Anybody know of any "must-see" places to visit in the Boston/New England area? As of now, the itinerary for our little road trip is pretty wide-open ...

Every once-in-awhile we have a very talented artist pass through our school. I think I'm going to start a collection ... I'll commission that artist to create a 24" square wall-hanging (their choice of materials/medium) by the end of their 8th grade year. I'll pay them a fair amount (enough to encourage a quality product and also encourage their artistic aspirations). Here's the prompt:

Create a visual depiction of salvation.

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

-- Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)

Whew ... this week has been quite a ride. I'm gonna go with bullet-points:

• Grades were due on Thursday ... I have 400 students, 200 of whom had a huge project that simply took forever to grade. But I'm happy to say that it's done and turned in (even though I'll probably have more parent/teacher conferences than ever before this quarter).
• We're nearing the end of our counselor-hiring process for camp. We've had some incredible applicants, and we're really seeing God step in and answer our prayers with the people He's providing. If you're at all involved, pray that God will provide a media specialist (for photos, video, and/or web) and a rock climbing instructor. I'm sure He has something up His sleeve.
• Our first track meets are on Tuesday and Thursday, so this week was a whirlwind (talk about multi-tasking) ... I was timing and testing all our kids in different events, teaching some kids high jump and hurdles for the first time, covering for my assistant coach (Jason has been sick), helping the runners understand just how a track meet works, quoting out and ordering sweatshirts for the team, and trying to place the kids in the appropriate events for the upcoming meets. The boys' team is overloaded, so I'm trying to give them all a fair amount of events, while the girls' team is short-handed, forcing me to stretch what we've got. Setting it all up is like a fantasy sport ... for reals.
• Speaking of which, my fantasy basketball season is on the brink. I'm in first place heading into the last 2 weeks ... three of my stars are playing lousily (if that's a word), but I'm pretty confident that I can hold on. And my NCAA bracket is still doing fairly well. I've lost a lot of little battles, but all of my final four teams are still in the hunt (update: I'm now in the 89th percentile). If only Georgia Tech can hold on against Kansas without B.J. Elder ...
• Spring Break starts in a week ... Amber, Matt, maybe Sarah, and I will be taking a little road trip through New York (Steph's house), Boston (Therese's place), Maine or New Hampshire, and maybe New York City (with a possible visit to my sister in NJ and another surprise stop on the way back). Yeah, much of the itinerary is still undecided (that's what makes it a road trip), but it's going to be a blast, that's for sure. Bring on the memories!
• Today I'm planning to clean up my room, bathroom, office, and classroom. I'm also going to be finishing up some curriculum to turn into the higher-ups, putting together my lesson plans for Wednesday (I'll be taking a professional day), and finishing up those track line-ups. My body is thankful for the weekend off ... it was utterly exhausted this morning when I tried to wake it up. And it's so lovely to be sitting outside in a t-shirt and shorts ... what a lovely day.
• Speaking of which, I'm outta here.

It's strange to read these sort of responses to a movie:

• "It was the dumbest thing we've ever done."
• "And he sort of urged [the detective] to see the movie too."
• "He felt in order for him to have redemption he would have to confess his sin."

I just noticed something that I've never really thought about before ... our entire school (minus the gym and cafeteria) is carpeted. That's sweet.

For some reason, I just feel like making a list of the top ten voices in Christian music today, ranked for creativity, Truth, aesthetics, and relevance.

10. Michael Card
9. Tree63
8. Nicole Nordeman
7. Verbs
6. Caedmon's Call
5. Five Iron Frenzy
4. Switchfoot
3. Chris Rice
2. Thousand Foot Krutch
1. Superchick

I don't really want to explain or justify these (maybe in the comments), but if you're unfamiliar with any of them I'd obviously recommend giving them a listen.

This week has been Teacher Appreciation Week. In other words, there have been amazing free lunches for all the faculty in our newly redecorated staff lounge. It's awesome, and I'm eating more food this week than I have in the entire month before this week. It's good stuff ... we have some wonderful families and parents, I tell ya. In fact, anyone that can cook (and share it with me) is wonderful.

On top of that, tomorrow we're supposed to wear something to support our favorite college (in honor of March Madness) ... so I get to wear some of the most comfortable clothes imaginable. I'm really looking forward to that (dress pants and collared shirts have been getting really old lately).

