Pointless Post #89 - Self-Checkout Stupidity Edition

Last week when I was playing floor hockey, I suited up to play in net because one of our usual goalies was a little bit late. I played two games, the last of which was horrible.  After he arrived, there were now three of us, and so we rotated playing in net to keep our energy up.  I was really motivated for my third game to try harder.  That is, until the two other goalies told me I could take off my equipment and that it wasn't necessary for me to play in net anymore.  They were being gentle with me.  A player from the sidelines was observing what was happening, looked at me and said, "HAHA, Tim just got Schneider'd!"

Ugh, that hurt.

Oh yeah, last night, I saw a mother and her daughter trying to scan an onion at the self checkout at Superstore.  AN ONION. TWICE.

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Gas has been up and down in the 140s and rising.  I saw it 151.7¢/litre the other day. That made me mad.

Historymaker and Winnipeg

In March 2003, I went to the Dominican Republic on a missions trip with my high school. That May, I went to Kelowna for my first Historymaker, "Dream."

Fast forward 10 years later...

In October 2012, I went to Romania on a missions trip with my church.  This May I went to Chilliwack for Historymaker 2013, "The Cause."

Teenagers have too much energy. And they are loud.  I also really love the kids at my church.

At the beginning of this month, I went to Winnipeg for about two days to catch up with friends and attend a wedding. It was kickbuttocks.  Winnipeg is a nice city, but it's hard to compare it to Vancouver, no offense "Friendly Manitoba."  Westjet is a decent airline carrier and I approve of the Canuck jab/trash talk the steward made over the intercom during the safety instructions. I had a good chat with that man and it turned out he was a Blackhawks fan.  On that return flight, I left 7am Sunday morning Winnipeg-time and landed about 8am Vancouver-time, more than enough time to get to church early by transit.

Oh and naturally, I took Spider-Man along and took 16 new pictures.  Below is a sample:

Near The Forks

I GOT TO GO INSIDE THE MTS CENTRE. WHAAAT!

Prairie trash, yo

Higher learning

I have a lot of posts I need to finish.  Ideas swirl in my head and I'll start to write them, but I tend to put them on the back burner.  Some of them date back as far as two years ago.  Hopefully I'll get around to them soon. 

EDIT: I just noticed I've been getting a ton of hits on my old October 2005 posts, which started two days ago.  A large majority of these visits have been coming from the Middle East, but Syria in particular. Can someone enlighten me?  Who is linking me from Facebook?

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Gas hit a a high of 149.9¢/litre a few weeks ago, and then went down to 145.9.  In Chilliwack, it was 10¢ cheaper.  Apparently the Lower Mainland pays 49¢ in taxes for gasoline.  In Winnipeg at the start of June, it was about 138.9, while Vancouver's gas was in the mid 140s.  It's currently fluctuating between 139-140ish.

Pointless Post #88 - Neighbourhood Scent Edition

When walking through residential streets, there's the odd time when I'll be able to smell the scent of fresh laundry wafting from certain houses and when that happens, I like to guess what brand of laundry detergent is being used.  It's very relaxing.

In other news, I took nine new Spider-Man poses pictures a few weeks ago, all in the Vancouver area.  Stanley Park, English Bay, and halfway up Cypress mountain.  New pics start here with preview below.  There are live animals in one of the pictures.

boom

chuka

boom

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Gas has been in the 133.9 - 136.9¢/litre range.

Pointless Post #87 - Cheap Sermon Edition

If my cheapness can be used as an illustration in a sermon, during a Sunday morning service, to the glory of God, and then immediately after being dismissed someone gives me a free cupcake, that has to be prophetic.

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Gas has been in the high 139-140 for a while, but is about 134.9¢/litre right now.

No more HST = Tim needs a haircut

To those who see me on a regular basis, I've often made the old joke that I'd get my hair cut short again when the HST was repealed and since that day was today......BAM!

