You can certainly call today a big day.

1-4… 1-4!

My two teams are now combined for a stunning 1-9 record.

My two favorite NFL teams currently combine for a record of 1-8… San Francisco plays tonight, and I don’t imagine it’ll get any better.

I think I have finally removed myself from most of those Skeptic facebook pages. I find them to be just as annoying as in-your-face religious people.

Made our first local Trader Joe run today. Busy as you can imagine, but we picked up some goodies.

Hero of the Republic, everyone.

Just in case you are ever curious about what a 50-LANE TRAFFIC JAM looks like.

Two school shootings in one day. Way to go America, I knew you could do it.

Long lost lake on Mars’ surface. I can’t wait until we’re able to witness this in person.

Something to contemplate.

“If the Universe is finite but unbounded, it is also possible that the Universe is smaller than the observable universe. In this case, what we take to be very distant galaxies may actually be duplicate images of nearby galaxies, formed by light that has circumnavigated the Universe. It is difficult to test this hypothesis experimentally because different images of a galaxy would show different eras in its history, and consequently might appear quite different.”

When doing a pros and cons list, I like to do a pro and KHAAAAAAAAN! list.

I am a San Francisco 49ers fan first and Detroit Lions fan second. This gives my total fandom a record of 1-7 so far this season.

Yay!

Someone actually mailed my wallet to me! All the way from Coldwater, about 100 miles south. They (or sometime else) took my birthday money, but everything else was there.

What a monster!

;)

Ugh. Now to go about canceling cards, getting replacements, and hitting the secretary of state for a new license.

Bleah!

Places not to sit your wallet #27681: on top of your car.

Life would be much easier if my college’s Programming program would go all online. Stay at home dad with two under two will not allow for me to attend some of the classes I need easily.

This made me happy.

I’m guilty of this.

I’m ready for this sickness to go away. I feel like I’m breathing through a filter of stank.

Some Buddha Dharma study before bed.

Anguttara Nikaya 5.57 Upajjhatthana Sutta Subjects for Contemplation

There are these five facts that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, lay or ordained. Which five?

I am subject to aging, have not gone beyond aging.

I am subject to illness, have not gone beyond illness.

I am subject to death, have not gone beyond death.

I will grow different, separate from all that is dear and appealing to me.

I am the owner of my actions, heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I fall heir.

Never read the comments, never read the comments, never read the comments, NEVER READ THE COMMENTS!

Damn it. Why did I read the comments.

I hate Michigan St at this time.

With the equinox here, the sun will be rather blinding at rise and set alone east-west roads.

“My life is a bacon wrapped hell on earth” -Kermit the Frog

Welcome back Muppets!

“Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers.”

-Socrates

!!!

Do you know why they call it a touchdown in American Football?

There used to be no end-zone in football, and they counted goals much like they do in soccer. The only way to score in football at the time was to kick the ball through the goal posts much in a way that a drop kick goal is scored in Rugby.

If you were able to press the football on to the ground just beyond the opponents goal line, you were given a free try at goal without your opponents being able to interfere. In American Football this was called a touchdown which it is called today. Similarly, Rugby maintained this feature as well and it is still called a “try”, as you were given a free try at goal.

Did you know there have been five NFL teams in Detroit?

Detroit Heralds (1905–1920) Detroit Tigers (1921) Detroit Panthers (1925–1926) Detroit Wolverines (1928) Detroit Lions (1934–present)

Four years ago this morning, I left Texas and never looked back. I didn’t know it then, but it was the best thing to ever happen to me.

This is a game I’ll need to see. Japan beats the Springboks. Crazy.

Some Dharma study before bed.

To summarize a view on all things in Buddhism: everything breaks, becomes destroyed, disintegrates, or dies.

Therefore, it is useless to cling to things or people as they do not last. Likewise, you should appreciate things and people when they are around.

Doing some Dharma study before bed.

Samyutta Nikaya 11.4 - Vepacitti Sutta

It is indeed a fault for one Who returns anger for anger.

Not giving anger for anger, One wins a double victory.

He behaves for the good of both: Himself and the other person.

