This Guy Rocks!

On Vacation

Will be back on the 17th... hopefully with pictures.

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=302137342405551

Prayers...

Pisio

The Guardian

Did you protest when assigned those years ago,
Pure spirit, my choices surely you’d know,
What a hassle it would be as you would ride,
All those years restless, steadfast by my side.

Who am I to receive you, most loyal of friends,
The ups and downs, never consistent trends,
Your whispers I heard in my quiet ears,
Most times your reason could qualm all my fears.

Sometimes I forgot your sound advice to heed,
Forgetting my Faith, forsaking my creed,
Your back on me you never turned,
Loyal and true even though you were spurned.

I love you my friend, my steadfast guide,
Guardian, protector, please no more hide,
Show me your face so that I may know,
The angel that watches, the one called Pisio...

Blah

I can not wait for July to be over with. It is a hard month anyway because it is that time of year we get to remember my father and his untimely passing two years ago. This month though, this year it has been even rougher than last year. Three people I know have passed away after losing their battles with cancer and a young man I knew from Maui died tragically in a car accident on the 4th of July. There was a murder suicide in St. Louis across the street from my aunts house, co-workers are leaving and overall I have little or know energy... Thank goodness after next week, I have two weeks with nothing to distract me but my wife and son...

Prayers...

Pisio

Back from ISP Never Never Land

Yep... Since July 4th I have been using my neighbors internet connection at night. It turns out that when lightning struck around the corner from me something fried our router, and the ethernet connection from the ISP input to the house to the computer. OUCH! Dang acts of God.

It took me three days to figure out that the connection I was using was not mine, but by neighbors... Apparently he can not figure out how to secure his, and our computers here in the house linked to him by default since ours was down.

Once I figured out that we were on his connection, and not ours, I only felt comfortable using the connection to send e-mails and then angry e-mails to the ISP. You see I immediately replaced the router... then I called and e-mailed my ISP when that did not work. Finally yesterday I got a real person... They scheduled a service call and we found the fried connections. Interesting... the homebuilder did not protect us supply side of the house with a surge protector, and there is nothing we can do about line size surges... Should be a fun year...

I should be back to a couple of posts a week now that we have our own connection back...

Prayers...

Pisio

Weekend

Yes... I am recycling pictures, but I just love these so much I thought I would share them with you again...

This weekend though... it was awesome despite starting off with a bang.... literally. The house behind us and two doors up got struck by lightening. The resulting power surge shorted out the garage fixtures for basically the entire block. The bone headed builders did not put surge protection on the houses... Now, they are paying for holiday pay for electricians and internet people, as well as all the replacement equipment... Good job builders....

Friday I got two meals at the neighbor's house while Jonah worked overtime. I love her, but she just works so much... I also got to meet a few veterans and active duty personnel. One of them is on his way to Afghanistan in a few months. He is a nice young man, with a baby on the way. I know that he volunteered for the service and that he knew what he was doing when he signed up, but I still can not help but feel for him and his wife. They have a little boy on the way... I could tell from talking to him though that he believes in what he has to go do. Not only that he wants to... God Bless them all... I think a lot of people forget that they are the reason we are free to disagree...

That night though, Jonah and I spent some time together. We went down to Memorial Park to watch the fireworks show as a family. Da lil boy was so well behaved. Just running around our little blanketed area and yelling. Climbing on mommy and daddy, and saying "bow wow" to all the dogs... Then the fireworks started... At first Mikey did not know what to think... then he sat their awestruck... well for about two minutes... then he just started to be a little boy again... Jonah though was in awe... It was another first for her...

Saturday we just laid around and worked around the house. We got our yard weeded and went out for a nice Sushi dinner... If you are ever in Colorado Springs and you want Sushi... Search out Ai Sushi at Cinema Point... they are the best we've had since leaving Maui. We then went for a walk came home and watched movies...

Sunday... much of the same... we had our weekly trip to WalMart for groceries... This week though, we will have to start prepping for our house blessing on Saturday... Should be a long week... I'll tell you more when the time is right... Good Night...

Prayers,

Pisio

Class

This week I spent all day everyday inside for Diocesan sponsored classes. For the most part they are good, and I can see that if you are new to youth ministry they could be invaluable to you. The problem is, I have been at it for almost 10 years now, and the foundational stuff does me little or no good.

So you would think...

While the first two days were all about a document called "Renewing the Vision" (a document I review about every six months, and try to implement daily), the third and forth days were nothing but resources and how to use them. I do not care how long you have been doing ministry, if someone is going to give you resources and teach you how to use them to better your ministry, you will be elated... That is exactly how I felt... Elated.

After these days I now have resources to help me easily pass on what I know to my core team, peer ministry and catechists. To someone who in the end wants to be replaceable these resources are amazing. They allow a paper trail of things we have done, things we were planning and evaluations of everything... My guess is that most youth ministers would do almost anything for these resources. If you are a Catholic Youth Minister, or involved in youth ministry at all, google the Center for Ministry Development and see if they offer classes in your area. If they do, register... they are well worth the expense.

I think the other thing is that they serve as a retreat week for me. I get to watch those new to ministry grow and recall my own excitement when I first got involved... Despite the long hours, and overwhelming homework I have left to do, I have come away from this week rejuvenated and ready to take on the world again... Bring it on...

Prayers...

Pisio

Monkey See, Monkey Do

At 2o months old, Mikey is beginning to imitate us at every turn. He is opening up our cell phones and saying hello, babbling in "Mikey Speak" and then saying "Okay, buh bye", ""Di Doo (Thank you), buh bye" or "Lah Yoo, buh bye" and then he "hangs up. It is absolutely amazing and hilarious to watch.

He can now pull himself into mommy's computer chair. He will sit there for hours on end, like mommy, just rolling the mouse around and clicking on things. He will then turn around and yell something at mommy and daddy. Absolutely amazing and hilarious to watch.

He is saying "itchy" and "bobble" and today, I think I even heard "medicine". Sure it came out more like "mesacin", but considering it was right after giving him Benadryl for his "itchy" I think that he knew what he was saying. How fast he is growing up... I am beginning to think that I need to slow down and just appreciate this time of first with our son. Yet, as he gets older, we just seem to get busier. I need Mike to come back so that I can slow down again...

Happy belated Father's Day... especially to Rod. You have been a mentor and guide not only to me, but to many young men. We are all blessed to have you as an example and mentor.

Prayers,

Pisio

The Snail

Some people are curious about what the snail has to do with my blog. Some have even suggested that I change the header to have something to do with youth ministry... I would love to do that, but I feel it would just take something away from the site. I love the snail, and the unique layout that I have. Granted I used a pre-made layout, but I still have not come across anyone else who has chosen it...

Anyway... the snail is actually really appropriate for Random Musings. You see, I am currently just creeping my way through life. I am still feeling out married life, taking courses at UCCS, being a father and everything else that comes with middle age (Yes... I am there/ getting there). This is a personal diary blog, and in my humble opinion, even the layout must match how I am living my life. The snail is a perfect image for me.

For those of you who have commented recently about ministry, and changing the header to match that theme more, I appreciate the input. Yet, even in my approach to ministry the snail is appropriate. I just plug away now... no longer rushing in to things that I can not sustain or that will fall apart when I leave... Nope, I just build what the resources around me allow me to... IF that means sacrificing other things, that is what it means... Just plugging away...

Well... I hope that this really random out of left field post may help those of you who just pass by now and then understand what those who frequent this blog already know... I am the snail, and it is me... we are one...

PUT THAT SALT AWAY!

Prayers...

