Seems to me that if our country's politicians were actually concerned with getting a good turnout on election day, they'd move it to a holiday (or at least a Sunday) like every other democratic country in the world.

Seems to me that they're more concerned with control (getting the right people to vote).

If I were a programmer, I'd investigate writing a blog commenting system that is less linear and more spider-webby (yes, that's a word). Instead of putting one comment after the next every time, a user who wishes to comment on something would be able to select a phrase from the main text or from a previous comment then enter a comment for that selection. After submitting the new comment, the original main text or comment would then have some circled/highlighted words that are now hyperlinked to the new comments. The system would, of course, still accept linear comments ... but it would visually allow more complex conversations and tangental remarks to be automatically organized. It would be nice if comments that connect multiple original posts could also be linked to those as well.

"We are frail
We are fearfully and wonderfully made
Forged in the fires of human passion
Choking on the fumes of selfish rage
And with these our hells and our heavens
So few inches apart
We must be awfully small
And not as strong as we think we are."

-- Rich Mullins

It makes me sad that every time something catastrophic or controversial happens in the world, all I hear in the media is whining. "It's so-and-so's fault. Should've would've could've." Our response is not compassion ... it's blame.

Why do we feel such an insatiable need to pin the cause of everything on someone? Where does this pubescent attitude come from? Is it pride? Fear? Control? Are we really unable to comprehend the fact that many things are out of our comprehension? Are we really that selfish and cold in our hearts?

Have you ever noticed that parking lots, especially in stores where you use shopping carts, tend to slope away from the store? It gives me a feeling of relief as I leave the store with an easy-to-push cart (and as I sometimes jump on the back for a ride).

Sure, they might be sloped for drainage or code purposes, but I like to think that there's a retail designer somewhere who's doing it for psychological reasons ...

You guys are hilarious ... I just read the comments on the last couple of posts, and it felt just like I was walking into a room full of unsupervised middle schoolers.

[insert awkward glances and muted chuckles]

Here's the deal ... it's pretty simple. I don't have Internet access at home anymore, so any time online needs to be spent at school. But after getting up at 6am, doing teacher stuff all day, running cross country practice, and sometimes working at Apple in the evening, I rarely feel like sticking around at night just to post on my website or even return emails. The virtual life is novel but expendable. That's all.

For those of you who do care, I'm doing quite well. In the past month, I successfully navigated through both the 6th and 8th grade trips, most of cross country season, and a new year of re-written curriculum and administrative changes at school. We just started 6th grade cross country and are preparing for Districts/States and I'm finalizing details for a winter vacation cruise. I'll be starting my pursuit of a Master's in Education from Walden University in about 2 weeks ... and I'm starting to research the possibility of teaching overseas next year. Personally, I am striving to be faithful in all I do, content in who I am, reasonable in how I communicate, and reminded of how I'm blessed.

How's that for an update?