Unfriending on Facebook

Yesterday, for the first time, I had the unfortunate task of unfriending someone on my facebook account. I had always hoped I'd never have to do that, but under certain circumstances, it couldn't be helped.

When someones makes vulgar or rude comments, and is intentionally trying to hurt you on facebook through their comments, then it's time to evaluate whether it's worth it to have them associated with you on the social networking site. It's a place to keep up with family, friends, acquaintances... not for attacking them in hate! Especially when there is no reason behind it. To just attack someone for fun, with no objective but to be mean and hateful, is not right. And I won't put up with it.

Now, I understand that there are times when you can offend someone, but not mean to. I'm sure I've done that! I'm sure my puns and jokes on my status updates can annoy others at times. But in my defense, it's all in fun and jest. I'm not on an agenda to attack and hurt anyones feelings. I'm not trying to cause trouble. I definitely don't mean to personally offend anyone!

However, that doesn't mean I won't state my views on certain topics. But when I do, I hope it's seen in a way of how I see it, and allowing others to make up their own mind and opinion on the matter. I'm not trying to force my views on others. Just trying to make them aware of how I see it, and explain my logic behind it!

Anyway, I hope I don't have to unfriend anyone else, at least in the near future! No matter what, it hurts when people can be so mean. Perhaps it's just me, but I think people can grow up and be civil about things. Doing things for fun is fine. Doing things in hate, is not.

~Matt

Lil' Mr. Cool

I was going through the pics I have taken on my celphone, and found this image. It was taken a couple weeks ago, while us guys were practicing at Noah's house one Saturday morning!

As you can tell, he was just sitting there, listening to us practice. Sam handed him his sunglasses, and I couldn't help but take a picture!

~Matt

Microsoft alters mans race in photo

In the news today, it appears that Microsoft has done some photo editing that has caused some online controversy! They have taken a picture used on their website, and altered it for their Polish version. They changed the race of one of the men in the picture from black to white!

This goes to prove that you can't trust a picture anymore! Something I've been saying for several years...

Of course, this was most likely done by a graphic designer, and was asked to do it by his supervisors. He probably had no say in the matter. (a job is a job)

I've often altered photos at my place of work. Touch up, removing blemishes, etc... It's just something we do. It's part of our job. It's making the image more appealing to the customer. Since there is not fine line on whether wrong or right in fixing up photos, any changes that can be made, will be made!

~Matt

"Momma's Boy"

A couple of evenings ago, I was playing on the floor with the Mysia and Malachi. Mysia was playing with some of her toys, so after a while it was just Malachi and I wrestling around. He was climbing on my shoulders and back, and no matter what I did, he kept on me. He was definitely being a monkey!

Occasionally, he would tumble off with shrieks of glee erupting out of his mouth as he'd try to climb on-top of me once again. I was laughing, and enjoying every moment. At times like this, with him being so much of a boy at times, I just enjoy it!

He again tumbled off of me, so I grabbed him and gave him a great big bear hug. I then asked him... "Are you a daddy's boy?" And clear a day, his reply was, "No... momma's boy!"

I then questioned, "Momma's boy?" and got the answer with a smile, "yep!"

Lydia, who was on the couch, gotta big kick out it! I kept questioning him, and he never would admit being a daddy's boy. Every answer would be "mamma's boy". Go figure!

Even the several different times I asked him today, I got the same answer! I think I've finally came to a conclusion, the poor boy... he must be brain-washed!!! ;)

~Matt

Singing this Friday evening

Yep, for those who live in the area, Steppin' Out will be singing tomorrow night!

Here's the info:

7:15pm-8:15pm
Friday - August 21st
At the Gospel Tent
Broiler Festival
Crane, MO
(Free parking and admission)

We are sandwiched in between two gospel bluegrass groups, and there are going to be other artists throughout the festival. We are thankful to have this opportunity to sing at this event this year, and hope that we will be annual participants.

I'm going to try and give an overview of how it went, perhaps on Saturday if I find time. I've been pretty busy lately!

Oh, we have some other dates coming up that I'll be sharing in more detail as they draw nearer!

