Gas Prices... Just as I Suspected

I was thinking that gas prices have been getting low enough that they should be making some records when you adjust for inflation.  I found this graph that I thought was interesting enough to share for two reasons.  First of all, gas is now cheaper than it was 50 years ago when you adjust for inflation.  Secondly, the graph shows how much the dollar has inflated.  The dollar is basically worth half as much as it was 25 years ago.

Figure courtesy of Wall Street Journal.  Check out  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122722595127246035.html

for the whole article.

The Tolerance we find in America

I came across an article today about an 8th grader who ran an experiment this election season.  She noticed that her school was predominantly in support of Obama, and so she wore a shirt that supported McCain for a day and recorded the tolerant and understanding responses that she received.  

I don't mean to imply that the situation would have been different had she worn an Obama shirt in a predominantly McCain-supporting school.  I hope that this experiment is an anomoly and the majority of people are more accepting... but I kinda doubt it.

The Ill-Fated Road trip

A few of you have heard the story about my attempt to make it to Phil and Heather's wedding a couple weeks ago. Here is the extended version of the story:

On Friday night after gcf (graduate Christian fellowship) large group my roommate and I gave another gcf member a ride home and found out that she was going to Chicago the next day for a family get together. She was planning on getting up to take the train at 6am, but the timing worked out that I could give her a ride, drop her off a couple miles from the highway, and continue on to Phil's wedding in Milwaukee. That made me happy, since while I like road tripping I get bored, and having company helps a lot. So. The next morning we headed out, and I dropped her off right on time. Right after I left, the low coolant light came on in my car. I got out and looked under the hood to see something wet scattered over part of my car.

Now, I'm not a mechanic. However, I do posses shrewd observation skills and a solid command of basic logic.  So after carefully evaluating the evidence before me, I determined that something was wrong with my car. I got directions to the nearest service station and headed there immediately, arriving just in time to pop the hood and watch the remainder of the engine coolant make its bold escape from the confines of my engine via a hose that was as cracked as a drug-dealing cop.

The service station I had happened upon said that they'd have to order the needed part from Saab and wouldn't be able to fix it until Monday. As a good American, I wanted it fixed within the next hour, so I called my insurance company to get my ride towed to a Saab service station. Sweet! tow truck within the hour. Get it fixed. Still make it to the reception and get to catch up with everyone...

An hour and twenty minutes later I called back. "Oh, apparently the tow truck was in an accident and they didn't tell us... please hold... we can get a different truck there in an hour to an hour and a half. Can you wait that long?" "NO! I'm going to drive off, catch me if you can!"  As if I had a choice.  Finally, four hours after I pulled into the station, a tow truck arrived and got me to Saabtech precisely fifteen minutes after they closed for the day, perfect timing. So I ended up calling Betsi (the friend I gave a ride to) and spending the evening with her and her extended family.

Now, as these plans were being made, I was picturing myself being introduced to all of Betsi's relatives as "her 'friend' from college who gave her a ride" (assuming they forget about the "and had car trouble" part at the end).  Meeting her Aunt and Uncle and immediate family was fine, and I went out to dinner with them.  However, after dinner we went to Betsi's great Uncle and Aunt's house where several other family members were lying in wait to jump me, tie me up, interrogate me about my intentions with their great niece/niece/cousin, and quite possibly look strangely at me.  But I knew their plan had a fatal flaw.  When my sister got married a few years ago I had a few awkward moments when I couldn't quite remember who certain people were that I was, in fact, related to.  Therefore, as I entered the door, before anyone could say anything (or get the rope out to tie me up), I greeted them all, "Hi everybody!  Man, it's been a while.  How have you all been?!"  

My shock and awe campaign was a complete success.  In the ensuing moments chaos ruled in their minds.  I could see from the looks on their faces that they were frantically scrambling to figure out who I possibly could be, who knew all of them without them recognizing me.  With the enemy camp thrown into disarray, I was able to explain why I was there, and they were so relieved to learn that they weren't supposed to know me that my explaination was met with no objections, no strange looks, and most importantly, no ropes or bright lights.

