The Data-basses

Missy and I both got each other Simply Guitar for Christmas. This is a book and DVD that teaches you how to play the guitar. I've always wanted to learn guitar so this will give me a chance to learn.

What I'd really like to learn is to play the bass guitar. I'd love to be in a band called the data-basses. And we'd all play bass guitar. We'd have songs like
"Rollback baby" and
"You've got the primary key to my heart" and
"Select me from everyone" and
"You are the sequel for me" and
"Let us join together forever" and
"You are my one-to-one relationship" and
"I'll update your trigger"

Maybe I should quit my day job??

2x=20, x=?

In the spirit of Top Ten Lists, I've created a top ten list of my favorite equations (or identities) and a little blurb as to why this equation made the list. The list is also counting from 10 to 1 to build up suspense as to what my favorite equation is!! (note: ^ indicates raised to a power)

10. A=(pi)r^2. The area of a circle. I've always loved this equation because of the "pie are not square, they are round" math joke.

9. E=mc^2. Einstein's famous energy equation. It equates mass and energy and is the initials of my husband's name.

8. sin^2(theta) + cos^2(theta) = 1. This is a trigonometric function defining a unit circle. I've always thought it was fun to add sine and cosine. It just seems so wrong, so dirty somehow.

7. y'/y^n +P(x)/y^(n-1) = Q(x) Bernoulli's equation. This equation is a nonlinear differential equation that we used constantly in classes in undergrad. If I had no idea what to do on a problem, I would just write down Bernoulli's equation and a bunch of other stuff and usually got a lot of partial credit. Yea - I'm a great engineer!

6. x =(-b +/- sqrt(b^2 -4ac))/2a Quadratic formula. This is an old standby. Such a great way to solve quadratic equations. Who doesn't love this formula!

5. F=ma. Force = mass times acceleration. Just thinking about this equation makes me think of gravity and I just love gravity. This equation is really all you need to know about physics.

4. F(s) = (integral from 0 to infinity) e^(-st) f(t)dt Laplace Transform. This is another fun equation we used in school. It was really fun because we got to put s's in our differential equations wherever we wanted.

3. F(n) = F(n-1) + F(n-2) Fibonacci sequence. This sequence adds the previous two numbers in the sequence to obtain the current value. This sequence is interesting because the shape of the Nautilus shell follows this sequence as do some flowers. Math in nature - very cool!

2. a^2 + b^2 = c^2 Pythagorean theorem. This is such a great equation to solve for one of the sides of a triangle. One of my greatest math moments is when I realized that 3^2 +4^2 = 5^2. I'm not sure why this was such a math moment, but I remember thinking math was beautiful!

1. e^(i(pi)) = -1. This is actually an identity rather than an equation. However it has all sorts of fun math symbols in it! e is Euler's number, i is an imaginary number - pretty cool, and pi - also a cool number. Tons of irrational numbers together somehow equals negative one. It kind of makes no sense, but on some level it does.

So my faithful readers, are there any I forgot? Are there any you think should have been on here?

I also had to put Sarah's picture with the lamb. She's 11 months old now!!

Stacking the Candyland deck

Today we were playing a friendly game of Candyland when Jenna got upset because she hadn't drawn a red card. My opinion was, just wait and sometime you'll probably draw a red card. Jenna has Daddy wrapped around her finger so as he was shuffling he stacked the deck so she could get a red card. CHEATER!!! Of course she won the game. However cheaters never win! I think it is all a conspiracy against me so that I'll get the gingerbread man and have to go back to the beginning.

I'm not sure what Sarah's obsession with the dishwasher is and this video shows her dishwasher work at its finest. Erik also thinks he can throw her up in the air since she's the backup. He throws her pretty high and it's a little scary but she loves it as you can see.

I got 77 points in Quiddler today and made the words creole (5 point bonus) and dyking (I did NOT know that was a word - what does it even mean? do I want to know?) and noms. What an awesome quiddler day for me!

This blog post is a little lighter than the last couple even though I'm really excited about all the discussion! Maybe we'll have more exciting topics in the future. Although I do think Erik's stacking the candyland deck is worthy of discussion. How can we trust him in other games if he is willing to go to lengths to stack the candyland deck? I tell ya, I'm always back at the gingerbread man!

