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April 30, 2005

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Good Review...

Julianna and I went to see last night. First off, let me say that I haven’t been in a room filled with that many geeks since the last that I attended (which was back in the mid-90s sometime). But, sadly, after a few minutes of observing the geekery, I realized that I was just excited to see the movie as they were (and Julianna made no attempt in hiding her — hysterical — remarks about all of us).

I’m a huge fan of the book, as well as much of ‘ other work, and before going to the movie, I was slightly prepared for a disappointment — especially since there are a few bad reviews floating around out there.

But I thought the movie worked rather well. It was funny (not as funny as the book, of course), it was exciting, the special effects were great, the actors did a great job playing the people I had imagined while reading… I’d say that — despite some personal favorites from the book that were left out of the movie (which is to be expected in any book-to-movie venture) — Hitchhiker’s Guide delivered far beyond my expectations. The crowd was into it. We laughed a lot. Overall, I think that everyone felt like they got their money’s worth.

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April 29, 2005

Some of you may get this...

Last night I dreamt…

A number of people around me were using this skin-/haircare formula to cure a number of commonly known afflictions (everything from acne to dandruff) and they got me to try it — I get dandruff if I use the wrong shampoo, so I figured it woudn’t hurt. At the same time, I needed to use a computer to access the internet, but there weren’t any close by. One of my friends — a full-time user of this miracle salve — mentioned that there were a bunch of computers at the next “meeting” and suggested I come… He said that, if anything, I could get the internet access I desired.

Continue Reading...

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Quick question...

Ok, so I walk bast this particular creek almost everyday on my way to work. The other day, I was walking past a little dammed-up area and happened to look at the water trapped inside…

I don’t know. You tell me… Does this look right to you?

Something tells me that some regulations in this part of Kansas City may be a little lax… Or is it just me?

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Thursday night's all right, all right, all right...

Behind greatness (there’s a reason why the tickets were free).Actually, sitting behind the stage out us closer to the band than those who spent the $85 (plus) for floor tickets.

Elton John is one of those guys that when asked what songs he’s recorded, most people can think of three or four (maybe)... But when you hear him play, every single song in the two and a half hour (plus) set comes back to you as if you’d always been a fan. And, despite what you think of Elton, he can still rock.

Pictured here is — Elton John fan extraordinaire (don’t deny it, Doug!). I’m thinking he should change his name to Elton Doug (ask him about his trip around Kemper and how he made his way down to the dressing rooms sometime).

Clicking the two pics below will open popup videos of some video I shot with my digital camera. The first is “Bennie and the Jets” (, 1.6 MB) and second is “The Bitch is Back” (, 1.6 MB).

Elton John - Live at Kemper Arena, April 28, 2005 - 'Bennie and the Jets'    Elton John - Live at Kemper Arena, April 28, 2005 - The Bitch is Back'

Go here for (way too many) more photos from the concert.

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April 28, 2005

Elton John!

Thanks to good friend, Doug, Julianna and I will be accompanying he and his wife to the concert tonight at .

“I’m a rocket man… Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone!”

 

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Compass, the Christian Wiki logo...

I’ve completed a logo for ‘s (the Christian ) project. I don’t think there’s much competition for the logo search, so maybe he’ll end up using it.

(As always, click the image on the left to see a larger version.)

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Last CAT meeting...

Yesterday evening, I attended my last meeting (that is, unless they call me back). The usual term for any CAT member is six months… Looking back at when I began, it appears that I have been attending meetings for around eight months.

It was a jam-packed Metro day to have been my last… On my way to work, I saw a Metro driver get out of his bus to help a handicapped woman cross the street and get into her next bus (wish I took a picture!), the 39th Street bus was so late that I had to wait an extra half hour for my next transfer (which lets me off more than a quarter mile walk to my office), and I got to defend a poor college girl from a drunken/high thug who had decided it would be fun to harass her (despite much name-calling from the thug, I was able to get him to leave). There’s no shortage of fun as a bus rider.

The meeting yesterday was both informative and productive. We had time to learn some things about the Metro’s plans for customer surveys next fall as well as give some really good advice for improving our overall riding experience.

