Here’s a quick unscientific poll:
This is my Monday morning desktop. Note the 5 on that venti – extra shot added to increase efficacy.
Other than attempted kidney failure, what does the picture represent?
Is this determination? (I will get things done today!)
OR
Is this desperation? (I might survive; it’s Monday.)
What say you, dear reader?
Sort of related to the last post…
When on a strict diet, and you’re willing to go to the Pho restaurant down the hill to get the wifey a delicious cashew chicken, knowing you can’t partake in the fabulous Mongolian Beef, but instead have a plate of vegetables and maybe some Weight Watchers low-calorie pretend food waiting…
Well, that has to be true love.
Note to self:
Late night starts to viewing the newly-released season of Game of Thrones are a huge mistake.
Why?
“WHAAAT? They can’t end the episode THERE! We have to watch the next one! …it’s only…”
*check watch*
“2 AM.”
Three hours of sleep sounds pretty healthy, right?
Ugh.
If I’m a White Walker at work today, please don’t set me on fire.
Since I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night, I am hoping that this story magically ends well, the way it always does in their commercials.
I watched my computer restart after it froze. The familiar Windows startup screen appeared, then the screen blanked and blacked out. But there in the split second between hope and despair, I saw it:
The blue screen of death.
(image from os2museum.com because maybe I can blame Bill Gates for this)
After multiple attempts at startup recovery, my computer tells me the hard disk is bad.
A few recovery options presented themselves after that terminal diagnosis… placebos and experimental procedures, things to try when none of the traditional options help. One diagnostic test is running now.
And all I can think is, “How much have I lost?”
I have an external drive for backup storage, but I haven’t kept it up to date. It has some documents salvaged from previous laptops, which perished on long temporary duty trips or were disabled by lapses of judgment.
It’s tax season, I have my W-2, and I want to get onto Turbo Tax to get that refund. Last year’s taxes PDF? Probably gone.
(I’m an email packrat and I probably have the document in my inbox still.)
Movies and music purchased off iTunes? Some are saved on the external drive, but I should be able to download anything lost.
Writing projects? Some snippets from this year might be gone forever, but long-term notes and projects are mostly stored on my drive.
You’d think I would have learned from the great iCloud disaster of 2013 when my wife and I weren’t in sync about how that storage method worked. Literally every document I had in Pages was deleted due to misunderstanding. Apple Support was extremely polite and helpful, except for the actually recovering deleted documents part.
Program files, games I’ve purchased, those can be reinstalled as long as I can find access keys or disks. World of Warcraft mods can be downloaded and plugged in again. (Thank goodness for Steam. I can log in and presto, everything is back.)
None of these losses are huge.
“My Pictures” – that’s the loss that stings. I know there are plenty of photos on my Facebook account, and some older pictures are saved on that external drive. But there are several months of iPhone pics and videos saved onto the laptop which I will probably never get back. Months of memories. Special moments that maybe weren’t “ready for prime time” on social media, but were important enough to snap a picture for posterity. Videos of kids being silly, or pet fish that have passed on since then.
Those images, like the moments they captured, are preserved only in memories.
And sadly, our biological memory storage systems are just as prone to loss.
The old computer programming adage is still true, though slightly modified. “Save early, save often.”
Reading this, I realized no one told me this was what to expect as a new parent. My wife and I would have similar transcripts if our first dates (and some recent ones) were recorded.
I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
This is so true. From my military experience as a fatty, I’ve seen authority figures who think they’re helping by heaping abuse, and I’ve seen leaders – actual people who lead others – that take the time to come alongside, support, and encourage.
“Why don’t you put down the fork?” is decidedly less motivational than “Come out with me, let’s work on your run time together. I’ve got a fun workout that is going to suck for both of us, but you’re going to feel stronger when it’s over, I promise.”
“The standards are clear, and if you can’t hack it, there’s the door” may be accurate. But my friends who 1) stop me from shaming myself, 2) refuse to add shame, and 3) challenge me to do better by 4) providing actual support in person — those are the influences that make the difference.
I get my cast off in a week. I can’t wait to get back to working out. (I say that now.)
