Archive for August, 2007
Thursday, August 30th, 2007
1 Million Dollars
Growing up, I was taught about the value of saving money.
In particular, I came to realize that if I could manage to earn and save one million dollars, I could then invest that money in U.S Treasury bonds or another very safe security, receive maybe 6% interest each year, which would amount to $60,000 annual [...]
5 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Monday, August 27th, 2007
Tabasco
If I had a mustache, it would be burning right now because I just crushed up my tabasco chile peppers and started making my own homemade tabasco sauce!
My mustache is burning because I touched that area after mashing up the peppers; I washed my hands first, but it was no use, much hot pepper juices [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Monday, August 27th, 2007
Egg Report #1
We affectionately refer to our chicken operation as “The Coop at Turtleback Lane” or alternatively, from my friend Doug at work, “Pointe One-Seven Farms” (because our house sits on a 0.17 acre lot).
The total cost of everything associated with the chicken setup (coop building materials, including two staple guns: a replacement for my friend Nathan’s [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
God’s Assets
I watched The Bourne Ultimatum with my wife and friends recently, and–wouldn’t you know–it got me thinking about God and the radical freedom and responsibility He has given us.
If you haven’t seen the movies, I’ll catch you up on the relevant parts for this post: Secret CIA agency (Treadstone) brainwashed Jason Bourne to be a [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Love and War by Devman
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
New Friends and New Blogs
Last night Katie and I met the Lord family.
It’s really cool because they found us through our blog and discovered that we lived in the same general area and had many similar interests! We set up a time to get together, and yesterday we got to meet them.
They told us about a blog from [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Love and War by Devman
Saturday, August 25th, 2007
Caveat Emptor
“Let the buyer beware.”
I just read an article on the New York Times’ site about Countrywide Financial and its current problems due to the sub-prime mortgage crash.
Interestingly, the author of the article blames Countrywide for what it implies are its greedy practices that–gasp!–didn’t have the best interests of its loan-purchasing customers at heart. The customers [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Technical by Devman
Saturday, August 25th, 2007
Muchos Huevos
Our egg-laying champion, Eunice, laid 7 eggs this past week, not missing a day!
Also, a second hen began laying about three days ago. We thought it was Gertrude (the most timid) but today we discovered it was Lobelia.
So now, thanks be to God, we are starting to get some significant eggs coming our way. :) [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
My Brilliant Husband
I’ve known for some time that Devin’s the most brilliant man in the world. And, it looks like his co-workers are getting the message, too. Congratulations, my love! Check out the high praises listed below from Devin’s manager:
“Devin started his career at NI in 2001 in the MAX group, where he worked [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Love and War, Technical by Katie
Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007
Promotional Gift
Today I was promoted to Senior Software Engineer!
What can I say, but God is good? At my company, you start out on the “technical track” as Software Engineer, then next comes Staff Software Engineer, and then Senior. There are other positions after Senior, but it will be many years before I [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Technical by Devman
Tuesday, August 21st, 2007
Anne Rice on the Democratic Party And Abortion
This post is a response to an article written by my sister in Christ, Anne Rice, which is posted on her website.
Ms. Rice has recently returned to her Catholic faith and even written a book from the child Jesus’ perspective. Further, she has clearly committed to growing in her faith and writing edifying literature [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Love and War by Devman
Sunday, August 19th, 2007
“Bella” Is Beautiful
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Katie and I saw the movie, Bella, during the YFE, and we can’t recommend it enough.
A waitress gets pregnant by a man who doesn’t care for her; the cook in the restaurant where she works spends a day with her as she struggles with what she has planned [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Love and War by Devman
Sunday, August 19th, 2007
Molly Andrews!
J.R. and Jenny Andrews have a new arrival, Molly Josephine!
No Comments » - Posted in Love and War by Devman
Sunday, August 19th, 2007
Farewell to the Lemmons
…until we meet again.
Our friends, Alan and Emily Lemmon, have both earned their Ph.Ds in evolutionary biology and are headed West to the University of California at Davis (home of the soon-to-be revamped honeybee lab). They know all about frogs, in case you ever find yourself needing information about Kermit (or his homeys).
We were [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Love and War by Devman
Saturday, August 18th, 2007
Chicken Egg Journal
I have been keeping track of our chickens’ egg-laying prowess since Eunice started laying eggs this week.
She laid 5 eggs out of 7 days–not too shabby! Lobelia and Gertrude have not yet started laying, so it will be interesting to figure out which chicken laid which egg when they begin.
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Friday, August 17th, 2007
Ooh La La
Who says modesty means looking frumpy? I’d say there’s something a little risque, a little alluring about a woman who keeps her mystery.
