31 March 2006
Multitasking test
This was a fun and simple test if you ever need a break from work or whatever. My personal record is 23.562 seconds, let me now if you can beat it! And you better take a 'print screen' as evidence, and NO photoshop manipulation is acceptable!
Good luck!
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Just had to post this...
Saint Maurice (also Moritz or Mauritius) was the leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd century.
The traditional story of Christian mythology is that the legion, entirely composed of Christians, had been called from Thebes (Egypt) to go to Gaul, to assist Maximian, which they did valiantly. However, when Maximian ordered them to harass some local Christians, they refused, and Maximian ordered the unit punished. Every tenth soldier was killed, a military punishment known as decimation. More orders followed, they still refused, in part to encouragement from St. Maurice, and a second decimation was ordered. In response to their refusal to use violence against fellow Chistians, Maximian ordered all the remaining members of the 6,600 unit executed. The place in Switzerland where this occurred, known as Agaunum, is now Saint Maurice-en-Valais, site of the Abbey of Saint Maurice-en-Valais.
So reads the earliest account of their martyrdom, according to the public letter Eucherius, bishop of Lyons (c. 434 – 450), addressed to his fellow bishop Salvius. Alternate versions have the legion refusing Maximian's orders only after discovering a town they had just destroyed had been inhabited by innocent Christians, or that the emperor had them executed when they refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods.
Taken from www.wikipedia.com
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29 March 2006
Alone, yet together...
I just read an article about four teenage schoolgirls in Bukit Bambu, of whom three got beheaded and the fourth got scarred for life, just for being Christians. This is not the first article I read about Christians getting persecuted and slaughtered for their belief.
But who cares when something like this happens? Amnesty? Nato? the UN? Anyone?
When I tell others about things like these, the first question that I get is "What's your source?", and as always the source is Christian, as no one else seems to bother about reporting about these occurances. And thus, the source is proclamed untrustworthy and cannot be taken into consideration and is swept away as "religious propaganda".
What about Sudan? What about muslim countries where they behead Christians as public entertainment?
I'm so tired of living in the west-world sometimes, especially in the EU. It seems like all Christians are declared as nutcases here, and nothing we say are to be taken to hard or too literate.
They call us intolerant, they say we are introvert and striving backwards.
But it's all already said in the Bible, this is how it's going to be and it will get worse.
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Let it snow, let it snow, let it...
It’s been snowing now for two days, even though spring should be at the doorstep by now. Snow is ok and so on, but it’s starting to be enough by now. I want spring, I want sun, bees, flowers, and small bunny rabbits!
But at the moment there’s just heaps of snow everywhere.
And what’s worse, I can’t wear my cool spring-jacket I just bought.
Well, I suppose spring will come, eventually…
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28 March 2006
Old-school bookshops
One thing I really miss here in Vaasa, Finland, are those used books shops that can be found in other countries. You know such a bookshop as the little kid in the “Never ending story”-movie runs into. When we visited Blue Mountains, Australia, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There were tons of old antique-stores and used book shops. I remember walking into one of them looking for a copy of “Treasure Island”, there sat an old man with fuzzy gray hair and small round glasses, wearing black gloves with cut of fingers. It was amazing; he was like taken directly from a movie or something. The place was filled with old, heavy bookshelves and they were so full with books that all did not even have room in the shelves but were lying on the floor. He was reading a book, and after a while he looked up over the book and looked over his glasses in a sort of movie-fashion asking me: “Yes? Looking for something?”. I was stunned. It felt so unreal. I could have spent hours in those bookshops. The best part of it was a sign hanging on one of the shelves saying “Feel free to sit down and read, no need to buy anything”, and a comfy looking armchair besides it. Why don’t we have those in Finland? *sigh*
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27 March 2006
The sokkles-blog
He's a great friend and a very interesting person, it will be interesting to read his coming posts.
An artist, musician and father to a newly born son.
This is a man through whom I have aquainted myself with many interesting (read wierd) new bands and musicians.
Check his blog out n' say hellou.
I also know this person is familiar to many of you...
Sokkles
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26 March 2006
Once upon a time...
It was old indeed and had some small faults here and there. But it was a fun car.
Now it's gone, sold to someone else who probably can take better care of it than I could.
It was a 73´ Ford Taunus, made in Germany. Only 33 years young.
We're probably going to buy a new car in late summer, it will be great to have a car again. They tend to develope personalities, and there's a special bond between a car and it's owner, even though it's a hate/love relationship it's still special.
It'll be interesting to see what kind of car I will find when I find a new one...
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24 March 2006
Comics
One of my daydreams has always been to become a cartoonist. I would love to make a living on drawing, it would be great.
