socks

Good examples. "...the unjust..." "Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust' Is the message to be subject to unjust masters? No - the message is to be subject to masters and respectful. In a society where the servant/slave/master relationship is legal and a way of life, what is a person in that situation supposed to do? Rebellion is an option. Compliance is an option. Across the board the bible teaches clearly that a person should be considerate, respectful, loving to all. "As much as is in you". As best a person can. So when does one not be respectful and act against another? I don't expect the bible to tell me everything to do. It's just not going to do that. Do you have a "master"? Are you a slave? Maybe it's not addressed to you or I. (a principle that wasn't invented in PFAL and shouldn't be ignored simply because it was). Today I might say be respectful to employers and respect them, when they're profitable and fair and even when they're not. Doesn't mean I have to work for them, or if they're unfair or illegal that I wouldn't act on that knowledge. For those how need bible verses for that there are plenty that would encourage honesty, etc. as well as taking action. Another personal observation not to you ss but just a standard rant - in America today many people act like we're free to do any d-m-d thing we want and should be celebrated for it, if not actually rewarded. That's b-s and the product of a lazy, mismanaged couple generations of swine living off the sweat and labor of those who came before them and is producing the moral squalor and chaos we see around us. The world doesn't work that way, we get what we work for, pay for and deserve. Anything above and beyond that, including health and long life is a gift to be enjoyed, the fruit of grace or labor but not to be expected as something that others should provide to us because we were born and we're going to sue someone if we don't get what we like delivered to us the way we like it. That our society tries to help one another is an indication of our prosperity and success. We can't, we shouldn't "make" each other do anything other than get to work and get engaged. You can be as anti-authority as you want, you've got company there. (me included). That IMO isn't ever a problem. Authority as I see it today is highly overated. American politics? No decent person will endure the degradation known as "running for office" and those that give it a go show the scars. The swine that make a career out of living off my money can't do anything but p--s on each other while their constituents hunt for someone who at the least sounds like they give a ratz azz about doing their job. I still recognize though that I live in a police state in the U.S and there are limits to "freedom", it's not me free to do anything - well, it is but I might not last long. I would be the best looking martyr around though, that's for sure.

It's a fun ride for sure. :) Another area that might be interesting to peruse is a comparison of the N.T. epistle's doctrinal points to the gospel records, and the teachings of Jesus Christ in this area. Right off the bat you have the pay taxes? question to Jesus and His response. Compared to this section here, and others like Peter. The writer of Romans never claims to have been taught by Jesus while alive on earth. Paul learned from those who had been and over time appears to have been on a learning curve, "revelation of Jesus Christ", time learning, studying, etc. That's the profile we get of the writer. Romans instructions are very similar to what Jesus taught in the gospels and we see (think it was in Luke, have to check) that Jesus and Peter actually did pay a tax that year on at least one occasion and it was handled privately. Jesus didn't promote an overthrow of Roman government and in fact when it came to taxes He was castigated for accepting "publicans' into His audience. Not to say He liked it or not, but He didn't suggest ripping them a new one. His focus was different. I also factor in that our form of government, "by the people for the people", checks and balances, 3 branches of government, elected officials, representation, etc. etc. etc........I imagine people then would have figured they were in tall cotton living as we do. Our government assumes individual involvement, participation and contribution in our own governance. It's not imposed upon us by force, it's "ours" to build, debate, negotiate and live based on the foundation of the uh, founding stuff. Much different than Romans and the early Christian church, the requirements and expectations of citizenship have different requirements and opportunities. So it's very reasonable to assume that our application of information from the bible would be different and would have it's own challenges and opportunities. (understatement).

The commentary says Peter is urging Christians to submit to all legitimate authorities, whether or not the persons excercising authority are believers. I would agree in principle. Many Christians today seem prone to look for "believers" as some kind of sanctified answer to leadership then act surprised and shocked when those same leaders fail them. No surprise there, it's part of the fabric of life. Knowing right and good doesn't make right or good It takes action and work and vigilance and requires agreement on clear standards, plus accountability and continual review. "Government", ongoing and continuous. There will be failures and others will let us down. We keep working till we die and do the best we can while we live is the way I see it. But there obviously came a point many times in history when the people decided to revolt. Did they think they were acting with God's blessing? People think all kinds of things. When something's wrong by how we reckon right it's reasonable to act to correct it. Where does that begin and Romans 13 end? Good question. Good will overcome evil but when we choose the lesser of two evils we still choose....evil. I don't believe the determinations religious PAC groups make are as "godly" as they think, nor that God is behind every scrimmage and pass we make. Few and far between are the clear and righteous decisions we make in life that will change the world with a single brush stroke. I see it as the 1,000's we make day in and day out, with the intent to do the best we can at any given time.