Pisio

America

From my Uncle:
______________________________________

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin
Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if
our plans for Iraq were "just an example of empire
building by George Bush?"
He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United
States has sent many of its fine young men and women
into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our
borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked
for in return is enough to bury those that did not
return.

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~

There was a conference in France where a number of
international engineers were taking part, including
French and American. During a break one of the French
engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you
heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent
an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami
victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?'
A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our
carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat
several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and
can supply emergency electrical power to shore
facilities; they have three cafeterias with the
capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they
can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water
from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen
helicopters for use in transporting victims and
injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven
such ships; how many does France have?'

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference
that included Admirals from the U.S. , English,
Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail
reception, he found himself standing with a large
group of Officers that included personnel from most of
those countries.
Everyone was chatt ing away in English as they sipped
their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained
that, 'whereas Europeans learn many languages,
Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is
it that we always have to speak English in these
conferences rather than speaking French?' Without
hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's
because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans
arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went
to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly
gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French
Customs, he took a few minutes to
locate his passport in h is carry on. "You have been
to France before, monsieur?" the custom s officer
asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had
been to France previously.
"Then y ou should know enough to have your passport
ready." The American said, "The last time I was here,
I didn't have to show it." "Impossible. Americans
always have to show your passports on arrival in
France!" The American senior gave the Frenchman a long
hard look. Then he quietly explained. "Well, when I
came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in '44 to help
liberate this country, I couldn't find any damn
Frenchmen to show it to."

You could have heard a pin drop
_________________________________________

AMEN!

Prayers,

Pisio

Stability

Man do I need some right now. I feel like physically, emotionally and mentally I am on a merry-go-round of emotion. Most days right now I am down... really down, and I can not figure out why. My best guess is that I have let myself get away from that which makes me strong, yet on the surface things do not appear that way.

Sometimes I wish that I was back on Maui. I had a good friend there that could talk me through these situations. He would never offer advice, he would just ask questions. Through those questions I was generally able to see what was going on whether I wanted to see the answer or not. It was almost like he knew me better than I knew myself.

I guess in a way he did. He had been in my shoes before, and a lot of the situations I was encountering he had already had to work his way through. I guess I was lucky. Throughout my life I always had older male mentors. People who taught me how to be men and loved me enough to let me know when I was being a bonehead. A lot of my friends were left to their own devices to feel their way through life and figure things out on their own. I never had that problem.

Now, without my biggest mentor, my father, here to help and my best friends being half a world away I find myself standing on shifting sands. I have to work my way through this on my own without alienating me from those I love the most. I also have to realize that I am in a position where young men are looking at me as a model. Even Christ took some time away though... I wonder what it was that He said in those times when He was alone, in prayer with His Father... I know that I need to retreat on my own to prayer... Perhaps this time I will say nothing and just listen...

Prayers,

Pisio

Three Days in a Whale

Well, not quite three... two and a half on retreat with my peer ministry team. The retreat weekend served a dual purpose. The first was to allow the team of teenagers I have assembled to help me do youth ministry grow together, learn each other's gifts and strengths and just relax and reflect on their own lives. The second was to allow me to do the same.

I can relate to Jonah, spending three days in that fish. I watched this group of young people grow, prayed and examined the same things I asked them to, and wham... my out look changed. I have been trying to deny that I am called to youth ministry for about the last three months or so. I have been looking for other jobs, working with technology again, and really trying to get out of the call to ministry. I really did not want to go to Ninevah, so to speak.

The last prayer session of the retreat was an affirmation session. Generally I can weasel my way out of being in the middle to hear the kids tell me something positive about me. In my mind it is for them anyway, so why should I go in the middle? Well, this group did not let me wiggle out of it... Despite my protest I found myself in the middle of the circle. I had to hear how I have changed their out look on faith, how they never believed that they could be as close to God as they are feeling, how their experiences have rekindled their faith altogether... what a mentor and leader I was... I was actually close to tears.

I was doing exactly what I tell them not to do... I was looking at myself for what I am not, rather than what I am... I forgot that Christ called fishermen who could not fish to be His apostles, and God has used drunks, prostitutes and murderers to do much more than I thought I could no longer do. The weekend served to remind me that what He can do with me is only limited by what I allow Him to do...

I was locked in a fear of what He would do to my life, a stark regression from where I like to be... Looking in Awe at what He has done with my life... I guess that this is all a process and I have to realize that when I pray "Thy Will Be Done" I have to mean it... His Will is generally not mine and frankly I hope that I can learn to trust Him and be more faithful to His call again...

Prayers,

Pisio

20,000 Visitors

Just a reminder to all of you who frequent this blog. I have a special award for the 20,000 visitor to my site. If you have a blog, or web service you offer, I will review your site and provide a permanent link to it on my blog. There is an added bonus for anyone who is an entrecard member. Click here for details. Note the counter at right, and if you are number 20,000, send me a screen capture to claim your prize. Good Luck!

Prayers,

Pisio

100th Post: Freedom

I've got to confess that I love my life. I am truly blessed, but as with all things, those blessings come with a cross. Mine is not as heavy as some and in some ways it may be heavier than others. All of us have a cross that we must carry.

For politicians, like celebrities that cross is being in the lime light whether or not you ask to be. As a public figure you will be a target and a role model for those you know and those that you will never meet. As such you have to always be on your best behavior, and sadly todays crop do not live up to that most of the time. I think that this is why I could never be a public figure, especially President.

No, my cross involves something much different. I choose to lead young people. As such, I have to be just as good of an example, if not better than those politicians. Sadly, I do not live up to those expectations a lot of the time. I let myself and those that I choose to lead down more often than I would like to admit. This is my cross.

By choosing to be a youth minister and lead young people into a deeper relationship with Christ I have to be able to encourage and almost teach self esteem, yet because I can not support my family on the wages I make I feel inadequate as a husband. A paradox I have never been able to come to grips with. In all honesty, if I want to support my family the way that a husband should be able to I can not do it as a paid youth minister. This is my cross.

By choosing to be a youth minister and lead young people into a deeper relationship with Christ I have to be able to maintain professional boundaries with those that I minister to, yet due to the nature of the work, I often end up becoming closer friends with those I minister to than my peers. The relationships that I develop with these young people often take the place of relationships with my peers, yet because of the obvious differences these relationships are not as fulfilling as some of those I have with my peers. They are not empty, or shallow relationships they are just not as fruitful as they could be due to the need to maintain those professional boundaries. Relational ministry can sometimes lead to impersonal relationships, another paradox. This is my cross.

The interesting thing though is that by accepting this cross... being called to ministry, yet having to sacrifice my own dreams and goals, wants and needs, my life is truly free. Isn't that really weird? My life is full of vibrant experiences and wonderful people. By embracing this call to serve the youth community I have found a surprisingly fulfilling life. Freedom despite the "burden".

I think that in the last few years I have come to appreciate something Pope John Paul II said... paraphrased, it was that to truly be free, one must choose what Christ wants over what you want. In my late teens and early 20s this made no sense at all. Hindsight, as they say is 20 20 though. Once I accepted the call and began to serve, Christ filled what was lacking in my life with things that were truly life giving. Friendships that were killing me were replaced with friendships I will never forget, like Rod, Kalae and Jonah.

These people and new experiences made me really look at my life and change what was killing me. Sure, like all of us, I regress and go back and forth between old self and new self, but with His help I am getting better. Recently I have been in a funk, and I have wanted to drop my cross. Recently, Christ asked me if I wanted to carry His instead. Nope... I'll take mine any day over His because through that cross comes my freedom. Freedom comes through the cross, and with the Resurrection. Embracing what He wants for us, dying to ourselves, brings a freedom only He can give us.

