I think I’m a pretty smart guy. My mom always said so. Seriously, people think I’m smart. I had a friend in college who used to introduce me as the smartest person she ever met, and people are always saying things like “you’re a genius” so, naturally, I started to think my mother was right [...]

More than twenty years ago, I was injured on the job. My employer acted as though they were worried about me, but I learned later that everything they did – including paying for my treatment – was motivated by self interest. I was not seriously injured, but many others are not as lucky as I [...]

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the big questions of life – what is the meaning of life? what happens after death? does God exist? things like that. I’ve always said that I have questioned everything I have ever believed except one thing – the existence of God. I have had serious doubts about [...]

Perhaps it’s not intentional, but I think a lot of pastors manipulate congregations with their prayers. I remember hearing a pastor ask a question about using prayers to preach. I forget the way he worded it exactly, but the idea was “is it okay to use prayer to preach?” I’ve heard many hypothetical questions like [...]

This post is the eighth in a series. If you’ve just stumbled onto this series, you may want to start here. Today’s topic is Young Earth Creationism or Creation Science. I’ve started with this one because it’s the easiest for me to dismiss. I am sure those who hold this view – they are many [...]

A couple of months ago, I started thinking about ditching Flickr in favor of some other service. I quickly learned that others had searched in vain for a replacement. Like the author of this post, I decided that alternatives were not much better. Certainly not “better enough” for me to switch. Not long after my [...]

“We’re Not Gonna Take It” is a 1984 hit song by the American glam metal/heavy metal band Twisted Sister from their album Stay Hungry. I was never a huge fan of Twisted Sister, but they’ve recorded some decent work and this song is a classic from the 80s to be sure. I remember the video [...]

Twenty-three years ago today I married the girl of my dreams. We’ve lived happily ever after since then. The title of this post is a running joke at our house. It’s what my dad would have on his 23rd wedding anniversary. Actually, I’m sure he did say it just like he did every other year. [...]

I think I work fairly hard most of the time, I tend to get a lot done, and I’m happy with the results up to this point (especially in the last five years or so), but I’ve learned something recently. I get this nagging feeling sometimes that I am working too late into the day, [...]

I’ve heard the story of Jonah many times. I’ve read and studied it myself and I’ve considered this lesson before, but it really struck me the other day as I listened to those words during my devotional time. The selection for the day was the book of Jonah. This phrase struck me so much that [...]

This post is the seventh in a series. If you’ve just stumbled onto this series, you may want to start here. I thought I might start today on a series of posts detailing each of the four views I presented last week, but after starting to write the first post I’ve decided I want to [...]

Since I stopped doing this updates weekly, it bails me out when I don’t know what else to post. The Medium – Beep! – NYTimes.com A fun read about a great sound and a great word. Amazon: You Need To Change Your Idiotic Customer Reviews Policy Right Now I don't like that some authors withhold [...]

This week’s selection is another classic that I think of every time I hear the phrase “hair metal.” “The Final Countdown” is a song by the Swedish band Europe released in 1986, which reached number one in twenty-five countries. Enjoy! We’re leaving together But still it’s farewell And maybe we’ll come back To earth, who [...]

After almost nine years at the same church, we’ve moved to another. I plan to blog about the new church in a couple of weeks, so I thought a little backstory might put things in perspective. Finding a place to worship has never been my favorite thing to do. I believe in worshipping with my [...]

Prometheus How far would you go to get your answers? I am not much for alien films, but I love alternate realities and big philosophical questions. This film is about those questions. Ridley Scott once again tells a story in a series of fantastic images, supported by the perfect cast. Fassbender and Rapace turn in [...]

Becky and I finally found some time to play Guitar Hero together on Sunday. We rocked through about a dozen tunes. That was awesome. Becky actually had a pleasant surprise for me on our way to NYC on Tuesday. She told me she finally decided which instrument to learn – the guitar. I’m not sure [...]

On a day set aside to celebrate our Independence, I wanted to write about something that has been on my mind for quite some time. America was founded as a secular nation. Americans should be proud of that heritage, and people of faith should be thrilled *. One of our nation’s founding principles is the [...]

In 1787, the framers of the U.S. Constitution decided to include protection for what has come to be known as “intellectual property rights.” Philosophers have debated the idea of intellectual property for years, but whether you agree with them or not, they are the law of the land. To promote the Progress of Science and [...]

Just before the end of last month, I accepted a project that would require I use Windows quite a bit. Since I was looking for another 12in12 project, I decided I would make it using Windows every day. I’ve already been spending a lot of time using Windows 8 every Friday, so I thought it [...]

As you may have gathered if you follow me anywhere online, I am a big fan of nakedpastor’s art. This particular cartoon reminded me of a Sunday morning years ago. Terri and I were riding with her family to enjoy a meal after the Sunday morning service. As we drove past all the boaters out [...]

I love movies. I appreciate great films and excellent filmmaking, but I also enjoy watching mainstream movies. I love everything about the movies. I grew up with a TV in the house (I’m not that old), but watching movies at home was very rare until I was much older. New cable channels were arriving that [...]

Almost anyone who has been a Christian for even a short time knows that there are two daily staples of the devotional life of a Christian – Scripture ( reading, meditation, and study ), and prayer. Over the years, many of my Christian friends have admitted to me that they struggle with one or the [...]

This post is the sixth in a series. If you’ve just stumbled onto this series, you may want to start here. The overwhelming majority of scientists agree that the earth is billions of years old and that the universe is much older. I can think of only three responses to the evidence. It’s Flawed I [...]

I am sick over the case of Jerry Sandusky. I am pleased by the jury’s verdict. Sandusky is a sick man who needs to be locked up for the rest of his life. His crime is NOT that he is attracted to the same sex. There are others who have same sex attractions who act [...]

This song is as corny as they come and the video is even worse, but it must be included in my collection of hair metal posts. It is one of a handful of songs almost anyone would shortlist among classic hair metal songs. Enjoy! Ooh yeah Turn it up Come on I’m working hard, you’re [...]

50 First Dates Hi, I’m Tom. I was very worried when this film started. It begins with some very Adam Sandler-ish foolishness. It turned out to be a fun romantic comedy featuring some very solid performances. One more reason to love Drew Barrymore.   Mr. Popper’s Penguins Could you pass the salt? I think Jim [...]

The last time I posted about the Mets I was starting to wonder if the good news was over. Since then, we swept the Rays, were swept by the Reds, and then swept the Os. R.A. Dickey’s pitching has been almost perfect, David Wright is playing fantastic baseball, and the team is playing like it [...]

This post is the fifth in a series. If you’ve just stumbled onto this series, you may want to start here. The first two chapters of Genesis have been the subject of much discussion. There is enough debate about possible interpretations that some have decided these chapters, along with chapters 3 – 11 are allegorical [...]

I’m a big fan of what our President has done about immigration. I know a lot of people are upset about it, but it seems like the right thing to do. I wanted to just take a few minutes to address what seem to be the two most frequent objections to the President’s announcement. First, [...]

When I think of 80s hair metal, I immediately think of Ratt. Everything about Ratt screams the 80s for me. The spandex, the goofy video, the hair! Round and Round was the third track of their debut full-length album, Out of the Cellar. Ratt was one of my favorite hair metal bands during the 80s, [...]