| September 11, 2003 Reflect Thoughts • 9/11/01....nuff said. “Those bastards!!!” was my away message that day... • I realize why I like games like Gran Turismo so much. It’s games like this that I can do the things I most likely will never get to do in real life. I’ll never own a Dodge Viper GTR, but I sure can drive one in GT. I’ll never own a Ford GT40, but I sure can drive one in GT. The physics and realism is so tight, it’s almost like real life. Did I mention I can’t wait for Gran Turismo 4? • Is $3,500 too much to pay for an arcade? I thought so too. I’m not that crazy. • I think BMW has shaken that whole “yuppie” moniker that plagued its clientele in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It’s now “cool” to have a Beamer. Sure the average income of a BMW owner may be $96,000, but hey us at the bottom end of the spectrum gotta represent. • Palestinian militants vow revenge for Israeli missile attacks on prominent Palestinian citizens. Israel vows revenge for suicide bombing attacks on its general populace. I heard if you spell “peace will never happen” backwards it spells “revenge is a good idea”. • The Canyonero Theme Song from The Simpsons may be the greatest theme song of all time. If that car ever makes it to the production line, count me in for a sale. Download the great song here. • It’s funny, when I was writing my “Engagement Ring” article below, I had no idea what the going price for rings was. I still don’t. I have no idea what my brother spent on his or any other friends or relatives. Was I totally off on my $5,000-$10,000 estimation? Honestly, that seems about right considering the things we buy like cars, consumer electronics, and vacations. I mean a future wife has got to be more important than a car down payment or a 50” plasma TV, doesn’t she? Was my estimation low, on average? Need feedback folks. Darnit, I need forums. September 11, 2003 Diestic Scenarios *I don’t condone anything said here. It’s just intellectual playground fun. -I’ve figured there are two ways you can test if God is real or not. The first is easy, just kill yourself. Or as I like to say, strategically die. The second is a little more complicated and invites paradoxical variables, but nevertheless could be valid. The second idea is too kill everyone else. And I mean every other human that exists. This act would ensure the end of the human species and would force an existing God to confront you, or not confront you if he doesn’t exist (pretty lonely consequence). The ambiguity of this scenario is apparent though. What if humans exist on other planets? Well the question is moot pretty much though because the chances of life, any form of life and even the smallest form, anywhere else in the universe has been proven to be up to 1 and 10ˆ216 (10 followed by 216 zeros) chance. (to put that into perspective, you have a better chance at winning the lottery 1,000,000 times in a row than life existing/originating other than Earth in the universe. And that number gets bigger everyday with new scientific discoveries.) Another possible scenario is that when you kill everyone else, God would kill you, in essence reverting back to the first suicide scenario. But with the human race gone, God has no need for creation, for creation was created to house us. And without tenants, why keep paying bills? Anyways, its fantastical scenarios like this that occupy EbbWorld sometimes. This paragraph didn’t make too much sense. September 9, 2003 Rhandhum • I have stage fright when I’m in a bathroom and there are other people in it. I just can’t go if other people are around. But the moment the last person leaves it’s like clockwork and I feel much better. Does this make me weird, or do other people have the same whateveryoucallits? All bathrooms should be private and none should be public. • It is much harder to do something out of love than it is out of fear. People that follow rules and regulations out of fear don’t deserve any props cause even fish and rats do things out of fear. You get props if you do something that you know you don’t have to, but that you want to and know is right deep down inside. That’s what makes a human free. • The Philadelphia Eagles sucked a big fat lollipop last night in their season opener, new stadium opener, Monday Night Football opener, against Tampa Bay. I’ve never seen such inadequacy from the birds in recent years. McNabb couldn’t hit anything except the worms (funny comment from my brother) and Andy Reid was once again out intellect-ed by counterpart John Gruden. Sad day in Philly. That Sylvester Stallone intro had me so pumped too. • In a strange irony, in a game like American football, seemingly the epitome of masculinity and homo-phobia, every play features a guy that puts his hands right under another guy’s sweaty butt. Strange, bet you never thought about that either. • Female supermodels seem like the most unhappy people on earth. They may look beautiful from society’s perspective on the outside but you rarely ever see one of them genuinely smiling or having fun. They always seem like jaded vixens. Am I right? I think I am. What’s thickens the irony is that non-supermodels, that being every other woman, feels insecure and unhappy because they don’t look like the supermodels. Ah how ironic the female appearance insecurity is. I’ve used the word “ironic” too many times in the past couple sentences. Guys are similar, but not to the same extreme. And yes, I may not be female, but I know what you’re thinking. It’s my X-power. I am an X-man...in disguise....as a nerdy computer guy. • I have the greatest diet ever, guaranteed to work. Don’t eat breakfast (I don’t care what experts say). Eat a salad and diet drink for lunch (diet drink folks. just cause a fruit juice or whatever isn’t carbonated doesn’t mean it won’t make you fat). And for dinner eat whatever you want and however much you want, but drink a diet drink again. No desert or anything though. Just a “whatever you want dinner”. Sweets are off the menu. Do this for about two months and if you don’t lose at least 12 lbs, you can call me a liar. • I’m putting together a nifty little photo journal of my summer vacation that I took last Sunday. It may take me some time to finish, but rest assured I will finish it. • I currently work on projects that combat this. September 8, 2003 Mechanical Engineering vs. the Rest of the World --Ok, the title is a bit misleading, but I think over the years following my academic failures I’ve beat myself up a little too much. The more and more I talked to other people who’ve graduated in majors other than engineering (we can lump in many generally accepted “very challenging” undergraduate majors here) or even people currently in school, the more I’ve realized things may not in fact be equal for everyone. In fact, I’ve come to the conclusion that certain undergraduate majors may be much less challenging than others. It always greatly vexed me how my friends and peers seemed to have time to do some many other things other than school while in school. I figured, each person could probably fit one major extracurricular activity and one, maybe two minor ones. My extracurricular activity was playing for my university’s soccer team. And though I didn’t travel with the team during the regular season, there was