Oh ... and tomorrow night we have one of the funnest socials of the year, the Polaroid Scavenger Hunt. I'll be driving four eighth graders all around Cincinnati in search of creative places/subjects for their limited polaroid photos (if Louie's new tires come in, that is). Bring it.

In other news, my NCAA Tournament bracket isn't doing so well as of now. As of this moment, I'm 9/12 (but one of the losers, Charlotte, was supposed to win the next round too) ... that puts me in the 29th percentile on Yahoo. But there's still hope ... as long as Connecticut can really step it up and start crushing the competition. :)

Yesterday I was a little overwhelmed with the amount of work I have building up at school, so I broke down and wrote an email to a couple of my "bosses." Here is an edited version:

guys,

I've been here until at least 7 or 8pm every day the past couple of weeks trying to stay current with all the stuff that's going on here at school, but I'm finding that I'm falling way behind. There are many administrative forms, teacher-type-things, old emails, and nagging tech problems in the lab that I am simply not getting done because all of my free hours are booked (yes, those pesky "classes") and my brain is constantly pulled in 13 directions.

[blah blah blah] ...

lance

ps - Hopefully you guys know me well enough to know that I'm not normally a "complainer" (Phil. 2:14-15) ... I'm just trying to be honest about what I can and cannot handle. It's seeped into my personal life as well. My mail, email, and laundry are piling up, and my car insurance expired on January 17th (I haven't even had the chance to get quotes on new insurance yet). Something's gotta give ... hopefully that something is not my brakes. :)

I will never cease to be amused by God's sense of humor ... he heard my cry and he decided to mess with me. You see, I ran over a screw and had a flat tire today (my brakes are fine), stranding me at school and giving me time to call my car insurance company and finish a whole bunch of that extra work.

Hardy har har, God.

Nathaniel, Jesslyn, Caleb, Jakob, and Ilona
The nephews & neices (clockwise from the yellow hat)

I just found an old signature that makes me happy:

---
           '''
          (o o)
  +-oOOO---(_)---------+
  |   Lance A. Webel   |
  |  lance@webel.net   |
  |  http://webel.net  |
  | aolIM:  LanceUhLot |
  +-------------oOOO---+
         |__|__|
          || ||
         ooO Ooo

Winners
   8 queens of death
   oj mayo
   north college hill- oj mayo
* "This Holiday Life" Superstar
    facts about filming the passion of the christ
   webel
   BW3's +what are the three w's
* "john perkins" bio +reconciliation
* what color was coca-cola originally supposed to be?
   lance webel
   lpsci
   James Caviezel lightening
  actor hit by lightening
  Jim Caviezel gets hit with whip
* what is the average velocity of an unladen swallow?
* what does idealism look like in the classroom?
  bw3 3 w's
  I want to sing of your mercy
  OJ Mayo North College Hill Basketball

Whiners
* choir weilding
* chinese buffet yonker
   the passion of the christ mpeg
   download dance dance revolution playstations
   school christmas dance pictures
* mel gibson and plastic surgury
   JAMES
   hhgregg coupon
   www.webeluncnts.com
   "passion of the christ" font download
   mall chrystler suzuki
   webel and bob
* ethan hawk wearing socks
  passion of the christ graphics
  picture of Oj Mayo
* "open mic" + "bonita springs"
  center verse bible powerpoint
  webel, tim
* connectix server not found
  webel and bob

   * my favorite searches

ebay is a poorly designed website ... few people will argue with that. One look at the front page shows a hodgepodge of colors, font sizes, information sources, and navigational systems. It can take dozens of clicks to get where you want to be, and managing a user account (selling or buying) can get extremely confusing. Even so, people seem to have a pretty high tolerance, simply because they want results.

Or maybe not. What if the designers purposefully made ebay ugly to reflect the rough, consumer-driven, eclectic feel of a flea market? What if ebay is succeeding because of its bad design? That's what NBS proposes. Read it ... it's fascinating (if you care about stuff like this).

Moreover, Pixelcharmer says that it works in music stores, atomiq compares good design to successful design, and Peter has some tangental thoughts about how failure promotes innovation. Even the champion of simplicity in web design, Kottke, jumps into the fray by suggesting that ebay needs to clean ship.

