Cooper's Birthday

I mentioned in a previous post that Paige's parents are coming in next weekend. They are flying in from their home in NC for Cooper's birthday party. My little man is turning three on Monday (5/2) and it has been an amazing time. I watch him learn everyday and it is wonderful. I love the hugs and kisses he gives. The pure joy in his eyes makes getting home from work one of the best times of the day. He currently has a dump truck turned over the office while I am catching up on blogging and has gotten out a screwdriver to "fix-it." It looks like he is working on the rear suspension right now.

Last night, we went to Home Depot. He climbed up on a John Deere lawn tractor and tried to seperate the keys from the steering wheen (zip-tied) and start the tractor so he could drive it away. I have a three year old that is too smart for his own good; he keeps me running and on my toes to keep him out of trouble. I wouldn't trade any of it for all the tea in China. :)

Levenger Circa and GTD

Bit of a quick love story here: I love Levenger and their products.

About two months ago, I picked up a Circa notebook and punch. These are fantastic. Basically, I have a professional looking notebook that I can add, move, or remove pages at ease. It travels well, keeps everything organized, and keeps me more productive.

Here are a few hacks:

1. Don’t order the plastic tab dividers; they take too much space. I made my own by printing some of my pictures on card stock and using Post-it Durable Index Tabs for labels.

2. Immediately order the larger discs. The discs that come with the notebooks hold about 60-80 pages. Get the largest discs so you can keep everything in one notebook.

3. Pick up some high quality paper from a supply super store. I have preprinted forms for both my day job and my photography business. I have the logo on the top, along with my name and email address. I have forms with grids, with open spaces, and with lines for different situations. I can use a sheet for notes, then remove it from the notebook and file. I also can write on a sheet and give it to someone I am meeting with; the contact information on top serves the place of a business card.

4. Rollabind invented the original system. Their website has plastic sheets that hold 3x5 pictures. I don’t print 3x5 pictures, but I use 3x5 cards for the basis of my GTD system and the sheets work perfect.

More to come. . .

GTD

The American Political Exegesis, circa 2005

Politicians are fond of using labels to minimize their opponents: liberal, conservative, communist, facist, etc. Theologians do the same thing at times. One of the most popular is “proof-texting”. Proof texting can be functionally defined as reading small segments of biblical text out of context to prove a point. One starts with a point to prove and then looks for the segments of text, and only those segments, that support their point.

I was a political science major in college and spent many years as a political junkie. Which makes it hard to admit that politics have bored me badly in the last few years. CNN, Meet the Press, Fox News Sunday, etc. have been replaced with ESPN. I have paid little attention to general politics in the last 6 months since the November election. So, imagine my surprise this week when I catch a news report about how both the Republicans and Democrats are quoting the bible. The Republicans are focused on moral values including marriage; the Democrats quote the verses on the poor. Of course, my first reaction is that they both are proof-texting. Neither side is dealing with the totality of the text, just mining it for the pieces that useful at this moment. It is sad to see scripture become just one more weapon to be parsed and misused in the political cacophony that has become modern American politics.
No wonder why I continue to check out.