Continue reading »]]> The other day, I was involved in an auto accident. I can tell you it was not as fun as it sounds. Luckily it was not my fault.

There were only two people involved in the accident. There was the driver of the vehicle that hit me and me. No other people got involved in the wreck, although there were a lot of safety personnel there as the other person called 911 right after the accident occurred.

I had just left the church after talking to the pastor. I get together with him every week to discuss things on my mind and to keep me accountable for my actions. It was my idea to want the accountability, not his.

We had talked about anger and how I handled one particular incident at a fast food place. I had told him how I handled the situation without getting angry, and how it was resolved to my satisfaction. Earlier in my life (not too long ago) I would have gotten angry and said and done things that would not have been appropriate for any circumstance.

God allowed the accident to occur; He did not make the accident occur. Everything God allows to happen is for a reason. He might have had several reasons for this accident to occur, but I think one reason was to allow a situation to happen to see if what I say I do is really what I would do.

I did not get angry with the other person after the accident. I was not happy the accident happened, but I was not angry. I was physically hurt, but I was able to talk to the lady calmer than I could talk to a fast food employee who gave me the wrong size cup.

I had to go to the hospital to get checked out to ensure I did not break any bones and to ensure internal organs were not affected. You see, I was not driving a vehicle when the accident occurred. I was riding my power wheelchair. That power wheelchair is now in multiple pieces.

I was hit as I was crossing a side street. I got to experience flight as the power wheelchair snapped and I remained buckled to the seat. Without being buckled to the seat, I am not sure which direction I may have flown.

No broken bones, and no blood. I only got a few scrapes on on my left elbow. I did have to get my glasses adjusted slightly. They flew off since they were not belted to my head. I do have a few stiff muscles currently.

What does this translate to? I think it translates that God wanted to protect me from harm. I could have died since my head was unprotected. Apparently He wants me here for a while longer. I was able to look at the lady and tell her that it was not the end of the world that the accident happened, and that I was still alive. I told her even if I had died it would have been okay, since I would then be in heaven.

The accident may have happened, and it may have taken my comfortable feeling away for a while, but it did not take my joy.

Continue reading »]]> I have figured out the answer to the question of the Anti-Christ. He is real and he is among us. It took me only six hours to figure out the answer. After six hours of dealing with the bank, I solved it.

No, it is not the bank, although the bank does play a part in it. It all started so calm and peaceful like. I dialed the bank to check on a few things. Six hours later I finally got the answers to my questions.

After the first few moments of the peaceful bliss things got ugly. I started getting upset that they kept telling me how much they valued me as a customer. They kept telling me over and over how much they valued me. I kept listening to them telling me this while getting really irritated at them. After ten minutes I was starting to go beyond irritation.

Finally, I got a call from the bank while I was on hold with them. I picked up that call, after hanging up from being on hold for so long. This was the brief survey I had agreed to take part in from the previous call I had made to them and, after being on hold for a while had been hung up on from their systen.

While partaking in their brief survey, they prompted me to press 1 through 5 as answers to their questions, based on how pleased I was with their service. On some questions I couldn’t answer that I wasn’t pleased because they would not accept the button press for that question. I would double check to ensure I had pressed the correct button, but they just wouldn’t accept the answer.

I never actually got to speak to a live person for six hours. After the telephone banker answered and said hello to me, I actually asked him if he was alive. I had to double check that I was speaking with something (or someone) that could actually engage in intgelligent conversation.

You see, for six hours I was talking to the Anti-Christ. For six hours I had been pushing buttons trying to get to a live person who could assist me answering my questions. I was really sick of pushing buttons in response to the automated telephone system that could not assist me.

Yes folks, the Anti-Christ is real, and he is among us. Spend six hours pressing buttons to answer the automated telephone systems, and you will agree.

Continue reading »]]> People have begun to show their lack of critical thinking again. Nintendo has plans to release a shell for their Wii Remote and Nunchuk attachment. This attachment will once again allow the gamers to be immersed in the game play. So far, there does not seem to be anything wrong with this plan, and people applaud Nintendo for their efforts. Then, they learn what the attachment is being named. It is the Wii Zapper.

