My feelings are changing about becoming a missionary. (Personal Entry)

(Foreword: The Facebook privacy settings are set so only the people under the "Church Friends" and "Former Missionaries" sub-list are able to see this entry at this time. If any outsider reads this somehow, let me know because the site then has a glitch!

However, on the Blogger blogs, it is posted to the public because not that many people read here anyway.)

I learned from Doug Harrison that I can get loans deferred when going on a mission (upon showing documents of proof, of course) so there appears to be hope after all.

However, I've started feeling different about becoming a missionary; their ascetic lifestyle is something I may not be compatible with, so I doubt I'd tolerate going two years giving up so much.

What I could do however, is choose where I want to serve and tag along with missionaries there as the "third missionary," doing many of the things they do, but without the rigid, restrictive lifestyle. Possibly I'd be happier serving God this way, and/or that may be how he wants me to serve.

Whereas church officials (or ostensibly the Lord himself) would choose where they want to send me (which could include unexciting places like Oklahoma, or saturated places like Utah,) I'd get to choose where I want to live, work, and be the "Third Missionary."

That place is Korea, where I'd expect to have the time of my life and do mission work whenever I please, helping missionaries and accompanying them to assist in their duties. At least I won't get bored stiff when I work in the country I hope to live in for the long term.

I'll keep praying and somehow figure out where the Lord wants me to go in all this. Hopefully Korea will still be in his plans for me. There probably isn't much for me here anymore.

The Searchword Story (Personal Pecuniary Entry)

Most profitable keywords made into a story.

Before their vacation, the Shimoya family had to ensure their home insurance was up-to-date. Many things could go wrong while the house lays dormant. They also brought travelers' checks and travel insurance just to be safer.

After Mr. Shimoya found the best rates for hotels on hotels.com, he had several memory cards and USB thumb drives packed along with the rest of the luggage because he knew there would be lots of scenery to film, during the month they were away from home.

Luckily, they will not cram themselves into a car, but a Volvo XC90 SUV - the hallmark of a suburban Yuppie family. Tanaka and the siblings waved goodbye at the schools as they passed them, acting as if they expected the school buildings to wave back. Dad asked Mom to check both of their wallets to make sure they had all of their credit cards, as what they planned to spend during the vacation would not come cheap. Mom also checked the digital camera to make sure it was empty and ready to store an abundance of pictures and video.

They checked into a good hotel at Niagara Falls, and talked about possibly touring the film schools on the West Coast later on in the trip. Dad made sure his laptop's software for the digital camera's data transfers were new and up-to-date.

Then Dad checked online to read literature about how auto insurance may act different, and the different necessary procedures, if something were to happen to their SUV out of state and they would need a rental vehicle. Fortunately for his policy, his rental vehicle would be free for the duration of their travel, while his auto gets fixed somewhere.

That night, after touring the falls, The parents treated the kids to an exciting video, while they both attended a mortgage seminar at a conference center in town.

Afterwards, Mom researched flights to Japan on various websites, like Kayak.com, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, and many others, as that was where they were going after touring the West Coast. (They would leave the SUV with a friend for the time they're gone.) In the meantime, Dad was editing videos and pictures taken earlier that day.

Thankful that the mortgage seminar taught them of a more proper way to refinance loans, they went to the website for the creditor they owe loans to and made the necessary adjustments.

Having been meaning to get a new computer for next year, Mr. and Mrs. Shimoya thought they could buy an elegant but low-priced computer from the UK, but it turns out computers from the UK look much like ours; there are none that look more "elegant" except some rather high-end ones.

Later on in the trip, Tanaka was told that towards the end of the trip, and due to his precociousness, he would get to enjoy an extended stay for one year in Japan with his aunt and uncle. This would be no problem, as Tanaka got ample training by his Dad to learn Japanese and many aspects of culture and norms that a child growing up in Japan is supposed to know.

Going back to the financial matters, the fact that they will soon have three cars, the third being a soon-to-be-bought extended-cab pickup truck, will put them in some more debt. However, they know how to manage it just fine; they say "that paying off this truck will be simple like paying off the furniture."