I would wonder, as to the original question - Is the question suggesting that conservative politics would pay no taxes, or not be subject to civil or govermental authority? (or Liberal or whatever the other labels are). Nothing in Romans 13 suggests that anyone is to ignore their moral convictions or duty in order to obey government. Romans 12 deals with areas of conduct, morals, behavior. How to treat others, how to deal with enemies and friend alike. "Saint and sinner". It's pretty simple stuff. 13 continues that theme. Romans 13 can't be leveraged to force someone to obey a government they believe is morally wrong, nor made to insist that a person rebel against it. To do that all of the other areas of the bible that offer instruction would have to be ignored. Ignoring context it's always easy to rally around a verse or two, attach deep personal and even universal meaning to it and insist that it is the Verse of the Day, the perfect piece for that moment, day, issue, and/or person. Your question is a good one soul search, nothing against you or your asking it. When I write "you" I mean "all youse" 13 offers no real set of standards of governance that would be able to stand alone and separate from other areas that give specific individual instruction - example: "Thou Shalt Not Have No Other Gods". Scenario - you have to pay local taxes and the City Council refuses any recognition of God, and fights against inclusion of religious concerns into local governing. They also do the work related to their jobs, the city's business etc. Response - do you not pay taxes? Because they're not "godly"? -can you be forced to pay taxes because Rom. 13 "says so"? -do you benefit from any of the services they do provide and the work they do perform? -can you be forced to pay more and more taxes, regardless of the local issues and needs, simply because Rom. 13 "says so"? -can you automatically ignore your tax debt and not pay it because you disagree on principle? There's no pat answer, or one that fits all cicrumstances is there? Each person has to follow their conscience, reasonably and as best they can, weighing the concerns against the best possible answer.

An interesting question. Along the lines of Sunesis's response, "conservatism" in it's modern American forms wasn't being addressed in Romans 13. Left, Right, Liberal, Conservative, all of that social/economic/"political" stuff we label today wasn't the way people lived at that time. I think we all know that - don't we? I've read the population of Rome around this time was about a million people, of all religions, nations and races, many of them slaves of some sort under and in the Roman empire. Completely different environment than what we live in today in the U.S. Some would argue that and I suppose it can be argued from different angles but the idea of a social structure based on economic factors like we have in the U.S. wasn't the lay of the land at that time. Pulling ones self up by their own boot straps as we refer to it wasn't possible as it is today. For many many people there was nowhere up to go but plenty of down around. Now - even having said that if I look at our own history and the way residents of this country were driven, herded and killed by the onslaught of new generations that came here and were born here - we have a wide history of various forms of "manifest destiny" that conservative and liberals alike often choose to ignore or redefine. I don't see it as uniquely "political" that generations do that, rather the tendency of human nature. Whether it be Greed or God there's never been a lack of lust for claiming other's life and land for one''s own and making it "right". Governance according to the entire Bible is the ultimate domain of God. God's delivered part of that to man and the part man has to deal with is his to do with as he sees fit, good or bad, right or wrong. Romans gives a pretty clear view into a world governed by violence and strength, where the sheer volume of conquest and the lands and people that went with it required constant vigilance to maintain both order and some semblance of "peace" mixed with the realization that the people themselves retained their own identities - but all under the Roman Empire. Unwieldy? Of course, and it didn't last in that form forever. But it was in that world that Christianity grew and thrived. So I would see Romans 13 as a simple set of instructions to live "peaceably", as much as one was able to, in those days. But I doubt seriously that Romans 13 can be used as a tight instruction to support any thing at any one time irrevocably. as right or wrong. Take to the streets tomorrow and try to overthrow our government by force - be it Repulican, Democrat, or anything inbetween - and see what happens.

