6/14/2008 - Firefox 3

You may have noticed a new little image below my list of slideshows on the right. I figured I'd write a little note to explain that (and give my subtle plug). The new version of my favorite web browser, Firefox 3, is coming out on June 17th; they just announced the date today. The little banner I put up is about Download Day, which is an attempt by the Firefox folks to set a world record for most copies of a single piece of software downloaded in a 24 hour period. If you click on the banner you can pledge to download it on that day (for free, of course) and add one more download to the count for your country. It shows a map that you can mouse over and see how many people have pledged so far around the world--it's kinda neat. Anyway, it would be cool to be a part of the world record, but regardless, you should definitely try Firefox 3. I've been using it for quite a while now, as Firefox 3 Beta 5 was the default browser in the latest release of Ubuntu (Hardy Heron). It's great. I like it a lot. Firefox 2 was amazing, and this is even better. So yeah, that's what that's about.  :)

[Edit]  Well, download day is over and was quite the success with over 8 million downloads in the 24 hour period after it was released. Pretty cool.

6/7/2008 - Faith

Well, it's been a very long time since I've written anything here! That's partly because I haven't been on any trips or done anything super exciting lately. More significant, though, is that my thoughts as of late have been troubled more often than not and haven't been the kinds of thoughts I've felt like sharing. My faith has been shaken up pretty severely over the past six months or so. I have started having doubts about things I've never really doubted before. This has really scared me.

So, I'm writing now, and that doesn't mean that I've overcome the doubts that I've been facing, but it means I am encouraged. My friend Phil--one of my best friends for nearly twenty years--has always been someone I could talk to and share my struggles with in detail. We've had many good conversations lately. I have also thanked God for my much newer friend Audra. She and I are encouraging each other to spend time reading the Bible, even though we're a couple hours drive apart these days. And I am seeking God, praying that He will teach me how to hear His voice and how to know the truth. I believe He has already started answering. The other night the thought came to my mind, "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want." This verse that I had memorized from the Bible--from the beginning of Psalm 23--played in my mind several times. The words I emphasized above were the ones that were emphasized in my head. I saw myself as a sheep who is pretty helpless and not too bright, and I heard that God is the one who takes care of me, personally. In my mind's eye I saw Him caring for me. That has been my comfort this past week. I hope you all are doing well. Thanks for reading.

2/25/2008 - Nertz and Salsa

Last night Tiffany, Shaun, Audra and I played Nertz again.  :)  I made dinner for us and my parents and my grandma, with the help of my mom and Audra using a couple of recipes from the Veganomicon. We made two dishes, Baja Grilled Tempeh Tacos and Mexican Millet. I think they turned out great. Very tasty. I had some leftovers for lunch today. Yummm... Cooking took longer than I expected so we got started playing late as usual and played until midnight--ridiculously late for Tiffany and Shaun who have to get up early for work. It was really fun, though. Audra killed us completely with 290 points, and I was in last place until right before the end when I passed up Tiffany by just a few points--99 to 94. Shaun was right in the middle, with 165. So, Audra's currently the one to beat when the four of us get together, although Tiffany and I would be glad to beat Shaun as well!  ;)