Nowadays I've also started dreaming about doing a cartoon that actually could make a differance in the world. Make a change, for the better. To make a change for and in people.
The problem now seems to be my source of inspiration. Before becoming a christian I had my inspiration in depression and hurt, how wierd that ever sounds. And my best teacher was actually the comic book "Spawn", of which I have put in a picture here. And my drawing style still resembles that of that comic, even though my life has changed my drawing-technique has not, and I haven't had a clue of what to draw and how to do it now for a veeery looong time.
I need a new source of inspiration, and a new technique of drawing.
All my old works has literally been burned, they were quality works. But they were scary and ugly.
I've actually even applied for a small scholarship, don't know if that's the word for it? (Stipendium anyone?)
So that I could start doing comics on my computer.
We'll see what will happen.
PostScriptum, why isn't there any great published christian comic drawers out there? Well, if there are, please tell me about them!
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23 March 2006
Eeewww! Yuk...
I've always wanted to name a post that.
Well today is not a bad day, but I just feel sooo uninspired. My bachelors thesis is going so slow, and I recently got feedback on it. It went something like this: “You really have lots of work to do on this yet…”. Oh, yes. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. Although it is no surprise at all, I know I could have done it a lot better, and I could have putted a lot more time and energy on it than what I have done so far.
I also have so many school-projects that are rather large and that should have been due about a year ago (or more). It all seems so huge right now.
I’m also thinking about getting a haircut sometimes soon, my hair is all wild and crazy. Wild and crazy is still ok, bit it’s starting to curl, it’s my natural curly hair that’s starting to play tricks on me. They could be nice looking, but right now my hair would fit better on a lady than on a real man, such as I am.
Well, other than that I haven’t got much else to say. Just wrote a laboratory report on atomic emission light from some sort of gas-lamp. I didn’t understand much of it.
I think I will try to post something more interesting later today; this post is being affected by me being in school right now. But I’ll post a picture of a part of my lab here, just for your delight! Later…
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22 March 2006
The Meek
A friend of mine ones said”We Christians are the meek, we are the meek people”. He said it with a bit of sadness in his voice. I suppose it was because he’s been a fighter in his life, I don’t know much in detail about him but he’s lived a rough life and also been a boxer in some stage of his life. Well, perhaps it’s hard for someone who’s strong and though to be meek. But the word “meek” or perhaps it’s meaning, is hard to understand.
Jesus said “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”, and we are called to be the meek. It’s always the meek who can hear and who follows God in the Bible. But how is one supposed to be meek, and in what way?
How much are we just supposed to turn our other cheek to, are we supposed to let people walk all over us all the time? Are we supposed to be a people who faint from paper cuts?
I think about the first congregation, in which they were hunted down, thrown to lions and made to live hidden in sewers. All those things had to make you rather tough, but still they had to be meek.
We are quite fast to hit back when we are mistreated today, we are quite proud in fact. But still we also tend to quickly find ourselves living in worlds that are quite safe, the ugly sides of society gets hidden from us or the other way around.
Are we in fact meek at all, maybe we’re just proud and weak, hiding from the world? I can’t imagine how it would feel like having your arm chewed off by a lion just because you’re are Christian. But maybe there’s where true meekness can be found?
Well it’s hard to find lions in Finland. And I think there are other ways to find meekness.
Don’t know if there’s a red thread in this post at all, but I’ll end with 1 Peter 2:20.
“But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God”
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21 March 2006
Today...
Today I am recovering from a cold, or a flu or a whatever it was. It was rather terrible. I really don't like being ill, or is sick to word that should be used? Well, anyway, I really don't like it. I have for many days now been feeling like my head is in a tin-tank and my muscles have been aking and all kinds of stuff.
But the real hard bit has been trying to get something done. I'm in phase of my life where I really have nothing scheduled that I should do, but I have TONS of things that should be done. I have my bachelor's teasis to do, and a lot of other schoolwork, plus I feel like I should be 'nesting', as in improving the home before the baby arrives.
But everything feels so difficult when ones head weights a thousand tons because of all the snot inside...
I seem to be unable to get up in the mornings, and when I do I usually just sit around eating breakfast for about three hours, it's horrible.
And it would be quite ok if I had the time to just sit around doing nothing, but I know the time is very short(flashback from an Iron Maiden song just happened to me). I have a small portion of time to have everything done! Aaargh! Panic.
Ok, so today I have at least not done anything that could be counted as a waste of time, such as watching three episodes of Battlestar Galactica, which actually happened one day, that really felt like a waste of time.
I feel like an humanistic academian who's trapped in a polytechnic school getting a 'real' job. But there's nothing wrong with that, is there?
Uhm, can't seem to keep my thoughts on track today. Well, just ignore this post, eyh?