Timmy Jim as he's called - hard not to like him. Still has that vibe as "the kid" going. He'll likely still be the Kid at 30. :) I like him too excadet. I know some of the buzz outside the fan base gets dulled by the fact he's not a classic baseball stud but when you pitch like he does - what's not to like? He's succeeded by being authentic. Everyone calls him "Timmy". That's who he is. It's probably hard for him at times but he's done well to not try and be anything but who he is. Brian Wilson I like too. He needs to lose the "Machine" thing, it's a joke that had a very short life to it. Hope someone gave him the 411 after Leno - retire the Machine. He doesn't need it and the Giants definitely don't. They won, he's The Beard. Fear the Beard, it's fun. That's not.

Jeter's made a lot of dough - 21 ? mill last year and close to that a year for the last - what? He's a near-20 mill average for quite awhile I believe. As a free agent now I'd expect that the Yankees will want to keep him, cut a deal but how much more can the offer and budget competitively for players? Dunno. Lee makes quite bit less than that now with the Rangers, and if they want Lee they're going to have to do their usual wheel barrel of money to get him. How much is he worth? How much can they pay? They need pitching and they're early contenders with initial contact. Can't see NY or Jeter wanting to change anything. The top 10 made between 18 and 33 mill last year. That's a lot of hot dogs and programs. And stuff. Ticket prices won't go down as salaries keep going up. I agree they're out of bounds at this point. Giants owners and management are working on their rebuild post-Bonds with an emphasis on scouting and their farm teams, building an organizaton from within their own ranks. A combo of that with some mid year scrambling this year worked. They're looking at keeping things pretty much the same next year from what I read in the SF Chron today and recent interviews. They've put Sandoval on notice apparently, get in shape and show up in Spring ready to compete for a spot in the lineup. Sabean admits they may have made it hard for him by branding the Giants so strongly around him. They worked with him all this year. Now he's got to want it bad enough to do what he needs to do. They've been fair and reasonable. I expect him to do just that. Zito's got to be the Zito, right now he's got a lot of cred' from the post season as a stand up guy who made a boatload of money not playing. Again, I think he'll do it, he's got the stuff. But I doubt they'll be throwing that kind of money down again for anyone soon. Their 4 starting pitchers are all in place for awhile. They'll be able to build on the "team" draw if they continue as they are, with key players and an overall lineup tha draws. Right now they've got a full 10-15 players that can be followed and watched if you're a fan, with a few standout personalities. They're in a good spot IMO. Lee? Guess he'll have to decide. He's be wise to stay with the Ranger IMO. He's got a lot of support there.

Top Ramen ("use your noodle") Dippity Do ("serendipity") Glyph-y ("....?"...)

Look forward to those pice mstar! Nice way to see Yogi! Stall Sightings - I went into an airport Men's room once and in walked Paul Shaeffer (SNL, Letterman, etc. etc. ) and hits the stall two down from me. I recognized him immediately and I figured, well, everyone needs a moment of peace here if nowhere else. Door in opens up and a guy's shouting Paul! You're the man! Love it! and on and on, I guess he'd seen him going in. Shaeffer kind of grunted "Huhh! Uhh huh!" and I thought for a minute the guy was going to come in but he left. Heard a long sigh, and we hit the sinks together. Said "I play guitar. Love the music, man" and he said "Thanks" and walked out, that guy and a buddy following him now. Strange sighting.

:) I read there's a way to accomplish that. I guess you record your program and set the playback to the length of the delay in radio or streaming on the internet, something to that effect. Might be worth the time. SF did the World Series salute and it was a grand day for all yesterday. The entire day, parade and presentations are running on Sportsnet cable here. Very cool. Where I work the Media department set up screens and kicked in the projectors to show the parade as it occurred, spanning over most of the employee's lunch times, so I saw about an hour of it from 11 - noon or so. My motto's "good is where you find it" and there was a lot of good floating in the air around here this week. Although it's entertainment there's a lot going on in the game and in this series for this area of northern California. I was pleased that the election results which so often are just an extension of the BS that goes on between the candidates all year were over shadowed by this event and instead of hearing all day about the wrangling over results there was excitement for something that individuals could share in and celebrate without running down the opposition. Well, there was some of that too but it was a kind of model for what a large group of people could do if they supported each other and worked together instead of constantly accusing and tearing each other down. Maybe we should see if Bochy would run for office, he might manage to steer clear of the toxic effects long enough to get a few more runs for us.