Yeah I go to Target for my Starbucks. Oh, the ambience of this coffee-house slash superstore.
Where else can I get an Americano venti five-shot along with a 27-roll pack of Scott’s?
I spent some time in my actual favorite coffee shop today, and that’s what inspired my poem (see Taking Root from earlier today).
What’s your favorite place to get coffee, and what’s your favorite drink?
I’ve said before, it’s pretty clear the culture knows (and dislikes) what Scripture says about homosexual activity. What our culture doesn’t know well enough is expressions of henuine love for the marginalized. We need to see more hands reaching to grab someone on the brink than fingers pointing telling them to go jump off.
This may be controversial. I hope it makes an reader think. I’d love to hear some of those thoughts – agree or disagree – because conversation is how we learn and grow, and how we show one another that “You are important, you matter to me, you are loved.”
IF you haven’t gotten sick of thoughts about Phil Robertson’s comments about homosexuality, read this. It’s lengthy but imho absolutely spot on… since my short rant didn’t completely express how I feel.
This morning, my wife and children joined me in the earliest showing of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The important question, the first one my friends asked: “Was it worth it?”
Yes, Precious, yesss…
Smaug fixed much of what I saw as flaws in the first film.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but An Unexpected Journey was certainly not what I expected. The emphasis on humor, the frenetic pace from one seemingly unconnected peril to the next, and the adventures of Radagast and his woodland creatures… it wasn’t just the unconventional framerate that had my eyes rolling. That said, we saw Unexpected in 3-D, and we are not fans of 3-D to begin with, so that skews my perception a bit. And the Rings trilogy set a very high bar.
From the first few moments in dingy Bree’s most famous inn, to the familiar chase across lush fields toward refuge with pursuit hot on their heels, to the lofty spiraling underground architecture of the dwarves… this felt like home.
Jackson does a wonderful job transporting viewers into a variety of settings across Middle-Earth. Just as in the book, there are details throughout with no real explanation given other than that this is a fantastical and mysterious world. There’s fan-service as well, or perhaps Jackson is letting us see his own self-directed fan-service. It’s clear he loves his work.
The Tombs of the Nine Ringwraiths? Who doesn’t want to see that? Let’s throw that in.
Exploration of Dol Guldur and hints of the upcoming conflict of Lord of the Rings? Why not tie it all together?
Legolas joking about a hideous dwarf boy named Gimli? Heck yes. Everyone chuckles, an inside joke meant for all to enjoy.
Freeman’s Bilbo is magnificent and believable, and Sir Ian McKellin is incapable of disappointing audiences. In fact, everyone gets to show off some awesomeness. Gandalf goes toe-to-toe with dark forces; Legolas and new addition Tauriel the strong female character both engage in orc-slaying that is literally beautiful to behold; dwarves put the smackdown on several foes; even Bilbo gets his stab on not once but several times.
And then there’s Smaug. Oh, he’s a beauty. “Truly the tales and songs fall utterly short” of his magnificence. It’s fitting to worry when a main villain is pure CGI, but if anyone can pull that off, Jackson’s a good bet. Smaug comes across as transcendent, so above the hobbit burglar and his dwarf companions, so without fear… until they push the right buttons.
There were a few moments I wondered what the dwarves were thinking. Their grand first plan to thwart the dragon isn’t really explained; suddenly it happens and you realize, “Oh, that’s what they were trying to do, I guess.” It leads to some great visuals of an enraged dragon and the destruction in his wake, but that’s about it.
Also, if you haven’t heard, it ends on a cliffhanger. People are still surprised by this. The book has been out for a while now, and Lord of the Rings makes it clear certain people survive, so there’s a limit to the suspense in a few cases. Spoilers: Legolas does not die in this movie. Neither does Bilbo. More spoilers: They don’t die in the next movie either.
Come understanding that the story won’t be over when the credits roll, and you’ll be fine — and fans will be in rapture from the start. Jackson throws wide the gates and waves us in to enjoy the wonder and splendor of Middle-Earth. I love being there; I can’t wait to go back again.