Aug. 29th - Fairplay, MO - 7pm
Sept. 12 - Snider Music Park, Halltown, MO
Sept. 13 - Route 66 Days, Strafford, MO


--
~Matt

Archie Andrews to marry Veronica!?!?

Okay, you can call me a nut, but ever since I could read, I've enjoyed Archie Comics!

My grandparents (Paasch) would have stacks of them in their home, and everytime we'd visit, we'd stay up late reading them! My grandma would send them home as well, and still brings us some when they come through!

Anyway, as mentioned in the news today, Archie is proposing to Veronica, and in the next issue they may have twins! Now this drives me crazy! I'm sure the comic writers are doing this to generate money and attention, because most everyone who enjoys the comic prefer Betty over Veronica!!!

In related news: there is one guy so mad about the new story arch, he's selling his copy of the series' rare first issue! Go figure!

~Matt

MissourEE or MissourAH ???

Last night during our church services, we had the Keffers as our special guests. Their music was very good. However, during the singing, Gary Keffer posed a question. "How do you pronounce Missouri?"

 I hollered out "MissourEE"! My mom, sitting directly behind me, thumped me on the back and sayed I ought to know better, and that it's "MissourAH". I disagreed, but I wasn't going to argue until I looked up the facts. (Never argue with mom unless you know your facts!)

And the fact is... no one knows!!!

My first stop was the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, and according to them it's tricky:
         • Pronunciation: \mə-ˈzu̇r-ē, by some residents mə-ˈzu̇r-ə\

Come to find out, there is no "official" way of pronouncing it! Many websites say that the most popular way of saying it is "ē". I even looked on the official Missouri travel website, and they say: "The debate has been going on since at least the late 1800s"!

So, I guess by majority vote, I was right!!!

But then again, perhaps I should be careful... majority vote isn't always right. For example, most politicians pronounce it as "MissourAH"!

However, I'll put some logic in it though... I'm a Missourian! How do you pronounce that? Hopefully not "Missour-ah-an"!!!! lol!

Anyway, what's your take? Comments are welcome!!!

~Matt

Church Dedication (Sunday, 08/09/09)

It was finally here! Dedication Sunday for our new auditorium at church! Everyone was excited.

All the services were held in the new auditorium, and we had the Lesters as our special guests!  We also had former pastors, Fred moody and Richard McDole, as part of the services for the day as well. At 2, we had the ribbon cutting.

What a day!

~Matt

Visit with family (Saturday, 08/08/09)

 

Quartet practice was canceled again, Noah was out of town this time! Lol! But we're making sure we practice this coming Saturday!

 

We decided that we'd go to Silver Dollar City, especially since it was supposed to be such a nice day. However, plans got changed. BJ, Ana, and Elijah came to town, so we planned on meeting them at my parent's house for lunch. Unfortunately, we ran a little late due the fact we had to get some grocery shopping done first!

 

We ended up staying at my parent's house until 6 or 7pm! It was getting late!!! So we headed off to pick up the church van and then head home!

 

~Matt

Fair Day! (Friday, 08/07/09)

Again, it was yet another vacation day for me!

We woke up; I made waffles while the kids watched videos on tv. Lydia headed off to go give plasma around 10. I put the kids down for a nap at 11. When they woke up, I cooked brats on the grill fro lunch… yum!

We had been given free tickets to the fair, and decided to use them! So around 3, we headed off to the Ozark Empire Fair. We ended up getting great parking spots! After getting in, we headed over to the livestock. On the way, we bought a $3 cup of lemonade, refills were $1, so we figured that it would be our best buy for drinks.

We got to see horses, ponies, and dairy cows. While visiting the cows, one of the girls watching them let Mysia and Malachi pet two of them. At first Mysia was hesitant, but when she overcame the fear of this big creature lying in the straw, everything was okay. Seeing Mysia petting the cow got Malachi interested, and he ran over to join her. He's a bit rougher than Mysia, so we had to keep reminding him to be gentle.

We then headed off to an area that had the baby animals. We saw little chicks, ducklings, piglets, bunnies, and baby goats. They had a tractor tire filled with corn that the kids loved playing in. When we came across a baby miniature horse, Malachi tried climbing the fence to get in!