Another Perspective on Contraception

I'm so excited that I got 13 comments on my last post!! And that everyone is thinking about this topic. One of the professors at Devry has 6 children and I've copied his thoughts below. He puts his faith into action. I've known him for about 7 years and has never complained about having too many kids or them being too much work. To him, they are a blessing. He has the right attitude - one that I'm working on :).

So what can I say? I am a “cradle” catholic - born and raised in the catholic faith. With my children growing – my oldest now 14 – I need to address this issue with them. It’s for them that I am most concerned but right on the heels of that I must say God loves each and every child and what is happening in America and all over the world with abortion (and thus most forms of contraception) is the second greatest evil that world has ever known. The concentration camps held only a small fraction of the dead that have fallen to our practices since Roe V. Wade and the abortion numbers don’t even begin to estimate the number of chemically induced abortions due to abortive contraception methods. BTW Roe – who brought the case – is now one of leading prolife advocates in the US.

My personal experience and thoughts on birth control have indeed been tempered by the teachings of the church – doesn’t it sound better to say ‘family planning’??? Did God give us the intellect and tools to help us plan a family? Absolutely. Does he want us to do so without killing? Absolutely. This is not a social question or a health question. If you truly believe life begins at conception then anything we do that stands in the way of that life coming to fruition as God intended places our souls at risk, more so if we knowingly lead others along that path. Parents, health professionals, and public policy makers have great responsibility. Now, I am not saying everyone who uses contraception or has promoted abortive methods has sinned. Sin involves the intention as well as the action. One must know what they are doing is wrong for it to be a matter of sin.

My aunt Rose is the group that did not realize the contraception methods she was using were abortive. To this day they have not had children but they wanted them very badly. She was pregnant once and only after she lost the child did she come to find out the her birth control methods may have played a roll. Can God grant a child to a couple using birth control? Yes – unfortunately things do not always work out for those children conceived during the contraceptive use. She still blames herself but again at the time she did not know that what she was doing could harm the baby – she is one of the gentlest people I know which is why I think this still hurts for her today.

So what do/will I tell my children and what do Kathy I practice? I will (do) tell my children that the availability of pornography on the internet and the sexuality that they see on TV and elsewhere is dangerous. When one begins to only think of sex and not the person or relationship involved not to mention the potential for children then one has gone astray. Sex should not be selfish or casual and thought of as without consequence. Only in a real loving relationship can it truly be experienced for all that it is – which I would dare say – includes an openness to God and his plans. The true potential and meaning come to fruition only in marriage. Not “I think we are going to get married” but the true commitment it takes to raise a family.

So how does one plan a family? God knows that there are times when we would like to postpone a pregnancy but what he asks is an openness to his will too. He also knows that there are couples who desperately want a child or children. If a woman’s fertility can be tracked and ovulation predicted reliably then that’s really all you need. Men are typically always fertile so that part doesn’t matter too much. Abstain during fertile times and you can prevent pregnancy as reliably as any of the artificial birth control methods. Don’t abstain during fertile times and you are likely to conceive – some couples more than others :). Kathy & I use the sympto – thermal method to track her fertility. IF it is practiced as prescribed it has 99.7% rate of accomplishing your goal – either to conceive or prevent pregnancy. Now, I know, Kathy and I have 6 kids so you might be thinking – yeah right, but, we planned on a big family 4 – 5 children and we were trying for a sister for Becca. We did get a little lax and so Sam came along but it really wasn’t the method’s fault and do you know what? Sam is one of the greatest gifts God has given us. It would tear me apart not to have him in our life.

So… our computers all have net nanny on them, the natural family planning methods are now high tech – software can be found at www.ccli.org/software - and accepted by medical professional as 99.7% reliable, and when our temporary stay here on earth is done this is one question I hope I won’t have to worry about HIM asking.

What about contraceptives?

For the past three weeks I've gone to an abortion clinic to pray at 5:45am. They perform abortions at 6am at this clinic. A group of 5 of us stand there and pray for an hour as the women walk into the clinic. It's very hard to watch them walk in. Today a girl walked in with her latte and her attitude just seemed so casual to me - it makes me tear up.

Today I felt God impressing on me the phrase "what about contraceptives?"

