Jabulani Jonny

Peeve

I can't take it anymore.  I must get this off my chest.  I know how it's going to sound.  Ultimately my biggest peeve is inconsideration.  That's right, people just not thinking of how their actions will affect others, before they act.  Case in point...

Churches have aisles, Wal-mart has aisles.  These were put there specifically so you could move to and fro.  They were not put there as places to congregate and talk, no, that place would be called OUTSIDE.  When I'm carrying a car seat full of Elliot, an oxygen tank on my back, a food bag and pump on my back and a 38lb. diaper bag, and you're standing there taking up the whole aisle so as to allow no exit, you make me a non-christian.  Right then and there I lose my religion...in church...it's a crazy experience.  Or when you get to the door going out, and someone stops you to hug and talk...KEEP MOVING PEOPLE!!  You are a fire hazard...for me, as the hell-fires of Gahenna begin to build up within. 

Or what about Wal-Mart last night.  Wal-Mart has big aisles right?  Yeah, not when you take your buggy and park on one side then stand in the middle of the remaining space trying to choose which flavor Pop-Tart to get.  And you stand there...while I'm waiting for you to move...and you act like I'm the one that's out of line.  Don't make me smack you with a box of Raisin Bran!  Have consideration!

I know my pleading is futile, but I just don't see what's so hard about recognizing that you are in a moving lane, so make room or get out of the way.  Please. 

Doh Moment

I'm an angry driver.  I just am.  When people act like they've never seen a car before, yet they're behind the wheel...that makes me angry.  My daily commute is pretty easy, nothing like Atlanta's traffic.  However if there is traffic in Columbus, it's at 8:05am heading downtown from the northend.  That's my drive. 

This morning I was scatting down 2nd avenue.  Here's the scene:
I'm cruising about 45 in a 35 down the tight 4 lane road that is 2nd Avenue; Greyhound ten yards off my right bumper, red light staring me down just down the road; there's a dump truck stopped at the red light in my lane and four cars lined up behind; he'll be slow to go at the green; no cars in the other lane, but not enough room to scoot in front of the Greyhound and make the stop at the red; dangit; so I slow down for the cars lined up behind the dumptruck in my lane as the light turns green; Saturn in front of me will not frackin' go; come on!; don't be hitting the brakes when it's green; I know I'm all up on your luggage rack, but that would change if you would just GO!; I cut around asking WTF; expletive, expletive; cut to 5 minutes later in the coffee shop line; a woman walks in and I recognize the hair; the recipient of my nasty snarls; I let her in front of me in line; then she lights up and looks at me and says....

"Jonathan? From Christ Community Church?  Hi, I'm _________, how is your son?  We have been praying for him non-stop.  It's such a blessing to see you guys back at church and you playing on stage again."

Me = small, angry, self-serving, prideful, arrogant
God= full of mercy, full of grace, full of second chances

I'll try to do better tomorrow.  promise.

            

Blog Purpose

I've been going through a time of questioning the blog gods. I'm wondering what purpose my blog is serving right now, which isn't much. Maybe that's because I'm not posting a whole bunch, but that's because I don't have a whole bunch to post...and the cycle continues. I do not want to be one of those blogs where all I do is post links to other peoples blogs that found cool stuff. That's all I see from some blogs and it drives me kinda batty.

So beyond that...do I post picture after picture of Elliot? Or talk about my day at the bank? Cause here's my schedule (most days):
6am: Rise & shine and head to the gym
7am: Return home to wake Sunette and get ready for work
8am-5pm: Work; which always starts with a big cup of joe, some work, some internet, some chatting, some lunch (either at home or with co-workers)
5:30pm: Return home, help Sunette with dinner, play with Elliot
7:30pm: Get Elliot ready for bed
8:00pm-11pm: Hang with Sunette, either both on the computer or watching Mythbusters

That, my friend, is one exciting schedule. Not much blogworthy there. So I'm left asking what the heck to talk about that's of interest? Yeah, I came up with the same answer. I say all that to say I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with the blog right now. The posts may come, they may not. We'll see, but thanks for your understanding.

Apple's Release Strategy

You've probably seen it, but this video had me cracking up. Having just bought a brand new Macbook Pro, I can only guess what new products are gonna be released at the Macworld Expo next week.

(Via- TUAW)

It's Personal

Look, I'm a Christian; a Christian with obstacles to faith; obstacles to belief, but a Christian none-the-less. Right now I'm watching a series by Andy Stanley of Northpoint Community Church titled "It's Personal". It has really impacted me and where I am in my faith journey right now. In light of everything that has gone on with us and our new baby, this is impacting me where I am. I challenge you to watch this series. Start with the first one, then when you're ready watch the rest. They're about 45 minutes a piece so you prolly won't do it all in one sitting, but I challenge you to check them out. Below is a link to where you can find all of his messages. The first in the "It's Personal" series is titled "A New Approach". Start with it and follow the next three. Even with my obstacles, God made himself entirely too personal for me to deny him.

NorthPoint Community Church messages

The Secret to Happiness

I picked this video link up from DaringFireball. This is a 20 minute video of a talk by Barry Schwartz on the impact of the freedom of choice. I gotta say it resonated pretty well. Take a look at it and let me know what you think.

