rob’s place

You may know that from time to time, the internet just gets full of junk. Thankfully, a group of computer geeks volunteers have created a system to help us all. The cleanup is scheduled to run for about 24 hours starting tomorrow.

Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, and the search guys at Microsoft have all worked together to create a special search robot to scour the web and clean out old and outdated websites.

From what I can tell, it’s similar to them agreeing on the “no-follow” tag used in blogging comments.

It’s nice to see the heavy search engine guys come together to purge and prune the internet.

These search robots will be looking for any web page that hasn’t been updated in 7 years. Why 7? Apparently 1998 was decided as the year that “responsible” web site creation began. No one has cleaned out the very first sites.

I also heard that they are working with Technorati, who searches blogs effectively, to find dead blogs and delete them.

So come Sunday morning there may be lots of new domain names available…and a cleaner, leaner, faster internet!

My advice is not to add any blog posts or web pages to the internet tomorrow. It could get ugly. Every registered email address with Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft should get an “all clear” email sent early Sunday morning.

[tags]psa, clean internet, aprilfools[/tags]

baby walker, originally uploaded by orangejack.

Spring has sprung in Orlando. And so have the baby Sand Hill Cranes.

Being a good leader is knowing who’s following you.

Plastic cups cost less than a dollar.

I found some cheap red wine at Whole Foods last night for $6. The wine is from California and it’s actually called “Cheap Red Wine”.

But the coolest glasses to use to drink the cheap red wine out of cost $43.

It’s like rain on your wedding day.

Thanks Gizmodo.

I keep hearing that no one outside of the Washington, DC area knows where George Mason University is.

It’s right here!

BTW, the dorms being built off Patriot Cir to the east were completed in 1999. This is an old sat shot.

And if you really want to know, scroll down Robert’s Rd to the south until you get to the intersection at Burke Center Parkway. See Old Landing Way at that intersection? That’s where we used to live.

[tags]George Mason, GMU, map of george mason[/tags]

Per ESPN.com bracket challenge:

More than 1.5 million people participated and of the more than 3 million entries submitted only four — that’s right, four — picked a Final Four including Florida, George Mason, LSU and UCLA before the tournament started. Over 66 percent of entries had none of the Final Four teams correct and better than 29 percent had exactly two teams correct.

windows: better looking than a mac, originally uploaded by orangejack.

Now that my bracket is worthless, I’m changing my desktop wallpaper to this…so I can daydream about how my brackets should have been.

after round 4, originally uploaded by orangejack.

That’s it. I’m done. I won’t be posting any more updates on this because I can’t get any more games correct. All I got was UCLA into the Final 4 and that’s it.

Now I’m pulling for George Mason!

I’m pretty excited that my bracket is horrible right now because George Mason upset UConn today to go to the final 4.

The Patriots became the second double-digit seed to make the Final Four, matching LSU’s run, also as an 11th seed, in 1986. The Colonial Athletic Association team is the first true outsider to crash the Final Four since Penn and Indiana State both got there in 1979.

Why do I care about GMU, you say? Well, for one, Patricia grew up blocks from the campus in Fairfax, VA. Second, when Patricia started our ministry together, it was at George Mason. We were on that campus daily from 98-99.

So we’re pretty happy about this. Cool! Go Patriots!

[tags]George Mason, Final 4[/tags]

after round 3, originally uploaded by orangejack.

Buh by Duke, hello George Mason.

I only got 3 of the Elite 8 correct. ugh.

Savage Chickens: The Voices Cartoon

rock portrait, originally uploaded by orangejack.

For the past several months I’ve been dealing with depression. I wouldn’t say I’m severely depressed, though the chemicals in my head are out of balance. However, there are days that the emotional discouragement is through the roof and it’s tough to do or say anything.

At first if you were to ask me why I felt depressed, I would have had no answer. But I’ve been reading a lot. Some are books for fun (like CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia) and a few books on depression by a couple of pastors. One is a Bible study on Elijah and his depression in 1 Kings 19. I’ve been learning a lot about the subject of depression itself.

But that hasn’t helped me understand why I feel depressed.

Dr. Seuss wrote in “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!“,

I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

I never realized there was such wisdom in a Dr. Seuss poem! Un-slumping myself is indeed not easily done — at least not by myself.

And if I may extend my theology to another children’s book, CS Lewis told the story in “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” of how Eustace turned into a dragon; but he couldn’t get the dragon skin off of him. Tried as he might, it kept coming back. But when Aslan, the Lion, took his claw into the dragon skin, the dragon skin came off. Eustace couldn’t do it alone.

Patricia and I have talked a lot and the vacation we took in November was well timed. It gave me a chance to reflect, pray, read, relax, and process my emotions. I have also been seeing a professional Christian counselor who has helped me process more. I’ve started prescription medication that has been working some.

I’m writing you to invite you into this tough and sometimes dark time with me. I don’t expect many people to fully understand, nor do I expect any to “come to my rescue”. Instead, I ask that you talk to God for me and just be a friend to me.

I’m learning more about why I’m feeling the way I am and as it turns out, I can trace a lot of it back pretty far. As I reflect on when I’ve been feeling the weight of depression, I realize I’ve had bouts with it at least since college, perhaps further back. But it’s been the most intense it’s ever been these last several months.

It’s taken me a while to even write about this. I’ve opened myself up to others in the past and I’ve gotten really burned by it. A trusted friend abused my vulnerability and judged me for what I shared. I’ve been pretty shy about opening up and sharing ever since.

Today I’m taking a step of faith that hopefully will not haunt me, but instead help me grow. I invite you to join me if you dare.

Romans 5:2 in The Message reads:

…we throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand — out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

I’m hopeful this will be true for me. It’s not easy opening the door again. But I’m willing.

[tags]depression[/tags]