The time is quickly coming when I will have to find a new way to be involved in youth ministry. As my family grows, which it in time will, I will have to find a way to support us. This will mean moving away from a coordinators role, and into a volunteer role. I am sure that I can adjust to that freedom again. I ask for your prayers as I enter into this new and exciting part of my life. After all, I go with all of you there, especially those who have always been there. One thing I am sure of though, this change will not take me to the Presidency. Nope... I know that is a cross I could not be trusted with.

Prayers,

Pisio

Internet Dating

Tomorrow sometime I will make my 100th post. As you can see it was a three way tie between talking about my experiences in youth ministry, or youth ministry in general; what I would do if I were President; or just something random... I am not sure what I will be posting on, but it may just have to do with all three... It will be interesting to see how things turn out.

I did get a request to write about my experience with internet dating and in particular give some tips to those of you who may be out there in cyber dating land... As you can see from the picture, and from my wife's page, things turned out great for us...

So, here goes... First and foremost if you are meeting people through a service like e-harmony or match.com, make sure that you are using a service that suits you. Personally I was fed up with the career oriented, non-traditional mindset of my peers in the United States. Being from Hawaii at the time I was really attracted to Asian women and in particular filipinas. For the most part, they are traditionally minded family oriented, faithful women. So, I found a site that specialized in bringing American men and Asian women together. They also offered support if I needed help navigating the immigration process... They were more than just an internet bar or matchmaking service, they actually supported me through the process.

Second, be honest. Talking over the phone, or in a chat room allows you to be completely honest with someone, opening yourself up to the other person... yet it is completely anonymous. What do you have to hide? You are in a situation where you have this person one on one... take advantage of that and open up to them. Presumably you are there to get to know them so get to know them. Do not assume that they are lying to you or hiding anything. Rather assume that they are being open and honest with you. Pay attention to what they say and write and if they are lying to you, you will catch on eventually... This actually leads nicely into advice bit #3.

Take your time. It is hard because you are separated from the other person, but that is also what makes it so fun. You have all the time in the world to get to know this person without any strings attached. Jonah and I talked for 18 months before we met in person. When we finally did meet, because we had TALKED seriously about things for anywhere from 1 to 6 hours a week, it was like we had known each other our entire lives. Things just clicked for us. We knew within hours of being with each other that we had both been honest with each other, and this took a lot of the awkwardness out of our first meeting.

Fourth, write letters. Phone conversations, I.M. ing and texting are all great, but impersonal ways to communicate. Writing things in your own hand and tucking a little piece of yourself in the envelope adds intimacy and anticipation to the relationship. You always have something to look forward too, like the scent of her perfume, or something she wore in her hair. The little stupid doodles you do when you are looking for the words to say convey your honesty and seriousness about the relationship. It is amazing how seeing the letters SWAK stenciled on the outside of an envelope can make the worst days bearable.

Finally, be open. I actually met Jonah by "accident" trying to talk to someone else. Had I not taken the chance and continued the conversation with her when I did I am scared to think of where I might be right now... I probably would not have that beautiful little boy I am holding in the picture above... Man how time flies... An accidental click on a random girl in a chat room led to him, and a beautiful life...

Well, it is 2:30am here and I am a little wiped out. For those of you looking for pointers on long distance relationships, I hope that this has helped a little. It worked for me, and look at what it has led to...

Prayers,

Pisio.

P.S.: 100th post tomorrow... I hope you all come back to read it.

America

I was watching the season premier of Mind of Mencia tonight and he said something that I think hit the nail on the head about something. He was talking about how Americans are whining about how bad times are right now. Then he said basically to shut up and not worry about how bad things are until Mexicans no longer want to come here... Then of course you have something along the same lines being credited to Jay Leno... I mean can things really be that bad when you have deer grazing outside your office window?

This got me thinking back to when I was "dating" my wife. I put dating in quotes because we met on-line and had a long distance relationship for almost three years before getting married. I recall one night in particular when I we were talking on the phone. My wife was almost in tears because her family was having to choose between rice, and money for her niece who needed some medicine. I was sitting there horking down Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Supersize fries and Coke, and here was the woman I loved on the other end of the phone line in tears because of a choice any of us would not wish on our worst enemy.

I think as Americans we forget how good we actually have it. This being an election year things will get especially bad. We will hear nothing from the media but how horrible things are and how that is the fault of our out of touch politicians... and how we need change. While I agree that we need change in Washington I would hope that people would really think about the kind of change that we need. Do we really need more of the same? All three candidates represent the same old stuff... I think that choice of vice president is going to be more crucial than ever...

I just hope that we choose the best and most qualified person for the job. In my opinion that person is long gone, and now I will have to vote for the lesser of two evils. It is a sad, sad realization, but realistic nonetheless. Well... I guess we had to live through a complete disaster before getting Reagan... Perhaps history will repeat itself... Lord I hope so...

Prayers...

Pisio

P.S. Prayers go out tonight for Senator Kennedy and his family... While I believe he is a confused soul and he has damaged America more than our current President, he is still a human being... May He Bless you and keep you...

Da Lil Boy

"Hello everyone... uhuh... is me... Mikey... Today I made my mommy a little mad... you see I got a hold of the Vaseline she puts on my butt so it doesn't itch... she left it on my bedroom floor after I pooped this morning... right before we left to go buh bye to Noni's house.

NEWAYZ... when daddy brought me home and was busy cooking dinner I went into my room and grabbed it... HEHE... funny thing is I know how to take the lid off of things now... so I did... and guess what? I smeared it all over my mommy's nice new pretty couches and chair... I am a little kolohe (rascal) boy! Mommy is mad now... she can't get it out...

Now if she is that mad about it being in her couch... imagine how I feel with it in my butt... EEEWWW... okay... I have to go to sleep now with my bobble and blankie... "

And that about sums up my early evening/ late night...

Prayers...

Pisio

100th post

I need your guys suggestions for my 100th post...

I will blog about the topic that wins the poll.

You have six days...

Prayers...

Pisio

Reach Out and Touch Someone

Specifically... a soldier. I saw this on the Glenn Beck Show tonight and was just amazed. These two young people have decided that helping the troops was not only worth their time, but they decided it was worth a lot of it. This amazing brother and sister pair has decided that no soldier should ever have to pay to call home again from overseas, and they, unlike a lot of our politicians, are backing their emotions and talk with action.

They found that by recycling old cell phones they could make money and buy phone cards for our troops overseas:

"Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist from Norwell, Mass., with $21 of their own money. Since then, the registered 501c3 non-profit organization has raised almost $1 million in donations and distributed more than 400,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers serving overseas."

I have said this before, and I will say it again, but this country amazes me. Only in America would a 12 and 13 year old have the opportunity to do something like this. In so many other countries children are what they are born in to... their hopes and dreams are bound to who their parents were. Here though, the only thing that can ever truly limit you is you...

If you want to help these two young people reach their goal of allowing soldiers to call home for free and you have a phone to drop off, click here, to find a location close to you. For more information on this organization, check out their website.

God Bless em...

Prayers,

Pisio

Big Sky Brewing

I have to say that I like beer. I agree with Benjamin Franklin who is credited with saying that beer is proof that God loves us. Recently I decided to try something I have never tried before, a Big Sky mixed packed. In the 12 bottles they give a variety of their brews, and I must say that their Pale Ale is amazingly smooth, clean and crisp. It is relatively inexpensive as well, considering it is a small brewery.

I have throughly enjoyed sipping this and watching Clerks II, a slow movie, but not bad for a sequel. This brew has made the movie bearable and will usher in a nice deep sleep really soon. Maybe, just maybe something will happen tomorrow to get my ire up and I will have something to rant about.

Prayers...

