Chancellor as a Third World Country

(Humor) Things that make Chancellor similar to a Third World Country:

Random mail delivery

Power outages

Unsafe water supply

Oppressive government

Inconsistent infrastructure

Unsurpervised children

No food supply

Inadequate schooling

Poor sewer management

Dangerous weather

Insect plagues
We do love it here, but sometimes you wonder if "country living" is all that worth it.

Story Time

Lincoln and I read together nightly. In the past we have enjoyed together:

The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis

Charlotte's Web, E.B. White

Spunky's Diary, Janet Oke

Hoot, Carl Hiaasen

Junie B. Jones Series, Barbara Park

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett

But a few weeks back I'm reading through one of Barbara Park's Junie B. books with him and Lincoln giggles and says, "I love this part." I reply, "What do you mean? Have you been reading ahead?" It turns out he had almost finished the thing in his spare time.

So I am a little saddened to realize that that Daddy-Kiddo story time will someday (soon?) be coming to an end, but just to prolong the inevitable I told him that we would be switching to books that he can't (yet) read ahead in. We just got done with our first one, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien. We are now reading through the Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder off and on.

Would welcome other suggestions for kids books that may be up a grade level from Lincoln?

Summer

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Originally uploaded by Chancellor Ben

This is summer. Water and fun and baseball and kids and getting to play, play, play. Love the look, Lincoln.

Books to Read, and Read Again

Are there books or authors you should read yearly or more than once? If so here is the beginning of my list.

The Bible

J.R.R. Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings

Augustine, Confessions

Shakespeare, maybe, but what, which?

Doestoyvesky, The Brothers Karamazov, others?

Milton?

Cervantes, Don Quixote

Homer??

Søren Kierkegaard?

Chaim Potok?

What else? Who?

Silver Dollar City

We spent Saturday at Silver Dollar City. Wildfire if not the best, is the most beautiful roller-coaster I have ever been on. The green trees and hills of Missouri, but you can only enjoy them for a moment.
(this video is not mine)

WikiHow

Do you subscribe to WikiHow?
This one came accross my (virtual) desk the other day.
How to Be Proactive
1. Take a good look at your responsibilities.
2. Examine critically how you might perform those tasks more efficiently.
3. Look for steps in the process to eliminate, consolidate, or shorten.
4. Develop a mindset that looks to solve problems instead of dwelling on them.
5. Get ahead and stay ahead of less-urgent, day-to-day tasks.
6. Know which tasks are priorities and which can wait.
7. Eliminate altogether any task that is truly unnecessary.
8. Evaluate your procedures and processes as you use them.
9. Try to anticipate needs.
10. Try to anticipate things you will need to know.
11. Look for ways to automate routine tasks.
Looks like you can eliminate many tasks by just not thinking about them! Ha!

Grass is Growing

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Originally uploaded by Chancellor Ben

Grass is now growing over the area on the front lawn that was dug up when the sewer line was replaced. It seemed to have come up over night.

All You Can Eat?

Dodger stadium has opened up a little used right-field section into an all-you-can-eat section. With vendors handing over fistfuls of grub the section has sold out many times this season already.
Maybe this is a way to fill up the front rows at church?

Gravity Storm Waves

One of the greatest things about living in the midwest has got to be the weather.

Have you ever seen anything like this before? Wikipedia says that gravity Waves restore equilibrium resulting in an oscillation.

Christmas Lights

Took down the lights today.

Until Christmas next year.

Mowing

Mowed the lawn for the first time this year. It was a good mow, not a lot of back trouble, and not so warm that you are parched by the end. Love this guy's pictures on Flickr.

Don't look at this picture

I am still wondering about the almonds?

PPD Rain

That's just wierd. How many times has a Seattle Mariners game been postponed on the road this season? 6-7? How many times at home? None.

Is today recycling day?

It could be that I am too dependent on google to actually try to remember anything anymore or maybe I'm getting soft in the head but I can never remember if it recycling day or not. It comes every other week but all too often I will bag up the number <4 plastics and aluminum, drag the bag out to the "curb" and it will turn out that I am one week off. This has been three weeks in a row.
The recycling guys have given up on me?

Graceland

Poorboys and Pilgrims with families
And we are going to Graceland,

I am flying to Nashville on Sunday and then driving to Asheville, NC to attend Ken Davis' Dynamic Communicator's Workshop. My sermons and teaching have lost some of their mojo over the last six months (two years?) so I am looking forward to being challenged-inspired by the ghost of Elvis.

Nashville to Asheville. Through cradle of the civil war. I always liked Paul Simon, but I think he was better when he was "edgy" and younger.

