Andy's Blog

It's A Small World is by far the worst amusement ride in the history of all amusement rides. And I am pretty sure Al Gore designed it...

On May 24, 1956, Al Gore was 8 years old. He decided to take a break from inventing the internet and called up his good buddy Walt Disney. Walt Disney took a break from hating the Jews and decided to listen to Al Gore's idea.

Al's vision: design a ride to convince the world that it is smaller than it really is. Why? Because 50 years to the day - May 24, 2006 - Al Gore knew he would release the greatest powerpoint presentation ever called The Inconvenient Truth, and in order for the premise of the "movie" to be true, humans had to believe they were bigger than they really were.

A small world is to Global Warming like time is to Evolution. For Evolution to be true, it needs a lot of time (hence the reason the world keeps getting older and older¹). For Global Warming, we have to believe humans are actually of some real consequence of size when compared to the world. But it just isn't true...

The current world population is 6.6 billion people. The most dense city in terms of population is Manilla with 41,014 people per square kilometer. What does this mean? We can fit the entire world population in the state of Washington. Or maybe better put, humans only take up .108% of all the land on the globe, or .032% of the entire globe (including bodies of water).

Ok, but you say, Andy, who would want to live in Manilla. Fair enough, lets compare it to what I call the "good life." Fort Wayne, IN has a population density of 1,071 people per square kilometer. This means you can fit the the entire world population in the states west of the Mississippi plus Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. Or better put, 4.114% of all the land on the globe, or 1.208% of the entire globe (including bodies of water).

Don't even get me started on the math when we switch from 2-dimensions percentages (area = people per square kilometer) verses 3-dimensional percentage (volume = people per cubic kilometer).

Now the question I pose: are we really as important and influential and in control of this world as we think?

Like I have said before, it isn't that I am against "global warming" per se, I am just skeptical. And despite what Walt Disney and Al Gore came up with, we don't live in a small world, we are just small people.²

Are you sitting down? Of course you are...who uses a computer standing up? Good, you are sitting down! I say this only because I want you prepared for the craziest train of thought in the history of thinking.

I was listening to a news report the other day about how February 29th was the lightest day for gynecologists because nobody wanted to have a baby and have to deal with a kid having a birthday once every four years. Just mentioning gynecologists always draws my mind to an ex-girlfriend's father (he was an gynecologist, don't get any weird ideas). That particular ex-girlfriends got me thinking about law school. Law school got me thinking about my friend Lissa. Lissa got me thinking about 3rd year law school students - or "3L" as they attempt to fool us non-law people - in particular and what it would be like if I had gone to law school. Being back in school, with the slight reminder daylight savings time changes this weekend which means it is spring time got me thinking about what I missed most about being in school. The exciting conclusion to Andy's crazy train of thought is...drum roll please...spring break!

Ohh how I miss spring break. I was in school for 17 years. In those 17 years I never once failed to take a vacation. I never once spent it in Fort Wayne. It was always a time to get out into the world with people I loved and forget about school (even though you always had stuff due right afterwards).

I am going to take a moment and reminisce about some of the great trips. There was Antigua with the family. Hawaii with Hillary. Mexicali with APU. Siesta Key with Laura. Denver with Emily.

The closest I ever came to not taking a spring break was senior year of college. Nothing was planned except to stay on campus at APU and shoot down to the OC for beach days. As it turned out, APU went to the NAIA Championship game and I convinced APU to pay for me to go to get video footage. So my roommate Taylor and I hopped in a car and drove from LA to Kansas City overnight and just barerly made it for tip off (Lucky for Erin, the cheerleaders got to take a plane).

The best spring break by far was when CJ and I went to Hilton Head senior year of high school. We went completely on our own and spent three days there - it was cold. When we exhausted everything to do when it was cold, we went to the library, MapQuest-ed directions to Sannibel Island in Florida (9 hours away) and drove to see Andrea. That trip was not only great because we were 18 and on our own being adventurous and stupid, but it still allows me to take take credit for their marriage.

The irony of course was that in the early years of spring breaks, we usually would vacation to Atlanta. But it isn't about the location. It is about the variety. The adventure. The build-up. The friends. The relationships. What would this world be like if we continued spring break into adulthood? We all would decided in January to go somewhere, and for two months get pumped about the times shared.