I am sad to be at the end of my CAT term — I still have a lot of things on my mind — but I understand the need to recruit fresh blood into the mix. I trust that the newer CAT memebers will have just as valid opinions as I might have.

And, of course, the thing I’ll miss the most are the free monthly bus passes I received for attending the meetings!

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April 26, 2005

Knowspam no more...

I’m bummed:

knowspam.net will shut down on June 25, 2005
We have teamed up with Spam Arrest to provide knowspam’s users with an exclusive 90-day free trial offer at Spam Arrest to ease your transition away from knowspam.net due to the shut down of our service.
Spam Arrest is very similar to knowspam.net, but has had more resources put into its development. We hope you give them a try. Click here to learn more about their exclusive 90-day Free Trial Offer.
I have really enjoyed ‘s service over the past few years. With over 12,000 blocked spams, the $25 per year has been well worth it. Now, I’ll have to pay $34.95 per year for , but I guess I still feel like it’s worth it.

So, what about that 90-day trial offer? Well, I signed up, but the Import/Export feature (for adding pre-existing White- and Black-lists) is only available for paid members — lame! I figured I’d end up paying for the service in a couple of months anyway.

So long, knowspam.

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April 25, 2005

Never thought this would happen!

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq: ADBE) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Macromedia (Nasdaq: MACR) in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $3.4 billion.
Read the rest here.

We may be witnessing a new Microsoft emerge — and that’s not a good thing.

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Me...throughout the years...

Want to know what you’re going to look like in the coming years? Go here to find out.The first picture is of me about a year ago — I was 31-years old; the next is 10 years from now, then 20 years, then 30, then 40, so the last picture would be of me as a 71-year old.

You might think it looks a little weird — distorted even. And it is… But, I see an uncanny resemblance to my dad happening here. It’s kind of creepy.

(Link via Platte.)

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April 22, 2005

Home sweet home...

Has anyone every heard belt out Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home”? It is truly something to behold…

Last week was amazing. In fact, there was so much goodness contained in last week, that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to express it here. I may try to jot down some of the notes I took, but it’s definitely going to take some time to process.

I am glad to be home, though, and I look forward to being able to actually putting some of the things I learned into practice.

One of the happy outcomes of attending an even is all of the people who gather from around the world to commune and talk and get to know one another. I met a bunch of people whom I’ve had online relationships for some time now as well as some people who I’ll be glad to know from this point forward.

This “conversation” is definitely more than just that… It’s a community of believers who are genuinely wrestling with the concept of what it means, and how it looks, to share the gospel. It’s a group of like-minded friends who understand the importance of God’s Kingdom and the many different forms that the Kingdom can take. Emergent is a gathering of diametrically opposed denominations, putting their differences aside in order to share in the blessings and revelations given us by the Living God.

For now, I will just list some of the amazing souls that I was finally able to meet in person. May Jesus Christ bless their work and their lives…

And more…

Thanks everyone!

(Oh, and, photos are coming…soon!)

Update: Photos can be found here! (It asks for you to sign-up, but you don’t have to — just click away.)

Update #2: Lily‘s got some great photos online now too. Check them out here.

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April 15, 2005

Kansas City Skyline, Morning


Kansas City Skyline, Morning
Originally uploaded by timsamoff.

Since I posted an evening shot of our fine skyline the other day, I thought it would be neat to show you the flip-side.

I found this spot last week. My first response was that I’d love to buy the plot of land — it’s currently unused and quite spectacular.

I shot this photo at about 7:20am.

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April 14, 2005

Daily dose of heresy #2 (Salvation)

Is Jesus mandatory?

The other day, as I was reading , I had one of those, “I don’t know the half of it” moments. In a split second, most of my tidy theology au courant hiccupped…and then continued on as normal — but with a sense of new revelation.

Continue Reading...

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Next week!

If you’ll remember, next week I will be in Kentucky at . I am getting very excited about the trip (despite what people keep telling me about Bill‘s snoring!). Unfortunately, I don’t own a , and my is of the generation prior to .

In any case, I’ll be taking pictures and I will try to post some notes on my experience when I return.

This isn’t my last entry of the week (in fact, I’ve got something brewing in my brain as I type this). I just thought I’d document my feelings.

