Photos from Winter Jam

Here are the photos I took at the Winter Jam concert on Friday night. Below are brief descriptions and military times from my phone of when they were taken. I apologize for the quality of the photos, I used the camera in my phone having (intentionally) left my digital in Harrisonburg.

From what I am told, the crowds started arriving at 3pm, doors opened at 6pm and the show started at 7.

16:51 – Eating Pizza at Lil’ Cucci’s Pizzeria in Daleville, VA. Good pizza, but a bad decision.

18:17 – A sign at the Roanoke Civic Center. This wasn’t for our event, looked like a trade show or something inside.

18:19 – We see the crowds outside. At this point the venue was declared full, and the doors were blocked with no more allowed in.

18:48 – Show starts in ~ 12 minutes, and the line has shrunk. From what I heard, they opened the area behind the stage and allowed another 300 people in, but that wasn’t enough to get us through the doors.

18:56 – They haven’t played inside yet, but the Sidewalk prophets came and gave an acoustic performance for those of us stuck outside. Great guys, great music. They all signed the copy of their CD I bought, and the singer recognized me after the show when I went to get his, having missed it earlier.

18:57 – I took a few photos before my phone battery started saying it was low.

20:31 – This is the first photo I took after getting inside, so we got in at about 8:30pm, an hour and a half late.

20:32 – David Crowder Band is finishing up their set.

20:33 – A slightly better shot, David Crowder Band

20:39 – Crowd blinders came up, this is my view for the first few minutes from behind the stage.

20:48 – This was our seated view behind the stage before moving, this guy was talking about orphans and the sponsoring thereof, I believe.

21:16 – KJ-52 performing while the final details are put on the Kutless set.

21:29 – Kutless!

21:57 – Newsboys entrance. Closest is the guitarist, farther away is the keyboardist, both on platforms above the crowd on the floor.

21:58 – My last photo of the night before I ran out of room on my phone, the Newsboys stage.

Winter Jam 2011, Roanoke

It was a Friday, just like any other Friday, except that it involved music. Lots of music, loud music, good music (in my opinion!).

It was a Friday full of disappointment, as well as great enjoyment and miscellaneous good times.

It really started earlier in the week – the band I work with (Chasing Grace) had elected to make a group trip to Roanoke to see the Winter Jam featuring RED, KJ-52, Kutless, David Crowder Band and the Newsboys, among others. The rest of the group were leaving at 1:30, would have got them to Roanoke around 3:30 or 4. However, I accepted an offer to leave at 2 – a decision I now realize was not the wisest – although the question remains how different it would have been.

So we left at 2, and had to pause in Harrisonburg briefly before we got going. We were making good time when it is decided we need to stop and get food – this seems fine, we’ll stop, get food, and eat in the car on the way. No, this is not a good plan, there’s plenty of time, we can sit down and eat and then carry on. Another unwise decision.

Eventually we reach Roanoke and see the Civic Center, where the event was held. Hordes of people surround the building, and my nervous level rises even further. “Don’t worry” I was told, “It seats 10,000” and “I doubt there’ll be 6 or 7 thousand.” He was right, there weren’t 7,000, not even 10,000. However many people the building could seat, there were more people trying to get in, and we were at the back of the queue. For around 2 hours we stood in line after being told that no more could be let in – they promised that as people left they could let just as many people in.

As “consolation” the Sidewalk Prophets came out and did an acoustic set on the sidewalk for us, before having to pack up and run inside to play for the crowds in there. Then after playing inside Jason Castro (of American Idol fame) came out and played for us. He was really cool, being his first tour he was excited to play but felt really nervous being so close to his audience and being able to see and connect so easily. He played a couple of songs and then like the Sidewalk Prophets did, sold CDs and signed along with photos for anyone outside who wanted them.

While waiting in line I met a nice couple from Harrisonburg. They had seen the show in Charleston WV and were just great to be with. We talked a little after spending 45 minutes or an hour standing at the very front of our line – able to touch the door, but not able to open it and walk in.

At around 8:45 – 9 we got in (for free!). I followed them and we ended up behind the stage. The couple (who are remaining nameless!) I came with got in a few minutes later, and they found the rest of our band (in much better seats, and with room for me and the couple I found to join them).

I got in just in time to see the end of the David Crowder Band set – I Saw The Light was amazing. I was a little sad I didn’t get to see the rest of it, but that was fine – I was more disappointed that I didn’t get to see RED play (one of the three I came to see). Out came KJ-52 to do I think two songs before leaving the stage. Then Kutless came out (two of the three) and started with It Is Well before several other songs. Chris August played a song, and Tony Nolan kept going on about things that are now about normal for a Christian event. Finally out came the Newsboys who put on a rocking show.

Michael Tait can not be faulted on a lack of energy, that is one thing that is certain. He was almost constantly moving, either it was around the stage or up and down the catwalk making contact with his fans. He held the hand of a little girl briefly while singing a verse and then kissed it before moving on. Having never really seen the Newsboys before I can’t speak for how much they have changed over time but he definitely did a great job as a frontman, albeit not being Peter Furler.

It seems that the Newsboys a) have too much money and b) have a fascination for moving things. All four of them had platforms that moved in one way or another. Michael Tait had a straight up-and-down platform about 2/3s of the way out the catwalk, the guitarist and the keyboardist both had moving platforms on arms that would allow them to be raised up and moved around over the audience, and the drummer had a tilting/turning platform (readily found on Youtube) used during the finale.

I got three CDs for $5 each (the Newsboys CD was $10, but they did a 2-for-1 deal and I went halves with a friend). Newsboys, Kutless and Sidewalk Prophets – all signed by the band members.

So it was not an altogether bad experience. I met a couple of great people, heard of a couple of great restaurants in Harrisonburg that I’d never heard of, heard 2 of the 3 bands that I’d come to see, and got 3 new CDs that I wanted, all of which were signed by the artists that recorded them. And had a great Pizza in Troutville.

Rallying to Restore Sanity and Fear

We started out expecting a fairly average day in the capital of the nation. That was not to be. Who knew that when you hold a rally with 215,000 people (as estimated by aerial photographers [Citation: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20021284-503544.html]) most of whom were traveling into the city from outside of it, it puts a strain on the transportation systems?

The roads were fairly empty once we got past mile 62 on I-66. According to WMATA, they set a Saturday record of 825,437 trips. That’s compared to 350,000 on an average Saturday. [Citation: http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=4717]

We left Broadway just after 7:30am. Kelly and I and our friend KBru took our car and headed North, making a brief stop at McDonalds in Newmarket for breakfast before getting on I-81. We were right on schedule for the Vienna/Fairfax Metro exit at about 9:15am when we reached the queue. It stretched back about 2 miles, and after sitting in it for 20 minutes we decided to try our luck at one of the next exits. This turned out to be one of the three best decisions we made that day. It proves that prior basic knowledge of the system works in favor of those trying to use it in ways they never have before.

We got to the West Falls Church exit at about 9:45 (literally just a couple of miles down the road). We found a parking space in record time, and proceeded to the station. It was at this point that we went back to waiting, and shortly afterward I started taking photos on my ‘new’ cell phone, received the day before. (It’s a certified pre-owned, and it replaces the Nokia that I washed a few months ago. It also has a camera!)

10:12am: West Falls Church bridge over I-66 East. The bridge is crowded by the line to the ticket machines. The road underneath is practically empty. The view back two miles on the same road is VERY crowded.

10:13am: We got bored and did what we usually do – take photos of ourselves.

10:25am: We’re getting close to the ticket machines. This lady we saw a couple of times, she looked like a white lady, and was wearing a big sombrero that said something like “I-legal, fear me!” on it.

10:29am: This is the set of lines for the ticket machines. KBru has started knitting in line. Kelly is off to the side as per the request of WMATA. She rejoined us not long after this.

10:45am: We made it on to the platform.

It was shortly after this point we made the second of our best three decisions of the day. Every train coming into the station (the third on the line) was crowded. One or two people were getting on. After about three trains we decided to try doing the non-obvious. We got on a train going the other way. This spawned our catchphrase for the day – “Backwards is the new forwards.” Someone on one of the trains had yelled out the door that they had boarded a train headed away from the city and stayed on it. After all, once they reach Vienna they just go straight back in to DC, and the trains were pretty empty going that way. When we got to Vienna we found (as we expected) that the trains were full leaving there.

The journey into the city was fairly uneventful. Almost every stop had someone with a hilarious costume or sign (a couple of Waldo characters, at least one person wearing a grape costume, I even saw a TARDIS cutout. The one sign I remember said something along the lines of “Three words that will solve the economy: Gay Bridal Registry”).

12:27pm: The museum of American History (if I’m reading it correctly). Those of you who know the Smithsonian will know that at this point we are practically there. This guy also has a really cool improvised drum kit, and he plays really well. Unfortunately I didn’t get a video at all.

