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