Move along.

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April 13, 2005

Shortcut PhotoArtist...

For years now, I have been startled by how good some of the third-party filters have been. I’ve tried everything from to the plugins and it amazes me how well they create canned “special effects.” One thing that has always been sorely lacking, though — even with some of Photoshop’s built-in plugins — are realistic painterly effects. Sure, some of them come very close to what you might imagine a water-color or oil-painted version of your photographs might look, but usually, everytime you use the “effect,” it always looks the same.

Continue Reading...

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April 12, 2005

Lickr?

Like , but not the fact that it uses ? Try (requires ).

Flickr – Flash = Lickr. (Get it?)

Cool idea.

(Link via .)

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No, Jordon... We're all doing something wrong!

Friend and fellow blogger, , was recently interviewed at about being a professional blogger.

Here’s what he had to say about his potential income for this year:

It is actually difficult to put a figure on it because each month is different and overall my earnings are still on the rise from month to month. However based on how things are currently going I expect that this year my blogging (across all blogs and income streams) will generate a six figure income ($US).
Dreaming dreaming dreaming…

Read the rest of the interview here.

(Link via Jordon, of course.)

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April 11, 2005

Kansas City Skyline, Evening


Kansas City Skyline, Evening
Originally uploaded by timsamoff.

This entry is for the sole purpose of testing a post from (up until now, the Weblog app I use — — didn’t have this functionality).

I shot this photograph on Saturday evening from the .

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We should all be fasting...all of the time...

Isaiah 58:6-12 (NLT):

6 “No, the kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn. 7 I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
8 “If you do these things, your salvation will come like the dawn. Yes, your healing will come quickly. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind. 9 Then when you call, the LORD will answer. `Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.
“Stop oppressing the helpless and stop making false accusations and spreading vicious rumors! 10 Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as day. 11 The LORD will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. 12 Your children will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as the people who rebuild their walls and cities.

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April 08, 2005

Summer is coming...

So is this.

Life is good.

 

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April 05, 2005

April 5, 2005: Vote "Yes" on Question 1...

Voting was quick-and-easy this morning… Julianna and I were the fourth people to enter the polling booths and it took all of one minute to vote.

is an important issue (especially for those in my wife’s line of work).

If you live in Kansas City, Missouri, go in and vote “Yes” on Question 1 today.

(Next door, the Kansans have a rather more controversial issue on the ballot today.)

Update: The new health levy was passed — barely. Hopefully, the money will be put to good use — like increasing staff and patient care — and not just be spent on things like virtual tours of their latest renovations.

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April 04, 2005

YaGoohoo!gle

(Via .)

Update: As of Wednesday, June 1, 2005, YaGoohoo!gle is not longer functional. A permanent site — created by the same guy, with the same functionality — has been set up at .

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April 03, 2005

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition...

Yesterday, Julianna, her brother John, and I went down to (lovely) to check out the current location of ‘s . We had to park two blocks away and walk to the “set,” but I’d say that it was worth it. There were so many people there — as you can probably imagine; hundreds of construction workers in blue “Extreme Makeover” shirts and hard hats, hundreds of adoring fans (some of whom looked like they were prepared to stay there the entire week), hot dog vendors, T-shirt stands… Even a Starbucks tent for cast and crew only. Trailers lined the roads, volunteers were everywhere: it was quite a scene, but is was very well-organized.

The only “star” we got to see was (the bald, British guy), although we also found out that long-time castmember, , is from Kansas City, MO.

Anyway, being the idiot I am, I forgot to take my camera along (yeah, I know some of you might find that very hard to believe!). We had a blast, though, and it will remain etched in my memory.

The unveiling (“Move that bus!” ) is Wednesday at noon if anyone who lives around here can get the day off and go down. The house is near 79th & Blueridge Blvd.

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Subversive indoctrination...

I thought this was a pretty humorous (if not a bit ironic) fortune to receive at a Chinese restaurant the other day…

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April 01, 2005

I'm quitting blogging...

April Fools!

I don’t know why I thought this would be funny… It’s really not.

Happy, April everyone… is blooming all around us!

 

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