Knowing well the other’s anger, He is mindful and remains calm.

In this way he is healing both: Himself and the other person.

The people who think “He’s a fool,” Just don’t understand the [teachings].

I dislike peer review time in English Composition. My personality does not like to tell other they are doing it wrong. I want to pet them on the head and let them know they did the best job they could - even while I am shaking my head in disbelief at how tortured their use of the written word is.

I’ve hit a few of these.

… and probably having to use the bathroom frequently in the night.

Belle came home from school excited to tell me about the new human ancestor that was discovered recently. She learned about it today.

♥ ♥ ♥

Angry responses in 3… 2…1…

Fun idea: a stock exchange website for silly things. Put your fake money into a football player and if he does well you earn more fake money. Buy stock in “mild winter” and for every inch of snow that falls you lose your fake money.

Ryker is 16 months old today.

“Make America Great Again”

As a slogan, it rallies the thinnest of thinkers. As a concept, it is criminally light on substance. How are you going to make it great? What do you consider great? How do you measure this? What if it was never great to begin with?

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was great. A little of his old persona leaked through, though I’m uncertain if that was the persona or just him. Good stuff none the less.

Seeing everyone’s first day of school photos has a peculiar effect of making me feel old.

I… what?

Yeah, about that…

There was a K-Mart commercial on TV right now with Christmas music.

I’m not sure which I’m more surprised with: a Christmas commercial before labor day, or the fact it was K-Mart.

I continue to struggle with this story. Of all the things I’ve seen through my twenty years on the internet, this has been the roughest.

I still cannot get that little kid out of my mind. A mental image of his lifeless body lying on the beach keeps coming into my head every moment that I am not active thinking of something. His name is Aylan Kurdi, and whatever life he may have had the opportunity to have was cut way to short.

I can’t help but think of what it would be like to be so scared - so terrified of where you live that you are willing to put your entire family on a flimsy vessel and launch it into the Mediterranean Sea. Not only this, but usually leaving everything behind except the clothes on your back and trusting whichever smuggler you paid off with everything you hold dear.

And then I think of little Aylan. In this photo that I can’t get out of mind, he is wearing a cute little outfit. How many times have I dressed Ryker up in a simple but cute set of clothes. Aylan’s shoes seem to hit many people hard, and I understand why. Ryker loves having his shoes put on. It means there is a big adventure just around the corner. A walk along the sidewalk? A ride to the grocery store? Maybe we’re going to the park. Those shoes… those shoes.

There is so much more to it than just little Aylan. He was the one photographed, but he wasn’t the only one. Just in his family, everyone but the father died. How does one continue on knowing that EVERYTHING you hold dear is now gone. Again, I think of my own life. Kerrie, Belle, Ryker, and unborn Aurora. Gone. Gone because life in the country I live was so absolutely terrifying that this option - this terribly dangerous trip - was the only option we, as a family, felt we had. So desperate for a life without the fear of falling victim to either the bloody Syrian civil war, or being in your town when ISIS manages to capture it.

This world, and the people in power - or the people who wish to claim the power, make me sick. Shame to these people, shame to the people who take their religion to extremes, and shame on the nations of the world who take their bold xenophobic stance and say, “I drew a line on the map; this part of the Earth will not receive you.” Damn all of you that want to build a border wall and then say, “no vacancy”.

GRCC Blackboard is craaaaaasshhhhi~

boom smash

The images of the drowned children from the boats escaping to Europe will haunt me for quite some time.

Every nation should be ashamed.

I wonder if any of my English instructors had someone try this move.

Saving for later. It’s time for some Grand Rapids Rugby! This year there is a game every weekend with the men’s and women’s team alternating home and away days.

Every semester I’m excited to start my new classes. I do all of my online for the most part, so the day the class opens I jump in there and check everything out. I also jump into the discussion board and start all of my hellos.

24 hours later I’m still the only one to post anything. How can anyone wait this long!? I always seem to be the first and only for a few days.

Eeeew

Stung by a yellow jacket while mowing. Yay.

Believe it only when it’s convenient.