Pisio

P.S.: This wasn't a paid ad... I just really felt compelled to review their brew... man it is good!

Mission to Trade Update

For those of you who are looking for an interesting story to follow, you may want to check out my friend Stuart over at Mission to Trade. He started with a Coke and traded it for some golf balls. Now he is up to a Microsoft key board and mouse. I think that they are USB. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here.

Prayers,

Pisio

20,000 Visitors

Okay, Whoever was my 15,000th visitor never got in touch with me. So, if you are here, and you are paying attention and you are my 20,000th visitor the same deal holds true. You will get a permanent web site review on my blog, and if you are an entrecard member I will give you 250 credits. Sound fair? It is not much, but hey I am just a little blogger. If I had 10,000 visitors a day and 3000 clicks per day on my adsense ads, maybe I could sit around in my underwear and think up better contests and prizes... Until then, you will have to settle for what I have to offer :P.

Prayers,

Pisio


P.S.: I will repost this when I get closer to the big day of 20000 visitors.

Ramblings on the NBA

Is it just me or have foreign players ruined the once fun game of basketball? I remember watching playoff games in the mid 80's to the early 90's and watching hard fouls and good strong defense being played. Slowly, slowly, in crept a weakness and a bunch of floppers that now flail their arms and flop on the ground like fish out of water. Did this just start with foreign players, or did it always go on?

Now it seems everyone has picked up the art of flopping. I mean don't get me wrong... some of the fouls on Michael Jordan were vicious, but you know what? He survived, and he actually stayed in the game. Now, if someone gets knocked to the ground, they curl up in to the fetal position and pound the floor like they just had their balls cut off or something. It reminds me a lot of soccer where you have to flop to sell the foul. Some of the players do not belong in the NBA, but are constantly compared to greats like Larry Bird, MJ and Magic. Sure Kobe Bryant can throw down 81 in a game, but imagine if Larry Bird played under today's rules where hand checking is illegal. That would have been his career average, not a one time deal. He would have shot more free throws in a year than Kobe will shoot over the course of his career.

Sadly, Kobe is now one of the tougher players in the league. I can not stand to watch games where every time the guard drives to the basket and gets bumped he falls to the ground, slides into the first row of seats and the ref blows the whistle... Essentially that means once two teams I can not stand are eliminated, the Pistons and the Jazz, I will have to turn the NBA playoffs off. I guess this is what a progressive culture does though... we become more and more like what our ancestors left.... meanwhile, what our ancestors left becomes more and more like what our forefathers started (yes, Europe is swinging right again, finally, while the US looks more and more like Europe). I guess our sports will do the same as the rest of the culture. Thank God for football... the one thing in entertainment that will always have its fair share of physicality....

Prayers,

Pisio

Got Credit?

Man was I stupid when I was in my early and mid twenties. I got caught up in consumerism and ended up racking up a year's salary worth of bad credit card debt. I thought about using credit repair services, but I found a lot of them lacking and unable to accommodate my bad credit repair needs. Then came my wedding and my credit card and bad debt just grew. If I ever needed a time for credit repair it was then.

I needed a way to repair my credit, and had nobody I could really trust to talk to about this. Repair credit? Nope... not in my realm of expertise, so I did what anyone who was recently married and in up to their ears would do. I bought a $250,000 condominium on Maui. That really helped things out, but with the equity in the property I was gaining, I could take out a second mortgage and pay off some of the bad debt. Woo hoo!!! that is just what I would recommend anyone do. Well... actually I wouldn't really, at least not if I had it to do over again.

While things worked out okay for my wife and me (yes me, not I... you would not say "for I") I know a lot of people who will not be as lucky as we were. We were able to sell at the peak of a hot market, and pay off all our debt instantly taking care of a lot of bad choices over the previous seven years or so. Unfortunately more and more people are in need of credit help. I would now recommend that you get in touch with professionals who can actually help you and will not only warranty, but guarantee what they do. If you are in need of help you may want to check out the professionals at DSI Solutions.

Their site loads fast, and has a nice professional feel to it. Best of all, they have incentive to repair your credit quickly... they charge a flat fee rather than a monthly fee, and they offer you personalized service... Why would they want to dilly dally and drag things out? If you are having credit problems, you may just want to check them out.

Prayers,

Pisio

15000 Visitors

Sometime today I will hit 15000 visitors. Not bad considering I launched this blog in January, and have not put a whole lot of effort into it. If you should visit my blog, and you notice that you are the 15000th visitor please send me at my primary e-mail a screen capture of the grand event. I will add you to my blog roll, and review your blog with a permanent link on my blog.

This should be fun to see. Good Luck...

Prayers,

Pisio

Mother and Child

Marriage definitely is a vocation... a calling. I am glad that I heard and accepted it. I am married to a wonderful woman and we have a beautiful son. She says in her profile that she is not a good cook, but that is not true... I just think that she works too hard to put time into cooking.

I am not sure if she knows this or not, but I really do appreciate all her hard work. At times I get a little frustrated with her, and I am sure that I frustrate her at times as well, but I can honestly say I am glad that she chose me. I think that proves she is a little nuts, but I guess I can not hold that against her. It has worked out really well for me.

Right now, I am sitting here writing this and watching her love my son. She is watching Waterworld, and he is asleep on her lap. It is such a beautiful site to me. I wish that I had the means to allow for her to do it all the time. Maybe I will soon, but as it is right now, she is the breadwinner. I have to remember that she is the one supporting us while I am in school. I need to remember that she is tired when she comes home from work, and even though my day starts before hers and ends after hers that she is just as tired as I am...

Oh well... Happy mother's day Jo-jo... I love you, and I hope that today I can remember that it is about you, and your rest... not me and mine...

Prayers,

Pisio

Mission to Trade

I have met several people from Australia in person and come to the conclusion that they are a people absolutely in love with life. In the on-line community there are a couple blogs I frequent written by one of those crazy Aussies. In his latest venture, mission to trade, he has taken on something that completely confirms he is nuts.

A wise dead guy once said that the line between genius and insanity is a thin one. As someone who wholeheartedly agrees with that statement, and straddles that line everyday I would venture to say mission to trade was thought up by someone who not only straddles, but crosses that line frequently... A genius most days, he is showing us just how far into insanity he can go.

I will be curious to see just what he gets for his diet coke. I almost wish that I were there in Australia so I could trade for something. Not only do I think that he will be writing a unique piece of history, but I can see how this will go on for years.

Kudos to the author of Secluded Habitat, Geeky Habitat and now Mission to Trade. I hope that this venture goes as well for you as the others, and know you have an interested fan watching here from Rocky Mountain Country USA.

Prayers,

Pisio

End of the Year

And it is only May. I get a little confused when it comes to this time of the year. It is only the middle of the year, but because I work around the school year for the most part it is the end of the year. The end of the year in the middle of the year... confusing? Yes I know.

This is a time when I should be starting to relax and clean up at the end of the year, yet instead I find myself wanting to ramp up and work even harder through the summer. This is the time of the year when the teenagers have the most time, yet for the most part youth ministers around here do the least... At least my Catholic peers... Yet despite wanting to work harder for the youth and the Church, I also find myself wanting to move on.

I have started to get my resume updated and I have already applied for a job working in electronics again. I really miss working with my hands and building things. Sure I am building lives, but this career choice has become dull... That means it is time to leave. As wonderful as the young people I work with are, I know that I can not serve them as well as someone who is in love with their work. I love the kids, and the Church, I just no longer love the work... at least I think.

This is the way that I feel at the end of every year. Burnt out and bedraggled. I need a break desperately, but have so much work to do. It is overwhelming, exhausting and well... it has gotten really old. I am tired of feeling this way after nine months of working my butt off. I guess we shall see what happens.... As always we shall see what happens.

