Fav5

It's been a long week painting the kitchen, and I'm still not done. But I did find some time to put together my pick of the week's top 5 items of interest:

1. Despite what most Americans think about the Chinese government's censorship of the Web, 2007 survey found that over 80% of respondents said they thought the Internet should be controlled or managed, and almost 85% thought the government should be the one to do it.
   


2. Watch out: Facebook's user interface is about to make a radical change. Instead of having everything listed on a single page, items have been rearranged under their own tabs. The redesign is going to force many third party Facebook applications to modify how they work. Let the whining begin!


3. Would you still be interested in watching a football game if you knew all the plays were being called by a computer? Let's hope it never comes to this.


4. What happens when you create a salacious news article that didn't really happen, just to get people to link to your website? You either get praised or pounced.


5. Have you received your economic stimulus package yet? I hope you'll look past the shiny new whatever and give to someone who is really in need.

Sick as a dog

It really stinks when you take the precaution of having a flu shot and still get the flu. I've been sick since Fri, and I'm still not getting any better. Looks like I'm not alone. I've had to cancel all my classes this week, and that is really going to set us back.

The only positive thing about this weekend was getting to see the Giants defeat the overly confident Patriots... I remember thinking earlier in the season that going for it on forth and long when you could kick a field goal was going to eventually bite them back. Sure enough. Well, that Super Bowl was one of the best I've seen, and it will always be remembered as a David-slaying-the-giant fight.

Becky's birthday is Thursday, so I pray I'm well enough by then. Only problem is I may still be contagious at that point.

Disappointed with Dallas

Two QBs, both behind by 4 points, both given 2 drives to score the winning TD in the final minutes.

Two big disappointments.

Instead of Colts/Pats and Cowboys/Packers, we've got what will be two likely blow-outs in the AFC and NFC championship games. As a Cowboys fan and Manning fan, I'm pretty down about it. As a season ticket holder, my dad would have had tickets to the Cowboys vs. Packers game, so you can imagine he's a little down too.

The only upside is that Tank, the only Harding alumn to play in the NFL, is going to have the opportunity to play against Farve at Lambeau field... that's got to an incredible experience.

We'll get 'em next year, Romo...

Update on 1/21/08:

I've got to hand it to Eli and the Giants... two huge upsets on the road. Maybe they can pull out one more.

I received this email today:

Harding's own Torrance "Tank" Daniels will play in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 as a member of the New York Giants. Tank (#52) played yesterday in the Giants' 23-20 overtime victory in sub-zero temperatures at Green Bay and had a tackle on a kickoff return. He will be the only player from Arkansas playing in the Super Bowl. For more on Tank's season, see the story at www.hardingsports.com.

Update on 1/25/08:

Tank Daniels was interviewed by KTHV. You can see the interview on YouTube.

Advice for Romo

From the Cowboys vs. Eagles recap on Yahoo football:

Romo finished 13-of-36 for 214 yards, with a career-low rating of 22.2. It came in front of his parents and his newest A-list girlfriend -- Jessica Simpson, who tugged the front of her pink No. 9 jersey, then mouthed the word "Romo!" when cameras spotted her.

Romo-- have you seen The Natural with Robert Redford? If you haven't, rent it and watch it before it is too late.

Jessica is Memo Paris.

You've been warned.

Live from Dallas

I'm in Dallas where my dad and I met up to see the Cowboys take on the Redskins. This is the first Cowboys game I've seen in person in a few years (the last one was the Broncos vs. Cowboys game on Thanksgiving Day), and it proved to be quite an exciting one. Romo threw 4 TD passes, all to TO. But Washington's Campbell was looking pretty good. Somehow the Dallas defense held on to the 5 point lead, and the Cowboys are going into the Thanksgiving holiday with a 9-1 record. Whoo-hoo!

Harding football on ESPN

In case you missed it, Harding was recently featured on ESPN's top 10 plays of the day. The footage, which ranked number 2 3, shows a Harding receiver catching a TD pass which deflected off of a defender and a fellow receiver. Good stuff.

Go Broncos!

Ethan and I decided last weekend to put on our Broncos gear and cheer them on against the Raiders. Apparently it did a world of good since the Raiders missed their chance at winning the game with a field goal kick in OT; the Broncos came back and kicked one for win.



Next weekend my parents will be visiting, so Ethan will be sporting his Cowboys outfit (his grandpa is a huge fan, and they're my second-favorite team).

p.s. Ethan won his first fantasy football game this weekend, beating his Uncle John 145-141. It helped having Chad Johnson who caught 2 TD passes and had 209 yards receiving.

