How would you swear in an atheist?
2 minute read
December 10, 2006, 11:18 PM
I was listening to the last hour of Bruce Williams‘ December 1 show on my iPod this evening while in the car, and he brought up a topic that I found interesting. In the show, he mentioned that congressman-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN) would be sworn into office using the Koran, which is the holy book of Islam, as he is a Muslim. Now, in researching this a little bit, it turns out that he will not be sworn in using the Koran, as all members are sworn in as a group by the Speaker of the House, with no books involved.
The basic concept was about the use of the Koran. It seems fairly straightforward to me, and Bruce and I seem to be in agreement that if he or any Muslim for that matter, were to be sworn in using the Christian Bible, it wouldn’t mean much to him because it’s not something that is a part of his faith. Likewise for a Christian being sworn in by placing their hand on the Koran.
Categories: National politics, Religion
Would you believe I’m already sick of Christmas?
2 minute read
December 9, 2006, 6:11 PM
It’s not even December 10 yet, and I’m already utterly sick and tired of Christmas. All I have to say is that at this rate, it’s going to be a LONG next two weeks. This is what happens when one works retail during the Christmas season. Christmas music and Santa Claus and ho ho ho and all that are piped through the loudspeaker constantly, and Christmas decor is just about everywhere.
I even was opposed to putting up a tree in the house this year. After having to deal with all the Christmas mumbo-jumbo at work, I want to go home and forget the season. You know how much Christmas decoration I have in my bedroom? None. This room basically looks the same as it did in July. Mom asked me if I wanted to help put up the (fake) tree downstairs, and I declined. I see enough trees already, thank you. On that, she suggested we don’t have a tree, then. I think I caught her off guard when I agreed with her about not having one. I really don’t want to have anything to do with Christmas in the house. I’m tired of it, and I wish it would all go away. I’ll just take a bye on Christmas this year, thank you.
Categories: Christmas
Sometimes I just don’t understand…
3 minute read
December 4, 2006, 10:12 PM
I don’t understand what makes people think that sending a volley of insults my way will make them look intelligent. I recently received an Email from a fellow named Scott Blevins from Mendota, Illinois. He asked me three rather intelligent questions, though I admit that they’re somewhat frequently asked. The first question was about why I was interested in fire alarms, and whether others were interested in it. She second was why, despite having a college degree, I work at Wal-Mart. The last one was about how many visitors I get to the site on an average week.
My answers were honest and cordial. For the first question, I described how the interest was sparked, and referred Mr. Blevins to my forums for others’ interest in the same topic. On the second question, I described my ongoing job hunt, and about the interview I had in April. For the last question, I told him that I don’t track my numbers, as I don’t find that information particularly useful for a personal Web site.
For this, I got a response that made me realize that I wasted my time in responding to the initial message. After he called me a “tool” several times, he made a few points that I found amusing. And I quote:
Categories: Some people
“Touch the ball.”
2 minute read
December 2, 2006, 10:27 PM
Have you ever seen the movie Space Jam? At the end, you may recall, at Michael Jordan’s insistence, that the NBA players who had their talent stolen by the aliens touched the basketball to get their basketball talent back.
Reason I mention this is because I saw a photo in today’s Staunton News Leader that brought this scene to mind. Take a look: