The Last Power Hour

The last season of 24 has ended tonight. I must say, I'm a little saddened by the loss of something that's been a big part of my life. I've been watching 24 since it first started 8 seasons ago. I'm not ashamed of saying that Jack Bauer has always been, and always will be my hero. It's been a long, amazing run. I'd like to celebrate with some awesome Jack Bauer facts:

There has not been a terrorist attack in the United States since Jack Bauer first appeared on television.- Apparently, some Muslims are really offended by Jack Bauer's overly zealous treatment of terrorists. From what I've read, some people think Jack Bauer gives Muslims a bad rep. No lie. I think if they actually bothered to watch the show, they'd see that the only bad rep that these "Muslim terrorists" get on the show are the fact that they are almost never masterminds.

Ordinary people have panic attacks. Chuck Norris has Jack Bauer's attacks!

Kiefer Sutherland drinks to forget all the terrible things Jack Bauer has done.

Vin Diesel can be rearranged to say "I end lives." Jack Bauer can be rearranged to say "Jack Bauer," which means the same thing.

Jack Bauer made a brief cameo in the film "Stand By Me" as the local bully. His character got so pissed off when the boys didn't let him take the dead body that seven years later, he killed River Phoenix. Jack Bauer never forgets.

Jack Bauer could get off the Lost island in 24 hours.

If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.-freaking Nina Meyers!

If Rosa Parks was in Jack Bauer's seat she would move to the back

The Boogieman checks his closet for Jack Bauer

There were originally five horsemen of the apocalypse. Jack Bauer said he would travel by foot.

When Kim Bauer lost her virginity, Jack found it and put it back.

The Dinosaurs laughed at Jack ...

Nostradamus once predicted in his journal: "In the century 21st, the one known as Jacques will be the savior of the world... five seasons in a row." Moments later, Jack Bauer knocked down the door, shot Nostradamus in the kneecaps, and yelled "WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR?!"

Every person in authority who has ever decided Jack Bauer is wrong and a loose cannon who needs to be arrested is dead. Coincidence? I think not.

Upon hearing that he was played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland. Jack Bauer gets played by no man.

Jack Bauer doesn't dodge bullets. Bullets dodge Jack Bauer.

If you ever tried to tell Jack Bauer to go to hell, the Devil would silence you before you finished the sentence.

Jack Bauer was removed from Counter-strike by Valve because the counter-terrorists always won. Always.

There is no such thing as Evolution. There are the animals Jack Bauer doesn't kill.

Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer once got into a fight, the event is commonly known as the Big Bang. If you want to know who won, just ask yourself when was the last time
you saw a new episode of Walker Texas Ranger?

Jack Bauer understands the teacher in Charlie Brown.

The only correct answer to the question, "Who's your daddy?" is "Jack Bauer". No matter who you are.

Jack Bauer let the dogs out.

Jack Bauer has two speeds: Walk and Kill.

Jack Bauer caught all the Pokemon.

Jack Bauer once wrote a book. You might know it. It's called The Bible.

For 137 pages of this goodness: http://www.jackbauerfacts.com/





LONG LIVE JACK BAUER!

Life without facebook/why I love my blog.

it's been 20 days since my facebook went offline and I must say it's been an interesting journey so far. At first, I didn't think it'd be such a big deal, but after a while, I realized how much of a psychological effect facebook had on me. Quite unexpectedly, I've been over come with almost this sense of loneliness, which I think is positively ridiculous. I attribute this "loneliness" to the lack of "connection" now that facebook is gone, or what we believe is connection. Now that instant access to everyone and there mother isn't on a screen, I can't get a hold of them. I can no longer facebook chat, or cruise over to somebodies page and leave a comment. This is positively silly because none of that is what I would define as an actual connection, but more of an artificial connection. I never even seriously used facebook chat to begin with anyway! It really is kind of scary how facebook seemed to trick my brain into thinking that I was interacting socially with people online, when in actuality I wasn't doing very much interacting at all.