I think it's going to take a few days to get used to.  Also not needing to tie up my hair before I do anything and using less amounts of shampoo when I wash my hair.  Take that Gordon Campbell.

EDIT: I've realized that of all my past haircut posts, this is the most drastic yet.

"I got more rhymes than the Bible's got Psalms"

This is a prominent quote written more than twenty years ago by the American poet Erik Francis Schrody.  Schrody, aka Everlast, was the front man for the hip hop group House of Pain, where they rapped this line in their 1992 single, "Jump Around."

I've always enjoyed this song, ever since I first heard it in a scene in Mrs. Doubtfire, where Daniel throws a surprise party for his son.  Whenever I'm driving alone and this song comes up on my mp3 player, I like to pretend I'm the baddest, toughest, Irish American hooligan I know and throw it down as loud and as gangsta as I can (within reason, I don't want people staring at me).

However, this quote has always bugged me because I don't think it's true.  The Bible has 150 Psalms.  Schrody probably means that as a whole, as long as he has breath in his lungs, he'll be able to make more than 150 rhymes in his life, but ambiguity rules and I always thought he meant that he has more than 150 rhymes in this one song.

So to satisfy my curiosity, I've decided to find out the exact number of rhymes and number all of them in "Jump Around."  I've decided to be generous and include rhymes that used the same word (eg. "up" and "up") as well as duplicate rhymes, for example when the chorus is repeated throughout the song.  Repeated phrases were counted at discretion.  An asterisk denotes the start of the rhyme scheme.  You have been warned.

Verse 1

Pack it up, pack it in*
Let me begin¹
I came to win²
Battle me that's a sin³
I won't tear the sack up*
Punk you better back up⁴
Try and play the role* and yo, the whole⁵ crew will act up⁶
Get up⁷, stand up⁸ (Come on!)
Come on, throw your hands up⁹
If you've got the feeling*
Jump up touch the ceiling¹⁰
Muggs is a funk* fest,
Someone's talking junk¹¹, yo*
I'll bust 'em in the eye
And then I'll take the punks¹² home¹³
Feel it, funk it¹⁴
Amps in the trunk¹⁵

And I got more rhymes than there's cops at a Dunkin'¹⁶
Donut shops¹⁷
Sure 'nuff I got props¹⁸
From the kids on the Hill
Plus my mom and my pops¹⁹

Chorus

I came to get down*
I came to get down²⁰
So get out your seat and jump around²¹
Jump around²²
Jump around²³
Jump around²⁴
Jump up, jump up and get down²⁵
Jump [x17]

Verse 2

I'll serve your _ss like John MacEnroe^*
If your girl steps up, I'm smackin' the ho²⁶
Word to your moms*
I came to drop bombs²⁷
I got more rhymes than the Bible's got Psalms²⁸
And just like the Prodigal Son I've returned*
Anyone stepping to me you'll get burned²⁹
'Cause I got lyrics, but you ain't got none*
If you come to battle bring a shotgun³⁰
But if you do* you're a fool³¹
'Cause I duel³² to the death*
Try and step to me you'll take your last breath³³
I gots the skill*
Come get your fill³⁴
'Cause when I shoot to give, I shoot to kill³⁵


Chorus

I came to get down*
I came to get down³⁶
So get out your seat and jump around³⁷
Jump around³⁸
Jump around³⁹
Jump around⁴⁰
Jump up, jump up and get down⁴¹
Jump [x17]


Verse 3

I'm the cream of the crop*
I rise to the top⁴²
I never eat a pig 'cause a pig is a cop⁴³
Or better yet a terminator*
Like Arnold Schwarzenegger⁴⁴
Try'n to play me out like as if my name was Sega⁴⁵
But I ain't goin' out like no punk b_tch*
Get used to one style and you know I might switch⁴⁶
It up, up and around*
Then buck, buck you down⁴⁷
Put out your head* then you wake up in the Dawn of the Dead⁴⁸
I'm comin' to get ya*, comin' to get ya⁴⁹
Spitting out lyrics homie I'm wit' ya⁵⁰

Chorus

I came to get down*
I came to get down⁵¹
So get out your seat and jump around⁵²
Jump around⁵³
Jump around⁵⁴
Jump around⁵⁵
Jump up, jump up and get down⁵⁶
Jump [x33]




Grand Total of Jumpin' Rhymes: 56

Conclusion:
1. There are 150 Psalms in the Bible.
2. There are 56 rhymes in "Jump Around."
3. 150 > 56
4. Therefore, Everlast does not have more rhymes than the Bible has Psalms.

