This Week on I was just thinking...
My blogging has been kind of light lately as I have taken on several new projects and decided to change my blog layout. I am finally at the point of restoring some order to my schedule. So here's a preview of what I will be up to this week;
Tool Time: I will be starring in my own episode of Tool Time, tune in as I attempt to renovate my bathroom. It promises to be very entertaining with plenty of finger smashing, head scratching and the misuse of power tools.
Beating the Heat: Yesterday was one of the hottest days yet and the rest of the week is supposed to be pretty hot also, I've been doing my part to "Go Green" but I'm thinking I will be running the AC this week. (If it's warm where you are remember to check on your elderly neighbors)
Hot Off the Press: I have quite a few articles being published this week on AC Content. Among them will be articles dealing with the subject of Hearing from God, a lighthearted look at race and a continuation of my "Like Father Like Son" series (You don't want to miss it!)
Tool Time: I will be starring in my own episode of Tool Time, tune in as I attempt to renovate my bathroom. It promises to be very entertaining with plenty of finger smashing, head scratching and the misuse of power tools.
Beating the Heat: Yesterday was one of the hottest days yet and the rest of the week is supposed to be pretty hot also, I've been doing my part to "Go Green" but I'm thinking I will be running the AC this week. (If it's warm where you are remember to check on your elderly neighbors)
Hot Off the Press: I have quite a few articles being published this week on AC Content. Among them will be articles dealing with the subject of Hearing from God, a lighthearted look at race and a continuation of my "Like Father Like Son" series (You don't want to miss it!)
An Idle Mind...
The old folks used to have a saying, "an idle mind is the devil's workshop!" I heard that phrase quite often as a child. I had no idea what it meant nor was I aware that I was the living breathing Poster Child for the phrase.
As far back as I can remember, I have always had an analytical/scientific brain. I always wanted to know how things worked. My siblings and my parents didn't quite understand they thought that I was just being destructive when I took their toys and radios apart. It wasn't destruction it was curiosity. I do remember one (or more) occasion(s), however when my curiosity actually had some destructive side effects.
The most memorable event took place one summer. I believe I was only 8 years old. I don't remember the reason but I was restricted to my room which happened to be in the basement. After a few moments of nothing to do I began to look around for something to entertain me. I still am not sure how I came up with the idea, but I noticed that there was a light socket that was missing a bulb, and then that scientific brain of mine went to work.
I found myself wondering what would happen if I stuck something in the light socket and pulled the chain on the light socket. I began looking around for something long enough to reach up to the light. Conveniently in an area where my dad kept his tools I found a piece of wire screen. I took the screen and rolled it up like a long stick. The I found a chair to stand on so I could reach the light socket.
I carefully stuck the screen into the socket and slowly pulled the chain and POOF! there was a bright shower of white sparks. It was like a mini-fireworks show. After a quick check to make sure everything was still in tact on me, I inserted the screen again and pulled the chain and again the bright white sparks. Convinced that I couldn't get hurt I had the bright idea to pull the switch really fast to create an uninterrupted light show.
My calculations were correct, by continually pushing up on the screen and rapidly pulling the chain switch I was creating a non-stop flow of beautiful white sparks. I was so caught in the display that I didn't notice that my piece of screen was getting shorter and shorter with each click. I was also to preoccupied to notice the smoke that was starting to build up and make it's way upstairs to my mother.
All I was concentrating on was the sparks. Click...Poof, Click...Poof, Click...Poof and that's when it happened. I went to push the screen in and pulled the switch...expectantly waiting to see those lovely white sparks. This time instead of white sparks everything went black! I hadn't noticed that there was only a small bit of screen in my hand and that I had actually inserted my thumb into the socket. When I pulled that switch I received a totally different kind of show.
Before I knew what happened the electricity ripped through my arm and made it's way through the rest of my small frame. I was sure that I was about to die, and I probably would have if my violent shaking had not knocked the wobbly chair from underneath my feet.
By then my mother had noticed the smell of the smoke and the flickering lights and had come to investigate. She arrived just as I was falling to the ground. She quickly picked me up and made sure that I was okay. Once she saw that I didn't have any major injuries and that I was going to live....she promptly beat the living daylights out of me.
Needless to say I never did that again. It's incidents like that which have me convinced that kids need something to do or something to occupy their time...because an idle mind really is the devil's workshop!
As far back as I can remember, I have always had an analytical/scientific brain. I always wanted to know how things worked. My siblings and my parents didn't quite understand they thought that I was just being destructive when I took their toys and radios apart. It wasn't destruction it was curiosity. I do remember one (or more) occasion(s), however when my curiosity actually had some destructive side effects.
The most memorable event took place one summer. I believe I was only 8 years old. I don't remember the reason but I was restricted to my room which happened to be in the basement. After a few moments of nothing to do I began to look around for something to entertain me. I still am not sure how I came up with the idea, but I noticed that there was a light socket that was missing a bulb, and then that scientific brain of mine went to work.