Prayers,

Pisio

P.S.: I have been approved for blogvertise. In order to pick up a few extra dollars I may be advertising for a product on occasion.

Tests

What is it about tests that scares people, or freaks them out so bad? I teach Astronomy labs to non-science majors at a local University and it always blows my mind at what happens on the last night of class.

From day one of the labs I introduce them to star charts and how to read them. We start working immediately with them, learning how to read and locate things on them. Then comes the final and I ask them to identify things on star charts. Sometimes they have to tell me the name of an object located at a certain Right Ascension and Declination, others they have to tell me the Right Ascension and Declination of a given object.

It never fails that they freak because it is a test. Their little minds go to mush and they just freak out. They get angry at their lab partners, their faces get red and steam begins to shoot out of their ears. It is like they have never seen the things, even though they have been working with them for almost four months. Three objects a week they have to locate or draw on the star charts, but when it comes to identifying 5 out of a list of 15 on a final they can not do it.

It always disappoints me. The ones that have nothing to worry about freak out and look at me like I have three heads for asking them to display to me they understand the concepts and principles we talked about over the course of the semester. I think that in many ways I am just not cut out to be a teacher any more. I expect that when people come into my class they are there to learn the principles and techniques of observational astronomy... Especially since the lab class description tells them this is exactly what they will be doing.

Pretty bizarre then that I would expect at the end of a semester for them to know the principles and techniques of observational astronomy. My guess is that this is why more and more employers are expecting their prospective employees to be enrolled in a Masters degree program. Universities are giving out Bachelor's degrees like candy. More and more young people are coming away knowing little or nothing about the field that they are entering and employers need to see you are at least committed to life long learning of your trade.

Wow... how did I go from talking about test taking to rambling about Bachelor's degrees? I guess that is what keeps you coming back...

Prayers...

Pisio

Google Rank

I've been ranked... I am not sure what that means, but my wife was pretty excited about it. I have a google page rank of 3. Woo Hoo!

Thanks to all of you who have linked to my site.

Prayers,

Pisio

Rolaids

President Bush and Senator Obama have recently said that there is not a quick solution to solving the problem of high gasoline prices here in the United States... That may be but here is a radical idea...

First, open up the US oil reserves and flood the market with American oil for a few months. Increasing the amount of oil there is on the market will bring the cost per barrel down almost immediately. This will also increase competition and take a lot of the power OPEC countries have over price per barrel out of their hands.

Second, don't roll back the federal gas tax for three months, get rid of it all together and move to system where maintenance of highways and bridges is privatized rather than socialized. Allow local governments or private companies to raise funds to repair the infrastructure using money raised from tolls for highway use. The management of the toll roads would be contractual with the government and up for rebid every three years to insure against price gouging. Companies would be rewarded for finding innovative and cost effective ways to maintain infrastructure, and know that if they did not perform their chances of maintaining the contract would be limited.

Third, screw the nutjob environmentalists and use our nuclear technology to power our cities rather than fossil fuels. This leaves more of the fossil fuels for consumption in transportation while alternative technologies are being investigated. Nuclear is also cleaner and the relative risks are minimal despite what the China Syndrome leftists would like you to believe.

Finally, if you do not want to drill in ANWAR or off shore (which is just dumb since China and Cuba are essentially taking what could be ours), explore technologies that would allow us to turn our vast coal supplies (which can not be burned because of sulfur content) into oil. The Nazis were, for all their evils, on the verge of technology that at the time was just not cost effective to utilize. I am sure given the proper time and incentive that this technology could be perfected in the present day United States.

Does the environment need to be protected? Yes, it does and downright irresponsibility needs to be cracked down on. This goes both ways though. The current energy policies that subsidize ethanol and other inefficient fuels at the expense of efficient and cheaper fuels are crippling the US consumer. Even if man made global warming is real, temperatures today are much lower than they were in medieval times of prosperity, food surpluses and innovation. We have a ways to go temperature wise until we lose the polar bears... an inconvenient truth that alarmists do not want to face.

Common sense solutions are not in the play book of any of the current political crop. They are all out of touch and proclaiming to lead a world they know nothing about. I say get rid of the bums... All of them...

Prayers,

Pisio

Comments

Just a warning... All comments here are moderated. If you attempt to post anything that is just downright ignorant... like saying that the Catholic Church teaches people that condoms contain the AIDS virus, your comment will be rejected. Your comments, unlike some of my postings, must display some knowledge of what you are talking about.

The Catholic Church teaches that artificial birth control takes away God's Creative purpose from intercourse. My understanding is that condoms create a false sense of security in those who use them. The only 100% sure fire way to prevent the spread of infectious disease is chastity.

To say that we as humans are nothing but mammals and can not exercise self control is moronic and ignorant. First, some mammals eat their own young... Last time I checked humans, while mammals do not have that urge... Also, quite a few mammals eat their own feces and vomit... again.. last time I checked most humans do not...

So while we are mammals, it is ignorant to reduce us to our lowest common denominator... We can exercise self control, especially in sexual matters... by doing so, we not only contain, but prevent the spread of infectious disease, premarital pregnancies and many other unintended consequences of loose, promiscuous behavior...

As far as I know the only Church to be consistent in its teachings on these matters is the Catholic Church... for those of you who have a beef with the Church because it calls you to be your best as a human rather than telling you that you're no better than a dog in heat, your comments are not welcome here...

Prayers,

Pisio

Rant

I guess I am just beyond feeling the need be politically correct. I think aside from Liberalism (1) and then ignorance (2) that political correctness is the greatest evil facing our country (yes even above Isloamofacism). Some of the comments to my last posting have confirmed this. Just so you know, this is an opinion blog and as such I have no need or obligation to provide the opposing side of an argument. If I think your comment is well thought out, and you are not just spewing back to me the politically correct crowd's talking points I may post your comment. Otherwise thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read, but I have no need of your angry guilt ridden comment here.

The United States of America is the greatest force for freedom and justice the world has ever known. Is it perfect? By no means, yet is it the greatest country on earth... yes. Our citizens have more opportunity to advance and progress than in any other country in the world. I mean really when was the last time you heard about people risking their lives by the thousands to live in Canada, Mexico or Great Britain? Never? Yep... thats right... they may be good countries to live in, but opportunity is limited.

Islamofacists have hijacked a religion and use it to justify atrocious acts all around the world. They have committed horrible crimes against western society. This is not due to corrupt foreign policy of western nations. This is because we do not subscribe to their way of thinking, and therefore we are looked at as people who must be converted or are better off dead. Are there good, God-fearing Muslims out there? Yes... but they need to stop living in "submission" to the fanatics that have hijacked their religion and way of life and stand up to them.

Homosexuality is sinful, as is heterosexual sex out side of marriage. We were meant to participate in God's creation as Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. It is not natural to have two mommies, and if you are a woman trapped in a man's body seek professional help. Up until the sixties they had pills that could help you. Are you a bad person condemned to hell because you are attracted to the same sex? No, but you are called to the same chastity that non-married couples are (even married couples at times).

Abortion is murder. When a sperm joins with an egg, life is created. If that happens within the womb it is a human life... It will not develop into a dog, a cat or a toad... it is human. Secondly birth control is unnatural and intrinsically evil as it takes away the ability of God to create life as He chooses. If you were born after Roe v. Wade, thank your mother!

You are not poor because the government has not done enough for you, or your school system failed or as hard as it is to believe because of George W. Bush... Get off you butt and get a job at the local fast food restaurant or grocery store. You are not entitled to that check I give you every month. I find it hard to believe that you can not stand on your feet behind a cash register for eight hours because of a disability, but you can stand around for eight hours in a welfare office with your granddaughter on your arm to collect a disability check!

