I’m a smaller fellow. Always have been. I enjoy exercise in general, but I don’t tend to build muscle quickly and I find push-ups tedious. A recent friend of mine, coming into my life after several years of acquaintanceship, has been doing P90X off and on for some time now. Our newfound friendship has given me the opportunity to explore physical fitness in a rigorous format and given me a companion to keep me accountable.

It’s been just over a week now since we began P90X together, and I find it quite fun. Sure some exercises are absolutely miserable and exhausting, but others might even be called playful. All of them improve the strength of my body, help me find personal confidence, and give me beautiful sleep at night.

Thankfully I don’t tend to be one to give up on things, especially if someone encourages me to continue, and so I eagerly await wherever I may be in the weeks to come!

Not everyone in the world is free to write his thoughts. In fact, a very large part fo the world population can neither read nor write, and of those you can, few have the resources at their disposal to do so, especially in such an easy, accessible form as teh Internet. As a middle class American, I am blessed with all of these: reading, writing, computer, adn Internet. On top of this, I have time to write. Sure, I’m fairly busy, but I can easily make time if I so choose without any negative impact on the rest of my life.

It is absolutely wonderful to be able to express ourselves in written word, an odd way of solidifying thoughts, thoughts that will last indefinitely in whatever format we lay them down. Writing enables us to take on different personae, fictional or factual, to wither pretend to be what we are not, or what we wish we were, or to describe ourselves for others to understand. The practice of writing makes it easier to communicate with the world around us, to express feelings, desires, demands, cares, needs, wants, goals, and dreams. It helps us to build friendships with those far and near, to sustain relationships through time and space. I am truly thankful for this wonderfully good thing God has given me: the opportunity to write.

Early in the morning, the world is much different. Everything is quiet. Nature is awake, ready for the day. Air seems fresh, and teh light of the sun is welcoming, neither harsh nor oppressive. Unless you are late for work, you will find a relaxed atmosphere. Even thunderstorms don’t often happen in the morning!

Once upon a time, I woke up. I took a shower with soap. I ate breakfast and didn’t read the paper. And I walked to work. The beautiful balmy breeze brushed against me. I arrived early, no coworkers, no stress, morning sun streaming through the windows. It is was good morning.

It is one of the great mysteries of God how one can be filled with guilt over convicted sin and at the same moment experience that most gracious of forgivenesses in relief and thankfulness at our freedom from sin. This one resurrective forgiveness sets the standard for all human forgivenesses, once for all, completed before any of our sins were committed, written on the foundation of the world.

Where else can one find complete and total salvation within an instant, even in the act of sin?

Our God is so loving, so gracious, so approachable that wherever we are, in the midst of the greatest trials and the act of our darkest sins, we are plucked out; He assures our escape from inescapable damnation. Is there any doubt that our God is the ruler of the world, the epitome of goodness, the essence of love?

Our God lives! Our God died! Our God is alive!

To the Minotaur that lives above me.

SLIGHTLY DISGRUNTLED DIRT: nevermind

Looking for my SOLE-mate

Dear Parents of Employed Teenagers

HENCHMEN NEEDED

Autographed copy of the Bible - $1,000,000,000 OBO

Ferocious Attack Kitten

Fill My Valence Electron Shell

Nemesis required. 6-month project with possibilty to extend

Flying Carpet

For those of you concerned about the financial fallout of the failed bailout plan, and the “biggest single day drop in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average”, I thought I would share a little bit of research on the topic.

Monday’s (Sep 29, 2008) 777.68 point drop was the biggest numeric drop in the history, but it isn’t anywhere near the biggest single-day percentage drop, which is much more significant and investment is made by percentage instead of plain numeric value. This drop was 6.98%, 18th on the list of highest percentage drops.

Historical Losses:

The number one drop was 24.39% on December 12, 1914, the first day the market was open after the start of World War I. On October 12, 1987, the market declined by 22.61%, and the two-day stock market crash of 1929 saw consecutive 12.82% and 11.73% declines, ushering in the Great Depression. September 11, 2001 is far down at number 15, with only a 7.13% loss.

Due to the effects of percentage changes in general upward trends, the DJIA increased from 54 points after the 1914 crash, to 230 in 1929 and 1,739 in 1987, to today’s 10,850. In essence, the 777.68-point drop was only 7%, but the number was far bigger than the entire DJIA total of 1914 or 1929. Had those years lost 100% of financial value, it wouldn’t have come close to the recent numeric total, but it would have been far more serious (and was, at 20+%), destroying the financial circumstances of most people invested in the stock market.

Also take note: the DJIA increased by nearly 500 points the next day (Sep 30), salvaging much of the losses.

Also note that if the stock market drops more than 10%, trading is halted automatically (due to the 1987 crash), and this did not nearly come to pass in the recent drop. Our country is really relatively financially sound relative to past national crises.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_daily_changes_in_the_Dow_Jones_Industrial_Average
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_curb

For those who were curious, and everybody else, too.

Standard Myers-Briggs (ignore the “programmers” label; it’s irrelevant)
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/articles/mb/default.asp

Functions Test (especially for people with close numbers on the first test)
http://www.cognitiveprocesses.com/assessment/develop_old.html

It’ll take time to think, but it’s highly recommended. Both websites (and the cognitiveprocesses.com website) provide lots of detailed information to help understand your results. You should also post your results here, if possible, to share with the rest of us! Andrew and I can also help interpret results.