For that, I am envious of my 3L friends who get one last chance before hitting the real world. Enjoy your last spring break my friends - vacation will never be the same again.

Many times on the air Allen will refer to his high school with pride when he states that his High School Alma Mater are the national champions at football. Well it is my turn to offer pride in my high school. I was casually checking out Fort Wayne Observed today (it makes me feel connected to "home"), and amongst my parousing I came across that according to US News & World Report, my high school, Homestead High School, has been ranked as one of the top 505 public schools (top 3%) in the country.

There are many times in my life when I have had the privilege to reflect on how blessed I am to have been born in the United States of America. You don't work in AIDS villages in South Africa, or sleep in a bed 1/4 of mile from a bomb explosion in Jerusalem, or build orphanages in Honduras with out realizing that living in America is a blessing - one which wasn't earned, despite what most Americans seem to think.

But more and more recently, I have come to the realization that my school was a blessing I didn't earn either - and it was a blessing that prepared me for college and life more than I could have ever expected.

I often joked with my friends in college that my hardest year of college was my junior year of high school. And while it was a joke, there was some truth there. Taking 5 AP classes and being an editor on the yearbook was quite challenging. But the brilliance of Homestead was that it wasn't just about the bookwork - it was about a holistic approach to education.

I think back to Block (AP History & AP English combined) and think about the extreme amount of energy that had to have been put into that by Mr. Schmidt, Ms. Decalone, Mr. Teagarden, and Ms. Walker. They didn't just teach historical facts and grammar (which we all know I must have been asleep for the grammar part), but they taught us how to think, how to debate, how to process information, and how to interpret.

I think about Journalism and how truly grateful I am to Mr. Kuhn for not just the journalistic integrity he taught me, but the independence he gave to me to learn my own lessons. Who knew I would eventually use those lessons to produce a talk radio show on the largest news radio source in the South (and no I took no journalism classes in college).

I even think about Woodside Middle School (feeder for Homestead) where I did my first and only web programming class and my first and only video editing class with Mr. Gorman. These are two elements of my life where I have succeeded at GREATLY and they have pretty much enabled me to do that which I do now. Yet I had no collegiate education to show for these areas either.

Middle school was also important because it had Mr. Panning – a man that taught me more about life and provided a great example of what it was to be a man during a time when I desperately needed that (he was a great Math teacher and Cross Country coach too).

I even enjoy that when comparing a lot of the “Gold” rated schools to Homestead, it appears most are “privilege sections” of public schools (basically they are gifted-only academies in public school districts). Even that fact makes me proud that Homestead was truly integrated. I was in ALPHA (the gifted program of Southwest Allen) beginning in Kindergarten – yet I had gym with the star football player, I had photography with the crazy hippy where you wondered if she was on drugs, and I had biology and literature with kids who had very different theological and social outlooks. All this to say, I learned about life and how to interact with people different than me. It wasn’t a sheltered bubble of brainy kids isolated like those of "public academies", but rather a melting pot of experience and perspective.

I currently live in an suburb of Atlanta much like Southwest Allen…only about 10 times more wealthy and “yuppie”. Instead of Dick Freeland and Tom Kelly - you’d know who I am talking about if you lived in Southwest Allen - Usher, Jeff Foxworthy, John Smoltz, and the CEOs of Fortune-500 companies are my neighbors. What cracks me up about this area is how many private academies there are (I can count 6 within the same space as my old school district). Yet I still don’t think any of them do as good of a job of educating and preparing a holistic person better than Homestead did. I spoke at a local private academy's career day earlier this year and I reminded them of Mark Twain's quote, "I never let my schooling get in the way of my education." School is more than just books. Homestead got this; I am not sure most private schools do.

Ultimately, it is the teachers that I am most grateful for. I now have a lot of teacher friends, and I know how hard it is. I know how hard it is to deal with parents that think they know better or that their kid is more special than the rest. I know how hard it is to come up with lesson plans that not only educate but that are engaging. I know how hard it is to wake up at 6:30 just to be greeted at 7:30 by a lethargic class. But as all teachers know, it isn't about them. It is about the students. And from one student, simply put, thanks for everything.

