Halloween Domination

So Blakewell and I are totally dominating Halloween. I mean it's just ridiculous. I think we've passed out candy to like 23 kids and it's only 7:45. I had high expectations of 15 so I'm very pleased to say the least. My Milky Way Minis and Starburst 2-packs are dominating the whole neighborhood. I really feel bad for my neighbors as they really don't have much of a shot to hang with 10704. If anyone hopes to keep up in the future they'd better pass some serious legislation to restrict the holiday spirit coming from this house!!

Humbly Yours,
Matt

Medical Insurance

Never take the higher deductible on your medical insurance for the lower monthly fee. Can I just say I'm an idiot for doing this? Thank you....

The Blogging Phenomenon

So I was thinking today about the whole blogging phenomenon. The Blog Herald lists the number of blogs created as of this month at over 100 million!! Obviously this is an obscene number and most of these blogs probably have few readers (unlike the astronomical number of readers I get here at Blogadocious!!), but this got me thinking of the blogs that I read and why I read them. There are so many different types of blogs and I do enjoy clicking the "Next Blog" button at the top of the page from time to time just to see what's out there, but there are few blogs that get me interested enough to make sure that I never miss a post. I know some people enjoy reading blogs for political commentary, religious thoughts, or just for pure comic value. I, however, find that I typically read the blogs of people I know rather than perusing the internet to find exciting new blogs waiting to be discovered. There are, however, some exceptions. I have a few blogs I read regularly that are from people I don't even know and I just find myself in a voyeuristic mode where I enjoy seeing what someone from a completely different part of the country with a completely different background thinks about life. In fact, in many ways I enjoy these blogs more than those of people that I do know. It's not as though I don't like the blogs of my friends, it's just that I see or talk to most of them on a fairly regular basis and there is much less intrigue. It is quite fascinating to see what some arbitrary person in the middle of Kentucky is thinking. It’s also interesting to read the blogs of friends of friends and on down the line, because I obviously don’t know them either.

My enjoyment extends to blogs that deal with thoughts on life rather than actual events that occur in a blogger’s life. Granted, this is not a strict rule, but those blogs that share ideas from a unique perspective are much more fascinating than the old “Today I went to the store and bought a head of lettuce” posts. It’s also a big bonus if the blogs cover a wide range of topics rather than just deal with one theme. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that I have adult A.D.D. and I can barely think about the same topic for more than 5 minutes. Plus I just like topics that deal with the unusual aspects of life from a unique perspective whether I agree with them or not.

As my mind continued on this exciting journey, I began to ponder the art of commenting on blogs. In my previous post I linked to this post on a blog that I sometimes read which had 110+ comments on it. As Courtney pointed out in her comment on my post, that is unreal! I could only dream of getting 109 comments on a post. So what is it that makes some people post and others just read and move on? Granted, I don’t post on every blog, but I do on most blogs that I read. There are, however, some that I just read from afar and never let my presence be known. I just like whole “fly on the wall” feeling on occasion. I can’t really put my finger on why I’m like this, so I’ll have to give it some more thought.

And the last bloggish thought I had was the purpose behind blogs. Personally, I write Blogadocious more for my personal entertainment and have no real purpose in it other than to share some of my thoughts and moments from my life that I would like to be able to look back on at a later date. But then again, since I know that I have people who read this, I can’t help but temper my comments and sometimes word them in such a way that I won’t give people the wrong impression or even so they don’t know what I’m really thinking. There is a small part of me that would like to have a blog that is anonymous so that I can say whatever I want no matter how politically incorrect, unpopular or honest they may be. Maybe I’ll just do that someday.

And this concludes my fantastic insight. Blog on…..

A Penny for Your Thoughts....

I found this intersting post today on the value of the trusty penny and I think it's worth a read. I agree that we should just do away with the penny altogether. What purpose does it really serve?

Sooner Thoughts

Godly Friends and OU-texas

I'd like to take a minute to just say what a blessing it is to have godly friends. I'm obviously not the most open person in the world and don't typically go out of my way to share my struggles with others, but I am thankful to God for friends who will listen in a non-judgmental way and encourage me to press on despite myself. It is so encouraging to know that others struggle with the same things I do and that I'm not alone in my frailty. I am a weak man and I struggle mightily in my daily life, but praise God that he keeps putting up with me and blesses me even when I don't deserve it.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

⁹ Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

¹⁰ If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

Oh and I got a ticket for the texas game today. It's going to be 6 in a row for the Sooners.

Ordering

Guess where I ate?

Video of the Day

These two inspire me.

Washer Heaven

I think my washer just passed on. YES! I was starting to get think it might actually work for awhile and we wouldn't want that.

Nothing Good

I went to dinner tonight after church with Jill and Newby, and as is my normal behavior I had a little friendly banter with our waitress, Tammy*. Tonight turned out to be a little different than usual, however. What at first turned out to be some enjoyable joking turned quickly into a more important conversation. It all started with us joking about her being cynical and of course I shared that I tended to be as well. The tone changed upon me sharing that I was a Christian to which I got a very candid response from her. Tammy began to share with us how she basically thinks there is "nothing good" in the world. She came from a bad home life and used to attend church but she doesn't anymore and in fact doesn't even believe in God. She was very open with us that she thinks that the world is evil and that it starts with our government and it trickles down even into churches and to individuals.