A New Jersey newspaper asked people what they thought about the Wii releasing a gun attachment to play games with. Several people made comments how it was a bad idea and that the Wii should not release the attachment. Right there, we have begun our trip into TLOCT.

What is TLOCT, you ask? Well, that is “Their Lack Of Critical Thinking.” Yes, you see Nintendo manufactures the Wii. The people working for Nintendo make the things associated with the Wii. The Wii will release nothing. Things are released for the Wii. They are released by companies, in this case, Nintendo.

The next step in our trip into TLOCT comes from thinking this is the only gun attachment released for a console. All of the recent and consoles had controllers molded in specific patterns. Some were molded to look like weapons. People think that these controllers will make our children into maniacs who want only to kill other people. When the original NES came out, it had a Zapper controller (and hence their decision to entitle the current shell “Wii Zapper”). Many people played games that used that controller, and they did not go on to be lunatics who murdered people in real life.

Nintendo is releasing the shell, but the shell is not required to play any of the games. This leads to the next step in our trip into TLOCT. Parenting. As an adult, you should be involved in the child’s life. You should know what your child is doing, and be there to control the child. God gave adults the responsibility to bring up the children. Setting limits is part of this responsibility. If you think the child should not use a piece of plastic that resembles the appearance of a gun, make sure the child does not use it. Do not buy it. Along with that, however, ensure the games that the child plays are appropriate. Games have ratings, just like movies. The ratings range from “EC” to “AO”. Learn what those ratings mean, and why the games are given the ratings. Most stores now require adult permission for children to purchase games that are rated “M” if the child is not of the correct age.

Despite this, I see kids wanting, and the adults agreeing to purchase, games that were not intended for the young children to be playing. It is not a lack of the game industry that people end up doing bad things. When the parents do not set the boundaries for the children, we cannot blame someone who tried to ensure those boundaries could be set.

Also, there are many toys the children can buy on their own, without any permission, that these people seem not to have an issue with. Squirt guns, toy swords, toy knives, bows and arrows, are things you can find in a toy department at a store, that can mimic the real things, yet nobody who was criticizing the Wii Zapper brought up how these things should be targeted and those companies stopped. While Nintendo may produce a shell, these toys can be used without any extra things, whereas the Wii Zapper is designed to house the controller and attachment while playing a game.

By the way, I guess we should outlaw body parts. You see, hands, feet, torsos, and heads can be used as a weapon.

But, you say, body parts are okay? Those are things that can really injure or kill someone, while the Wii Zapper was not designed to train someone how to use a gun. This piece of plastic will not behave like a real gun. There is no recoil in this piece of plastic. If I saw this piece of plastic, I would not mistake it for a real gun. By the way, there are already other gun shells for the Wii Remote. Nobody seems to be targeting those, which I can see looking more like the real thing.

Be a parent, be involved. Set the boundaries. Don’t let the babysitter for your kids be the television. Much of TV will teach your kids worse things than how to hold a piece of plastic. Teach the child the difference between real life and make believe. If you are involved in the life, a piece of plastic will not make your child the next serial killer on the prime time news. Use the skills God gave you in being a parent.

One of those skills is critical thinking.

Continue reading »]]> Chris Benoit has recently performed a truly terrible act according to the information that has been released to the media. I do not encourage nor like what he has been said to have done. To treat it lightly would be plain wrong. Just as that would be wrong, the other extreme is also wrong. Treating it so heavily that we must pretend that he never existed is just as wrong.

WWE first did a tribute to Benoit on the Monday while events were still being sorted out. On Tuesday events had been sorted out and it was told that Benoit had killed his wife and young son over the weekend and then proceeded to hang himself after those murders. Because of the way the events unfolded, WWE proceeded to take down any tributes to Benoit, and any references to him on their website. Granted, this is their choice to do so, but pretending he never existed is going too far.