plenty of practice and workout time (appx. 2-3 hours per day) throughout about 80% the fall semester and about 80% spring. My minor activities were limited involvement in non-denomination Christian groups and playing video games (appx. 1-2 hours/day). The majority of my college life was spent in front of physics books and differential equations. Forget the time that actual classes took up (appx. 3 hours/day), it was the time after that took up the most. Of the average 5 or 6 classes I took each semester, it was guaranteed I’d have homework in 4 or 5 of them each night (appx. 3-8 hours/day). And this wasn’t mamby-pamby “read chapter 12 from the book and make notes” stuff, it was usually 10-15 long drawn out math/ physics/engineering problems involving pages of computation (I once turned in one homework physics problem that consisted of 13 pages of work). Each question could take upwards of 1 or 2 hours, and that’s after I racked my brain on it for 3 hours before going to get help. Point I’m trying to make is that when people would ask me to go out for pizza, or go play b-ball, or go out to a Phi Kappa Sigma party, I’d be dumbfounded when they told me they didn’t have about 6 hours of homework tonight also, and that didn’t I know the weekend starts on Thurs. night. Let’s not get into how I’d even spend a couple hours sometimes on Friday and Sat. nights doing work. I met a friend once that said he had never done homework on the weekends, the same friend that was going to graduate on time. Why didn’t I pick communications, marketing, or business; kind of ironically points to my stupidity and pride to take on a challenge I guess. And this is just homework do next class, I haven’t got into regular studying and test preparations, which I won’t cause I don’t feel like it. I guess what upsets me, being a man without a college degree, is that our society generally accepts college graduates as equals, when they clearly aren’t from an academic status. Well I’m in a lower class but my previous attempted degree path has still paved a way for success in a sense. It’s also funny how this inequality shows itself in the real world. I’m to the point where most of my peers are graduated or are graduating from college. The manifested point though in my attempt to clarify the disparity is who of these college graduates lands “the job” and who doesn’t. I’d say most of the time people that graduate with degrees in the “technical” field or degrees from generally accepted “difficult” majors find “the job” even before they graduate. You know, that job that pays well, is secure, and allows for future advancement. Yet people that graduate in more generally accept “lax” fields of study seem to have temporary jobs not related to their major, are having a hard time looking for a job, or are circumventing they’re past 4 years work altogether in the pursuit of a different career. I guess what goes around comes around. I’ve failed to mention the pursuit of higher degrees such as masters and doctorates. Acquiring those in any field is definitely taxing. I guess I’ve just had a hard time accepting that some people succeed academically in college and that I didn’t, even though I know I put so many more hours and hard work into my studies then they ever did. It’s frustrating. I feel like the older brother in the prodigal son. Here I do all the right stuff (generally I mean. yes I didn’t study and work as hard as I could, probably played too many video games, and probably shouldn’t have played soccer), work hard, don’t do all the bad stuff college students do, and here the people that breezed through college get to hang up a nice shiny diploma. It’s not really fair I think. I at least deserve a bachelor’s in “burning the midnight oil”. But what it all comes down to is a heart issue, my pride/ego, and my inability to gauge the “big picture” from a divine view. I should care less about what other people are doing and just worry about myself. A lot of pieces fell in all the seemingly wrong places, but that’s just me looking through cloudy glasses. Again, I can’t see how this will all work out in the end. But make no mistake, despite my honest effort and genuine interest, mechanical engineering kicked my a$$. I was beaten, I was humbled, and I was brought to my knees. Maybe this wasn’t a bad thing after all... September sometime Anno Domini heart crying When I was young, the smallest trick of light, Could catch my eye, Then life was new and every new day, I thought that I could fly. I believed in what I hoped for, And I hoped for things unseen, I had wings and dreams could soar, I just don't feel like flying anymore. When the stars threw down their spears, Watered Heaven with their tears, Before words were spoken, Before eternity. Dear Father, I need you, Your strength my heart to mend. I want to fly higher, Every new day again. When I was small, the furthest I could reach, Was not so high, Then I thought the world was so much smaller, Feeling that I could fly. Through distant deeps and skies, Behind infinity, Below the face of Heaven, He stoops to create me. Dear Father, I need you, Your strength my heart to mend. I want to fly higher, Every new day again. Freedom means love without condition, without a beginning or an end. Here's my heart, let it be forever Your's, Only You can make every new day seem so new. -Every New Day, Five Iron Frenzy Dear Father, I need you.....I need you....I need you... September 5, 2003 Answer Man --Here are the answers to True/False Challenge #2. Refer below for the actual questions. Or you might be able to infer the question by how I answer it. That is if you’re up to the intellectual caliber of Sherlock Holmes. 1. False- The first video game system I ever owned was a NEC Turbo-Grafix 16 entertainment system. Realizing that the system was over hyped, I promptly returned it for a glorious Sega Genesis video game system, the harbinger of the 16-bit revolution. I can still remember the awe I felt the first time I fired up Sonic the Hedgehog...haven’t been the same ever since. 2. False- I have poetry in a collection book published by the International Library of Poetry. I’ve also had articles published in renowned publications such as the Philadelphia Inquirer Online Edition and the Virginia Tech Collegiate Times newspaper. Still looking for that $250,000 book deal though. 3. False- The farthest north I’ve been is Port Jervis, New York. Farthest south is Key West, Florida. Farthest west is Johnson City, Tennessee. Farthest east is Corolla, North Carolina. 4. False- I currently own 2 Beamers, though one is “incapacitated”. 5. False- My family’s last name used to be Wojciechowicz before my dad changed it to Wojciech before I was born. 6. False- My first date was my senior prom. I drove a hot sports car to it. 7. False- I was accepted to the three aforementioned institutions of higher learning. I was rejected by none. 8. False- I currently work for NovaTech, an IT specialist company. We currently contract for the USSS in downtown D.C. where I physically work. 9. True 10. False- My roller coaster design dreams died with my academic failures. 11. True 12. False- Give me crabs and I’ll be a happy boy. 13. False- I don’t remember the first show I went to. The first band I saw play at the 9:30 Club was Spiritualized. 