This past weekend Billy Graham gave what may be his last crusade sermon in New York. Despite his frail state of health, God gave him the strength to give 3 short sermons with no need for help from his son Franklin. It is truely amazing to think how God has used him over so many decades to speak the Truth of His saving grace through Jesus Christ to millions throughout the world.

What is amazing to me is no matter who you are, what your background is, or what your political views are, he is highly respected amongst all. Why? Because he is a man of God that is a true humble servant of the Lord.

Few have talked about fact is that Mr. Graham is a Democrat. He recently confirmed that in a interview on the Today Show with the very liberal Katie Courac. Some may gasp and think how could an evangelical like Billy Graham be a Democrat? Read the interview I linked earlier. His discussion of his politics and politics connected with the evangelical church today is simple, concise and true. In the end it does not matter to me whether Mr. Graham considers himself a Democrat or Republican. He speaks the Truth in love and is a man of God that all Christians should respect.

Working in the Dilbertesque world of corporate America, I have noticed one of the more annoying habits that working with the same people day-in, day-out creates: Group Speak. My definition of it is picking up bad speaking or writing habits from co-workers. Some are subtle, some not so subtle. Most of the time it’s a habit that a person is not aware of and/or have picked up from someone else. I am just as guilty as anyone for picking up these habits or unknowingly spreading my own.

When I notice these querks in other people they are funny and sometimes a bit annoying depending on the situation. For instance, the overuse of the word “so”. I’m not talking about using the word at appropriate times, but in the most ridiculous instances. In this case, using the word “so” at the beginning of every sentence! It doesn’t end there. Some are a long drawn out “soooooo” or a quick fire “so… so… so…” or speaking only in incomplete sentences beginning each fragment with “so”. After I notice it, I can’t stop noticing it!

So… at least it’s a source of entertainment in an otherwise boring situation. So… I suppose all of this reveals a lot about how people can be easily influenced.

I made some fairly significant additions to the site last night. I added a column on the left side that has news and articles. These are actually RSS feeds connected directly to web sites (as labeled) and update themselves automatically. Meaning when an article is added on a particular site, it will automatically update on the list you see here. I am only showing the 5 most recent articles to save screen space as I will be adding/adjusting the feeds as time goes on. Not too much though. I don’t want the site to become too “busy” looking like some out there.

You can see at the bottom of the left column that the feeds are powered by RSS Digest. It’s a great little site that creates Java code for any RSS feed you enter to make it easy to share feeds on your site. Best of all it is free with no ads.

More design changes to come!

Depending on which state you live in, vanity or personalized vehicle license plates have become a way to make something otherwise boring, a point of interest. Here in Illinois, the state has made it easy to get these plates for your car since the additional cost is so low.

In my 55 minute rush hour commute this evening, I thought I would count how many I could see. To my surprise I counted approximately 88 not including mine! Sometimes I wonder how long people spend coming up with the 7 letter message they want to convey. It only took me a couple of minutes to come up with mine but some are so elaborate, it can take a while to figure out what they say. Some examples are “IXLR8″, “UNVME2″ , “CMIDRV”, etc. Mine simply shows where I went to college, though sometimes not as obvious as others. People seem to like to use vanity plates to send a message, advertise their product, define something about themselves or tell the police about their driving habits.

We all want to send a message about ourselves and let people know who we are, what we like or dislike, and what we believe. Who would have ever thought we would be able to do this with our license plates.

I just received a summons to be a juror at my local courthouse next month. Amazingly, this is the first time in my life I have ever been summoned to be a juror. I have heard so many different stories from friends and relatives about the experience. Some did all they could to not go, some looked forward to the chance to do their civic duty. I tend to agree with the latter and look forward to the opportunity, that is if I ever get to do anything. Though I have to admit the first thought that came to mind when I saw the letter was “Great… Another thing to mess up my schedule.” I hope it is a decent experience, though I know it will not be one I wish to repeat on a regular basis.

Linking back to my Memorial Day post, I watched a show on TLC that just began the other night called Operation Homecoming. It’s a series of documentaries about soldiers returning from Iraq or places unknown to their families and loved ones after being gone for a year or more. Most of the stories are told by the families here in the US, what they go through, the challenges, their fears, sadness for those who never come home and relief and joy for those who arrive safe and sound. What I appreciate about this documentary, at least so far, is they do not politicize the stories. Too many times I see the media use these families and soldiers to promote their agendas. Of course mostly to bash the current administration. I could go on and on about that, but I’ll spare you that right now. Yes, I am very opinionated about this subject, but ultimately I would like to just hear the stories of our soldiers without going through the “agenda filter” the media spin-meisters place on them.

Thanks to feedback from Mary M., I changed the background to a light grey for easier reading. Thanks Mary!

I’m working on a different title header too. I’m creating many, but more work to be done there. One of the possible headers is the red one on my moblog. It doesn’t fit the color scheme right now, but who knows that may change as well.

Add a comment with this post if you have any other design ideas. I’m open as this is a work in progress!