I am sorry, but if you are here illegally, you are a criminal. I know that all you want is a better life for your family, and I respect that. You however need to respect the laws of the country you live in. If your employer really needs you he can go through the proper process to get you a worker's visa. Please go back to your country of origin and petition the government to come here as has worked for generations and generations before you. If you do come here, bring the best of your country, but please leave all the reasons you left there.

Hmm... what else?

Liberals... grow a damn back bone, and socialism has failed each time it has been tried. You are no more special than anyone else in the past who has tried it and failed... The only thing that you will succeed in doing is bankrupting your federal government. It is hard to pay for social programs when you have no money to support them... You say you stand for the working class, but you are all elitist whores, pimped by big business and special interests... just like the republicans.

I am sure I missed something... If you are pissed off great... examine why you are, let me know and if there is something I can help you think through... e-mail me.

Prayers.

Pisio

Something to think about

I received this from my uncle:
____________________________________________________________________

ALL EUROPEAN LIFE DIED IN AUSCHWITZ -- The following is a copy of an article written by Spanish writer Sebastian Vilar Rodrigez, published in a Spanish newspaper on 5-22-07. It doesn't take much imagination to extrapolate the message to the rest of Europe -- and possibly to the rest of the world.
=====================================================

REMEMBER AS YOU READ -- IT WAS IN A SPANISH PAPER Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 14:30:20 -0500

ALL EUROPEAN LIFE DIED IN AUSCHWITZ By Sebastian Vilar Rodrigez(*)

I walked down the street in Barcelona, and suddenly discovered a terrible truth - Europe died in Auschwitz . We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims. In Auschwitz we burned a culture, thought, creativity, talent. We destr oyed the chosen people, truly chosen, because they produced great and wonderful people who changed the world.

The contribution of this people is felt in all areas of life: science, art, international trade, and above all, as the conscience of the world. These are the people we burned.

And under the pretense of tolerance, and because we wanted to prove to ourselves that we were cured of the disease of racism, we opened our gates to 20 million Muslims, who brought us stupidity and ignorance, religious extremism and lack of tolerance, crime and poverty, due to an unwillingness to work and support their families with pride.

They have blown up our trains and turned our beautiful Spanish cities into the third world, drowning in filth and crime.

Shut up in the apartments they receive free from the government, they plan the murder and destruction of their naive hosts.

And thus, in our misery, we have exchanged culture for fanatical hatred, creative skill for destructive skill, intelligence for backwardness and superstition.

We have exchanged the pursuit of peace of the Jews of Europe and their talent for hoping for a better future for their children, their determined clinging to life because life is holy, for those who pursue death, for people consumed by the desire for death for themselves and others, for our children and theirs.

What a terrible mistake was made by miserable Europe.?

***********************************

A lot of Americans have become so insulated from reality that they imagine America can suffer defeat without any inconvenience to themselves.

Absolutely No Profiling! Pause a moment, reflect back:

These events are actual events from history. They really happened! Do you remember?

1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by a:????Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40.

2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by:??? M uslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:???Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:???Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:???Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:???Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by:???Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:???Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

9. In 1993 th e World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:???Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:???Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by:???Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:???Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:???Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

No, I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you? So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly f a nat ics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people. They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winner and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males between the ages of 17 and 40 alone lest they be guilty of profiling.
As the writer of the award winning story "Forrest Gump" so aptly put it, "Stupid is as stupid does."
______________________________________________________________________

If there is a ring of teenage car thieves in a city and their M.O. is to case a neighborhood in a late model Toyota Camry, why should the police working the case have to randomly search vans driven by middle aged men? Doesn't make much sense does it?

My guess is that this does not make much sense to any of you either.

Lord save us from ourselves...

Prayers,

Pisio

Time... Where Have You Gone???

I remember having a conversation with the son of a babysitter when I was in about 6th grade. He was much older than me, just about ready to graduate high school, and we started for some reason to talk about time. I was talking to him about how slow the year was going and how it was the same old thing everyday. It was summer. I would wake up, eat breakfast, and then it would be off for a day of riding my bike, swimming, watching movies and driving his mother absolutely nuts...

He said something that I could never quite believe then... He told me to enjoy it while it lasted because come high school I would be wondering where all the time went. He told me about all the good times he had in high school and how quickly that they flew by. It was almost like things were happening to him and then were done before he could ever fully grasp what was going on. It was like time sped up the older you got. He then proceeded to kiss the image of Cyndi Lauper on his television screen...

That conversation seems like an eternity ago, but I have never quite forgotten it. I never really have stopped to consider it, but every once and a while it just passes through my head. Why is it that time seems to speed up through the years when we need it most? Yesterday I was 18 and not dating, I woke up today and I am 31, married with a son. Those 13 years have just flown by. Seriously... Michael was just born, and I blinked and he is 18 months old...

Some days this seems like a cruel joke... I feel like I have missed out on so much, yet at the same time my life has been full and rewarding. I fon't remember the bad times, but have never really stopped to appreciate all the good times. When a friend calls or stops by, I seem to rush through the call or the time they are with me... I have forgotten about what matters most...

Man I miss being a kid. All that mattered was the person I was with and the adventure we were on that day. Do you remember making up games? We used to kicked out of the house on nice days. We were forced to go out side and play baseball or kick ball... something... when we had kicked all of our balls in to the county reservoir or let them get washed away in the monsoon rains, we had to make up our own games... like the hot lava monster who jumped out of our rock front yards. It was like tag, except in a really confined area...

I think the most profound thing is that I never was too busy to get to know someone. I used to know what my friends dreams were. I knew who wanted to be a doctor, a soldier or a fireman. I have the same amount of time now, but I do not know near as much about my friends as I used to. I am not sure why? As adults do we really not have the time to get to know someone well, or are we afraid that when we get to know someone and let them into our lives that we open ourselves up to being hurt?

HMMM... to be a kid again. To know my friends again... to know their fears, hopes and dreams. That would be awesome... Time, where have you gone, and how can we get you back?

Prayers...

Pisio

Link Referral

I have written about Entrecard.com in the past, but I have never much said anything about Link Referral. I really enjoy the time I spend browsing other blogs and reviewing them. In general I like to really think about most of the blogs I review, and try to give them honest feedback. I am sure that this does not always hold true, but for the most part I really do try.

I do not get near as much traffic from link referral as I get from entrecard, but I do get an extra 10 - 20 visits a day. This is more than the total number of visitors I would get in three days prior to joining though, so it is really nothing to thumb my nose at.

As a service goes, it is really easy to use, and I have finally figured out how to get my link referral reviews displayed on the blog. I guess that I could show all of them if I wanted, but for now I will just show a sampling about what people are saying about Random Musings of a Deranged Soul. You can read them all below in the sidebar if you want.

It is actually kinda funny. One of the comments was that my site was plastered with ads... So I removed two adboxes and some other advertisements. I had never thought that having them in a sidebar would be a distraction. Apparently I was wrong... I guess though that if I want to keep people coming, I must think of them first...

Maybe this will change someday for Random Musings, but until them I will continue to listen to my audience... I need to go join my wife now... She is not feeling well, so she went to bed early... I am going to follow her...

Prayers...

Pisio

Settling In

I think that Jonah and I are finally getting there. Our couches and appliances are in, we have all our boxes unpacked, and today I programmed the sprinkler system... We have arrived. I guess it is about time. It has been a month since we moved into our new place. It is so nice to be able to sit on our own couch and watch movies on our own television.