14. False- I have no first cousins despite both my grandmothers coming from families of 13. My mother’s brother never married and died at 55 and my father’s sister never married after becoming a nun. This True/False Challenge wasn’t as exciting as I hoped it would be. Maybe I’m losing my touch. Maybe I’m just getting old. Maybe.......depression sets in... This could turn out to be a lonely weekend... I just drank a Mountain Dew Code Red...maybe I’m falling into relapse. Can’t you see the cries for help? Can’t you?! September 4, 2003 Observations • I’m not to familiar with this area of economics, that being romantic economics, but in my perusing of the paper today I’ve come to the conclusion an appropriate price for a man to buy a women their engagement ring would be in the approximately $5,000 - $10,000 range. $10,000 being the upper extreme and $5,000 being the lower. If you get above $10,000 (well unless you have at least a six figure income), you’re getting a little how shall we say it....cocky and liable to be convicted of buying her love (did someone mention Kobe Bryant?). But if you’re spending less than $5,000 (remember this is for the girl you love....you love....YOU LOVE!!!! {also remember, this is the only materialistic artifact your wife will most likely treasure for the rest of her life}), if you’re spending less than that it tells me three possible things about you. 1) You’re way too young or not secure enough financially yet and your most likely getting married for selfish reasons like wanting to have sex (love is patient remember Cassanovas) or you’re a wuss and let society bully you into social insecurity. Pish-sha, go take a number PAB. 2) You don’t really love this person and you’re just into it for the sex 3) You love this person, but your priorities are jumbled and you’re obviously not ready for something like marriage. No wonder so many people have huge marital problems (the very problems these couples don’t tell anyone because they’re too prideful to admit they have problems) and get divorced. And don’t let girls fool you into thinking the worth of the ring doesn’t matter for as they say, "out of the wallet, the heart speaks". I guess you could say oh but we want to save for the house and the stuff and the kids and the....come on you’re not fooling anyone girl. You want a big rock and you know it. Besides, ask yourself what kind of man you’re marrying if he can’t already have things under financial control before he decides to “be responsible” and tell you he wants to spend the rest of his life with you? Sounds like a shaky, if not irresponsible young man to me. Any guy can say he loves you, only a man can show you he loves you also (and don’t take that the wrong way because you know I ain’t talkin about that, although after you say "I do" I am sort of talking about that). I don't seem to know much about romantic economics. Not sure if ignorance is bliss or not in this case. • Running around the streets of D.C. in the pouring rain, trying to get to the Metro stop, taught me one thing about people. A common foe unites uncommon peoples. Whether black/white, blue collar/white collar, Muslim/Christian, we all had a common foe in the pouring rain and it was kind of fun how we all realized our common predicaments to navigate the streets trying to stay dry. It was like a sort of brotherhood you don’t normally feel when things are normal. I think an attack on Washington D.C. by Godzilla could do some good....at least it’d unite us all against a common foe. • Bring It On could possibly be the worst movie ever. Kirsten Dunst could possibly have turned out the worst acting performance ever. How she got the part for Spiderman is beyond me. Heck, even hot chicks in tight outfits couldn’t save this debacle and Dunst’s anemic acting. • Of all the president’s in the world, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan has the coolest hairdo. • I’ll post the answer to my most recent True/False Challenge tomorrow. • I refuse to call my random thoughts section a “blog”. These are not “blogs”. “Blogs” are usually journalist-type superficial writings by a website owner. Although my random thoughts exhibit such qualities sometimes, I’d hope you’d think I’ve shown enough uniqueness to call my thoughts something other than the bland name “blog”. • My brother is going to let me have it because I’m mentioning the chick-flick Bend It Like Beckham yet again, but I can’t help but anticipate the release of the DVD. You can find a good review of it here. Click Here....no HERE. But come on John, the movie has Keira Knightly in it....you know the girl from Pirates of the Caribbean? I don’t care if she’s doing Bring It On Again, I’ll see it...well a sequel to Bring It On may be a little too traumatic for me. I want to date Keira Knightly (maybe a little more), though she reminds me of a young lass I used to know named Jaimee. I miss her, even though she probably doesn't remember me. Awww, let's all get sad for Keith :( September (already?) 3, 2003 Captain Jack Sparrow Slams U.S. (click to read) --I really like Johnny Depp, mostly as an actor. I’m not very impressed with his personal life, but as they say to each his own. Anyways, Depp lives in France as he has for a while now with his family; he’s not to keen on the United States. Well he has that right and I respect that. And although I don’t agree completely with Depp’s repugnant view of the States (I do agree with him a little), I gotta say at least he’s man enough to up and away unlike so many millions of American idiots that complain and whine so much about the government but still live here and enjoy all the benefits this democratic nation gives them. I see Depp as a Harrison Ford-like character in Mosquito Coast. Not as extreme, but definitely walks his talk. There are too many wussy talkers that have no backbone to do anything about anything. They should be exiled to Shadow Moses Island. September 3, 2003 Abortion doc killer to get his reward (click to read) --If I hear about another freaking selfish idiot that claims he’s hearing some sort of esoteric revelations from God, I’m gonna personally drive to where ever they are and give them a good jump-kick to the head. That would make me just like him though I guess. Men are so stinking freaking egotistical and will do anything to 1]Get attention 2]Look holy despite they’re damnedness (what irony you Pharisees) 3]Do and say whatever to coerce women to have sex with them because we’re insanely selfish beings. The only reward this fool is getting, barring some serious humility, is an old fashioned a$$ kicking in Hell outside our 4-dimensions of length, width, depth, and time. Ouch, that one’s gonna hurt. Have fun burning a$$hole, hope it was worth it to tread on the name of the One that gave his life for you. “Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full.” Matthew 6:1-2 September 3, 2003 Suffering and Evil --Seems to me a lot of people have a problem with the existence of suffering and evil. How could a loving God allow this? How could a just God allow that? Waaaa. Quit the 100 questions why don’t ya, stop avoiding the underlying heart issue, and just admit you don’t want give up being god of your own life. With your personality alias now compromised by the crack heart hacker team at EbbWorld, we