When Eddie Guerrero died suddenly, they did a tribute to him, and left that tribute up for a long time, along with references to him, such as his biography and other things they normally post for the wrestlers. Now, the reason Eddie died was because of drug use. He was not currently using drugs when he died, but throughout the years that he was abusing the drugs, he put his body in a situation where it could not recover from that abuse.

So, they are willing to let someone be honored and remembered for using and abusing drugs, but the murder-suicide means the person can never exist. Both things are wrong, folks. They are both sins to God. One sin does not weigh heavier to God than the other. A sin is a sin.

We should remember the good things both wrestlers did in their lives, while not honoring the sins that lead to their death. Facts have yet to be uncovered as to why Benoit did the acts he did. He tested negative for drugs when WWE did the latest drug tests on him. This does not exclude other prescription drugs that may have been abused and led him to these acts. Claiming it was steroids that caused his actions has not been determined yet, so when the media jumps to this conclusion, that is misleading. Not every wrestler has abused drugs, and there are some that are proud to be known as people who haven’t used drugs.

When the facts come in and we can tell more why he may have done those things, then we can be free to say the truth. Part of that truth is he existed. When he wrestled, he was good. Other wrestlers paid tribute to him during the tribute night that was given to him. The WWE feels the best way to handle this situation is to pretend the person did not exist.

He just happened to be a person who made a bad choice. If we pretend that anyone who makes a bad choice never existed, there would be no one left in existence. What we need to do is learn something from his actions, and grant him the existence he had.

If God allowed him to exist, why shouldn’t we?

Continue reading »]]> I have been reading and watching the news more. While this represents a good thing, it also shows me just how much humanity is in need of God, yet refusing to let God be God.

I generally read the news on either the AP News section on my site, or the AP News through my Nintendo Wii through the News Channel. If I watch the news, it’s the afternoon news on the TV. It’s amazing how many articles that show up that cry out for God.

Yes, we have people cutting up the people they love into small pieces and then cooking those pieces. How far off does someone have to be for this to seem normal? Can anyone even think for a moment this is right? This just screams out G-O-D in great big letters. Not only do these situations have the people needing God, they require our prayer.

Yes, we need to pray for the people involved that God will intervene and show Himself and they will see the need for the Creator of Life. These people need prayer, as to do such a vile deed like this, they must be hurting deep down inside. They need our prayer that God will heal their pain.

We have custody battles for children. Some people involved are famous, while others are not. Yes, apparently some people don’t follow God’s guidelines He sets forth. These are laid out for a purpose. We shouldn’t have lesbians fighting for custody rights, or countless men claiming to be the father of one child, some of whom are married. G-O-D in big letters once again.

Once again, we need to pray. The children, the only innocent party involved, are the ones getting hurt. We need to pray for them and the people who should be acting like adults.

And yet we can’t teach the Bible in school because the children should not be subjected it, even if it is only for history. No, I think it’s time we inject G-O-D into society again before we repeat this history.

Continue reading »]]> The other day I began watching Dr. Phil. While the topic of his show does not exactly match this one, there was one point he made that got me thinking. He was discussing the reasons why people are always late. He said that people who are late for everything tend to be arrogant.

Arrogance is something that can hurt. Yes, it can hurt the people around you while it also hurts you. Being proud of your accomplishments is one thing, but when pride goes too far, it can really hurt.

I began to think of my recent episodes with the fast food industry and began to link arrogance to it. I certainly knew how to run the store, and I knew how to do it better than anyone else in the store. If the employees didn’t do things my way, they were clearly wrong. I ended up hurting me and the employees by my arrogance.

Now I understand that I was forcing the world (fast food stores) to conform to my views. It wasn’t just that I wanted them to share my views; I took it further than that. It really bothered me that my food wasn’t ready in two minutes and instead it was ready in two minutes and ten seconds. I got annoyed that the employees would help someone else instead of me, even though I had not been in line waiting for service like the other person.

I had no valid reason for hurting the people I did during the run of arrogance I had. The only reason is because I let God out of that area and let Satan in. God willingly stepped aside for that time because He loves me that much. He watched patiently on the sidelines for me to call Him back in to that area of my life.

