I'm going fishing this weekend!

This week I ran 9.74 miles, burned 1228.9 calories and weigh (ulp!) 169.3 pounds. I need to watch my portions.

Spam names and Zen koans of the day:
Lindsey screamed in agony as Todd finally sunk his meat completely into her bowels
Notarize K. Healthier
We give this almost for freeeee! layman
Malcom, For fast acting relief, try slowing down
School bitchs want you! dodgers
OEM Software Ware.house. transite

Get in my boat, fish!

Thich Nhat Hanh on the Iraq prison abuse scandal -- Beliefnet.com

Interesting insights.

100 posts!
Spam names and Zen Koans of the day:
half price Windows 2000 Advanced Server ektachrome
This svveet teeen is new on the web ezechiel enclose
you are a bad writer
give it a try for me pelsae!
Are you tired a lot

The spammers are dyslexic and been reading this blog.

I'm going fishing this weekend!

SPLASH!

Spam names and Zen Koans of the day:
Confectioner C. Placer
Politicized R. Figging - RE:Lac you have one new message from angel was
Ileen, Never confuse motion with action.
Just Release: SNNW Expected To Explode. sparse
Big Profits Tuesday For SNNW adjoin
Get SNNW Tuesday For Big GAins saturate
Tired Of Losing Trades? Get SNNW Tuesday co
alameda arteriolosclerosis sheridan floc
Emotional Stability - 67% Improvement
Be a mighty warrior in bed Cmm - cigar widows
Welcome to the Drunk Y0gung world bright drosphila

This is actually two days worth. I don't know what SNNW is but it must be a crappy product if it has to resort to spam.

The spam has also lowered expectations. Imagine a product being advertised that only claims 67% improvement, especially a product claiming to provide emotional stability.

"Oh, she is only 33% psycho bitch thanks to this emotional stability product!"

67% improvement.

I'm tired. I did a minimal update on the website. I didn't want to let my readers (all 30 of you) down by not replacing the cartoon on the index page. The archives are a little behind but I will catch up on those tonight.

I was at a meeting that went way too long. I agreed to co-chair this committee. What the hell was I thinking? I really need to learn to say no.

Just say no.

Spam names and Zen Koans of the day:
Nothing to ponder today.

Rusty is laying in front of a fan and Salvador is drumming with his beak.

Life is good.

Unitarian group denied tax status

By R.A. Dyer

Star-Telegram Staff Writer


AUSTIN - Unitarian Universalists have for decades presided over births, marriages and memorials. The church operates in every state, with more than 5,000 members in Texas alone.

But according to the office of Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, a Denison Unitarian church isn't really a religious organization -- at least for tax purposes. Its reasoning: the organization "does not have one system of belief."

Never before -- not in this state or any other -- has a government agency denied Unitarians tax-exempt status because of the group's religious philosophy, church officials say. Strayhorn's ruling clearly infringes upon religious liberties, said Dan Althoff, board president for the Denison congregation that was rejected for tax exemption by the comptroller's office.

"I was surprised -- surprised and shocked -- because the Unitarian church in the United States has a very long history," said Althoff, who notes that father-and-son presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams were both Unitarians.

His church is just one of several Unitarian congregations in North Texas, including churches in Fort Worth, Arlington and Southlake.

Strayhorn's ruling, as well as a similar decision by former Comptroller John Sharp, has left the comptroller's office straddling a sometimes murky gulf separating church and state.

What constitutes religion? When and how should government make that determination? Questions that for years have vexed the world's great philosophers have now become the province of the state comptroller's office.

Questions about the issue were referred to Jesse Ancira, the comptroller's top lawyer, who said Strayhorn has applied a consistent standard -- and then stuck to it. For any organization to qualify as a religion, members must have "simply a belief in God, or gods, or a higher power," he said.

"We have got to apply a test, and use some objective standards," Ancira said. "We're not using the test to deny the exemptions for a particular group because we like them or don't like them."