Dungy & company: Super Bowl champions

Last night the Indianapolis Colts played an impressive game, knocking off the Chicago Bears 29-17. Becky and I had a great time watching the game (and celebrating her birthday) with a large group of friends over at the Reaves’ home (now that I’ve seen a Super Bowl in high-def, I don’t think I can ever watch it in low-def again ). I was pulling hard for the Colts since I wanted Manning to get his first Super Bowl ring, and because of the tragedy that the Dungy family had been through the previous year.

This was a momentous Super Bowl because it was the first time either team (in this case both teams) had a black head coach. But that distinction wasn’t what Dungy thought was most important. Here’s what he said during the trophy ceremony:

I'm proud to be the first African-American coach to win this, but again, more than anything, Lovie Smith and I are not only African-American but also Christian coaches, showing you can do it the Lord's way. We're more proud of that.

Dungy and Lovie are both roaring lambs, guys that exemplify Christ in a demanding, stressful job. There's a website that talks about their story and their search for something "beyond the ultimate." Now if only we could get one of them to take the head coaching job in Dallas...

Best Super Bowl commercial? My votes go to Kevin Federline ("Federline! What? Fries!") and the slap commercial.

Countdown to baby

I’ve made a new addition to the right side of my blog- a countdown until Ethan's expected delivery date on April 4. Maybe this should be labeled Countdown until life as we know it changes dramatically. I can’t wait until he’s here. Becky can’t wait until she can breathe again and bend down and touch her toes. At the same time, I’m a bit spooked because I have experiments to perform, papers to write, and a dissertation to compose. Although I thought I’d have it all done by the summer, it’s not looking that way anymore. But hey, having my boy here will be a great blessing.

By the way, what an amazing Colts/Pats game on Sunday! If I can’t have my boys in the Super Bowl, at least I can cheer for Manning. That guy's pretty good... if you like a 6-5, 230-pound quarterback with laser-rocket arm.

Goodbye to 2006

We just returned home from visiting my parents in St. Louis. Sara was able to fly up too, but John had to stay in Dallas and work the 26th. We had a really good visit... plenty of R&R and quality time with the fam. It was fun having us all together and watching the Broncos win and the Cowboys… well… we’ll try to forget about that game. I worked just a little- fixed and started several scripts which needed to run over the break, but a power-outage on the 26th undid all my work.

Although the Bean is not yet born, he got a majority of the gifts, including a really cute Broncos outfit with matching booties and bib. Sara also got him an “I love Daddy” jumper and a hand-made outfit from Bolivia. Can’t wait for him to be here!

In our family fantasy football league, I whooped up on my dad and sister to become the first family league champion. In the Bayside League, I was 6 out of 14. Not as good as my second place finish last year, but it was fun none the less. This is probably the last time I’ll play in the Bayside League since we won’t be living here next fall. Hope someone will pick it up after I leave.

On a sadder note, I found out that Marilyn Fowler passed away on Christmas Eve. I used to go to church with Al and Marilyn in Searcy. She had been battling leukemia and had completed her third round of chemotherapy and was so close to beating it. I’m glad she’s out of pain now, but it’s got to be hard on Al and the family.

Only 3 days left of 2006. This has been a really good year. A few highlights:

• Apr 7: Passed my Ph.D. candidacy exam
  
• May: Finished taking the last course of grad school
  
• July 19: Becky and I celebrated our third anniversary
  
• July 28: Found out Becky was pregnant!
  
• Becky won 2 awards at work (Aug and May)
  
• Oct 8-14: Our first cruise- to the Bahamas
  
• Nov 17: Found out we’re having a boy!
  
• Nov-Dec: Taught a class on Christian Apologetics (toughest class I’ve ever taught)
  
• Today: Posted my 100th blog post

A few goals for 2007:

• Name our newborn son
• Change my first diaper
  
• Move back to Arkansas
  
• Begin teaching at Harding University
  
• Graduate with my Ph.D.

Some books I want to read in 2007:

• Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn
• The Way of the Wild Heart by John Eldredge
• The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
• Sacred Parenting by Gary L. Thomas
• Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson

May God richly bless us all in 2007.

Torrance Daniels in Philly

Torrance Daniels (“Tank”) is the first player from Harding University to possibly play in the NFL. Right now he’s in training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles. Although I’m no Eagles fan (go Cowboys!), I’ll be pulling for him.

Update on 9/8/06:

It looks like Tank will be on the Eagle's practice squad. Not bad.

Update on 11/21/06:

Tank is now a starter, thanks to the season-ending injury to McNabb.

Update on 11/30/06:

Tank started last Sunday evening against the Colts and made the first tackle of the night on the opening kick-off. There's an article about it on the Harding website.