These people are really smart. Way smarter than me. All I know is that I can't even bring myself to read the New York Times (especially in print) because it's so unbelievably ugly. I guess I'm one of the few consumers who notice and care about aesthetics. Good thing I don't have to design for the masses.

The Lord of the Dance [adapted]
Steven Curtis Chapman

We have a heart, You are the heartbeat.
We have eyes, You are the sight.
And I see clearly:
We are just Your body, You are the life.

We move our feet, we go through the motions,
But You give purpose to chance ...
We are the dancer,
You are the Lord of the dance.

Alright, it's time for a little rant on modern worship.

Sing A Song
Third Day

I want to sing a song for You, Lord
Lord, for You I want to sing a song
And I want to lift my voice to Heaven
And listen to the angels sing along

A song of Your faithfulness
A song of Your grace
And of Your loving kindness
To the glory of your name
With everything that's in me
Listen to me say
I want to sing a song for You
I want to sing a song

I want to live my life for You, Lord
Lord, for You I want to live my life
I want to praise the name of Jesus
Pray above all things You're glorified

A song of Your faithfulness
A song of Your grace
And of Your loving kindness
To the glory of your name
With everything that's in me
Listen to me say
I want to sing a song for You
I want to sing a song

And I sing about Your mercy
And I sing about Your love
Your goodness, Lord
Your righteousness
I want to sing....

And we'll sing holy, holy, holy
We'll sing holy, holy, holy
We'll shout holy, holy, holy
Are You Lord almighty

Yes, You are Lord

I don't understand this worship chorus. Sure ... it's catchy, it has a groovy beat, and you can bug out to it. But it doesn't make any sense. I feel like a redundant fool when I sing it.

Think about it ... singing a song that repeatedly says "I want to sing a song." Does that mean that I don't realize that I'm already singing? Does that mean that wanting to sing that song is more important than actually singing it? What's the point? It sounds like something Andy Kaufman would make his audience sing.

Does anyone that sings or leads this song actually think about the lyrics? My hunch is that they don't. It's indicative of most modern "worship" ... there is no brain activity involved, we simply drone on and on without genuine dialogue with the Holy (the point of worship in the first place). We're more concerned with the fact that we're singing (or how we're singing) than the message we're actually communicating.

Instead of singing "I want to life my life for you Lord," shouldn't we just shut up and demonstrate that desire by actually living our life for him? We sound like the Pharisees, droning on and on about nothing at all. Just listen to what Jesus had to say to them:

"Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written, 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."

-- Mark 7:6-8

I know ... my words are a little harsh. But when I use the word "we" I'm including myself. I'm questioning this stuff.

If you have a couple minutes, this BBC article is a really interesting read. It chronicles the past couple of decades of security scares at the White House, as well as some of the details of how they've been prevented and dealt with.

And if you just can't get enough, this website is crammed full of even more stories, details, and links. Check it, yo.

Lance,

I don't know if a 43 year old dad can use the vernacular "very cool" but that's what I thought of your comments on your site and on the PVM site.

Got the flyer on PVM last week which led to your site. Katie thought both were "very cool" and of course wants me to sign her up for horse camp. How can I refuse?

I just want you to know how encouraging it is for me to know there are teachers and camp counselors to help parents wage the cultural war raging against our children today. When I found out you were one of Katie's teachers I just wanted to communicate how grateful I am for people like you to bridge the generation gap I see developing as Katie enters the teen years. Her seeing a "cool guy" like you who loves the Lord goes a long way making that bridge. Again, thanks for your stand for Christ and our kids.

Best regards,
Karl

Karl,

That's really exciting to hear that Katie will be coming out to horse camp this year ... she's such a wonderful girl who always seems to be bringing life and smiles to everyone around her. I hope she has a pleasant experience (no pun intended) this summer. And of course you can use that phrase ... these kids think they have something proprietary going on, but they don't really how "very cool" we are too. :)

I agree with you wholeheartedly ... this culture is one that preys on our children, enticing them with candy-coated emptiness all the time. In our youth we see less and less understanding of the Gospel or of Christ Himself and more and more need for "entertainment." And it seems that the church (in America) is taking the wrong approach when trying to communicate Christ's relevance to them ... it's trying to do things the world's way, adding sugar coating without anything inside. They don't realize that this generation is no different than their own ... these kids need a Savior (redemption), a Father (compassion), and a Banner (lordship) as much as their parents do. They need a DEPTH to their relationship with the Holy.