I found myself wondering what would happen if I stuck something in the light socket and pulled the chain on the light socket. I began looking around for something long enough to reach up to the light. Conveniently in an area where my dad kept his tools I found a piece of wire screen. I took the screen and rolled it up like a long stick. The I found a chair to stand on so I could reach the light socket.
I carefully stuck the screen into the socket and slowly pulled the chain and POOF! there was a bright shower of white sparks. It was like a mini-fireworks show. After a quick check to make sure everything was still in tact on me, I inserted the screen again and pulled the chain and again the bright white sparks. Convinced that I couldn't get hurt I had the bright idea to pull the switch really fast to create an uninterrupted light show.
My calculations were correct, by continually pushing up on the screen and rapidly pulling the chain switch I was creating a non-stop flow of beautiful white sparks. I was so caught in the display that I didn't notice that my piece of screen was getting shorter and shorter with each click. I was also to preoccupied to notice the smoke that was starting to build up and make it's way upstairs to my mother.
All I was concentrating on was the sparks. Click...Poof, Click...Poof, Click...Poof and that's when it happened. I went to push the screen in and pulled the switch...expectantly waiting to see those lovely white sparks. This time instead of white sparks everything went black! I hadn't noticed that there was only a small bit of screen in my hand and that I had actually inserted my thumb into the socket. When I pulled that switch I received a totally different kind of show.
Before I knew what happened the electricity ripped through my arm and made it's way through the rest of my small frame. I was sure that I was about to die, and I probably would have if my violent shaking had not knocked the wobbly chair from underneath my feet.
By then my mother had noticed the smell of the smoke and the flickering lights and had come to investigate. She arrived just as I was falling to the ground. She quickly picked me up and made sure that I was okay. Once she saw that I didn't have any major injuries and that I was going to live....she promptly beat the living daylights out of me.
Needless to say I never did that again. It's incidents like that which have me convinced that kids need something to do or something to occupy their time...because an idle mind really is the devil's workshop!
Someone Is Watching You
As a kid I was always aware of the fact that someone was always watching me, whether or not I saw them. I knew ultimately that God was watching...but I didn't think that I would be seeing Him anytime soon so I could always overlook that fact. What I couldn't overlook was the fact that my parents always seemed to know what I was up to thanks to neighbors and family members who kept them up to date. It was like my parents had eyes everywhere.It was a different back then as well because my neighbors had no reservations about correcting me (both verbally and physically if need be!) There was great motivation to behave as you were liable to catch it several times from the neighbors the parents and even from aunties and uncles when they heard about it.
I have taken what I have learned and have tried to teach the concept of "Someone Watching" to my own children. I have been very blessed that while they were younger, there was always something happening to reinforce the concept and make it become a reality to them.
On such example is the time we were out on a family outing skating and enjoying each other's company. A reporter for the Vallejo Times Herald saw us and took our picture. My children were thrilled to see their picture on the front page of the paper.
On another occasion, after leaving church, we were sitting and having lunch together in a restaurant. I noticed a man staring at us. I didn't think too much of it. (we get a lot of those kinds of stares:) ) The man finished his meal and I saw him approaching our table. He introduced himself, shook my hand and then expressed how he enjoyed seeing us hanging out as a family and enjoying each other's company. Turns out he was the director of the State Fair, and after a few words he gave us free tickets to the State Fair and even paid for our parking. We went to the fair later that day and had a really great time.
Those events and others like them have helped to reinforce and instill the concept that someone is always watching us...whether we see them or not. I think it is a concept that a lot more parents need to share with their children...especially in this technological era where everyone is looking to capture the perfect youtube moment!
Hard Work Work..
After what felt like endless hours of staring at codes and scripts I am just about done with the changes and updates to my blog. I guess this must be the season for change as I noticed several of places that I frequent were also undergoing a bit of renovation.
What's New?
Obviously the template is different. I was loving the green floral template even though there were a lot of people wondering what was up with it...it didn't seem like a very masculine theme. Well I can't tell you that's a private joke between me and the misses.
In addition to a template change I also decided to play around with a few new features such as the star ratings which you should see at the end of each post...these are not so much to stroke my ego as they are to give me a sense of what content people like the most or which articles tend to rub people the wrong way.
I've also decided to give the Intense Debate Widget a try. I have a few minor things I need to change and some broken links to repair also. Now that the major construction is done I can get back to posting regularly.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog, I really do appreciate it.
Peace & God Bless
mmog
What's New?
Obviously the template is different. I was loving the green floral template even though there were a lot of people wondering what was up with it...it didn't seem like a very masculine theme. Well I can't tell you that's a private joke between me and the misses.
In addition to a template change I also decided to play around with a few new features such as the star ratings which you should see at the end of each post...these are not so much to stroke my ego as they are to give me a sense of what content people like the most or which articles tend to rub people the wrong way.
I've also decided to give the Intense Debate Widget a try. I have a few minor things I need to change and some broken links to repair also. Now that the major construction is done I can get back to posting regularly.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog, I really do appreciate it.
Peace & God Bless
mmog
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