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Saw gas for 138.5¢/litre.

Dear God, please give me a heads up before making me weep in public

There's something about learning a little bit more of who God is that causes me to react in a reverential way.  There is also something about knowing a bit more of His heart and what He values and cherishes, because it’s so powerfully intimate and awe-inspiring, but yet I feel so unworthy to be able to have this greater sense of what He cares about.  At the same time, there’s something about being knocked off my high horse with a holy backhand and being humbled in a very public setting that causes me to shut up, take a few steps backward, and remember that God is very big and I am very, very tiny.

I went to the Vancouver Convention Centre for Missions Fest last, last weekend (January 26, 2013).  It was the 30th anniversary and felt quite similar to Missions Fests I’d been to in years past (my last visit was in January 2008).  I had been anticipating this visit for about two weeks now, I think partially due to my recent trip to Romania this past October with my church.  Also, foreign missions is always fascinating and exciting to me.  Who doesn’t like an excuse to travel?

I headed straight for the exhibit hall where all the different organizations had their booths and information tables setup.  And for some unexplained reason, I became very self-righteous and started to look at everything critically and cynically.  I felt like I was at a type of Christian tradeshow, minus the gimmicky attractions and obnoxious sales pitches.  Actually, I remember one year where a Wii was setup at a booth and visitors could play Wii Sports.  This was when the Wii had just come out and it was still new and exciting.  I walked through the floor, past each exhibit, reading the title of the organization on signs above the displays.  If the organization didn’t sound interesting (which was most of them) or if I didn’t recognize the name (which was most of them) I barely gave a glance and just kept walking.  It felt like 25% of the displays in the hall were for some camp or retreat centre.  How are we supposed to reach the nations with the good news of Jesus Christ if all we’re doing is spending the weekends in the boonies, singing praise songs around a campfire?  More pretentious and arrogant thoughts continued to fill my heart, as if I had any right to make those kinds of judgements.  Silly Tim.

It was nearing 2pm, so I went next door to the hall where the plenary sessions were being held.  Basically, it’s a big room with a theatre style arrangement; a raised stage at the front, projectors and screens to see video/words/etc off to the sides of the stage, and seats facing towards the stage/screens.  I listened to a bunch of Korean ladies in colourful hanboks sing old hymns (in Korean) as I flipped through the Missions Fest guide to see what I could be expecting.  I skimmed through the speaker’s biography:

Gracia Burnham is the widow of Martin Burnham…For 17 years she and Martin served with New Tribes Mission in the Philippines where Martin was a jungle pilot …While celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary…the Burnhams were kidnapped…During their 376 days of captivity, they faced near starvation, constant exhaustion, frequent gun battles, cold-hearted murder-and intense soul-searching about a God who sometimes seemed to have forgotten them…On June 7, 2002, in a firefight between the Philippine military and the Abu Sayyaf Group, Martin was killed. Gracia was wounded, but was freed.

At least this lady sounded interesting.

My cynical attitude persisted as the session started.  I critiqued and became bored at the super slow, predictable worship set list.

This song will be played through as Verse 1, Verse 2, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus, Chorus...NEXT.  [pause] Ugh, great, now an even older, slower song? I said in my head (of course).

Everything felt rehearsed and choreographed so that there could be no chance of anything fun or lively taking place.  People kept filing in late and a middle aged couple sat in the seats beside me.  They seemed like rigid, uptight, white collar people.