Traditional faiths

Since Strayhorn took over in January 1999, the comptroller's office has denied religious tax-exempt status to 17 groups and granted them to more than 1,000, according to records obtained by the Star-Telegram. Although there are exceptions, the lion's share of approvals have gone to groups that appear to have relatively traditional faiths, records show.

But of the denials, at least a fourth include less traditional groups, the records show. In addition to the Denison Unitarian church, the rejected groups include a Carrollton group of atheists and agnostics, a New Age group in Bastrop, and the Whispering Star Clan/Temple of Ancient Wisdom, an organization of witches in Copperas Cove.

Some of the denials occurred because of missing paperwork or other problems, according to the comptroller's office. A few, like the denial for the New Age group and the witches group, were decided because their services were closed to the public, according to documents.

But the denials of the Red River Unitarian Universalist Church in Denison and the North Texas Church of Freethought in Carrollton, as well as an earlier denial by Sharp for the Ethical Culture Fellowship of Austin, were ordered because the organizations did not mandate belief in a supreme being.

The disputed tax dollars don't amount to much, but the comptroller has taken a stand on principle, Ancira said.

"The issue as a whole is, do you want to open up a system where there can be abuse or fraud, or where any group can proclaim itself to be a religious organization and take advantage of the exception?" he said.

Those who oppose the comptroller's "God, gods or supreme being" test say that it can discriminate against legitimate faiths. For example, applying that standard could disqualify Buddhism because it does not mandate belief in a supreme being, critics say.

Opponents note that the federal government applies less stringent rules for federal tax exemptions, yet manages to discourage fraud and abuse. They also question whether the comptroller's office has formulated excuses to discriminate against nontraditional groups, such as those that include witches and pagans.

But Ancira says it's up to the comptroller's office to interpret state law, which he describes as rather vague. He insists the comptroller never favors one religion over another.

"This comptroller, in particular, wants everybody on a level playing field," he said.

'Creedless' religions

The comptroller's office has not always barred "creedless" religions from tax exemption, said Douglas Laycock, a University of Texas law professor who specializes in religious liberty issues.

That standard first came up in 1997, when then-Comptroller Sharp ruled against the Ethical Culture Fellowship of Austin. In making that decision, Sharp overturned the recommendation of his staff.

The Ethical Culture Fellowship sued, claiming that Sharp overstepped his authority. Allied with the group in the ongoing lawsuit are pastors from a broad range of faiths, including Baptists, Lutherans and Mennonites.

Both the lower court and the Texas Supreme Court have ruled against the state's decision. In one opinion, an appeals court said the comptroller's test "fails to include the whole range of belief systems that may, in our diverse and pluralistic society, merit the First Amendment protection."

Strayhorn vows to continue the legal fight to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary. "Otherwise, any wannabe cult who dresses up and parades down Sixth Street on Halloween will be applying for an exemption," she said in a April 23 news release.

The Red River Unitarian Universalist Church, the 50-member congregation whose tax application was rejected by Strayhorn's office, has held services in Denison for the seven years. Althoff said his group includes "hard-core atheists" as well as "New Agey-type people."

But the lack of a single creed is a hallmark of Unitarianism, Althoff said. Instead, Unitarian Universalists have seven guiding principles, including "respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part," according to the Unitarian Universalist Web site.

The group also draws from various religious and philosophical traditions, including Jewish, Christian, humanist and Earth-centered teachings, but promotes individual freedom of belief, according to the Web site. It notes that Unitarians and Universalists have operated in the United States for at least 200 years, although the two groups did not merge until 1961.

It now includes about 40 congregations in Texas, and more than 1,000 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Despite its lack of a specific creed, Unitarian Universalism is as much a religion as any other, Althoff said. From his perspective, religion is not just about the answers to life's big questions, but also calls on people to evaluate the questions themselves.