Don’t believe me? Check out these cute fashions on Revamp Vintage’s website. They’re a little pricey but totally so feminine and…dare I say…hot mama. Especially check out the swimwear. [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Theology of the Body by Katie
Friday, August 17th, 2007
The Bucolic Life
Surely we’re going to outgrow our .17 acres soon. We have a buzzing beehive, vegetable garden, TWO compost piles (one’s ageing and one’s the “loading dock” for incoming kitchen scraps), vineyard, and three fat hens, who are currently roving our backyard in search of bugs. We call them our “chicken TV” because they provide us [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Grapevines and Nature by Katie
Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
True Devotion!
I read this meditation today on the Assumption:
Mary’s declaration, “From now on will all ages call me blessed,†is reiterated on today’s feast day in a special way. On November 1, 1950, Pius XII made the solemn definition: “By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Love and War, Saints and Angels by Devman
Monday, August 13th, 2007
Intellectual Diversity at Notre Dame
Katie and I support Notre Dame University’s Center for Ethics & Culture and received their latest newsletter today.
The director of the center, David Solomon, is a Baptist, and had these very insightful remarks looking back on his 40 years at Notre Dame:
At Notre Dame, there is a similar mixture of change and continuity….The faculty is [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Sunday, August 12th, 2007
First Egg!
This afternoon we found the first egg laid by one of our chickens!
We think it was Eunice, the lightest colored one, who laid it because several times throughout the day she went back into the henhouse while the others were scratching on the coop floor.
I was showing my neighbor the henhouse, and that’s when I [...]
6 Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Saturday, August 11th, 2007
Linda the Beekeeper!
While in Atlanta, we met a fellow beekeeper named Linda who graciously opened her home to me and Katie and made lunch for us which included some of her bees’ excellent honey.
We had a great time talking together about bees and many other things; I was amazed at how our common interest in bees could [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Saturday, August 11th, 2007
Speaking in Charity Is an Apostolate
Father Alvaro Corcuera sent a letter to all members of Regnum Christi and all other people desiring to grow in the virtue of always speaking in charity about others. How I fail at this daily and how much I want to improve!
Just as is the case with the other virtues, charity in speech is [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Catholic Life, Love and War by Devman
Friday, August 10th, 2007
The System Is Down
Our computer is not working right now due (I think) to a battery that went kaput. I have ordered a new one to fix it, but it will be a few days before it arrives.
Quick chicken update:Â For the first time last night, completely of their own accord, the chickens one-by-one went into their henhouse [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature, Technical by Devman
Monday, August 6th, 2007
Senator Brownback Is Pro-Life
Senator Sam Brownback is running for the United States Presidency in 2008.
He challenged Mitt Romney in the Republican candidate debate recently about his stance on life issues, specifically abortion. You can see part of the exchange here.
Mitt Romney denied that what Brownback said was true, but it appears that Romney had not remembered things [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Love and War by Devman
Saturday, August 4th, 2007
YFE Recap
Whew! We’ve a very full week, and I’m still floating on the YFE joy. What an amazing time we had.
As Devin has shown in the various videos, the YFE was full of laughter and big families and vocations! There was so much charity filling the Georgia World Congress Center that it was [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Katie
Saturday, August 4th, 2007
Chickens!
We’ve got chickens. Three of them: Lobelia, Eunice, and Gertrude.
I told my coworkers yesterday, and one of them said it best (paraphrased): “Devin, other people talk about doing crazy things, but you actually do them.”
Here are some videos: First, our finished coop:
WPvideo 1.10
Second, our chickens just after we put them into the coop:
WPvideo 1.10
[...]
3 Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Friday, August 3rd, 2007
Eduardo Verastegui’s Conversion
I took two videos during Eduardo Verastegui’s main talk at the YFE, which he gave after we watched the movie Bella.
WPvideo 1.10
WPvideo 1.10
How amazing that his English tutor’s invitation to seek God was the avenue by which he returned to his faith!
1 Comment » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Friday, August 3rd, 2007
Two More Atlanta Youth and Family Encounter Videos
Here are two more videos I took at the YFE. The first video is of Legionary priests hearing confessions (I took the video at a respectable distance away of course), and the second is of general family jubilance.
WPvideo 1.10
WPvideo 1.10
Up next will be some clips of Eduardo Verastegui’s conversion story.
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
Cardinal Rode!
Cardinal Rode (pronounced Row-DAY) gave a lot of his time at the Youth and Family Encounter (YFE), celebrating Mass, giving a talk on ecclesial movements and Regnum Christi in particular; he is a really neat cardinal.
He is the prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, which oversees all [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
My Incorporation Into the Regnum Christi Movement
I’m a member of Regnum Christi!
I never would have guessed that God would call me to this ecclesial movement because I had some biases against it, but He did.
In hindsight, it shouldn’t surprise me, since at various points in time in my life I was biased against Christians, and then I became a Christian, Catholics, [...]