Scully's the man, highway. Longest running career calling for a team. He's been there for a lot of great moments. I tend to get intent on the game, simonzelotes, alternate a little with the radio but try to follow the game pretty closely. Not all, throughout a season I'll miss some of course or have to catch bits of others. I do really enjoy those games when I can drill in on it for the full duration. Jon and Joe are great, agree with that totally. The Buck/McCarver debacles bug me for several reasons, and to enjoy the post season especially I had to figure out what was bugging me - -The actual sound of their voices. Buck has a tendency to sound like a blowhard, to my ears. It's something in the twist of his inflection. Not always but a great deal of the time. He has a good broadcaster's voice but tends to sound nonchalant and cutting at the same time. Maybe he's not, but many people take him that way. McCarver really gets a nasally whiney sound to his voice when he gets going. Many people seem to agree with that too. I was actually surprised this year to find out that so many others dislike their broadcasts, I'd never done much more than endure it and move on. -They seems like critics more than broadcasters. They don't call the game in a precise reliable way, where a rhythm is established throughout the game. So it comes across disjointed. The game is the primary reason I watch and whoever's broadcasting needs to be integrated into the game. They just don't for some reason, to me. -Compared to others, they don't seem professionals. I don't get a real sense of who they are or what they bring to the game, so they come off like add-ons, paid heads who talk. Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper are just the opposite. Krukow certainly doesn't have a classic "voice" for this stuff, but he sounds passionate and engaged. His knowledge serves the game as it's going on, not the other way around, so he makes a strong impression without having to seem forced. Same with Kuiper who's voice is much deeper and resonant. He keeps the calls going and tracks to the game, while adding his own touch. They both give the feeling of the game, it's ups and downs and get truly excited when there are big plays. That seems like what the greats do - they're there for the game and the players nd the fans. When it's legit it comes across.

Well, "arrogance" means: having or showing feelings of unwarranted importance out of overbearing pride. Little wordy but makes sense. Being right isn't arrogant. Knowing you're right isn't arrogant. Knowing someone else is wrong isn't arrogant. Weighting and sorting values isn't arrogant. Everyone of us does these things all the time. It's a normal part of our conscious capacity to be self aware and to literally know that "I" am not "you", or someone else. Human awareness isn't only instinctive, it's a developed capacity (or so I would argue) and consequently takes on many dimensions in itself. I can't be arrogant with myself. Well, I guess I could but I probably wouldn't care as I know I'm smarter than me. (joke) Arrogance as it seems we're discussing it here requires more than me, another. Who has that same innate and developed self awareness. Therein lies the question, Watson!

Worth a try, I'll try a small plug in the brass screen modded carts. The brass screen is definitely worth the effort. It seems to solve the problem of having a consistently steady vape throughout the life of a loaded cartridge. Less sucking and more draw would describe my experience with it. The brass also seems to distribute the heat more evenly and (possibly) over a wider area. Still fiddling with them although they worked pretty close to the descriptions on e-cig forum, first try. Best wishes!

Pondering some post-glow points....dunno what the radio and TV broadcasting is like where y'all are at but locally in the SF Bay Area, we have it good. TV is caled by "Kruk and Kipe", MIke Krukow and Duane Kuiper, both former ball players. John Miller (drafted in the Nat'l. Baseball Hall of Fame this year) leads the radio broadcasting on local KNBR 680 AM radio and typically partners with Dave Flemming. All of these guys with several other network broadcasters call the play by plays and color commentary for the Giants games broadcasts I get locally. Joe Buck and Tim McCarver cover the Fox broacasts and did the Post Season playoff and World Series games. I've never liked them on any broacast they do and realized through this post season why. I thoughy I was the only one, but there's widespread criticism of their broadcasting tenure. HERE'S a good run down that describes my feelings to a T. Their tone and the overall sound of the broacasting is grating, harsh and at times sounds whiney for want of a better word. At other times their tone sounds pompous and pontificating, with Buck sounding like he's fighting a migraine and McGarver rattling off the Truth from his perch. I noticed this on many of the plays this post season on any of the teams playing, things like "you just can't do that (an error) in the majors", or when J Sanchez pitched Game 3 of the series and didn't get a strike call - both of them noted "the other pitcher would have gotten that call. Lewis would have gotten it. Sanchez....no". They sounded like they were gloating. Other times if a team was struggling and would make a hit, a play and rally they'd down grade the plays - "that may not be enough", "that may not make up for the deficit"...."they're still behind".......arrrghhh.....by Game 5 though they must have realized that the broadcast was at a critical point of a Series ender and managed to get a fairly balanced and up beat flow going for both teams. Kruk and Kuiper both call the games like players. They add their experience into it, often noting what a player might be thinking, what's going on throughout the team at a point, what a manager might be ready to do. When there's a bad play they call it like they see it but also will respect the players with comments like "no one feels worse about that play than he does, he knows he should have had that, he's better than that and he knows it", etc. and will note things that the player might be thinking now or doing to get back in the game mentally. They're on the players side, win or lose. Miller calls it like a voice from the past. Big drama, intimate observations. Listening on the radio is like remembering every game I listened to on the radio as a kid locally with Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons, both pros pros. . It's almost as good as watching it, seriously. When there's a big play, big hit, it's huge in his voice. "That ball is up - up, it's on it's way out!!! That ball's on it's way to Oakland!!!! .... (nearby city across the bay).....It's a home run!!!.....The (.....) have scored!!!!" .....He loves the game and he sounds like it. IMO Buck and McCarver stink. The article notes the apparent Fox bias in the post season outcomes. That aside, as announcers I don't like hearing them call any game no matter who's playing. It seems like there's enough of awareness that Fox might make a change, but I kind of doubt it. They've been there this long.

