1991 Called and Wants Its Zubaz Back

No, No, No.  This is just hideous.  The white version is slightly less awful. 

Random Snow Thoughts 2/26/13

• It doesn't seem to have snowed as ferociously as predicted.  We probably got six inches instead of the fifteen everyone feared.  It's still snowing lightly but I think we escaped the worst of it.  Nevertheless, our streets are still not plowed so technically we're snowed in.
• Wednesday night church is still a possibility… mostly hinging on whether we can plow the parking lot or not.  We'll get the word out in as many ways as possible if we cancel.
• I wonder how the military personnel standing behind the First Lady in her Oscars-video feel about being used as props.  I think it's kind of embarrassing.  It's also kind of ironic that the winning movie was about rescuing embassy staff; something this administration failed tragically in doing.
• President Obama said Obamacare wouldn't add "one dime" to the deficit.  The GAO reports yesterday that it would add about $6.2 trillion over 75 years assuming everything else stays the same.  Oops.  This is where we say "I told you so" or "well, duh."
• 500 wins for Bill Self at age 50.  That's amazing.
• How did I miss that former Kansas player Marcus Morris got traded to Phoenix last week, reuniting him with his twin brother Markief?  This is the second time in NBA history that twin brothers have played for the same team.

And the Oscar Goes to…

I'm a huge cinephile and I'm probably not even going to watch this year.

Random Thoughts 2/23/13

• My blog turned 8 years old this month.  Happy birthday, blog!  I've done a terrible job of keeping up in recent months; but I'm doing a better job of not blogging while in a bad state of mind.  Frankly, there's been a lot of political stuff and world news that has me down and I'm trying to keep a lot of that stuff to myself.  Why despair?  My hope isn't in this world anyway.
• We had 10-12 inches of snow Thursday, creating a significant amount of snow to shovel.  After finishing the driveway (and 10 feet into the street) I wiped the sweat from my brow, looked at the white cliffs towering over the chasm I'd carved by sheer willpower, and took a picture.  Hmmm.  That wasn't near as impressive as it felt in the moment.
• The conspiracy theories concerning Pope Benedict's unusual retirement are running rampant.  He's being forced out!  He's dying!  He's covering up a scandal!  It's the Jeeeeeewwwzzzzz!!!  How about he's a humble and good man who isn't driven by an outrageous ego like most other public figures.  Hmmm?  And since he had previously espoused the idea of abdication, perhaps he's not too proud to take his own advice.  Is that too far-fetched?
• Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.  Someday I'm going to look back on wintery Saturday afternoons preparing Sunday school lessons and sermons while listening to the Jayhawks on the radio and smile.  Oh, wait.  I'm doing that now.
• I'm preaching on Acts 5 tomorrow.   Perhaps I'll advocate a Biblical defense for communism.  But probably not.  Come listen!
• They can make fun of Marco Rubio all they want, even for something as mundane as drinking water during a speech.  The left's hypocrisy of mocking Rubio for nothing while standing behind Senators who are involved in every type of moral debauchery is flabbergasting.  When you explain how Ted Kennedy held public office for most of his adult life you'll have my attention.
• Well, there went the angry-blogging resolution.  Oh, well.  I'll call it righteous indignation.

This is What Voiding Your Friend's Warranty Looks Like

Random Thoughts 2/14/13

• So, the Jayhawks are back on track.  Poor K-State though.  I know several Wildcats that are cross-eyed in frustration with how ineffective they've been against KU (3-37 since the Big12 began).  But what I think bothers Wildcats even more is that KU fans don't hate their guts.  It's the little-brother syndrome: K-State resents KU for dominating them (in just this one sport, mind you) but a lot of KU fans are friendly toward K-State, which is perceived as condescension.  KU basketball fans save the "hated-rival" designation for Missouri or North Carolina or Kentucky, which insults K-State fans for not being considered.  So Jayhawks feel mildly competitive toward Wildcats.  Wildcats want to beat Jayhawks into a bloody pulp, humiliate them, make them beg for mercy, and then have Mom say she's always loved Wildcats more.
• Happy Valentine's Day to my beautiful wife.  I love you!
• American Airlines and US Airways will now likely merge to make a new American Airlines, slightly larger than United Airlines, currently the largest airline in the world.  There were rumors last April of a hostile takeover of American by US Airways but now it seems they've worked things out: US Airways CEO takes over but they'll use American's name and livery.
• Now that the TWA American overhaul base is closed, the Kansas City connection to American Airlines is limited to retirees like my dad and only a few flights per day out of KCI. 
• I bought my wife flowers for the first time in years.  She's not a flowers kinda girl and I express myself in other ways.  But now I've got four boys and little girl watching… so I bought some flowers and had them waiting for her when she woke up this morning.
• Here's an offseason overview of the Chiefs by Sports Illustrated.  *Sigh*
• This week the CDC is declaring an STD epidemic with 20 million new infections per year in this country.  Eww.  I hope this kind of news encourages abstinence among young single adults and teens.

Random Thoughts 2/7/13

• I'm getting old.  After dislocating my finger last week and spraining my ankle last night I could barely sleep last night.  I just lied there aching.  Pathetic.
• KU's scoring slump and recent loses could be worse… oh, wait… nope.  This is awful.
• According to a recent study, belief in global warming climate change rises and falls with the temperature.  Russia has had it worst winter in 100 years.  Now the East Coast is going to get two feet of snow dumped on them.  Poor Al Gore needs to come peddle his snake oil here in Kansas where we've had two mild winters in a row.
• KU football supposedly has a tremendous recruiting class coming in.  To be fair it's not like a new group of players could do worse than the last two years.
• To the postal worker who endangered our lives the other day by going the wrong way around the traffic circle… your panicked jumping of the curb to avoid a head-on collision with me was a great move, but your nervous yet friendly wave as we passed made my day.  Way to go.
• Best commercial of the Super Bowl?  I liked the Chiefs selecting Deion Sanders Leon Sandcastle.  It seemed like a perfectly reasonable draft strategy to me.
• Speaking of Super Bowl commercials, I loved Paul Harvey's "So God made a Farmer."  He was so good; I used to go out of my way to listen to him as a kid.  That said, on the ninth day didn't that farmer kill a rancher and hide his body in a field?  I'm just saying.
• And God made a gardener on the sixth day.  Where's the love?