"It seems to me that any [group] that is specifically organized to address and explore the issues of what constitutes the good life, both here and perhaps in the afterworld, would qualify" as a religion, Althoff said.

The Rev. Anthony David, lead pastor of Pathways Church in Southlake, said he is disturbed by the comptroller's decisions because it ignores Unitarian Universalists' belief that spiritual fulfillment can emerge in "different ways at different levels."

"It reflects an incredible misunderstanding of what a church needs to look like," David said.

Pathways teaches that God is a term that describes the source of ultimate meaning and purpose, but the church does not advocate a one-size-fits-all theology, David said.

"Creedlessness doesn't mean no belief or anything goes," he said.

Craig Roshaven of Fort Worth's First Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church said he has followed the comptroller's decisions with growing dismay.

His group has tax-exempt status, but he wonders what's to prevent Strayhorn from revoking it.

"The comptroller's logic could be applied to any of us," he said.

Ancira said the comptroller's office has no plans for such reversals. But then again, said Ancira, "There's nothing preventing us from doing so."

Staff Writer Darren Barbee contributed to this report.
-------------------
I'm so embarrassed.

This week I ran 11.50 miles, burned 1533.2 calories and weigh 168.8 pounds.

I cut my Friday run short to go to a X-Box Lan party. Halo is fun with 8 people playing. The capture the flag game was fun. The Warthog and Flag make great weapons. I ran over a few people with the Warthog and a friend killed a couple of people with the flag.

Walter is very gifted with the sniper rifle. A sniper rifle in a video game not a real sniper rifle. That comment is for Homeland Security. We are law abiding citizens that happen to partake in somewhat violent video games. That violence does not extend into the real world.

Protect your own damn children from violent video games. The games have ratings. Use them and firmly say no when your brat begs for the game. The majority of video gamers are adults. Deal with it.

AHHH!

Spam names and Zen Koans of the day:
[Rosanna] Do NOT delete it immidiately, Henderson Margaux
Nefariously H. Perilous
Gage, The artist who aims at perfection in everything achieves it in nothing.

Rosanna, Rosanna

Spam names and Zen Koans of the day:
Goa C. Settling
Haha, U Have A Real Small Pe--nis psammoma egosim vasant
This is are V1R-G1NS WORLD! Topeka
Oh no... no... dady (cowpoke)
Here's what you're looking for..........whitman
Asymmetrically A. Belle - Stupid Girl Tripple Anal

TOPEKA!

Spam names and Zen Koans of the day:
I'm bored with this life
methionine
warmth OFFsHORE SOURCE of Software CDs omicron
This is are V1R-G1NS WORLD! mutinies
Belinda, If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?
You may do everything, but remember that ... quaintnessinductee
200% Profits Expected With CRHI, Thursday wharfage

Spam names and Zen Koans of the day:
Diann, The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.
do you have an orgasm in the picture?
Don't be a fool to spend hundred on software, I can help carving

AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Goofy spam names and Zen Koans of the day:
Sherlock, Ability is poor men's wealth
Shawnee, Successful action tends to become an end in itself
be strong - be a men! arson

Great googly moogly

Take the Cicada Test!

Check out the storm damage. Bonham Park is now Bonham Field.

I feel lucky that my home was undamaged despite the proximity of the tornado. I was merely inconvenienced.

I hesitate to use the term blessed or thank God for my safety. It sort of implies that I deserve some favor over another person. The people who had their homes damaged or destroyed could very well be morally and spiritually better than me. They are just as worthy of safety as I am. This sort of event causes me to cast doubt upon the concept of a personal God that is actively involved in the everyday affairs of humanity. This concept is often tied to the idea that this personal, active God is also compassionate and loving and does not wish for his children to suffer. Those two ideas tied together really cause me to doubt. I believe in the existence of God but not as defined by religions with which I am familiar. I do not have the vocabulary to define God and the concept is too large to define.

God is everything. Love and hate. Good and evil. Peace and war. Creation and destruction.
Sin and virtue. Dark and light. Spiritual and material. Meaningful and random.