After being prompted by the child I wrote about earlier, I called Him back in. Since that time, I have been much happier. I know there are other areas where I need to call Him back in; this is not the only place I need Him. I’m sure He will wait patiently for me in those areas.

He will wait because He loves me that much.

Continue reading »]]> I’d like to recount the experience where I believe the turning point came in my happiness level. Unfortunately, it was also a point that was really sad. The one thing I can say about it is, with what transpired, God changed for good what Satan destined for bad.

One day at Jack In the Box, I went through the drive-thru and ordered food. Along with this food order, I wanted to put money on their pre-paid food card. This, after all, would make my life easier for the times to come when I get food. Well, things did not turn out so simple in the long run.

The cashier tried to take my money, which was to be taken from my bank card, but started having problems. Upon trying to take the money several times, and appearing to be unsuccessful, I got concerned. After getting my food I had ordered, I left, and then checked with my bank. The bank told me multiple transactions had taken place, and they had deducted the money from my account.

Now, I was getting angry. I proceeded to enter the building, while getting angrier. I then wanted to speak to management, and got to speak to the crew shift leader. She began to tell me how I was wrong, and that nothing had happened to my money. This did not sit well with me.

After trying to get her to understand that my bank just told me multiple transactions had taken place, she still did not want to believe me. I let her talk to my bank. She still didn’t believe me. I began to get furious.

I then began to say things that shouldn’t have been said, and at a loud volume. I realize now these things shouldn’t have been said, but at that point I had been through a lot of problems with fast food places, and I let my anger burst out, so where I was no longer in control.

Things were said and done on both sides that weren’t right, but that does not justify what I did. My attitude began to change on that day, but it wasn’t because of the store employees. It was a far more innocent thing.

It was the child sitting in the lobby who was there to see and hear me behaving like I shouldn’t have done. The mother was there to point out that there were children in the store. The child said nothing, but what the child didn’t say meant more than what the mother did say.

It took a child, who I saw, to bring me to reality. How I had been acting was not the way God desired. God decided to use a child to help change me.

Continue reading »]]> I finally decided I had something to contribute to the gaming community at GameFAQs. I have had the Nintendo Wii since November 19, 2006, and for the longest time there was no Wii FAQ available on the site. This kept on for quite a while, until one day a FAQ was put up describing Networking setups. Well, as I had no issues getting the Wii to work with any network I tried, this FAQ did not offer a great deal to me, however, I do think it serves a purpose.

After a few more days, a hardware FAQ was posted on the site. I began reading the FAQ, and noticed how there were things listed that didn’t hold true for the North American area, so my mind began to turn. I looked at the ASCII art the author had done, and thought, “I can do that.” So I did.

I started with just a picture of the Wii Remote and added necessary text to describe things about the remote. Soon I thought of more items to add to this simple text document, and off I went. Over the course of a week I had enough content for the FAQ. I had been battling for submission to the GameFAQs site over what they thought enough content should be.

I didn’t want to add things that would amount to just “filler,” so I gradually added enough important detail in the FAQ that I was happy with as a starting point. Once the detail had been added, I now had a new struggle at the site. Since there was an FAQ posted on the site, I had to show why mine should be posted. After a few moments of ranting to myself why my FAQ should be posted, I collected myself and submitted it again with an explanation of why I felt it deserved to be posted.

After reviewing my FAQ again, and with the comments I posted with it, the FAQ was posted on the site. I had already decided it was going to be posted on my site, because I felt I had spent a long time and a lot of energy into that document. Even if no one else deemed it worthy to be on their site, I deemed it worthy to be on mine.

I have had people sending me emails about the FAQ already, some of which were for needed corrections or clarifications, while some others were to ask me for permission to post the FAQ on their site. I am just happy people are reading it. Hopefully, it has been a benefit to those who have read it. If you would like to read it, again, it is posted on my site, and you may feel free to ask questions about it.