Mysia had said that she wanted to ride a pony. Sure enough, they had pony rides. We waited in line, and was finally able to encourage Malachi to want to ride. When I was paying ($4 per rider), Mysia backed down! Well, I couldn't just tell Malachi no, so he went ahead and rode. He did really well, and enjoyed it. After his ride, there was an attraction nearby called "Mutton Bustin""! It's the kid version of bull riding. Open to girls and boys, youngsters attempt to ride the unpredictable sheep for six seconds! Our kids wouldn't participate, but it fun to watch!

The heat was getting to us, so we headed to the E-Plex (an arena that that has air-conditioning). We walked around looking at the crafts and the photos that peopled had entered for competition. It was good to get out the heat, and we really enjoyed looking at the items set out. We also went over to look at the booths. Mysia and Lydia got some jewelry, and I got to talk to a guy about tornado shelters. The had a kid section, so Malachi and I went over to look at the Natural History Museum items while Mysia got her face painted for free.

As we headed back outside, we were greeted by a brass band from MSU. They were good, so after their performance, we followed them over to the area were the lemonade was $1. We got treated to three more songs. We were hungry, so we decided to get us some "tornado taters", potatoes cut in a twisted fashion and then fried! Think of it as unique potato chips! That filled us up enough, and as we were leaving the stand, we came across and interesting sight… A wedding couple heading over to another lemonade stand! They were in their wedding attire, and getting pictures take as they purchased their drink and shared it. Only in the Ozarks I guess! Talk about a redneck wedding!

Mysia had seen a carousel, so we agreed that she could have a ride. The ride had a sign that announced it took three tickets to ride. At the ticket booth, you could buy 4 tickets for $5… no single tickets sold! What a rip off! Well, we went with it, and Lydia bought the tickets. However, the lady gave Lydia the tickets, but not the change! Lydia discovered this when she came back to the kids and I. Lydia went back to the booth, and the lady gave her the money without even asking how much Lydia had given her… she knew!

Anyway, Mysia rode the horse, and she was very happy about it. However, when the ride was over, both Lydia and I agreed that it was time for us to head to the car. On the way, we got us some pineapple whip! Oh so yummy! Brings back memories of when I used to work at the fair, pineapple whip was my favorite!!!!

We got home around 7:30, and boy were we tired!!!!

~Matt

Quick post!

Hey everyone! Sorry I've fallen behind on my posts. I'm hoping to catch up here in the next few days, but decided to post this so you know I'm still alive and kickin'! I've just been very busy, as you'll see in the upcoming posts!

So much going on!

Anyway, if some of you haven't heard, and you get stuck doing jury duty in the near future..... don't yawn while in the court! You can read it here!

Hoe everyone is having a great day!

~Matt

Politics…. Ugh!

With much media attention lately, who could have not heard about the 'Beer Summit" that took place with the President? It's nuts and plain crazy. Once again, the president has brought race back into the arena of his 'popularity' with the media.

I'm getting sick of politics, but I have to pay attention since it all affects my life. Ignoring it, or brushing it aside is not going to make it go away. And since it's on my mind, I'm going to blog about it!!!

;)

Notice how the President can reach out and try to calm something that is not part of his 'job', and not really pay attention to the several crises at hand! How about a 'summit' to find out what the real people think about his "ObamaCare"? What about his ideas for getting our country out of debt, our economic decline, and our national security! He should ignore the other politicians and grab people that represent the majority (yes, I said MAJORITY). But then again, in this politically correct nation of ours, I know that won't ever happen.

It's sad when even though the majority of the people (you know, 'we the people..') want something and it's considered politically IN-correct, we're the ones that have it wrong! Arg!

To Washington, and most of the media, we're not intelligent. We don't know what we want. They have the knowledge, and they should decide for us, when actually, they do whatever they can to for their gain. The lobbyists give them benefits and money to push for certain agendas, and the lawmakers make the laws that don't affect themselves.

I could go on, and on, and on, and on….. but I think I've rambled enough for one post! I guess you can consider this post an off-topic rant! Lol!