You may be quick to point out that facebook may not be the cause of such loneliness, but I respectfully disagree. I got along fine without facebook, talking to the same number of people on aim as I do now, which is a meager few, but if anything; I interact with more people now on a regular basis than I did before. I have deeper conversations and connections now with people who play a bigger role in my life than I did then, and these are person to person interactions. Not over the phone or in front of a computer. So, honestly, I don't think this is actual loneliness, but may be this "false loneliness," if there is such a thing, that has resulted due to loss of such a big part of life up to now.

A few of you may know that my birthday was earlier this month. May 11th to be exact. Facebook definitely impacted the way I experienced that. On my birthday, the only people to actually wish me a happy birthday were my family members. Now, I'm not crying about this or anything. I honestly don't advertise my birthday, so it wasn't really that big of a blow. (I haven't thrown myself a bday party since I was in elementary school.)It was different though. Usually, thanks to facebook, you are bombarded with a barrage of "Happy Bdays" from everyone and there mother who happened to see the notification on facebook. I always thought that was annoying though, since I would always suspect that they needed facebook to tell them when my birthday was. It wasn't just bad things that came out of this though. One of my students, who does not have a facebook (to my knowledge), wished me a happy birthday a few days before it actually happened. I was stunned/happy to find out that someone actually remembered without having to be told! And this kid wouldn't be categorized as the brightest either! I guess I may be able to categorize a text by a student on the day of as a "happy bday wish," but all she called me was an old man. I guess I'll take it. In any case, that's what I've been looking for. Fostering real, meaningful relationships with out the use of a stupid computer.

I think people categorize these new little social interaction apparatuses as a requirement nowadays. That's dumb. I shouldn't have to have a facebook in order to connect with a person. I was talking to a student of mine last night about dating. He couldn't seem to understand the idea of dating without texting being involved. It was a foreign concept to him. As he put it, "it kind of makes you cherish all the time you have." He went on to say that he and the girl he is "dating" enjoy each others company. Shenanigans. I'm not saying that they don't, I'm just saying that that's kind of funny when the only time they ever see each other face to face and hear each others voice is at school. This is just an example, that of a 17 year old to be exact, but I've found myself thinking and acting the same way before too.

I think people honestly underestimate the power facebook and even texting. I think it's kind of scary. It's integrated itself into our daily lives. It's become a ritual for some people. That's nuts. I would never have guessed how much of an impact facebook had on my life until I got rid of it.

This is where my blog comes in. I've been using this free time to think up stuff for my blog. I love it. I've also come to understand how important my blog is to me. A while back, I came to the conclusion that I'm actually quite forgetful, especially with the important stuff that I've experienced. It's hard for me to recall particular circumstances that have impacted my life. I can only ever recall the emotions, the impact on my life, and the results. I didn't really have material to "tell a story" with. I could just relate feelings. I understand that an easy way to solve this is by recording stuff like that in a journal. I own a journal and I've tried using it on more than one occasion. I just couldn't do it. Then I realized that this blog of mine actually has some pretty deep, life changing stuff on it already. For some reason, I blog about my experiences freely when it feels like pulling teeth when I try to write them down.

I don't hate writing. I love writing actually. I enjoy using big words and forming deep sentences and messages. For some reason though, I just can't keep a journal. I guess this has developed a new found appreciation for my blog. I guess it may be slightly hypocritical of me for being dependent on this virtual collection of writings on the internet when I just severed all connections with facebook, but I think facebook and my blog are two different beasts, and my blog surely isn't replacing my interactions and shaping my world-view at all.

It may sound like I'm crusading against our little social interactions over the web and the phone, but I'm not. I'm promoting awareness, and recording what I've learned while struggling with this stuff. I honestly believe we take this stuff too lightly. I'm not saying we should stop using any of this stuff. Not at all. I'm just saying we ought to be mindful of how we use them and how they are impacting our lives.