Please note this article was originally written for my Newsvine Column so verbiage is slightly different.

We interviewed David Levy, the author of Love and Sex with Robots yesterday in London in preparation for a show we are doing this weekend roughly titled "Why We Get Married?" His prediction is that by 2050, Massachusetts will be the first state to legalize human-robot marriages.

This got me thinking about evolution (which I am sure has got Mykola floored). Now, I am not a total believer in evolution. This is not to say I don't think it could be true - I have no quarrels with the theory. I just don't think scientifically there is the evidence for Macro-evolution. But that is not really my point. My point is that if evolution is true, I think robots are going to be the end of human existence.

We usually think of the end of human existence with robots something a-la-Terminator or Matrix. There is a giant war between the robots and their creator, yet inferior humans. But robots are far too smart for that. They are going to take over the world more subtly.

In the interview, we started to talk about if a human-robot marriage will be able to have kids. Sure enough, David responded by saying that the robot will be designed to produce genetically similar mini-robots that will combine traits from the "natural human" and the robot. Thus making kids.

So here goes. In theory, all things being equal and morality set aside, I think humans will naturally want to have relationships with robots more than humans assuming you can't tell the difference between the way a robot looks/acts/talks/etc...when compared to a human. Why? Because life could be all about the human. Everybody could marry a supermodel or "Dr. McDreamy." The robot could cook and clean, etc...sex would be what you want, when you want, how you want, etc...You could have the number of kids you want, not what your spouse wants. You would have no in-laws. It is essentially one less person to "feed / house / pay for." Conversation would always be about what you want to talk about, and it can be as deep, intimate, or shallow as you would want. You could essentially create a life that is all about you.

Now, throw in that the robot can manufacture robot kids and then you have the start of an evolutionary process that essentially wipes out the human race. Sure there will be some that will hold on (I'd like to think I would be one of them), but sooner or later the robots will become the far superior race and with survival of the fittest kicking in, they will easily be the next step in the evolutionary chain.

Side notes:

1. I should state for the record that a.) I don't think human-robot relationships are a morally acceptable and valid form of intimate relationship, and b.) I don't believe that robots really will be the end of human existence. But it is interesting nevertheless.
2. P.S. You should really listen to the interview if you have 6 minutes. I think it is really interesting and, yes, I am the "Andy" they make fun of in the middle of the segment for not being able to find a girl.
   http://www.allenhuntshow.com/Home/play.php?FileURL=...

It has been a freakin' hot summer in Atlanta - they don't call it Hotlanta for nothing. Needless to say, I am glad I spent most of it at Kathy & Charlie's beach and at Molly's lake. But all this warmth got me thinking about Global Warming and why I think it is a bunch of crap!

Now before you label me a heart-less conservative that is just toting the Republican line: give me a second. I want to believe in Global Warming. I really do. I would love to believe that we have enough data to know that out of the millions and billions of years this earth has been in existence, the last 100 years of human interference through the use of fossil fuels and energy has created a global warming effect that could be stopped if we just changed our habits. But frankly, I just can't.

Remember Hurricane Katrina? Remember that Hurricane season and how bad it was? All the Global Warming people were crying at the top of their lunges that it was due to Global Warming. The next hurricane season came and they "predicted it was going to be worse because of Global Warming" - alas it was pretty week. But did anyone retract that statement: no. This hurricane season was even weaker.

But here is the real crux in the whole theory: the whole universe is getting hotter. Check out these two articles by National Geographic and Colorado University. According to these articles Mars and Venus are also getting hotter. So unless there are men and women consuming oil and other fuels on Mars and Venus, something else is at work here.

So here's my question; what sounds more plausible. A.) Our limited 100 years of data showing that the mere 6 billion people on this earth (which is relatively small given the surface area of the earth) has consumed enough oil and related products to drastically change the climate of a MASSIVE planet; or B.) the sun is getting hotter for some reason we don't know and raised the temperature of the earth a few degrees.

I am going with B. Al Gore can continue flying around on his private jet burning more fuel in one flight than most Americans do driving their car for an entire year telling us how the world is going to collapse due to our fossil fuel usage, but for me, I am going to blame it on the sun.