Post Script: Dang! I guess guess Graceland is actually in Memphis.

Looking up

More real than real.

One Hundred and One Safety Tips

Here are the onehundred and one safety tips from Peggy Rathmann's Caldecott Award Winning, book, Officer Bucke and Gloria:
The One Hundred and One Safety Tips:
1. Keep your shoelaces tied
2. Always wipe up spills before someone slips and falls
[3] Always carry a bee sting kit if allergic
4. [You should] not [be] jumping [on] th[e] be[d?]
5. Never play with matched
6. Dial 911 in an emergency
7. Always wear a crash helmet when biking or skating
8. Never hitchhike
9. Obey all traffic signs
10. Dispose of banana peels properly
[11] [Never leave a roller skate where someone m]ight slip on it
[12] [Never stir something…] while the mixer’s on
13. Never use water on a grease fire! Smother it with a lid or baking soda
14. Remember your telephone number
[15] Look before you leap
16. Never chase a ball that rolls into the street
[17] Never play in the microwave oven
18. Never drink and drive
19. Never run with a scissors in your hand
20. Never wander too far from [home?]
21. Never roll around in poison ivy
[22] Never do tricks on the monkey bars without someone there to catch you
23. Never take other people’s medicine
24. Always tell your parents where you are going
25. Always tell your parents if someone bites you
26. Be alert for danger
[27] Always keep your shoelaced tied
28. Stay away from cigarettes
[29] Clean up broke glass right away
30. Never take short cuts through lonely places
31. Never stand up in a canoe
[32] [Always ask a grown up about a strange dog…] before you pet them
33. Never take […]ne […]
34. Avoid ratlesnakes
35. Cross only at the crosswalk
36. Never lay with electrical outlets
[37] No biking on the sidewalk
[38] Never leave a thumbtack where you might sit on it
39. Never run in high heels
40. Never play in [an] em[pty] wa[ter main?]
41. Never play with spray paint
42. Never leave tennis balls on the stairs
43. Say “no” if a stranger asks you to go to their house
44. Lock your bike
45. Always wear a life jacket on board boats
[46] Always pull the toothpick out of your sandwich
47. Never play with a fire extinguisher
48. Never play soccer in the living room
49. Never reach over the hot stove when wearing a loose sleeve
[50] Say no to drugs
51. Never bother a big dog while it’s eating
[52] Never eat mayonnaise that’s been sitting in the sun
[53] Know your neighbors
54. Lock up your valuables
[55] Never play alone in the car
[56] Never drink anything you find under the sink
57. Never leave a full wading pool where someone might fall into it
[59] Never tilt your chair back on two legs
[60] Check how deep the water is before you dive in
61. Never play on construction sites
62. Never listen to music played too loudly
[63] Wash your hands after you use the toilet
64. Stay away from alcohol
[65] Never put anything in your ear
[66] Never put anything in your nose
67. Stay off thin ice
68. Keep sharp objects away from children
[69] Never fly kites near power lines
70. Always wear light-colored clothing at night
71. Never run on a pool deck
72. Never swim in a storm sewer
73. Never sit too close to the television
74. Never stand up in a bus while it’s moving
75. Never use a blowdryer in the bathtub
76. Never dry your socks in the microwave oven
77. Never stand on a swivel chair
78. Stay away from fire-crackers
79. Never breathe fumes […?]
80. Wipe up drool
81. Stay away from abandoned refrigerators
82. Always swim with a buddy
83. Always walk facing traffic
[84] Never play with spray cans
85. Stay away from guns
86. Keep your arms and legs inside the car window and doors
[87] Never run with a pop bottle in your mouth
88. Turn off the T.V. before you unplug it
[89] Check the water temperature before climbing into the bathtub
[90] Eat hamburger well done / Never eat raw hamburger
[91] Never lick a stop sign in the winter
[92] Check smoke alarm batteries
93. Keep shoes and a flashlight under your bed
94. Ride bike only on post [?]
[95] Read the instructions before operating appliances
96. Never play in the car alone
97. Never accept rides from strangers
98. Never use an elevator in a fire
99. Do not go swimming during electrical storms
100. Never turn your back on a strange dog
101. Always stick with your buddy

Un-numbered tips:
Always look both ways before you cross the street
Never give information over the phone to strangers
Never play near power lines
Never leave a bar of soap where someone might step on it
Buckle your seat belt
Avoid fir[e] an[ts]
Pick up dry-cleaning Tuesday

Tips in brackets [] are unclear as to their numbers.

Love this book