Who's got two thumbs, two trigger fingers, and the right to own a handgun? THIS GUY!

I got my Handgun Safety Certificate today! I'm pretty psyched. I had to take a test in order to receive the card so that I will be able to purchase handguns in the future. It was pretty much 30 true and false and multiple choice questions that were all pretty common sense. It was pretty awesome. I passed with flying colors! BOOYAH! Now the question is what handgun I will be purchasing first. The million dollar question. I've singled out a few guns that I want to check out before I make a decision.

At the top of my list would be this bad boy! It has the style and intimidation factor that I require. Who cares if the gun flies out of my hand and into my face after I fire it. If it hits something, then it's game over!


I'm very much kidding about that. As cool as a Desert Eagle is, I'd much rather purchase a Baby Eagle which has similar style and would be a lot more practical, not to mention affordable. Some day I'd like to purchase one of those, but they don't seem to be widely available so they're off the list.

At the top of my list would have to be the USP Compact. It's a pretty good sized gun that comes in 9mm, .357 sig, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. I got to handle a model in .40 S&W today and I must say that I really like the fit. I would like to fire it in 9mm and may be .40 before I make a decision though.


Second on my list would have to be the Beretta PX4. It comes in 9mm, .40 S&W, and I think it even comes in .45. Apparently one of the awesome things about this gun is the barrel rotates slightly when firing to reduce recoil. I am not sure exactly how that works but apparently it does. I'm still doing my homework on that. Also, the grips on this gun can be changed out for small, medium, and large grips to fit your hand the way you want it. That's a plus. You want a handgun with a good fit. Then, of course, it's Italian. All in all, the Beretta is high on my list.


Third, and finally on my list will have to be the XD 9. It's the cheapest of these plastic fantastics. There is a pretty broad selection in the XD department. I've never been too happy about their looks, but they definitely beat those ugly glocks in my book.


I'm sure other guns will present themselves, but this is what I've got so far. I'm sure I'll post the end result eventually though.

Halo Reach: Beta!

The beta test is finally open for Halo: Reach. Us die-hard halo fans have been waiting since news of it's availability was announced. I've been psyched since playing Halo 3: ODST.


Too bad I'm in class right now and can't be enjoying it like the rest of the drooling masses of halo fans. But that's what my night is going to look like tonight! After 24, which ranks higher than the beta to me, I'm going to be all over that. I might just fall asleep to gun fire! OR Tea-bag the night away!

Mr. Nice guy

The other day, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine and they asked me: " when do I ever do nice things for other people." To be honest, I thought it was an interesting, but random question, and they assured me that they were not trying to offend me. The thing is, that's not a question people ask me very often. It's not even a question I ask myself, so I thought it would be interesting to try and answer that. So I got thinking, and I came to the conclusion that, regardless of whether or not people think I'm a jerk (That's a matter of opinion, I'm sure.), I'm actually a really nice guy. Mind you, I'm not saying I'm the image of generosity and humility; the perfect bearer of Christ's example, but I try. As I thought about it, I realize I do behave myself pretty well. I'm not saying I reach out to every homeless person and feed every orphan, but I comport myself quite well in relation to other people. I hold doors open for people, I say "bless you" to random strangers, toss some change in the salvation army can, stop to help a stranger in need on the occasion, and so forth. Now, I'm not saying this to brag, I'm just saying this because I think it's important to understand whether or not we are really nice people. I may not be perfect, but I do understand that people are as frail and helpless as I am at times and if I have the power to help them, I ought to. Again, I'm not saying I'm a Saint, and I'm not saying that we are only required to do the small things like holding doors open and so forth, but they mean a lot too, because If you don't skip over the small things, you surely take notice of the big things too. Not saying I'm perfect at that either, but I sure as heck try. Just something to think about. I think it's a question we ought to ask ourselves every now and again. How often do I do something without my best interests in mind?