Here is just a stream of photos I took while on the mall. I don’t remember enough details to caption each one. There are a few doubles of things, mostly cool signs I saw. We took a photo of KBru outside the Canadian Embassy, and there are photos of the several thousand people who just walked up one of the streets (I forget which, it was headed towards Chinatown).

I run out of photos about now because my camera battery died, but we walked through Chinatown looking for a place to eat, but they were all really busy. We walked up to Union Station – not a bad idea but not great. We ended up eating standing up, having been sitting on the floor in an alcove and being asked to stand as we were considered a safety hazard. Being reasonable and understanding people, we complied – there was nothing we could do to change the minds of the people enforcing the rules, they appeared to think the rule in particular was stupid anyway. We took the metro from Union Station back to Metro Center, where we made the third and final “best decision” of the day, taking the Metro towards Maryland a few stops and then heading back through the crowded city.

The trip from there was uneventful – I remember a little girl who was obviously tired who I talked to briefly about “coming out from the ground” – she had said it and then thought it was a silly thing to say, I told her it wasn’t. We disagreed politely.

A brief stop was made outside of DC (I always forget what it’s called, but there’s a Sheetz and a McDonalds right beside each other, and we almost always stop there on the way out of DC either for food or gas or both..). We were all in need of a bathroom break and some snacks for the ride home, which brought as back to Broadway at around 9pm. An enjoyably sane day in the city of Washington DC.

On Muslims and Ground Zero

Do I think the attack on the twin towers and the pentagon in 2001 was right? No.

Do I think those who think in the way those who attacked the United States on September 11th should be punished for any action they take in line with those thoughts? Yes.

Do I think that every muslim is a terrorist? No.

I grew up in a Christian home. I made child-like commitments when I was young, but it wasn’t until I was in my mid-late teens that I actually began to understand and feel what I’d said I believed for so many years before. I believe in Jesus, and I do everything I am able to strengthen my relationship with him. I identify myself as a Christian.

I also like T-shirts with messages, some are humorous, some are from events, some have more serious messages. I don’t always think about the t-shirt I’m about to put on in the morning, and today was one of those days. I took a quick trip to 7-11 and the girls at the cash register asked me what was on the back of my shirt. I turned around for them so they could read it, and then commented “Well, that’s right!”

See, today I am wearing a shirt that has a little cross on the front, and the message says “This T-shirt is illegal in 40 countries.” On the back it has Romans 1:10, and reads: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” My heart and my mind believe that this is the truth, that there is one way to heaven, to the father, and that is through a right relationship with Jesus Christ.

But not everyone believes that. Some believe that they must follow hinduism. Or buddhism. Some believe that they must follow the laws of the old testament, and disregard Jesus as the Messiah. And heaven forbid, some believe that Mohammed was right, and that Allah is the one true god.

Herein lies a problem. These are all religions with similarities and differences. And so we come back to the arguing point, and that is the constitutional right for every individual to be able to freely practice their religious beliefs for so long as it does not violate any other laws. The baptist church I attended for nearly 2 years would pray every Sunday morning, thanking God for the opportunity to freely practice Christianity, unlike in so many other countries in the world where Christians face ridicule (real ridicule, not just being pointed at and laughed) or even death for what they believe.

All over this country, Christians are free to practice Christianity. Hindu’s are free to practice Hinduism. Buddhists to practice Buddhism. Pagans to practice Paganism. Jews to practice Judaism. Why should Islam be restricted differently? Because a few extremist muslims took several thousand lives on one day? The problem in any society usually isn’t the vast majority – it’s the extremists. The extremists who bomb abortion clinics. The extremists who discuss or attempt assassinating the president. The extremists who seek to destroy a group of people based on their race, or hair or eye color. The ultra liberals who will kill in order to allow change, and the ultra conservatives who will kill in order to prevent it.

By refusing to permit law-abiding citizens their otherwise constitutional right to practice religion simply because of what that religion is, and because it is what other extremists claimed theirs to be, we open ourselves a whole can of worms. Do the Christians stand by the actions of the Crusaders, who killed thousands upon thousands in the name of Christianity? Do the Christians stand by the beliefs of the Westboro Baptist Church, who picket the funerals of fallen soldiers (because they believe the war is an act of God against the USA) as well as synagogues (because Jews don’t accept Jesus as the Messiah), catholic churches (because every single priest is a child rapist), the list goes on. Judging Islam based on the actions of the 9/11 hijackers, based on the actions of the London bombers, based on any other extremists acts, is not only hypocritical (for those of us who disagree with the actions of groups like WBC) but stupid, and sets us up to be exactly like the countries where I could be imprisoned or even die for wearing my t-shirt today.