P.S. Sorry for all missplelled words, it's just one of those days. =)
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20 March 2006
Miniaturiologia
Really didn’t know what to post about today, but I wanted to post. And no, I did not want to post about Lordi, I’ll let that subject be.
So I decided to post about miniatures. I’m looking into a genre of wargaming that’s called historical wargames. It seems to be very interesting, mainly because it deals with historical armies. It’s great to get to know more about ancient history in this way, to get to know more about historical personalities such as Hannibal, Alexander, etc. To try to understand the tactical warfare of Romans, Greeks, Carthagians, Celts and so on.
But it’s a hobby that takes much of ones time, and it’s also a very costly hobby. But that depends on with what you compare it too, there are far more expensive things out there.
I haven’t started with historical wargames yet, and it may be that I never really will have the chance to get into it at all. But it’s fun to plan it all; maybe I’ll get the opportunity to practice it sometime.
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18 March 2006
Muzicah
I really do like listening to music. As often as possible I keep a record spinning while doing other things, and I am truly happy for the shuffle button on my WinAmp. Music is something so powerful and so full of feelings. They even say that the smallest components of all material are some sort of swinging strings, somewhat as a guitar string. It’s fascinating how music affects us, it can comfort us, give us strength, courage, and inspiration.
Music is used in so much, and it has always been used. God has always been praised with music. Armies have marched to music. Music is everywhere, and if it isn’t there we create it for ourselves.
Music is also one of the most subjects that has been most fought about lately, especially in Finland. This is also affecting the church, people get divided into different sections because of the music and there are always fights about what is the right kind of music to praise God with.
But I love music, it gives me so much. Sadly, I cannot play a single instrument, and I sing so bad that I wouldn’t like to torture anyone with that. But still I can enjoy music as much as I am able to, and that’s great.
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17 March 2006
Abba
I’m a soon to be father. It’s our first child. That’s pretty exciting. People have often asked me how it feels becoming a father. Often I just don’t know what to answer. It feels big, of course. It also feels nervous, great, nice, exciting, and on and on and on. It also makes me anxious in a way. It makes one think about things, about one self.
Father is a big and complicated word. In all TV-shows they often use the father-child relation; it is bad, good, infected, inferno, etc. It is a great deal and affects us all, on how we see things. Everyone reacts in a different way when they hear the word “Father”, it’s a word that can hold so much. Being a father is a big responsibility. And in the Bible God is referred to as our Father. The whole thing is so big. Where to begin?
So, how do I feel about becoming a father? I feel great!
I’ll throw in a pic of my wonderful wife just because she’s so wonderful, and she’s the one carrying our child. She already knows our baby better than I ever have had to chance to yet. It’s going to be so exciting seeing what he/she looks like.
I am certainly a blessed man.
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16 March 2006
Biblethought of the day
This is just a passage of the Bible I find fun, or funny. It kind of really shows how we are. Often it is said that we have a hard time understanding how God works and that we cannot understand how he thinks. But when reading this I wonder how on earth He is able to understand the way we think?
The passage is from the book of Jonah. Jonah have just preached to the city of Nineve and the whole city with all of its 120 000 inhabitants including the King repents and turns to God again. Now, one thinks that Jonah would be rejoicing that so many people repented that he preached to, I think at least I would. But exactly how does the story continue?
“But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live."
But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"
Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."
But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?"
"I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."
But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"”
Sometimes I act as Jonah, in a quite childish and selfish way, just because something doesn’t go as I have planned it.
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15 March 2006
The Definition of Me
For a long time I have been daydreaming. Daydreaming of what I would like to be, thinking of what I could have become if I could start all over. To concentrate on something and really becoming good at it, to know ones place in society. Today I am 22 years old, or young, and I still do not have a profession, I cannot honestly say I am really good at anything. I seem to be surrounded by people who know a lot or can do a lot of things, and are good at what they do. It feels like I’m still trying to define who, and what, I am.
How to define me? Is it what I do? Is it what I like to do? Does the music I listen to define who I am? Does the way I dress define who I am? Do the books I read define who I am? Do the movies I choose to watch define who I am? Is it my future profession or my education that defines who I am? Is it the people I hang out with that defines who I am? Or is it the fact that I’m interested in wargame miniatures that defines who I am?
In a way they all seem to have their part in defining who I am, but can I go on in my life with only the definition that these things give me? Does it really answer the question of who I am and what I’m supposed to do?
When I look at people around me, these things seem to be so vital to who they are. It divides people into groups, and they find their identity in them. He’s a Goth, and She’s a Metalhead, and they are Punks, those over there are Nazis. You know almost certain what they read, what they listen to, and you recognize them in the way they dress. Sometimes you can even guess what kind of occupation they have. But is this enough?
