It is the end...

...Perhaps! Google just anounnced the new "Beta Blogger" service, signifying a great upgrade for Blogger! While I am definately moving over to my new blog, I will probably tweak this one out a little just to see what all has changed, and so I'll still be able to provide help to my fellow bloggers still stuck with (admittedly) an easier blogging software. However, I still think Wordpress is the way to go if you don't mind getting under the hood a little.

My farewell!

Alright, it isn't here quite yet, don't freak out so much. Besides, I'll still have a blog, just not this one. However, I took the plunge, got a hosting service, a domain, Wordpress, and a whole lot of confuse-ed-ness, resulting in the production of whyiseverythingalreadytaken.com. Check it out! While not entirely completed, it is getting closer all the time. Use the interface, get a feel for it, find your favorite background, whatever, just go see what I've been up to. Remember, any comments you post here will no longer show up on the other, so anything you have to add to older posts, please do it there.

In other news, I got my fourth flat tire this summer. What the heck?

Oh yeah, I'm still looking for another domain name (something shorter), so if you have any ideas, let me know.

The BEST part of my job

Today was amazing. I experienced something that I never had before, something that six months ago would never have crossed my mind, something that very few people ever dream about. Today Joel took me up on the KGW Tower--a 6 foot equilateral prism close to 1,000 feet high. We worked--or rather he worked--at the 370 foot "platform," re-aiming an antenna that was pointing too far south. When we were getting back onto the elevator he showed me one of the things that he likes to do when he's up there. I decided to give it a try. Walking along one edge of the tower (really, as it is a triangle 6 feet per side, there isn't much but edge), I hooked onto a vertical bar with a static strap and put one of my scare straps around another support, just in case. Standing facing the inside of the tower, I leaned back, my body supported solely by the static strap, hanging out in mid-air, almost 400 feet to the ground. It was amazing, something I just can't describe. I cannot wait to get to the point that I'm completely comfortable up there, hanging in the balance of the forces binding the rope together and the unrelenting attraction of gravity upon my body, dependent purely upon God and the amazing rules that He's created to govern our universe, my life hanging with the faith that they will remain constant, unchanging in their properties, for the slightest deviation could result in devastating consequences. On a less consequential note, I am trying to come up with a domain name that is short and easy to tell to others. If any of you have any ideas, please let me know what you come up with. --Jerry

Update: Update in progress

For those of you beginning to wonder if I was serious in the original post, I have the answer, but probably not the one you want: YES. However, I am saving it. The update that is. For one, I need to find the time to add pictures. Actually, I need to finish writing it, but who really cares about that anyway. And when I'm two months behind (not that anyone's counting, right?), what's a week or two more? But why am I saving it? I am getting a new blog. Yes, that's right, a new blog. I am going to get some space on the Freewire server, a couple domains, and Wordpress. Yes, that means no more blogger, but what can you do? It is actually a bit sad in a way [cry]. (Alright, I admit it, I cry a lot--for stupid reasons.) I will still have all my old posts and all their comments, [hopefully] everything that I have now (sadly, I will lose the over 1300 unique IP's to have accessed my blog, but will start all over again, increasing faster than ever!). But I will get a new look, a new url, and [hopefully] increased functionality. I will break new ground with Village blogging, taking everything to the next level. Look out everyone!

Look, LIVE...

CHAT! What did you think I was going to say? If you just happen to be online at the same time as me, feel free to give me some crap over this oh-so-creative means of over-contactability. Don't forget to customise your user name so I know who you are, unless you're part of a covert ops group, that is. Enjoy!

Update in progress

I really am updating my blog! I have a huge post in progress detailing everything that has happened to me in the past month.5 (a month and a half, of course). I've just been really tired as of late and not really in the mood to blog, along with much more important things occupying my thoughts. It is on its way, trust me...

#1

I am now number one! While trying to figure out how anyone got to my blog seacrhing with the keywords "sealing urine with titebond" (yep, somehow it is possible to find my blog by searching for this), I decided to see how high up on the list I was by googling my name. "Jerry Keifer" returns my blog in the top spot, finally beating out the photographer dude. I am content for the evening.

