Ahhh! Brain Freeze!

Take a gander at that pic full size for a moment or four... I'd say "wow" could cover it... Is it safe to assume that was taken on a plane, as opposed to a higher mountaintop, eh?

That reminds me, did y'all see that massive (gigapixel) zoomable panorama shot of Mt. Everest? For obvious reasons, I can't post it here in this blog, but do yourself a favor and check out the link.

Or click that thumbnail right there, let the site load, and prepare to be amazed. You can use the onscreen controls if you want to, but it's easier to click-and-hold the left mouse button and drag the photo around, and use your scroll wheel to zoom in and out. The coolest part for me was to find the massive tent city on the glacier... looked like tiny bits of litter at first, then I zoomed way in and was amazed.

Anyway, yeah, that sort of thing. Doubt I'll ever get into mountaineering, but I still find the subject interesting. From what I understand, there are still around 200 dead bodies on Mt Everest. I read an article on the difficulties involved in trying to retrieve the bodies from the mountain. Crazy.

"OK, enough with the mountains already, Dave, you mouth breather!"

O_o

Alright, who said that?

Bah, doesn't matter. Whoever said it was right...

So everyone is leaving! Sheesh! And by "everyone", I mean Abbie J. and my brother Johnny Boy. Abbie's off to, like, Maine or Iowa or Minnesota or something, I don't know... (just kiddin' Abs). She's going to Kansas City to intern at IHOP! Yep, to make proper pancakes takes a lot of intense training. I mean, too much buttermilk in the mix and it's just RUINED!!!1!

Actually, she's going to intern at IHOP in Kansas City, which is the International House of Prayer... an evangelical ministry that has had 24/7 nonstop prayer and worship for over a decade now (since 1999, if I'm reading the website correctly). Anyway, there really is non-stop prayer, praise and worship going on at their Kansas City campus. You can watch the video footy streamed live on your computer if you wanted to. Abbie's dad is a pastor at our church, and he likes to have the live stream up as much as possible. It's pretty cool, actually.

Anyway, not exactly sure what she'll be doing there, but that's where she is. She promises to update her blog frequently, detailing her exploits, and that link, my friends, is RIGHT HERE!!!1!

And my brother John leaves Wednesday (1/9) in the wee hours of the morning, heading to boot camp in Great Lakes, Michigan. I hope he brings a sweater and his Uggs! Cuz it will be cold!! I'm sure the Drill Instructors will let him wear his Uggs during training, right? Right?? I'm so proud of him. He'll do well, I'm sure.

All this text and no photos to break up the monotony!! One thing to do... OVERDO IT!! Woohoo! Here are some tree-related photos... Click them if you want, to get a good look, eh!

Nice colors! 

My favorite genre of music is "mossy rock"...  

That... is a big tree... 

 I shall name this tree "Precarious" and I shall lean against it regularly...

What say you? Legit? Or Photoshopped?

There... that should keep all of my tree-loving fans happy for a while...

"Enough with the trees already, Dave, you pit-sniffer! Go step in dog cheese and track it on your carpet!"

False! I haven't smelled an armpit in a long time. And we don't own a dog! Who said that, anyway? I don't recognize your voice... Bah, whoever it is was right again... too many trees...

My beard is growing back in nicely. Yes, I know it's a mess! So what? I like it anyway! So there!

So the Steam holiday sales are over. Are you saddened? Well, it was a success for me! I got through it with only 7 new games added to my collection! See! That's a huge step in the right direction, right? I'm practically cured of my game addiction! Of course, I won't admit how much time I put into Minecraft over the holiday season... What can I say? I am a creator! If God hadn't made me in His image so thoroughly, I wouldn't feel the creative compulsions as strongly as I do!!!

"Quit blaming God for your shortcomings, Dave, you simpering nitwit! You smell funny, and your burps are girly!"

Well, say what you will about tonight's Mystery Insultor... he/she calls it like it is.

So, yeah, it's not God's fault... He's perfect and awesome and all that.

That reminds me... being made in His image... do you think that's an unintentional handicap? I mean, He's a Creator, a Judge, He Loves and He wants His Will to be performed... look at us. We create. We judge. We love. We want our own way... In each case, we get into trouble when we do them without Him... odd, isn't it?

We create, and we find great satisfaction in the works of our hands. We're told not to judge by what we hear/see... but we are promised we'll sit on His throne with Him, judging the angels/world... "don't judge! Until you know how to do it the right way! Then, judge!" We love. But if we love something/someone more than we love God, it's idolatry and a sin. We want our own way. In fact, in this country it's held in high regard when a person is a take-charge type. Get things done!

He creates us in His image, and then plops us into a world that is cut off from Him! No wonder we find it so difficult to overcome all the nonsense in us and in our lives!

"Enough with the poor-man's theological gibberish, Dave, you imbecilic stoop-shouldered mumbler! Go get your teeth professionally cleaned!"

Great, more unbroken text and no pictures... let's see what else I got for ya....

OK, I guess that's it.

Good luck, Abbie and Johnny! I hope in each case, you experience rampaging success...

And good might, Mystery Insultor, wherever you are...

"End the post already, Dave, you unwashed wind-sniffer! Go perform an appendectomy on yourself!"

Adios for now,

Dave the Gone