They’re probably Methodists, I thought.

Announcements were made to inform guests about other boring things that were taking place during Missions Fest.  I rolled my eyes and sighed under my breath a few times.  A six minute video was played to introduce the speaker, Gracia Burnham.  The techie inside of me screamed at the A/V team as the video’s sound crackled and became echo-y.  Someone’s fader on the sound board was way too high, distorting the voiceover and music. *headdesk*

Finally, Gracia took to the stage.  There was nothing about her that made her stand out, except perhaps her American, central accent.  She could be standing in a crowd of people and go unnoticed.  She shared her experiences and stories effortlessly and simply, just as she had done hundreds of times before, at only God knows how many other speaking engagements she’s attended.  I politely listened for the duration of her talk, until about the last 5-10 minutes.  I felt a weird feeling in my chest and the love in Gracia’s voice gripped me.  The love she still had for God despite all her loss and suffering in devotion to Him and the love she came to have for her captors and their spiritual well being, even as they sit in prison to this day for what they did against her and her husband.  It’s a love that was so genuine and earnest.

It was almost like I was starting to understand not just mentally, but emotionally, the pain and distress the Burnhams faced, as a direct result of their faith.  I felt my eyes begin to water, but I forced my tears back.  There is definitely no way I'm letting myself cry in a room full of hundreds of people...at Missions Fest of all places!  In her conclusion, Gracia asked a number of difficult, rhetorical questions she struggled with, which launched echoes of the same questions and even more in my mind.

Why do some people live in poverty, while others in immense wealth?
Why do some people hear the gospel over and over and over again and fail to respond to that message, while others are dying to even get a chance to hear about it?
Why did they have to be kidnapped and go through such stress, discomfort, and pain?
Why did their kids have to lose their dad like this?
Why where they called to suffer and go through this ordeal and not someone else?
These happenings and losses are devastating. And they’re depressing!  How can Gracia still talk about God’s love and faithfulness?
Why do I, in comparison to them or others in similar or worse situations, have it so good?
Why aren’t I suffering now?
Will I ever have to suffer like this? 
Will I be able to persevere and trust God or will I curse Him and wish for death?

Gracia ended her time of sharing, one of the hosts dismissed the crowd, and everyone streamed out of the hall.  I gave into the weird feeling in my chest as I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore.  They rolled down my face as I sniffled loudly.  I hunched over in my chair and hung my head so that I could hide my face with my hands and so that I wouldn’t cry all all over my clothes. Sigh.

I didn’t want to cry, but I couldn’t stop it either.  I was so convicted.  I felt like an utter fool for my thoughts and judgmental attitude just moments before.  I thanked God through my tears for Gracia’s testimony as I told Him how sorry I was.  I also kept asking, Why?  What if God calls me to this kind of suffering?  Will I be able to endure it? These questions struck me hard.  Other than my occasional sniffle, I was silent, but it was pretty obvious that I was crying. 

A pair of teenage girls sat at the end of my row chatting with each other.  After drying my face and making myself look as decent as possible, I stood up quickly and exited the row from the opposite side where the girls were sitting, because they were blocking that way.  I wanted to avoid human contact as much as possible.  I had initially planned to attend a seminar following this plenary session, but it was just announced that copies of Gracia Burnham’s book, In the Presence of My Enemies, were being made available for sale and that she would be signing them.  I walked towards that part of the room so that I could buy the book and leave, but as I was trying to find where the start of the book sale line was, one of the girls that was in my row came up to me and asked, “Excuse me…are you going to be ok?”

“Huh? Yeah I’m fine now thanks. I don’t know how to explain it. God is good, right?” I replied hurriedly, somewhat startled and very red-eyed.  I acknowledged her concern with an awkward smile and she returned it.  I bought a copy of Gracia’s book and promptly left the hall.

Haha God, You're hilarious.

