i'm having a lot of fun learning about this photography thing. my new camera is incredibly powerful, so much so that it's actually humbling me quite a bit ... its capabilities far exceed my own! but at least it's digital, so i can practice all i want!

i've been wanting to wipe this website clean for quite a while, but haven't wanted to take the time necessary to do so. i feel like i need to revamp the back end as well as the design, but i've been hesitant to do so because my technical knowledge is very limited (and because i'm simply cheap). i don't want to do something drastic, something i'll regret later on.

now i'm seriously considering wiping the current webeldotnet and creating a photoblog-centered site instead. doing so, however, would require that i install a more powerful back end ... probably something like movabletype. and doing that would require that i upgrade or transfer my web host ... meaning that i'd actually have to pay a monthly fee and sacrifice some of the conveniences i currently have. but it just might be worth it.

here are some photoblogs that are serving as inspirations for such a move ... a webeldotnet redesign would probably honor some of the aesthetic and functional features of many of these: brownglasses, aislefour, chromasia, food4eyes, apparentlynothing, groundglass, emptypictures, sensitivelight, shutterbabe, caitriona, makinghappy, greyexpectations, dailydoseofimagery, chromogenic, joecunningham, smudo, deceptivemedia, & dailysnap.

hmm. if only i cared passionately about this website ... that would make the decision easy. :)

After many sleepless nights, I have finally registered the domain earlobe.info. It will take 2-3 days before I can publish to that location, so in the meantime you can feed your insatiable need for earlobe information by going to this temporary Blogspot site.

What a week it has been ... full of recovery, adventure, mishap, opportunity, and nothing in particular. I'm sitting here in my parents' basement, glad to be on vacation once again for the next week or so.

The trip up here took 6 hours ... 2 more than it should have. The icy roads and slow traffic were compounded with the fact that Louie (my car) isn't feeling so well ... every time I'd take him above 55 he'd get the shivers. I couldn't isolate it to the wheels or engine, and most repair shops are closed today, so I just took it easy and drove 50mph the whole way up here. In a way, it was nice to relax and let everyone else pass me (I think I became a much more passive driver in the process), but 6 hours is entirely too long to be in the car. At least there was Christmas music on every radio station. :)

On Wednesday afternoon I drove out to Oxford to visit Amber. I intended to stay for 4-5 hours ... but didn't end up leaving until 30 hours later. Yep, we got snowed in. Long story short, Amber lives in the middle of nowhere, with a long uphill driveway, so when the storm came Wednesday afternoon, there was no escape. We got to know the neighbors pretty well (on long trips through the snow to borrow a shovel, etc), and after an hour or so of shoveling on Thursday, I started to wonder if I'd ever make it out of there. But we eventually were able to flag down a neighbor with a tractor and hire him to clear out the driveway. Quite an adventure, I tell ya.

I'm also sitting here waiting while the battery for my brand-new Nikon D70 charges. Needless to say, I'm totally pumped about getting this thing out and learning to take real photos. I've been studying up for months and the time has finally arrived! Sweet.

Now for the obligatory miscellaneous paragraph. My sister (Mona) and her family are coming out from Indianapolis on Monday, so I'll get to chill with Grace, Rachel, and Drewman. I once again forgot to bring slippers to my parents' house (the coldest floor on earth), and I'm currently leading my fantasy basketball league (that probably won't last long). Oh, and I still like orange juice (although pulp is slowly losing its appeal). Once again, my students and their families were incredibly generous this season ... I'll be living off of gift certificates for the next 6 months (that's a good thing). I laundered 9 loads of t-shirts last week. And I found a pair of jeans that I thought was missing 6 months ago (it was right on the shelf where it belongs).

One last thing ... my mom titled this post.

As I was sorting through a pile of papers a few minutes ago, I ran across an encouragement from a fantastically delicious 6th grader. I have to post it here so I don't forget it years from now:

Dear Mr. Webel,

Thank you for making the retreat possible. It was so fun. Your chapel was so meaningful, and I know you said like three times that you don't understand our Father's big Plan, but from what I heard last Friday you really do know what you're talking about, and God has really blessed you with an understanding that I sure don't have. It's so cool to also see that you are so eager to understand more. God seems to be revealing to you so much, and I want to be like that someday. i guess it's my age and imiturity that keeps me from all this knowlege but I'm going to work on it everyday.