(Video embedded for those on RSS)

Here comes the downpour

Okay sometimes I'm late when it comes to stuff on Youtube. For some reason I just don't surf there that much and the only time I find something good is when it's linked by someone else. Case in point, thanks TerribleSpeller for leading me to the deliciousness of Chocolate Rain and consequently Cherry Chocolate Rain by Tay Zonday.

When i compose a song I typically try to introduce a varied structure. Say something like:

Verse
Lift
Chorus
Verse
Bridge
Turn
Lift
Chorus
Outro
Something like that

As the video below shows...I don't need to worry about that. Just a full five minutes of "Chocolate Rain" does the trick. As demonstrated by the follow up video promoting Dr. Pepper. Video embedded below for those on RSS

This guy shows that lip gloss and a catchy lyric can take you from nerd to nashty over night. I'm hooked to.... Cho-c'late Rain..... Cherry Choclate Rain....

High Fallutin'

Right now I'm sitting in a kind of high fallutin country club in Columbus getting ready to play golf. Listening to the conversations and observing the attitudes of the high fallutin men around me makes me want to vomit. It makes me wonder how I got here from being a rock-climber, fly-fishing guide, singer-songwriter. I can smell the pride and arrogance. Am I more sensitive to it because I may exude the same in the same setting? I have a fear that it may be true. If I look honestly, I can be pompous, arrogant, shallow and uncaring of the true needs of this world. When I see it reflected back at me it makes me sick. Here's to a good afternoon round of golf. Bleh.

Not just (tom- AY-toe) or (tom-AH-toe)

Look, I'm sorry if I'm being too critical...but come on people.  The other day I was in a computer store that was an Apple certified reseller.  They had Macbook Pros and 30" inch displays right next to some clunky Dell 600 series laptops.  It was kinda ugly.  Not to mention that the Dell's were more expensive than the regular Macbooks that were out.  No kidding.  Anyway, this store is right next to the University of Pennsylvania, a school full of bright and intelligent students.  While I was in there eyeing a Macbook Pro, which will hopefully be a soon purchase, I heard many a student come in and mispronounce Microsoft's new OS. 

First off, I wanted to snatch half of them up and point their head at the Macbook and go "do you see that? it can run OSX and Windows, side by side, and it comes with a whole lot more than that Dell 630, for cheaper", but I didn't do that.  Secondly, these are intelligent people, Vista has been out for quite some time now, but I had to leave on about the 4th person that came in and called it Veeesta.  People...that's an "I".  How do you pronounce "him" or "stick"?  When you say Veesta you sound like an eeejit. 

And second on the "will you please take a second look at the word and use basic pronunciation skills" list; again, another seemingly educated person in the hospital lounge, just blabbing loudly about nothing at all.  I mean, that in itself was kinda aggravating as I'm trying to enjoy 10 minutes of college football between bedside visits.  What is she blabbing about... Sah-DUE-koh.  Yeah I'd never heard of it either.  Oh you mean Su-DOH-kue.  Sheesh.  Look at the spelling... Sudoku.  So what's gotten on your nerves this week?

Consideration

I regularly check out Blogography.  Dave has a great way of being candid about sometimes touchy sometimes trivial events.  Although his site is definitely rated "M" for mature, I find it funny and pretty spot on.  His recent post about an inconsiderate cell-phone yakker prompted some thoughts about consideration.  Yes, that word that we all heard from mom but didn't quite know what the heck it meant until we hit early 30's.  See, consideration, or the-lack-there-of, is my biggest pet peeve.  I find it completely mind-boggling when other folks show a complete disregard for their fellow man.  I'm not talking about not giving to charity or anything, I'm talking about stuff like littering, and talking on a cell in a public place.  I mean, that kind of stuff reeks of inconsideration, which to me is nothing more than someone thinking more highly of themselves than all others.  I know this sounds like I'm preaching, but really, wouldn't the world be better if we were all just a little more considerate?

Take my recent airport experience for example.  I did see a few "meltdowns" as some weary travelers felt that this was a direct personal attack against them, like Delta was intentionally keeping them from getting home.  There was a guy on the plane that was probably the biggest jerk I've ever come across.  For instance, you know that moment when the plane finally eases into the gate, the "fasten seatbelt" sign goes off and everyone stands up to collect their bags?  Well, everyone is now standing in the aisle, waiting to get off, and this guy starts pushing people out of the way to try and get off.  Like no one else had spent 15 hours in the airport and no one else was eager to get off the plane.  I mean, c'mon!  Are there really people out there who don't have a clue that they share this world with the rest of us? 

So here's what I propose to whoever reads this (which is really very few apparently, so my impression may be short-lived), let's all really make an effort to think of how our actions will affect other people.  Let's not litter, let's not leave our junk for someone else to clean up, let's not take the first empty seat if others are available, let's not talk on our cellphones in public places if we can help it.  If we can't, then let's be discreet, go somewhere, cover the mouthpiece, lower your volume.  Let's just be thoughtful, considerate.  How 'bout it?