What the bibllical records reports could be restated using a comparison - like a parent who raises a child. Parent is the source of the child's life and creates the environment for the child to grow and thrive. The child lives their own life though, and while the parent influences and guides, the child decides. Chooses. The comparison isn't exact and won't hold up for every detail. However, God is described in the New Testament as "Father". God isn't "only" a Father but if I fleshed out that relationship a little I wouldn't go the route that much Christian theology has gone - that He controls and in essence manipulates our lives in detail to go a certain way. An iron willed and hard fisted father might, but ultimately - don't all, aren't all children expected to make their own and hoperfully succeed, to their parents great pride? The relationship normally gets sketched as Father gimme, Father punish me, etc. Just think about the relationship tho and what it would be, really is. Contrast that for a moment to the TWI teaching that God WON'T move, do, act, guide, UNTIL or unless YOU BELIEVE and that any exceptions to that are "grace". (and doing some work on that term not limiting it to the "getting what you don't deserve" definition will be enlightening, I promise you) Start to move away from thinking that God WON'T and more what God WILL....do. LIkewise yourself - what you WILL and CAN, not what you WON'T or DON'T do. Basically I see from the Bible that this world and it's contents are within our purvue, much in the bounds of the original Genesis setting with Adam And Eve. That scenario has changed somewhat over time but the basic ingredients are still the same, for Christian, non-Christian, etc.

Thank you! :) SF celebrated and managed to not set fire to the party - too much. Wednesday the parade, using the same route they took when they moved to SF. Cool. I wouldn't wish Mayor Newsom on my worst enemy but it was good to see him engaged and the preparations planned. Hopefully the cost of a Hot Dog and a drink won't go up too much next year as a result of all this.

Yep, use aquarium filter material in my 4048 (think that's right - the Npro) cart's. Experiment with packing and the amount you use. I found a kind of loosely packed piece, trimmed, to work well. It's fairly cheap, a bag of the stuff will last till the next millenia. (or if you have aquariums - bada bing bada boom) I've got the 510 too and it works in it as well, but since the cart's smaller (thinner, more slender) it takes more fiddling. Loose pack worked well for me in both cases, but no so loose it drips. I've cleaned my cart pad material from the start and that helps to fluff the packing back out. Rinse them in hot water and a little hand soap, rinse well in hot water, squeeze out and let dry for a day. There's a mod that the Invisible Danster hipped me to - you might check the Mod Tips 'n' Tricks section of the e-cig forum for brass screen modding to the carts. I've been trying it. I-Dan has more experience with it, if he checks in can give you some ideas I'm sure. *** This recommendation is a very YMMV one - and experience varies - but I've been very conservative in how I clean the atty's when I do. I took my first one that went bad and took it apart. The wiring on these buggers is thin, filament size. They don't take much twisting or pressue to come loose and break connection.