Your student,
Anna (Bob)

And here's what she wrote in the Christmas card she gave to me:

Thank you for making every class meaningful, and for being a great teacher as well as friend!

Sincerely,
Anna (Bob)

It gives me so much delight to see young men and women grasping the eternal, to see them relating to God and longing to center their lives around Him. And it's such a blessing to hear that they see my heart as a teacher as well ... what more could I want?

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you.

My web host has just offered me free one-year registrations of two new domain names. I've got until December 30th to register them, and they've got to be .info domains. Problem is, I can't seem to find any good (silly) ideas for one-year websites, nor can I find any irresitible and available .info domains.

Got an idea? I may even give you the domain, if it's good enough!

If you live in a city or travel regularly, you probably face a unique dilemma quite often ... a homeless or seemingly destitute person asking you for money for food, travel, or family needs.

For years, I didn't really know how to deal with this. Yes, I want to be generous to people. No, I don't want to give based on my gut. Yes, I want to meet the practical needs of strangers. No, I don't want to support a drug dependency. Yes, I want to recognize that it's not mine to give in the first place. No, I don't want to second-guess the honesty and integrity of other people all the time.

Now I have an easy solution: I carry a few fast-food certificates in my wallet. The restaurants (McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King) are easy to find in any city, I've prepared and budgeted for those awkward moments, and I don't have to second-guess how the person will use the gift.

Is that Liz Meiser on the cover of the Kentucky Enquirer, praying at school in her PVM Superhero shirt?

"He never said much to us. You could tell he didn't have the energy, but he wouldn't say anything to us," said son Zak, who has stayed in Cincinnati to coach football and wrestling at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. "But I know this is going to be the best thing for him. I mean, what would he be doing back on the farm? Picking up manure?"

-- Zak Wyche (my school office-mate) on Bengals.com

The best thing about winter is not the snow. It's the cold.

You see, I just love warming myself up. Taking long hot baths, lighting up fireplaces, warming my clothes in the dryer, sipping hot chocolate, curling up under stacks of blankets ... it's simply glorious!

People keep telling me not to shop for groceries while I'm hungry. Presumably that makes you buy more ... but I disagree. When I'm hungry I want to get my stuff and get outta there so I can eat.

Sometimes I wish that the "special place in my heart" would just shrivel up and disappear. Why do old emotions have to well up? Why do I still have to care so much? Why does "the past" never truly pass?

Don't worry, I'm a six-year member of the Society for Barefoot Living.

Remember these? I used to post the successful (winners) and unsuccessful (whiners) searches that web surfers used to reach webeldotnet. My favorites this time around are in bold:

Winners

• webel.net
• webel
• Charles Barkley comments on PTI
• remote controlled draganfly
• PVM Staff Lounge (searched in India?!)
• vowelly girl
• swimming with a horse
• origin of phrase "clean your clock"
• jessica hunyady wedding
• lance webel
• lyrics to rachael webel
• billy mouth
• north college hill basketball
• bill walker north college hill
• Ga-yeon lee
• phrases for church marques
• webel
• OJ Mayo
• telling a girl you respect
• Linda Webel
• kyle neyer
• appliance direct commercial
• Lance WEbel
• lindner "faith hill"

Whiners

• www.webel stuff.com
• does a broken finger change colors?
• pics of sadam husain
• Basketball "still photos" artest
• webel flash
• director games lingo "duck hunt"
• anorexia
• contact sadom husane
• webel and bob
• dodgeball/elementary school
• where are computer shops near Gibraltar?
• spiral staircase
• social movements-poverty
• Paper (.wav)
• "to have a bad day" japanese phrases
• CLOWNING
• Charles Barkley "explorer" -Bas
• CUBICAL PRANK
• how long does it take a lizard to change colors?
• can you be born without a bellybutton?
• ben roethlisberger pictures and personal information
• Dilly sextuplets photographs
• bob and webel archives
• old eyes
• BEN ROETHLISBERGER TSHIRTS
• worksheet monty python holy grail
• it's gonna rock+idiom
• HOw much is renting a popcorn machine?
• who invented the zipline?
• where can i find the song about ben roethlisberger
• middle school christmas dance photos
• anagrams using only the letters abcdefg

At work we occasionally have sales contests to see if we can reach our goals or sell certain products. During the holiday season there's a contest (I don't think I can reveal the details) where a winning store gets to raffle off a 40 gig iPod Photo. And as of this morning, I was selected in the Kenwood raffle!