You will find the list of keywords used in this story on the bottom of the page at http://tinyurl.com/cu7l88.

"Soulstonehead" - A Diablo parody of "Yakety Yak" (Personal Gaming Entry)

Reminder: To anyone visiting from Diablo.Wikia.com, please click here to leave comments!

"Soulstonehead" - to the tune of The Coasters' "Yakety Yak."
Listen to the original tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cHB3Rbz1OI
Reference video of soulstone in head: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksYpzeqxFdo
Reference video of being the new Dark Wanderer as a result: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvVYiSMO0CI

UPDATE: I have just recorded this parody on Midomi! Listen to it here!

This is a brief ballad of the adventures in Diablo, a PC game made by Blizzard Entertainment.

Diablo's Parody

- Went down to Tristram; slashed and bashed!
- He killed all demons; made big cash!
- Then saw and killed Archbishop Laz!
- Slew Diablo, freed Albrect, he has!
- Stuck it up there! Soulstonehead!

- Drank a lot of potions for health!
- He leveled up to learn some spells!
- He fought the monsters well until
- He saw Diablo and cast still!
- Stuck it up there! Soulstonehead!

- Should've been warned about the stone!
- Red soulstone should've smashed at home!
- The Hellforge really where it's at
- But that stone's now his brain's welcome mat!
- Stuck it up there! Soulstonehead!

- Now he goes off dark wanderin',
- Salvation's what he's ponderin',
- But Diablo has overtook
- His body. Now his soul is cooked!
- Stuck it up there! Soulstonehead!

- Stuck it up there! Stuck it up there!
- Stuck it up there! Stuck it up there!...

Original Lyrics

Take out the papers and the trash
Or you don't get no spendin' cash
If you don't scrub that kitchen floor
You ain't gonna rock and roll no more
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

Just finish cleanin' up your room
Let's see that dust fly with that broom
Get all that garbage out of sight
Or you don't go out Friday night
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

You just put on your coat and hat
And walk yourself to the laundromat
And when you finish doin' that
Bring in the dog and put out the cat
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

Don't you give me no dirty looks
Your father's hip; he knows what cooks
Just tell your hoodlum friend outside
You ain't got time to take a ride
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

Yakety yak, yakety yak
Yakety yak, yakety yak
Yakety yak, yakety yak
Yakety yak, yakety yak

The subject over failing 98% of the time could be the basis for a sermon or testimony. Here's why: (Personal Entry)

I once saw the following status update on Facebook:

Joel is "why do i try when you fail 98% of the time." 9:08pm

Then someone replied:

Tara S. at 9:14pm January 23 via Facebook Mobile
"Dont give up!!! =)"

I made another reply:

Christian at 10:17pm January 23
"Edison made about 10,000 attempts before making a viable light bulb. His fail rate was therefore over 99.99%. If you tried inventing something with a 98% fail rate in your efforts, you'd succeed after just 50 tries."

Then someone replied again:

Tara S. at 10:19pm January 23 via Facebook Mobile
"Hahahaha i couldnt have said it better myself....good job =)"

So the lesson of this session is: Don't get discouraged by high fail rates. If Thomas Edison was, we'd very likely remain stuck in the 3rd World ourselves.

I have FOUND Sister Enrico, and will hereby reveal her original first name! Here's the story: (Personal Entry)

I may as well paste the private message to her that she'll read in nine months, when she's through with her mission. It'll explain how I found her.

I only recall borrowing her Bible once during our sessions, where I saw her full, original name etched on the cover. Unfortunately, I eventually forgot what hers was, but did remember that it was a little short. Her first name couldn't have had more than four or five letters.

By the way, she is leaving tomorrow to be transferred to the Liberty, MO Visitor's Center where she'll be some kind of museum curator. Please visit her sometime!

(Note that the privacy settings only allow for Church Friends and Former Missionaries to read this note. I do not see how this should pertain to any other friend group.)

For the record, this is her public search page. See the woman on our right? Oh, how well she resembles our sister!: http://www.facebook.com/people/Lisa-Enrico/29004607

Now, the message:

TITLE: "So Dear Sister Enrico, here is how I FINALLY found you. :)"

BODY:
"I hadn't thought of this search tactic until tonight. The trick was not to use Facebook's search. (Your last name happening to be guys' first names really tripped me up for a time, but I'm sure you'll remember that when you return from your mission this December.)