can now concentrate on a logical approach to the existence of evil. To be honest, the answer I believe is much more simple and obvious than most people would think. Put on your logic caps and don’t park your brain at the door; bring it on in to EbbWorld, we’re a non-discriminatory organization here. Pure and simple, I think suffering and evil exist so that we can know that blessing and good exist also. That’s it. Makes sense though doesn’t it. I mean how we could know how wonderful the miracle of birth is unless we knew the tragedy of a miscarriage? How could we know how great good health is unless we’ve had a relative that’s got cancer? How could we know how nice peace is unless we knew the atrocities of war? How could we know how great the Philadelphia Flyers were unless we knew how crappy the New Jersey Devils were? (Ok, ok, there’s a little personal bias on that one) But seriously, I think pain and suffering and evil exist so we know what the flipside of the coin is. Unless we’re presented with polar opposites, we’d never have feeling for anything, even existence. It’s a paradox for sure, sort of like free-will vs. predestination, so I won’t try to explain empirically or absolutely. But I believe one exists so we’re aware of the other. God had to give us free will to accept or reject him, otherwise we’d be zombies. God had to allow for pain and evil, otherwise we’d never know how wonderful pleasure and good were, or even how great He is. Am I making any sense? Then those questions resurface again like how could a loving God allow for 2 month old babies to be slaughtered by an brutish army? Well I think you have to worry about the big picture folks. If we didn’t experience both good and bad, we’d experience nothing then. We’d be apathetic, numb, anesthetized individuals, if you could even call us that. We’d be zombies like straight out of Resident Evil. Sure we wouldn’t be able to hate, kill, steal, slander, or defame; but you can’t have your Ferrari and drive it too. Also lost would be our ability to love, care, trust, give, and be happy. The ability to experience both love and hate is a gift almost. You probably think I’m morbid now but test my theory yourself. Unless you’ve felt the pain of rejection, you’d never know how wonderful is it to be accepted and vise versa. The real questions I think people should be asking, and because we’ve all experience pain, suffering, and evil, are how can we reduce the pain, how can we be compassionate to suffering, and how can we qualm the evil not increase it? I think evil and good paradoxically exist so we can exist as thinking, feeling human beings. Life can suck, for sure. But because life sucks a lot of the time, we now have the ability to realize how awesome something beyond life, beyond space and time can be. We have a hope that transcends our current struggles. I don’t think this is the only reason suffering and evil exist, but I believe its one of the core reasons. But I believe good and evil are irreducibly complex, you can’t have one without the other. Existence can’t exist without each irreducibly complex element. God seems to be a binary God, and it sure shows in nature. Can’t have 1’s without 0’s. Anyways, make your own conclusions. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." -John 16:33 August 29, 2003 Random • Any chick that drives a classic Renault Alpine 1600 S, like in that Secret, women’s deodorant, commercial is my kind of women. I need to get that brunette’s number... • Look for an article about sex this weekend. Saw an interesting stat in Women’s Circle magazine that I want to comment about. • I’m finding out more and more how unique I am in being a 23 year old, middle class male, that has no debt, owns his car, and has a steady income. • Summer thunder and lightning storms are great for more than one reason. My favorite being how much they make us humans, who think we’re so great and advanced, look like idiots. August 29, 2003 Yet Another Article on the Passion (click to read) --Logic people! That’s all I ask for yo’s. I was reading another article about people groups protesting (yada yada) Mel Gibson’s The Passion, about the last 12 hours of God’s life on Earth, and I came to the conclusion that some people seem to enjoy to forsake all logic and ability to think as a human being for personal agendas. To what end though? What is denying historical fact going to gain you? To all the Jewish concerned groups, God forbid we ever deny the Holocaust, so why are some people denying the historical fact that a man named Yeshua was brought to trial by a predominately Jewish religious order and given the death sentence by a predominately Jewish crowd (I assume that most citizens, not all, of Jerusalem circa mid-1st century A.D. were Jewish. Also remember, we are not talking about every single Jew that lived at the time, just a handful of people that happened to be Jewish. Heck Jesus himself was a hardcore Jew as were all his followers! the irony...). The sentence was of course carried out by the Roman government, so they are as much to blame historically as anyone else. This is the historical aspect of the event. Of course the reason Christ went to the cross in reality was because of not one “people group” or government. His death is the fault of every human being that has lived, lives, and will live. Our sin put Jesus on the cross folks! Get a clue and be real with yourself! You, yes YOU (and ME of course) put Jesus on the cross and YOU drove the nails into his hands and feet, and YOU thrust the spear into his side because of YOUR sin, the same sin YOU commit day after day after day....deal with it. So in conclusion, I think everyone will agree that we must remember history, especially the atrocities against human kind, for if we forget them they may happen again. We must never forget the Holocaust, the Crusades, the Cival War, etc. but if we compromise certain histories, like the events surrounding Jesus’s death, we are in fact also compromising any historical event and we are in danger of repeating history. “Hikins said he saw a brief clip of it "and the brief clip that I saw of the film, of a mob of Jews yelling for the crucifixion of Jesus, was enough to scare the daylights out of me."” This statement rejects actually history. It’s like a Neo-Nazi watching a Holocaust video and saying “and the brief clip that I saw of the film, of a mob of Nazis yelling for the death of Jews, was enough to scare the daylights out of me.” Hikins, the Gospels aren’t saying you historically killed Jesus, they aren’t saying all Jews historically killed Jesus, and they aren’t even saying all Jews at that time historically were responsible for his death. They just report the facts, like a newspaper would, that the people that brought Christ to trial happened to be Jewish, that the majority of the crowd that called for his death sentence happened to be Jewish, and that the authorities that physically killed him happened to be European Romans. Please stop trying to divide the anthropological community and insult our historical knowledge. Imagine if someone told you the Holocaust never happened...you’re irk is with history itself, not with Mel Gibson. In the end though, when you realize that WE are responsible for Christ’s death personally, they only thing