After coming home later that day, I pretended like nothing happened and didn’t even start reading Gracia's book until a few days later.  But since that time, up until this very moment, the same questions keep going through my mind and I’m still convicted.  Will I ever have to suffer like this?  Would I even be ready?  How much am I really willing to sacrifice for God?

A few months ago, I gave a brief talk to the youth at our church, which I ironically titled “You Will Suffer” (as if I have any experience in "suffering").  In my slides, I highlighted these verse (underlinings added):

Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.  They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.   

Hebrews 11:35-38 (NKJV)

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

                            2 Timothy 3:12 (NKJV)

The verses speak for themselves, don’t they?  There is nothing symbolic or mystical about those descriptions.  It’s a simple, plain, and written as fact.  This is what happened.  This will happen.

In her book, Gracia describes a time in college when a drama was performed during their chapel service.  The students told the story of “Through Gates of Splendor” (based on the book of the same name by Elisabeth Elliot) where five missionaries were killed in 1956 by Huaorani tribe members in Ecuador.

Gracia writes (p.27):  

I stood up to leave the chapel that day, unable to say a word.  Will the Lord ever require me to do what those men did? to go through what they went through?  I was stunned.  I slowly headed out the door, tears streaming down my face.

Hmmm, that scenario sounds familiar.  Then again, we do worship the same God.

Sigh.

Why was Stephen stoned to death?  Why was Paul shipwrecked and beaten X amount of times?  Why were the Burnhams kidnapped and why was Martin killed?  Why all this suffering?  It hurts so much and causes so much grief in the long run that it doesn’t seem to make sense.  If Jesus suffered the most excruciating of tortures and paid the ultimate penalty for my personal wrongdoings by being crucified, but then was raised back to life by God’s victorious resurrection power, what does our suffering mean today?

I don’t have a definitive answer, but as far as I can tell, I think its so that whoever has experienced it first hand can still say that no matter what, God is still faithful even unto the end.  Despite all the pain along the way, if God is unchanging, He has to be faithful.  And that means that someone like me can’t just marvel at these things, but I have to learn and apply it for myself one day.  Because I will suffer.  Jesus said “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:20 NKJV).  Time to man up.  And always carry tissues.

Note: February 9, 2013 - just read Psalm 88, man oh man...

Pointless Post #86 - Desiring Holiness Edition

Instead of playing it safe and using the stairs (a flight of four stairs to be exact), I tried sliding down a handrail, but failed.  The back of my tshirt got caught on the top of the handrail and I ripped a hole right through it as gravity took over.  Thankfully, I was still able to land on my feet. 

Notice how the seams held up, but the fabric didn't?

Insert nationalistic, self-deprecating comments about where the tshirt was manufactured here

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Gas was in the mid 120s for what seemed like most of December-January, but it recently went up to the 130s and I saw 135.9¢/litre yesterday. Evil.

Joy & Hope: Faith Declarations

Source: gtchurch.ca
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The joy of the Lord is your supernatural strength.  As you trust in the God of hope, He brings joy to your circumstances that extends way beyond your feelings.  Hope is the confident expectation that your joy will be full.

1. I am overflowing with joy and peace as I trust in the God of hope.

Romans 15:13
Isaiah 55:12
Psalm 28:7
Proverbs 12:20
Romans 14:17
Galatians 5:22

2. I am placing my faith in God's Word against feelings that steal my joy.

John 16:22
Ephesians 1:13
2 Peter 1:5-8
3 John 1:3
Acts 3:16
Romans 1:17
2 Corinthians 5:7

3. I have the same attitude of hope for others that Christ has for me.

Romans 15:5-7
2 Corinthians 5:16
Philippians 2:5
Ephesians 2:10
John 20:29
Acts 10:15
Acts 11:16-18

4. I am exchanging lies for the truth about God, myself, and the world.

John 4:23
John 16:13
2 Corinthians 10:5
Ephesians 4:15
2 Thessalonians 2:13
1 John 1:6
1 Timothy 3:9

5. I am growing in confidence through the gospel that grows inside of me.

Psalm 27:3, 13
Philippians 1:6


A faith declaration is like preaching to yourself.  Every time you stand on the promises of God by speaking them out, you build yourself up in the most holy faith (Jude 1:20).

