Wednesday, September 29, 2010

TV sucks


My TV is now only for watching some sports, a reality show or two, and family movie nights. The quality of television has gotten terrible and even the show that I want to watch have commercials, even in the middle of the day, that I can't let my children see. It was great that WalMart had "The Jensen Project" in July that was both decent and entertaining.
I have watched a few of the new shows that have come out and here's my take:
The Ev3nt: Great commercial build up but poor execution and delivery. I quit watching Lost when it got too weird and difficult to follow, this show is starting off that way.(watched 2 episodes)

Anything with Vampires and WereWolves: (stoopid)

The Apprentice: I believe this has been effectively killed by the "fun" version Celebrity Apprentice.

Chase: I can't watch a tiny little actress beat up giant people, boring.

Hawaii Five-O: I liked this one, wish it was on at 8 or 9 instead of 10. Scott Caan is a riot.

Outsourced: Had high hopes for this one, great commercials. Unfortunately the products sold by the company are foul and I lost interest pretty quick. This could've been a good one.

No Ordinary Family: I only saw a small part of this and it was just alright. Looks like they might actually take a look at bad parenting but we will see.

Lone Star: Jon Voight is a great actor, the stories were not real interesting. This show has already been canned after two episodes.

Undercovers: I watched the first ten minutes of the premiere. The computer stuff and shootout were horrible and I turned it off before I ever saw the main actors.

S#^! My Dad Says: Not watching it because the title sucks.

I haven't watched anything else and none of the other new shows have piqued my interest at all. Good thing I have my deck to rebuild this fall and football.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Homeschooling "battles"



The battles you fight as a homeschooler aren't what you might think. Most of the time your battles revolve around an outsider's perception of why you do what you do and them immediately telling you why they don't do it. Let's clear something up right away; I do not think everyone should homeschool. I do think there should be public schools and I happily pay my taxes so that those schools can exist. I do not believe that the issues I have with public education are the fault of the teachers in the classrooms.
We chose to homeschool for several reasons. First, I want my children to have a biblical world view. That definitely isn't going to happen in public school and maybe not even in some private schools. Second, we enjoy time with our children and want to give them as much time with us as possible. The local public school is from 0830 to 1530, that's seven hours not including prep and travel time. If I got home at 1710 and my kids went to bed at 2100, we would see them for a total of maybe 20 hours on weekdays. Conversely, they would be immersed with their peers well more than double that amount. That would be an unhealthy ration for our family.
My greatest concern for my children is not athletics, or grades, or getting into a college. I want multi-generational faithfulness in my family. I did a little research and found some scary statistics regarding what happens when Christian kids leave home and set out on their own. One study showed that "94% of homeschoolers keep the faith and 93% continue to attend church after the high school years. But a shocking 75% to 85% of Christian children sent to public school drop out of church, and do not hold a Christian worldview after high school graduation." That's shocking and scary, but even worse is this study showing that less than 19% of self-professing born-again adults possess a biblical worldview. Why is this we might ask? This article shows that today's adults weren't sufficiently challenged as children. I know I wasn't challenged even though I was raised in church. I have learned the hard way that my own spiritual walk wasn't what it should be until earlier this year.
Another battle you may end up fighting as a homeschooler is how your parents feel about your decision. My wife and I are both licensed educators and come from families where multiple generations have been educators. An unintended consequence of our choice to homeschool was making our parents feel like our decision reflected on their career choice and/or their decision to send us to public school. While some of our decision is based on what we experienced, we do not "blame" our parents and grandparents for anything and we are not criticizing their lifestyles or choices. My wife recently said that to her mother and it seemed to relieve a lot of tension. You may also ask yourself "what about honoring your mother and father" if they disagree with your decision? This goes beyond my ability to discuss so I leaned on this blog entry from Voddie Bauchum. He's a great resource for homeschoolers and also for any man that wants to be challenged to be the spiritual leader he is supposed be.
At the end of the day your decisions should be made by asking yourself "am I doing this for me or am I doing it to bring glory and honor to God's kingdom?" That answer will NOT be the same for everyone. As long as you are dying to yourself and picking up your cross everyday then you will make the right decisions for your family. For the men out there, I pray that you can avoid the trap that I fell into which was my own self-centeredness and pride. I spent a lot of time wanting to be comfortable in the world and wanting glory for myself. If you are interested in homeschooling I can tell you it's very rewarding and your kids will enjoy it. The issues concerning social skills and quality of education are really not issues at all if you do a little bit of research and preparation. I have heard people say to me "your kids are great but most homeschoolers....". They can stop there, no one knows "most" homeschoolers just like no one knows "most" public school kids. You may have been exposed to some that were not what you want for your kids but that isn't necessarily representative of "most."
I hope you will make the right decisions for your family, whatever that might be.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Colin Powell on Immigration



The general stated that the United States needs illegal immigrants for the following reasons:

1. they "are doing things we need done in this country."

2. "They're all over my house, doing things whenever I call for repairs.."

3. Immigration, he said, offers the U.S. a chance to maintain a youthful population in contrast with the aging of Europe and Japan.

4. He also said "I'm sure you've seen them at your house."


These are unfortunate reasons. I do not understand what number three means at all unless he means U.S. citizens aren't having enough babies. I also know that no illegals work on my home because I know who I hire.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Washington "Acid Attack"



Largely I ignore everything in the "news" over the past year because nothing is actually news.This one confuses me so I thought I would seek some clarification. IF this story had not been a hoax, why is it national news? Now that it is a hoax, why is it national news? The woman said her attacker was black and now some people are saying that means she is a racist. If she had said her attacker was white does that mean she hates white people? Maybe she is a racist but I don't think saying that makes her one, she's just a moron. In the "comments" on CNN and Fox and other sites, liberals say she is a wacko conservative and conservatives say she is a wacko liberal. Who cares? What does this have to do with political party affiliation and why must everything be polarized along those lines? Really, aren't there idiots in both parties and what does this whole thing have to do with politics anyway?

Friday, September 10, 2010

Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning




Last night I heard an "expert panel" say that because Tom Brady got a new huge contract that Peyton Manning will deserve more. That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard, Tom Brady has produced more than Manning and has been a better investment. I guess all those super bowl rings just aren't a measure of success. A look at their stats shows who pays off when it counts, don't take my word for it, look it up.