you can really do is fall on your knees in tears and beg for forgiveness. The importance of blaming a specific group of people seems to fade away when nail comes to hand... peace brothers and sisters, and never..... never forget that life begins at the cross... August 29, 2003 Muslim Roadblocks -Been doing some research into Islam lately and every once in a while I like to go to Christianity-bashing websites to see where they’re coming from from an apologetic standpoint. I like to hear out everyone’s arguments before coming to any conclusions. One roadblock Muslims seem to face in accepting Jesus as being God (the core belief of historical and evidential Christianity) is the question concerning that if Jesus saves us, who saves Jesus, if he is God that is? It’s sort of dumbfounding that that question would even be posed considering the logical historical context of that argument. It’s sort of a spiritual “catch-22”. There are two things to consider here. First is that Jesus, according to the historical texts, (validity and authenticity of these texts is a whole other subject. I encourage you to go on a knowledge adventure and research yourself) led a perfectly sinless life and fulfilled the Law perfectly also. Let’s not forget Jesus was born not of any man’s seed but conceived in Mary through the Holy Spirit (the core belief of Christianity) so that he would not retain any bloodline from man’s damned, sinful line from Adam. The second point is that because of this perfect lived life, Jesus had no penalty to personally pay. There is no reason to pay a penalty when no infraction occurred. The penalty of sin (just one sin even) is death declares God. Jesus was never in debt. One might be then inclined to ask, Well then, why did Jesus have to die? Good question. So we know Jesus didn’t have to die for himself, then what could of drove him to go through all that pain and suffering when he didn’t have too? Gosh, can you just feel what I’m getting at here; the amazing love and grace shown on Calvary? Unfortunately we humans, from birth, inherit a credit debt that we cannot possibly hope to pay off. It’s called sinful nature, and we’re damned because of it. So there are two options in a human’s life: Either we pay the penalty for our billions of infractions against God, even just one, by spending eternity in Hell. Or we can accept an offer by a lawyer named Jesus to take our debt on himself and pay for it, paving the way for us to avoid Hell and even spend eternity in Heaven chilling out with our cool lawyer. Hmmm, it would take a logical human being all of 2.4 milliseconds to take option #2. Sheesh, that’s some love...the kind you won’t find anywhere else on this chunk of cosmic dirt. Ok, so I’m getting off the topic here, but I think I’ve clearly answered a common Islamic conundrum, or Jesus-rejection, whichever you’d like to say. Christ had no need to save himself, and the reason he willingly gave himself up was because he lovingly wanted to pay our debt for us, the very same debt we have no chance in paying ourselves. The only piece left in the puzzle is whether we accept his gift or whether we reject it and try to pay our debt on our own. Good luck if you choose the latter, you’ll need it. This is by no means an Islam bashing random thought. I’m just asking one to reason the possibilities and evidence at hand. But because of the Law of Non-contradiction, we both can’t be right; one has no ability to deny that fact. Islam may be right, and I may be wrong, I concede that could be the case. Also, one must concede I may be right, and Islam is wrong. Finally, one must concede we are both wrong. Object A cannot simultaneously be both object A and object B at the same time. Two contradictory statements cannot be both true...the Law of Non-contradiction prevails once again over feelings, emotions, and traditions. August 28, 2003 Ebay! --If anyone is ever interested in anything I’m selling on Ebay just go to this link and you can find some rare and exotic stuff for sale from yours truly. Ebb’s Ebay thingys August 27, 2003 Girl Gamers (click to read) --I knew some girls played video games but 26% of all video gamers are females 18 and over? Wow, I did not expect a number like that. I do wonder what sort of female “gamers” these are though. I mean was the question “Do you know what Super Mario Brothers is?” or more indicative of their video game prowess like “Who is Cloud’s enemy in Final Fantasy VII?” or “Name Namco’s two flagship fighting franchises.” I don’t doubt many girls know the difference between Nintendo and Nikkei, but I do doubt there are 26 girls for every 100 guys that have either a Playstation 2, Gamecube, or Xbox (or PC for gaming). Well either way, I hope this stat to be true for that means there’s more chance of a match for me :) And to all the girl gamers out there, more power to ya! But don’t think for a second that your Dragon Punch or quicker than mine. August 26, 2003 Star Wars random thoughts • First off, I wanna say how freaking awesome Star Wars arcade (the 1983 version) is. It is thee best video game ever in my opinion. Not only did I break my personal best record last night (1,422,550), but I was flying that X-wing like a Jedi master. That game is so much fun, even the millionth time I play it. I think my materialistic life was complete when I got that game (well I could use a BMW M3, a 50” plasma TV, and Heidi Klum....but I’ll take what I can get). • On a sadder note, I failed to save Earth last night :( I was doing great in Gyruss, got all the way to 1 warp to Mars with 3 lives still! But those stinking aliens are terds and cheap-shotted me left and right. I made it to 3 warps to Earth but alas I could not save my homo-sapien compadres and evaporated in a space explosion. It was a sad day for Gyruss. To this day, Earth has been saved by only one brave adventurer, my brother John...oh the envy...oh the respect. But I gotta say, there’s nothing better than feeling the pride of your older brothers whoopin up in some video game. I can’t tell you how many hours I stood knee high to my older brothers watching them battle aliens, drive race cars, or fight dragons in the great era of video games, which we knows as “the 80’s”. Ah, the memories. That’s why I like video games so much, that’s why I am the way I am. Such great memories. • Is anybody else tired of that fruit loop in Alabama going out of judicial office in an ego filled blaze of glory? Get some humility bro, stop giving Christians a bad name, and do what your own Lord said to do, give Caesar what is Caesar’s. No one is holding a gun to your head to renounce your faith, no one is saying you can’t maintain a monument of the Ten Commandments in your heart. Stop focusing on an inanimate object and start focusing on what it represents dude. I think Gregg Easterbrook of Espn.com said it best: “I find it deeply embarrassing when Christianity is associated, in the public eye, with hucksters like Moore. I find it embarrassing, too, when Christians supporting Moore's hunk of stone suggest that a big object in a public square is what matters, rather than the power of God's message itself. Anyone who needs to look at a big object in order to believe, doesn't really believe. And consider that in the same state, Alabama, where the Judge Moore sideshow