=====================================================

My heart was super heavy and burdened by family problems last weekend (right before Christmas, perfect timing!), which made me feel dull and I was also experiencing headaches (which is abnormal for me; its only when I'm overcome with illness that I experience headaches) and meditating on these faith declarations helped me quite a bit because God's Word is life.  It's not like I was feeling down and then after reading these verses and truths and I literally felt strength and more positive emotions flow through my being, but rather it was the act of meditating on promises from a God who actually cares about my life that helped me remember that there's someone out there (satan) who will continually try to kill, steal, and destroy what God has already given to me.  BUT, God is greater.  8^D 

These points and verses were printed on cards and given out at my church at the beginning of the month, but I didn't look at them until recently.  The links to the verses are in NKJV and NIV because I've been using those translations recently. 

Pointless Post #85 - 12/12/12 Edition

I pooped today.

I also added this GIF to the International Album:

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What are Pointless Posts?

Pointless Post #84 - New Phone Edition

Went to the Salvation Army Thrift Store yesterday looking for a cheap photo frame, and I ended up buying a rotary telephone for $5 on impluse!  This thing is solid!  I now understand how these things can be used as weapons.  It works too!



The only problems are:

-no call display
-takes a long time to dial a phone number
-isn't cordless

New "Spider-Man" Page

Saw the BC Lions win a few weeks ago.  Added it to the album.



And hohohooooo.......
I also made a new album of all the pictures I took of Spider-Man in Constanta and London!!!!

WHAT?! SOMETHING NEW AND EXCITING?!

Yes, 132 new things to be exact.  The original album only had 101 pictures so I more than doubled that.

I placed links to the albums in a new "Spider-Man Pics & Poses" page (see the menu tab at the top of the page) as well as brought back an old page that I made in 2004 explaining the origins of my doll and why I have no friends in real life.

Check it out here! PEW PEW!

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Gas was 119.9¢/litre and 128.9 on November 14.  Has been around the low 120s since.

UltraAVX Theatre Maps - Vancouver and Burnaby

Have you ever been planning to buy movie tickets in advance for an UltraAVX theatre in the Lower Mainland/Greater Vancouver/Metro Vancouver/whatever it's called now, but you didn't want to log into your Cineplex account and click through a bunch of steps, just to get an idea of what seats you wanted to choose from?

Well then, I present to you screenshots of the maps, for your convenience.  If you have never bought UltraAVX tickets online before, here's how it works:

Step 1. Log in to your Cineplex account.
Step 2. Pick which movie time you want to attend and make sure it has the UltraAVX logo beside it.
<== Like this.
Otherwise you're just buying "general admission" advance tickets for a regular theatre.

Step 3. After a bunch of other self-explanatory steps, you will see the UltraAVX theatre map (see below).

The dark red/maroon colour means those seats have already been reserved.
The grey means those seats are available.
The yellow/amber colour are your chosen seats.

The system automatically chooses the "best" seat(s) available so if you want to re-choose your seats, click on the yellow/amber seat(s) you don't want.  They will turn grey.
Now click on any available other grey seats that you DO want.  That's it!

Step 4. Print your ticket or have it ready on your smart phone when you go to the box office.

Remember, even if you get to the theatre late, your seats are still reserved for you! Peace of mind!
But if you arrive late on purpose and even talk through the previews and trailers, you are a giant poophead.
  
Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver
900 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC  V6Z 3G5
(604) 630-1407

UltraAVX Theatre Map - Downtown Vancouver - Click to enlarge

SilverCity Metropolis Cinemas
Metrotown Shopping Centre (aka Metropolis at Metrotown)

4700 Kingsway Avenue
Burnaby, BC  V5H 4M1
(604) 435-1999

UltraAVX Theatre Map - Burnaby - Click to enlarge