This was a great week. Awesome Braves game on Tuesday that was probably the most fun baseball game I have been to. I finally got my new office organized. A 60-hour work week. No wolf criers. And to top it all off, a two-day weekend on the beach at Hilton Head Island with friends. When I went out to the beach this morning, I grabbed a Business Week that was sitting on the coffee table. I eventually read an article about recruiting methods used by top companies (like GE, ExxonMobil, etc...) and contacting college professors for "leads" on their top students.

All is good right? Seems simple. Companies want good, rising stars. Therefore they turn to college professors. Well, it gets complicated because often times these companies pay professors directly for help, or they support them in other ways (donation to the university ear-marked for their department, support of their PhD program, etc...).

This brings us to the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. In their fear of favoritism, they have set a policy that disallows professors to recommend students unless the company has contacted the student first. Now, as I sat in a beach chair thinking about this, I had to ask myself: if I knew this as a student considering UV's Business School, would I attend it? And the answer I have come to is no!

Maybe it is because I think this is actually a really smart idea. Maybe it is because I was liked by most of my professors. Maybe because I have seen first hand a great example of a professor recommending a friend of mine for a position that fit him and the company remarkably well. But frankly, Darden is a classic example of disabling fear.

We did a show the other weekend on volunteering and "serving others." One of our callers commented that people don't help much anymore because they are feared of "doing it wrong and then getting sued." Bingo! A fear of being sued disables them from doing something they should. Darden has a fear of showing favoritism (and possibly being sued), so they are disabling their professors to provide a great service to companies, to their students, and to themselves (usually there is some compensation to the school).

I don't want to live my life in any sort of disabling fear. Whether it was flying the weekend after 9/11/01, or studying abroad in the Middle East (both of which I was afraid to do but did anyways); or helping people even though they might possibly be able to sue or slander me, or setting University policy, fear should never be an influence in the decision to do the right thing.

Today I landed at Los Angeles International Airport at 11:03 am. But unlike a year ago on my way to Sydney, this time I would be staying for more than a couple of hours. I quickly hoped off the plane, rented my car, declined the free map, and went straight to APU.

It's a little weird being back to tell you the truth, but I am not sure why? I instantly hooked back up with friends that I hadn't seen in a while, and all was good. We caught up. Talked about life. Talked about upcoming weddings. Talked about all sorts of stuff.

But I had an hour or so free in-between things so I drove over the Cinnabon store just off campus and it was here where I got that first, sort of, weird feeling. It was a feeling like I was at this "new" place, not a place I lived at for four years. With the exception of Fort Wayne, IN - I lived in Azusa longer than anywhere else. Yet it was different. It was foreign. It wasn't the least bit nostolgic and I can't figure out why.

When I moved out to APU from Indiana (August 31, 2001), I returned the weekend after Sept 11, 2001 to surprise my girlfriend as I had a hunch she would win Homecoming Queen (which she did). I returned again in November to surprise her at her play she was in. And I returned for the third time in December for Christmas break (by then we broke up). But none of these trips ever felt like returning to a place I had never been. But today did. So maybe the reason it feels foreign is because it took me 25 months to return.

I guess that is why college is never ultimately "home" (even though I lived here pretty much year round). It's a stage of life that will never be forgotten, with friends that you'll never leave, but the location will move on with out you. It will always welcome you back, but it will never be the same.

If I were to guess, I bet I am at 33,000 ft about halfway from Tokyo on my way to Okinawa. I spent two days in Tokyo with about 30 APU students I didn't know and one college professor I knew very well. Even though I don't/didn't know these students, all I can say is: it's good to be back.

A couple rows over some are having the same pretentious conversations I had in college (I think this one is about whether or not the British version of the The Office or the American version is more "legit"). I have to say, I miss this. Even if it slightly errors on the arrogant and pompous, it is this type of conversation I rarely have anymore. Conversation that for whatever reason seems to have the balance of the world at stake, but in reality has nothing at stake.

Somehow these conversations always got back to faith (don't ask my how). Whether it is the critique of U2 music in relation to racism in America, or the Simpson's take on a theological concept Karl Barth and C.S Lewis would disagree on: it was/is always meaningful.

My thoughts drift back to Atlanta and how very little of my conversation sounds like this, and it saddens me. Most conversations I have now are about Bulldog football (which never seems to migrate to faith; except when someone brings up how cute Mark Richt is and then someone else chimes in about how strong of a Christian he is).