In the end it turned out to be kind of fun, because I do like people and Betsi has a very nice family.  I guess I also got a practice run at meeting a girlfriend's family (whenever that happens :).   I was fortunate enough to be able to stay the night at Betsi's Aunt and Uncle's sweet downtown flat, and took the train back to Champaign in the morning, leaving my car for my parents to pick up the next weekend on their way to visit me.

All in all the whole experience  reminded me that I'm not as in control of my life as I'd like to think I am. It could have been a lot worse, I had a place to stay and someone to ride the train back with, but bottom line was that the day went much differently than I had planned.

James 4:13-17

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.'  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'  As it is, you boast and brag.  All such boasting is evil."

I'm going to retranslate that into the "Peter just had an interesting weekend" version.

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to Chicago and then Milwaukee, go to a wedding, and return home.'  Why, you do not even know whether or not your car's coolant hose will crack before you get there.  In addition, the tow truck may be delayed such that you cannot get your car fixed until Monday, forcing you to depend on a friend's relatives for a bed and to take the train home early the next morning.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and go on a road trip to celebrate an old friend's wedding.'  As it is, you boast and brag.  All such boasting is evil."

Apparently I'm not quite as in control of my life as I like to think.

Practical Justice...

is the name of a book that I started reading a couple weeks ago.  It is written by a Christian who spends a lot of time ministering to the opressed and the poor.  Most recently I read the section of the book on "giving a man a fish" where he talks about direct handouts:  what it looks like to directly help someone, what it can cost, and what not to do.  In addition to that, I started reading Isaiah in my quiet times, which is a lot of God criticizing the rich for making money by oppressing those who are in need.  God promises to return and give both the righteous and the wicked what they deserve.

Anyway, I think I read the chapter in Practical Justice on Wednesday morning.  That day it was raining so I rode the bus to campus and was thinking about walking home that evening because I felt like it.  As I was walking down green street a man named Charles greeted me on the street.  I could tell immediately from his manner that he wanted something from me (or was selling something), and sure enough, he told me he was homeless and asked if I would help him out.  Due to some other circumstances that God brought about, I was relatively free for the evening and so I agreed to buy him dinner, where he told me that he was a Christian, has been all his life, and his favorite passage is the ten commandments.  Also during dinner he asked me for a few different things that boiled down to more money, which I did agree to take him to Goodwill and buy him a coat, while refusing to give him $40 in cash.  

So I drove Charles and a buddy of his, Marcus, to Goodwill and bought him a warm coat and a pair of pants.  Marcus had walked over to buy some food at a fast food place, so we drove over to pick him up there, and parked to wait.  As we sat in the parking lot, I looked over my left shoulder to see the restaurant, and then to my right and saw a liquour store, and then started to wonder which door Marcus would come out of.  Sure enough, he came out of the latter establishment.  Charles assured me that he was talking to somebody there, cuz he knows lots of people, but Marcus hadn't seen us right away, and I saw the bottle in his hand and the look in his eye when he spotted us.  His story was that Long John Silver's didn't have change for a $50, so he had to go over there to get change.

I'm really glad I had the whole experience.  I was exposed to the realities of the poor.  I can't say that I really got a taste of it or that it hit me full on.  But I met and talked to some guys who have to walk everywhere and sleep on the streets.  

I'm glad I put some food in Charles' stomach and I'm glad I put a warm coat on his back, and I'm glad I didn't give him any cash :).  I also figured that since he said he was a Christian (whether he is or not) and I was buying him dinner, that he wasn't going anywhere, so I talked as much as I could about Jesus.  I told him one of my favorite passages, I talked about what I've been learning about trusting God in grad school, and about what we studied in Bible study the night before.  When he thanked me I told him to thank God, because I wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't for what God has done for me.  This kind of thing is outside of my comfort zone and risks my belongings and takes my time, but I think it's what Jesus would have done. 

I apologize if it seems like I'm tooting my own horn here, I don't mean to be.  This is something that happened to me.  I've been praying for opportunities to share the gospel and to be a part of caring for the poor and the oppressed, and so I guess I shouldn't be surprised when God gives me a chance to do both.