Oh, before I end this post, I put in this note… I'm not a Republican nor a Democrat. Simply put, I'm a God-fearing believer. I believe that what the Bible says is right, is right.. and what the Bible says is wrong, is wrong. My votes go for the people whose standards and priorities are closer to that of the Bible. If you have any questions, feel free to email me!

~Matt

News... Illegally Modifying Game Consoles?

Today, it was reported on Foxnews.com that a college student is charged with illegally modifying game consoles to play pirated games. They say it was violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Now, I'm not a lawyer, or well learned in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). I knew that it is technically illegal to bypass any technology or services that are put there to prevent accessing copyrighted material. But according to what I've just read, DMCA also criminalizes the act of circumventing an access control, whether or not there is actual infringement of copyright itself.

I guess I'll have to be careful when modifying copyrighted songs for my own enjoyment? And making my own ringtones is illegal too? This affects a lot of things! I didn't know modifying something you own could be illegal! I'm also thinking now about computers, are we not going to be able to modify them to be able to play media we own? Another thought… could this eventually make it illegal to make your LPs digital?

I'm going to try and watch this case as it unfolds. I just hope that it all gets reported!

~Matt

PS  Comments welcomed!!!

Car Clinic, Movie, and Some Rest! (Saturday, 08/01/09)

Quartet practice was canceled. Greg was out of town, and Sam and I attended the "car clinic" at church. We learned how to change the oil, change the oil filter, rotate tires, check breaks, replace breaks, replace break lights…. and other things. I knew some, like the tires, but it was a great class. We were there from 9 to around 12:30. I told the guys I'm ready for the next class!

While I was at the car clinic, Lydia took Abigail, Mysia, and Malachi to the free showing of VeggieTales: Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah's Umbrella. One of the local radio stations was giving free tickets, so Lydia took advantage of the offer. Lydia found out that Malachi is till a little to young to sit in a theater to watch a movie!

After the movie, Lydia went back to parents' house to visit until I was done. We met at home, and the kids were out when she arrived. Since the kids ate before coming home, we just put them in their beds. I ate something real quick, and Lydia and I took naps as well.

We all slept for several hours! It was great! I guess after the long day on Friday, we wore ourselves out! When we woke up, it was suppertime!  After supper we took the kids outside and let them play with their bubbles and toys. Lydia worked on her flowerbed, and I tried to adjust the rocks and problems in the driveway. Mysia and Malachi like playing in the rocks, and they also shift when we get hard rains, so I have to level out the end of our driveway so we don't have huge puddles.

As it got closer to bedtime, we went to bed. Now ain't that a good idea!?

~Matt

Photo Shoot, Fun At The Pool, and Family Get-together (Friday, 07/31/09)

Again, it was here! Boy, am I getting spoiled! Hehehe. Friday was yet another vacation day for me!

I'm starting to like these four-day work weeks!

Anyway, Friday morning was not spent in bed. It was up and at 'em for us. We were to meet Noah's mom, Lisa, for photos at Nathaniel Greene Park. As we were leaving the house, I found out that we had only one diaper left in the house besides the dry one Malachi was wearing! Oh boy…..

Lisa took awesome pictures of our family at Nathaniel Greene Park. We were there for almost two hours! Malachi was everywhere. He had his moments, but was good for the most part. Mysia behaved pretty well, but was really looking forward to playing with the bubbles toward the end of the photoshoot!

Our next destination was my Doctor's appointment. Lydia dropped me off and headed straight to Wal-Mart, she had to get those diapers! My appointment went pretty well, and I found I needed to loose some weight. No big surprise there…. And I took the Doctor's advice. I walked to Wal-Mart to meet up with Lydia who was finishing her shopping.

Now before you go thinking I walked a great distance… it was about as far as walking to from one street corner to another!

When we arrived home, we unpacked the groceries, ate a little lunch, put the kids down for a nap. Lydia headed off to go give plasma, and I messed around on the main computer updating software.

Around 5:30 we headed to the pool for an hour, since it's $1 per person. The water was a little cool, but it felt good to get out a swim for a bit. After swimming, we headed over to my parents' house since BJ and his family was coming down. We ate snacks, talked, and let the kids play.

We got home around 11:30, and boy were we tired!!!!

~Matt