Our next big project will be the back yard. We have to call and get a fence and gate installed, and then get any landscaping that we want to do approved by the HOA. This should be an adventure in and of itself. We have five months to get it done, but I would like to have it done sooner rather than later. We are really not sure what we are going to do yet. We tried to get some ideas today, but our little boy just wanted to go home. As much as I love him there are days when he really makes getting anything done a pain.

I know that we are going to try to take a swing set from my moms house. It is one of those big wooden things... 16ft x 17ft footprint. I think our little yard is something like 20ft x 20ft... Actually I am not really sure the size, but the swing set will be huge in the back yard. We will also need to build a retaining wall to flatten off the back slope a little. Like I said, this will be an adventure.

Today Jonah asked me if I had a green thumb. My guess is that she does not... we have never really had a yard to try and grow anything. Sure we had a small yard in Hawaii, but we did not have to landscape it, and everything there was fairly low maintenance. Here though it will be a lot harder, especially in the spring. It can be 90 degrees today and snowing tomorrow. We will have to tend to things a lot better than we did there. It will really be a lot of fun.

Tomorrow I get to call the fence guy. I am not really looking forward to the fence being put in. We are having a different company than the rest of the neighborhood had do theirs. They are a little more expensive, but they build fences to last in the strong winds we get out here. They have been in business a long time, and people I trust have recommended them. The problem is their standard installation has three support rails, while everyone else out here only does two. It will look a little weird when we tie into the neighbors.

I guess that is just part of being in community though. People have cut corners to save a few bucks here and there. I am tempted to, but I would rather pay upfront to have it done now than have to repair something that could not withstand the winds this summer. Hopefully all the surrounding fences will as well...

Hmm... If you have any recommendations for our back yard, please let me know. I would appreciate your insights...

Prayers,

Pisio

Retreat

It really has been a long couple of weeks. This year's class of Confirmandi have really gotten under my skin. Individually they are all good kids, but if you get them together as a group, they are collectively rotten. Their parents are about as big of a problem as they, or quite possibly even a bigger one. I feel like I have been babysitting a bunch of 40 year olds all year. Short of wiping their butts, I pretty much have.

Well, I can say at least the year is almost over and there is light at the end of the tunnel. After May 2nd I really do not have to have much to do with them... Maybe that is a horrible attitude to have, but at least you know that I am being honest. I really have not enjoyed my job this year, at least until the last week or so. They have really gelled over the last month, and come together.

In some ways that has been rewarding. I work in a very clickish community. Our parish draws from three different school districts and a private school. Generally none of them get along with each other, and they do their best to keep it that way. This has disheartened me since I was a member of the youth group here in the early nineties. I guess somethings never change.

This time however there was a small change. They all managed to come together especially during the retreat. The young body of Christ had managed to drop their insecurities and inhibitions and actually get to know each other beyond them being D11, or D20, or St. Mary's kids. It was really wonderful to watch. I just wish that I could figure out a way to make it happen more often.

I think that is the hardest thing about youth ministry. Each group of kids is different and so something that worked last year will not work this year even though the end goal is the same. That goal being leading them deeper in their relationship with Christ. Each year that goal gets harder to attain as the distractions get more and more in number. Competing with those distractions gets harder and harder.

Each year though Christ finds a way to break through. I guess my role in that is just providing them with the opportunities to encounter Him and He will break through. Dang that is fun to watch. It has been a challenging, but fun year once again... I guess... Here's to another one...

Prayers,

Pisio

Isn't it ironic...

Don't you think? Today, George W. Bush embraced Pope Benedict the XVI. Yesterday, former President Jimmy Carter embraced one of the top terrorists in the world...

I guess I will never understand liberals... How can they sleep at night? They do everything that they can to undermine the greatest force for peace and individual prosperity the world has ever known and they meet with people who seek out our and our allies destruction. I mean really... Had the USSR captured as much land as the US did during WWII, how much would it have given back to the citizens of the country? Oh wait... they did capture almost as much land as we did, and they gave none of it back... The captured land went from being occupied by the Germans to being occupied by the USSR... Contrast that with what did the US do? We liberated the land that Germany and their allies captured. We did not keep any of it, it all went back to being free lands.

We, as a country, stopped the spread of Communism and communist dictators and each time, we have left the countries we were liberating or protecting to govern themselves. Yet, liberals hate this country... They do not believe in individual liberty, all liberty is to come from the government... They do not believe in the power of the individual, we all need government to pay our bills and bail us out of bad decisions. They do not believe that we are smart enough to choose our own leaders... just look at the screwed up proportional distribution of delegates in their primaries and the need for elite super delegates to decide the nominee... How can any thinking person agree with these people.

Now we see Jimmy Carter emboldening a group of people who seek to destroy the United States and Israel. He just gave Hamas credibility when he met with them in the name of peace... I guess that as a conservative I am too much of a realist. The perfect world where we just wish our problems away by talking to people is not possible. There are too many bad people in the world for the liberal Utopia where we all just get along to be possible. Do I wish it were different? Yes. But wishing only leads to idealism. Carter thinks that he can go and negotiate peace with these people, but it will only be peace until they decide to start killing each other again... Didn't he learn that his foreign policy does not work?

I really wish that Utopia could be achieved... Unfortunately unless Christ comes again, it can not be. Human nature will not allow it, and even if it could be achieved it could not be long lived. Desire for power, corruption and greed would take root, and that Utopia would be destroyed... Yes... really... we as humans would screw it up some how... Just look at what we did to Eden...

Good Night...

Prayers,

Pisio

Edited for update: Once again we see why you do not sit down and give these people face time.

Bad Politics

I am tired of being called a racist because I identify myself as a Conservative. It seems that more and more conservatives are made out to be the villains, the racists and the all around bad guys, yet we believe in the power of the individual person to succeed. Conservatives do not see anyone as African-American, Mexican-American or Asian-American. We see each other as American.

We believe that anyone, regardless of color or creed can succeed if they put their mind to it. The only thing that limits the individual is the individual. You do not need government, or government programs to succeed, you only need your own God given talent and desire. The only thing that limits you is you.

Sadly, people have bought into the lie that they need government to succeed. This has enabled liberal democrats to create a permanent voting class. This class of people continually votes democrats into power. They have been promised the world, but they are brought higher taxes and more government dependency. Yet, those who would free them from these burdens are the racist bigots who want to keep them down.

Is this country really that mad? I mean for all his short comings, President Bush has the most diverse administration in history. He has appointed more minorities to prominent places of power than any president in the past. Yet, his base is made out to be anti-minority. It seems to me that if the party base of the Republicans were really racists, that they would have abandoned Bush in full force. Yet, we rallied and got him a second term in office. If we were really racist would that have happened.

Now, we see an odd thing playing out in the media this week. Obama recently referred to small town residents as bitter, and clinging to our guns and religion. This is obviously an out of touch statement to make. Far from using Religion as a crutch, there are those of us who use it as a foundation and base for our lives. Far from clinging to guns, like some fearful little child, there are those of us who choose to exercise our 2nd amendment right and own a gun. We may hunt, or collect or sport shoot and yes, we must cling to them because people like Obama seek to take them away to us.

Despite his out of touch and obviously elitist comments the main stream media is silent. Yet if this were a Republican candidate, or conservative columnist who were to say something like this can we assume the main stream media would give them a free pass. Probably not. My guess is that they would all be calling the candidate just what he is... out of touch, elitist and quite possibly a condescending asshole. I guess that all does not matter though.

You see as a conservative I believe that the will of the people should be honored. If the people are too stupid to see who is really keeping them down versus those who would seek to see them achieve their full potential then so be it. That is the will of the people. My guess is that after one, maybe as long as two terms of the liberal democrats wrecking the country, it will be along time before they see power again. That my friends will be a beautiful thing.