"Giants win their first World Series in a long long time" Yep. The won't be coming back this way again, contenders. They won in 5, tonight 3 - 1. Exemplary sportsmanship, outstanding pitching on both teams. Good pitching always beats out batting they say but it falls to the batter to recognize the opportunities when and if they present themselves, in a split second, literally. Renteria is a walking record, man. Too much. The Rangers and The Giants were the perfect match to my mind in many ways. Moreso than any other players I've seen I realized tonight watching that this team iwill be remembered as having done it for...the team, their fans and the achievement of being The SF Giants. Quietly incredible - Huff, laying down his first sacrifice bunt in his career - perfectly, setting up the bases for Burrell who struck out. Didn't matter where they were when Renteria hit his homer but it struck me how great an athlete, a baseball player literally, that Huff had to be to go for it and do it in the clutch. After all his years, the years paid off in him doing something he'd never done before. Interesting (an understatement). "Delicious". I'm especially happy for Andres Torres who couldn't have put more into his season. At his age there may not be a string of years ahead to do this. Like his team mates he seemed to be in the right place, right time. It says something for seeing the moment for not just what it is but what it can be, and seizing it and not letting go. Go Giants!

Succinct report on Game 4 HERE, fresh off the ether. Man oh man. Great game. Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, at 21 years the 5th youngest WS Starter, shot trouble out of the Rangers lineup for 8 straight shut out innings. Wilson's Beard went another shade darker to close the 9th, 1-2-3 seeya. 8 straight shut out innings. Bumgarner wasn't in the Zone, he was the Zone. Sanchez - man, Freddie made a leap up and back and got enough of his glove on a line drive bullet sailling over his head to grab it as he fell almost flat on his back, did a somersault and finished the play to come up with it in hand, done deal, looking like he does it everyday before breakfast. Amazing play. Game 5 - Battleships align for Linc and Lee - I'm expecting Lee to breathe fire after Game 1's outcome. Once again - great baseball on the horizon.

Ditto simon z. Hope you catch some! (and Game 4 ws 4-2, I'll take the error) One point I'm reading is that Sanchy may be out of gas for the season and not able to make corrections at this point. He was close in Game 4 but even if the Giants had run a tighter game, even a last tie it might have been writing on the wall. Pitchers hit that point and with the series margin running up so tight by then, might be the best thing to either not bring him in or keep an ultra short chain on the team and have the 'pen up and ready, gametime. I'm really looking forward to what the off season will do for him, come spring. I've been glad to see the Giants come back around last couple years and this season especially. I don't usually carry my interest on my sleeve but I've taken to wearing my black and orange t-shirts game day at work this post-season. My son got me Giants goodies to put on my iPhone. I'm wired in. Know a few people who know the stat's far better than I, and that does give me the full pony ride in that regard, so I kinda stumble along with what I understand and work at what I don't. Therein lies the beauty of baseball for me. Someone commented this last week - why is an underdog so attractive? The Giants have been tagged "misfits", "cast offs", a "dirty dozen" kinda team. There's parts of that I understand, others I've taken to pondering. It's an interesting question. Game about to rip - Go Giants!

<chirp chirp> Anyone watch Game 4? Ranger won - 4-0. As a Giants fan I'm following their progress. For the pitching - Sanchy walked Molina in the 2nd, and the Moreland home scored 2 The other homer brought in two and that equaled 4. Outside of a couple misses the pitching wasn't out of control though and including the first inning, could have sized up well. Colby Lewis was solid the entire night, but the Giants also hit two homers - with no one on base. Their get on and get around game didn't show, otherwise we'd have seen a tight 3-4 or even 4-4 game with the matching set of 2 homers. After the Rangers got the 4, that was it. The Giants couldn't put men on base and get hits to move them and they lost. Giants did do 3 hot double plays and some good fielding so that held up. Sandoval presents a problem - as DH he'd be perfect - if he was hitting. He's not and he looks too heavy to do any good running the bases except to 1st on a long fair ball or a homer. Anything close he doesn't have the gas to push it. He's really out of shape so I'd suspect he's gone for these next two games anyway. A lot of off season work and he'll be back as strong as ever. Pat Burrell in left - a toughie. He's what - at 0 for 9 post season. Dunno - is there time for him to get back on it? Tomorrow should tell, if he's in the lineup. Rangers were on tonight but the Giants have faced strong pitching before and won tight games, so I didn't see it as a rout or as if they got run over by a Ranger train. I'm thinkin' they'll be back on tomorrow!