On Google, I searched with this string:

site:facebook.com enrico "salt lake"

Then I narrowed you down in no more than five minutes. Sure, I had to search through several gals surnamed Enrico but when I went to examine your listing, your facial construction, hair and other things about you, matched the description of the sister who served our branch. (Even though the image wasn't large enough, the woman on your right looked a lot like you.)

It was fun having you serve our Manhattan, KS University Branch from December to March. You remember when I said I saw your Bible once, and your name etched on it, but my memory didn't hold for long? What I DID remember was that your name was pretty short; couldn't have been more than 4-5 letters. I thought it was Ella or Elly, but one of my guesses ended in an "A" and your name is just as short, so that's also how I knew you were our sister missionary! =D

Now when I give my testimony of having stuck with the church after choosing the path on my "Crossroads," I can just post its video onto my profile (as long as I didn't forget to make a video) so you can watch and enjoy it.

I hope to correspond with you sometime when you return! In the meantime, have a most fulfilling time in the remainder of your mission!

Your Brother in Christ,

-Christian"

Planned Jokemaster Joke for Toastmasters meeting on 3-3-2009 (Personal Entry)

Fellow Toastmasters, before I see you at TM at 6 PM today, I need to know whether this joke will fly. I saw on our schedule sheet that I was assigned as the Joke Master today, and I need to find a good enough joke.

I'll ask some friends at my Institute or elsewhere for some backup jokes, just in case.

Friend 1 says, "You know Gregory over there? His hand-eye coordination is shot to heck somehow. He can't catch a baseball, a football, or a basketball."

Friend 2 retorts, "Yeah, he couldn't even catch a cold! I heard that when he tried to apply for the Air Force, he got a vision test and they told him he lacked depth perception, so Talia was picked instead of Greg."

Then says Friend 1, "Well, what makes Talia stand out better?"

(edited line moved)

Friend 2 says, "Well Talia is rather organized, and has great memory. She can't lose her thoughts, we never knew her to lose her keys, or anything for that matter. Talia also doesn't seem to lose debates, nor other contests I've seen her compete in.

Then Friend 1 replies, "Yeah. She can't seem to lose anything! She couldn't even lose weight if she tried!"

(edited) Turns out though, Talia had approached both friends from behind, a minute earlier, and only alerted them to her presence by clearing her throat just now.

At 5 in the morning, I thought this could be a possible joke, but I thought I'd run it by you all first before I gave it at Toastmasters.

The "Yeah, he couldn't even catch a cold!" is a punchline-builder, a preview, if you will, for the actual punchline, which is intended to be "She couldn't even lose weight if she tried!"

I've never considered myself strong on jokes, as its delivery (not what you say, but how you say it) matters more than the joke itself, and I'm mostly only funny unintentionally. I learned why saying the same joke, word-for-word, that I listened to someone else say in middle school, didn't procure the same good results that the original joke-teller made. That's because it was "all in the delivery."

I never asked to be a Joke Master for any week Toastmasters meets, but someone appointed me one for this week anyway so I must try to hone whatever I have for my joking abilities and run it by some people before committing it to the club.

Solar panel down to $1/watt.

I can finally FEED the grid now... whenever I own a home... someday. 

http://digg.com/environment/Solar_Panel_Drops_to_1 _per_Watt

I think by the time I own my own home, it'll drop to a quarter/watt, even despite inflation.

Just imagine filling my roofs with solar panels, and putting up poles on my yard's fences and topping them with these as well. While atop fenceposts, they could also double as some sort of awnings.

Then I could make hundreds, or even thousands every month, just by selling back to the grid!

(I'll be sure to save electricity consumption with LED lights, and hopefully more-efficient appliances. Picture-frame-thin TV sets won't consume as much power as the plasma TVs of today do, right?)


(Original post: http://www.kurzweilai.net/mindx/frame.html?main=/mindx/show_thread.php?rootID%3D141362)