Sadly though, if either Clinton or Obama makes it in this term, we are in for four to eight years of potential screw ups that will take a long time recover from. They will leave a legacy of weakening our country, destroying the economy and wrecking everything from health care to private industry that will take a long time to overcome.

Well my friends, it is late, and I have to remove some horseshoe pits from my mom's house tomorrow. This racist bigot must get to bed.

Prayers,

Pisio

Entrecard

I have to be honest. When I saw the changes that entrecard made to its pricing system I was shocked... I had worked so hard to build up my advertising price to a reasonable level, and all of a sudden it was 2 credits again. I was shocked. It was also annoying to watch my favorite blogs to advertise on sky rocket out of a reasonable price for me to purchase.

The prices have come down again, and mine is back up above what it ever was under the old system. That is a good thing for me since probably 80 -85% of my traffic comes from entrecard. I would hate to watch that go away...

It will be interesting to see what happens in the long run for this service. It started out for free, but now you can purchase and sell credits. Anytime you introduce money into a situation things are bound to get a little weird... I just hope that they stay free for the general public and only start to charge those who want to pay for other services.

Good luck to all you who have already joined, and if you haven't you should check it out soon while it is still free...

Prayers,

Pisio

P.S.: For those of you who have bought ads on my site recently I am sorry. I have not been working as hard as I could to get traffic through... Life is busy... That will happen again this weekend while I am on retreat with the Confirmation class...

Three Monkeys

So, today I watched all three presidential candidates interview the top general in the land about the war in Iraq. I have come to the conclusion that not one of the three gives a damn about the soldiers and their mission, but rather all three were concerned about pandering for votes.

Clinton was obviously pandering to the far left.... Her questions were more like speeches than honest inquiries.

Obama looked like he always does... likeable, but overall a real dumbass. He should get little or no serious consideration for the position of Commander in Chief. Nothing less than complete victory is acceptable... As some wise, probably dead dude once said "Character is always lost when a high ideal is sacrificed on the altar of conformity and popularity".

Then there came Juan McLame... pasty and jowls a blazing... He pawned his stance on national security rather than using the forum to actually inquire about the general's thoughts on the best course of action... Not only did he waste his time, but he wasted the general's.

Of the three I will take the spineless, lily livered McLame over the other two socialists. Hopefully he will pick a true Conservative for his running mate, and be elected. Perhaps then, in his elation, he will have a heart attack that incapacitates him... I hate to wish that on anyone, but if it means keeping the country out of socialism I am all for it...

The founding fathers and revolutionary war heroes must be rolling in their graves right now. This can not be what they envisioned when they risked everything to start the United States of America... In our 200 short years here as a nation we have gone from being ruled by a monarch down a road which is quickly leading to being ruled by collectivist elitist ass holes, not even fit to wipe the ass of the generals who serve under them...

God Bless you General Petreaus, and all those who serve under your leadership... May He who is Love and Peace keep you in His loving protection....

Mary Queen of Peace, Pray for us all...

Prayers...

Pisio

Tired

I have never been so tired in my life. Between work, school, teaching at the University, working on their telescopes, moving and trying to be a husband and father I am just exhausted. I find myself asking more and more am I working to live, or living to work? That my friends is a tough tough question.

The worry of settling into a new mortgage payment and just the normal self doubt about providing for my family have all begun to wear on me. I feel well beyond my 32 years of age. I do not know what it feels like to be 75, but I think that I can imagine it. I guess I just need to find something to do other than what I am doing.

I need something that really will allow me to rest. I think that I am going to start hiking again... Weird huh? Physical exercise being rest. It is just being out in God's creation truly relaxes me. I have never felt as refreshed as I did that week when Mike was here, and he forced me to be out exploring Colorado's beauty. I really needed that break.

The really interesting thing is that I can turn anything into work. In ministry, as long as I am hanging out with teenagers it can be considered work. Sad, but I can never escape it... great because if I need a break I can just call one up and say I am gonna go do whatever and see if they can come along... A huge blessing and an even larger curse.

This situation forces me to either bring friends here who are not from the area, or to leave the area in order to get some real rest and relaxation time... I guess thought that I should quit whining. I have friends who are sleeping on the ground in the dust and mudd, drinking stale coffee and eating MRE's so I can have this right to bitch...

I wonder what they would resent more? The idea that I am not exercising the rights they are fighting for me to have, or the idea that I am bitching because I get to? Hmm... another paradox of epic proportions...

To all the military out there, thank you... Your service is not lost on some of us, and your sacrifice is not forgotten...

Peace be with you all...

Prayers...

Pisio

Nuts

This is just going to be a short little post again... I promised my wife I would be in bed by 1:00, and as I type this it is 1:03.

One thing that I love about entrecard is that it forces you to look at new blogs. Anyway, I came across a wicked diary... A diary of a mad pigeon to be exact. This blog is hilarious, especially the post linked to. What makes it so funny is just how right on the mark the author is.

I guess I am just a right wing nut job. I hate the idea of government getting any bigger, and actually think it needs to get back to what it was meant to do. Unfortunately the laziness of Americans in general will never allow that. There are too many free lunches out there anymore. I need look no further than the old company I worked for to know that.

This company survives on government contracts and grants. In a sense I was paying myself every time that 1/3 of my income went to the government. Man was I underpaid. Yet, without the contracts and grants this company would not have been able to make payroll. They are no better than socialist politicians who want to create a dependent class. They live off the government just like someone on welfare, and they have no real reason to get off, and the government likes it just that way... Sickening.

Governmentium... the heaviest element known to man...

Man would I like to see its radioactive nature limited...

GET OFF THE GOVERNMENT TEAT AMERICA AND GET BACK TO WHAT MADE YOU GREAT

Prayers...

Pisio

Home Moving

If there is one thing that I have learned in the last week and a half it is to wait until summer to move. I have no time right now to do anything I need to do, much less what I want to do. This is just a quick update to let you know soon, and very soon, I might be able to post more often. Perhaps you will even get to see pictures of the house.

Prayers,

Pisio

Growed up!

So, I know that it has been a few days, but I have been busy with my friend Mike who is here from Hawaii. It has been a fun and relaxing week.

Well, tonight we went to a bar called Good Company. There were a lot of people there and a lot of pretty women (I am married, not gay). Anyway, one particular young lady caught Mike's eye. He wanted to know what to do.

You see, Mike dated the same girl all through college. He was in a very stable and very comfortable relationship, and he was quite content. The sad thing is was his girlfriend was a little bit crazy. As expected by a lot of his friends, things went South with his g.f.. Mike never really had gotten over her, and up until tonight he was hanging on to the thought that there was still a chance.

I am so glad that we went out to that bar tonight. Mike and I talked about a lot of things. I did a comparison with him that I wish someone would have done with me... I compared him to the other guys in the bar including me. He is stable, caring, hardworking, has a job and would love someone beyond their wildest imaginations. In short, he has more to offer any girl in the bar than the next guy.

When I said that it was as if something changed in him. He had a bit of confidence. He actually went up and introduced himself, including handing out a business card with contact information on it. He then proceeded to go to the bathroom.

In the mean time I was sitting back in awe. This quiet shy guy was over his ex, in a very real way. He was able to do something I never was... introduce himself in person to someone he felt was attractive (my wife an I are an internet success story). I was floored.

I think that the best thing is that even Mike felt like he had turned a corner in his life. He was free from the curse of his ex, and was able to move on. I think we all know that not much could come out of meeting this girl, but at least he took that step...

He was all growed up!

I will be posting more refularly again, hopefully, soon.

Prayers,

Pisio