I daydream of being a great writer, a great musician, a basketball star or even the smartest construction engineer out there. But I am none of those things, and I probably will never be.
So who am I?
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
When everything comes around, the bottom line is that my personality is in Christ, and in nothing else, He is what defines me. And if I try to define myself in anything else than Him I will end up further away from him, and thus further away from what I am.
But still, even though I know this, I do daydream every day. Sometimes even about being a super-Christian, someone who goes out there, helping people in fantastic ways, building large houses filling them with kids from the streets giving them a new life. Being someone who goes out into the jungle, preaching the gospel to people who never have heard it before.
So, Christ is what defines me, but who am I in Christ, what was His plan when He created me? Am I supposed to feel mediocre all my life, feeling like I’m barely getting through with thing?
Well, however things are and however they will be. I can in this moment still define myself as a very blessed man. I have a wonderful wife, a child of ours in her tummy, an almost completed education, a job for the summer, a roof over my head, food in the refrigerator, money in my pocket, a computer on my desk, a stereo, many cool cds, extremely cool friends, I live in a country that’s enjoying peace, I’ve never been threatened to death(well, not that hard at least), and I am saved.
Maybe the definition of me will show it self in the end?
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13 March 2006
Thought of the day pt. I
I have many times been thinking about something that I got to reflect over during this Sunday service in my church. I sometimes did not understand why we Christians were not capable of just walking up to a stranger and in a prophetic way and say with and voice of authority say to that person “ (name of person which has been divinely shared to us by God) e.g. Max! Thus says the Lord to thee! (Insert the most inner secret problems that person has here), but! The Lord hast seen thee and he willeth helpeth thee! May I pray for thee oh forsaken soul? (Where Max with tears flowing says “Yes, yes, of course!) And Schlabooom!!! Max crashes to the ground completely free of all problems and with an endless love for God burning inside of him! And we, burning with spirit, walks on to set the next lost soul free.
Well, even if I haven’t thought about it seriously it has certainly crossed my mind a couple of times. But this Sunday we got a great sermon from 1 Corinthians 10-15, were Paul writes about the body of Christ, the eye cannot tell the foot “I don’t need you” and so on. And in the same passage Paul teaches about the Spiritual gifts. But we were told to read the whole context, and in that light you will see that the Spiritual gifts won’t be in their right place before the body works as it should in love.
Our Pastor challenged us to, for a whole, month only speak good words about other people. To lay aside all backstabbing talk, talking behind people’s backs, and just talking wrong things about each other. He said, that if the whole congregation would be able to encourage and to “construct, build” each other for a whole month and never say a bad word about someone else, then the church would be full in no time. But to be able to not let oneself get caught up in conversations were you talk about other people’s negative sides, or to find something good in your fellow man when all you can see is just negative things, then one really needs the gift of prophesy.
When the word prophecy is said most people think about Moses, Jeremiah and other prophets, but what does it say in 1 Corinthians? “But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.” Sounds more familiar? Have you ever strengthened, encouraged or comforted someone with your words? If so, then you may have a bit of the gift of prophecy in you, and what should you do then? “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.” So continue to speak words of encouragement and comfort to people around you, and while you do that you may start to hear a soft voice giving you those words of comfort to people when you don’t find them yourself.
Peace and Love, Roger and Out! God Bless You All!
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09 March 2006
The start of all things new
So, it’s in the middle of the night and I just couldn’t sleep. I have a day off tomorrow and so I thought “well, let’s do something about my blog then”.
First I thought of leaving it as it was, very chaotic, but then I couldn’t hold myself, and so I did something about it.
This is not the final design of my blog, I hope it will evolve as I get a grip on how to form the design into my own liking.
Anyway, in this dusty corner of the World Wide Web I will most likely post on things concerning faith, religion, music, arts and hobbies, all of which has a portion in my life.
So hang on in there, and come and visit my dusty corner once in a while, and I’ll be sure to visit yours.
Above you can see the chaotic soup that was the start of my blog. It was nice but it could not continue as it was...
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Thanks to all!
Hey everyone!
Just wanted to say thank you to all who welcomed me in such a heartly manner.
I have decided to make over my blog so you will be able to read what has been written on it.
It will have a more casual look, and not as chaotic as it is now, but I will let it be as it is for now over the weekend in hope of that Cicka will see it, so he can sigh over my incompetence in html-programming.
I will also start posting more interesting stuff as soon as I get the desig of the blog worked out.
Peace and love to you all!
God is great, and he is EVERYTHING you need.
God is I am!
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08 March 2006
Oh no...
I have fallen into the trend of webblogs.
Hang on in there, it may take me a while to figure out how this works...
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