And so, to the group of muslims who wish build a mosque close to the ground zero site: So long as the site would be otherwise permitted to have a Christian church built on it, and so long as you are as peaceful as the average Christian, I support you.

“What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.” — Robert F. Kennedy

Monster

I know I don’t read very often, but I just finished a book (in the space of about a week). 2 years ago I attended Parachute ’08 in New Zealand, where I bought a number of books that have left my bookshelf for the purpose of packing them in boxes, whereupon they leave again only to be replaced on the bookshelf.

Looking for something non-computery to do a if bored at camp a week ago I nabbed one off the shelf and thought I’d give it a read. Tonight I finished it, all 20 chapters plus Epilogue.

I must say, I quite enjoyed Frank Peretti’s “Monster.” While I haven’t searched to see what anyone else thought, I figured I would give my take. It is somewhat crime-scene/mystery oriented, getting small pieces of information at a time with enough twists to keep me reading but not so many as to get me so confused I give up.

Without giving too much away the story revolves around two couples, Reed and Beck Shelton, and Michael (Cap) and Sing Capella, who had planned a weekend together in the woods with a friend of theirs. Beck and Reed arrive on the first night, intending to meet their friend Randy at a cabin, Cap and Sing were to meet them the next day for their activities and the rest of the get-away. However, after arriving Beck and Reed find Randy dead and the cabin ruined, and while they sleep they are awoken by loud cries and rustling in the forest. They run away in fear for their lives, but Beck is kidnapped by a monster.

The remaining 19 chapters follow several subplots while searchers and hunters look for the “Bear” that has killed Beck, Cap’s search through his old Biology department for answers and several fatalities particularly near the end.

For those who like fiction involving mild mystery, evolution (particularly the creationist-vs debate) or investigation in general, I would suggest this may be a good book. I take no responsibility if you decide you hated it though, just because I liked it doesn’t guarantee anyone else will 😉

You know your needs are met if..

…all you can come up with for gift ideas are toys. I figure people would start asking me what I want for Christmas soon, and it seems a good idea to sum up for myself what I’d like to acquire in the next few months. That being the case, a few of these things are specifically for me to buy, and I lay absolutely no obligation on anyone to spend $5000 on me (I feel bad when people spend $20 on me). In fact, if you did, I’d be worried and would probably have to refuse your gift. Owing to lack of ideas, and some things I still don’t have (and/or want more of) since last year, I’ve copied some across from last years list.

  1. Remote control car. Full function! None of this “Straight forward, turn right in reverse” nonsense 😉 Fun to play with dogs and cats, I’m sure.
  2. Remote control boat. No idea where I’ll use it though..
  3. Model trains/accessories. For reference, I’m working with HO and N scales.
  4. Misc. tools. I’d like a cordless drill, but anything else that can be used for general handy-work would be useful. I have screwdrivers, and all kinds of drill/driver bits. Maybe a saw?
  5. Something from ThinkGeek (or a similar site).
  6. Something geeky.
  7. Xbox 360.
  8. Wii.
  9. Xbox imported from NZ/Australia.
  10. PAL in/NTSC out converter. I have a PAL DVD player to convert to NTSC output for US TV’s. Make sure it’s the right way round!
  11. Clothing – Pants: about a 32-34in waist, top half is L or XL. Extra points for geek-themed clothing.
  12. Something from the XKCD store.
  13. Something from http://www.cafepress.com/ial Also, consider purchasing from the Cafepress store for others also 😉
  14. Just money. I can put it towards other other things with other money received, or my savings.
  15. Gift cards. Gamestop and Walmart are ones that come to mind. Maybe Paypal? I dunno.
  16. Anything computer or guitar related if you think I’ll use it. Was going to provide an example of things I would and wouldn’t use, couldn’t think of any. Flash drives (larger than 2GB), guitar cables (longer than 10ft). Extra points if it can tie musical and computer together – I’d like to be able to record music using the computers.
  17. A cheap keyboard to play around with (recording etc, as above).
  18. Lego
  19. DVDs: NCIS, The Office, Fringe, House, etc.
  20. A UPS. I know, I already have one, but I need a second..
  21. Dog/Cat stuff.
  22. Books: Computer programming languages (Perl, C, C++) Terry Pratchett (Johnny and the Dead, Johnny and the Bomb), Face, and I am Not Esther.
  23. Book: Perl for Dummies, C++ for Dummies, C for Dummies, and any other relevant Perl/C/C++ books that could serve as a kickstart for learning the languages.
  24. Blank DV tapes.
  25. Music CDs. (Queen, Christian music)
  26. Guitar amp.
  27. Bass guitar.
  28. Acoustic guitar case/bag.