I've taken this to God and discussed it with Erik and we will be taking a new direction in our lives. The pro-life movement has a very strong Catholic base which takes a stand against contraceptives. I read this very long article about it as well as some others which raise good points.

So my vast readership, what about contraceptives?

Goals

D&D buddies came to visit on Saturday and we all had a good time. I'm sporting my i (be rational) pi (get real) shirt which is totally funny! Aaron and Michele are next to me, and next to them is Matt. Although we always call Matt Bogg since that's his character's name. Jenna even called him Bogg - how cute! Jon is wearing his Thriller shirt and looking mighty svelte! And Michelle was wearing a cute bento shirt but you can't see it.


Jon has a list of 43 things he would like to do - I guess they are goals. My other friend Kimberly also has a list but hers is 101 things she would like to do in 1 year. And she tracks her progress on her blog. Her goals are measurable which I like but I don't want to keep track of 101 things for an entire year. I think I might spend all year keeping track of my goals! So to simplify things for myself yet still get on the goal bandwagon, I'm going to work on 25 goals for 100 days. I started yesterday, which means my goal time period will last until Feb. 15. I'm keeping track of this in Excel (obviously) so that I can easily calculate my progress.

Here are my goals:

1. Go to bed by 11pm (50 out of 100 days)
2. Read 2 fiction books
3. Read 1 nonfiction book
4. Read 1 journal paper
5. Lose 5 lbs
6. Exercise (30 out of 100 days - 30min)
7. Pray at abortion clinic on Fridays (12 times)
8. Go on 3 dates with husband
9. Go on 2 mommy dates with Jenna
10. Write in journal (80 out of 100 days)
11. Do Iron Chef
12. Try 3 new vegetables
13. Memorize 1 verse per week (15 verses)
14. Read to kids besides bedtime (45 out of 100 days)
15. Clean desk 3 times
16. Take Stats or Graphics design course
17. Have girls movie night
18. Learn something new about GIMP
19. Serve dinner at Faith Mission
20. Take a Pilates class
21. Try 10 new recipes
22. Level my EQ2 character 2 levels
23. Do 3 things for my secret sister (mommy group)
24. Paint master bathroom
25. Write conference/journal paper

So this is my list. I'll keep you updated on how I'm doing. I really wanted to add "Learn one song on the guitar" but Erik doesn't want me to play right now. Maybe I'll save that goal for later.
Had to post this cute picture of Jenna pushing Sarah in the laundry basket. They were actually playing!
Went to the doctor yesterday and found out I have pneumonia. Great! Let's hope no one else gets sick from me.
BTW, I got 78 on Quiddler and made the word floaty. I really didn't think it would let me do floaty but it did!

Commit to the Lord

While I'm bummed about the result of the election, I will support our new President and pray for him. The previous two elections resulted in bickering and hateful responses such as "selected not elected". The people have spoken - Obama is the President. We should support him, even if we do not agree with everything he does. We are bigger than the hateful complaining of the last two elections.

In other matters, I got 84 on Quiddler today and made the words: verse and giddy. I feel giddy after making those words!

I also discovered a new verse that I'm going to add to my list (someday when I update it) and I think I'll place it very high! Proverbs 16:3 "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Isn't that verse rockin'!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is election day - a tremendous privilege that we have the right to vote. Our country is founded on principles of freedom: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to peaceably assemble, and freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances (1st Amendment). However millions of babies have this freedom denied from them. These are the unborn.

Some Bible verses about the taking of innocent lives:
"Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the LORD your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed" Deut 19:10

"He sent them to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the LORD proclaimed by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely these things happened to Judah according to the LORD's command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, 4 including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was not willing to forgive." 2 Kings 24:2-4

"16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,hands that shed innocent blood, "
Proverbs 6:16-19

"therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you."
Ezekiel 35:6

These verses tell how God despises the shedding of innocent blood. Unborn babies are murdered every day under the banner of "choice". I can not stand before God one day saying "yes I voted for someone who supported legalized abortion - the murder of innocent lives". This has been on my heart since college when I was a member of Students for Life. We were small but managed to fill the Oval at OSU with crosses depicting the number of lives lost to abortion in a day. Sometimes I lay awake at night thinking of these babies and I tear up. This must end.

So I will be voting pro-life tomorrow.