Sounds a bit Taoist. It helps me make sense of it.

The people whose homes were destroyed or damaged seem grateful to be alive. I suppose one could thank God for that.

I count my blessings only to give me perspective and happiness. Some blessings are gained by my efforts and others are received without any regard to personal merit. I am grateful for both. Some curses are received because of my efforts and others are received without regard to personal merit. I only appreciate those as a reminder of how good I have it and to learn from the curses caused by my own mistakes or stupidity.

Shalom.

Cool Gun. It looks very Star Trek.

This week ran 15.03 miles, burned 2014.2 calories and weigh 166.6 pounds.
I had some extra time this week so I ran more.

Spam names and Zen Koans of the day:
Janice, The ancestor of every action in a thought

Don't call me Janice.

Spam names and Zen Koans of the day:
Musses T. Alertness
Pattie, Happiness is an expression of the soul in considered actions.

High and Dry

There was a bit of nasty weather very early this morning. The dogs were not happy. Rusty slept in the bathroom and the Bassets slept in the garage. Salvador rearranged his cage.

Salvador remodels quite a bit. He also knows quite a few showtunes and spends a lot of time looking at his reflection and preening. He especially likes looking at his relfection in the toaster. He even climbs on top of the toaster to look for his good looking friend. The toaster is covered when not in use. Burned bird turd emits a nasty smell. It also screws up the flavor of pop-tarts. I only know about the flavor distortion of pop-tarts secondhand. I prefer my pop-tarts untoasted.

Everyone made it through the storm. One of our trees lost a large branch and the streets are not fully drained. Less than a mile from the house a tree was uprooted and road signs were mangled. It looked like the work of a downburst.

A downburst is where a stong wind stomps on the ground damaging your trailer. A tornado is a strong wind that whirls and forms a funnel and rips apart your trailer. Either way, a trailer has been lost.

Oddly enough, the trailer next to the house with the uprooted tree and mangled road signs appeared to be undamaged.

It is still dark and the street lights are still on. I saw some automatic sprinkler systems running. I guess 5 to 8 inches of rain was not enough.

It is very gray and depressing outside. It intensifies the flourescent lighting in my office.

UGH!

Spam names and Zen Koans of the day:
I tried hard to untie myself

Not much today in terms of creativity and orginality. The new tactic of transposing letters is quite annoying.

Why can't spammers be sent to Abu Gharib? They could use a little humiliation.

Goofy spam names and Zen koans of the day:
Tamper R. Weekend
Forego V. Jockeyed: Lac, Greetings, white man:)
Oliver, Looking back, I have this regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so.
Hydr0c0d0ne and V1c0d1n whistle
Keep on time watches from Rolex finch

Atticus Whistle Finch

Goofy spam names and Zen koans of the day:
inducible major
yuk Hewett

Not much today. Maybe the light of scrutiny and mockery is scaring them off.

BWAHA!

I ran 6.52 miles, burned 1060.7 calories and weigh 165.2 pounds. I did not run today because I was visiting my mother-in-law. It was a wonderful visit. I enjoyed it very much.

Goofy spam names and subject lines of the day (yes, I actually receive these):
Organism R. Worthiest
Jaqueline, New faces have more authority than accustomed ones.
[Lizzie] Check picture, Chester Fay
Do you wanna look something you never seen before? So read. fanaticism heckle

Maybe it is not spam, maybe Zen Buddhist Monks are sending koans to every e-mail address in the world. Some of these things read like Zen koans.

SHAZAM!

Goofy spam names and subject lines of the day:
Showboat I. Orchestral
Arranges D. Sulfide
Sometimes it happens.Read it.mutinies empire
:-) Just do her! numbed

Goofy spam names and subject lines of the day:
Bankruptcies Q. Piper - Lac, lambda othant clamorous advance bellum soothsay haydn
Numbers Vasquez
Cristal Wilkie - Morton, I act tall!

