Random Thoughts 7/1/09

• This week is the 30th anniversary of the Walkman cassette tape player. This would be one of the progenitors of the iPhone: from transistor radios to Walkmans to portable CD players to MP3 players to the multifunction iPhone.
• It has been recommended that I ought to start watching the award-winning Canadian comedy "Corner Gas." I haven't seen it yet, but I have begun recording episodes.
• Here's some info on the 6th Cavalry, specifically the 28th Reconnaissance Squadron, which was the unit my grandfather was in during World War 2. The 6th Cav was decorated as a unit with the Presidential Unit Citation. The rampant unicorn at right is the symbol for the 6th Cav; on my grandfather's uniform it would have been worn as a lapel pin.
  
• There's something in my brain that prevents me from easily saying the word "cavalry." Part of it is that the Bible word "Calvary" just rolls off my tongue more effortlessly. But in order to spit out the word cavalry, I have to consciously think "say cav not cal."
• I could easily become a fan of Redbox video kiosks. The selection is limited but the cost and simplicity of it all can't be beat. $1 for one day is all we pay for most Redbox movies. Where Blockbuster is about $5 per rental and DirecTV pay per views are $5 ($6 for HD). Add options like Netflix, and I don't see how brick-and-mortar stores like Blockbuster can possibly survive. Oh, and did I mention that the local library offers a wide selection of DVD's for free?
• I bought a Dell laptop yesterday. Not for me, mind you, but for Chris, our new youth minister, using the church card. Nevertheless, I still felt all dirty inside after spending money on a Windows machine. Yuck!
  
• Graham (3-years-old) is perhaps our most musical and certainly our most witty child. He's always singing and this morning he was singing the church song, "I am a Friend of God." One line says, "he calls me friend," but Graham was changing the line to "he calls me Graham," or "he calls me stupid," which upset Elijah, who tattled on him. But Graham is laughing all the time, just seeing if he can get a reaction out of us.