Where this experience may lead to, I don’t know. I may contribute more things to GameFAQs now that I know my work wasn’t for nothing. Maybe I’ll just have more articles here if they don’t deem them long enough or they think there are already too many articles on the topic. I’d like to think that someday there will be something else that I’ll know enough about to contribute to that site.

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t know everything about everything. While I continue to express my thoughts and opinons here, I’ll look to be able to help others with the knowledge I do have.

Continue reading »]]> Folks, I’ve been quite amazed today. The Playstation 3 hit North America today. Sony released around 400,000 units over here from what I’ve heard. Mass riots will probably happen around the country as stores release their insignificant quantities. Some stores will release less than ten, where they had reservations for twenty or more.

Since there will be plenty of disappointed people, this leads the way to people knowing they can get top dollar for the PS3 they spent $700 on. These $700 systems will get put on ebay and get sold for a profit. I have nothing against this, but I do think people will act irresponsibly in trying to secure the system. Currently the systems are being listed for between $2000 and $5000. As if these prices weren’t bad enough, some prices go into tens of thousands of dollars. One price I saw was listed at $100,000. Granted, this was for two systems and some games.

$100,000 for roughly $3,000 of equipment and games. This is truly amazing. I don’t doubt someone would be willing and able to pay it. Within months, another shipment will come out, and some people who didn’t get a console will be able to buy it. Instead of waiting, people are willing to pay the unreasonable price asked by other people. Greed at its finest.

I have no desire to spend the $700 on the PS3, so I certainly would not pay two or three times that for something I don’t want. I have chosen to invest in the Nintendo console coming out. It is cheaper, and will have more games that I would be willing to play in front of children.

While I want the Nintendo Wii system, I understand I can wait for it, and am not letting it consume me. I have it paid off, so I can pick it up without concern or worry. I certainly don’t want to camp out in front of stores like other people are doing for both systems. I paid it off a little at a time, and I have peace about how I did it. So now, I can wait for it while at the same time looking forward to the excitement of it. I believe this is the first time with a console I have done it this way, correctly.

While others fume and complain about how Sony or Nintendo did them wrong, I sit back amazed about their complaints. It would be nice if people would be able to get through this time while seeing the PS3 and any other console are not God. I hope people can snap back to the reality that God is God. While the consoles may be a nice way to pass time, they should not rule our lives. Family, God, and friends are what matters. Anything man makes can be replaced; what God has made cannot. A video game console is not worth hurting people for. Already, innocent people have been hurt in peoples lust of the console wars.

Continue reading »]]> Sports are fun. It doesn’t really what the game is. I suppose even golf is fun. I even think sports entertainment is fun, even if predictable. You see, I am looking at it from another viewpoint in addition to the fun factor.

Currently, since I have trouble standing and moving, there aren’t many sports I can well, or play well. If the sport doesn’t involve moving or standing, I might be able to play. Perhaps not well, but I might be able to play.

In addition to the fun factor of sports, I view the abilities of the players. As someone who can’t pull off those amazing moves, it is something. Yes, those amazing moves. You know, the ones like the baseball player reaching out his glove and catching the ball, or the football player running with the ball and not dropping it.

Then, there are those spectacular moves; the diving catch, the spinning moves. While none of these moves I listed may seem earth shattering, when you can’t do them, they mean that much more. While they seem amazing, they can also at times cause pain.

Yes, pain, as I know I can’t do those things, yet wanting to be able to do them. Yes, sports can be bittersweet. Knowing that if I had the balance, and the endurance, I could do those things. I’m not concerned that my left hand may not behave properly, or that my left leg may not move as high as I would like. Those things can be handled. The balance and endurance cannot.

I mentioned sports entertainment earlier. While I may not want to wrestle, seeing the moves they do at times amazes me. The moves they do at times may not be any more amazing than the baseball or football player, but to me they have the great balance I do not. Getting up on the ropes, and balancing on them or flying from them across the ring and landing at a specific point. That all contributes to the “wow” factor.

You see, it is more than the fun factor. It’s also seeing the small things taken for granted. Those small things, combined with the truly amazing, can make for a wonderful experience.