I’ll update more over the next few days. That’s probably the majority though. Hopefully this gives those of you who will be asking me what I want some ideas! Because I really don’t want to know what I’m getting until I get it.

Seriously?!

So, I was surfing around this morning, looking at free/cheap stuff (as I do..), and noticed two things that reminded me once again how stupid the human race as a whole is.

Now, I caught up with the whole Kanye thing yesterday, and to be honest I think it was rude and uncalled for. Unless of course, it was a publicity stunt, in which case it wasn’t a very good one. I heard rumors last night that he’d offed himself, which again is another stupid facet of the human race. More on that later. Maybe.

Yesterday I also read that Kanye had written all kinds of apologies to people, and this is where I get confused and frustrated (and to a degree, hypocritical). When someone does something wrong, and they apologize for it, and have been punished by the appropriate authorities, I believe that should be the end of it. This is where I have a problem with capital punishment too, because if anyone believes the United States is a Christian country (which I don’t believe it is or should be, by law at least), then by Christian nature we have an obligation to show forgiveness to those who have sinned against God and against us. That is, if I kill your daughter, and I’ve served my required prison sentence under law, and I’ve shown regret, apologized and asked forgiveness of both you and of God, then our religious obligation is to forgive and forget. Anyway, getting off-topic.

IF Kanye had messed up, realized, regretted, apologized, and we’d all said “OK, don’t do it again..”, all would be swell. But that’s not what’s happening. In my search for cool cheap stuff this morning I came across two “one-day-only” deals for T-shirts. Let me show images, because I doubt the links will work too long into the future..

kanye1kanye2These two shirts are the epitome of my dislike for todays societal culture. Sure, one of the side-effects of being famous is that everyone sees everything you do, and they all get in line to either crucify or congratulate you. And commending is fine, everyone needs some love, crucifying also has it’s place – noone likes the stuck-up people who are never wrong. But I mean, really guys. Are T-shirts professing your ‘hatred’ for someone you’ve probably never met necessary?

Just for reference:

From Dictionary:

v., hat·ed, hat·ing, hates. v.tr.

    1. To feel hostility or animosity toward.
    2. To detest.
  1. To feel dislike or distaste for: hates washing dishes.

v.intr.

To feel hatred.

n.

  1. Intense animosity or dislike; hatred.
  2. An object of detestation or hatred: My pet hate is tardiness.

[Middle English haten, from Old English hatian. N., Middle English, from Old English hete.]

And from Thesaurus:

verb

    To regard with extreme dislike and hostility: abhor, abominate, despise, detest, execrate, loathe. Seelove/hatred.

noun

  1. Extreme hostility and dislike: abhorrence, abomination, antipathy, aversion, detestation, hatred, horror, loathing, repellence, repellency, repugnance, repugnancy, repulsion, revulsion. See love/hatred.
  • An object of extreme dislike: abhorrence, abomination, anathema, aversion, bête noire, bugbear, detestation, execration. Informal horror. See love/hatred.
  • Now, many people might say “THAT’S HOW I FEEL!” and this last point is aimed at you (although I doubt you’ll get it..):

    “Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.” — C. S. Lewis

    Highland Retreat Staff Assistance Program

    Hello all,

    If you read regularly or know me well then you’re probably aware I don’t ask for things much, especially when I understand so many others are struggling right now, in other ways as well, but financially especially.

    I’m waiting for confirmation (final paperwork was sent in yesterday, expecting a decision next week probably), but I’m expecting to be working at Highland Retreat over the summer, a non-profit camp focused at children and young people. I’ll be making somewhere in the vicinity of $20 a day, for around 22 hours work (a day) – because apparently when I’m sleeping it counts as work (in the same room as campers, and they’re still my responsibility).

    They’ve suggested, and this is what this post is about, that I spread the word and try to gain further financial support beyond what they are able to provide themselves. Below is a copy of their suggested letter, and I’ll attach links to images of the original sample letter and the form provided on the back thereof.

    Highland Retreat is a non-profit Mennonite camp located near Bergton, Virginia. Summer staff members often give up the possibility of better-paying jobs in order to minister in service to the youth who attend summer camp at Highland. Full-time summer staff work at Highland for 9 weeks and receive from $70­ – $130 per week, plus meals and lodging, for their service. These committed young people give their summer to help share their faith in the natural setting of camp.