is getting nonstop media attention, Republican Gov. Bob Riley is risking his political neck to campaign for tax-law changes that would increase taxes on the well-off while exempting everyone who makes less than $17,000 annually. Gov. Riley phrases the campaign in religious terms, saying, "According to our Christian ethics, we're supposed to love God, love each other and help take care of the poor." How come this pure and admirable Christian sentiment gets no media attention while the egomaniac with the hunk of stone in the same state's courthouse enjoys round-the-clock coverage?” • Sorry had to plug this in. The O.C. on Fox could very well be the best show out currently on TV. Sure its got that whole 90210 shadow associated with it, but come on, who can resist? Hot chicks, cool good guys, PAB-ish bad guys, surfing, California, good music (they had a Jeff Buckley song on one episode, how cool is that?), interesting characters, relevant plot lines (ok, so we all don’t live in Newport Beach), and I like it. So yeah, watch it if you get a chance. You won’t be disappointed, especially if you’re a hormonally, emotionally charged youth like me. • So yeah, its Lord of the Rings night for a couple of my family members. With my two bros and one of my sisters, we’re gonna watch The Two Towers DVD tonight. Yeah we’re all LOTR nerds, but what a cool kind of nerd to be! Personally, I’m gonna wait to buy the extended edition. Yes, Boromir is in The Two Towers folks! • If I’m wrong about Christianity I sure as heck wanna know! The Law of Non-contradiction indicates that only one faith can be true, rendering all others completely false, or that all are false (only two logical options). So that’s why I’m like I am, that’s why I’m gonna put my faith, and every other faith, to the test till the day I die. If Jesus’s bones turn up somewhere you can bet your kippah I’m gonna curse his name 24-7, and have sex with as many women as possible. What a farce he was if he lied. That’s why I gotta test every man’s claims because piece of crap, I don’t want my leg pulled and I sure as Hell don’t want to be played for a fool. Darn right I’m gonna put my God to the test. What has he got to fear if he’s telling the truth? No wonder he baits us to test him, so far I’ve found he’s got nothing to hide. August 26, 2003 Return of the Jedi...I mean True/False Challenge --You know the drill folks. True statement, or false statement? And in the great words of The Highlander, “There can be only one.” 1. The first video game console that I ever owned was a Sega Genesis system. 2. Despite my writing tendencies and plethora of offerings, I’ve yet to climb that one hill and get any of it published :( 3. The farthest north I’ve been is Toronto, Canada (soccer tournament), the farthest south I’ve been is Miami, Fl (visiting relatives), the farthest west I’ve been is Columbus, Ohio (nother soccer tournament), and the farthest east I’ve been is Corolla, NC (Outer Banks beach trip). 4. I own just one BMW automobile with another on the way sometime in the next 10 months hopefully. 5. My last name used to be Wojciechowski before my father had it legally shortened for brevity. 6. My first date was to my homecoming dance, my senior year in high school (little late there Keith huh) 7. I was accepted to three institutions of higher learning and rejected by one. I was accepted to Virginia Polytechnic and State University (Virginia Tech), George Mason University, and Grove City College (PA). I was rejected by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (guess I didn’t’ have tar heel blood in me after all). 8. I currently work for the United States Secret Service in downtown Washington, D.C. at the federal USSS headquarters at 900 H St. 9. I saw the space shuttle Challenger blow up live on TV in 1986. 10. I’m a member of A.C.E. (American Coaster Enthusiasts). 11. My screenplay, “The Scattered Few”, was originally titled “Tell Me About Your First Kiss”. 12. My favorite seafood delight is lobster. 13. The first music show I went to was to see the punk outfit MxPx at the 9:30 Club. 14. I only have 2 first cousins, both girls. August 25, 2003 Study sheds light on wine’s benefits (click to read) --It seems science continually proves that making conclusions after the facts and evidence have been collected is a much better way to live than trying to fit the facts and evidences to preconceived conclusions based on nothing at all really except opinion. I’d rather travel in unknown territory with a map than try to feel which direction I should go (logical statement, agreed?). As always, don’t let some other fool tell you how to live your life, make your own conclusions people. That’s why we have brains people. Truth can only be discovered. The only way to know how deep the water is is to measure with the resources at your disposal, namely your mind. Only after you’ve tested with your mind will you know if that water is worth jumping into with your heart. I can’t respect anyone that dives into something without first researching and questioning it’s origin (who here would dive into a pretty-looking yellowish orange liquid despite the fact that it could be lava? ...thought so). Hmm, I think that could be applied to romance and love ya know...maybe I have a best-seller on the horizon... This random thought doesn’t really have much to do with wine. Guess I just wanted the article to point out that my preconceived notions based in nothing are sometimes false (fact). And last time I checked, believing in false notions wasn’t a smart thing to do. Don’t check your brain out at the door when you come into EbbWorld. I’m a reasonable freethinker here. Present a reasonable arguement and I’ll chew on it. Heck I think I’m a changed man enough to even admit I was wrong like in this instance. Sheesh, never thought you’d see that day did you Lynne? There is hope for me I guess. August 21, 2003 When I die... --The only thing I request when I die is that some guy plays Amazing Grace on the bagpipes as they lower my coffin into the ground. I won’t be around to hear it, but its ok, because the celebratory musical oratory that Amazing Grace is will be such an awesome residual effect of my life. I kind can’t wait for death just so people can hear how awesome grace really is :) Also I want this engraved on my tombstone: You want life? Real life?! Then let Jesus find you like He found me! -You Found Me, Altar Boys August 20, 2003 Couple of mid-week randoms • Any dream that involves me playing arcade games is usually a good dream. • If Jesus wasn’t the answer then how come everybody uses his name when they have a big problem? Seems only logical you’d yell out the solution ya know. You don’t hear anyone shouting out Muhammad or Buddha do you? • I’m sorry but having money helps ease the pain of having to deal with life. Even having the prospect of having money helps. It’s not the answer of course (nobody shouts “money!” when they have a big problem) but we’re only human ya know. • I noticed two different women eyeing a baby on the Metro today. The only difference was how they “eyed” it. One had that “motherly” smile look and the other an almost subdued acrimonious look (what could’ve that baby possibly done to you?). Knowing that 43% of women have had at least one abortion before age 45 in