Author Archives: Derek

An Old Leather Case

Posted by on January 21, 2013 No comments
Truly a major award

Truly, a major award

Saturday night, I received what I consider to be the greatest honor I have been awarded in the course of my 51 years on this Earth.  A group of 35 men with whom I share a love of four-part a cappella music selected me as the 2012 Coles County Chorus Barbershopper of the Year.

I’ve always thought the term “barbershopper” was kind of dorky, to be honest.  It has nothing to do with styling hair.  Seriously, there has to be a better term for somebody who has the guts to sing in public with three other guys, with no instruments or other vocalists on your part to cover for missed notes or lack of breath support.

But now, I couldn’t care less.  Read more »

Goodbye, Lovie?

Posted by on December 30, 2012 No comments

Well, the Vikings take the final NFC playoff spot ahead of the Bears by beating the Packers 37-34 on a last-second field goal.  Disappointing, after the Bears’ 7-1 start this season, but maybe it’s better to head to the offseason now instead of after what could have been a humiliating first-round exit in San Francisco next weekend.  Sure, anything can happen on the field, but even during the Bears’ victories over mediocre Detroit and Arizona teams, they didn’t inspire much hope that they’d be competitive against the 49ers or Falcons.

I tend to think more of Bears head coach Lovie Smith than the sports pundit community in Chicago, but after nine years at the helm — and missing the playoffs the last two seasons after starting 7-3 last year and 7-1 this season — Lovie will probably find himself working elsewhere next year.

Oh, the weather outside…

Posted by on December 25, 2012 No comments

400x266_12252225_tonightsnowWell, the National Weather Service backed off its Winter Storm Watch last night and downgraded the alert to a Winter Weather Advisory.  Around lunchtime today, they backtracked and issued a Blizzard Warning for East Central Illinois.  Haven’t seen one of those in a long, long time.  We’re on the northern edge of the 3″-6″ snow band, according to the AccuWeather graphic at right.

We’ll be OK.  Thanks to Sharon’s magnificent Christmas meal, we’ve got leftovers to last through next week!  Thanks to my employer, I don’t need to leave the house for work until next Wednesday.

So the next few days will be a pleasant respite from the normal work routine, a time to rest, recharge, reorganize, and look forward to a happy 2013.  I hope you have the opportunity for the same.

China calls for American gun control

Posted by on December 21, 2012 No comments

They should tend to their own house before claiming the moral high ground. Take away guns, as the Chinese government has done with its people, and evil men use whatever weapon is at hand.

A series of attacks at schools in China beginning in March 2010 have left 21 dead and about 90 injured.  Weapons used in the attacks included knives, a hammer, a cleaver, an axe, and one of those dreaded box-cutters made famous on 9/11.  The most recent attack, in which 22 primary school students were injured, occurred on the same day as the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut.  Teachers at the school defended themselves and their students — with brooms.  (And thank God they did, instead of waiting for police, or this demonic individual might have stabbed more kids.)

My point:  It’s a fantasy to believe that disarming the public will put an end to evil acts by evil people.  And disarming the American public isn’t likely any time soon — there are too many in circulation already (some of them courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives), and too many in the hands of people who shouldn’t have them for law-abiding citizens to give them up.

Transhumanism and Human Exceptionalism

Posted by on December 17, 2012 No comments

Sharon and I were honored to participate with Wesley J. Smith of the Discovery Institute and National Review Online in the Q & A session after this screening tonight via Google Hangout. People of faith can see where the transhuman techno-crusade leads — it’s a twisted theology that completely buys into the oldest lie in the Book (“ye shall be as gods”).

But as Wesley pointed out, if we frame the debate in theological terms, we lose. Most people will tune out any argument based on religion because they won’t be able to see past those differences. This is too important an issue to let it derail over the premise.

The bottom line is this: transhumanism is eugenics with a sci-fi veneer. Think Hitler with gene-splicing capability and you get the idea.