Backatya highway. This will likely bring the Giants-Dodger rivalry full circle. SF's struggled against some very good competition there. Next year LA'll be back at the plate and it will definitely be on again. It will make for a great season! More baseball! And soon please! Love that guy mstar. While I don't advocate the use of marijuana, there appears to be a lively set of users at the Ballpark. He's reporting to,,,Texas ...about people smokng....weed! He's right though - people are happy and I think that the team has drawn out the best in those who follow the game here. (pot smoking reefer sucking aside - I guess one can only hope the trim is fresh and chemical free) Two words to the Giggle Gang - "designated driver". Which does bring up the "Let Timmy Smoke" movement. There is something hilarious about it, the phrase and the fact of people wearing it - can't put my finger on it but even as a big un advocate of use I think it's funny.

Yeah, simon z, one of the weirdest things I've seen. In the gazillion ways that ball could have hit "normally" causing it to go over (where else would it go?) it managed to angle in and bounce back up and into the field - Torres was ready to catch it and that was that. Series? Dunno. I'm all over the Giants keeping it going of course but they'll be behind enemy lines for 3 and the Rangers have to be stoking their fires to play a big one. The Giants are used to this though and this lineup has gotten some time behind them - and they got some serious bad-cha-cha from Philidelphia fans, not Philly's best moment IMO, and managed to battle through. This team seems to have the right attitude if nothing else is going. I really think it goes to many of the player's collective backgrounds. They know what it's like to tank. They've lived it and at this stage, this year, this team, they have a working combination of players that can carry each other as a team without a lot of bad-vibes-you-suck contentious B.S. when someone goes south in a play, at bat or pitching. Having followed the Giants through the Bonds - Kent era, I could see how bad vibes definittely have a way of stinking up a club house. There seems to be little if none of that here. Sanchy, Game 3..... I like his profile, he's kind of like their whole psyche wrapped up in one guy. Great stuff, focused most of the time, but can be wild. His tendency to shoot wide at the strike zone helps him when he's correcting and resetting with each pitch. A batter can't wait it out when he's getting a lot of balls, knowing he's going to hit the zone, He walks a lot of batters but when he's on, cycles through it. When he loses his cool it can get dangerous quick so he needs to stay on. Bochy's already shown the strength of the Bullpen though so Plan B is as scarey as Plan A. An interesting analysis of his no hitter last year HERE.

Game Two - 9-0, Giants Win. Cain's showing a post season ERA of "0". Pretty snug game through till the 7th and then the relievers got into trouble. They scored 7 runs on two outs - 2 on walks with the bases loaded.

"Change" is highly over rated as a concept. I heard a presentation today where the information shared was very useful and pertinent but one of the presenters used the word "paradigm" 5 times. He sounded archaic. Just 15 years ago everyone couldn't buzz fast enough around embracing the word, if not the meaning of it and the perceived "shifts" in paradigms that were rockin' the world. As always the book market soared around the contradictory fact that business minds in search of change rushed to know and do what everyone else was doing. Stylish group think. Once one's been through a couple cycles of it it's easy to spot coming a mile away. Basically I use this rule: by the time I hear about a "new" change that's changing the world and it's been named, weighed and categorzied - it's over. The subsequent tsunamai of marketing popularizes it and the trickle down effect is a small subset of the original idea and potential impact. The potential of Christian "change" isn't in the repetition of the same change someone else experienced, it's in the new experience that constitutes the change. Same Bible, same species of human beings, same planet. The newness is in the individual. That's impossible to "can" and market. We do attempt to but the "new dynamic church" as promised has to constantly be renewing itself around those being changed to be relevant. Otherwise one ends up an observer, not a participant. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, the excellency of the power is of God and not of us"......God's always here, there, always have been and always will be - if we look at it that way the "glory" that's "manifested" is in the expression of it. There are tangible artifacts to be seen that indicate what's happening and what happened. If an effort de emphasizes the tangible artifacts of the "excellency" and only chooses to focus on the "excellency" there's no way to understand hmmm, the excellency. We may see in part now, but the part we see tells of the whole. The Ways' in a very odd state these last many years. Doctrinally it's sort of chasing it's tail in a way that doesn't really go anywhere. There's probably a good way to describe it but I'm mostly buzzed about the SF Giants winning Game One of the World Series! I'm sure some scintillating and illuminating example will show itself. Go Giants!!!