Carol Rutz’s Annexe

Friday’s performance of Video Games Live was wonderful, despite the flaws of the Heartland Choir during the Sonic Medley and that sound interference during the Civilization segment.

What really stole the show was that Mario Brothers piano solo. Very talented guy that really deserved those two standing ovations.

I wish that they can do Bubble Bobble, which is one of my favorite games when I was growing up. I would make up those five letter codes in an attempt to earn more lives or skip several levels. More likely than not, it leads me to the final level with the “bad ending”.

Someone has taped a game play of the pirated version of Bubble Bobble. You can tell that it’s pirated…”Bobble Bobble”! If you have a lunch break, watch this and have a good meal.

The Prediger wanted to attend a concert by our local philharmonic one of these days. “Good idea”, I responded. The question became: What’s available and worth attending? Yesterday, I have found my answer, when I picked up my espresso and looked at the local weekly events paper.

Got our tix already!

We all have heard of celebs giving lip service to environmental issues. But Jay Leno is actually shelling out his own money to test out sources of alternative energy in his home. Not only that, he also uses very eco-friendly methods to work with his car restoration hobby. His home and his garage is its own field lab.

If there is a reason for Midwestern folks to think green, here is a great quote:

“My thing with the green situation is: Even if you don’t believe in global warming, don’t you want to screw the oil company or gas company or utility company?”

Leno is aware that he has the resources to do these experiments. He is also hoping that others in his situation would follow him– that way, the cost will go down and consumers can afford them for their own homes.

I’m hoping that I can afford geothermal warming. Since I live in an area where wind and solar power is not feasible, going the geothermal route looks like the best method. Leno, on the other hand, cannot go for that as Burbank is on earthquake territory.

We use our cell phones in a low volume fashion: about 120 minutes a month, compare to the 700 + unlimited weekends we got via Verizon Wireless.

Which means that the Prediger and I wanted a change of plan. Basically, we have too much phone usage for our needs. Not only that, I do not like the terms. So the first thing I did was seek the wisdom of the Consumerist website and look for solutions that fits.

Got word that Virgin Mobile has a flexible program and we can transfer our phone numbers. So now we are using its pre-paid plan. Long been an option for those with low income or bad credit, savvy consumers who just want a little bit of cell phone access without the long contracts are turning to the pre-paid plans.

I’ve ran some numbers and learned that if I were to keep the Verizon plan, it would be about $1100 per year. Using a Virgin Mobile plan would slash my payment from $1100 to $450. That includes the initial cost of the phones ($50 for both phones), the periodic top-off fee every 90 days (20 bucks per phone) and the minute used.

From Fark and the Daily Kos…an article from Fast Company about a guy that made the automakers in Detroit hoppin’ mad.

Johnathan Goodwin has hacked his cars to be more gas-efficient than what the automakers has set up. Ya know that there is this site that featured people flipping off Hummers for its wasteful uglyness. If you see what Goodwin had done, you’d be giving his biodiesel H2 two thumbs up.

And here is his souped-up Impala, pwning a Lamborghini.

Mattel has announced another recall of Chinese-made toys today, and I’ve been thinking about the toys I used to play with. Barbies? I had one whom I named Journey Petroflame. Journey had one neat trait: Her plastic hair changes color in the sun. I wished that her feet would be flat instead of molded for high heels. Also, I had a teddy bear named Columbus, and a Cabbage Patch Kid named Abner Gordon. I wanted a GI Joe, but the parents thought it was not for girls.

But there are other toys that took center stage. I think about the cardboard boxen that you can make a TV, a space ship, or a playhouse. Throw in a set of markers and crayons with the box and you got fun. The neighborhood kids played with Chinese Jump Rope– one huge elastic band that you can buy for 99 cents:

Another toy I remember: LEGO bricks! Want a house with a wall of doors and windows that rivals Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In? How about a robot or a helicopter? Build it yourself! Another DIY project was the candy maker and I made chocolate treats with them.

All of these items invited creativity and community. You do not need the soccer moms to drive you to organized sports. You do not have to be frustrated about the toy having one use. But you do need imagination to enjoy them.

What type of toys you remember in your lives that made a difference?