I'm so tired...

I really need some sleep, but not just any sleep, good sleep. Today I was driving out to Skyline Memorial Gardens (read "cemetery") to do some install work when I looked in my mirror, my gaze dwelling much too long. The driver in the van in front of me slammed on their brakes so they wouldn't miss the street they wanted. I'm glad for the warning God gave me though, guiding my eyes to a construction sign--even though there was no construction in the road that day--saying "Be Prepared to Stop," and my eyes immediately flipped forward with the realization that I had no idea if I did need to stop or not. Apparently I did. After that I ate my lunch on top of a bunch of dead people. No joke, really. I had the best view in the cemetery on top of the lower mausoleum, looking out onto all of the sprawl west of the West Hills. Why wouldn't I take advantage of it?

What should I do?

I thought that I knew where I was heading with my life (at least for the mean time), but I don't think I've really moved. Not only that, I have also been feeling quite a lot of opposition lately, leading me to determine one of two things:

• I am not moving anywhere close to the direction that God wants me to head and He is trying to get my attention to tell me that I need to listen more intently for His direction.

OR

• I am right on track with God's intention and am at the center of attacks from the enemy, who's purpose is to dissuade me from following my current path.

I really feel like giving up right now, no matter if it's 1 or 2. I could always give all my money to Kurt Morgan to invest (I'll still want to retire) and go live on the street downtown proclaiming the Gospel, living day to day, depending solely on God to provide. Wait a minute, shouldn't I already be depending solely on God to provide? Shouldn't I already be out on the street proclaiming the Gospel? If I wanted to (yes, I say I want to , but come on, do we ever really mean it?), would it even be possible for me to give up everything I have but the clothes on my back to follow God, to live like Christ? Where am I going with this? I really can't say, can you? Perhaps I just determined that neither of these situations really has to be the case, or did I just prove that I am following 1. Life is just too complicated; let's just blow everything up and go back to living as hunter-gatherers, wearing loin cloths, and painting horses on the cave roof in a futile attempt at sympathetic magic to help bring in lots of delicious mare meat. How the heck did I get to blowing up the world by discussing my future. Oops, I think I might want to apologize in advance for anything that it seems I'm destined to do. Wow, that post was a little freaky, even for me. And I truly started off serious too (no, I won't blow up the world--this week, at least).

I really don't know anymore...

So today has to be the weirdest I've experienced in a long while. Quite a few ups and downs, along with a lot of joy and sorrow, or something like that. Here's somewhat how it went:

• I poisoned my dog. I forgot to move my bag of chocolate-covered peanuts, which she managed to get into, eating close to a full pound of stuff that really isn't good for her. She is spending the night in emergency care at the vet, I feel like crap, and were out about $500 in vet bills for $2 worth of stupid candy. I have decided that I will never again buy candy as long as there is a dog in the house. Or, again, something like that. Shoot me now, please.
• Live 6 was announced, and I am now just realizing that I've used Live 5 for like 20 hours, not to mention the $400 that I paid for it and the $250 I'm getting ready to pay for the upgrade to 6. I am a complete idiot. Why must I be so stupid in my pursuits?
• Work was just weird. I don't know what more to say than that, but I just felt out of place. Rich and Joel had this guy come in for an interview for the job that I was originally intended to get. However, I think they're still wanting to make me a manager over an installation crew, or at least some sort of crew. And I'll be younger than everyone that I'm telling what to do. Seemingly Twilight Zone-ish. Oh, I also delivered 130 $5 Starbucks cards to get our logo printed upon. That's $650 in fraps, mochas, lattes, chai, etc. What the hell?
• I climbed onto the top of a hanger at PDX. Not one of the commercial hangers, but a pretty big hanger nonetheless. I guess there were also some Airforce Reserve offices in the building too (I think all their stuff was in the other hanger in the complex; yes, there were two, sort of conjoined like Siamese twin hangers). We have very great line of sight to the tower, so I'll probably be doing an installation up there sometime soon. I'll try to remember my camera.
• I am rather depressed, so no matter if something good happened, I feel like everything sucks. That sucks, huh?
• Today was crappy. No matter how cool climbing a hanger is, my day wasn't really that great. But please, don't feel bad--unless you just stubbed your toe or, again, something like that.