There is a good chance I am going to do this trip every year (and maybe a trip to Indonesia and the Philippines as well) with APU students I won't know. Something tells me it will always fee a little like home.

I am now back in the States, but I am going to release the next couple of blogs about the experience a couple of days apart to allow all the opportunity to read. I will also have an entry summarizing the trip at the end.

Also, you can find photos here (more to come though)

This week was a great week. Why? Because I paid off my $11,000 student loan. After 15 months, I had accumulated $517.45 in interest, and averaged $767.83 a month in payments. For the first time in 4 years, I have no debt to my name, and it feels great.

But I am a nerd and I didn't stop there. Now that I know exactly how much I paid in interest, I, of course, consulted my Quicken to figure out just how much college cost me.

Now there are some out there that could careless, and that's cool. Just stop reading. It's alright. But I find this fascinating and I think in the end it will have a point ;)

For the four years between 6/1/01 and 5/5/05 (plus interest afterwards related to student loan) my expenses were as followed:

• Direct Education: $91,411.09 (tuition, books, fees, educational travel & student loan interest)
• Room or Rent: $16,198.04 (both on and off-campus housing)
• Food: $13,244.59 (board, groceries, and dining out)
• Utilities: $3,984.94 (gas, water, electricity, cell phone)
• Tithe & Non-Profit Giving: $5,030.75
• Other Expenses: $18,802.33 (taxes, travel, auto fuel, etc...)
• Total Expenses: $148,671.84

Holy cow! Direct expenses only relating to my education was $91,411.09, and once you include living expenses like eating and having an apartment/dorm the sum was $148,671.84. Now, lets see how the bills were paid:

• Dividend Income: $70.56
• Savings Interest: $173.08
• Gifts from Others: $2,365.61 (mainly high school graduation & "Charlie's travel gifts")
• Investment Income: $4,4710.44 (GE Stock)
• Mom: $5,341.54 ($5,016.54 was for Summer of '01 and Freshman year)
• Grandma Borgmann Gift: $10,000
• Scholarships: $20,275.00
• Dad: $26,500.25
• Salary Earned from Working During College: $27,698.84
• Grandma Neslund Gift: $40,000
• Total Income: 137,135.32

The income/expense difference was $11,536.42, and after you subtract out $11,000 in student loan and the $517.45 in interest related to the loan, that left a "real college debt" of $18.97.

Now, I could take this is so many different ways, and I am going to try to hit them all.

First of all, it all was worth it. APU prepared me for the real world and my profession better than any university I can imagine. Even at the stark cost of almost $150k (that's a freakin' house in Indiana), it was still worth it.

Second of all, I spent a good chunk of college complaining about how little my dad paid. Now I always say this with a disclaimer that I recognize that I am incredibly blessed in life - I cannot overstate that. But my dad was kind of "mathematical" in his approach to paying for my college. He took Indiana University's tuition (which was $12,000) in 2001. He then took 2/3 of that ($8,0000), as he figured each parent is responsible for 1/3 and so is the student. Then he divided his income in 2001 by his income and my mom's income (which came to 78.1%). He then applied this number to the $8,000 and WAM, dad's contribution was $6250.00 a year (although admittedly senior year he paid an extra $1,500 for an average contribution of $6,625). What always irked me about dad is he had this sort of "you got to earn this for yourself" attitude, but he had all of his private college and law school paid for by his parents.

BUT, all that to say, I am grateful that he contributed what he did, because I know a lot of people out there who would have loved to have had half of what he contributed, and for that I am blessed. Which is lesson number two: I am very grateful for all of those who sacrificed for my education and I do not tread lightly on the idea that while I paid more than $40,000 of my own education, there was still $110,000 that came from elsewhere.

My third point is this: debt! Debt sucks. I hate debt probably more than most (hence the reason I have no savings right now besides a 401(k) but I have no debt). But still, the average student leaving college has $19,000 in debt (and if you are in private school like me and my alumni, it is far worse).

