car to head to my Internet access point (my classroom), I had a startling revelation:

I'm practicing for marriage.

One of these days I'll be turning to my beloved to tell her these all-important intricacies. We'll share each moment, if not together then in retrospect. We'll know each other. We'll be one.

I'd better keep practicing, I'm not very good at this yet.

I'll Take That.

My Valentine

I only got one valentine this year, from a sweet little 5th grader. Here it is:





I keep telling myself that being liked as much as dog food is a good thing.

I Love Yogurt.

I am a firm believer in the fact that yogurt is one of the best preventative medicines ever invented. Eat yogurt once a day and you'll keep the sickness away, that's what I always say. Some people would say that yogurt is gross or disgusting. You know what I say? I say that's awesome ... because that means MORE YOGURT FOR ME!

Avalanche!

I had something funny happen this afternoon. Come lunchtime, I had a hankering for some fresh fried chicken (mmm, fried chicken), so I ran to my car to head over to the supermarket. Much to my surprise, Louie (my car) was covered in snow ... about 3 inches worth. So I brush off the door, jump in, and start the windshield wipers. The back wiper has no problem, but the front wiper has too much weight to push off so it gets stuck. I waited a minute, to no avail ... so I had to get out of the car to "help" the wiper along. Of course, just as I open the door, the front wipers get a sudden jolt of energy, thrusting the snow off of my windshield and right into my car. Yep, I had 5 inches of snow on my seat and floor to clean off. Good thing it melts into water ...

Oooh, click on me!

Take a Deep Breath

This morning I woke up completely groggy, unaccustomed to getting up so early for school (it's been 9 days since I've taught). Once I walked outside, however, I became immediately alert. It wasn't just the freezing cold air that hit my face ... it was the view.

You see, my new apartment faces the woods. Nothing extraordinary, just a regular group of trees nestled between neighborhoods. But this morning it was absolutely pristine ... the snow had freshly fallen, covering each individual branch with a gentle inch-high blanket of white. I seriously had to sit there for a few minutes just taking it in. Some people wonder why I like living in Ohio ... it's because of mornings like these.

Hopefully I'll get the chance to get out and take some pictures this afternoon ... I'll be sure to post them here if I do.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Julia Takes a Chance.

As Dumb as a Fencepost

Call me crazy, but I think that this is a little out of hand. I honestly have no idea what is running though these people's heads.

"She appeared to comfort Australians worried about a possible war in Iraq."

Really? That must be some shadow.

An A Plus What?

Believe it or not, I'm not too big on grades. I'm not going to get into it here ... but let me just say that you get what you deserve in my class (and most of the kids deserve a good grade). Still, this past semester was rather tough ... report cards went out last week and I had more than a few students who performed below their potential or didn't show much effort.

Here's the funny thing, though ... almost all of my parent/teacher conferences (I only had about 2% of parents request one) were for kids who had A's or high B's. Maybe they had a 92% instead of last quarter's 98%. Or maybe the parent was "just checking in to make sure." I think it's great ... the parents and families are so involved, and they care enough to want to spend time reinforcing the good as well as the bad. Sure, they don't all understand that a C is average and a B is above average (not failing), but I think it's wonderful that they care so much about what their child is involved in every day.

At least it's not like this!

Think About it Before You Call Me Insensitive.

I think it's high time we get rid of NASA. We're calling those seven people heros. Why? Because they willingly threw themselves in front of a speeding bullet aimed at an innocent child? Because they've spent their lives fighting for justice and peace? No, because we're embarrassed.

That's right, we're embarrassed to admit that what NASA does is not worth it, and unless if we dramatize and memorialize huge failures like this, the dumbed-down public is going to figure it out. Just think about it ... it costs $600 million just to launch a space shuttle once.