I told you that I'd get a post out of the way, though I'm sure that no one believed me. Perhaps another is in order...

Yep...

If this makes any sense to you (all 5 or so of you), then please, keep this in the forefront of your cognitive processes, and perhaps we might figure out the reasons why these events were the way that they were. Everyone else, I ask you to be patient with me as I gather my thoughts for my upcoming posts (I know I'm a least a month behind). One will come tomorrow, I promise (dang, it's not midnight yet, so I can't squeeze out an extra 24 hours to complete this goal).

Summer Scream 2006

Tomorrow--wait, no it's actually today--is the day when the ahead team drives up to Everett, WA to start to set up all the equipment and staging for Summer Scream, the middle school summer camp the my church, Village Baptist, produces. This is my first year on staff for Scream, as I will be in charge of Media Productions (alright, I'll be running sound). So don't be expecting any posts for a week or so, as I probably won't have internet. However, I just completed setting up the wireless network that we will be using to send audio from the Competition Stage up to the main system in the Fellowship Hall, so any announcements made down there will be broadcasted over the small radio station we set up. Freewire Broadband, the company I work for that provides fixed wireless internet access has graciously provided some equipment for me to use for this endeavors, which is greatly appreciated (Thanks Joel!). In fact I have set up a VNC server system that will allow remote operation of all important computers so playlists, settings, and everything else will be able to be remotely controlled. Not to mention the fact that after two hours of intense googling I finally found the product that will allow me to transmit the digital audio. Probably procrastinated a bit on that, but I didn't have all the gear 'till yesterday evening (and, so I've found, it is a bit hard to link two computers without, well, a link). Should be a pretty sweet setup, now all I need to do is pack (oh, and I need to get some sleep; did I mention that I have to get to church at 9:30 this morning and then I have to drive 4 hours up there?). Oh well, I guess that's life. Hey everybody, go check out VyPRESS. They are the makers of the real-time audio-over-IP software that I'm using, and not to mention the fact that they provide a 30-day free trial, they also have pretty good prices ($50 instead of $1000). Just thought that I'd give them props as it is really cool and perhaps might allow others to find it without 2 hours worth of searching. Enjoy! Hey, let's see if we can get up to 1000 unique visitors but the time I get back (see counter in upper right), and leave me lots of comments (cuz comments, as Shawn put it, are the "currency of the internet."). See you all when I get back!

What the heck is going on?

Get this:

• 2 June 2006: Ran over a big, fat phosphore-bronze deck screw.
• 3 June 2006: Got a flat tire because of big, fat phosphore-bronze deck screw--at midnight.

• Sometime ago: Ran over a large finishing nail. Perhaps even the cause of a slow leak that's existed for 2-3 years.
• 14 June 2006: Got a flat tire because of said finishing nail--the same day as two finals.

• 3 July 2006: Ran over a rather obtrusive screw. Just waiting for it to go...

Someone is freaking out to get me or something. If there is anyone out there that knows how to patch a tire and could teach me, I think I might need your help. Les Schwab is going to start charging me if I keep this up. Heck, I won't have any original tire rubber left if this continues.

DDCKM #2

I'm pretty excited because the 2nd issue of Drift Droid Christian Kulture [Electronic] Magazine has finally been released! While not quite as deep in content as #1, it still is an inspiring and epiphanizing collection of articles, paragraphs, and pictures. Check both of them out here. I guarantee that it will be worth your time. Perhaps you might even be inspired enough to write an article so #3 won't take as long to compile as this current issue did. ANY submissions are considered. And if you want to buy some Drift Droid t-shirts I can see if I can hook you up (I own like 5 or 6, and two hoodies, cuz they're so cool). Jared, you freaking rock! Keep it up.

Update: The best part of my job

...is no more. I have actually known this since early last week, but I didn't want to post it because then it would actually seem true. However, as tomorrow is the 4th, I guess I must come to the realization that I won't actually be on the barge for the Ft. Vancouver fireworks display. I know, it sucks. I'd yell at KGW, but then we might lose our contracts...