Debt when used correctly is a good thing (school, house, etc...). But even when it is a good thing, it is still a bad thing. As talk radio host (and friend of our show) Dave Ramsey says:

Debt is not a tool; it is a method to make banks wealthy, not you. Debt is dumb. Most normal people are just plain broke because they are in debt up to their eyeballs with no hope of help. If you're in debt then you're a slave, in the sense that you do not have the freedom to use your money to help change your family tree. According to a recent USA Today article about debt, 78 percent of baby boomers have mortgage debt, 59 percent have credit card debt, 56 percent have car payments.

The point is, get out of debt as fast as you can. Don't buy into the lie of "good debt."

It was a great four years of college. It was worth the extra 15 months of paying for it, but I am very releaved to be out form under it. I am glad I can now look onto the horizon as I look towards taking my next $140k venture of buying a place ;) (although I am still not sure if that makes sense).

Recently, three very large instances of hypocrisy were brought to the attention of the citizens of America.

First you have Al Gore winning an Oscar for his movie about Global Warming, but then reports come out that say his pool house uses $500 in natural gas a month (which is more than I spend all year), and his main house uses more electricity in a year than most people do in a month. In addition to that, he flies around in a private jet, and since we all know I am an aviation expert, let me tell you that his private jet uses more fuel in one round trip than most people do all year in their cars (example: one-way from Washington D.C. to San Francisco would burn 3,260 gallons of fuel).

Then you have John Edwards crying, in LBJ fashion, "war on poverty." Yet, this guy lives in the biggest house in his entire county.

And thirdly, you have Ted Haggard. A Christian evangelical leader who on many occasions has spoken out on the immorality of sexual impurity, especially homosexuality, but then it was found out that he himself visited homosexual prostitutes.

Now here is what I am thankful for out of all this: we can finally have a discussion on the lack of value hypocrisy has in relation to an issue.

Lets start with global warming. Now my verdict is still out on global warming. But regarding my global warming doubts, I sort of take a Pascal's Wager approach to the issue (which I will discuss more another day). But here's the issue for today: regardless of Al Gore's personal hypocrisy, it doesn't change the issue at all. Global warming is either true or it isn't. Al Gore's hypocrisy might show a lack of virtue in his character, but it doesn't change the argument. The same is true for John Edwards. The war on poverty is either a good cause or it isn't (it is). But John Edwards living in the biggest house, all while crying we should help the poor, really doesn't change the argument. Same goes for Ted Haggard (and this is what is really going to set people off). Sexual sin is either wrong or it isn't (it is). Ted Haggard's actions show he isn't a man of integrity, but it shouldn't hurt the moral stance.

I often use a financial planner as an example when talking about hypocrisy. Now lets say I visit one and she tells me I need to stay out of debt (except for a mortgage), save 8% a year for retirement starting at age 22, and save another 4% a year in general savings. I later find out through the grapevine that she herself has $80,000 of consumer debt, and doesn't save for retirement. Now, I could react and say, what an idiot, I am not listening to anything she said. But the only person this would be hurting is me because while she is a hypocrite, her advice is still valid.

I fully admit I am a hypocrite. Just reading this blog will tell you that (particularly the porn blogs). But this doesn't mean that my moral stance on this issue is wrong, it just means that I lack integrity. And while I strive and try so freaking hard sometimes to live up to it, sometimes, I fall short.

What I am thankful for is God. He has established a moral law that is absolute. He (not us) has determined what is and isn't morally correct. And our actions do not change what is and is not true. But yet He tells those who believe in Him to strive to their very best to live up to this. But He, in His infinite love and wisdom, knows full well we aren't going to live up to it. So He chooses to forgive us when we ask Him to. This doesn't excuse our actions. And it sure as heck doesn't give us an excuse to be a hypocrite. But I am definitely grateful for that grace; and so should Gore, Edwards and Haggard.

(P.S. I am really not trying to rip on the democratic party with this post. As I have posted before, I definitely don't think being a Christian means you are by default a republican).

Today was a first: I spoke at a career day at a local private academy on what it was like being a radio producer on arguably one of the top five secular talk radio stations in the world. The morning was interesting, the kids seemed intrigued, and of course, it got me thinking. It got me thinking about how we get where we are.