For the guys at King of Swords: This is what happens when you encourage a theology geek to make a mention for your site. You will get a written devotion on the Book of Concord with a plug woven in it. LOL

Swords are connections to all stuff medieval and fantasy. The SCA geeks I saw one afternoon respect and love their swords as they practiced their fighting. Pirates and Ninjas are never caught dead without their cutlasses and samurai swords. And who can forget the Kill Bill fight scene, in which the Bride was surrounded and she had her katana, ready to attack? And despite the fact we swing a Wii controller, there is that warrior in us who wishes to be like Frog from Chrono Trigger, settling a grudge via MasaMune. The guys at KingOfSwords.com are selling medieval swords as well as Final Fantasy sword replicas for collecting, beauty…and to satisfy the Inner Warrior. Although we can imagine ourselves to be the protagonist in our fantasies, all this symbolism and Hollywood mastery and fascination veils the sword’s true intended use, not as a prop, but as a lethal means of administering justice (as the victor sees fit). Just ask Margrave George of Brandenburg, who was willing to be executed by the Emperor’s sword for what he believed.

Yesterday marks 477 years since the Augsburg Confession was presented to the Emperor Charles V by the evangelical princes. These nobles were convinced that this confession is really the true exposition of Scripture– so much so, that they publicly stated that in front of the Emperor, a papal legate, various authorities of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Holy Roman Empire. It’s one thing if you were to say to Pope Benedict XVI: “I do not subscribe to the Magisterium of your Church but I embrace without question the Lutheran Confessions.” He’d say: “OK” and wish you blessings on your spiritual journey. Back then, saying that means DEATH. And one noble, Margrave George of Brandenburg, knew that. He knelt before Charles and declared: “Before I would deny my God and his Gospel, I would here kneel before Your Imperial Majesty and have my head chopped off.” That’s right: the Margrave offered his neck to be offed by a sword to someone who has the authority to do so.

What does this mean for us today? It means that we all have something to die for, regardless of one’s personal view of the afterlife. In this case, these nobles are willing to risk being executed for their beliefs. Looking at the Book of Concord, I can see why. It means not having my conscience bound by arbitrary rules that go against what the Bible said. Instead of finding cold comfort in what good [?] I have done, I can fling myself at the Cross, knowing that Christ has paid it all and set me free. The Augsburg Confession reminds me that I can love my Prediger and give him myself as his wife [and he likewise as my husband], knowing that God has blessed us both in the estate of marriage.

In essence, the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession is all about not letting go of God’s gifts, even at the point of great pain. George was aware about that, as well as his colleagues. Today, we continue to hold on to His promises.

Wanted to design my business cards, but I do not have my Wacom tablet installed with my OS. Thanks to the guys at the Linux Wacom Project, I get to use my tablet. And those who are using Ubuntu, you can find these instructions useful.

I want to see what the GIMP can do, as I heard good things about using it in a professional manner. It’s quite limited with vector graphics, but otherwise it’s pretty good for other uses. (All the more reason why we should support Open Source software with time, talent, and treasure. Someone is bound to make improvements.)

Today, I’ve started to make a Threadless-themed cake for ThreadCakes.com. The grand prize is one 12-Club subscription and lots of swag from the Junk Drawer ™!

For my cake, I’m using StingerStyler’s Happy When It Rains as the theme, and I see plenty of potential with that.

Wish me luck, as I’m saving my money for the O’Reilly OSCON ‘07 conference and I want to pinch pennies when I can. If I can win the 12-Club instead of buying one, that would save me 200 bux for renewal.

Today at lunchtime, I ate with some of the District Presidents, and they asked what I’ve been doing lately. I told them about my studies and projects. (To those who hang out at Threadless.com and at Fark.com, the DPs are the guys who oversee the various regions of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.) I then told them that I worked around with Linux. One guy asked why Linux is free. I replied that it allows people to tinker around the inner workings to what they want. As long one is willing to learn and have the time, Linux is a great OS to use.

Here is one video introduction to what one can do with Linux.

Granted, some of you are more comfortable with Windows XP and are hesitant with going to Vista. The thing is that one can be comfortable with Linux as well. Hope you enjoy this.