My hope is that Pleasant Vineyard can continue to be relevant in a real and robust way, that we can bust open the chains on their hearts and overfill them with nothing less than Christ Himself. May He take up residence in Katie as well, bringing her a hope and life and purpose that is nothing short of eternal.

only by grace,
lance

I ran out of gas once this year, so I got one of those plastic gasoline cans to keep in my trunk. As a result, however, my car has a faint smell of gasoline that drives me crazy. I'm pretty sure that it's not open or leaking.

Should I remove the gas can? If I do, I know I'll run out of gas again. Help solve this quandry!

Just a heads-up ... my posts will probably be rather sporadic the next week or so. Track season started on Monday, so I'm spending quite a bit of time organizing, communicating, and running practices with 30-40 runners/families. I'm also smack in the middle of staff interviews for camp, each of which takes a couple of hours ... so things are pretty hectic. On top of that, I'm running with my runners, so I've been pretty physically exhausted as my muscles and lungs get used to actually doing something useful.

Contrary to popular belief, however, I'm finding that having a lot of things to do is simply making me more efficient. Work that has been on the back burner for months is just flowing out, and I'm finding some creative and innovative solutions to nagging problems that are surprising even me. I'm getting some discipline back into my life ... so even though there's more going on, I think I'm starting to live a healthier lifestyle.

When you exercise, you get stronger ... when you stretch, you get more flexible. It's neat to live out the allegory in my personal life while I'm teaching it to my track team.

This morning I was having trouble waking up, so I opened my computer and just started randomly clicking through blogrolls just to look at the designs. I clicked on Unquenchable, then jeffersonair, then We Like Stuff, then Julia E, and finally mattgrace. Naturally, I expected to get farther and farther away from the familiar with each click.

When I started reading Matt's post, however, I found out that an old college friend, Griffin House, is apparently performing in Nashville. I can still hear hints of Daniel Pettys and Ezra Wimberly in his music ... but wow, his sound has really matured a lot and seemingly found a really cozy balance, a la David Gray.

Nice seeing you, Griffin ... and thanks for the song. Yeah, I'll buy your CD ... just get out of my bedroom so I can go shower.

:)

If you're going to be a burglar, don't shoot yourself in the foot. If you just can't help it, however, at least make sure not to walk home after the burglary. Bloody feet, you see, leave footprints.

Winners
* girls teen summercamp
   gonal f Sextuplets
   lance webel
   James Caviezel hit by lightening
* "the 8 queens of death"
   webel stuff
   facts about The Passion of the Christ
   webel
   Oj mayo articles
* "mark killian" lord of the rings
   keith hanselman, sextuplets
* "communicating with tact and diplomacy"
   OJ Mayo
   north college hill oj mayo
* piratecore

Whiners
   trailer "passion of christ" mpeg
   video store's now hiring
   oj mayo picture
*  the fastest denture lab in Cincinnati
   www.webel -India.com
   OJ Mayo bio
   what does scatter stones mean?
* who invented the toothbrush?
* dentist cavities weblog fillings
* edumacate etymology
   nextel headsets coaching
* first item ever sold on "ebay"
   oj mayo website
   passion of the christ font

   * my favorite searches

I just read an article on Wired about a concept car from Toyota that almost made me cheer. I've been talking to people for a couple years now about some of the changes the car proposes ... I think they make sense (and simply move us out of the 1900's). Here's a taste:

• The car uses a "smartcard" that not only turns the car on, but also stores driver preferences (seat, steering wheel, temperature, etc) and driving records.
• The car will limit the power/speed it uses depending on the driver's record and shut down when a driver with a suspended license tries to drive it.
• The speed limit is displayed directly on the speedometer (from a transponder on the highway).
• A GPS system lets the driver know where his friends are.
• The license plate will display information about the driver, not the car.

Some would say that this sort of thing is "creepy" ... infringing on privacy and such. But it makes sense to me ... I'd love it if my car would automatically prevent a thief from driving it. It'd be great if it kept me accountable for the law, and when a friend speeds with my car it shouldn't mail me the ticket. Good stuff.

The longer I teach, the more I become certain that I'm going to get in trouble for doing something like this.

At least I'll have another good story.

Remind me not to win the lotto.