Oddly, my thoughts drift to an ex-girlfriend named Emily. Emily was a very smart girl. I don't have a shadow of a doubt that she won't be a success. I haven't talked to Emily since graduation so it has been six years, and she is about the only ex-girlfriend of mine I haven't stayed in touch with. But I hear from time to time that she is still pursuing the law thing and she is at the University of Virginia Law School.

What cracks me up about Emily's choice of career is its genesis. We had to put on a mock trial in a 9th grade English/Social Studies class for, if I remember correctly, the Nuremberg trials. Emily's tactic in cross examining my witness was what would be classified as "badgering the witness," and in a real court wouldn't have been allowed past the third question. But needless to say, this wasn't a real court, and she "stuck with it enough" to impress our English teacher - who definitely wasn't a lawyer (and frankly a little crazy). But Mrs. Walker complimented Emily and told her she did a great job, and well...the rest is history.

But here's what is funny, even though I kind of chuckle at the genesis of all this, I can't help but think that there are few people that would make a better attorney than Emily (and if there is something I know it's attorneys as I can count at least 8 attorneys in my family and another dozen or so friends in law school and as my friend Lissa says, "I just need to accept the fact that I am an attorney and go to law school already" because of blogs like these).

It's funny how very very small life events (like a compliment from an unqualified person) can lead us to such a huge life decision; especially when that "lead" is exactly where we are suppose to go, doing exactly what God created us to do.

I think about my own start and how I almost missed it. We switched youth group formats my sophomore year in high school, which really pissed me off because it sort of alienated a friend of mine I was bringing to church and trying my hardest to accept Jesus. The format switch though caused for a huge increase in the use of technology, and I was asked if I would do it. For the first week I protested the change and refused to be involved. I later reconsidered after I realized I had little choice in persuading him, and well, the rest was history...at 24 I now am a radio producer for something truly innovative.

Well that's about it, nothing too profound. I told the kids that grades aren't as important as everyone makes it (yeah I know, you think I am kidding but I am not), and that there is a difference in being successful in your career and being a successful person. We should all strive to be people of balance, keep faith first, trust God, and work as hard as we can at what we feel He created us to be.

Last week (ok I wrote this two weeks ago, so I should really say three weeks ago) "science" released the fact that the earth is hotter now than it has been for 400 years (and maybe 2000 years). It's conclusion: humans are to blame, and if not rectified, humans will perish.

The irony in this, is that the "science" that releases this information, is the same "science" that tells us we are constantly evolving. So even if global warming is true (which I am not saying it is), doesn't the theory of evolution basically say that we will adapt to the warmer climate? I am not anti-evolution or anti-science (check out my post on evolution for reference), but what I am not a fan of is inconsistency - from both the faith community and the science community. But I digress.

Here's my problem with this study. How the heck do we know this is the hottest the earth has ever been? According to the CNN Article, we know this because:

"For all but the most recent 150 years, the academy scientists relied on "proxy" evidence from tree rings, corals, glaciers and ice cores, cave deposits, ocean and lake sediments, boreholes and other sources. They also examined indirect records such as paintings of glaciers in the Alps."

Honestly. Proxy-evidence? That just isn't good enough. You're telling me that the best conclusion science has to offer is based on some artistic rendition of the Alps. Please! We can't even come to a conclusion on whether or not the Mona Lisa is actually a woman, or just a man in women's clothing. But yet all of the sudden DaVinci and his buddies are detailed enough to determine the snow masses on the alps?

The thermometer was originally developed back in the 16th century, and the modern thermometer was developed in the 18th century by Gabriel Farenheit. Who knows when people started collecting accurate records for comparison (that wasn't shared in the article). My point is this, we have too short of an accurate observation period to actually know if the world is getting hotter due to our activity or if it is just the natural cycle of the earths atmosphere over 100s of years.

And this ultimately is my problem with Global Warming. I'll be the first to admit I might be wrong. This world could be getting warmer due to humans irresponsibility. But I don't think science has proven that to me, nor do I think science really can prove it. So like always, science has to take a huge leap of faith in order to confidently stand on its findings. The last time I accused science of this, I exclaimed hell had frozen over. Now I must ask, since hell has frozen over, it it hot in here?