Bernie!

:o

I understand that many people will have a hard time understanding how these things can cause quite a bit of anxiety, but believe me they do. I get an upset stomach and muddled mind when asked a question unexpectedly, and if I detect even a hint of criticism, my brain completely shuts down.

I’m taking an online sexual assault mini-course for my school and it is disturbing to think that there are people out there that do not understand these concepts.

Remember that whole things that was going around about Mars being as big as the full moon in the sky?

Someone did the math and Mars would have to be 600,000 miles from Earth to appear as large as the moon. Mars would have to be orbiting Earth for this to happen.

The closest Mars can be to us is just under 34 million miles. The farthest is 249 million miles.

10 runs in the 6th inning.

10!

Woah

Food for thought.

My sinuses… My face…

Ugh…

Have you?

Think like a man? Is this why my wife called me “sugar tits” today?

Hehe.

Friends from Grand Rapids, recognize these people? An SD card filled with photos was found at a local park and they want to get these pictures to their owner.

OMG, moonsauce!

Would have been his 51st birthday. :(

Ugh. My only starting pitcher in fantasy baseball last night racked up an ERA of 162… … …

:o

And now he’s been optioned to the minors.

Discovered phytolacca americana growing next to our house. They are quite toxic, so it looks like I’ll be going on an extermination mission tomorrow or next weekend.

The confederate flag is a racist symbol. Now, you may argue that the flag we know today was not technically the official flag of the CSA, but the red flag with a blue saltire, white outlining, and thirteen white five-pointed stars was used in the canton of two of the three flags used by the CSA. In addition, the common confederate battle flag flown by people today was indeed used by the confederacy during battle, hence it’s name. Lastly, I leave you with the words of the designer of the second confederate flag which includes the battle flag in its canton:

“As a people, we are fighting to maintain the Heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause… Such a flag…would soon take rank among the proudest ensigns of the nations, and be hailed by the civilized world as the white mans flag… As a national emblem, it is significant of our higher cause, the cause of a superior race, and a higher civilization contending against ignorance, infidelity, and barbarism. Another merit in the new flag is, that it bears no resemblance to the now infamous banner of the Yankee vandals.”

-William Tappan Thompson, co-creator of the second confederate flag.

Streaming the Xbox One to your PC is pretty cool. Works just like Steam streaming.

20 hits! Come on Detroit! Ugh.

Also 3 years ago today, I met Laurel. Hi Laurel!

Another shooting. You could synchronise your calendar to shootings in this country.

This Social Problems class really disrupts my calm.

:(

Weather ≠ climate.

The good ol days.

Prepare to roll your eyes.

Rocking Ryker to sleep and noticed I keep humming the tunes of Final Fantasy VI’s Terra’s Theme and The Legend of Zelda’s Main Theme.

HashbrownGamer. IsThisHowYouUseHashTags?

Just saw the tail end of the NRL State of Origin game 3. Queensland 52, New South Wales 6.

Wow!

How about that wage gap………

No game has captured my imagination quite like this one. I can’t wait for its release.

All in a day’s work.

So I keep hearing the Obama supposedly changed 4th of July and it has conservatives all tied in a knot. What is this faux controversy?

Mmmm. Bleach buzz.

:/

I’m ready for my first trip to Cuba. Just have to wait for Congress to end the embargo.

This is beautiful.

If your religion makes it impossible to fulfill the duties of your job, maybe it is time to find a new job.

They promised! It’s time to own up.

I have always said this: I hope one day that future generations will look upon these people in their history books and mock them for their ways much like we do with the racists in the 50s.

I need to find out if there is going to be a big celebration in Grand Rapids.

It fills me with such happiness to know on a personal level that should any of my children be gay, they’ll have every right to to seek out the happiness of sharing a life with someone they love with equal protections under the law.

You have had to play the Sims to understand this.

Tornado Watch issued nearby in Ionia County until 3am. We’re close enough that we should remain vigilant for nasty weather.

CONFIRMED: an EF-1 tornado touched down in Portland, Michigan (Ionia County) this afternoon.