David Ancell / Sunday, September 04, 2005 / Comments(0)
I’m really glad I bought a new desktop. Granted, it might have been good to offer it up, but I do have some church work that I need a computer for. The desktop allowed me to get a CD together and burn six copies two days after the actual talks. I’ve never done that well before.
However, my real problem is with my laptop. I sent it in for service about two weeks ago because of hard drive problems and a non-working mouse port. I got it back with a record saying the BIOS was upgraded and the operating system was reloaded. Now, a week and a half later, the system won’t even boot. I won’t reveal the name of the manufacturer yet because I am waiting to see if they respond well. If they don’t, I’ll send a big notice saying not to buy their products.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Sunday, September 04, 2005 / Comments(0)
With the Frassati Society now no longer meeting, I decided to post my article on penance on my web page to preserve it. I wrote it for the May 2004 newsletter, hence the reference to the Easter season.
Perhaps this is the time for that. Even if the sacrifice we make is a small one, we can offer it for the people who are really suffering in New Orleans and southern Mississippi. Incidents like this remind me of how I really don’t know how to sacrifice. Those people have no choice.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Friday, September 02, 2005 / Comments(0)
I just saw that Planned Parenthood is offering free birth control pills and free morning-after pills to Katrina refugees. These people need food, water, and shelter, yet Planned Parenthood is only offering birth control. Do these people get it?
I almost hate to write the rest of this for fear of giving them any ideas. However, I’m afraid the next thing will be free or reduced-cost abortions to refugees. I can just see the disgusting marketing campaign saying “Now the time is not right to have a baby.” So, let’s just kill it! I would say that this is inspired solely by Satan, but I think this would be an insult to Satan’s intelligence.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Friday, September 02, 2005 / Comments(0)
With hurricane Katrina, the rumors abound that there will be a gas shortage. The result has been a huge run on the gas stations. Since everyone is filling up, the stations are running out of gas, causing the predicted shortage. I wonder if anyone realized that. On top of that, people like me who are sometimes skeptical of this stuff have decided to fill up because gas stations are running out of gas, making the problem worse. I only had to buy half a tank of gas, but it cost me thirty bucks.
Well, seriously now, let’s pray for those affected, and donate or help out if you can. I have a coworker who hasn’t heard from her family in days because they have no phone nor any electricity. I’m sure she is not alone. Another friend of mine has located most of her family, but the time just before that was quite stressful. Many of her family have lost their homes and their jobs because their area is totally destroyed. I’ve never realized the real human impact of storms like this before.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Wednesday, August 31, 2005 / Comments(0)
I found myself in a conscience discussion not too long ago, and I thought I’d pass along some resources.
This one is from EWTN.
There are two, here and here that may be useful from Catholics United for the Faith. If you aren’t a member, I recommend considering them.
Essentially, you can’t set your conscience against the teachings of the Church and then excuse yourself on grounds that you are following your conscience. This is true regardless of whether the teaching is recognized as infallible.
Here is my favorite quote from Veritatis Splendor:
(from Article 63) It is never acceptable to confuse a “subjective” error about moral good with the “objective” truth rationally proposed to man in virtue of his end, or to make the moral value of an act performed with a true and correct conscience equivalent to the moral value of an act performed by following the judgment of an erroneous conscience.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Sunday, August 21, 2005 / Comments(0)
I just heard the Holy Father’s homily at World Youth Day on EWTN. I just got cable this summer after having not been able to watch the coverage Pope John Paul II’s funeral, and I’m glad I did. The Holy Father said he would continue the Year of the Eucharist, and his Eucharist-themed homily shows that he meant what he said. He reminded us of the union with Christ that we achieve that also unites us to each other in the Church.
At the end of the homily, the crowd chanted “Benedicto,” the Italian pronunciation of Benedict. The Holy Father just smiled and waved to the crowd. Well, now we see how the youth respond.
I must say that I do have high hopes for one term used by the Holy Father to become as famous as Pope John Paul II’s “Culture of Life” and “Culture of Death.” Before the election, then-Cardinal Ratzinger told the College of Cardinals that they must fight the “Dictatorship of Relativism.” This term, I hope, will soon become the theme for this papacy. The best way to restore a Culture of Life is with a Culture of Truth. Pope Benedict XVI has just gotten started, and I hope he lives long and is able to do much.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Sunday, August 21, 2005 / Comments(0)
I think I’m a sucker for no-interest financing. I can get it when it’s available at most places nowadays, and I buy a lot of my big stuff that way. Circuit City was offering 18-months no-interest financing on computers, so I walked out of the store with a new Hewlett-Packard Windows Media Center PC. It’s a Pentium D, meaning that it is dual-core and supposedly can handle multiple tasks. I’ve been told it’s built for upcoming 64-bit operating systems.
This thing is fast. My laptop was really getting slow, and to make it worse, the hard drive was probably due to fail any day now. I’ll be taking it in for service soon. Now that I have this desktop with a new monitor, I realize just how hard-to-read the laptop display is compared with the desktop. This 19-inch flat-screen monitor is amazing.
My only concern with it was whether I’d still be able to get Internet Information Service on to test web pages. It turns out that Windows XP Media Center Edition does come with IIS. I have already put PHP and Cold Fusion back on it.
Now, I just have to stop spending money for a while. I’ve got some great new toys, but I have to be careful not to go to far with this. I do hope that I will be able to put these to use, not only for my own entertainment, but also for the service of others.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Wednesday, August 17, 2005 / Comments(0)
My poor, neglected web page has a new article on it. This is something that has weighed heavily on my mind a lot. I’ve wondered how one can say their “religion” is separate from their work or other aspects of their lives while somehow acknowledging that there is a God whom they will stand before in judgment. Well, really, they can’t.
I have had thoughts about having more printer-friendly versions available. Not only to I have PDF, but I also have Flash Paper on my system, which will allow for much faster loading. Maybe at some point I can even write more articles.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Sunday, August 14, 2005 / Comments(0)
Hello to my readers again. I am still here. I wish I had more to blog about. It seems I’m always busy or tired. Well, I won’t give up. I just finished an article that is about something that is heavy on my heart. If you know me personally, you may be able to guess what it is. I should have it posted soon. I can’t do it from here because I’m stuck at the office. Someone here decided that construction needed to be done on Sunday morning, and since I’m on call, I get to be here. They should be gone soon, and I can lock up and leave.
Meanwhile, I’m having a terrible time thinking of a good design for my main page. I have all this sophisticated software, but I just can’t figure out how I wish to use it. As soon as I do, I hope to have something that is much better looking than this.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Saturday, August 06, 2005 / Comments(0)
I thought it was bad enough to see that Allstate had fired an employee for writing against gay marriage. Now, I’ve seen worse. According to LifeSite News, the Red Cross fired an employee for voicing objections to Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. There is no doubt that many people contribute to the Red Cross to help in their life-saving work. Now, it seems that the organization that works to save lives is also working to damn souls.
It’s fortunate that the Red Cross is very scrupulous about using earmarked contributions only for the purpose they are given. However, one never knows when that will change. I have made it a practice some time ago never to give to the Red Cross except when the money is earmarked, and I don’t think I’ve even given to the Red Cross at all in recent years. The reason for this is that some of their literature supports condom use to prevent the spread of HIV, which is immoral. After seeing this, I doubt I will ever be able to contribute another dime to them for any reason. I am very grateful that my parish’s collection for tsunami relief went to Catholic Relief Services instead of the Red Cross.
Category: Posts imported from Danger! Falling Brainwaves, Uncategorized