    In order to help make this ministry a financial possibility for those staff willing to serve, Highland has initiated the Staff Assistance Program. You are invited to help meet the financial needs of those serving at Highland through your support, thus allowing them to commit their gifts and energies in summer ministry. There are three ways you can contribute to this program.

    1. Make a contribution to Highland Retreat and designate it for the Staff Assistance fund without naming a specific beneficiary. Such contributions will be used at the desecration of the camp leadership in assisting individuals who need help. Such a contribution is fully tax deductible.

    2. Make a contribution to Highland Retreat and designate that it to be directed to a specific summer staff individual. Such contributions are not tax deductible.

    (When funds given according to options 1 & 2 above are dispersed, payroll taxes apply both to the individual and to Highland Retreat. . Consequently the individual actually receives slightly less than you give.)

    3. You can also make a gift directly to the summer staff individual. In this case the gift is not tax deductible but no taxes are withheld and the individual receives the full amount. Such a contribution should be sent to Highland Retreat Staff Assistance Fund but the check should be written to the designated staff person.

    We will hold the check until the term of service is complete then pass it on to the individual.

    Option three is the most efficient if you want to designate a specific beneficiary because it is a gift and is not reported on a person’s W-2. However if your contribution will allow the individual to receive matching funds from a Mennonite college or University you must use Option 2 because the contribution can only be matched by the college if it comes from Highland Retreat. The beneficiary of your gift should inform you if they qualify for matching funds.

    Contributions can be made any time up until the individual completes his/her term of service. You will receive a receipt for your contribution when it is made. Upon completion of the individual’s term the support will be forward, either to the individual or to the institution as requested by the individual. If the person does not complete their term of service as agreed upon, your contribution will be returned to you, or we will consult you about an alternative.

    Please prayerfully consider what you can do to help these young men and women share Christ with our youth.

    For reference, I am not eligible for a college matching grant (as far as I am aware).

    Here is the letter and form as promised! They’re PDF files so you may need Acrobat Reader to view them.

    The Letter and The Form.

    Your assistance is appreciated, thank you.

    Quiet Day

    We’re kinda hanging in the family room, Crash, Kelly and I. We’re watching Family Feud on TV, the Porter family are playing the final game. Oop, they just lost, getting 159 points (needed 200 to get $20,000).

    I’m also talking to a friend who has a DVD of photos of his son, from newborn through the first year that he is trying to recover. It isn’t going well.

    Kelly just moved to the other chair beside Crash, and he started trying to chew the blanket she’s wearing to keep warm. She’s not doing too well, has a sore throat. She really enjoys the look on his face when she pats him on the nose with a rope toy and hums a tune. We’re working especially to train him out of mouthing/biting people, and we’ll also be working in the next few days training him to not jump up on people when he’s excited (or at all, really).

    Just took him out to ‘potty’ and he peed, but hasn’t pooped for a while. Now he’s kinda ignoring lunch in favour of laying beside the chair and licking himself. So far he has acquired at least 6 names or variations on names, all of them in the first 3 days. Crash, Chase, Crush, Crash Taylor, Chuck, Trash.. as well as the obvious ones like Pup and Puppy.

    I’ve given myself a coding project for the afternoon, after I retrieve the power pack for the macbook. It’ll be a whois and status facility for UCCN, which will begin our web-integration with IRC. The first will be a web form that queries whether a nickname is online, and if so returns normal public information about them (their hidden host name, public channels, etc). The second will be a status image that returns ‘online’ or ‘offline’ depending on whether the user is online or not (duh..). Both will be dependent on the SQL database from Denora, and will probably also utilize the SQL database from Anope for Nickserv aliases/groups. It will detect if someone is online but not using their primary nickname.

    I also need to work on the web interface for Supportive, and will be developing an improved version of the java.php @ www.unitedchristianchat.net/java/java.php, both in look and in function.

    So, I shall stop blogging nothingness and go get my power pack!

    Maintenance

    Today was the go-live for the new Christian-IRC.com and UnitedChristianChat.net sites. Everything seemed to go fine, and the old UCCN site was re-themed as a support site. In the next few weeks I’ll be writing a bunch of new stuff in PHP/JavaScript to help out with webmasters and such.

    I also did a bunch of .htaccess redirect rules, and I was able to delete a bunch of direcories and clean up the public_html folders too!

    So, check out the new sites:

    And now ends my shameless plugging 😉