the US, I thought maybe she was one of them (speculation based on emotional observation). Gosh, now I understand why she’d be so crestfallen. That giggling, pooping baby represented everything she could’ve had in her arms. She was probably asking herself if it was worth it. She was probably regretting her decision seeing how lovable that little bundle of joy was and how it would’ve enhanced her life, not restricted it. Gosh, I can’t imagine what some post-abortion women go through. Thank God for Jesus, with whom no condemnation dwells, only love... • Why do I keep meeting people from Utah? I think I hate that state more than North Korea, at least they're honest about their discrepencies. August 20, 2003 (very early morning) Ebbtide So I’ve decided on a name for my band. I’m calling it Ebbtide, in honor of an Ebbtide St. my friend saw while in South Carolina. I like it. Anyways, being that EbbWorld is an equal opportunity entertainment depot, I’m offering some more music offerings. The quality sucks, but at least I was able to compress them into .mp3 format for your file size welfare. If you know of a better freeware software program let me know. Anyways, enjoy or be like oh gosh this music sucks Keith. If only I had my brother’s guitar to record these songs…it makes you like 3x better instantly. 1. Ebbtide- Ocean Scene 2. Ebbtide- I’d Love To, See You 3. Ebbtide- 53 Light-years Away (short edit version) August 18, 2003 Weird things happen --I’m not gonna try to explain how God works his mojo. All I’m gonna say is that I’m dust in the wind (not even that) compared to his awesomeness (props to my cyber friend Strong Bad). It’s like this morning when everything seemed to go wrong and then all the sudden out of the blue something good happened. Anyways, here’s some random thoughts for Monday morning. • The History Channel is my arch-enemy when it comes to trying to go to bed. I won’t explain how last night’s Nazi America: A Secret History enthralled me because this morning came too early. • Is there anything better than late summer/early fall? I mean come on...the start of the NFL, the start of the NHL, the start of the NBA, beautiful weather (not too hot/not too cold), hurricane surf, holiday weekends, et cetera... The only bad thing is that all my friends leave me. • Random Thoughts has become more of personal journal as of late. It’s funny because I probably wouldn’t tell you about any of these things if I met you in person, but for some reason I have no reservations about letting the cyber world into my mind and heart. Looks like my readers (most likely me, myself, and I) get a better look at me online then they do in person. • Do you ever start a project, or projects, with the greatest of intentions and motivation but later on lose all that zeal and feel really bad that you didn’t finish what you set out to do? I have... • I’m realizing more and more that kids are basically like Play-dough®. They will believe and take the form of whatever their authoritative figure wants them to be. Nazi children sincerely believed that Jews were the enemy and that blacks were cursed worthless beings. Unfortunately believing sincerely in something doesn’t make it true. In this case the poor, impressionable Nazi children were sincerely wrong. Parents have too much power in forming their kids’ psyche. I don’t like that. • I had some other random thoughts but unfortunately (fortunately if you hate my style) I didn’t write them down and they are lost to oblivion. Don’t you just hate it when you know you had a great idea or something and now you can’t remember it? A creative mind is a terrible thing to waste. • Want to know how to covertly determine which of your friends is miserable in their marriages or relationships? It’s easy. Just note the people that try to cajole you to get married, persuade you to find a boy/girl, antagonize you about your singleness, or consistently ask for updates concerning your love life...those are the people that are miserable in their marriage or relationship. How can that possibly determine if their miserable Keith? Well as they say, misery loves company. August 15, 2003 Special Girl You are a special girl, so beautiful and unique. You were hand made by the very fingers of the Creator, knitted in the womb by caring arms. Your eyes are more celestial than Andromeda, your lips more succulent than freshly picked peaches. This world will tell you otherwise, men will tell you otherwise. They will say you must please them, they will say you aren’t worth more than the stars, they will tell you that you aren’t “complete” unless you have a man or are married. They are liars, they are brigands, they are selfish thieves whose only concern is to please themselves. Selflessness has not crossed their damned minds. You are an object to them, but you are no object to your Creator. He loves you as you are, as you were, and as you’ll become. Nothing you do or don’t do changes that fatherly love, that endless devotion, nor that beautiful relationship. The Creator devoted a whole chapter to how wonderful you are in his love book to you. I know of know chapter devoted to the greatness of men. You are caring, a loving, and an honest human worth more than then the universe in the eyes of your loving Creator. He gave everything he had just so you could end up in his arms of love. Love beyond the cosmos, beyond anything we could see or detect, beyond measure transcendent and perfect. You mean so much to him words cannot describe how much you are worth. Worth enough for your Creator to give his life so he could see you face to face. Let no man treat you without the utmost respect and honor you deserve. Let no man demean you below him in this life or the next. For men are sinful, are lustful, and are driven to please themselves. Keep watch young one, and guard your heart for many will try to twist and tear your soul out from you. Know who created you and why he created you; to serve no man, but to serve the one that gave all creation up to be with you. You were not born to serve any man, were not born for an ideal, you are part of no collective. You are an individual, hand picked from the garden of the loving Creator, beautiful, adorable, alluring, beauteous, delightful, exquisite, graceful, lovely, pulchritudinous, resplendent, and striking; worth far more than rubies, far more than a multitude of diamonds. You are an angel without wings; you are a woman of endless beauty. Let no one ever, ever, ever say otherwise or put you down for they are lost and undone. You are so much more...your salvation is yours and only your decision. Your Creator is waiting to run to you and hold you in his arms and say “oh my daughter...” August 15, 2003 Weary --It’s getting harder, everyday that I’m this planet having to fight to keep pure my Savior’s name. It’s getting harder, everyday to get up and face the battles. Whether it be Atheists, Agnostics, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Christian Scientists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Hindus, Buddhists, Ba’hists, Quakers, Hedonists, Existentialists, Seventh-Day Adventists, whomever rejects the complete unadulterated saving grace of my bro and my God, Jesus Christ....it’s getting harder everyday to face the wars that are ultimately against Satan