Life without mah internetz?

Last Monday the internet at my apartment was down all day. This did result in a few minor emergencies-I had to frantically redo some homework on campus so that I could print out the proper graph. However, I have recently been thinking about how I spend my time and if I am actually as busy as I think. That day definitely illustrated to me how much I use the internet for AND how much time I waste online. I also realized that I really could do without the internet. I'd have to either stay on campus or go back to campus after dinner to do homework in the evening and check my email less frequently, but that really isn't that drastic. After I finished my homework on Monday evening I sat down and read a book instead of reading news or browsing the internet. So what if I fall behind on reading xkcd or miss a deal on something at Newegg, having a slower pace could be nice. As an inadvertent illustration to my point, I'm writing this on campus while I'm in between events, and thirty minutes just wasn't enough time for me to feel like getting some homework done (especially since it isn't due until next Monday).

I've also decided that I think that my blog is one of the most unattractive blogs on the net, so I may play around with the template and color scheme.

have a fabulous Thursday

Home-schooling strikes again!

I just read an article about a twelve-year-old girl who got bored with high school coursework and is now attending a community college.  She is applying to go to Yale for pre-med next year.  The thing that I liked best about the article is that her parents said that others asked them "Aren't you rushing things?"  Which is a pretty valid question, but their response was that it was their daughter who has these goals and dreams, and so they're just being supportive.  I though it was cool that they aren't pressuring her, she's making her own decisions with their help.  Sounds like home-schooling at it's best.

My Hero for today...

is Daniel Ellenson.  He is the author of one of my favorite techno songs ever, Inside of Me,  and I just discovered that I can download it for free on his website.  If you're a fan of techno/trance, you should check it out.

In other random news, yesterday I went swing dancing and had lots of fun.  Apparently they also have a big Halloween swing dance, so I need to come up with a costume.

My class today was cancelled, so I need to get lots of homework done so that I can go camping tonight and still have enough time to do 3 homework assignments, grade lab reports, and study for a test and a midterm, all of which are due by Thursday.  Smile!  God loves you.

Politics (gasp)

One of the worst accusations politicians receive is that of being a flip-flopper, or of changing their position.  So when new information or more experience causes them to change their position on an issue, they're required to quietly and carefully start saying something different, while hoping that no one will notice that they said something else six months ago.

Today I read an article on a recent interview of Senator Obama by ABC's George Stephanopoulos.  In this interview Sen. Obama made it as clear as a politician can that if he becomes President he will not raise taxes if the economy is still in a fragile state.  This is a far different plan than what he presented when he was still one of several contenders in the Democratic Primary (largest tax increase in near history), and a moderated plan that he presented this summer as the presumptive Democratic Nominee (moderate tax increase no matter what).

Critics of Mr. Obama might say that this was his plan all along.  First to court the liberal Democrats that he needed to make a strong showing in the Primary and then switch to a more moderate position when it's important to be able to court more conservative/moderate voters.  Personally, I think that if that's the case, he deserves the Presidency.  Anyone who can plan that far ahead to achieve success should be able to do at least a half-decent job of running the country.  Far more likely is that as time has gone on, Mr. Obama has been doing some thinking about what he'll really do if he gets to be in charge.  This thinking has led him to a position that, in my humble opinion, is much wiser than his original plan.  Which, if this is the case, simply means that Mr. Obama is willing to learn and adjust his position to what he believes is the correct one.  I consider this an admirable trait.  However, "change" would have to include a smaller government, a balanced budget, and a pro-life posiiton before such an admirable trait would cause me to consider voting for him.

Brightened up my day

This just in from the Wall Street Journal Best of the Web Today.  Fred Thompson spoke at the Republican National Convention and had this to say of Sarah Palin:  

Thompson describes Palin as "the only nominee in the history of either party who knows how to properly field dress a moose, with the possible exception of Teddy Roosevelt." It's not clear if he means TR might have been able to field dress a moose or Palin might not be able to field dress TR.

My work here is done.