Portzerbie!

Local radio sucks.

We have light suck, country suck, Texas country suck, a mix of suck, classic suck, modern rock suck, community suck, public suck, religious suck, Tejano suck and top 40 suck.

The classic suck station removed the local morning deejays for the Walton and Johnson Show. I have the radio on to hear music not chatter. If I wanted to hear talk I would listen to NPR. At least NPR chatter is interesting.

DJs are not funny.
DJS ARE NOT FUNNY!
I could go to any elementary school playground and witness a greater display of wit.

Just play the damn songs, tell me what the songs were, read the weather and give me a brief traffic report then shut the @#$%! up and play music. Preferably music that does not suck.

Rock music from the late 1980's does not constitute classic. Stop playing that song from Jet. They have another song out, try playing that.

Call your morning show something besides "The Zoo" Stop cutting off the guitar solo at the end of Prince's "Let's Go Crazy"

DJs are not funny.

Crank Yankers employs professional comedians and actors to make their crank calls. These are funny plus there are puppets. It is lame and stupid when a local DJ tries to make a crank call. Stop it. Just play some music. Preferably something that does not suck.

DJs are not funny.

If I wanted to know about what was on television last night, then I would have watched television last night. Stop trying to pass off material from professionals as your own. I watch a lot of stand up comedy, I can recognize the joke. Stop reading jokes you got from a e-mail joke list. I am subscribed to the same joke lists. The same goes for Weird News. Just play the damn songs. Preferably songs that do not suck.

DJs are not funny.

Limit Led Zepplin to one song a day. Play more Jethro Tull. Don't limit Beatles songs to just 4:00 on Friday. Choose to play Beatles songs that do not suck. There are a lot of them, so I don't understand why the classic suck station insists on playing "Rocky Racoon" exclusively.

DJs are not funny.

Stagger the commercial breaks among the radio stations. 10 radio stations and they have commercial breaks at the same time. I know you have to pay bills but why does everyone have to do it at the same time.

Never put children on the air. Never put children on the air. Never put children on the air. They are not cute and are just as witty as the DJs (who incidently, are not funny) but much less articulate. Never play a request from anyone between the ages of 9 and 17. They have no taste in music. As an adult, I have tried to listen to some of the songs I liked at those ages. I was horrified. My parents had more patience than I gave them credit for. Ratt, Quiet Riot, Poison, Motley Crue, and Twisted Sister (Your gonna burn in hell is a decent song), oh dear god. What was wrong with me?

I also wore parachute pants when I was a child. I acted, thought and dressed as a child. Now that I am an adult I am both amused and horrified by my childish ways. I have tried my best to put them aside.

In small doses, fart jokes are funny. Nobody really outgrows that.

When is that damn final episode of Friends going to air so that Americans can get on with their lives?

DJs are not funny.

I am grateful for the blessings of internet radio. I am able to confine my exposure to suck to my drive time. My tape player is broken. I don't have a CD player in the car. Headphones are illegal.

DJs are not funny.

Most bizarre spam subject line:
He held his prick there for minutes as he simply rotated (my e-mail address)

The spammers are using random words in subject lines to get past the filters. That one is almost intriguing enough to open.

Goofy spam names and subject lines of the day:
S_u_per V|@gr@ tomahawk carpeting
They do it and they are happy. haplessly
Precursor R. Spiritless
Wronged Q. Job
Chickpea M. Cronin

CHICKPEA!

Drama in the office. Yeehaw!

Friends, the television show sucks. I don't care about the fact the last episode is airing. No amount of hype can make me care.

I'm sitting at the desk of a shorter person. She has one of those below the desk keyboard platforms. It is nice and ergonomic for her but it is uncomfortable for me. Not really uncomfortable just a bit different. I like to be closer to the desk and this keyboard platform prevents me from doing so. I does keep my hands in a better position.