As our conversation went on, I found my heart going out to her because in a lot of ways I could hear some of my thoughts and feelings in what she was saying, with one major difference--my hope comes in Jesus Christ. If you know me, then you'll know that cynicism is something I constantly struggle with. I can oftentimes catch myself looking at the world as if it is nothing but evil, but I realize that this is only my attitude. God is good. Because of this there are good things in this world. Of course there are evil things in the world and even the church but it's not such an absolute as I sometimes think. As I talked with Tammy I felt helpless to reach out to her and share this hope with her. All I could do was simply let her know that she was welcome at MRCC anytime and that she could contact me if she ever needed anything. I also told her that I would pray for her (which is really the best thing I can do). I honestly have no idea if she will ever come or will ever contact me but my prayer is that she will see the need for God in her life and can find the peace that comes from a relationship with our Savior. Please pray that Tammy will find God's peace and will seek help if needed.

*Name has been changed to protect the secret identity of said waitress

Google Talk

Join the Google talk sensation. If you like to IM then you need to check this out. It has already revolutionized my life. I've lost 10 pounds and have no monetary concerns any longer. You can go to the Google Talk site to check find out details but I think it's worth it. Add me if you sign up.

Back in Warsaw

Well I made it back to Warsaw early this morning from a short excursion to Deutschland. I drove over with my parents to Chemnitz to see all my freunden there. They were all very cheery and Frau, Linda, und Marion all cooked for us on Thursday night. It was scrum-diddly-umptious to say the least. I then played a lot of mafia, hung out, talked, learned German, ate Döner, slept, met a giant mouse at MiniWelt (see below), went to church, fought off tons of girls and then we drove home yesterday. Overall it was a grand old time. Muchas gracias (in no certain order) to Frau, Marion, Courtney, Ed, The Laugks, Pam, Larry, Snickers, Joey, and the Turkish Döner man for cooking for us, making us laugh, letting me sleep on your couch, singing, smiling, barking, pizza, and everything else. Oh and for teaching me "Ich bin nicht schwull." Danke schön!!

Middle Toe, Right Foot

Ok so my toenail isn't completely off right now but it's just a matter of time. I'm hoping that this will help me with the ladies since they'll know that I lost my toenail in Central Europe. I think that makes me sound rather exotic and tougher than your average Oklahoman. I did ok today despite walking all over Old Town with a busted toe. I think I'm ready to try to live in the Amazon rainforrests for 20 days with no supplies.

European Vacation

So I'm pecking this post out from the great city of Warsaw. I just ripped the toenail off the middle toe on my right foot on my parent's bathroom door. I would highly recommend this to everyone (on your own bathroom door, not my parents) if you are looking for some cheap fun. I can't really think of a better way to get this trip off on a better foot (pun intended). On the way to the airport in Dallas, I picked up a hitchhiker named Sharon. It was the second time in my life that I've done this. I think I'll do it again. It's a good way to talk about God to them because they can't really jump out of my car at 78 mph. Also, I got the middle three seats to myself on the flight from Houston to Amsterdam so I had the nicest Trans-Atlantic flight to date. Somehow I just know I won't be so lucky on the return trip. I'm bound to sit by a slightly balding, 265 pound man from Kamchatka who will breathe on me the entire flight. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though.

New Look for Blogadocious

Well I've finally done it! Blogadocious officially has a new look. I guess that's a pretty obvious statement since most likely you are reading this on my blog with the aforementioned new look. If you aren't reading this then I really don't care for you at all anyway so please continue to not read. For those of you reading this, I hope the new look is pleasing to your optic nerves.

Why Should the Fire Die

Ok so it's not really brand new but if you like music you should check out the new Nickel Creek album Why Should the Fire Die. I won't give a review, because I'm not a music critic (actually my throat just hurts and I'm lazy but that's a better excuse) but it's worth a listen. If you are a Nickel Creek fan and for some reason haven't heard it, you can expect it to sound about as different from the second album as the second album did from the first. Onward and upward.....

Frusion

Sad Day In Norman

Well, where do I begin? Actually I'm not going to go into much detail but let's just say that it was a sad day if you're a Sooner fan as we lost to the mighty Horned Frogs of TCU today, 17-10. In Norman, no less. Chuck Long called a great game though. I don't think TCU ever really got a bead on the 4 plays we ran over-and-over. At least not until the middle of the 2nd quarter. I'm also proud the that University was kind enough to raise ticket prices this year so that I could pay more to see such a great game today. Paul Thompson showed what all Sooner fans have been waiting for as well by occasionally getting a pass close to a Sooner receiver. His fumble and interception were nice too. It's a great start to the season. This harkens back to the great season of 1996 as we were able to pull off the same feat. Coincidentally we play Tulsa next week and we also lost to them in 96 also, so maybe we can accomplish that one too.

Hopefully the coaching staff can get things corrected. It's not like I haven't talked about this countless times before, but I'm just sick of Chuck's offense. It's even worse now because he doesn't have Mark Clayton, Mark Bradley, Jason White, et al to make him look good. He really laid an egg today. He never even tried to mix things up and put us in a position to be successful when it was obvious we were struggling. I guess he just figured we would eventually pull it out because our jerseys say "Sooners" on the front. Who knows? In any case, if we don't get something figured out fast, it's going to be a LONG year.... (no pun intended)

Blogger Surviving in New Orleans

The situation in New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast area is just heartbreaking. I cannot imagine the situation these people are facing. May God be will everyone during this time.

Today, while reading this article about a web firm based out of a skyscraper in New Orleans that is fighting desperately to keep things running, I found out about this blog: http://mgno.com/ which is worth a read. This guy is reporting things quickly and has lots of pictures and even some video feeds. Check it out if you get a chance.