The Good Life... a weblog about life, technology, and the Opera web browser

I was reading The Jargon File (note: it's over half a megabyte to download, beware) this afternoon and I came across the entry about Verb Doubling (just a small page), which references a newsgroups called alt.adjective.noun.verb.verb.verb (aanvvv).

All on-topic posts to aanvvv follow the form of the newsgroup name, e.g. alt.entertaining.Disneyland.go.visit.enjoy! The group comes complete with a FAQ written following the group's posting conventions.

Still confused? Here's an example:

alt.habitual.procrastination.tempts.lures.entices
alt.my.sin.is.is.is
alt.endless.sorrow.brings.inflicts.wreaks
alt.honest.admission.announce.acknowledge.state:
alt.continuing.procrastination.must-restrain.stop.cease
alt.evil.practice.will-restrain.stop.cease -- tomorrow!

It's the simple things like this that make the Internet so much fun.

In January, I noticed/was informed that I said like and umm a lot. After several months of conscious effort, I've nearly removed those words from my everyday speech.

Now, repetitive patterns in my writing have come to my attention. I have a tendency to write I think and just far too often. If I'm writing something, obviously it's my opinion, thus the I think is redundant, not to mention, unnecessary. Like umm, just is a filler word and almost entirely unneeded.

By removing these two phrases, my writing is intrinsically more authoritative. I've removed needless clutter and made my meaning more clear. At times, there may be an undesired side-effect of sounding pushy or arrogant. Hopefully that's only my imagination.

I hope you enjoy my efforts to make my writing more clear and authoritative.

Apparently there was a problem with the DNS for my site yesterday and today. Sorry about that. I hope everything is working all right now.

I finally have a job for the summer: I'll be working at Lynchburg College as a Resident Assistant for a summer program called Governor's School. God really blessed me with this opportunity and showed me His grace as my summer plans were completely in His hands.

I've been reading Joshua Harris' Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello to Courtship recently. I'm nowhere near ready for courtship or marriage, but this book is acting as a guide to set my mind straight regarding many of the fallacies built up over the years. If you liked I Kissed Dating Goodbye, you'll probably enjoy this one as well.

After courting and marrying, Harris uses his experiences and stories from friends to introduce readers to the concept of courting before pursuing marriage. Each chapter tells the story of a couple and their trials/successes while giving valuable information for a variety of subjects and maintaining the focus on God. Excellent work for the author's second book.

Helen went to see The Fellowship of the Ring again and clued me into a preview of The Two Towers now playing with the movie. Or, you can download it (apparently bootlegged).

In other LotR news, what happens when Bilbo Bagins meets John Cleese? Monty Python: The Fellowship of the Ring:

• Frodo: Old woman!
• Lotho: Man!
• Frodo: Man, sorry. Have you seen Bilbo Baggins anywhere about?
• Lotho: I'm thirty one.
• Frodo: What?
• Lotho: I'm thirty one in shire-reckoning -- I'm not old!

And there's plenty more where that came from.

Yesterday, my intrepid puppy Mandy caught a finch/sparrow in our backyard. Luckily, I saw her playing with the bird before she could do much damage. The bird was obviously hurt, so I called my step-mom, who suggested a wildlife rescue center, Noah's Ark Wildlife Center, Inc. based out of Annapolis, MD. Very cool place, all volunteer, and non-profit. I'll have a picture of the bird up as soon as I develop my film.

I played frisbee with my dad today. It's been years since we've engaged in typical father-son activities, but I've been wanting to try again. God is trying to repair this broken relationship. He's been trying to give me the courage to say something or do something far too long. Finally, His patience paid off.

There isn't much to say about the experience. It was fun. I enjoyed it. Maybe we'll do it again.

This might seem like a simple, small step in my life. You're right, it is. And it's simple, small steps like this that will shape the rest of my life and make me the man I'll eventually become. Baby steps.

While Leslie is fighting to get Hoopla.com back, she's taken up residence at Harpold.com. Expect nothing but excellent creative writing and graphic design from Leslie. Enjoy.

For the next 6 days, I'll be in Goshen, VA at a Young Life camp called Rockbridge for an InterVarsity training camp. Like the other InterVarsity camps I've attended, I'm looking forward to this one and I'm sure I'll have a blast.

Of course, my parents are asking that I leave a number where they can contact me. Instead of going into a rant about being twenty-one and perfectly capable of taking care of myself, I told them that they really shouldn't try to call me, the number is only for emergencies. I have this premonition that I'll get a call this week, though hopefully not due to an emergency. My mother also asked for the number. It's as if they all know something I don't. Odd.

See you next week.

The Altman Foundation. My lineage leads back to Benjamin Altman somehow. Neat.