I still don't care about Friends. The damn story is even on the BBC World Service Radio.
---------------------------------------------------------
Lynndie England is an embarrassment to the United States. Her actions have not only humiliated Iraqis but has further endangered the lives of other Americans in Iraq. She will claim that she was following orders or that she was not properly trained. How to treat other humans beings is training one gets before joining the army.

She is at Ft. Bragg because she is pregnant. Perhaps, she should have an abortion or have the baby taken away from her soon after birth.

She was not properly supervised will probably be another excuse. Since when does an adult need supervision when it comes to treating humans as humans? This is not surfing the web or playing computer games while the boss is away, this is about the proper treatment of other human beings.

What sort of dumbass takes pictures of themselves committing crimes? I guess the army has to take just about anyone willing to volunteer. With that policy one is bound to attract a few dumbasses.

All the people involved in the prisoner abuse should be punished and steps taken to make sure it does not happen again.

Would it have killed the president to say, "I'm sorry"? Speaking on Arabic television is a great first step but if I were president I would have learned the phrase, "I'm sorry about the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and I will make sure it does not happen again" in Arabic. The rest of the interview could be in English but at least learning enough Arabic to make an apology would have sent a really strong message.

I'm nobody so I can spout all the opinion I want without affecting anything.

WASABI!

I am stunned.

Somehow, I failed to receive the memo that a class was not being offered. I found out today, during the last week of regular classes that this class was not being offered and therefore not meeting.

My brain hurts.

Every Tuesday and Thursday this semester I have been going into a classroom and turning on some equipment so that the class can be offered in two locations. I have been receiving phone calls from operations telling me to connect. I've had to run in between classes to make this connection. There was somebody at the other end doing the same thing. 3 months of making sure that connections were made and I finally find out that the @#$@%!!!!!! class was not being offered in the first place!

ARGH!

This past weekend I've been experiencing synchronous moments.

I've never thought about Alexander Hamilton before. After thinking about him, a book about him appears on the Barnes and Noble website. I went there to update my affiliate links.

I ranted about the EID stamp and then I see an article about the designer of that stamp in this month's Psychology Today. What led to the rant was a forwarded e-mail that I received. The e-mail was full of stupid statements. Muslims have committed acts of terrorism. So have Christians, Jews, pagans and athiests. The designer of the stamp is repelled by the extremism in Islam today. He even avoids Mosques because they have become too political. His son has walked away from the religion because of the extremism. I don't think this is what the prophets wanted.

Religion is a paradox. A source of great beauty and inspiration and a source of great violence and ignorance.

May all beings be safe.
May all beings live at ease.
May all beings be free.
May all beings have good health.
May all beings be.

While sitting at Sonic waiting for my order to arrive, I was looking at the new $10 bill. I was thinking damn, Alexander Hamilton is hot. Seriously, he was one good looking guy. It could have been an exceptionally flattering portrait but there is only so much one can do about ugly. Alexander Hamilton had to have been quite handsome. Look at George Washington, the artists did the best they could but he still looks kind of dorky. All the other founding fathers on the various US bills look ordinary despite the work of the best engravers in the world. Alexander Hamilton on the other hand has classic movie star good looks. Strong jaw, great eye line. Damn, he was just good looking. If you don't believe me, look at a US $10 bill sometime. Really look at Alexander Hamilton.

Here is a picture:


That is one hot founding father.

AARON BURR!

This week I ran 11.50 miles, burned 1729.5 calories and weigh 167.4 pounds.

I ran in a different gym. There was a church workshop in one of the meeting rooms at this gym and we were given one day access.

The meeting was productive and I had a good run.

One of Salvador's favorite movies is The Birdman of Alcatraz, starring Burt Lancaster. Salvador loved the canary sounds. Now he is demanding more movies featuring bird sounds.

Thanks to the workshop, the dogs will not get their monthly bath. The dogs are happy about this.

Now, I'm going to review some websites for my awards program. I'm starting to catch up.

CHIRP!