himself, not these individuals, to stand up for the truth, and defend the truth. I welcome Satan’s attack both high and low because I know my God is greater, but in my humanness I’ve become weary and fatigued at the prevalent spiritual wars going on all around me. Around me hover souls on the brink of salvation and souls on the brink of damnation. Will there be an end? In the strange irony of life, my only hope is found in death. My soul is burdened, my spirit weakened. My only hope is that through Him all things are possible, and that through Him hope springs eternal. My only hope is that when everything has been rigorously and reasonably tested, only the truth will remain standing. ...maybe I just need to get to bed earlier... “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” –Ephesians 6:12 alienation in an alien nation i feel so far, from home. the natives i’m so tired of listening don’t want to have to keep hearing them crying, we love the smell of Hell how dare you try to tell He died to set us free! the Fallen Angel we will serve undoubtedly take your cross and let us be... morning will soon arise and i’ll have to start the war again fighting for freedom, deliverance, and holiness just to keep my Savior’s name... just to keep my Savior’s name... -as the story grows by scaterd few August 15, 2003 Food for thought --You’ll thank me after posting these articles. Although I must warn those with weak stomachs that what you’re about to read may cause quesiness. What kind of FDA do we have though? So yeah, think about what may be in the everyday food that you eat... Uneasy facts Trans Fat From Hell!!! ...coming to theaters soon... August 8, 2003 Random, aimless, arbitrary... • Don’t you find it odd that words like "masturbation" and "lust" are far more taboo than words like "fornication" and "adultery" in our society, despite that fact that the latter sins can statistically create much worse potential physical consequences? (yes, whether someone lies to their mother or someone kills a million people makes no difference spiritually and just one sin, no matter how small excludes us from God’s standard of perfection for entering Heaven. I realize that. I’m just talking about the physical consequences of the aforementioned sins). • Have you noticed how most people pronounce the expression et cetera (.ect) improperly? Phonetically it should be pronounced “et set-ter-a”, yet most people you’ll find say “ex set-ter-a” as if an “x” exists in the word. • The problem with losing weight is that your waistline apparently shrinks. This is annoying because pants, boxers, and shorts don’t fit as well and fall down. Also you usually have to use another hole on the belt making it look less fashionable. • I commit my worst sins (speaking in degree of mental and physical consequence) when I’m alone. I’d venture a guess (well more like fact most likely) that most of us that consider ourselves “holy” or whatever (aka hypocrites of the worst degree) commit our worst sins when no one is looking and in the confines of our own minds. But when we’re around other people or on Sunday mornings, we’re all smiles and good. We’re a bunch of freaking living liars to think we’re anything but destitute individuals. • I don’t give any props to people that get married or people that make babies. First of all, it’s easy to make a baby in or out of marriage, so you don’t really deserve any props for doing that. God deserves the props for making life out of dust. Second of all, any two idiots can get married. Married folk that deserve props are those that waited patiently, stayed pure, found their security in God and not in the relationship, and those that keep the promise they made on the altar till they kicked the can. Sorry, but I’m not gonna lie to someone and give them props if they don’t deserve it. I simply can’t stand people who I know think they’re better or “more there” than others because they’re married of have kids. Screw people that think that. Like I said, anybody can do that and you are no more special for it. • Here’s my question, if homosexuality isn’t a sin, what is? If you don’t draw the line somewhere then I guess you gotta allow for those that think things like incest, bestiality, rape, polygamy, orgies, stuff like that are cool. It would be totally a double standard if you didn’t allow people to practice those sex acts and allowed people to still practice homosexuality...right? Is my logic flawed? Someone? I foresee an influx of people that condone all sorts of Biblically immoral sexual acts knocking on the Supreme Court’s door soon. Just like Sebastian said in The Little Mermaid, “You give’em an inch, and they swim all over you.” God is not stupid people, and he will not be mocked I’ll have you know. “If God is dead, then everything is permissible." -Fydor Dostyevsky August 8, 2003 Not Tonight, I’ve Got a Meeting A British survey says men daydream about sex but would rather sleep than put those thoughts into practice. The survey, sponsored by the vitamin company Berocca, said one in five men admitted they thought about sex within a minute of the start of a business meeting, the BBC reported Thursday. But most men, if given an extra hour in bed, would rather spend it sleeping than having sex. (Express) -I can’t say from experience, but I’d have to say that extra hour of sleep sounds extremely yummy. Did someone say Carmen Electra? Such a battle. August 8, 2003 Woman Tried for Driving While Breast-Feeding A woman on trial for breast-feeding her baby while driving on the Ohio Turnpike testified Thursday that she nursed behind the wheel because her husband told her to. Catherine Donkers, 29, said she stopped at a highway rest stop May 8 to feed her 7-month-old daughter, but realized the baby was still hungry after she got back on the road. She said she called her husband, who told her to feed the baby while driving. Donkers faces several misdemeanor charges. (AP) -This women should be locked up or fined big time. Any woman that breast-feeds in public (or even around other people in private) should be. There is NO EXCUSE to breast-feed in public. It is gross, inhumane, and so inconsiderate of those around you its not even funny. Even worse are moms that breast feed children that are like older than a year. That is just disturbing, no two ways about it. These women are clueless. Gosh Keith, you’re so insensitive. You have no idea what its like to have a baby! You know what, you’re right, but that doesn’t change the fact that breast-feeding in public is gross, so you can kiss my nipple (pun intended). August 7, 2003 O’Reilly Factor I think the O’Reilly Factor is my new favorite TV show ever (8pm, Fox News Channel). And now I’m addicted to the Radio Factor, his radio show from 12pm-2pm everyday. Ok, I’m biased because he’s a zealous conservative Republican, but I challenge anyone that says he doesn’t hear both sides of the argument before making a conclusion. He always gives the opposing party a chance to state their claims, which I find commendable. I just love his no-crap, no-pattycake approach to serious issues plaguing the American people. He sticks to his convictions and doesn’t compromise towards what’s “popular”. I recommend the show. If anything it will get your blood boiling whichever side you are on the issue. |