Isn't that crazy? It's not like I need it ... but I know that I'll use it. I take thousands of digital photos every summer for PVM, and the iPod Photo will greatly increase my ability to use and share those photos flexibly. But there's one problem ... I now have 3 iPods, 2 of which I am not allowed, by contract, to sell for another year.

But I will be selling my current 15 gig 3rd generation iPod with a slew of accessories (dock, 3 cases, remote, headphones, charger, firewire/dock cable, software, original packaging). I'm planning to eBay it, but if you or someone you know is looking to buy one this holiday season (as, it seems, half of America is), I'll give you first dibs (and I'll cut a good deal). It'd be nice not to have to play the online game and deal with the shipping and all that ... and if you're in the Cincinnati area, I'll even hand-deliver it!

When I grow up I'm gonna get a Jumbotron for my backyard.

I'm not sure how to spend my Tuesday evening. Want to decide for me? Here are the options:

• Go to the CHCA vs. North College Hill basketball game, featuring O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker (the nation's #1 and #3 sophomores).
  
• Go to the Lindner Christmas Party, featuring Faith Hill and lots of good food.
  
• Go to the 4Corners creative team meeting, featuring free dinner and the chance to dream big.

Why do we say that Jesus died on the cross? Are we afraid to say that he was killed? How about murdered? Isn't the fact that he was led and slaughtered pretty significant?

Earlier this week I found a new way to get to work that saves me about 3-5 minutes, depending on traffic. The only drawback? I have to pass Park's TaeKwonDo:



I snapped this photo as I passed this morning, and I still can't believe it. Even if Mr. Park doesn't know how to spell, wouldn't you think that the designer at the sign company would? And they even have this nice Flash website. Simply amazing.

The best plan for the day always looks like this:

         1. Work
         2. Play
         3. Rest

-- Rob Hall, CHCA Middle School Principal

I'm tired, but I don't want to go to bed yet. So I'm gonna type something ... whatever comes to mind.

You know ... it sometimes it amazes me that I live in the same city as Annie, James, Kourtney, and Julie, but I rarely hang out with them. They're simply fabulous people and they're only minutes away ... I really hope they don't take it personally. I do love them. But I've seen myself slowly morph into someone who really prizes my "lonely time" ... time spent winding down and settling internally. I used to feel the need to fill up every minute with people ... now I've learned to adjust to the seasons in my year and take them all in stride (until I trip and fall, that is).

It is interesting to note, however, how many gaping holes there are in my personality and abilities. Living on your own for an extended period of time starts to highlight those. For instance, I have a tendency to act (especially in type) with a judgemental knee-jerk reaction when presented with something that contradicts my line of thinking. Or how about my home lifestyle ... I have no desire to be creative there (decoration, cooking, correspondance), not only because I have to be creative all day at work but also because there's nobody with which I can share that creative process.



Look familiar? I fell for it. I even lied to my students.

Tonight I shaved my head. Not because I wanted to, but because halfway through my haircut I got tired and just wanted to finish. I'm also shopping for a nice digital camera ... I'll probably end up with a Nikon D70 with a couple of lenses, but I'm doing a lot of careful research first. I'm still monitoring eBay for that RC helicopter. And my search for a home is continuing ... I've narrowed it down to a few choice communities and expanded it to include multi-family homes too. I beat a group of 5th grade girls in knockout today (twice) but lost to one in chess yesterday. Oh ... but then I beat her in 3 moves in the next game. I've been living on a diet of frozen chicken wings and Ritz cracker sandwiches for about two weeks and Louie really needs a bath.

And I need to go to sleep. Goodnight.