When I was in high school, I took this class we affectionally called "Block." The class consisted of combining AP Literature with AP Social Studies. Freshman year was World History, Sophomore year was US History. While some of my most fondest high school memories are from that class, and I do believe the work in there had more than adequately prepared me for college, I have come to realize that Block, for the most part, was a chance for those deemed "gifted" to somehow bask in the glory of their giftedness with those who were also gifted. There was a degree of arrogance that kids in this class had (myself included) and the class itself only encouraged it.

Now this isn't a post of education, this is a post on war. One of the most impressionable things I can remember from Block was watching the 1930s movie "All Quiet on the Western Front." Now I should put a disclaimer on that statement. I am not 100% positive what I am about to write really stems from "All Quiet on the Western Front." And I am going to do what I hate, and what Block certainly taught against, which is to make a statement as if it is a fact, even though you aren't positive it is a fact. It kills me not to go rent the movie to make sure what I am saying is true. In the end, I think this will make my point stronger. But I digress.

There is a brilliant scene in that movie (I think), where it goes back and forth between those fighting on the western front, and a bunch of old guys sitting at a country club talking about what should be done on the western front. Now I don't remember a lot from Block, and you have to keep in mind that this showing predated the Iraq war by 6 years or so. But that scene stuck in my head and I think it is all the more relevant today.

You see, we, myself included, have become an arrogant culture from a very secure location. Bloggers particularly feel that their opinion matters, yet to what authority do we feel we have to speak on such matters. The News is probably worse. Maybe we do have keen insight as to what should be done in Iraq and the rest of the world. Yet, it is estimated that somewhere between 20%-30% of Americans own a passport (this number is a hard one to nail down). Even if we go with the high number, only 30% of Americans have the ability to travel internationally. If you take out all the "tourist" travel (that gelato in Italy was fabulous), that leaves a horrendously low number of people who actually have international insight derived from true international relationships and conversations. Yet we sit on this side of the Atlantic and tell each other and the world what to do from our figurative "country clubs" while men and women are dying on the "Middle Eastern Front" all in the name of democracy.

This post is not about being for or against the war. This post, like my admission to quoting All Quite on the Western Front, is about humility - something that wasn't taught in Block. And before we confidently assert that we have the next new answer that will solve all of the worlds problem, I think we need to add, in humility, the words "I think" behind it.

P.S. This was a very humbling read about what everyone seems to be an expert on, The Haditha Killings.

I am pretty sure hell has frozen over. Where do I get this profound theological revelation from. The Colbert Report. The other night, Ted Daeschler of the Center for Systematic Biology & Evolution was Stephen's guest. Now Mr. Daeschler seemed like a nice guy, in fact, he seemed like a genius. Very smart, definitely knew what he was talking about. Except about halfway through his conversation he made a startling comment at passing regarding the fact of evolution.

Now I should take a moment here to say that I am not anti-evolution. I am not totally sure I buy it as it was spoon fed in high school, however, I have no faith dilemma with the concept of evolution. God could have very easily decided to create the world over billions of years through the process of evolution. Genesis should hardly be seen as a scientific explanation of creation, which in my mind leaves the door open for possible scientific explanations to show us the majesty of God the Creator.

But here's my problem. Evolution is not a fact. It isn't even a law. It is a theory. Now theories are based on facts, which is what separates it from a hypothesis. However, theories, by definition are not facts, or else, we would call them facts.

So you might be asking, ok Andy, why has hell frozen over? People have been claiming the truth about evolution for years. Right, but it hit me while watching The Colbert Report that I think scientists have more faith than Christians. Sure, it isn't a faith in Jesus Christ, but it is a faith nonetheless. Faith is defined as being certain of what we do not see. Now I know many Christians who profess to have faith, but their belief in God hardly has an unfailing certainty day after day (and that's ok, God lets us doubt). But when you look at the facts and the "gaps" that make up the theory of evolution, there is far more uncertainty than certainty. Yet, scientists like Mr. (Dr.?) Daeschler speak with absolute certainty in the factual belief that evolution is true, thus it has led me to believe that science is more faithful than religion.

My new favorite word is truthiness, which I have to also give credit to Stephen Colbert for inventing (despite attempts of the liberal media to take the credit away from him ;-). But Stephen defines truthiness (and I am paraphrasing) as the disregard of fact for what "feels" true. And that is why Mr. Daeschler's statements speak to the truthiness of evolution.